Passionate, Immersive Horror
A Love of Horror &
The Horror of Love
Is there anything scarier than love? It can certainly rip your heart out and leave you a soulless husk, worse than any monster of myth and legend.
This is a theme we'd like to explore, love and romance that may or may not have a happy ending, at least not in the traditional sense.
We publish mature content. Sex scenes that don't always fade to black, prose that makes use of the full English language, and books that might leave you wondering if you're rooting for the villain.
There are no taboo subjects here. We are just looking for engrossing stories, and with horror that can mean diving into some pitch-dark places.
It will never be gratuitous though, always in service of the story and to you, the brave and intrepid traveler of worlds.
We seek to immerse you in these worlds through strong, character-driven narratives that reward those with an eye for detail. Offbeat stories that got in trouble for skipping class and smoking out behind the woodshed.
And ALWAYS, stories with a sense of humor. We aim to make you laugh and cry in the same breath.
The Spiral
(Bittersweet Empathy: The Tragedy of Amy Durene, Book One)
H.P. Lovecraft was wrong. Fear isn't the strongest emotion. Fear only causes three reactions: fight, flight, or freeze. Love, on the other hand...love is limitless. And far more deadly.
Take it from me; I'm an empath.
My name is Amy Durene, and I've got a story to tell before there isn't enough left of me to tell it.
That stupid, rotted ol’ barn in backwoods Maine starts out as just another place to feed my best friend’s insatiable ghost-hunting habit. Until I’m inexplicably lost, for the first time, in emotions that aren’t mine. An animalistic fear that never really leaves me.
On some level, that's smart. I should be afraid. Especially when people's moods start swinging at my whim. But, you know, it’s also kinda fun—if you don’t count the heart attacks, fatal job promotions, and Choco Tacos with criminally wasted potential left in my wake.
Then there's the delicious bit of trouble from down the way. He's emotionally silent but breaks the sound barrier on my other five senses. I can't affect what I can't feel, so he's safe...right?
Am I?
The pressure of keeping everyone’s emotions at bay is cracking my jury-rigged mental wall into a Cheshire grin. The question is, whose grin is it? Mine, yours, or something curiously sinister?
As reality twists into a labyrinthian spiral, each step I take brings a little more tragedy and a little less me.
I’ll have to double back on my fading footprints and find what passes for the truth before my sixth sense becomes my only sense.
What I discover will be bittersweet, like chocolate-covered razor blades.
Content warning: Mature content and themes. Graphic language. Graphic sex. Graphic violence. Graphic design. Graphic ellipsis use…
Red String
This is not a love story.
It isn’t a knitting story either, so if that’s what you’re looking for, try the DIY section four rows over. As for me, all I want is a normal date night at the carnival, eating funnel cake, scoring prizes, and snuggling in the Tunnel of Love. But when one of the rides ends in a death toll, it trips my need to help in a world too often void of it. Problem is, I’m supposed to be staying on the down-low, and playing the hero is high profile.
Now, my boyfriend and I are on the run, with more mayhem, carnage, and Carolina swamp muck than you can shake a radioactive raccoon at. If we can’t rig this high-wire game of pursuit in our favor, I’ll be wishing for the inside of a body bag.
Will our red string be severed before we can cross the state line?
Content warning: Mature content and themes. Graphic language. Graphic sex. Graphic violence. Graphic design. Graphic ellipsis use…
“Vivid and well-paced. I was rooting so hard for this supernatural Bonnie and Clyde.”
~ Stephanie Scissom, author of The Reckoning
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Submissions- Closed
We are not accepting submissions at this time.
Once we get our door on its hinges, we'll swing it open to others.
In the meantime, stalk us on social media to stay updated.
Team Phoenix
The Inmates Are Running the Asylum
Nikki DeKeuster
Publisher & Queen of Darkness
Nikki casts a benevolent eye over the realms of story, searching for others of her kind to elevate and empower.
Jennifer Hatfield
Production Editor & Word Whisperer
Jennifer wrangles the unruly grammar, stuffs it into a box, and ships it off to victims of run-on sentences worldwide.
Brian DeKeuster
Highly Trained Maintenance Ferret
Brian lurks within our technological walls, thumping on pipes and gnawing wires to keep the machines in line.