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 imprintโs dedication to the provocative, scary, and strange. It collects dark, transgressive fiction, mostly horror (all subgenres, bloodless to extreme, nothing off limits) and โhorror-adjacentโ 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.
Support Extremely Weird Splatter!
Because gloriously countercultural splatterpunk fiction tends toward grounded, all-too-possible types of horror, while the more fantastic category of “weird” fiction has become far too respectable, we feel a need for EXTREMELY WEIRD SPLATTER, a pro-paying anthology of stories that highlight the awesome potential released when extreme aesthetics and splatter savvy fuse with the way-out weird that leaves โgroundedโ behind. To pay for the high quality the project deserves, we need your help with our IndieGoGo campaign. And, of course, we offer lots of perks!
NEW SPECIAL EXHIBIT!
Horrific Scribes, Special Exhibit Four: Nasty Nature is here, just like the high pollen counts and the bugs! Earth’s abundance is beautiful, blah, blah, blah. Bugs are gross. Fungi go hand in hand with decomposition and death. Crawling critters aren’t cute. They’re nasty. Nature is nasty. Let us show you.
Blake, "Nest/Infest"
Christie, "Every Nowhere Leads to Somewhere"
De Marino, Living Nightmares
Fritz, "Mr. Ears Comes to Dinner"
Leahy, "Flowers"
Mavroudis, "From a Trail Cam Pointed at Our House"
Nadolny, "She Is Our Warmth, She Is Our Shelter"
Palmer, "Calypso"
Rey, "Snails"
Toase, "Hรบsiรฐ Mitt"
Yustas, "Marmite and Mushrooms"
Horrific Scribes does not have โissuesโ like a magazine. However, it does have โExhibits,โ 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)
Nenad Mitroviฤ
Second Scribbling, Apr. 9, 2026
Born and raised in the eastern part of Serbia, a region marked by rugged landscapes, fading industrial towns, and a rich substratum of folklore, Mitroviฤโs prose often draws from local myths, oral traditions, and deeply personal memory.
Read more.
“The Teeth Remember“
Thirteen jaws. No bodies. Each tooth carries a message. Not from the killerโbut from the dead.
Read “The Teeth Remember” (~3600 words)
Author Keywords: literary horror, weird horror, gothic horror,
psychological horror, body horror, Serbian, Slavic folklore, Balkan
mythology, rural folklore horror, pagan motifs
Author Trigger Warnings (if any): graphic injury, bite wounds, physical harm, psychological distress, paranoia, supernatural horror elements
Horrific Scribes Extremity Rating:
Fendy S. Tulodo
Fourth Scribbling, Apr. 29, 2026
He writes about the body turning against itself.
Read more.
“The Black Gut Laugh“
Is it still inside us, or are we inside it?
Read “The Black Gut Laugh” (~1500 words)
Author Keywords: grotesque transformation, psychological dread, surreal horror, invasive memory
Author Trigger Warnings (if any): gore, pregnancy-related horror, loss of bodily autonomy
Horrific Scribes Extremity Rating:
“What the Hollow Keeps“
Some things donโt stay buried.
Read “What the Hollow Keeps” (~1500 words)
Author Keywords: Horror, Psychological Horror, Dark Fiction, Suspense, Supernatural, Atmospheric, Mystery
Author Trigger Warnings (if any): Psychological distress, dark themes
Horrific Scribes Extremity Rating:
Emmie Christie
Third Scribbling, May 7, 2026
Emmie Christie is finishing up the third book in her trilogy, and is pretty sure she can see in four dimensions. Or maybe thatโs the fourth cup of coffee.
Read more.
“Echoes of an Endless Hour“
What if everyone could only live in one hour of the day?
Read “Echoes of an Endless Hour” (~2200 words)
Author Keywords: time loop, clock faces, time story, tired at work, cosmic beings, time wasting
Author Trigger Warnings (if any): N/A
Horrific Scribes Extremity Rating:
Amanda M. Blake
Second Scribbling, May 18, 2026
Purveyor of dark fiction, from quiet to extreme
Read more.
“Nest/Infest“
I know some people can be a little messy, but this is taking it way too far.
Read “Nest/Infest” (~4900 words)
Author Keywords: Bugs, insects, infestation, invasion, arachnids, spiders, body horror, trypophobia
Author Trigger Warningsย (if any): Dirty one-night stand in a dirty bed, bug infestation, lots and lots of bugs where they shouldnโt be, seriously so many bugs, trypophobia
Horrific Scribes Extremity Rating:
Alice Yustas
Joined May 18, 2026
A writer is a magpie: we hoard impressions, emotions, illusions
And grace our readers with our weirdest dreams.
Read more.
“Marmite and Mushrooms“
Do not take trophies!
Read “Marmite and Mushrooms” (~2000 words)
Author Keywords: domestic, plant/fungal, weird
Author Trigger Warningsย (if any): death
Horrific Scribes Extremity Rating:
Andrew Nadolny
Joined May 18, 2026
If a glittering neon bacteriophage could put its eerie atomic thoughts to paper.
Read more.
“She Is Our Warmth, She Is Our Shelter“
I didnโt kill the racoon.
Itโs staring at me.
Its organs are spilling out on the fucking blacktop. Itโs reaching for me. Blood is coming out of its mouth.
And then the rats comeโ
Read “She Is Our Warmth, She Is Our Shelter” (~2100 words)
Author Keywords: nature, urban, dark, gore, animals, grimdark
Author Trigger Warningsย (if any): Violence against animals, Abusive Relationship, Swearing
Horrific Scribes Extremity Rating:
