Spooky short story submissions for October
With October in full swing and the shopfronts filling up with devilish delights, you may be inspired to bring your spine-tingling tales of terror to life, and there’s no better time to submit your spooky short stories than now. Whether you are a lovecrafter of monsters from another dimension, eerie ghost stories, chilling psychological horror, or even kid-friendly frights, this list provides a comprehensive guide to magazines and podcasts ready to accept your haunting creations. Detailing the various payment rates, word count preferences, and submission windows, you’ll find the perfect platform to give your stories the audience they deserve—just in time for the spookiest season of the year! Ready to scare your readers silly? Explore these submission opportunities that eagerly await your spooky stories.
Magazines
Nightmare Magazine
Nightmare Magazine, founded in 2012, delves into the darkest corners of horror and dark fantasy. Their content spans supernatural horrors, grim realism, and thought-provoking psychological dread. They’ve won accolades such as the Shirley Jackson Award for Alyssa Wong’s “Hungry Daughters of Starving Mothers.” The motto at Nightmare Magazine is “horror is for everyone”. They also have a spotlight publication called The Horror Lab for experimental flash fiction, poetry and creative non-fiction. Currently open for submissions.
Word Count: 1,500 to 7,500 words (although stoires under 5,000 words are preferred)
Simultaneous submission: yes
Payment: $0.08 per word (professional rates as defined by HWA and SFWA
Submission Guidelines
Poetry Submission Guidelines
Spooky Magazine
Spooky Magazine is a biannual horror magazine specializing in playful eerie tales and macabre adventures. They favour a retro horror vibe with unpredictable twists, mixing cozy scares with vintage appeal, and “wholesome horror” (imagine if Roald Dahl and Ray Bradbury had a baby in the Twilight Zone). Spooky Magazine is currently closed for submissions and will open next from May 13 to July 13, 2024, for their autumn/winter issue, giving you plenty of time to dust off your old manuscripts or soak up the Halloween vibes and start something from scratch.
Word Count: Up to 5,000 words
Simultaneous submission: yes
Payment: $0.01 per word
Submission Guidelines
Tales from the Moonlit Path
Tales from the Moonlit Path focuses on dark, eerie, speculative fiction and prefers character-driven stories no longer than 2,000 words. They avoid gratuitous gore or explicit content but are open to chilling psychological horror and dark fiction, and classic horror isn’t a must-have. Poetry is also welcome. The magazine is currently closed for submissions for fiction and poetry for the Halloween edition – but they’ll be back!
Word Count: No more than 2,000 words
Simultaneous submission: yes
Payment: Unclear from the website, but they do seem to pay authors and rely on donations to fund this
Submission Guidelines
Poetry Submission Guidelines
Cosmic Horror Monthly
Cosmic Horror Monthly specialises in cosmic horror and existential dread delivered in contemporary styles. They look for stories that make us question the nature of reality and our place in the universe. Currently closed for submissions, and despite the name Cosmic Horror Monthly is open for submissions twice a year, for one week in January and again in July. They also have submission windows for non-fiction and other shorter fiction stories, so keep a (bloodshot) eye on the site. They are currently accepting creepy artwork for covers and interior pages.
Word Count: Up to 5,000 words
Simultaneous submission: yes
Payment: $0.03 per word ($20 for interior artwork and $100 for cover art)
Submission Guidelines
On Spec
On Spec, Canada’s premier speculative fiction magazine since 1989, publishes horror, fantasy, and science fiction, although they are not looking for gratuitously gory horror. They value stories with speculative elements, including eerie horrors with a scientific twist. Poetry is welcome, but must have a speculative horror element. Currently closed for submissions until later in the year, giving you a little breathing space for any work that needs a bit more Terrifying Loving Care. They also accept fantasy and sci-fi, and do appear to run calls for artwork as well.
Word Count: Up to 6,000 words
Payment: CAD 100 for stories up to 2,000 words, CAD 0.05 per word for longer fiction
Submission Guidelines
Mysterion
Mysterion is a webzine focused on Christian-themed speculative fiction, blending horror, fantasy, or science fiction with themes of faith. Since its inception, Mysterion has published stories that challenge both religious and non-religious readers alike, exploring complex themes without falling into preachiness. They are particularly interested in stories featuring Christian characters, cosmology, or themes that delve into the mysteries of faith. Mysterion is open for submissions twice a year, in January and July; however, they are open to art sumissions year-round.
Word Count: Up to 9,000 words
Payment: $0.08 per word for original stories, $0.04 per word for reprints
Submission Guidelines
The Ghastling
The Ghastling is a biannual print magazine dedicated to strange, unsettling, and macabre fiction. Launched in 2014, it focuses on psychological horror, ghost stories, folky yarns and the uncanny, often pairing haunting tales with beautiful, eerie artwork. The magazine celebrates gothic tradition and the weird, making it the perfect home for atmospheric horror that doesn’t rely on gore or shock value. They prefer stories that creep up on readers, leaving us with a lingering sense of unease. Currently closed for submissions, but do keep an eyeball or two on their Twitter and Facebook pages for submission updates.
Word Count: 1,000 to 3,000 words
Payment: £15 to £25
Submission Guidelines
Nightmare Magazine
Nightmare Magazine, founded in 2012, delves into the darkest corners of horror and dark fantasy. Their content spans supernatural horrors, grim realism, and thought-provoking psychological dread. They’ve won accolades such as the Shirley Jackson Award for Alyssa Wong’s “Hungry Daughters of Starving Mothers.” The motto at Nightmare Magazine is “horror is for everyone”. They also have a spotlight publication called The Horror Lab for experimental flash fiction, poetry and creative non-fiction. Currently open for submissions.
Word Count: 1,500 to 7,500 words (although stoires under 5,000 words are preferred)
Simultaneous submission: yes
Payment: $0.08 per word (professional rates as defined by HWA and SFWA
Submission Guidelines
Poetry Submission Guidelines
Podcasts
The NoSleep Podcast
Launched in 2011 as a spinoff from a popular Reddit forum, The NoSleep Podcast has become a titan in the world of horror audio dramas. They’re looking for first-person horror stories that thrive in an audio format, especially those with strong dialogue and a gripping narrative. They accept flash fiction, short stories, regular stories and scripts, offering plenty of opportunity for seasoned and debut writers alike. Previously published work is accepted.
Word Count: 1,200 to 7,000 words
Payment: $100 to $125
Submission Guidelines
Creepy Podcast
Creepy Podcast, launched in 2016, features stories from the darkest, cobwebbiest corners of the internet. Every October, they run their popular 31 Days of Horror series, and according to the website they are still accepting submissions for this. They ask for exclusivity on accepted work to prevent doubling up with other podcasts. At the moment they are especially keen on female or gender-neutral protagonists, although male POV is also accepted. Hispanophiles are in luck as they have a soon-to-be released Spanish language version of the show, which could mean translations and double payments (woohooooooooo!)
Word Count: 1,000 to 3,500 words
Payment: $0.02 per word, up to $70
Submission Guidelines
Nightlight Podcast
Nightlight Podcast is unique in its mission to amplify Black voices in horror. Founded in 2018, it exclusively features stories from Black authors, with a focus on thrilling narratives that center cultural heritage, mythology, and the Black experience in horror. They are currently closed for submissions, possibly to shore up funding for their next season – if you’re feeling generous they do have a Patreon link from their landing page.
Word Count: Up to 10,000 words
Payment: $75 for flash fiction, $200 for short fiction
Submission Guidelines
Tales to Terrify
The volunteers at Tales to Terrify have been airing chilling stories since 2012. They focus on atmospheric, slow-burn horror with strong character development, and anything that challenges the definition of horror. If you have a good radio voice and feel like branching out from your writing desk, they are also always on the lookout for new narrators. It’s worth checking in the website regularly as they sometimes run competitions. They are currently only accepting fiction up to 2,000 words, and previously published works are welcome.
Word Count: 2,000 to 10,000 words
Simultaneous submission: yes
Payment: $0.02 per word for original fiction, $0.01 per word for reprints
Submission Guidelines
PseudoPod
PseudoPod, part of the renowned Escape Artists network, has been haunting airwaves since 2006, and the crew pride themselves on their strong pedigree. They specialize in dark horror, from psychological thrillers to supernatural terror, and pay professional writer rates. Whether you walk in the literary footsteps of Poe, or search the gutters for grim pulp fiction, they are interested in anything from the darkest recesses of your mind, as long as it’s compelling. They are currently closed for submissions until summer 2035, but their schedule page is updated with any changes regularly. Look out for their quarterly Flash on the Borderlands specials which feature flash fiction under 1,500 words.
Word Count: Up to 6,000 words
Simultaneous submission: yes
Payment: $0.08 per word for original stories, $100 flat for reprints
Submission Guidelines
Thirteen Podcast
Specializing in slow-burn, atmospheric horror, Thirteen Podcast is a fully produced audio drama that focuses on bone-chilling character-driven ghost stories and eerie suspense. First-person POV is most likely to be accepted. If they like your story they will adapt it to audio format for you and they are currently accpeting submissions.
Word Count: 5,000 words or more preferred
Payment: $75 for stories over 5,000 words, $50 for shorter stories
Submission Guidelines
Children’s
Spaceports & Spidersilk
This charmingly eerie publication for readers aged 8-14 will accept clean fantasy, science fiction and “shadow stories” – adventures that are deliciously spooky but not terrifying. As with other publishers who accept submissions for this age group, stories with young protagonists are essential. They also accept shadowy flash fiction, poetry, essays, interviews, B&W art and cover art – if you can make it, they want it! This publisher has a number of magazines, so be sure to check those out too.
Word Count: up to 3,000 words
Payment: $6 per story, $3 for flash fiction (less than 1,000 words)
Submission Guidelines
Cast of Wonders
Cast of Wonders is a YA podcast brought to you by the Escape Artists network and is dedicated to stories that evoke a sense of wonder and awe. They specialise in speculative fiction, including light horror, aimed at young adults aged 12-17. Check out their Staff Picks page to get a sense of what they’re after – from a horror perspective keep it psychological or comedy and make sure you understand the YA essentials that should be considered.
Word Count: Up to 6,000 words (between 3,000 and 4,500 is best to fit their half-hour format)
Payment: $0.08 per word for original fiction, $20 flat for flash fiction (under 1,500 words)
Submission Guidelines
