Fruiting Bodies of Extremely Weird Splatter: Authors’ Other Works, Part Three
Some authors who contributed to the Extremely Weird Splatter anthology (which fuses extreme/splatterpunk and weird horror) are established with hundreds of publications, and some are geniuses at the beginning of their transgressive paths. This series of three articles highlights career landmarks or, where appropriate, career trajectories.
“Hellrider is a thunder and muscle hell ride through dangerous territory. Fun, wicked, and unrelenting. A horror thriller that breaks the rules and the speed limit at the same time.” – Jonathan Maberry, New York Times bestselling author
When Eddie Ryder is burned alive by fellow members of the Hell Riders motorcycle gang for ratting on them, he vows revenge with his dying breath. He returns as a ghost, with his custom motorcycle Diablo by his side. After he finds out he can possess people, he launches a campaign of vengeance that leaves plenty of bodies in its wake and the police in a state of confusion. Spouting fire and lightning from his fingers and screaming heavy metal lyrics as he rides the sky above the town of Hell Creek, he brings destruction down on all those who wronged him, his power growing with every death. Only Eddie’s younger brother, Carson, and the police chief’s daughter, Ellie, understand what’s really happening, and now they have to stop him before he destroys the whole town.
Walking… Walking… Must keep walking…
When Roger Brenner leaves the house because he has the urge to take a walk, no one, not even him, realizes he is about to change the world as we know it.
Roger’s sudden desire quickly turns into something more as both his mind and body begin to change. He is consumed by his need to keep walking, and soon he is leaving the small town of Rocky Point behind. By the time his family realizes he’s gone, he’s miles away and entering an altered state of consciousness.
As the days go by and Roger continues his unnatural journey, his body begins to deteriorate. He also attracts followers, all of them murmuring the same chilling words. The growing horde travels down the East Coast, growing in size every day.
In less than a week, the phenomenon spreads across the world, causing religious and political upheaval. The governments fear it’s a disease. Religious leaders claim it’s a sign of the apocalypse. And scientists say it’s nature correcting overpopulation.
The same questions plague all of them:
When will it end?
And what happens next?
The world is about to find out.
Rural Decay. Jack Buckley always admired his father. even after he found out he was a serial killer. As Jack grows older, and he begins helping his father, he begins to develop an unhealthy obsession with him; an obsession that would send both of their lives crumbling into decay.
From Jason Nickey, author of ‘Wreckage’, comes a new story of extreme horror.
Tales of Trepidation. Five novellas, now available together in one collection.
Wreckage- After losing everything in life, Frank is eager for a fresh start. He books a flight to Alaska for a job interview, but never reaches his destination. The plane crashes, and his fight for survival becomes a surreal spiral to a point where it becomes hard to differentiate between what is real… and what isn’t.
Don’t Look in the Trees – the main rule in Appalachia. Many question why, but Justin and Billy found out the hard way on their way home from a bonfire party after coming across a fallen tree and mysterious lights coming from the sky. Can they survive the night and the strange beings coming from the forest that surrounds their cabin?
Road Hazards – Desperate to get out of a call center job, Phil takes a chance on a new job with Child Protective Services. He soon finds out he bit off more than he could chew after coming across a family more disturbing than he could have ever imagined. He goes on a road trip to clear his mind afterward and soon finds out that his nightmare is far from over.
Static – After a first date that ends with a snuff film, Tim begins to have strange visions following the sound of static. These visions lead him to an ultimatum that will change his life forever
When The Mockingbird Sings – We open on Moon City in the 1960’s two gangsters are waiting for a shipment to arrive at an old warehouse on the outside of town. What these two men are here to pick up is so dark and sinister, that it will ruin both of their lives the second they lay eyes on it.
Walnut Ridge. Aliens in garish angelic form chose humankind as one of the races worthy of sharing an otherworldly paradise with them. Most people have already been “decanted.” Leo Salmon has not, but he watched as billions around him were transformed into blue gelatinous fluid in preparation for the long trip to Caldo. Leo and the remaining few un-decanted who have been unable to truly receive the “Angel’s Promise,” a requirement to initiate the transformation, are housed in Walnut Ridge, a pre-decantation facility, awaiting their fates.
The alien ships are leaving in a matter of days. If Leo and the other stragglers are unable to genuinely accept the alien offering in that time, while most of liquified humanity is transported to paradise, Leo and the rest of the abandoned will be left to build a new life on Earth. At least, that’s the plan right after they get some Taco Bell.
At face value, Walnut Ridge is an extraordinary account of our inability to transcend the mental trappings of our mortal frailty. However, beneath the stunning imagery and absurd humor of this distinctively unconventional story, you will find a unique allegory for the harrowing trials of mental illness, addiction, and recovery.
Stuck Together with You. Rhonda Wilkes is America’s grandma. Her acting career really took off 40 years ago with her wildly successful 1980’s ensemble sitcom, Stuck Together With You, about five aging women forced by circumstance to share a Long Island apartment. At 101 years old, and never far from her tall, mysterious, male assistant, Rhonda is still going strong. This is more than can be said for her Stuck Together co-stars, all of whom have died, save for Connie Roberts, who lives in declining health within an assisted living home.
The hideous secret to Rhonda’s longevity comes to light after Connie Roberts receives an experimental health treatment with low odds of survival. As Connie pulls through, hazy memories begin to return—memories of an orgiastic summoning ritual in a Hollywood studio lounge.
Given a second chance at life, Connie must track down Rhonda and her sinister assistant if she wants to put right the wrongs of the past decades. Luckily, Connie has the help of Terry, a miraculously resurrected assisted-living orderly, and the sentient finger now living in his head. Age is just a number in this salaciously weird tale of talking phalanges, steamy sex, and dark humor.
Ubo. A unique blend of science fiction and horror, Ubo was a finalist for the Bram Stoker Award for Best Novel in 2017.
Daniel is trapped in Ubo. He has no idea how long he has been imprisoned there by the roaches. Every resident has a similar memory of the journey: a dream of dry, chitinous wings crossing the moon, the gigantic insects dropping swiftly over the houses; the creatures, like a deck of baroquely ornamented cards, fanning themselves from one hidden world into the next. Each day they force Daniel to play a different figure from humanity’s violent history, from a frenzied Jack the Ripper to a stumbling and confused Stalin, to a self-proclaimed god executing survivors atop the ruins of the world. As skies burn and prisoners go mad, identities dissolve as the experiments evolve, and no one can foretell their mysterious end.
Amazon Editors’ Pick Best Science Fiction & Fantasy
“A nightmarish fantasy in which the protagonist is abducted from his bed by monstrous insects and brought to a world where he is forced to inhabit the consciousnesses of history’s great villains. An exploration of the problem of (human) evil, Tem’s narrative cuts to the bone with the brute efficiency of a meat cleaver; it’s a reminder of his continuing ambition as a writer, decades into a career whose achievement is already considerable.” – John Langan in Locus
“When you mix the ‘I want to shoot myself’ grim tone of McCarthy’s The Road, with the political concepts and sheer ‘what the fuck is real?’ of Philip K Dick, you earn the word masterpiece.” – David Agranoff, Amazing Stories
Scarecrows: Appalachian Tales. Steve Rasnic Tem grew up in Lee County Virginia, the westernmost county in the state. It was the heart of Appalachia, isolated, yet beautiful. He has said “Growing up in that small place, it was hard to imagine ever becoming a writer. To me wanting to be a writer was like wanting to become an astronaut or a movie star. I didn’t believe such things ever happened for people like us.”
Now in his seventies, Steve Rasnic Tem’s writings include more than 500 published short stories in a variety of genres, seventeen collections, eight novels, and miscellaneous poetry and plays. He has won the World Fantasy, Bram Stoker, British Fantasy, and International Horror Guild awards. In 2024 he received the Horror Writers Association Lifetime Achievement Award.
“His work…will haunt your imagination and your heart in equal measure, and it both expands and defines the genre.” – Weird Fiction Review
“Steve Rasnic Tem is a school of writing unto himself.” – Joe R. Lansdale
“He’s one of the true masters.” – Ed Gorman
“A Tem story is like no other.” – Simon Strantzas
Scarecrows: Appalachian Tales collects the best of Tem’s writings about his native Appalachia, two poems and twenty-four short stories (including five never-before-published tales) concerning the farmers, miners, teachers, preachers, lawmen, itinerants, housewives, elders, children, and creatures who call these southern mountains home. The tales represent a range of genres: fantasy, horror, crime, humor, and realistic local color fiction of the region.
“It’s Time You Atoned for Your Sins.” What goes around comes around… wielding a hacksaw.
Tasteful: A Literary Cannibal Anthology contains 21 delicious stories about people who eat other people.
An unfortunate tourist… a family facing the apocalypse… a princess with a secret… a mother-to-be… Whether they’re eating or being eaten out of love, obsession, or hate, or just because someone was feeling snackish, there’s a story in this collection to satisfy everybody’s taste.
Proceeds from every purchase will be donated to Philabundance, the food bank that serves Southeast Pennsylvania.
Short stories by Hussani Abdulrahim, J. Ambrose, Michael Boulerice, Lauren Carter, Rain Corbyn, Cassandra Daucus, Sarah Doebereiner, Ruth Anna Evans, Lor Gislason, Marc J. Guillotte, Ria Hill, Liam Hogan, Sophie Ingley, Dori Lumpkin, Bryan Miller, Jonathan Olfert, Mere Rain, Frank Roger, Nadia Steven Rysing, Vox Villalobos, and Cat Voleur.
Original artwork for every story by Iseult Murphy.
Curated by Cat Voleur, Iseult Murphy, and Cassandra Daucus.
Welp, you’re dead. Weird, right?
That’s usually how these books end, but here you are, at the beginning, dead as a doornail. Good news? There’s a magical cult ready and willing to resurrect you. Bad news? You’ve reawakened with an insatiable hunger for human flesh. You’ve always had a penchant for eating ass, but this is ridiculous. Who should you eat first?
The choice is up to you. There’s a lot of tasty guys out there just waiting to be eaten.
Welcome to Extremities: A series of narrative mazes that will disgust you, haunt you, and make you beg for more. Which death will you choose?
Read Volk’s short story “The Canvas” in Horrific Scribes November 2025.
Description: A young barista accepts a spur-of-the-moment internship at a tattoo parlor, sending them spiraling into a violent and sexual obsession with their unique canvas.
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