This Horror Life

I can summarize my position on the horror short story in a simple phrase: two great tastes that taste great together. If horror is designed to bring out fear, then the short story is the quickest way to get the taste without lingering on extraneous details.

So why are there so few markets open to the horror short story? Aside from dedicated publications - Cemetary Dance, Weird Tales, Dark Wisdom , among others, there really isn’t a market for them. Joe Hill aside, most horror authors have to release a successful novel before being given the opportunity to publish a short story collection.

Publishing is dictated by the perceived notions of the market, yes, but if the market isn’t offered the opportunity to obtain the material then how could the tastes be accurately gaged? Judging by my local book store shelves, the only horror authors with any success are King, Koontz, Hamilton, and Lovecraft, the only anthologies coming from Carroll & Graff publishing, without which I would certainly go mad attempting to find good horror short fiction.

Are there alternate means of distribution? Yes. MicroHorror published any horror story under 666 words. Self-publication can offer a means to release material, but there seems to be even more stigma against self-publishing than the horror short story itself.

Do horror stories break through to more mainstream publications? Of course. I recall a stark dark fantasy story in the New Yorker called A Better Angel by Chris Adrian that was more disturbing in its approach to death than its incorporation of a not so benevolent guardian angel. Joyce Carol Oates was published in the first fiction only issue of the Atlantic with a disturbing sci-fi/horror crossover called *BD* 11 1 86. This kind of publication is the exception, rather than the norm, for a horror writer.

I’ve only recently returned to the world of publishing after a few year absence. Many of the markets I used to submit to are now closed, lost forever in a game that doesn’t suffer a loser kindly. I also recently realized that if I feel a story has merit, regardless of the content or genre, I should work off of a broader spectrum of targets. Would Harper’s publish (this story merely used as an example, housed perfectly well at MicroHorror) a dark ode to the ailing farms of mid-state NY called Black Dirt Country? Assuming it met the publication guidelines (it doesn’t), as unlikely as it is, one cannot know unless one tries.

I implore all horror authors - emerging, successful, and hobbyist alike - to at least take the chance. It’s ok, there will always be some darker publication to return to.

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