Warren Benedetto's Blog, page 9

“Uncle Pumpkin’s Tongue” accepted by 7th-Circle Pyrite

My weird horror story Uncle Pumpkin’s Tongue has been accepted by 7th-Circle Pyrite. It’s the story of a Halloween carnival ride with a sinister secret. It wasn’t the slide itself that scared me—it was the character of Uncle Pumpkin that I found most terrifying. He was supposed to be a silly, clown-like figure that brought […]

“You Are Reading This Story” accepted into the Creatures of Habit anthology

My psychological horror story You Are Reading This Story has been accepted into the Creatures of Habit anthology by Culture Cult Press. It’s a self-referential piece of metafiction about a writer trapped by his own words. This story begins at the end.

“Dragonsbreath” published in the Streets of Fire and Shadow anthology

My urban fantasy story Dragonsbreath has been published in the Streets of Fire and Shadow anthology by Treeshaker Books. It’s the story of a teen forced to wear a fireproof mask to protect himself and others from a power he can’t control. Content warning: mild gore The woman’s head lurched forward as her SUV slowed […]

“They Say Crows Can Remember Faces” published by The Afterpast Review

My short horror story They Say Crows Can Remember Faces has been published by The Afterpast Review. When a bully kills one of Ava’s favorite crows, he quickly learns that some animals never forget a face. Content warning: bullying, animal death, mild gore The stone hit Ava in the back of the head. She stumbled […]

“A Piece of the Sky” published in Strange Skies, Weird Worlds

My sci-fi horror story A Piece of the Sky has been published in Strange Skies, Weird Worlds by Apocalypse Confidential. It’s told through the testimony of the surviving member of a two-person asteroid mining crew that picked up an unfortunate souvenir during their expedition. Content warning: gore With all due respect, sir, you don’t know […]

Listen to “Feed the Worm” on the Scary Stories Told in the Dark podcast

The audio production of my horror story Feed the Worm is now available on Scary Stories Told in the Dark, a podcast by Chilling Tales for Dark Nights. If you like stories about carnivorous cosmic murder worms, this is the one for you! Content warning: domestic violence, mild gore My story is the second in […]

Four drabbles published in Drabbledark III

Four of my horror drabbles—three originals and a reprint—have been published in the Drabbledark III anthology by Shacklebound Books.

Read-watch “I Hope You’re Happy” on Storiaverse

The animated version of my dystopian sci-fi thriller I Hope You’re Happy has been released on the Storiaverse app, which combines original animation with text to create a unique interactive reading experience. The app is now available for free on both iOS and Android. In the State of Bliss, the only crime punishable by death […]

“As an A.I. Language Model” published in Programmed Hearts

My dark sci-fi drabble As an A.I. Language Model has been published in the Programmed Hearts anthology by Shacklebound Books. As an A.I. language model, I am unable to easily summarize this story without spoiling it.

“Me, a Hero” published by Apocalypse Confidential

My psychological horror story Me, a Hero has been published by Apocalypse Confidential. It’s a story about a man who joins the search for a missing girl in hopes of making an appearance on the local evening news. Since the girl disappeared, some of her friends had turned her regular table in the corner of […]