Welcome to Issue #135 of Nightmare Magazine. It’s hard to believe it’s already December and time to wrap up another year of publishing terrific dark fantasy and horror. 2023 has been a tough year for short fiction, with magazines like ours weathering the storms of AI-generated submissions and the end of the Kindle Periodicals program, where many magazines sourced the majority of their subscribers. It’s the kind of year that makes all of us working in this field exceptionally grateful for every single reader. Thank you so much for letting us be a part of your nightmares for yet another year!
Speaking of nightmares: we’re looking for a few more of them. That’s right—next month we’ll be opening to submissions for the first time in over a year. For more details, check out our submissions guidelines.
The horror genre is often defined by its use of terror, suspense, gruesomeness, and mounting dread. These are important tools in a horror writer’s toolbox, and none is more important or useful than any of the others. I didn’t set out to celebrate dread in this issue, but once I’d chosen TJ Price’s “dread” as this month’s poetry selection, I saw that the other works this month were also built around that wonderful tool. Each of our fiction pieces this month is organized around a principle of slowly mounting awfulness building to an unpleasant climax. You can’t help but suspect where the piece is going, but you also can’t stand to look away from the trainwreck.
Don’t get me wrong: each of these stories is doing wildly different things. Ashlee Lhamon kicks off our month with her body horror short story “For All Your Other Daughters.” It’s a fiercely feminist tale that will set your teeth on edge. On the other hand, Lynette S. Hoag’s account of a smart home with a very bad attitude (short story “Bête Noire”) is a sly critique of our relationship with technology and pop culture. Marisca Pichette’s flash story “The Twelve Dying Princesses” would have been a great fit for November’s fairy tale-themed issue, but its structure of ever unhappier endings suggested it belonged here.
And, honestly, December seems like the right place for an issue about situations that grow steadily darker. If you live in the Northern Hemisphere, as I do, every day gets a little bit darker—and a little bit colder. If the cold bothers you, then perhaps the most frightening piece in this issue will be Ed Grabianowski’s H Word essay about the terrifying experience of surviving a severe blizzard. Other nonfiction this month includes a media review from Adam-Troy Castro and spotlight interviews with our writers.
It’s another terrific issue, perfect for reading on a cold, stormy night, while snuggling up with a warm cup of something delicious. Enjoy!
