The videos show people kissing. They press their mouths together and open their lips. Their tongues move, wet and intrusive, less like they are tasting each other than like they want to lay eggs in the protected throats of their lovers.

The dryer groans to life, then begins thumping ominously. Maddie, already halfway out of her building’s laundry room, swears under her breath. The machine grinds and shakes. She slams the stop button, trying not to think about what the landlord might charge.

As I write from within the sidelined shadows where the horror genre lurks, I am reminded of the four hours I spent in that busted-ass, stinking shack. The people, the music. The communion. I think about the exploration we do as writers of horror.

Adam-Troy Castro compares and contrasts two March releases featuring sister protagonists and uber-wealthy Satanist villain: Ready or Not 2 and They Will Kill You. Find out which one has teeth!

Your mouth is a red door           of blossoming velvet. I knock three times, your belly skinned, an open tender thing. I peel back fur; your insides flower                 wet against my touch.