Best Online Horror Fiction Magazines

The onset of autumn stirs notions of changing leaves, back to school, and pumpkins. Cooler weather keeps more people indoors, and chilly nights offer opportunities for sitting around a campfire and telling ghost stories. Or, if the warmth of the indoors is more your speed, and sitting at your computer with the lights off proves just as terrifying, check out these online magazines. All of them offer free fiction in the horror category, as well as other tasty nuggets you'll be chewing on well into the Halloween season.

Horror Bound Magazine, http://www.horrorbound.com/, not only offers horror fiction by authors such as Michael Panish and P.S. Gifford. Interviews, art, poetry and book reviews, all relating to the horror genre are published on the site which is updated on a regular basis. They also offer an extensive horror art section with some truly disturbing images.

SNM Horror Magazine, http://freewebs.com/snmhorrormag/, publishes eight brand new stories each month on the first day of every month. Their tagline is: "Welcome Home to the Mausoleum...where the Dead come to play!" Some of the authors include: Jeanna Tendean, James Cheetham and Rob Ebner. Their next issue is entitled: Halloween Screams. They also offer "Crystals Reviews," reviews and interviews by owner Crystal Adkins, and an uncommon feature, SNM Goth Covergirls, a theme meant purely to express the art of Gothica, with models within the pages of SNM as well as a special page for Goth poets, Goth artists and Goth bands.

Tales from the Moonlit Path, http://www.moonlit-path.com, publishes quarterly and is set to publish a Halloween issue, as it does annually. Moonlit Path offers stories in the horror genre but also speculative fiction as well (think Twilight Zone), as well as book and movie reviews. Dark poetry is overseen by editor and author Terrie Leigh Relf. Articles relating to the horror field are also published, as well as themes from issue to issue.

Down in the Cellar, http://www.downinthecellar.com/index.php, features stories by Ken Goldman (a prolific author among the small presses and ezines), Eric S. Brown (prolific as well), and Malon Edwards. They offer up book reviews and reviews of movies such as The Strangers, The Ruins, and The Eye. Surely there is enough dark fiction here to be found to satisfy your Halloween needs.

Fear and Trembling, http://www.fearandtremblingmag.com, "Stories from the Shadowscape" is a site dedicated to Christian-friendly horror. It offers stories by folks such as G.W. Thomas, Mike Guentherman and Mike Turan. They offer interviews of horror authors and poets, as well as horror poetry. The ezine is updated twice a week which is surely often enough to satisfy even the most restless reader.

The Harrow, http://www.theharrow.com/, "Original Works of Fantasy and Horror" is a journal style ezine with fiction by Scott P. Baron, Lee Mather and Gary W. Dickey. Also features book reviews and their own line of anthologies (for traditional print readers!).

Hub Magazine, http://www.hub-mag.co.uk/, offers a plea to its readers for a donation for the writers, however it is free if you wish. Hub claims to be one of the fastest growing ezines in the world, and is delivered directly to your inbox on a weekly basis. Some of their published authors include Joe Hill, Paul Cornell and Christopher Golden. There are a ton of juicy gems on this site including different categories like commentary, competitions, editorials, etc. They have a link for podcasts including "Pseudopod" a horror podcast. If you are unfamiliar with podcasts, they are basically like books on tape for your car, only for your computer. You must subscribe, of course, to be sent your weekly deliveries, but it also made available to folks with PDA's and Mobi Pocket Readers.

Killer Works, http://www.killer-works.com/, offers some horror fiction, and a lot of interestingly bizarre horror articles. Spotlighted now is a mixed media artist named Julia Hepburn whose art is dark and mysterious. Killer Works runs a star with a bevy of horror DVD's, books and games available.

Chi-Zine, or Chiaroscuro Magazine, http://www.chizine.com/ is a flashy, aesthetically pleasing ezine ready to fill your pillowcase with all sorts of Halloween goodies. Film reviews, book reviews, horror columns, editorials, interviews, a forum and fiction by Colleen Anderson, Richard Larson and Leslie Claire Walker to name just a few. They are the winner of the 2000 Bram Stoker Award and have their own line of horror publications, "ChiZine Publications." Halloween night just would be complete without a stop at this house.

Gothic.net, http://www.gothic.net/, has a slightly overloaded index page but once you've found what you're looking for, you won't be disappointed. Exceptionally well-written poetry and fiction and its own boards populated by the Gothic community. If you're into goth, this is the place to be. This site used to be a require payment to read their fiction (which should give you an idea as to the level of quality they publish) but scrubbed that requirement (probably due to either the abundance of other quality horror fiction on other sites, and the success of google ads) and is now free for the viewing. You'll feel decidedly vamp when you visit this site, so prepare your costume early, and go scare a neighbor or two!

Reference:
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