“Route 66”
T. E. Aydelott is a retired military veteran living in Virginia Beach, Virginia. An author of horror and science fiction, he enjoys crafting stories that explore the unknown, the unsettling, and the boundaries of imagination.
“Last Stop on the Lonely Highway”
Kay Hanifen was born on a Friday the 13th and once lived for three months in a haunted castle. So, obviously, she had to become a horror writer. Her work has appeared in over 150 anthologies and magazines. Her first anthology as an editor, Till the Yule Log Burns Out, was published in 2024. Her first novel, The Last Ballard, debuted in 2025. When she’s not consuming pop culture with the voraciousness of a vampire at a 24-hour blood bank, you can usually find her with her black cats or at kayhanifenauthor.wordpress.com. Instagram: @katharinehanifen
“Sorry to Disturb You”
Scotty Milder is a writer, filmmaker, and film educator living in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He received his MFA in Screenwriting from Boston University, and his award-winning short films have screened at festivals all over the world. His independent feature film Dead Billy is available to stream on Amazon Prime and Google Play.
He has published more than 50 short stories. His work has appeared in Dark Matter Magazine, Cosmic Horror Monthly, Dark Moon Digest, and anthologies from Dark Moon Books, Dark Peninsula Press, Sentinel Creatives, Dark Ink Books, and others.
He teaches screenwriting and film production at Santa Fe Community College and the University of New Mexico. He is also host of the "Horror from the High Desert" podcast and co-host of "The Weirdest Thing" history podcast with actor/theatre artist Amelia Ampuero.
“The Servant of Brass”
K.A. Hela writes horror that blends nature, society, surrealism and the supernatural. A special education teacher by day they fight their own demons of never-ending sterile psychological reports and data sheets and find solace in their weird yet wondrous works of fiction, with the help of their equally weird yet wondrous three-legged cat.
“Traffic Sigils”
Josh Pearce has published more than 200 stories, reviews, and poems in a wide variety of magazines, including Analog, Asimov’s, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Bourbon Penn, Clarkesworld, Diabolical Plots, Interzone, Kaleidotrope, Locus, Strange Horizons, Trollbreath, Weird Horror, and elsewhere. Find more of his writing at fictionaljosh.com.
“Free; Not Haunted”
Ashley K. Frantik is a Canadian speculative fiction writer and satirist who enjoys exploring the overlap between the absurd and the unsettling. Her short humour has been featured in several online publications including The Weekly Humorist, Points in Case, and McSweeney’s Internet Tendency. Her horror stories have been published in the WonderBird Press Unhelpful Encyclopedia Volume Murderfish, the Sliced Up Press Saturday Mourning Television anthology, and on the Calliope interactive stories app.
“The Oasis”
B. R. Fontenot is an artist and graphic designer from Appalachia, though most of the time her brain is traipsing through worlds not her own. Her mental health issues and neurodivergence twist into stories and characters that reflect her own experiences. She usually focuses on novels, but enjoys the challenge of short fiction and telling a story in limited words. When not writing, you can usually find her drinking enough cold brew to stop a heart, running with her rambunctious rescue dogs, or immersed in an adventure game.
“The Lethe River Casino”
Tom Coombe is a journalist-turned-horror-writer whose stories have appeared in several anthologies and publications. His debut collection, The Clown King and Other Stories of the Pre-Apocalypse, was published in 2025. He lives in Pennsylvania's Lehigh Valley with his partner Megan and their strange-yet-sweet cat.
“Hide”
Though a born and raised Alaskan, Isabelle Nygren is currently pursuing her MA in creative writing from Royal Holloway University of London. Her short horror has previously been published in a variety of anthologies and magazines, most recently Kilter and Rammel's Dark Water and Crooked Spine's debut collection. When not relocating the horrors from her mind onto the page, Isabelle enjoys crocheting little critters, experimenting in the kitchen, and playing video games.
“The Traveler’s Guide to America’s Lost Parking Garages”
Garrett Quinn lives in northern Minnesota, where he writes horror fiction about miserable people experiencing miserable things. His work has previously appeared in Horror Library Volume 6.
“If I Clicked, Would You Come Running?”
AE Murrell is an asexual, nonbinary, cryptid appreciator from the mountains of West Virginia. An avid reader and writer born in the 1900s, when not writing they are an artist and a scavenger, bringing trashy treasure back to the holler, where the sun only shines when it wants something from you and never when you’re trying to take a picture of something. Always looking for that little crack in the wall that will reveal itself to be the edge of a hidden door.
“Come and See the Seven Cities”
Mina Humiston was born and raised in Southern California, but has since traveled much more of the country. Currently, she is studying to become a librarian. She loves reading and writing about history, ghosts, and folklore. She has previously published work in Sylvia Magazine and Vampire Hunters: An Incomplete Record of Personal Accounts.