Hear the Yellow Carousel’s ominous gears clatter on episode 233 of the Chilling Tales for Dark Nights podcast

How did I miss it? The excellent podcast, Chilling Tales for Dark Nights, released the audio version of “The Yellow Carousel” in January last year (see “Episode 233: Slippery Slopes”). This weird Appalachian horror story, which was originally published by Cosmic Horror Monthly, then reprinted by YNST Magazine, is set in the Augustus Valley / High Point area, and remains one of my favorites. Nick Goroff narrates it excellently, and the fantastic vocal talents of Kyle Stroud and Rissa Montañez breathe new life into the characters Silas and Emma. The narration is enhanced by some superb, tastefully applied sound effects, my favorite being the howling coyotes. When I wrote this story, I was living in a very rural area, quite similar to Silas’s and Emma’s home, and on many nights I woke to coyotes’ frenzied yipping. Initially unnerving, once I got used to their unique vocalizations, they became quite beautiful and comforting to me. Not so comforting for Emma, unfortunately.

Chilling Tales for Dark Nights, Episode 233: Slippery Slopes, opens with Jackson Arthur’s story, “Black Ice,” which is also narrated by Nick Goroff, along with Danielle Hewitt (Danielle voiced two of my stories—“The Station Agent’s Wife, 1927” for Tales to Terrify, and “She Will Come to Brood” for Creepy). “The Yellow Carousel” follows at 33:40. Find it on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to your podcasts. Read along to the audio by pulling up the story on your phone or computer for free at YNST Magazine.

If you want more of my spookies flushed down your earpipes, I keep a Spotify playlist where I add any free audio narration of my stories whenever they are available there. Check it out and save it to your own Spotify profile for easy access!

Thanks again to the team at Chilling Tales for Dark Nights, and to you readers and listeners, for all the support. Be sure to leave a review thanking them for doing such a great job on “The Yellow Carousel”.

Dead Light Across the Lake – Assemble Artifacts #6 now on Audible

On Audible now, in Assemble Artifacts #6:

Their marriage on the brink of collapse, David and Sara make one last effort to repair it with a weekend getaway at a cabin at Mount Storm Lake. Sounds like a good plan, right? But that light coming from the direction of the power plant across the lake makes them both uneasy. Oh—did I mention that this is where David’s father killed himself?

dead light across the lake - new short horror story in assemble artifacts #6 from assemble media

My new story, “Dead Light Across the Lake,” appears in Assemble Artifacts #6, now on Audible and available, of course, on Kindle too. Also including stories from other writers like Z. K. Abraham, Wendy N. Wagner, Cynthia Pelayo, and more!

The publisher has given me a free Audible copy to share with a reviewer. If there is anyone here who wants to listen to this for free in exchange for an honest review, please email me at [email protected], and I will get you hooked up with a code. First come, first served—but please commit to writing a review on Audible when you’re finished!

Dead Light Across the Lake – NEW FICTION in Assemble Artifacts Short Story Magazine #6

Their marriage on the brink of collapse, David and Sara make one last effort to repair it with a weekend getaway at a cabin at Mount Storm Lake. Sounds like a good plan, right? But that light coming from the direction of the power plant across the lake makes them both uneasy. Oh—did I mention that this is where David’s father killed himself?

Read my new story, “Dead Light Across the Lake,” in Assemble Artifacts #6, available now for Kindle—audio is coming soon! Other stories by authors such as Z. K. Abraham, Cynthia Pelayo, and Wendy N. Wagner. Get it now.

“To Fear and To Rage” from DEATHREALM: SPIRITS praised by KIRKUS and THE HORROR REVIEW

Reviews are coming in for Stephen Mark Rainey’s anthology, Deathrealm: Spirits, in which I’m honored to have my short story “To Fear and To Rage” appear among other stories by all-star writers much more worthy than myself.

And reviews are good! Kirkus Reviews had favorable words for it upon its release a few months ago, calling it “Spine-tingling and sometimes stomach-churning… unflinchingly tense… a solid compilation that will satisfy avid fans of a range of horror subgenres.”

Carson Buckingham, writing for The Horror Review and its associated websites, says, “There is something for everyone here; so whether you enjoy splatter, suspense, or paranormal, you can’t go wrong with Stephen Mark Rainey’s Deathrealm: Spirits. This would be a wonderful Christmas gift for any horror aficionados on your list.”

Both reviewers call out “To Fear and To Rage” specifically. Kirkus says, “[Deathrealm: Spirits] hits its stride in its third offering, Timothy G. Huguenin’s ‘To Fear and To Rage,’ about a father and son whose remote mountain town is slowly overrun by unsettling faceless, eyeless creatures.” Carson is even more positive, listing my story as one of her favorites and claiming, “I had to remind myself to breathe reading this one.”

Christmas is almost here, everybody. So if you’re still trying to find that last-minute gift, follow the advice of these reviewers and grab yourself a copy today. Anybody out there who are already fans, don’t forget to leave a review on Amazon and Goodreads. Thanks for reading!

Cover Reveal for DEATHREALM: SPIRITS, edited by Stephen Mark Rainey, coming this October from Shortwave Publishing

Shortwave Publishing has released the cover for their upcoming antholgy, Deathrealm: Spirits, edited by Stephen Mark Rainey. Loving that artwork by J. Edward Neill! Preorder the paperback or ebook today at shortwavepublishing.com/catalog/deathrealm-spirits/ so you don’t miss my story “To Fear and To Rage”.

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Reading List: The Inconsolables by Michael Wehunt

Ever since I devoured his debut, Greener Pastures, Michael’s fiction has been a huge influence and a North Star for my own work. There are very few authors I would say this about: when I hear Wehunt has a new book coming out, it’s an automatic buy. I don’t even have to read the synopsis. Not even in Stephen King do I have that much trust.

Wehunt fans (Wehunters?) like myself have been anxious for a new story collection from him for years (which is saying something for me, as generally speaking I don’t read many short story collections). Greener Pastures was published in 2016—not a full decade, but it’s felt like it. But at long last, it’s here, and it was worth the wait. Released this June by Bad Hand Books, The Inconsolables does not disappoint.

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“The Station Agent’s Wife, 1927” now in audio on Tales to Terrify

Another one of my stories gets new life breathed into it—listen now to the audio podcast production of “The Station Agent’s Wife, 1927” by our good friends at Tales to Terrify! My story is read by Danielle Hewitt, who also did a great job reading my other story “She Will Come to Brood” for Creepy.

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