S.J.Budd

Three friends search for an infamous internet video of an urban legend with devastating consequences; a passionate drummer joins the band of his dreams, or perhaps his nightmares; a man tries to find fame in a world where the mundane call the shots; and a grieving father loses his grip on reality. These ten stories delve into a world of darkness and suffering, where the terrors are more vivid than they may appear. Blood is spilt, minds are destroyed, as madness ultimately reigns victorious. I always look forward to reading a Morgan K Tanner tale. Over the years I've read a fair few and all of them brilliant. It really struck me whilst reading through The Mind's Plague that he has gone on to develop his own really unique style of writing. Morgan K.Tanners knows how to bring the darkness to his stories! Tanner's slice of horror is extra dark, there's a smithereen of supernatural horror in here but mostly he concentrates on the horror that is inside all of us. I&#

It's as Peter begins to wade into the tarn that he spies the strange canvas structure at the edge of the trees. It looks like an abandoned Punch & Judy booth, he thinks, but dirty and tired, stained black with mould. Ignoring the water licking cold about his ankles, he squints to read the crimson scrawl on the plank propped against it.  Enter the Shadow Booth , it says,  and you will never be the same again. The Shadow Booth is an international journal of weird and eerie fiction, publishing emerging and established writers of the strange. Drawing its inspiration from the likes of Thomas Ligotti and Robert Aickman, The Shadow Booth explores that dark, murky hinterland between mainstream horror and literary fiction. Volume 4 includes new weird and uncanny fiction by: Gary Budden, Jay Caselberg, Tim Cooke, James Everington, Lucie McKnight Hardy, Giselle Leeb, Polis Loizou, James Machin, Andrew McDonnell, Jane Roberts, Ashley Stokes, Anna Vaught, Charles Wilkinson and Maria

As a fully fledged bookoholic I'm really struggling right now, and its all because of Flame Tree Press... This is the sixth title I've read and each title has blown me away. Each author is unique but they all know how to weave an amazing horror tale. They're really raising the bar of what defines amazing horror. Rumor has it that the abandoned house by the cemetery is haunted by the ghost of a witch. But rumors won’t stop carpenter Mike Kostner from rehabbing the place as a haunted house attraction. Soon he’ll learn that fresh wood and nails can’t keep decades of rumors down. There are noises in the walls, and fresh blood on the floor: secrets that would be better not to discover. And behind the rumors is a real ghost who will do whatever it takes to ensure the house reopens. She needs people to fill her house on Halloween. There’s a dark, horrible ritual to fulfill. Because while the witch may have been dead... she doesn’t intend to stay that way. This was a r

So happy to be kicking off Haloweentober with a new short story in this super awesome anthology edited by Edward Caio. My story is titled Something More, in which a couple are pushed to their limit by an unknown entity. It's called Obscurita! Out now via Amazon  Non puoi immaginare cosa sia nascosto nelle ombre dell’Oscurità… A brand new collection of horror and dark fiction of every flavour, featuring both new and veteran authors. Whether it’s Body Horror, Ghost Stories, Cosmic Terror, Deep Space, Dark Creatures, Cursed Objects, Inhuman Secrets or The Apocalypse, you can find anything you please within the darkest corners… FEATURES THE STORIES: THE ROSE ROOM  by Chris Reeve, Esq.  (Gotobed Diaries) THE NEWBURY WENDIGO  by Summer Walker  (Dark Destinations: An Anthology of Terror) BUZZ  by Ezra James Fiddimore GALATEA  by Addison Peacock  (The NoSleep Podcast, The Cryptid Keeper) ENEMIES IN HIGH PLACES  by Edward Caio ONLY IN THE DARK  by Hailey Piper  (Black Rainbo

Something ancient has wormed its way up from the earth.... A change has come today. After Michele Cote's best friend disappears, no one believes her story about the thing responsible for his abduction. Forced to figure out the mystery for herself, Michele encounters terror she has never known, and witnesses the impossible. When other members of the community begin to change or vanish, Sheriff Shane Davis must look beyond reason in order to stop the evil seeping into this small town. With help from an unlikely source, Sheriff Davis will come face-to-face with the truth. You can't destroy what you don't understand. For the town of Avalon, Maine, the future is about change...for better or worse. Becoming is horror adventure unlike any other. There's gore, blood, evil monsters supernatural and human but there's also lots of fun. I really enjoying reading this tale, the action starts straight away and its a book that doesn't take itself too seriously, it just wa

"Deep in a Wyoming mine, hell awaits. Former cattle driver, Rough Rider and current New York City cop Nat Blackburn is given an offer he can't refuse by President Teddy Roosevelt. Tales of gold in the abandoned mining town of Hecla, in the Deep Rock Hills, abound. The only problem-those who go seeking their fortune never return. Roosevelt's own troops are among the missing, and the President wants to know their fate - and find the gold. Along with his constant companion, Teta, a hired gun with a thirst for adventure, Nat travels to a barren land where even animals dare not tread." Blurb - President Roosevelt enlists his old comrades from the Rough Riders to investigate an mysterious abandoned mining town of Hecla deep in Wyoming. There's rumours aplenty that the mines are full of gold but everyone who goes there to dig never comes back. The president wants answers, and gold, by sending in two of his most trusted men on a top secret mission. What could

Almost Heaven... Or is it? The culture of the Appalachians is steeped with folktales, legends, and deep-rooted religion. There is much to love in the beauty of the rolling hills and friendly rural families, but something malicious hides just beneath the surface. Something dreadful. Something hungry... Can the people of the region stand up against the hordes of the Dead? Appalachian Undead takes a look at the dark side of Appalachia, where the undead walk, driven by old magic and their hunger for us. Can Appalachia stand against and army that never tires and is always hungry? With new intriguing tales of the undead, by some of the best names in horror, including Jonathan Maberry, Gary A. Braunbeck, Tim Lebbon, Elizabeth Massie, Lucy Snyder, Bev Vincent, Tim Waggoner, John Skipp and many more. Table of Contents: When Granny Comes Marchin' Home Again - Elizabeth Massie Calling Death - Jonathan Maberry Hide and Seek - Tim Waggoner Twilight of the Zombie Game Preserve... - S. Cla

Kev Harrison first appeared of my radar when I read his brilliant story, The Waiting Game, featured in Aphotic Realm's latest issue - Fangs. A man visits his girlfriend's place of work with disastrous results! So when I saw that another of his stories, Cinders of a Blind Man Who Could See, was being released by Demain Publishing I jumped right in. Cinders of A Blind Man Who Could See is an excellent serving of folk horror, a sub-genre I've been obsessed with ever since I saw The Wicker Man late one night on the telly. Like with The Wicker Man, this tale has a great atmospheric build up. The story is really unsettling, no one is who they seem and there are many secrets in one little town who don't approve of outsiders. It's set in a small community in Northern England where Owen lives almost as a recluse after a terrible accident from which he's never truly recovered. He's woken late one night, to witness a miracle, his son's sight has return

Myles Carver is dead. But his estate, Watermere, lives on, waiting for a new Carver to move in. Myles's wife, Annabel, is dead too, but she is also waiting, lying in her grave in the woods. For nearly half a century she was responsible for a nightmarish reign of terror, and she's not prepared to stop now. She is hungry to live again...and her unsuspecting nephew, Paul, will be the key. Julia Merrow has a secret almost as dark as Watermere's. But when she and Paul fall in love they think their problems might be over. How can they know what Fate--and Annabel--have in store for them? Who could imagine that what was once a moldering corpse in a forest grave is growing stronger every day, eager to take her rightful place amongst the horrors of Watermere? FLAME TREE PRESS is the new fiction imprint of Flame Tree Publishing. Launched in 2018 the list brings together brilliant new authors and the more established; the award winners, and exciting, original voices. I imagine

It's with great pleasure to announce that my latest tale will be appearing on the legendary horror podcast that is The No Sleep Podcast! You can listen to my tale, which appears first here Happy listening!

A sick daughter, a father’s race against time to find the one thing that might save her and a mysterious tree growing through the kitchen floor…  Author Christopher Stanley on writing ‘The Forest Is Hungry’: “Quite often my stories come from several different places. In this one, the walk at the beginning, where the parents are separated from their child, is a walk I’ve done a number of times with my own family. My sister moved into a big new house and she told me about some of the conversations she had had with the site foreman. And we have a family friend who cuts our trees for us. All of these things happened around the same time and – bang! – there’s the story!”  This is the third offering I've read in Demain Publishing's Short Sharp Shocks and now I'm hooked. This time I've read, The Forest is Hungry by Christopher Stanley. It's a really vicious folk horror tale of a family torn apart through separation trying to survive The story starts with every pare

"Jared can feel the tower blocks looming overhead, three concrete sentinels watching as he runs. He knows he has less than a minute before his pursuers are on him, but as he rounds the corner into the alley he stops, dead. There's a strange canvas structure propped against the wall, a hand-made sign scrawled on a scrap of cardboard. Enter the Shadow Booth,  it says,  and you will never be the same again." This is the third offering from The Shadow Booth. I loved the two previous volumes and was really excited to get my hands on this. In the Shadow Booth you'll find a collection of 11 strange and twisted tales. These aren't horror or dystopian but somewhere between the two. These are those wonderfully "out there" hard to classify stories that stay with you long after you have finished reading them. On the whole I really enjoyed most of the stories here, I have to admit there were a few that didn't quite do it for me, but that's to b

Sylvia Bernstein doesn't want to end up on a dead-end path like a former journalism colleague. She begins searching the tabloid's archives for a story that can get her career back on track. A strange bridge, with an abnormally high rate of suicides, seems like the perfect place to start. She journeys to the little town, eager to investigate, but encounters a tale far more sinister than she ever expected... Calvin Demmer's latest release is part of a new venture, Demain Publishing that have kicked off to a great start by releasing a series of short sinister fiction which cost less than a pound/dollar. I've previously read Cinders of a Blind Man Who Could See by Kev Harrison and absolutely loved it. I've read a lot of Calvin Demmer's work over the years and  had high hopes for this. I wasn't disappointed. This is a tale long enough for you to feel really involved in, it felt more like a mini novel rather than just a short story. I easily devoured th

Hey everyone, my latest review, Ghost Mine by Hunter Shea is now live at Aphotic Realm!

I just love reading horror anthologies, especially themed ones. I'd just finished with Crystal Lake's Welcome to the Show, themed around a legendary music venue in San Francisco which blew me away. Appalachian Horror from Bo Chapell and Aphotic which followed next had a lot to live up to. Appalachian Horror is themed around well, Appalachian Horror. For those of you who don't know, Appalachia is a region stretching from New York to Georgia. It's famed for the Appalachian trail which people hike across. The area has long been a source of myths and legends which have been passed down the generations from the early settlers. It's home to Bigfoot, eerie lights, moon-eyed people, witches, monsters and many many ghosts. A perfect setting for horror to take place.  (click here for more info) This anthology is comprised of 8 tales with a lot of recognisable names from the indie horror scene. Whilst reading this, I was really reminded of The Ritual by Adam Nevill. A

You can now read my review of Cinders of a Blind Man Who Could See by Kev Harrison over at Aphotic Realm!

You can read my review for The Town that Feared Dusk by Calvin Demmer over at Aphotic Realm! You can read it here at Aphotic Realm

You can read my new review of Tales From the Shadow Booth via Aphotic Realm You can reads the review in full here at Aphotic Realm

My new review of The Forest is Hungry by Christopher Stanley is out now via Aphotic Realm. You can read all about here at Aphotic Realm

" Dacie returns to Romania where she's ready to coax her invisible childhood playmate to reveal himself to her. Tension and passion fire up between them. Dacie's mother spouts cautionary advice regarding the supernatural; however, Dacie shirks the warning as nonsense born from local legends. A lost letter lands in Dacie's hands, suggesting the powers of the undead might have a grip on the family lineage. When her mother dies, so do the answers. And, Dacie needs the comfort of her unseen companion more than ever..." I've read a few tales by Theresa Braun now, the author of Fountain Dead, Dead over Heels and have realised that one of the many things she is really good with her writing is characterisation. These always feel like real people to me. Within a few paragraphs she'll have you really emotionally invested in them caring deeply about what happens to them. Like with her other works I've read I find once I start reading it is hard to stop

Aphotic Realm are back with their sixth issue which also marks their two year anniversary!  I've been reading this magazine right form the beginning and each time they really deliver! I'm a huge fan of this magazine, no matter what the theme is, I've enjoyed everyone of them. So far there's been; Apparitions, Banished, Classified, Dystopia, Eldritch and now Fangs! (The next issue, which I'm particularly looking forward to, will be Gruesome!) In this issue there's a really great interview with the undisputed king of horror; Adam Nevill. A really cool feature article by Toni Miller from the amazing Ladies of Horror Fiction Team.  Also featured is a fang inspired comic called Black Dog, and some great work by Russell Dongjun Lu. You won't find tales of Vampires inside here but you will find creepy animals and critters waiting to jump out at you! I have to say as usual all the stories in here are brilliant, there's something in here to scare every

"Bram Stoker and Oscar Wilde join forces to face a vampire cult determined to open the gates of hell." Now this book had me intrigued with only the byline on the cover. I'm a huge fan of the gothic classic Stoker's Dracula and Wilde's Picture of Dorian Gray and if you are too, you will love this tale. Years before either becomes a literary legend, Bram Stoker and Oscar Wilde must overcome their disdain for one another to battle the Black Bishop, a mysterious madman wielding supernatural forces to bend the British Empire to his will. With the help of a European vampire expert, a spirited actress and an American businessman, our heroes fight werewolves, vampires and the chains of Victorian morality. The action will take them to dark forests in Ireland, through the upper-class London theater world and culminates in an exciting showdown at Stonehenge, where Bram and Oscar must stop a vampire cult from opening the gates of Hell. I absolutely loved this book