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I see monsters as a device. Stand-ins for social commentary, a way to shine light on the real evils of the world. Horror itself is the monster shaking the reader, making them feel the fear. #SFFChat

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I'm not a horror guy so I'm going with the cop-out answer of Poe. I don't regularly read horror. I do enjoy haunting sad stories. I think Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go is not horror in a genre sense but it is horrible and haunting is a very unsettling way. #SFFChat

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I won't go into detail because CW but in THOSE WHO SPEAK FOR GOD, someone is branded like a cow for their "sin". It was difficult to write, but one knows exactly who these characters are. #SFFChat

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Musings from Chris D. Brown - technologist, aspiring author, and former evangelical

Thanks for hosting! The new time works well for me though I'm posting a bit late. As always check out my blog cfreak.dev or just follow me for dystopian sci-fi, tech rants, and pictures of cats. If I have any hope of getting an agent I probably need to get these numbers up! #SFFChat

cfreak.dev

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Ravensjubilee @aravensjubilee.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Not the Chris Brown you're thinking of. Dipping my toe in the query trenches for my debut THOSE WHO SPEAK FOR GOD. I'm not a huge horror guy but I have a soft-spot for the camp of Evil Dead and Army of Darkness #SFFChat

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#SFFChat My favorite would probably be Caitlín R. Kiernan. There is something about their work that just unnerves me in a good way. I got luck to discover them as a young teen which was many years ago at this point.

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Pixies a/k/a Map Nerd @mcburnellauthor.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Thanks for hosting Steve, I feel like a juggins with all my 'oops I don't really know this genre' answers 😅 To share? I once wrote a dark fantasy with horror elements that's pretty damned fun, ie bloody and hair-raising. books2read.com/Into-the-Dar... mcburnell.itch.io/into-the-dar...

Cover of a book called Into the Darkbower, showing a creepy old cabin in the woods, everything tinted green.
"That was twice now she had entered the Darkbower and emerged agaisnt all odds. The knowledge didn't make her feel privileged, let alone secure. At best, she had lived because she was too insignificant to kill; at worst, it was a game, and as soon as she believed she knew the rules, the rules would change."

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You're very welcome!! And happy upcoming release!

Pixies a/k/a Map Nerd @mcburnellauthor.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

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#SFFChat Hm. It's funny how almost all of the ones that come to mind involve deep water... Tie-breaker! Zimanges, the heist, my MC is climbing a thousand-ft-tall ladder and his foot slips. It's not high-concept or eldritch but does mark the worst I have ever upset myself while imagining a

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Ryan ∀rtPunk (α Mode) @nouveauartpunk.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

I've never attempted to write a horror story in my life 😅 As a mostly nonfiction writer I also have no characters to offer for the second half of the question, sooo here's me in the cat onesie I'm going to wear this year

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Anna Orridge @anna-orridge.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Thanks Steve :) Phengaris available at payhip.com/b/58paC Parch Marks, SF that did sneak in some folk horror (marginalised and spiritually radicalised rural settlers in creepy masks in the Pennines) available here: www.gold.ac.uk/goldsmiths-p... #SFFChat Image courtesy of @marywyrd.bsky.social

Anna Orridge
Eco horror - Phengaris
Cli Fi - Parch Marks.

Phengaris has a cover image of a, butterfly made of rusted parts

Parch Marks features markings of ferns on dried earth.

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Gabe 🏳️‍⚧️🦇 “Fealty” WIP 17.5k/100k @theeldervampire.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Thank you for hosting!! #SFFChat Do what you need to for chat time, no worries ❤️ My upcoming novel comes out in about a WEEK!! That's so surreal bsky.app/profile/thee...

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FenrirKin | ᚛ᚈᚆᚓᚔ ᚈᚆᚓᚋ᚜ @fenrirkin.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Oathsworn: The Nameless is an urban fantasy/folk horror about the Fae, found family, and freedom. New chapters go up every Sunday on my Patreon, and you can read the whole thing (and everything else!) for just £1 a month! www.patreon.com/collection/1... #SFFChat

patreon.com

Oathsworn: The Nameless | Collection from Winters Tales | 28 posts | Patreon

The first book of my in-progress trilogy. NOTE: Oathsworn is a horror/urban fantasy work intended for adults, and as such will contain themes and scenes…

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Verati @verati404.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Hey, #SFFChat! I have a Backerkit campaign to bring #EchoSight to print! If you like fungal horror, dragons, phoenix shapeshifters, great pacing & mystery, give it a shot! And if you want a taste before you buy? My author website (in bio) has all my links, including the first 3 chapters on Patreon!

backerkit.com

Echo Sight Physical Release

Get notified when Echo Sight Physical Release launches on BackerKit!

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Emil Bronze - Heart of Oak @tangurple.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

It's actually the old position, but at a different time 🤣 And yayy!!! I'm rooting for your

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#SFFChat Outro Good luck with the new position! I’ve got my #BackerKit that I’m always trying to promote. If the 2nd stretch goal is met, every book buyer (digital or print) gets Carrhae Liquidators More book with your book, if you will www.backerkit.com/c/projects/e...

backerkit.com

Heart of Oak

Get notified when Heart of Oak launches on BackerKit!

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You're very welcome (and eeee!)

Alex Larkspur 💛📚🌻 @applesncinnamon.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

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#SFFChat Thank you so much for the questions! This was fun! I have a novella coming out NEXT WEEK! If you want a cozy horror MM fantasy romance, check out The Witch of the Wood! Universal: books2read.com/u/bw6gwP Itch: applesncinnamon.itch.io/the-witch-of...

The cover of The Witch of the Wood by Alex Larkspur surrounded by trope arrows.
MM Fantasy Romance
Novella
A Spooky Forest
A Search of a Witch
Fast Burn
Breaking a Curse

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A. Bastedo is Spoopin Around @abastedo-writing.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

I don’t have anything new out. I’m in a bit of a drought, but I’m really trying to push through and finally finish a first draft of my sci-fi noir while sort of keeping up with #firstdraftfall, so support in that would be amazing ❤️😬 Also tell my spooky cat he’s cute #sffchat #writingcommunity

A black tomcat stretches towards a toy held at the top of the screen, toothers showing. Just a little

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Ravensjubilee @aravensjubilee.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

#SFFChat Horror and the monstrous are at time the fundamental way to express the fears of your community and society. They are a near perfect reflecting pools of the times they are written and sadly sometimes the years later.

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ELwolfsblood |Author/Artist| @elwolfsblood.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

#SFFchat Go read @applesncinnamon.bsky.social Upcoming cozy horror the Witch of the Wood! It’s coming up in just a few days. After that check out The Witch of Eden Hollow by @theeldervampire.bsky.social Also upcoming in just a few days. & then if you have time come check out Thawing the Line 💙

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Ravensjubilee @aravensjubilee.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Hello #SFFChat I'm Raven and when I can I try to write short stories on heroes fall from grace and I recently started learning to paint My favorite monsters are werewolves, but I love any kind of similar shape shifter. My favorite horror film is Let the Right One In

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YES. I always have to stop myself from writing "playing" 🤣

Verati @verati404.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

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#SFFChat The actual scariest thing I've ever written no longer exists, but Echo Sight has a few really intense scenes in it that I think all vie for the surviving top vacancy. At least until Scent of Smoke comes out, lol.

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thirdmonti.bsky.social @thirdmonti.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Yay!!! SO glad it'll help. And also--still absolutely gorgeous

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#SFFChat Outro: thanks for hosting Steve! Moving to Friday will likely make my life easier 😄 As to something I’d like shared, the wonderful art i received from @drdfllb.bsky.social of my boys 🥰 (No I’m not done sharing this yet, I’m too happy with it) bsky.app/profile/drdf...

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Some variety of spooky will certainly be involved! And you're very welcome

Gabe 🏳️‍⚧️🦇 “Fealty” WIP 17.5k/100k @theeldervampire.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

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#SFFChat Askel from Raw is a dhampir. He doesn't know his vampiric sire. He also doesn't KNOW he's a dhampir. All he knows is that he's sickly when he doesn't drink blood, & he's only nourished by human flesh. That lack of knowledge, the helpless dread, unable to stop it, I think is genuinely scary.

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Catherine Winters @catherinewinters.com · 01/10/2026

#SFFChat A4: Clarke would dress up as something scary, like a vampire. Tai would also dress up as something scary, like a cat.

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Verati @verati404.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

The Vampire Tapestry by Suzie McKee Charnas is a quiet novel about power dynamics told through five connected vignettes featuring the vampire Weyland. It's a fascinating, atmospheric read with very different POV characters in each. What little violence there is all serves a purpose. #SFFChat

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#SFFChat Outro: Thanks so much for playing, everyone!Comment with something you’d like shared. (: ALSO, Special Note: For the rest of 2026, SFFChat will move to friday evening at 6pm est to accommodate my job! Fingers crossed this doesn't inconvenience anyone!!

Image: A grainy black and white background.

Text: #SFFChat outro: tHANKS SO MUCH FOR PLAYING EVERYONE! Comment with something you’d like shared!

and

Special note: fOR THE REST OF 2026, SFFChat will move to friday evening at 6pm est to accomodate my job!

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Jess Mahler @jessmahler.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

That's pretty terrifying. D:

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#SFFChat A4 Ooh, tough call. I think the scariest thing I ever wrote was about a guy being cooked alive. But runner up was definitely a retelling of The Cask of Amontillado from the perspective of the guy being trapped in the wall.

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Alex Larkspur 💛📚🌻 @applesncinnamon.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Ooo! If you do, let me know what you think!

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#SFFChat Q4 There's a few moments in The Need for Dandelions and The Witch of the Wood that I think are well done! Here's a creepy little snippet from The Witch of the Wood! CW: dead animal

Against a background of dark trees against a gray sky, the cover of The Witch of the Wood by Alex Larkspur next to a square with the following text:
The Witch of the Wood
"Despite the twisted and crooked trees, the smell of rot in the air, and the lack of sound besides Milo’s boots moving through dried, cracked underbrush, the forest was rather peaceful. Not peaceful in the way a forest was meant to be, but like a graveyard often was. It was rather fitting.
"As he crept through the trees, shying instinctively away from them, the comparison became even more apt. At the base of a maple, a half-rotted corpse of a rabbit curled in on itself. Half of its skull was visible, the other half was covered with flesh and fur, matted down with thick, black fluid. Milo paused just for a moment to stare at the remnants of little beast, fingers twitching at his sides."
Releasing October 6th

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Nectar Vam 🇺🇸🇬🇷🕊️🐦‍🔥✨💜♠️ @nectar-vam77.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

#SFFChat Scariest thing I've written or come up with? A Fair Folk Halloween version of Willy Wonka... With a bully getting their comeuppance fitting their vice. All set in a cursed mansion. *And the Bullies are all named after the bullies in my school days

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"It" is one of my favourites.

Jess Mahler @jessmahler.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

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#SFFChat A3 I'm mainstream. I've always enjoyed Steven King. Well, his older works. I've heard some poor feedback on his newer stuff.

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Verati @verati404.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

#SFFChat Horror is a safe way to engage with what makes you uncomfortable without having to experience it irl. Sometimes it's about catharsis while at other times it's speaking about the nature of people, or society, in a way that no other genre by itself can. There's a lot of inherent metaphor.

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FenrirKin | ᚛ᚈᚆᚓᚔ ᚈᚆᚓᚋ᚜ @fenrirkin.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Scariest thing I've written would be From the Deeps: www.tumblr.com/fenrir-kin/6... Ainsel won't be dressing up for Halloween, she feels it would be in bad taste and doesn't want to risk drawing the attention of anything down on her! #SFFChat

tumblr.com

Post by @fenrir-kin

💬 0 🔁 17 ❤️ 55 · From the Deeps · Inspired by one of @normal-horoscopes horoscopes: “Capricorn: The only of the pirates to return, whispers of voices in the deep. Shedding all man-made clothing,…

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Emil Bronze - Heart of Oak @tangurple.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

#SFFChat Q4 Ooo, I have grab the opener for Carrhae Liquidators, my bonus fantasy-apocalypse-horror novella Content Warning: body horror

The Church's Mission
Subtitle
"The mind can be eccentric. It finds fondness for horror, for fear. From the depths of its own creation, it draws out the darkness. Serpentine in nature, the smoke fills the space like ink in water, obscuring everything from view. The mind, in an effort to protect itself, will inflict upon itself the biggest fears it knows of. Lingering dread is rarely anything more than the mind testing its host. But every once in a while, there is something far more malicious behind it all. Something that has a need, a desire, and the will to see it through. That something is the enemy... That something lies dormant in us all.."
The voice, deep and melodious, fell silent. The fields before her stood rotting and lined with silky ash. Trees wilted and dried up while the grass curled and browned. Cracks formed in the parched and hardened soil, mirroring the dense cloud cover, which cracked with soundless lightning. Her eyes meandered down to her black skin hands. They looked watery, Like a lot of something was slithering underneath. Blisters and boils formed, reddening the skin, popping and exposing the underlying flesh. Pain seared throughout her hands as if she'd dunked them in a pot of boiling oil. Instinctively, she rubbed her hands together, trying to get rid of the sensation, instead the skin peeled from being rubbed together. With a single finger, she touched bone.
Then it all went dark. The pain disappeared and with the unnatural sensations with it.
Something lightly caressed her naked shoulder, but she could not see what it was. Like a phantom image from her imagination, a face stared at her from nothing. It was intangible, blurry, but also so clearly defined against the abyssal blackness of nothing. The smell of smoke filled her nose. It stank of firewood burning. The face laughed jovially in silence as smoke flowed from between its needle-like teeth. Its eyes snapped shut like clamshells.

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Alex Larkspur 💛📚🌻 @applesncinnamon.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

#SFFChat Q3 I love T. Kingfisher's fantasy, but her horror is also fantastic! One of my favorites is A House With Good Bones. There's a moment from it that I still think about sometimes...

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Totally okay! But also yay werewolves!