Read Me A Nightmare

A ghost story at an all-girls boarding school just in time for Halloween…

The Matron of Hawthorne Hall was written by myself, and inspired by my time working at an exclusive boarding school in the countryside outside of London England.  

The story is read by Kristi Stewart, a professional voice actor and frequent performer for this podcast.  

The Matron of Hawthorne Hall is published in the current issue of Max Blood’s Mausoleum HERE.

Max Blood’s Mausoleum: A Home for the Weird and Terrifying

Max Blood’s Mausoleum launched on March 1st with a new home for horror. The editor, Max Blood, says, “We’ve read it all before and will read it all again, so send us something that will really set us back on our heels. Terrify us. Make us squirm. Send us the best of your worst.”

Max Blood’s Mausoleum is a paying market, offering $30 per piece, and has three issues out in the world. He recently published my Halloween ghost story, “The Matron of Hawthorne Hall” and I thought this was a good time to check in with his experiences so far. AF: How has the reception to Max Blood’s Mausoleum been?

MB: Reception has been fantastic! I’ve had many great authors submit stories to our publication, and this has been really exciting for me. I worried when I started this that I would have a difficult time discovering enough great stories. That was a pessimistic view of the future. In reality, I had too many great ones. There are a ton of exciting, engaging authors out there whom I’d never heard of, and it excites me every time I discover another great one. The hardest part is choosing which stories to accept and which to pass on. I’ve had to pass on some pretty good ones.

On the reader front, I’ve been pleasantly surprised to receive multiple emails from readers praising our stories, and I’ve passed those praises onto the respective authors. It brings me tremendous joy to get to do that.

And then there is the continuing success of our authors. Several of the stories we picked up have since been picked up to be republished in other publications.

And one story (we can’t reveal which at this time) has been picked up by a production company to be made into a short film!

 AF: Do you have any numbers as to your downloads and submission stats?

MB: Well, we just published our third issue, so we’re still pretty small. That said, our numbers are not bad at all. In September, we had nearly 400 unique visitors to our site, about half of which were authors viewing our submission guidelines. So, it’s a good place for authors, for sure. That said, I’d say it’s a great place for readers. That’s 200 readers for our latest issue. Your story, “The Matron of Hawthorne Hall,” had a fantastic 32 readers get into it. And these are stories that the authors poured their blood into. They have each brought something special to our site. I certainly plan on increasing those numbers as we continue to publish such brilliant horror stories, but this is not a bad start at all.

AF: What types of stories are you buying/what kind is most likely to be successful?

MB: The ideal story for me is that which I wish I had written. Honestly, it’s that simple. If I read a piece and think, “Why didn’t I think of that?,” that’s a great sign.

This often comes in the form of a story that pushes the limits of comfortability.

Read “The Blood Horse,” by Kurt Newton, published in Issue 3, and you’ll see what I mean in action. That story even pushed my limits, made me uncomfortable. “Pavement Spatula,” by David Vonderheide, is another great example of this. It is psychologically terrifying. I wish I’d written that!

That said, it doesn’t always have to push limits in these ways. I love horror that touches on other genres. Especially Science Fiction. It has to still be definitively Horror, but touching on another genre offers complexity that is often missing in mainstream Horror.

AF: What did you like about The Matron of Hawthorne Hall and why did you send me a revise and resubmit?

MB: There are times when a piece doesn’t touch on the above, but when it comes to actually reading the piece, I simply enjoy it. It’s difficult to qualify a reason behind it, so let’s just call it Magic. Some stories just have a bit of Magic. A bit of Charm. Your story was just such a story. I seriously enjoyed it. That said, it was initially pretty far from what we publish at Max Blood’s Mausoleum. In many cases, no matter how great a story is, this is a hard pass for me, but when that Magic is particularly strong for me,

I will sometimes offer a chance for revision to bring the story at least a little closer to what we are looking for.

It’s important to me that the story remains THAT AUTHOR’s story. I don’t want to get rid of what makes the story unique to them. So, I try to structure some remarks around where I think we can meet halfway. Compared to stories like “The Blood Horse” and “Pavement Spatula”, your story was a bit tame (I mean this in the nicest way) for what we publish normally, but this process worked well, and the story retained its Magic. And perhaps most importantly, you were willing to work with us, to work through drafts of your story. One thing I definitely believe in is rewarding hard work.

AF: How many stories do you buy “as is” and how many do you send back for another chance at acceptance?

MB: This is a tough question, and my answer is closely related to my previous answer. Most stories (let’s say eight out of ten that I am considering), I accept as-is. Those other two stories are the ones that get through on Magic and Charm. I receive hundreds of submissions every month, and I honestly try to give each story its chance. There’s just not a lot of time to go back and forth on revisions, so when I choose to do that, it’s because the story is special to me in some way.

AF: You have an anthology in the works, can you tell us about that?

MB: I would love to. The anthology is the first part of the Terror Songs series of anthologies I’m planning. This first volume is titled “Songs from the Void.” We ran our call for submissions for it primarily over Spring and Summer this year, and I must say, you’re in for a treat. The volume consists of Horror stories set in space. Not sci-fi with horror elements. Horror with sci-fi elements. Horror first is important to us. If you’ve read “Nightflyers” by George R. R. Martin, or watched the “Alien” movies or “Event Horizon”, you’re in the right zone. Many great stories came in, and many were selected. We have seventeen stories for you thus far and are waiting on two more we intend to accept. We have already commissioned human-made art for the end sheets and the cover, and have actually received the finalized cover artwork.

But that is not all. In our current plans for this project, there will be a companion novel to the volume. We are working on something pretty special for it, though we cannot yet give specifics in that area.

A lot of this is subject to changes, as nothing is finalized until we get closer to the crowdfunding campaign that will help fund the printing of these books. The campaign will run on Kickstarter in mid-2025. Anyone interested in keeping up to date can sign up for our newsletter at https://maxblood.pub.

AF: What’s in the future for Max Blood’s Mausoleum?

MB: We intend to continue forward as we have been, though with a slight modification coming at the start of 2025. This year, we experimented with producing quarterly issues. While that has been received well, we believe we can increase exposure for the authors by switching to a weekly format. We will be publishing one new story each week, rather than making readers wait three months between reads. This has another advantage, and this is perhaps the advantage that means the most to us. With a weekly format, we’re not limited to selecting ten stories. This enables us to accept more of the great stories we find. We believe this will be a great opportunity for writers, opening more doors to them, and exposing their terrors to more readers. That is more in line with our vision for the publication in the first place.

We are currently closed for submissions as we finalize Issue 4, but will be opening back up closer to the end of the year. I’m looking at November to post a new call for submissions.

What are those dark shadows in the trees? You may never camp again…PLUS - Building a career with short stories.This episode features a short horror story by Mark Leslie called The Shadow Men, read by himself.

Would you love a print version of this tale and other creepy offerings? Mark Leslie is in the last days of a Kickstarter for his updated and illustrated anniversary collection ONE HAND SCREAMING.

Don’t miss out! KICKSTARTER

Mark Leslie has published more than 25 books. He has a comedy horror series featuring a Canadian Werewolf, several standalone thrillers and horror novels, a set of paranormal non-fiction books, and guides that help authors navigate publishing. You can find him at markleslie.ca After the reading, Mark Leslie and I chat about the author life and how to make money with short stories. We Mention:

Mark's Books

Mark's PodcastThe Canadian Mounted

Cursed & Creepy Audiobook

The Horror Lite Anthologies

Frightmares in The Falls

Grab your sleeping bag, a flashlight, and let's go camping.

Episode 44 - Treats and an Interview with Robert Stahl

Sticky Pumpkin Guts and Unlikely Ghouls…

Read Me a Nightmare presents “Treats”, written and read by Robert Stahl. Stay tuned after this short horror romp for an interview with the author where we talk about the writing process, life as a horror writer, rescue dogs, and the pros and cons of writing long.

Treats was first published in Oct 2019 in Rigor Morbid: Lest Ye Become, and reprinted in Cursed & Creepy in Nov 2023.

Learn more about Robert at www.robertestahl.com.

Grab some stale Halloween candy, lock your doors, and enjoy this taste of Halloween in August.

Even Scarecrows love a carnival…

Our episode today features Christopher Henckel and his short story "Remember the Gallscream."

I bought this tale for Book #1 of the HorrorLite Anthologies

CURSED AND CREEPY.

Born in the backwoods of West Virginia, Christopher Henckel is a country boy down to his molecular structure. He now lives in New Zealand with his lovely partner, Annaliese, and two equally lovely daughters, Avery and Coco. His stories can be found in Galaxy’s Edge magazines and various anthologies. When he’s not writing, Henckel works as a Senior Procurement Specialist for the NZ Government.

The Gallscream is a hero or a devil. It all depends what car of the Ferris wheel you’re swinging from…

Jingle, Jingle. Any time of year is a good time for Christmas Horror.

R.J.K. Lee not only reads his own story, "Memo From the Jolly Overlords", but also sticks around for a candid interview. Are you addicted to short stories? Desperately trying to figure out how to make money writing? Yup. Hang out for the chat afterwards.

Memo From the Jolly Overlords was first broadcast on the Weird Christmas Podcast in December of 2020 and then published in Book #1 of the HorrorLite Anthologies
CURSED AND CREEPY.

R.J.K. Lee immigrated to Japan in 2005 from Oregon. He's puttered along train tracks to meet quotas for the overlords ever since, currently as a teacher, proof reader, and voice narrator, while churning out fiction. 

Ryland and I have shared a few Table of Contents, including DreamForge, Parsec's Triangulation anthology, The Seven Day Weekend, and Space & Time Magazine.

Grab a bag of sugar plums. Oh. And make sure to meet your quota...

You never know what you might find-- or lose-- in an antique shop.

Our episode today features Shannon Fox and her short story "The Garden Party."
I bought this tale for Book #1 of the HorrorLite Anthologies
CURSED AND CREEPY.
"The Garden Party" was originally published in September 2019 in the anthology Cursed Collectibles. 

If you are interested in learning about a great writing conference and the pros and cons of indie versus trad publishing, you will enjoy the interview after the story.

Shannon writes as both Shannon Lynn Fox and S.L. Fox. Her short stories have appeared in DreamForge Anvil, Air & Nothingness Press, and Third Flatiron among others. She also has a short story in the Monsters, Movies, & Mayhem Anthology, alongside Johnathan Maberry, Rick Wilber, and Hailey Piper. Edited by Kevin J. Anderson, it won the 2021 Colorado Book Award for Best Anthology.

Shannon is the owner of Minute Marketing, a marketing company based in San Diego, CA, that helps Realtors and other housing industry professionals save time with their marketing. You can check out more about her company here.

Karen Shute is our voice actor for this episode. Learn more about her here.

Grab your significant other's hand, double-check your life insurance, and let's go shopping...

This tomato is spicy!

"Minny and the Mutant Tomato" is an original story written by Angelique Fawns for the anthology Cursed and Creepy.

Minny Brown wants to win the local fair and she’ll do anything to make sure her tomatoes are the biggest on Pelee Island. Including stealing her dad’s ultra-secret growth serum. 

The new formula works too well. A mutant tomato pops up and he's not about to fill a bottle of ketchup. 

Can  Minny stop the tomatopocalypse? 

Bill Wiesner is our reader for this episode. Bill Wiesner is a Toronto-based technical and creative professional.  He is a promotions and commercial producer/director/writer, post-production editor, and voice actor. 

Grab your trowel, put on some gardening gloves, and prepare to meet the next generation of killer tomatoes. 

Not all snakes are reptiles.

"A Cold Slither Killing" first appeared in Heavy Metal Nightmares anthology by Phobica Books March, 2023.

This story is voiced by Kristi Stewart. She is a regular performer for Read Me A Nightmare.

Her career has taken her from the newsroom, as an associate producer, a promotions director in country radio as well as a public relations manager for a not for profit, and, sponsorship manager for Rogers TV Toronto… all the while keeping her fingers in the entertainment field. She found a second love, as a voice actor.

Learn more about the Horror Lite Anthologies here:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CMM44YPZ

Put on your best concert gear, hide your beer in a paper bag, and let’s listen to some heavy metal.

If you go into the woods today...
Beware the Zaggamung.

James Hancock is a writer/screenwriter of comedy, thriller, horror, sci-fi and twisted fairy tales.  A few of his short screenplays have been made into films, and he has been published in print magazines, online, and in anthology books. He lives in England, with his wife and two daughters.  And a bunch of pets he insisted his girls could NOT have.

Zaggamung is a short atmospheric horror story written byJames Hancock and performed by Karen Shute.

In our interview, James Hancock talks about the differences between screen writing and the short story world. We also hit on the importance of writing groups.

Here are some links if you want to learn more:

https://twitter.com/JimHank13
Bring Out the Wicked
Dark Day Collection of Drabbles

So you're a shark, and you are looking for the best place to hang.
What if there was a Trip Advisor for sea life?

On today's episode, Pete Lead, a fellow author and improv actor presents his own story, "A Review of Bondi Beach, written by Henry the Shark."  

 Pete Lead is a writer, narrator, and facilitator who currently calls New Zealand his home. You can learn more about him at www.petelead.com 

 Stay tuned after the reading for a conversation about looking at writing as a business and strategies for success.

Grab your towel, some sunscreen, a sharp harpoon, and let's dive into this review.