To any external observer, some indifferent alien surveyor, it would be the insects who rule the planet known as Earth. They fill the gamut of ecological niches, from lowly grazer to apex predator. They’ve developed agriculture and architecture as well as less visible, but no less complex, social structures. They outnumber the planet’s dominant mammalian species, an amusingly recent development in its bio-history, by a factor of nearly 1.5 billion to one.

The Celtic tradition of storytelling, shared characters and plots rising and falling depending on the teller’s whim, is more akin to a churning cauldron of narrative than a formal, indexed (some may say less exciting) library. And all this before we’ve even tackled what we mean by Weird…

“They talk about death being cold. It’s life that’s the cold thing.”

If it were possible to sum up Edith Nesbit’s horror fiction in a single line then this quote from one of her final tales would be as good an attempt as any. As Melissa Edmundson tells us in her introduction “[Nesbit’s] characters are always hiding something … whether it be a disappointment, a regret, a fear, a screen, or a crime.” The gaps these acts of hiding create become, inevitably, filled with the chill of ghosts but Nesbit’s unexpected statement that life, not death, is cold also indicates some of the contradictions at the heart of her own life.

Novels about art works, and novels about archaeology, have something of the ghost story in them. The Final Act of Juliette Willoughby, by Ellery Lloyd, and Nephthys, by Rachel Louise Driscoll revive the long-standing trope of the mummy’s curse. 

Think of weird fiction and, probably without even realizing it, you will think of one thing: men. Whether it’s H. P. Lovecraft’s tentacled monstrosities, the decadent necromancies of Clark Ashton Smith or Algernon Blackwood’s eerie eco-horror, the canon of weird fiction, like many human endeavors, is dominated by male practitioners.

[…] with Weird Sisters, Ashley once again delves into that class of weird tale which, despite their narrative power, have often been unfairly overlooked purely because their authors happened to be women. Overlooked, it has to be clarified, especially in the sense of being writers of weird fiction.

Vigilance Theater Group presents Mac Beth, adapted by Erica Schmidt and directed by Ingrid Sonnichsen in a modern, immersive Shakespeare experience.

In celebration of Women in Horror Month, here is part three of a list of new and upcoming works of horror fiction to get excited about, written by women authors.

In celebration of Women in Horror Month, here is part two of a list of new and upcoming works of horror fiction to get excited about, written by women authors.

Never in my lifetime has it felt so important to recognize the contributions of women—in my own life, in my community, and especially in the genre we all love. So for International Women’s Day, and as a kick-off article for our celebration of Women in Horror Month, I want to highlight some of the most exciting and highly anticipated horror books of 2025 written by women authors, but I also don’t feel like I can stop here. This is only the beginning.

Author Gregory William Mank reviews a piece of Hollywood history in Clive Dawson’s I Walked with A Zombie.

Dan Pietersen explores how May Sinclair’s life influenced her weird fiction in British Library Publishing’s latest collection of Sinclair’s short stories, edited by Mike Ashley.