Horrific Scribes
an online archive of the provocative, scary, and strange
L. Andrew Cooper, editor
Horrific Scribes is an expanding online archive of dark short fiction (and some poetry) by authors who share the Horrific Scribblings imprint’s dedication to the provocative, scary, and strange. It collects dark, transgressive fiction, mostly horror (all subgenres, bloodless to extreme, nothing off limits) and “horror-adjacent” work in areas such as dark fantasy, dark sci-fi, the surreal, and the experimental.
Works in the archive are intended for mature readers and often contain graphic violence, explicit sexuality, profanity, and other material that some readers may find triggering or offensive. By continuing, you acknowledge that you read at your own risk.
NEW EXHIBIT!
Make your holiday season even darker with the first Special Exhibit from the Horrific Scribes archive, Holiday Hurlyburly! Jolly traditions get nasty!
Chayan, "The December Booth"
Grech, "Snow Angel"
Harrison, "Mari Lwyd"
Hunter, "Ghosts from a Christmas Carol"
MacLeod, "Slippers from Hell"
Mavroudis, "In the Bleak Christmas Market"
McGoran, "Christmas Angel"
Rusetsky, "Non-Denominational Office Gathering"
Townend, "When One Door Closes"
Horrific Scribes does not have “issues” like a magazine. However, it does have “Exhibits,” selections of stories and poems collected because of commonalities (themes, subgenres, images, etc.) and united by an introduction and cover art. Selections appear in a sequence that highlights meaningful connections.
Reading an Exhibit is like reading an anthology. Past Exhibits remain available:
ARCHIVED FEATURES
After time in the feature spotlight (below), Scribes and their Scribbles (or Scribblings) remain in the archives according to the months when their works first appeared. Browse the archival depths! For a specific author, try the “Authors” link above. For something else, try the “Search” option at the bottom of the screen.
FEATURED SCRIBES AND SCRIBBLES
(SCROLL DOWN FOR THE LATEST)
“Rite of Passage“
Getting in trouble is the worst possible thing.
Read “Rite of Passage” (~3100 words)
Author Keywords: Witches, childhood, family, inheritance, accident, horror, play, dolls, initiation
Author Trigger Warnings (if any): Child death
Horrific Scribes Extremity Rating:
Andrew Welsh-Huggins
Second Scribbling, Dec. 4, 2025
It’s not uncommon for Andrew to watch episodes of Slow Horses and Call The Midwife on the same day.
Read more.
“Sharp Enough“
Ronnie has long admired her quirky Grandma Claudia’s skills in the kitchen.
Read “Sharp Enough” (~1000 words)
Author Keywords: Haunted festival, betrayal, family, cheating, frenemy
Author Trigger Warnings (if any): Disturbing image
Horrific Scribes Extremity Rating:
Katherine Garrison
Joined December 9, 2025
Writer of short fiction and poetry from the borders of the literary and speculative, often exploring themes through nature, food, the weird, or some mix of these.
Read more.
Approaching Dangers: Three Monstrous Poems
Here, monsters lurk.
Read Approaching Dangers: Three Monstrous Poems (~200 words)
Author Keywords: Monsters, Vampires, Trolls, Horror Poetry, Spores
Author Trigger Warnings (if any): [silence]
Horrific Scribes Extremity Rating:
Mario Senzale
Joined December 11, 2025
Mario Senzale writes about the moment you realize the system isn’t broken: you were always meant to be consumed by it.
Read more.
“The Bull“
Power plays look different when you realize who’s really writing the script.
Read “The Bull” (~2100 words)
Author Keywords: racial fetishization, cuckolding, power dynamics, sexual exploitation, psychological horror, literary horror, interracial dynamics, contemporary horror
Author Trigger Warnings (if any): Explicit sexual content, racial fetishization, non-consensual sexual acts, use of racial slurs in sexual context, depictions of raceplay/racist imagery as sexual fetish, coercion, power imbalance, psychological manipulation
Horrific Scribes Extremity Rating:
Thomas C. Mavroudis
Second Scribbling, Dec. 15, 2025
Thomas C. Mavroudis – The Other Greek Freak
Read more.
“Revelations of a Shadow Person“
We are one. We are many. We are the desert, and we are each grain of sand within it.
Read “Revelations of a Shadow Person” (~1300 words)
Author Keywords: Urban legend, cryptid, nightmare, night terror
Author Trigger Warnings (if any): [silence]
Horrific Scribes Extremity Rating:
Zary Fekete
Joined December 17, 2025
Have lived on three continents and love to write about it all.
Read more.
“My Father, My Father“
A speculative reimagining of Goethe’s classic poem “Erl-konig” for the modern age.
Read “My Father, My Father” (~2300 words)
Author Keywords: Erlkönig Retelling, Digital Forest. VR Horror, Parent-Child Bond, AI Glitch, Neural Overload, Mythic Horror, Simulation Malfunction, The Alder-King
Author Trigger Warnings (if any): child death, child danger
Horrific Scribes Extremity Rating:
Mike Rusetsky
Joined December 18, 2025
Mike Rusetsky is a Ukrainian-American author of dark, speculative, and occasionally silly fiction.
Read more.
“Non-Denominational Office Gathering“
An office retiree proves she can still throw a hell of a party.
Read “Non-Denominational Office Gathering” (~2000 words)
Author Keywords: revenge, Christmas, holiday, corporate, office, party, twisted, dark humor
Author Trigger Warnings (if any): brief body horror
Horrific Scribes Extremity Rating:
“Slippers from Hell“
There is always that one relative who gives the strangest gifts… no matter what.
Read “Slippers from Hell” (~1600 words)
Author Keywords: quiet horror
Author Trigger Warnings (if any): [silence]
Horrific Scribes Extremity Rating:
P. N. Harrison
Joined December 18, 2025
P.N. Harrison draws upon folklore and history to write his weird fiction.
Read more.
“Mari Lwyd“
When the Mari Lwyd knocks on your door, it is best to join its song.
Read “Mari Lwyd” (~1600 words)
Author Keywords: Christmas, Yuletide, Mary Lwyd, folklore
Author Trigger Warnings (if any): N/A
Horrific Scribes Extremity Rating:
SJ Townend
Second Scribbling, Dec. 18, 2025
SJ Townend is a quiet conjurer of shadows who might be hiding inside your Advent calendar.
Read more.
“When One Door Closes“
You know that door you have that just won’t stay shut? Well, maybe you should address it. Because when one door closes, another door opens…
Read “When One Door Closes” (~4300 words)
Author Keywords: Christmas, horror, Bristol
Author Trigger Warnings (if any): [silence]
Horrific Scribes Extremity Rating:
Iluka Chayan
Joined December 18, 2025
A writer wandering the fault lines between memory and myth, tracing what the world tries to forget.
Read more.
“The December Booth“
The booth rings only in December, and only for the one name the forest has chosen.
Read “The December Booth” (~5000 words)
Author Keywords: Folk Horror, South Asian Horror, Indian Gothic, Cultural Rituals
Author Trigger Warnings (if any): none
Horrific Scribes Extremity Rating:
Thomas C. Mavroudis
Third Scribbling, Dec. 18, 2025
Thomas C. Mavroudis – The Other Greek Freak
Read more.
“In the Bleak Christmas Market“
You would think things would get better after two decades, but they don’t. They just get incrementally worse day after day, year after year, like stars growing ever dim.
Read “In the Bleak Christmas Market” (~3300 words)
Author Keywords: Christmas, family, sisters, holiday, fairy tale
Author Trigger Warnings (if any): [silence]
Horrific Scribes Extremity Rating:
Shawn Montgomery
Third Scribbling, Jan. 7, 2026
Drawn to abandoned houses, crumbling cemeteries and all things (and people) creepy and unsettling, Shawn is still trying to navigate his way through the labyrinth of shadows and fog.
Read more.
“The Tree People“
“For a fleeting moment, he looks so peaceful, so much like he was before he disappeared. And I start to believe that everything’s going to be okay, that the past couple of days have just been a strange nightmare. But then I notice my brother’s distended stomach.”
Read “The Tree People” (~4000 words)
Author Keywords: Folk Horror, Body Horror, Woods, Forest Monsters, Family Secrets, Childhood Horrors
Author Trigger Warnings (if any): Some elements of body horror; drug references.
Horrific Scribes Extremity Rating:
