Volume I, Issue V: Vampires Rise Again
Blood Red Sheets, by Matthew Wilson
I was tired of being nothing, for once I wanted to be special—scary! So I removed my bed sheets, cut eye holes in them, and threw the whole thing on my head.
The Boyfriend, by Jody Smith
The world had passed its prime and was forever looking back. The air reeked of gasoline and permanence. The trolley rattled and banged on its tarnished track and age-worn, time-pocked wheels.
An Impressionable Age, by Harris Coverley
Jennifer Marks sat on her living room settee, ostensibly in charge of her daughter, Alyssa. The daughter however could barely acknowledge her mother’s existence, slouched on her knees a few feet from the TV, her vision totally consumed by the screen.
The Guild, by Garrett Rowlan
In an upstairs window, the curtain discreetly pushed aside, Cole Smith saw the car enter his compound. “Game face,” Cole said. As if adjusting a mask, he put two hands to his face and rubbed the skin to produce a demeanor that looked almost sober.
Salt Lick, by Lindsay King-Miller
She isn't crying yet, but she will be soon. I'm not in a hurry.
Timeless Moments, by Sam Charles
I think I’m being stolen, and I can’t make it stop."
New Things, by Jarrett Mazza
I liked trying new things, yet the only new thing I wanted to try was blood.
Where Suctorial Insects Abound, by H.E. Casson
I always tell a story before dinner. This is the one I tell the most, because it’s about blood—my blood—and stories with blood are always the best ones.
Drain, by Brock Poulsen
"The music we make, it's f—ing more than punk, you know?" Paul Cabal takes a long drag from his cigarette before flicking it carelessly away. It bounces off of a stooped roadie, scattering sparks and ash over his stained denim jacket, but the man stays focused on whatever task has his attention..
Awkward Phase, by Emil Čolić
There is a good reason I have abducted you, Doctor.
You see, much like yourself, I find myself in a bit of a bind—one from which I’d very much like your help to escape.
Red Thread Unwound, by Malina Douglas
When he leans back, he sees red. Waves of red hair spread across the seat of the S-Bahn.
FROM THE PERIODICAL, FORLORN ARCHIVES
The Mirror Maze, Author Unknown
They could not understand it, those thick police men. They stood above the body and puzzled.
Fortune, by Danger Callahan
Millard Bates was a miser. He lived alone in a rambling estate on the edge of town. The place was a proper old country pile.
Appearing in this Issue:
About the Authors:
Matthew Wilson:
Matthew Wilson has been published many times in Star*Line, Night to Dawn Magazine, Zimbell House Publishing and many others. He is currently editing his first novel and can be found on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/matthew94544267.
Jody Smith:
Jody Smith is a horror author who lives in small town Ontario, Canada who likes animals and TV. His gory, splattery horror novella, Who Will Save Your Soul? is available now: https://dancingflamebooks.wixsite.com/my-site..
He has been writing stories for years, but this is his first published story. He takes much of his inspiration for his stories from Irish/Celtic music and lore. He has one wife, two sons, three cats, and a dog.
Harris Coverley:
Harris Coverley has short fiction published or forthcoming in Curiosities, Hypnos, The Centropic Oracle, and Horla, amongst many others. He is also a Rhysling-nominated poet, with verse in Spectral Realms, View From Atlantis, Corvus Review, Ariel Chart, and elsewhere. He lives in Manchester, England.
Follow him on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/ha_coverley
Garrett Rowlan:
Garrett Rowlan is a retired teacher from LA who has some 70 publishing credits and a couple of books too. He walks miles a day in the current atmosphere, movies and basketball being unavailable for now. His website is https://www.garrettrowlan.com.
Lindsay King-Miller:
Lindsay King-Miller is the author of Ask a Queer Chick: A Guide to Sex, Love, and Life for Girls who Dig Girls (Plume, 2016). Her fiction has appeared in the anthologies The Fiends in the Furrows (Nosetouch, 2018), Terror at 5280’ (Denver Horror Collective, 2019), Tiny Nightmares (Catapult, 2020), and numerous other publications. She lives in Denver, CO.
Sam Charles:
Sam Charles works within pharmaceutical research & development, having recently gained the courage to pursue writing. He also enjoys lengthy gaming sessions and loud music, which his wife and cats must surely cherish. This is the first short story Sam has had published, more can be found at https://www.samcharlesC.wordpress.com.
Jarrett Mazza:
Jarrett Mazza is a graduate of Goddard College’s MFA in Creative Writing Program in Plainfield, Vermont as well as The Humber School For Writers. Before completing his terminal degree, Jarrett studied writing at the University of Toronto School of Continuing Studies and comic book writing under Ty Templeton and Andy Schmidt. He has had stories published online in the GNU Journal, Bewildering Stories, Trembling With Fear, Aphelion, The Scarlet Leaf Review, and Toronto Prose Mill, The Fictional Cafe. His work is featured in anthologies by Silver Empire Publishing, a best seller on Amazon, Zimbell House Publishing, NBH Publishing, MuseWriting, and twice by Dragon Soul Press, and Gypsum Soul Press, all available on Amazon. He was also an Honorable Mention for the Freda Walton Award for Fiction and was featured as a visiting Canadian Author at the Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic District School Board for We Read Canadian back in February.
He lives in Hamilton, Ontario.
Follow him on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/JarrettMazza
H. E. Casson:
H. E. Casson is an emerging writer (with grey hair). They've recently been published by Taco Bell Quarterly, Cast of Wonders, Lunate, and Serotonin. Their hope is to write work that is unabashedly nerdy or irredeemably rhapsodic (or both). Visit them at https://www.hecasson.com and on Twitter: https://www.com/hecasson.
Brock Poulsen:
Brock Poulsen spends his time reading and writing, and thinking up ways to perplex his readers and the players around his (virtual) RPG table. His work has appeared previously in the collections Weird Wasatch and Not Far From Roswell. He currently lives in Idaho, with his wife and three kids.
Follow him on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/brockst4r
Emil Čolić:
Emil Cholich is a Yugoslav-Australian fiction writer and advertising copywriter. His writing is a distinctive combination of off-color Aussie snark and magical realism. Most recently he has been published by Spineless Wonders and The Metaworker. He also helps run Strange Birds, a thousand-strong writers collective and MeetUp group based in Amsterdam.
Find him on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/emilcholich
Malina Douglas:
Malina Douglas weaves stories that fuse the fantastic and the real. She explores ruins, caves and jagged rocks that could be the homes of monsters, ghosts or trolls. She was a finalist in Blackwater Press Contest and her publications include Wyldblood, Opia, Flash Fiction Magazine, Metamorphose V2, the Antipodean, Rhythm & Bone, and the Land Beyond the World Magazine. Two highly commended stories were published in the anthologies When it is Time and All Those Things You Thought Never Mattered. Other anthologies include Sea Glass Hearts, The Monsters We Forgot and Gothic Blue Books Vol 6: A Krampus Carol.
Follow her on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/iridescentwords