05/24/2025 Uncomfortably Dark Horror Special Report
- Candace Nola
- 4 days ago
- 4 min read
Happy Saturday! Since we have five Saturdays this month, the normal month-end wrap-up will be split up into two posts rather than one.
This Saturday, we have updates on the SELF (S)CARE Anthology project, our new release from Brian Bowyer, our new game review from Besu Tadesse, and our spotlight on three indie authors you need to read, and more!
Be sure to come back next week for our Review Teams month-end stats, guest reviews, a special movie review, and more!
SELF (S)CARE ANTHOLOGY PROJECT
FIRST SUBMISSION WINDOW CLOSES MAY 31, 2025! GET THOSE STORIES IN!
Self (S)care Submission Guidelines
This is a paid opportunity for self-published horror stories only.
To be eligible: stories must have been published and be available for ordering, download or purchase within 2025, on a platform such as Godless, Google Books, D2D platforms or Amazon.
Submission Windows:
There will be four submission windows.
First & last windows will be slightly longer.
No submission will be accepted outside of these windows.
1. May 15 through May 31
2. Aug. 15 through Aug. 20
3. Nov. 15 through Nov. 20
4. Dec. 15 through Dec. 31
Other Details:
Reprints only. The selected stories will be paid at .02 per word.
Anticipated Release Date is April 15, 2026.
Anthology will be produced as an eBook, paperback, and audio book.
Press Release:
REVIEW FULL GUIDELINES HERE BEFORE YOU SUBMIT.
Uncomfortably Dark Anthology Page:
STORYSLAVE BY BRIAN BOWYER!
AVAILABLE ON GODLESS NOW!
STORYSLAVE
Three novelettes and a memoir from Splatterpunk Award-nominated and Godless Award-winning horror author Brian Bowyer.
SCARLETT
A serial killer uses the blood of his victims to make art—while a haunted painting made with the blood of a murdered child tells its owner that the artist is planning another painting.
COUNTDOWN TO OBLIVION
An alcoholic father, out to rescue his daughter from a psychopath, finds himself in the middle of an extinction event.
BLACK CAT BONES
A young girl and her mother escape the mother’s abusive lover to the safety of a remote cabin—where life descends further and unravels around them, as addiction and starvation lead to drastic measures that challenge both their stomachs and their minds.
Pre-order for Kindle here:
ON GODLESS NOW! EVERYWHERE ELSE ON MAY 31, 2025!
Cover Art by Christy Aldridge
FOR THE GAMERS
Little Nightmares
Reviewed by Besu Tadesse
Little Nightmares is a side-scrolling puzzle-platform horror game developed by Bandai Namco Entertainment and released in April 2017. In the game, you play as a young child in a yellow raincoat running through a dark and dank facility, where big dangers threaten your ability to escape at every turn. The game has you interact with environmental elements to duck, climb, and light your way through obstacles, including leeches, electricity, sound attacks, and other things that debilitate your character.
The game shares similar elements to early 90s side-scrollers like Out of This World and Oddworld: Abe’s Oddysee, albeit with more intuitive controls. The experience is fluid, and the terrors seamlessly appear from room to room. For example, one area shows a long-armed creature-person walking through a nursery, where large babies soundly sleep in cribs. The room is juxtaposed with a previous room where you find a person’s legs dangling in front of you. Everything that exists in the game warps any sense of normalcy and makes you feel as if the world of the game is on the verge of collapse.
This game is creepy. In addition to the aforementioned hanging and child-rearing, the rooms are extremely gross and claustrophobic. Rats run from corner to corner and metal cages (presumably for the inhabitants) clang and rot. In one scene, a large eye over a door shines light as it scans for stray children. If it catches the player, they are met with an ear-shattering screech that incapacitates them and leaves them for dead. Your character even suffers from hunger as they slow down to a near halt until they receive food from a mysterious soul in the background. The entire story feels bleak, with only a slim chance of escape.
Little Nightmares is available on all major gaming platforms and mobile phones. There is also Little Nightmares II and the upcoming Little Nightmares III for PC and consoles. If you want to be creeped out on the go, check it out!
THREE INDIE AUTHORS YOU NEED TO READ!
Ashley Lister: Ashley Lister is a prolific writer of fiction across a broad range of genres, having written more than sixty full length titles and over a hundred short stories. Aside from regularly blogging about writing, Ashley also teaches creative writing in the North West of England. He has recently completed a PhD in creative writing where he looked at the relationship between plot and genre in short fiction. His DEAD END TOURS series is a current favorite of mine.
Check out his work here:
MJ Mars: MJ Mars is a geek, ghoul, and horror enthusiast living in Lancaster, UK. Her debut novel, The Suffering, was published by Wicked House in 2023. When she isn’t writing, you’ll find MJ playing pool, trying to skateboard (badly), or listening to rock music. She owes every success to her mis-spent youth. Her novel, THE SUFFERING was a favorite read of mine in 2023.
Check out her work here:
Royal Poff: Royal Poff is best known for their first novella, SLEEPING AMONG WOLVES, which is a queer coming of age horror romance, as well as their Exquisite Corpse series which combines the voices of 13 different authors into one nightmarish continuous tale. Royal Poff's writing focuses on the horror found in everyday life, addiction, the queer experience, and the wellbeing of those around you. Their quieter take on horror is more reflective and introspective but never forgets about the grime and gore of the genre!
Check out their work here:
NEW & NEXT FROM UNCOMFORTABLY DARK!
Comments