PseudoPod

PseudoPod https://pseudopod.org The Sound of Horror Tue, 11 Aug 2026 14:29:34 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://pseudopod.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/cropped-PseudoPod-chip-32x32.png PseudoPod https://pseudopod.org 32 32 PseudoPod 1042: Jerry Got Bit – Part 1 https://pseudopod.org/2026/08/11/pseudopod-1042-jerry-got-bit-part-1/ Tue, 11 Aug 2026 14:29:34 +0000 https://pseudopod.org/?p=12878 PseudoPod 1042: Jerry Got Bit – Part 1 is a PseudoPod original. C/W: implied child abuse, guns From the author: “One of the questions I’d always left for myself in previous stories in this setting was where Jerry the werewolf had come from. It was clear from the get-go that he was an outsider in Cecily’s family, and because of that he wasn’t necessarily welcome or…

]]> PseudoPod 1041: Graves Basin https://pseudopod.org/2026/08/09/pseudopod-1041-graves-basin/ Sun, 09 Aug 2026 12:52:57 +0000 https://pseudopod.org/?p=12868 PseudoPod 1041: Graves Basin is a PseudoPod original. From the author: “I’ve heard many times, from people wiser than me, that a horror writer fares best when they don’t waste their time trying to figure out what scares other people, but instead write about what scares them. So, with that in mind: I am terrified of a world where people are unable to find any value in the traditions and…

]]> PseudoPod 1040: Flash on the Borderlands LXXIX (79): Ubi amor, ibi dolor https://pseudopod.org/2026/07/31/pseudopod-1040-flash-on-the-borderlands-lxxix-79-ubi-amor-ibi-dolor/ Fri, 31 Jul 2026 04:01:55 +0000 https://pseudopod.org/?p=12848 PseudoPod 1040: Flash on the Borderlands LXXIX (79): Ubi amor, ibi dolor is a PseudoPod original. For CWs, please see show notes below Content warnings with timings: 03:56–16:40 ‘A Table Set And Waiting’: graphic sexual content, body horror, homophobia 18:57–26:32 ‘Third Date’: dangers of dating, physical abuse 29:44–40:52 ‘You’re Still Here’: homophobia, religion…

]]> PseudoPod 1039: The Song of the Living https://pseudopod.org/2026/07/24/pseudopod-1039-the-song-of-the-living/ Fri, 24 Jul 2026 04:01:03 +0000 https://pseudopod.org/?p=12843 “The Song of the Living” was originally published in 2025 in an anthology Tonja edited titled, “If Fists Could Speak: A Black Speculative Fiction Anthology” CW: harm to animals Please see the host commentary below for notes from the author. When the trees start to smell sharp and crisp, I know The Dead Things are coming. That warning scent perfumes the air now.

]]> PseudoPod 1038: Red Ripper https://pseudopod.org/2026/07/17/pseudopod-1038-red-ripper/ Fri, 17 Jul 2026 04:01:50 +0000 https://pseudopod.org/?p=12835 PseudoPod 1038: Red Ripper is a PseudoPod original. C/W reference to alcohol and drug abuse Listen, I could still stretch half you pups if I felt like it. Sit down and learn something about the business. Did I ever tell you about the Red Ripper? I got a special reason for telling about him, because he’s come back to settle up with me. I never cared who he was under…

]]> PseudoPod 1037: Playing Tricks https://pseudopod.org/2026/07/10/pseudopod-1037-playing-tricks/ Fri, 10 Jul 2026 11:30:27 +0000 https://pseudopod.org/?p=12825 “Playing Tricks” was first published in It Was All A Dream: An Anthology Of Bad Horror Tropes Done Right, edited by Brandon Applegate, and later in Angela Sylvaine’s collection, The Dead Spot: Stories of Lost Girls C/W: mental illness, gaslighting, child abuse Dina had never seen her dad cry until the day he left. His face was puffy and wet with tears when he…

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]]> PseudoPod 1036: A Greater Dark https://pseudopod.org/2026/07/03/pseudopod-1036-a-greater-dark/ Fri, 03 Jul 2026 04:01:59 +0000 https://pseudopod.org/?p=12821 PseudoPod 1036: A Greater Dark is a PseudoPod original. C/W: Xenophobia, gun violence, harm to animals Gray sheets of rain as the door bangs in, Willard and his men materializing in that opaque haze and shaking the wet from their long coats. They assess the room with eyes accustomed to staring. Move across the floor and toward a table in the back…

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]]> PseudoPod 1035: Interstate Mohinis https://pseudopod.org/2026/06/26/pseudopod-1035-interstate-mohinis/ Fri, 26 Jun 2026 04:01:21 +0000 https://pseudopod.org/?p=12815 “Interstate Mohinis” was originally published in Diabolical Plots (June 2023) C/W: sexual violence, cannibalism, reference to drug abuse In the way of Death runs the Vaitarani river. We are flayed open to its woe. We are always aware of its currents in gurgling lungfuls of unease. Time spun in recursive loops since I died in a scream of metal and flame and…

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]]> PseudoPod 1034: Only In The Dark https://pseudopod.org/2026/06/19/pseudopod-1034-only-in-the-dark/ Fri, 19 Jun 2026 16:56:51 +0000 https://pseudopod.org/?p=12813 PseudoPod 1034: Only In The Dark is a PseudoPod original. The crackling sound of static fills the room as the screen lights up. We see a simple landscape with some rocks and trees. The outline of a bird appears, its wings flapping softly. The bird takes flight and the scene shifts to a small room. It looks cozy. It has big soft armchairs, shelves full of toys, a desk…

]]> PseudoPod 1033: Devil is Fine https://pseudopod.org/2026/06/12/pseudopod-1033-devil-is-fine/ Fri, 12 Jun 2026 04:01:24 +0000 https://pseudopod.org/?p=12806 “Devil Is Fine” was first published in Cosmic Horror Monthly, in January 2025 C/W: strong body horror, gun violence, animal harm Author notes: “I was still pretty drunk on the experience of playing Red Dead Redemption 2 when I wrote this story and wanted to write a Weird western that took place in the plains where I’m from – and of course, add my touch of Weird/

]]> PseudoPod 1032: Flash on the Borderlands LXXVIII (78): Terraeque urbesque recedant https://pseudopod.org/2026/06/05/pseudopod-1032-flash-on-the-borderlands-lxxviii-78-terraeque-urbesque-recedant/ Fri, 05 Jun 2026 04:01:43 +0000 https://pseudopod.org/?p=12791 PseudoPod 1032: Flash on the Borderlands LXXVIII (78): Terraeque urbesque recedant is a PseudoPod original. C/W: racism, xenophobia, road death From the author: “Othertongue” began as a pastiche of H.P. Lovecraft’s “The Colour Out of Space,” provoked by real political rhetoric about languages from across the American borders. As it developed, it found its own voice and…

]]> PseudoPod 1031: Her Skin https://pseudopod.org/2026/05/29/pseudopod-1031-her-skin/ Fri, 29 May 2026 04:01:03 +0000 https://pseudopod.org/?p=12782 “Her Skin” first appeared in the anthology, They Walk Among Us: A Collection of Utah Horror (42 Books, April 2020). C/W: intimate partner abuse/control Notes contain possible spoilers: see Host Commentary below He found her in Hells Canyon. After that, my friend Oss liked to brag about how he’d gone fishing in the Snake River and caught a wife instead…

]]> PseudoPod 1030: Keeping Up With the Conan Doyles https://pseudopod.org/2026/05/22/pseudopod-1030-keeping-up-with-the-conan-doyles/ Fri, 22 May 2026 11:05:58 +0000 https://pseudopod.org/?p=12777 PseudoPod 1030: Keeping Up With the Conan Doyles is a PseudoPod original. C/W: disordered eating, fat-shaming May 22nd is Conan Doyle’s birthday and Sherlock Holmes Day Jess Whitecroft’s Patreon Cautionary Tales: Photographing Fairies From the Journals of the Society for Psychical Research. Interview with Angela Patterson, housekeeper of Latham Hall…

]]> PseudoPod 1029: Feeding the Choke-Tree https://pseudopod.org/2026/05/15/pseudopod-1029-feeding-the-choke-tree/ Fri, 15 May 2026 04:01:20 +0000 https://pseudopod.org/?p=12766 PseudoPod 1029: Feeding the Choke-Tree is a PseudoPod original. Okja “Straws,” I said. “Why straws?” “Because they’re cute, obviously,” said Foreman. “Don’t you think?” I squinted at them. Nearly a dozen were inching around his feet. As I watched, one flopped onto his boot, looking like a second shoelace. I guessed you could have called them cute—if you happened to be…

]]> PseudoPod 1028: All The Eyes That See https://pseudopod.org/2026/05/08/pseudopod-1028-all-the-eyes-that-see/ Fri, 08 May 2026 04:01:26 +0000 https://pseudopod.org/?p=12728 “All The Eyes That See” was originally published in Cosmic Horror Monthly issue #42 (ed. Charles Tyra, December 2023); it also won the 2023 Australian Shadows Award for Short Fiction. C/W: child abuse, domestic abuse From the author: “This story is me once again exploring the absolute weirdness of rural Australia, like I continue to do in my Tales From The Gulp books…

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]]> PseudoPod 1027: This Thing of Darkness https://pseudopod.org/2026/05/01/pseudopod-1027-this-thing-of-darkness/ Fri, 01 May 2026 04:01:30 +0000 https://pseudopod.org/?p=12717 PseudoPod 1027: This Thing of Darkness is a PseudoPod original. C/W: grief, approaching death Nissa Harlow: nissaharlow.com Tina Connolly: tinaconnolly.com ‘Don’t Put a Rug on a Polished Floor’ public information film Scarred for Life on Bluesky: @scarredforlife.bsky.social Writers from the Antarctic call Anthologies and Collections 2026 call 7…

]]> PseudoPod 1026: Thoughts and Prayers https://pseudopod.org/2026/04/24/pseudopod-1026-thoughts-and-prayers/ Fri, 24 Apr 2026 11:59:30 +0000 https://pseudopod.org/?p=12707 PseudoPod 1026: Thoughts and Prayers is a PseudoPod original. C/W: Gun violence, school shooting https://www.npr.org/2025/09/08/nx-s1-5317647/school-shooting-industry https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/interactive/school-shootings-database/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/School_shooting https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Craft_(film) https://www.findlaw.com/

]]> PseudoPod 1025: Impostor Syndrome https://pseudopod.org/2026/04/17/pseudopod-1025-impostor-syndrome/ Fri, 17 Apr 2026 04:01:21 +0000 https://pseudopod.org/?p=12698 PseudoPod 1025: Impostor Syndrome is a PseudoPod original. The Mighty Boosh-Back to the Crunch Looking back, the first red flag was during the job interview, when Chad said their target demographic was males, ages thirteen to seventeen. “That’s pretty specific,” I said. He shrugged. “Market research.” If I had been using the critical thinking skills I obtained from five…

]]> PseudoPod 1024: Flash on the Borderlands LXXVII (77): The Only Enemy You Can’t Live Without https://pseudopod.org/2026/04/10/pseudopod-1024-flash-on-the-borderlands-lxxvii-77-the-only-enemy-you-cant-live-without/ Fri, 10 Apr 2026 04:01:34 +0000 https://pseudopod.org/?p=12676 “Witchcraft” was first printed in Ornaments in Jade, 1924 “How I Turned My Little Brother Human” was first published in Shaky Pictures of Vanished Faces, edited by Eric Raglin, in September 2025 “Visit Seahaven” was first published in Factor Four magazine in 2024 “Get Nourished” is a PseudoPod original C/W: pregnancy and pregnancy loss, death in the family, child death…

]]> PseudoPod 1023: Grandifolia https://pseudopod.org/2026/04/03/pseudopod-1023-grandifolia/ Fri, 03 Apr 2026 12:32:39 +0000 https://pseudopod.org/?p=12667 PseudoPod 1023: Grandifolia is a PseudoPod original. C/W: Emotional control, intimate partner abuse The first time I do everything the way I’m supposed to. I wait for the new moon and walk into the woods at midnight. I carry a jar of pig’s blood and wear a wreath of nettles, ignoring as best I can the stinging on my scalp. I tread silently, carefully…

]]> PseudoPod 1022: All the Good You Did Not Do https://pseudopod.org/2026/03/27/pseudopod-1022-all-the-good-you-did-not-do/ Fri, 27 Mar 2026 14:25:41 +0000 https://pseudopod.org/?p=12640 ‘All the Good You Did Not Do’ originally appeared in Apex magazine in November of 2023 C/W: reference to PTSD, depression When the doors slide open, the screams escape. Saul is summoned from his security podium by the researchers’ howls, and he slides in his formal uniform shoes until he finds them caged in an elevator open to the atrium-style lobby.

]]> PseudoPod 1021: Bad Doors https://pseudopod.org/2026/03/20/pseudopod-1021-bad-doors/ Fri, 20 Mar 2026 11:27:49 +0000 https://pseudopod.org/?p=12635 ‘Bad Doors’ was originally published in Uncanny Magazine in 2023, and was a finalist for the Nebula Award for Best Short Story. C/W: pandemic, family and animal disappearance/death The country was at just over ten thousand deaths the morning that the door appeared. On Kosmo’s phone NPR was interviewing a doctor with a nasal voice about the need for social…

]]> PseudoPod 1020: Walking Tour of Scarborough in Nuclear Winter https://pseudopod.org/2026/03/13/pseudopod-1020-walking-tour-of-scarborough-in-nuclear-winter/ Fri, 13 Mar 2026 04:01:37 +0000 https://pseudopod.org/?p=12627 PseudoPod 1020: Walking Tour of Scarborough in Nuclear Winter is a PseudoPod original. Rogue One final scene 30 Days Of Night trailer From the author: “All of the landmarks in this story are real places in Scarborough, where my mother grew up and where I spent many childhood summers dining on crisps and 99 Flakes, and drinking fizzy drinks and orange squash in a rented chalet with…

]]> PseudoPod 1019: Superstition https://pseudopod.org/2026/03/06/pseudopod-1019-superstition/ Fri, 06 Mar 2026 14:44:41 +0000 https://pseudopod.org/?p=12625 ‘Superstition’ was first published in the anthology 120 Murders: Dark Fiction Inspired by the Alternative Era Remote Viewing Clerks 1 Donnie Darko The Destructors Standing Outside a Broken Phone Booth with Money in My Hand by Primitive Radio Gods The strangest gig I ever had was fetish destruction. In July of 1995 I answered an ad in a newspaper asking for…

]]> PseudoPod 1018: The Polyamorous Heart of Death https://pseudopod.org/2026/02/27/pseudopod-1018-the-polyamorous-heart-of-death/ Fri, 27 Feb 2026 05:01:41 +0000 https://pseudopod.org/?p=12620 ‘The Polyamorous Heart of Death’ first appeared in the anthology And One Day We Will Die: Strange Stories Inspired by the Music of Neutral Milk Hotel CW: 2nd person PoV, transphobia, implied necrophilia The Neutral Milk Hotel The music track that inspired this particular story: HOLLAND, 1945 Which is from the album, In The Aeroplane Over The Sea M.

]]> PseudoPod 1017: In the Hands of a Different God https://pseudopod.org/2026/02/20/pseudopod-1017-in-the-hands-of-a-different-god/ Fri, 20 Feb 2026 05:01:59 +0000 https://pseudopod.org/?p=12616 PseudoPod 1017: In the Hands of a Different God is a PseudoPod original. C/W for body horror, child abuse/neglect, implied homophobia Jim Kristofic novels Coyote Stranger The Sundown Killers Why Miitaries Must Destroy Cities To Save Them (Add your own air quotes as appropriate) Destroying a Quote’s History In Order To Save It Hank Green: Chemo is Weird…

]]> PseudoPod 1016: Flash on the Borderlands LXXVI (76): Illume the Kingdom of the Drowned https://pseudopod.org/2026/02/13/pseudopod-1016-flash-on-the-borderlands-lxxvi-76-illume-the-kingdom-of-the-drowned/ Fri, 13 Feb 2026 15:54:24 +0000 https://pseudopod.org/?p=12603 “Left by the Tide” first appeared in Weird Tales, March 1929 “Sirens Chasing Sirens” first appeared in The Gateway Review back in 2018 “Dread and Faith” was originally published in February 2025 in Blood Lust from Black Hare Press Far from the frenzy Of the frantic world above Two beneath the blue Could even fall in love Links: From the author of ‘Sirens Chasing…

]]> PseudoPod 1015: What Haunts the Newbuild? https://pseudopod.org/2026/02/06/pseudopod-1015-what-haunts-the-newbuild/ Fri, 06 Feb 2026 05:01:48 +0000 https://pseudopod.org/?p=12580 PseudoPod 1015: What Haunts the Newbuild? is a PseudoPod original. When the Night Comes Out If the dead who loved her haunt an old home’s bones, what haunts the newbuild? What makes her creak and moan? Every house is a violence—and a weathered house knows this better than most—but if the trees that once stood on her land form an old home’s dead-spirit frame…

]]> PseudoPod 1014: Faith, Hope and Charity https://pseudopod.org/2026/01/31/pseudopod-1014-faith-hope-and-charity/ Sat, 31 Jan 2026 21:22:17 +0000 https://pseudopod.org/?p=12575 ‘Faith, Hope and Charity’ was first published in Hearst’s International Combined with Cosmopolitan, April 1930. C/W strong violence, racist language Here’s a link to the Archive.org of the original text: https://archive.org/details/sim_cosmopolitan_1930-04_88_4/page/40/mode/2up Jim Kristofic novels: Coyote Stranger, The Sundown Killers 1892 Homestead Strike The…

]]> PseudoPod 1013: The End Of The Story https://pseudopod.org/2026/01/23/pseudopod-1013-the-end-of-the-story/ Fri, 23 Jan 2026 23:43:54 +0000 https://pseudopod.org/?p=12568 “The End Of The Story” was originally published in Weird Tales, vol. 15, no. 5 (May 1930). Link: Weird Tales original text Original layout from Weird Tales The Emperor of Dreams documentary Best collection of Smith’s poetry The following narrative was found among the papers of Christophe Morand, a young law-student of Tours, after his unaccountable disappearance during a…

]]> PseudoPod 1012: The Book https://pseudopod.org/2026/01/16/pseudopod-1012-the-book/ Fri, 16 Jan 2026 05:01:41 +0000 https://pseudopod.org/?p=12559 “The Book” was first published in 1930 in The London Mercury and later collected in The Weird (Tor Books, 2012) CW: harm to child/animal, reference to suicide On a foggy night in November, Mr. Corbett, having guessed the murderer by the third chapter of his detective story, arose in disappointment from his bed and went downstairs in search of something more…

]]> PseudoPod 1011: Tailpiece and The Second Awakening of a Magician https://pseudopod.org/2026/01/09/pseudopod-1011-tailpiece-and-the-second-awakening-of-a-magician/ Sat, 10 Jan 2026 03:14:28 +0000 https://pseudopod.org/?p=12545 “Tailpiece” first appeared in More Ruthless Rhymes, 1930, and “The Second Awakening of a Magician” first appeared in The London Mercury, November 1930 C/W: fire My son Augustus, in the street, one day, Was feeling quite exceptionally merry. A stranger asked him: ‘Can you tell me, pray, The quickest way to Brompton Cemetery ?’ ‘The quickest way?

]]> PseudoPod 1010: A Rose For Emily https://pseudopod.org/2026/01/02/pseudopod-1010-a-rose-for-emily/ Fri, 02 Jan 2026 05:01:25 +0000 https://pseudopod.org/?p=12534 “A Rose For Emily” was first published in The Forum, April 30, 1930 C/W for racial slurs [n-word], mental illness, misogyny, homophobia and Spoiler poisoning [collapse] I When Miss Emily Grierson died, our whole town went to her funeral: the men through a sort of respectful affection for a fallen monument, the women mostly out of curiosity to…

]]> PseudoPod 1009: Christmas Eve at Beach House https://pseudopod.org/2025/12/26/pseudopod-1009-christmas-eve-at-beach-house/ Fri, 26 Dec 2025 05:01:19 +0000 https://pseudopod.org/?p=12529 ‘Christmas Eve at Beach House’ was first published in Routledge’s Christmas Annual, 1870. C/W murder, intimate partner violence To support us during our year-end campaign, go to https://escapeartists.net/support-ea The Oldhammer Fiction Podcast Eliza Lynn Linton Dr. Frizzle on Bluesky It seemed as if the Mackenzies were under a spell, and that none of…

]]> PseudoPod 1008: Cyanide Constellations https://pseudopod.org/2025/12/19/pseudopod-1008-cyanide-constellations/ Fri, 19 Dec 2025 05:01:01 +0000 https://pseudopod.org/?p=12520 “Cyanide Constellations” was published in the collection Cyanide Constellations and Other Stories by Sara Tantlinger in October 2025. C/W: Suicide, 2nd person PoV To support us during our year-end campaign, go to https://escapeartists.net/support-ea Author’s note: This story ended up being the title piece for my debut fiction collection…

]]> PseudoPod 1007: The Children of the Event https://pseudopod.org/2025/12/12/pseudopod-1007-the-children-of-the-event/ Fri, 12 Dec 2025 05:01:25 +0000 https://pseudopod.org/?p=12509 “The Children of the Event” was first published in the collection ‘Portraits of Decay’ by Carson Winter, published by Salt Heart Press in June 2025. To support us during our year-end campaign, go to escapeartists.net/support-ea Notes from the author: As long as I can remember, I’ve been a Godzilla fan. My fate was set at the age of six, when me and a neighborhood boy rented…

]]> PseudoPod 1006: Give A Dog A Bone https://pseudopod.org/2025/12/05/pseudopod-1006-give-a-dog-a-bone/ Fri, 05 Dec 2025 05:01:43 +0000 https://pseudopod.org/?p=12506 PseudoPod 1006: Give A Dog A Bone is a PseudoPod original. From author: “Give A Dog A Bone” is the third story in the series of tales following the exploits of a married couple of werewolves whose relationship is under some unusual stresses. Both of the previous stories, “Licking Roadkill” and “Last Supper” also appeared at PseudoPod, and were inspired by a real-life conversation I had…

]]> PseudoPod 1005: Do It https://pseudopod.org/2025/12/01/pseudopod-1005-do-it/ Tue, 02 Dec 2025 03:21:47 +0000 https://pseudopod.org/?p=12498 “Do It” was first published in the anthology ‘120 Murders: Dark Fiction Inspired by the Alternative Era’ C/W: gun violence, knife violence Note from author: The pizza joint in the story is based on a locally (local to me) famous spot in Boston’s South Shore. Having been raised on the North Shore I take umbrage at this city having ‘shore’ anywhere near it in geographic…

]]> PseudoPod 1004: Madame Painte: For Sale https://pseudopod.org/2025/11/21/pseudopod-1004-madame-painte-for-sale/ Fri, 21 Nov 2025 05:01:03 +0000 https://pseudopod.org/?p=12477 “Madame Painte: For Sale” was first published in Behold! Oddities, Curiosities and Undefinable Wonders, edited by Doug Murano (Crystal Lake 2017), and then in the Word Horde collection ‘Lost in the Dark and Other Excursions’, in August 2025. C/W: 2nd person POV “This?” the man behind the counter says. “Why, this is Madame Painte.” The figure is short…

]]> PseudoPod 1003: House Traveler https://pseudopod.org/2025/11/14/pseudopod-1003-house-traveler/ Fri, 14 Nov 2025 21:03:22 +0000 https://pseudopod.org/?p=12465 “House Traveler” originally appeared in Bourbon Penn #34, Dec. 2024 and is reprinted in Thomas Ha’s debut collection, “Uncertain Sons and Other Stories” C/W: alludes to alcoholism The five of us were gathered on the floor of one of the last houses, trying to decide which of the group would be the one to go outside. Sitting around an electric camping lantern…

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