This Is Horror

News Round-up Week Ending 17 November 2023

Here’s a small selection of the horror and genre news that caught our eye during the last week …

Out now from writer Matthew Mitchell and Weirdpunk Books, Chaindevils

Take heed, and smoke what you got … In the far-distant post-apocalypse of rural America, an embattled company of chainsaw-wielding hillbillies are set forth by Her Majesty of the Ozarks on a quest for precious methamphetamine.
Beset by religious zealots, militarized sex workers, and their own addictions, the Chaindevils slash their way across the drug-addled border between Missouri and Arkansas.
Embrace the chaos with Matthew Mitchell’s debut novella, which tears off pieces of horror, grimdark fantasy, dying earth fiction, and drug literature, and smashes them together in hazy, mud-coated ways unlike anything you’ve ever seen. Available now in eBook and paperback editions, you can grab your copy here.


Arriving 21 November from author Brian Bowyer and Potter’s Grove Press, Old Too Soon

When Kadence’s father dies, she begins hearing voices in her head. Soon thereafter, she discovers alcohol, which silences the voices, and Kadence becomes an alcoholic. To finance her addiction, she turns to a life of crime. Then she meets Arianne, the girl of her dreams.
After she gets locked up, Arianne breaks up with her and begins dating Kadence’s cousin, Beatrix—a serial killer who collects human skulls. When Kadence gets released, will she be able to keep Beatrix from adding Arianne to her collection? Available to pre-order now in eBook, with a paperback edition to follow soon, you can guarantee your copy here.


New from writer Simon Strantzas and Hippocampus Press, Only the Living Are Lost

Canadian writer Simon Strantzas has long been recognized as one of the most dynamic voices in contemporary weird fiction. Gifted with a prose style that can evoke both terror and wonder, he endows his stories with an emotional resonance that sets them apart from much of the work in this field.
In this new collection, Strantzas presents eleven tales, long and short, that display the wide array of motifs he utilizes. ‘In the Event of Death’ tells of what a man finds when he explores his dead mother’s house. ‘Circle of Blood’ is one of several stories that distinctively fuse a hard-boiled crime scenario with the weird. ‘Antripuu’ relates what four hikers find in a remote forest. ‘Clay Pigeons’ is an expansive novella set in Port Said, drawing upon the tradition of film noir in its suggestion of horrors amidst the parched desert of Egypt.
Throughout his work, Strantzas finds weirdness in the complexities of human relationships just as much as in the terrifying monsters he puts on display. His complex, brooding characters are the ideal recipients of the bizarre. Available now in eBook and paperback editions, you can pick up yours here.


Out now from writer Steve Van Samson and Weird House Press, Year of the Rattlesnake

There was a time when a man went bad, his name spread faster and farther than any plague. Of course, there are worse things in the world than men. Enclosed in this collection are tales of horror and the phantasmagoric. Romping yarns which meander around each other, intermingling like threads of smoke from the barrel of a rifle.
Year of the Rattlesnake is a collection of eight not so short weird western stories by rising horror author Steve Van Samson. These biting tales stand on their own, and yet manage to weave in and around each other to connect in unexpected ways. Ultimately, a most peculiar tapestry comes into focus—one depicting an alternate (though still plenty ugly) version of a post civil war America. A landscape crawling with wanted desperadoes and vengeful spirits… but there are far older things too. Unthinkable creatures straight out of tribal lore that may just cause the sane mind to crack. Available now in eBook, with other editions to follow, you can grab your copy here.


Available now from writer Mark Rowland, The Eyes of Amityville

Award-winning author Mark Rowland has a problem. A big one. He is simply…out of ideas! But not to worry, as he has a plan. Join Mark on his journey of depravity as he dips his toe into the real-life pool of evils that society has to offer, in one last attempt to create his absolute masterpiece. In an effort to capture ultimate inspiration, he has attained the actual windows from the most famous haunted house in the entire world! Be witness as this troubled man attempts to view life through … The Eyes Of Amityville! Available now in eBook, paperback and hardcover editions, you can grab your copy here.


KEV HARRISON