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 / … Continue reading Hear the Yellow Carousel’s ominous gears clatter on episode 233 of the Chilling Tales for Dark Nights podcast
It was a warm September evening in High Point, West Virginia, when Silas first saw the Yellow Carousel. Early September is upon us—summer’s last gasp, anticipation of autumn, maturing sunflowers… And, for a certain retired surface miner and his wife, the Yellow Carousel’s arrival. Though squash vine borers have decimated my wife’s acorn squashes, zucchinis, … Continue reading 🌻 So turns the Yellow Carousel 🌻
Recently printed in issue #35 (May 2023) of CHM Magazine, “The Yellow Carousel” is now available on their website to read for free, to give folks a taste of the scrumptious fiction offered in their magazine: https://cosmichorrormonthly.com/fiction/the-yellow-carousel/
Silas and Emma have settled into a quiet retirement in High Point, West Virginia. There’s nothing so peaceful as a September sunset painting the pines that edge their field. From this magic twilight emerges the Yellow Carousel, as if planted and grown just for Silas. Why shouldn’t he climb its sunflower petals and mount its … Continue reading Take a spin on the Yellow Carousel in CHM Magazine #35
Those who have followed my short stories are familiar with Augustus Valley, my fictional southern-WV town, once a thriving hub of the mining industry, “now a blip on a long detour you’ll never take, the coal having run out there, as is its way” (as I describe it in the prologue to my unpublished novel, … Continue reading Inside the Christmas Cabinet: Port Crayon, West Virginia
“The Christmas Cabinet” – Assemble Artifacts #8 – August 2026 “Dead Light Across the Lake” – Assemble Artifacts #6 – October 2024“The Yellow Carousel” (Audio Podcast) – Chilling Tales for Dark Nights – January 2024 “The Yellow Carousel” (Reprint) – YNST Magazine – December 2023“To Fear and To Rage” – Deathrealm: Spirits – October 2023“The … Continue reading Short Fiction