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!
We visited childhood trauma in one phase of our second Exhibit, but we get so much good horror about parent-child relationships… why? As Philip Larkin succinctly puts it, “They f@#k you up, your mum and dad.” So, welcome to Exhibit Five, about the horrific results of being the child of a parent!
Brown, "Calluses"
Carnell, "Guilt"
Fekete, "My Father, My Father"
Hirsch, "Mama Bear"
Hollingsworth, "A Witch's Envy"
McKee, "The Inheritance"
Montgomery, "Burn the Witch"
Townend, "QVC"
Weis, "Rite of Passage"
Welsh-Huggins, "Sharp Enough"
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)
Joseph Hirsch
Third Scribbling, Feb. 3, 2026
Joseph Hirsch holds an MA in German Studies and spent four years in the Army, some of that time wandering around Germany (sometimes in the cities, mostly through forests.)
Read more.
Teufelsrad
“Slowly something began to emerge from the hole, a long shadow backlit by whatever fires burned within the earth…”
Read “Teufelsrad” (~4600 words)
Author Keywords: Cult, Folk Horror, Demons, Rural, Germany, Bavaria, Fertility, Goddess, Demoness, Tectonics
Author Trigger Warnings (if any): Extreme sexual content, some violence.
Horrific Scribes Extremity Rating:
Paul Edmonds
Joined February 5, 2026
Fiction steeped in grime, bad decisions, and small-town decay
Read more.
“Grand Guignol“
A guys’ poker night gone wrong; smut, friendship, and a cursed videotape spiral into carnage.
Read “Grand Guignol” (~2000 words)
Author Keywords: Analog horror; Videotape; Smut; Small-town.
Author Trigger Warnings (if any): Sexualized violence.
Horrific Scribes Extremity Rating:
Michael Hessel-Mial
Joined February 12, 2026
Far-future poetry dispatches tell of the social struggles!
Read more.
“Pseudodisplay for Voice and Captive“
Performance art script from a spacefaring iconoclast; only one human sacrifice necessary.
Read “Pseudodisplay for Voice and Captive” (poem, ~400 words)
Author Keywords: spaceflight, avant-garde, experimental, ritual, performance
Author Trigger Warnings (if any): Brief mention of implied violence.
Horrific Scribes Extremity Rating:
H.J. Dutton
Second Scribbling, Feb. 17, 2026
I write of dark rooms, creaking floorboards, and things that go bump.
Read more.
“Darcy’s Docks“
The entrance’s teeth dripped rainwater, paint having peeled since the park’s closure in ‘97.
Read “Darcy’s Docks” (~1700 words)
Author Keywords: theme park, uncanny, guilt, grief
Author Trigger Warnings (if any): [silence]
Horrific Scribes Extremity Rating:
Kyle Rader
Joined February 24, 2026
Kyle Rader doesn’t color inside the lines and thinks the greatest sin a writer can commit is to bore his or her readers.
Read more.
“Cloud Nine“
The sky isn’t falling. It hungers.
Read “Cloud Nine” (~3000 words)
Author Keywords: Post-apocalyptic; Horror; Sci-Fi Horror
Author Trigger Warnings (if any): None.
Horrific Scribes Extremity Rating:
Andrew Welsh-Huggins
Third Scribbling, Feb. 26, 2026
The parakeet in my office chirps loudest when I’m on a Zoom call.
Read more.
“Patty Perkins, Nine Years Old“
Patty could have sworn the sound she heard was a baby crying.
Read “Patty Perkins, Nine Years Old” (~2700 words)
Author Keywords: Basement, folklore, biology, gambling, Ohio, demons, devils
Author Trigger Warnings (if any): [silence]
Horrific Scribes Extremity Rating:
J.S. Douglas
Second Scribbling, Mar. 5, 2026
J.S. Douglas loves to claw beneath the surface of human fear and see what lies beneath.
Read more.
“Like and Subscribe“
After years living under the camera’s unblinking lens, the children of the Humbart Family channel want one thing for Christmas: revenge.
Read “Like and Subscribe” (~3000 words)
Author Keywords: Christmas, Krampus, family vloggers, pranks, revenge
Author Trigger Warnings (if any): Abuse and violence
Horrific Scribes Extremity Rating:
J. M. J. Brewer
Joined March 10, 2026
J. M. J. Brewer (he/him) is a staunch supporter of nature conservation. You can find more of his fiction at jmjbrewer.com.
Read more.
“Saint Jackal“
When nomads Ana and Matty meet Jackal, a fellow vagabond obsessed with old airplanes, they find themselves on the hunt for the Spirit of St. Louis, the plane Jackal swears was in the sky during several assassinations.
Read “Saint Jackal” (~3500 words)
Author Keywords: Weird fiction, surreal horror, nomad, vagabond, van life, interstate, JFK, Marilyn Monroe
Author Trigger Warnings (if any): N/A
Horrific Scribes Extremity Rating:
“How May I Help You“
Worst day at work ever.
Read “How May I Help You” (~1700 words)
Author Keywords: Body horror, emotional burnout, work horror, library, dark humor
Author Trigger Warnings (if any): None
Horrific Scribes Extremity Rating:
