Holiday-Themed Writing Prompts

 If you find yourself needing a little push or a little help getting started, try some of these prompts for Season-Themed tales:

https://minds-in-bloom.com/20-christmas-writing-prompts/

http://www.build-creative-writing-ideas.com/christmas-writing-prompts.html

Movie Reviews for Writers: The Norliss Tapes

I can't believe I only recently discovered this flick. 

Considering just how big a Kolchak the Night Stalker fan I am, you'd think I would have seen it way earlier. 

Oh well. 

Coming into this movie, all I knew was that it was very similar to both the Kolchak movies and the series, and that it was produced by the same guy (Dan Curtis, also of Dark Shadows fame).

David Norliss is a writer working on a book debunking supernatural events. It's a book he pitched to his publisher. It's a book he has been paid a large advance for. Only, after almost a year, not a word is written.

Sanford: Hello, David. Been a while. How's the book coming?

Norliss: Sanford, I've gotta talk to you.

Sanford: I know, you're gonna tell me it's only half-written, and we're gonna have to delay our-

Norliss: Half-written, hell. I don't have a word on paper.

Sanford: It's been almost a year.

Norliss: I know how long it's been, Sanford. But I, uh... I can't write it. I'm afraid to write it. You're not making sense.

Sanford: We gave you a sizeable advance to write a book debunking the supernatural, which was your idea not ours. And now you tell me, a year later, you haven't even started it.

Now, before you chalk David's problem up to what is typically called Writer's Block, it's not that. It's much deeper. He's not distracted. He's not "blocked." He's terrified. 

A free gift to you! "The Little Match Girl" read by me!

  

Folks, this is my favorite seasonal tale, and I'm happy to share it with you here. 

Motivational Monday: What You Have To Say

Sunday Funnies: MacGuffins 'R' Us

[Link] How To Write Like HP Lovecraft – 5 Best Tips

by Eugene Doak

Lovecraft might not be a household name like Stephen King, but his stories and the mythos behind them have a cult following. His unique style of cosmic horror has inspired countless authors, films, musicians, and games. So, even if you haven’t sat down and read The Call of Cthulhu, you’re probably familiar with some “Lovecraftian” inspired horror, which is the topic of today’s article – What is Lovecraftian Horror and how to write like HP Lovecraft.

Cosmicism: The Philosophy of Insignificance

At the heart of Lovecraft’s style is Cosmicism, the philosophical idea that human life is meaningless in the face of the vast, indifferent universe. His stories are not about good versus evil, but about frail, limited humans stumbling upon truths that their minds are simply not equipped to handle. The horror comes from the revelation that there are ancient, powerful, and utterly alien beings for whom humanity is less than an afterthought.

The Fear of the Unknown

Lovecraft rarely showed his monsters in full detail. Instead, he relied on suggestive prose and vague descriptions to build suspense. He would use words like “cyclopean,” “non-Euclidean,” and “squamous” to describe his creations, forcing the reader’s imagination to fill in the terrifying blanks. The horror isn’t just in the monster itself, but in the inability of the human mind to fully comprehend it.

Pastiche and Pseudobibliographia

Lovecraft created a shared literary universe by having his characters reference the same fictional grimoires and texts, most famously The Necronomicon. This technique, known as pseudobibliographia, made his stories feel more real and connected, as if they were all part of a larger, horrifying history. He also used a style of writing that mimicked 18th-century antiquarians, giving his prose a scholarly, archaic feel that lent credibility to the terrifying events he described.

How To Write Like HP Lovecraft

If you want to try writing like H.P. Lovecraft, you should focus on a few key elements that define his unique style. It’s less about imitating his exact word choice and more about capturing the atmosphere and philosophical core of his work.

Read the full article: https://livingwriter.com/blog/how-to-write-like-hp-lovecraft-5-best-tips/

AIRSHIP 27 PRODUCTION PRESENTS BOOH HUNTERS VOL. 3 - SENIORS

Upon their arrival at the Long Household, Book Hunter Master Zhi Wenku and her companion, Master Shen Wei, discover all the aftermath of a horrific event. Foreign agents had descended on the family and somehow vaporized all the adults. But when seeking the children, who had gone into hiding, these attackers were then defeated by a young mud-covered boy named Gan Xuan. He who claims to have devoured the bad men. 

Thus Zhi, Shen and their student apprentices, Qing and Xinglu, begin their most intriguing and complex adventure ever. It will take them into different realms of magic and confrontations with truly fantastical beings. Once again writer Barbara Moran spins a tale of Chinese wonder rich with amazing and memorable characters, both evil and heroic.

Artist Gary Kato provides the interior illustrations with Guy Davis turning in his colorful cover piece.

AIRSHIP 27 PRODUCTION – PULP FICTION FOR A NEW GENERATION!

Available now from Amazon in paperback and soon on Kindle.

Happy Thanksgiving!

As you ponder your holiday gift-giving...

thetaylorverse.com

tayloversebook.com

Motivational Monday: For a Reason

Sunday Funnies: Maybe Not That Much Fun

[Link] Forever Faithful To a Single Story: An Ode to Monogamous Writing

“It was never about setting out to write a book—the point all along was to write this book.”

by Amy Gallo Ryan

There seems to be a single answer to every predicament in which a writer might find herself; reached an impasse in your manuscript? Start something new. Need a distraction when you’re out on sub? Start something new. In a lull after your project sold? Oh, here’s an idea; start. something. new. 

Yet as each of those occasions arrived, I did no such thing. For the past decade, rather than splinter my attention, accumulating second and third manuscripts in a drawer somewhere, I’ve had eyes for only one. That book hits shelves this week and given the many moments of stillness throughout the process of writing, querying, submitting, rewriting, tweaking and revising, it strikes me now as quite remarkable that I’ve managed to permanently avoid starting something new.

Each time I refused to redirect my gaze, I gained a greater understanding of my commitment, my tenacity, the wholeness of my belief in what this story should be.

I’m certainly aware of the advantages of being a writer with a drawer full of projects. More manuscripts mean improved odds for publication, to say nothing of the allure of distraction; when you’re stuck or bored or striking out, what could be more illuminating or productive than redirecting your attention, dazzling your brain with an entirely new set of words and ideas. I have a screenwriter friend whose head is full of such abundance. She concocts story after story, and then, perhaps even more impressively, actually writes them into existence. When we exchange updates on our work I have to qualify my questions, saying things like, “what’s happening with the one about…” and “which actress is reading the one where…” I have such deep admiration for her and for everyone whose drawers are stuffed with pages; mine contain stray batteries and Forever stamps.

I was told in a lecture once that the quality distinguishing a writer from an editor was that a writer couldn’t help but write. Putting pen to paper was a fact of existence, a matter of necessity. Who among us had a little pad on our nightstand, a stack of swollen notebooks beneath our bed, pages puffy with scrawl? The distinction has lived rent free in my mind ever since, just the lifetime supply of fuel my imposter syndrome needed.

Because the truth is that for ten whole years my writing has consisted of a solitary project.

Read the full article: https://lithub.com/forever-faithful-to-a-single-story-an-ode-to-monogamous-writing/

Valhalla Books unleashes Dante's Rebirth!

Get ready for a rebirth! Valhalla Books’ Dante’s Rebirth is now available in paperback & ebook  at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FLWW9GP3

After the stunning final reckoning that laid waste to Dante, the town begins to rebuild. As life returns to normal in the mining boom town, new arrivals bring fresh opportunities. The Pommel Brothers hit town looking to make their bones, unaware of the danger lurking around every corner of the desert town.

Meanwhile, Elizabeth Perth and Heath Moore have started rebuilding their lives and their future together, but a telegram announcing the imminent arrival of Albert Barclay, the owner of The Dante Dispatch brings a sense of dread.

The reopening of the Archibald mine, under new ownership, unleashes a new underground horror with sharp claws and sharper teeth. These creatures are hungry. And Dante’s citizens are on the menu.

If that wasn’t enough, Miss Maddie, Dante’s most mysterious elder, unleashes plans of her own for both Dante and the poor, wretched souls who call it home.

Get ready for an all-new Dante Tall Tale from award-winning author Bobby Nash.

Dante’s Rebirth is the fourth book in the award-winning Dante western/horror series written by Author Bobby Nash. Cover by Jeffrey Hayes. Published by Valhalla Books.

All four Dante ebooks are currently $0.99 for a limited time. You can find them here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BX5QFR5P

Fiction Like White Elephants: Subtext in Your Stories

Let's talk about subtext, you know, that stuff that's hidden subtly in your stories even though it never really leaves a footprint.

Dialog. How important is the stuff your characters don't say or avoid saying to each other in your work?

Terrance Layhew: Creating subtext in conversation is necessary. It immediately gives an inner world to the characters and a larger world at play. What people avoid saying directly or indirectly raises stakes, but done too much makes the story a melodrama.

Elizabeth Donald: If my characters are as close to living, breathing humans as I can make them, the things they don’t say are wildly important - just as they are for us allegedly-real people. When a married couple sits at the dinner table and says nothing but “pass the salt,” that tells us a great deal about their relationship, their thoughts and feelings, the comfort level they have reached (or not) between them. There are many times when we feel spurred to speak and do not, either for fear of social or professional consequences, adherence to behavior norms in society, or our own personal tendencies; a person who is generally conflict-avoidant may remain silent when insulted, even as they are burning to speak - or shout - on the inside. All of these should come to play in our characters, if we are to make them real. The worst thing you can do is an “As you know, Bob…” where a character explains the blatantly obvious to a person who already knows this information. A little subtlety goes a long way.

Sheela Leyh: From my own experiences, the subtext and context both matter. What is said is often just as important as what isn't said. It can and does affect your readers, as well as how your communication is received and does affect meaning.

It is important in mine as I hear dialog early in the writing process, even before the plot unfolds fully. What isn't said is often left for the reader to piece together as part of my thisness layer, as well as to help hold the reader's interest. For context, thisness is an older writing technique that helps make a place more real to a reader without jarring the reader out of the reading experience. The Oxford Writer channel on YouTube does one of the best explanations on the thisness concept that I've seen so far. By trusting the reader to fill in some gaps by leaving out only what needs to be left out, it helps build that relationship with the readers.

Jessica Nettles: Dialog: Silence is a lot like white space on a page. It gives room for the reader to breathe and feel and think thoughts about what ought to happen. With dialog it also give space for things to grow between characters. Kate and Shadow have a LOT of unspoken stuff between them. For instance, neither of them have to say, “I respect you.” They say it in the way they work. There are readers who have picked up something more between them—and maybe it’s there. Shadow certainly won’t say what he feels about Kate, mostly because he isn’t sure what to do with that feeling. He files it under respect, but he would defend her until he faded away. She sees him as her equal, which is once again, never spoken.

Matthew Hand: Neither Tidy Nor Meant To Be

Matthew Hand grew up around the Southeast. He writes stories about people under pressure—moral, spiritual, familial, sometimes all at once. The characters are often trying to make sense of something bigger than them: grief, memory, belief, God, or the silence that follows when none of those things show up the way they expect. But he doesn’t write to explain. He writes to document what happens when there’s no clear rescue and no one left to blame. The stories aren’t tidy. They aren't meant to be.

Tell us a bit about your most recent work.

I just finished a story called Disqualified. It’s a horror narrative that starts like a typical cabin slasher, but the protagonist knows the rules — she knows she’s supposed to die — and goes anyway. It’s really about choice and consequence, turning the genre’s moral code into something theological and personal.

What are the themes and subjects you tend to revisit in your work?

I think most of my work tends to revolve around people confronting their own grief - personal, familial, institutional. That sounds dark and depressing, but I think my approach is cleansing: here’s a mess, let’s organize it.

Motivational Monday: Keep Writing Anyway

Sunday Funnies: Worth a Shot

[Link] Dear Bill: Letters From a Young John Updike to His Editor, William Maxwell

Sandy Island, NH
July 30, 1953
Mr. William Maxwell
The New Yorker
25 West 43rd Street
New York, New York

Dear Mr. Maxwell:

Your two letters on the twenty-third were the nicest thing that has happened to me since I began mailing material away five years ago. Thanks a lot for your interest.

I will, of course, try to send you more light verse. The shortages (time, electricity, inspiration) up here may have made me unusually somber, but I am still convinced that the kindest possible way of earning a living is to be a humorist.

Sincerely,

John Updike
with
“Boy Playing Basketball…”
“City Vista”
“The Summer Reader”

_________________________________________________

213 Iffley Road, Oxford
October 4, 1954

Dear Mr. Maxwell:

I’m pretty embarrassed. In a rather garrulous letter I wrote Mrs. White this morning, I suggested there would be some noise from me concerning the galley proof of my story. But I’ve just read the proof, and the only improvement I can suggest is that “Friends” be spelled correctly in the title. Otherwise, it read slick as a whistle. I’m sure it isn’t the way I wrote it, quite, but there was no pain at all, so it must be the way I had wanted to write it. I can scarcely wait until it appears.

I’m sure it isn’t the way I wrote it, quite, but there was no pain at all, so it must be the way I had wanted to write it.

The first and last sentences gave me momentary pause. But it is a good idea to establish the time, the so-called “odd hour” right off the bat, and I suppose the kid would be aware of the time even though, as he later points out, he has no wristwatch. And the wine at the end sounds grand—not too grand, I hope, for a liquor store. But I’m sure it isn’t: The New Yorker’s care over details like that is legendary. The fastidious substitution of a “red foil cap” for my cork, or whatever, gave me exquisite pleasure.

Read the full article: https://lithub.com/dear-bill-letters-from-a-young-john-updike-to-his-editor-william-maxwell/

AIRSHIP 27 PRODUCTION IS PROUD TO PRESENT THE PARALIPOMENA OF SHERLOCK HOLMES BY I.A. WATSON

Prolific Holmes enthusiast and award-winning writer, I.A. Watson, returns with seven brand new Sherlock Holmes mysteries that run the gamut of every conceivable plot.

From looking for a lost play by William Shakespeare to finding a kidnapped child before the blackhearted thugs end its young life. Here are thrills and adventure as only a Watson could provide.

Art Director Rob Davis provides the interior illustrations, with Dr. John Waeltz providing the stunning painted cover.

AIRSHIP 27 PRODUCTION – PULP FICTION FOR A NEW GENERATION!

Available now at Amazon in paperback and soon on Kindle.

Kristina Gruell: Found Family and Epic Magic

Kristina Gruell's stories revolve around found family, epic magic, and overcoming the darkest times in one’s life to step into the light. 

Tell us a bit about your most recent work. 

The Dark Moon is the first book in the Night Goddess Series. It follows five characters as they face challenges in a world that has just broken. Again. 

What are the themes and subjects you tend to revisit in your work? 

Triumph after adversity and found family. 

What happened in your life that prompted you to become a writer? 

I was in a vehicle vs pedestrian accident, and I wasn’t in the vehicle. A neighbor intentionally hit me with his truck, and I ended up in a wheelchair. I started role-playing online, then eventually writing stories to deal with the pain and loss of mobility. It was one of the things that saved me, writing stories. 

Motivational Monday: A Single Moment

Sunday Funnies: It's a warning, not a roadmap!

[Link] Why You Should Write About Other People’s Writing

by Ratika Deshpande

Some of the best writing I’ve done has been about the work of other writers. I’ve read their stories and compiled them into themed recommendation lists; I’ve written personal essays and deep dives into books that I couldn’t stop thinking about. It’s work that I’ve both enjoyed and am very proud of, and I think more of us should be writing about other people’s writing. Here’s why:

Learn the craft

To write about a story, essay, poem, etc., the first thing you have to do is (re)read it closely. A single read may be enough to write a short description of the plot or the main theme. But if you’re going deeper, you’ll have to read it several times, taking notes, annotating the text as you go.

Such close reading requires asking questions: What’s so great (or not) about this piece–are the descriptions short but vivid? Is the dialogue hilarious? Perhaps it’s the way the author has weaved the past and the present together? Or how the narrator’s experiences provide a new lens from which to view your own past?

Examining these elements helps you see what craft advice—“show, don’t tell,” “there must be a change in the protagonist,” etc.—looks like in practice. Reading a lot and reading widely teaches your brain to absorb the rhythms of language (especially when it’s not your mother tongue), discover the various narrative structures that are possible, and locate common themes and tropes. You’ll be able to study the components that make a piece work—or leave something to be desired, which you’ll then know to avoid in your own writing. 

Identify what you love and hate–identify your inspirations

Relatedly, you’ll be able to identify what are the things that you enjoy reading in a story or poem, and what are the elements that make you put the book away. For example, I don’t really enjoy stories written in the second person (although there are rare exceptions) or excessive expletives in the dialogue or narration. I do enjoy descriptions of food and cities, and reading essays about the history of interesting people, especially writers.

Read the full article: https://authorspublish.com/why-you-should-write-about-other-peoples-writing/

Harper Lee’s newly discovered short stories set to be published

by Issy Ronald

For much of Harper Lee’s life, To Kill a Mockingbird stood alone as her only major work; her first and, apparently, last novel, narrated by a voice so clear and coherent it seemed impossible that it was her only output.

Then came Go Set a Watchman, published shortly before Lee’s death and initially heralded as a sequel, but subsequently seen as more of an early draft of her most famous work than as a new, standalone novel.

The collection is titled The Land of Sweet Forever. 

So, when eight short stories by Lee were discovered in her New York apartment after she died, it marked an important milestone. Here, finally, was a chance to discover how Lee’s distinctive voice was honed in the years before she wrote To Kill a Mockingbird.

These short stories will be published for the first time on Tuesday, in a collection titled The Land of Sweet Forever, accompanied by an introduction by Casey Cep, Lee’s biographer.

Read the full article: https://www.cnn.com/2025/10/20/style/harper-lee-short-stories-published-intl-scl

Check Your Fiction for the Following

A Checklist for Prejudices in Your Work

Want to be more inclusive and diverse in your fiction? Here are a few points to consider. If you find examples of these “-isms” in your author’s voice, then you might want to take a look inside and try a re-write (and a re-think about where they might be coming from).

A caveat—These can be great shorthand for villains and bad antagonists but constantly using them that way can start to take away some of the power in your characters, especially when they are used as hammers. More subtle uses can create more real characters that are more human than “Bond villains.”

[  ]  Racial prejudices: Negative feelings, stereotypes, attitudes, or beliefs towards a people due to their ethnic or racial makeup.

[  ]  Gender Prejudice or Sexism: Stereotypes or attitudes held based on someone’s gender or perceived gender.

[  ]  Religious Prejudice: Holding negative views or attitudes towards an individual due to their religion or lack thereof.

[  ]  Ageism: Prejudice against an individual due to their age, spanning from believing people are “too old” for some situations or “too young” for others.

[  ]  Classism: Holding prejudicial views or attitudes towards individuals from a lower socioeconomic status. These views can easily manifest into discrimination, impacting access to essential social services, like education, employment, and healthcare.

[  ] Homophobia and Transphobia: Prejudiced views against members of the LGBTQ+ community based on their sexuality and gender identity.

[  ]  Xenophobia: Prejudice held against foreigners, in particular refugees or immigrants from low-income countries. Xenophobia and racism may have similarities; however, xenophobia focuses more on nationality, culture, and origin, though race does contribute.

Source: https://www.cultureally.com/blog/racism-vs-prejudice

A.J. Porter: At Odds with the Supernatural

A.G. Porter is an author of YA Paranormal Thrillers. She loves writing about diverse characters in the Deep South who are constantly at odds with the supernatural. When she isn't working on her next YA Paranormal book, she is pouring her heart into her poetry collection or writing her next sweeping Romance book under Amanda Guerrero-Porter. She lives in Alabama with her husband and three sons. 

Tell us a bit about your most recent work.

I am set to release a Rock Star Romance in February of 2026. And while some people may say, "another one," there will be someone else who will say, "another one, yes!" Because the best thing about troupes is that someone is going to love them. The fun thing about this one is that my FMC is a Mexican American woman from the Deep South (Alabama) who has worked really hard to overcome past trauma to become the award-winning songwriter she is. 

What are the themes and subjects you tend to revisit in your work?

I always put Mexican American or Native American characters in my work. Whether it's the FMC or the MMC, though, I do tend to write from the female perspective, considering that is how I identify. I do this because I am a mixed-Mexican American from Alabama, and I didn't see a lot of representation in media as a young reader. Even if some of my work is paranormal, the theme of racial identity is very heavily focused on in all of my books. 

Motivational Monday: The Reader Finishes It

Sunday Funnies: Haunted Bookstore

[Link] 40 SCARIEST BOOKS OF THE LAST 200 YEARS

 

by Sarah Mangiola

Creepy stories are as old as mankind, and the really good ones will continue to frighten generations to come.

We’re looking back through the scariest books of the past two centuries – from chilling gothic classics to post-apocalyptic tales of caution. These terrifying tales leave readers restless, never quite sure where fiction ends and reality begins.

Page through our master list below, and you’re guaranteed to stumble across a new nightmare in no time at all.

Read the full article: http://www.the-line-up.com/40-scariest-books-of-the-last-200-years/

Get Ready for Chills: "Ghost Writer" Releases November 14th!

A tight deadline. A diabolical disappearance....

Is his tortured mind playing dirty tricks, or is he about to write himself into an early grave?

Joe Riley is desperate. Devastated by his recent divorce, the successful thriller author retreats to a remote cabin he’s inherited, hoping the quiet setting will cure his crippling writer’s block.

And though he’s briefly disturbed by strange noises in the night, the frustrated storyteller blames alcohol-induced memory loss when he discovers a stack of pages he can’t remember typing.

Searching for answers to his newfound inspiration, Joe learns of a long-vanished successful novelist … and is stunned to spot her specter working away at his desk.

As the stubborn forty-year-old researches his family’s connections to her tragic tale, he becomes aware of a sinister and brutal truth … even as he yields to her unearthly seduction.

Will refusing to confront his own demons see him penning his next masterpiece from six feet under?

Ghost Writer by Arjay Lewis is a dark and moody paranormal mystery that delves into the struggles of creativity. The story follows Joe Riley, a writer battling a debilitating writer's block. Seeking solitude, he retreats to an isolated cabin he has inherited, but soon discovers he is not alone. As Joe grapples with his creative demons, he is drawn into an eerie partnership with a ghost who becomes his unexpected co-author. Together, they embark on a journey that unravels a horrifying web of deceit and danger.

Presale from Amazon!

Early Reviews are in!

"A foreboding tale of horror and the torturous act of creation, Ghost Writer by Arjay Lewis is a smoldering story of isolation, dark secrets, and things that bump together in the night." "Unsettling, twisted, and layered with complexity, Lewis plunges readers into a mix of supernatural terror with the terror of creation, which evocatively explores how past trauma and present discomfit are deeply entwined with creative pursuits, resulting in a novel that transcends the ghost story genre by probing the ghost story genre itself."
    —Self-Publishing Review

"Author Arjay Lewis captivates the reader's mind and imagination with a well-delivered story inspired by the beyond. Ghost Writer is one of those stories that you will want to read in one sitting, totally absorbed in the journey, page after page."
    —Ronél Steyn for Readers’ Favorite

"Author Arjay Lewis's suspenseful, terrifying thriller had me sitting on the edge of my seat. There was never a dull moment in the story, and I enjoyed every second of it. I highly recommend Ghost Writer to readers who enjoy thrillers with a touch of horror."
    —Rabia Tanveer for Readers’ Favorite

"Ghost Writer by Arjay Lewis is a supernatural suspense novel that maintains intrigue throughout. I really enjoyed this supernatural mystery, with its constant surprises, tense moments, and a ghost who wants power and closure. If you like creative and chilling stories, I highly recommend this novel."
    —Peggy Jo Wipf for Reader’s Favorite

Happy Halloween! Festive All Hallow's Eve! Blessed Samhain!

 Enjoy your spooky goodness today,

all you monsters and ghouls! 

Spooky Stories That Affected You

For our Halloween week writer roundtable, tell us the spookiest or creepiest book or story you've ever read and why it affected you. 

Amelia Sides: Children of Men. *Waves vaguely at our current state of affairs*

Danielle Procter Piper: It's a very short story... I wish I could recall the title or author, but it's published in a book I read long ago. Two medical students are still cleaning up their workspace after class has ended and begin a conversation about how cadavers sometimes move due to a buildup of gases in their decomposing bodies. They've even been known to sit up or fall off tables! As they finish up, they wheel their cadaver down the hall to the elevator to return to the morgue...and a power failure leaves them stuck between floors in total darkness. That's it. I think the story might be three pages long? So, anything frightening that could happen in real life scares me, while fantasy horror is just for fun. This, Misery scares me more than any other Stephen King story. It could happen. It's the difference between the news and a nightmare you had.

Seth Tucker: Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House and Matheson’s Hell House spooked me. Despite being two very different styles of haunted house stories, Jackson got to me because of the unreliable narrator, which leaves every event in question, while Matheson made you believe in a malevolent cadre of specters enjoying the torment they filed out, and then that reveal at the end. Both of them build atmosphere equally though, which I don’t see as much in more modern ghost stories.

UPDATED FOR HALLOWEEN 2025! Horror Movies that Influence Me as a Writer

 

Note: This is an update to this post. So many new movies have come out and I've caught up on a few I still had managed to miss from the "good old days" that it felt like the right time to update this list. 

As a writer of horror stories and connoisseur of scary flicks, I get asked a lot what my favorite horror movies are. Well, it's not that simple with me (it never is; ask my wife and kids). There are so many and how can one possibly pick a favorite when there are favorites in so many subgenres? (It's like how my wife tells me she can have more than one best friend when "best" is a superlative, not a comparative.) 

Anyway, as of this moment in time (subject to change), this is my list of favorite horror movies (and those that influenced my ideas and my writing) categorized by subgenre. 

If you want to consider this your own "to watch" list, I won't stop you. It's a fantastic list (at least in my opinion) of the essential horror stories committed to film. 

FYI, you will notice some crossover between subgenres, because, well, that's just the way horror works. 

New Category#1! Sinister Locations

My son Evan recommended that I include this as a new category, and the more I thought about it, he was right. I don't include a mere haunted house tale in this list though. Those will be under Ghost Stories/Haunted Houses. This list is reserved for a place that is more than haunted; it is cursed, unclean, unwelcoming and out to get you.

1. Hausu

2. As Above, So Below

3. YellowBrickRoad

4. In the Mouth of Madness

5. Dead & Buried

6. The Shining

7. Messiah of Evil

8. The Watcher in the Woods

9. Silent Hill

10. Dave Made a Maze

11. Suicide Forest

12. Population 436

13. Cabin in the Woods

14. Pet Sematary

15. Southbound

16. Skinamarink

17. The Dark

18. Neon Demon

19. Jugface

20. Waxworks

New Category#2! Kaiju

Who doesn't love giant monsters? It all began with the two kings, Kong and Godzilla. But American sci-fi quickly picked up on the theme and gave us lots of giant monsters thanks to the dangers of atomic bombs and chemicals polluting our waters. 

1. King Kong 1933

2. Gojira 1954

3. Godzilla Minus-1

4. Troll Hunter

5. Tremors

6. Them

7. King Kong 2005

8. The Host

9. Godzilla 2014

10. Destroy All Monsters

11. Monsters

12. Cloverfield

13. Mothra

14. Rodan

15. Kong: Skull Island

16. Tarantula

17. The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms

18. Nope 

19. The Mist

20. Q the Winged Serpent

21. Pacific Rim

22. Attack of the 50 Foot Women

23. The Blob 1988

24. Anaconda

25. Colossal 

The Halloween Rerun Show

It's Halloween again! This time of the year is one of my favorite seasons and holidays. A time to celebrate the ghoulish and ghastly, and enjoy the scares. In  honor of this time of the year, here are several of my favorite Halloween themed posts from this here little blog that could.

Cover up with a blanket if it makes you feel safer.

Enjoy.

Classic Scares in Black and White
http://seanhtaylor.blogspot.com/2015/10/classic-scares-in-black-and-white.html

The Queens of Scream
http://seanhtaylor.blogspot.com/2015/10/the-queens-of-scream.html

Outgrow Horror Movies? Never.
http://seanhtaylor.blogspot.com/2012/10/the-writer-will-take-your-questions-now_12.html

Required Reading: 50 of the Best Horror Comics
http://seanhtaylor.blogspot.com/2015/10/halloween-link-required-reading-50-of.html

Scare Me
http://seanhtaylor.blogspot.com/2012/10/the-writer-will-take-your-questions-now_10.html

Motivational Monday: Show Your Shine

Sunday Funnies: Scotch. Get it?

[Link] How to Use Weather to Create Mood, Not Clichés

by Angela Ackerman

Are you afraid of using the weather in your writing? If so, you’re not alone. After all, if not careful, weather description can be a minefield of clichés. The sunny, cloudless afternoon at the beach. The gloomy rainstorm at a funeral. Overdone setting and weather pairings can lie flat on the page.

Then there’s the danger that comes with using weather to mirror a character’s inner emotional landscape. Mishandling this technique can quickly create melodrama. We’ve all read a battle scene where lightning crackles as our protagonist leaps forward to hack down his foe in desperation. And how about that turbulent teen breakup where the character’s tears mix with falling rain? Unfortunately these have been used so much that most readers tilt their head and think, Really? when they read a description like this.

Agents and editors on first page panels never fail to reject a few openings that start with the weather, either. Why? Because done poorly, it comes across like a weather report, and delays the introduction of the hero. Readers are not always patient and we should strive to introduce our characters and what they are up against as soon as possible.

Wow, weather sounds like a recipe for disaster, doesn’t it? It’s no wonder that some writers are so nervous about using it they cut it from their manuscript. But here’s the thing…avoiding weather in fiction can be a fatal mistake.

Read the full article: https://writershelpingwriters.net/2025/09/use-weather-to-create-mood/

SNOW HITS THE ISLANDS IN AN ALL-NEW THRILLER!

Abraham Snow heads to Hawaii with grandfather, Archer in tow. After the events of Snow Hunt, our hero needs a vacation. He owes his old friend, and former undercover operative partner, Samson Brooks, a visit. Vacation time. Samson and his brother, Walker Brooks, a former CIA officer, now work together as P.I./fugitive recovery consultants. Snow gets caught up in their latest case and finds himself in deadly danger in unfamiliar surroundings when an old enemy shows up with vengeance in mind. He wants to feed snow to the sharks.

Get your water wings ready as Snow jets off to the big island in SNOW ISLAND.

Snow Island is the eighth book in the continuing adventures of Abraham Snow.

Are you ready for a new #SnowDay?

Snow Island is written by Bobby Nash.
Cover by Plasmafire Graphics’ Jeffrey Hayes.
Edited by Michael A. Gordon.
Published by BEN Books.
Audio book narrated by Stuart Gauffi, coming soon.

Snow Island is available at the following retailers:

• Amazon US (paperback): https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FVSX9WZX
• Amazon UK (paperback): https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0FVSX9WZX
• Amazon CA (paperback): https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0FVSX9WZX
• Amazon US (ebook): https://www.amazon.com/Snow-Island-Bobby-Nash-ebook/dp/B0FVNCK5SX
• Amazon UK (ebook): https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0FVNCK5SX
• Amazon CA (ebook): https://www.amazon.ca/Snow-Island-Bobby-Nash-ebook/dp/B0FVNCK5SX
• Available at Amazon worldwide. Read it free with Kindle Unlimited.

More retail options to follow.

Contact the author directly through www.bobbynash.com or social media to buy a signed copy directly from the author.

Check out Snow’s complete adventures here: www.amazon.com/dp/B07G3K7S46

Learn more about Snow at www.abrahamsnow.com

Discovering Yourself In and Through Your Writing

Just one question for this next writer roundtable.

Flannery O'Connor wrote, “I write to discover what I know" and “I write because I don’t know what I think until I read what I say.”

How has being a writer and telling stories helped you discover who you are and what you know?

Nikki Nelson-Hicks: Very interesting question. For me, some of my stories have helped me to touch on emotions that I didn't realize I had inside. Very much poking a blister and letting some stuff ooze out. I have also enjoyed creating characters who have the bravery I wish I had. That's also very insightful.

Jessica Nettles: Being a writer as a kid helped me embrace my differences from the other kids at school. It gave me a space where it didn’t matter that I was the youngest or the smallest or weird. It was the first thing I felt confident was mine.

As an adult, it helped me rediscover myself after a really shitty marriage in my twenties. I found this spooky girl in the middle of the debris who needed to explore the darkness, my darkness. I learned my dark parts were okay and just as important as being good. I love that spooky, magic-loving girl. I learned that I have a voice that people actually enjoy (still shocked by this) and that I’m funny. Mostly, I learned that writing is who I am. I do many things, but at my core, I am my words. That’s my magic.

Lainey Kennedy: Writing has helped me explore the human conditions by creating characters that are both over the top but rooted in little bits of everyone I know. The adventures are the escapism, but the characters are what I know.

Fay Shlanda: My writing has helped me a lot as a person. I write poetry about my relationship with the world around me, which is mostly about mental illness and being broken.

I have discovered that I have much to say on the subject and that overcoming my hardships is something I would not trade in for an easier life. They have shaped me into someone I like and I use my knowledge to help others.

October Santerelli: I wanted to be a writer as soon as I heard it was a job you could have. I was in 7th grade, and I went home that night and told my parents that was what I wanted to do. And after that, writing became a lifeline, a way to express what I couldn't say, feelings I didn't even know I had. Writing helped me understand myself, like holding up a mirror and seeing with fresh eyes.

Looking into the Abyss of 'Why Bother'

by Judy Black

I have to be honest, the past month I have been struggling. 

My mind constantly circles the 'why bother doing this?' question constantly. I wonder if I'd be better off spending my limited free time sleeping or catching up on all the TV shows I still haven't watched. I wonder if it's worth it, or if anyone would care if I stopped making things. 

Thankfully, I have a wonderful group of creative friends who worry about this too, but who also grab my shoulders and shake me while lovingly screaming 'I'd care if you stopped making things you weird little potato!' which is very reaffirming. 

But, almost every creative person I know struggles with this question. Circles this abyss and feels it start to pull them apart.

Creating things is hard in the best of times. 

Creating things when *gestures vaguely to the chaos of the world* is happening, feels impossible, like trying to bail out a boat with a cracked teacup.

But every time I think 'I'll just stop, why bother?', I can't bring myself to put down the cracked teacup. I want to create, I want to share stories, and games, and weird little ideas with all the people out there like me. Creation is a way to share pieces of ourselves with the wider world, to say 'I'm not alone, and neither are you' and it feels magical when that connection is made. 

So, to everyone else out there circling the edge of the abyss, staring into that bleakness of 'why bother?', I see you and I'll hold your hand until you can move from the edge, and you'll hold my hand when I inevitably teeter towards the edge because that is what art in all its many forms does.

It connects us when we feel like no one else understands our hearts. 

So, I guess all this rambling is just to say, why bother? Because I want all the other weirdos like me to feel a little less alone in this chaotic, scary world. 

This article originally appeared in Judy Black's email newsletter.

Motivational Monday: The Importance of Also

Sunday Funnies: Nobody Knows

[Link] To Haunt and Be Haunted: On the Exhumation of Edgar Allen Poe

by Ed Simon

Don’t question the specifics, whether you’ve been kidnapped or unfortunate enough to fall victim to poorly trained pathologists and morticians, for either way you’ve been entombed in the cold earth while still breathing. Just imagine it—you’d abruptly awaken in the darkness, a blackness that’s so all-consuming that your eyes could never adjust beneath the earth’s chill frost line.

Deprived of the sense of sight, but able to hear the shifting of ground on the other side of the coffin’s thin wood, you’d of course panic, but you wouldn’t be able to sit up, or even necessarily raise your arms. You’d fruitlessly knock and scratch at the hard maple less than a foot, maybe only a few inches, from your face. The six feet of dirt separating you from the fresh air of freedom could weigh as much as fifteen thousand pounds so that even if you tried to break through it would be futile.

At best you’d breach the lid, and all of that dirt would cave in and suffocate you quickly, which might be merciful. A person could survive between five and six hours after being buried alive, though panicked scrambling and hyperventilating would deplete the available oxygen quickly.

Eventually, assuming that you didn’t have a heart attack, you’d be suffocated by the increasing carbon dioxide. All of that dirt wouldn’t entirely dampen the sound of your screaming, so there’s always the chance some benevolent gravedigger could save you. Unless he’s the one who buried you to begin with.

There was, as with many of those living in the gloaming aesthetic twilight of Romanticism, a tendency to confuse the characters with their creator, a narrator with the author.

“There are certain themes of which the interest is all-absorbing, but which are entirely too horrible for the purposes of legitimate fiction,” wrote Edgar Allan Poe in his 1844 short story “The Premature Burial,” first printed in The Philadelphia Dollar Newspaper. Poe himself wasn’t buried alive. A common misconception, of the sort that was spread about the cadaverous-appearing Southerner by Rufus Wilmot Griswold, rival writer and self-appointed literary executor, who fervently maligned Poe in his obituary.

“Edgar Allan Poe is dead” wrote Griswold in an 1849 edition of the New-York Daily Tribune, “but few will be grieved by it.” The author of “The Raven” and “The Bells,” of “The Masque of Red Death” and “The Tell-Tale Heart,” portrayed as an incurable dipsomaniac married to a child who also happened to be his cousin, a fevered laudanum addict, an itinerate madman wandering the streets of Baltimore.

Read the full article: https://lithub.com/to-haunt-and-be-haunted-on-the-exhumation-of-edgar-allen-poe