2026 is upon us, #HorrorWritersChat! And it is my privilege to start our new, weekly tradition for this year! And what better horror to explore, than the horror of the self's transformation... through new beginnings. Tonight!

Achieved a major milestone for me yesterday after 10 years of hanging out in a dedicated bookish community on bookstagram, I get to recommend books and enjoy community around horror fiction with 100,000 people :) feels awesome!

The Lion of the Desert by MatthewJBenecke Sick Girl Screams by @sjtownend.bsky.social The World of Vile Wonder (antho), edited by @coyhall.bsky.social Harrowfield by @stephellis.bsky.social Mad Days by @elfordalley.bsky.social The Skin We Feel Most Comfortable In by @craigwallwork.bsky.social

With Ravens Passing the Moon by @herebeshadows.com Credenza by Wendy Dalrymple All's Well That Ends Well by @vivalavivian.bsky.social The Haunting of Wounded Birds by @beverleylee.bsky.social The Owl Men of Shanidar by @coyhall.bsky.social

A selection of great indie books I read this year. I highly recommend all of these!👇📚 (See list below, left to right)

Everything I read in 2025…. Including books from @claymcleod.bsky.social @kevharrison.bsky.social @timmcgregor.bsky.social @kealanpatrickburke.bsky.social @craigwallwork.bsky.social @ljdougherty.bsky.social @paultremblay.bsky.social @natcassidy.bsky.social @beverleylee.bsky.social here’s to 2026!

Horror Writers, 'Tis the season to join #HorrorWritersChat Bring your own snacks, beverages and festive horror brain for an hour of questions, prompts, and chat about writing horror. Wednesday 24 December at 7 pm (GMT - UK time) Hosted this week by @marywyrd.bsky.social #HorrorSky #amwriting

Give the gift of #horror this Christmas! From Bodmin Moor to the London Underground. From the afterlife to the present day via timeslip mirrors & the ghosts of memory. These 9 tales will thrill you, chill you & break your heart. mybook.to/MOTC 🩸📚💙📚👀📢📚😱📚📖💙💀✨ #booksky #HorrorAuthor

Christmas is coming, and so is murder. 1913 Napoleonic Britain Snow, monks, and music hall. Churchill and a muscle man The Dowager Empress Eugenie cordially invites you to her Christmas gathering at Farnborough Hill House Twiggy Voo? mybook.to/TwiggyVoo

Thank you #FridayReads Gone but not forgotten, MG Mason lives on in his work and our hearts. Treat yourself to one of his stories. #MGMasonRocked 🕯️🤍

Thanks, as always, Gabino - and happy holidays, of course!🎁 I'd love more people to stumble upon my novel of scorching supernatural horror, #Pyres. 👉🏼👉🏼 books2read.com/pyresnovel 🔥🔥

Psst @britfantasysoc.bsky.social members: The member profile cupboard is getting bare again... Let's get you into the spotlight! So, 3 things in this thread. Starting with ⬇️ Not done one yet? Email [email protected] and I'll send you the form. 🧵

Not only did @chaoticauthor.online Matt Mason create the wonderful & welcoming #HorrorWritersChat - he also created the delightful world of Salmonweird, a book I've just finished. So good, I've ordered the next in the series. Kind, talented, creative. #MGMasonRocked #booksky ❤️

“My name is Harper Sumner, and I am trapped in a horror novel!” NOSTALGIAMARES: PHANTOM DELIVERY by Mark Guyer www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0CJ... #readsky #bookstoread #books #booksky #horror #horrorcommunity #writingcommunity #Halloween

Thanks Gree! #HorrorWritersChat are you in the mood for some Christmas horror? Then you're going to love "The Wild Hunt," about two sisters who run away on Christmas Eve and what they encounter within a blizzard. Amazon: tinyurl.com/4y33j7xr B&N: tinyurl.com/ymb8249b Kobo: tinyurl.com/2tuyy4vx

Here is an early look at my recommendations for Jan, including two fantastic tales from @chaoticauthor.online. ❤️

#HorrorWritersChat Regret manifests by driving the story forward When you try and get out of regret without working out your own issues, you tend to dig yourself deeper into trouble Regret It's faaaaaantastic

Greetings #HorrorWritersChat I'm Mary, wearing layers in this icy place (Greater Manchester, UK) where I write cosmic, gothic and weird horror. Regret for things not done...and some actions taken are important concepts in my writing. But few are looking for redemption. Especially my "villains".

#HorrorWritersChat "I raise my sword. If I can't cut it down, then let it be my armor and shield, the thing that drives me."

I had to think about that. The characters in my horror fiction, if they do earn some kind of redemption, usually do so through an act of cleansing anger. They mostly overcome their own apathy to destroy themselves or a monster, but the resulting salvation is almost incidental. #HorrorWritersChat

Q1: #HorrorWritersChat JD Buffington here, author of horror and scifi (and lamenting the state of the world). I think redemption is a facet of change, so I suppose I’ve written some redemptive storylines, but I definitely weave guilt, regret, and their transformative properties.

"And the beast devours me whole..." #HorrorWritersChat

Bursting up through the ice and emitting a gaping breath... It is me: Katherine "Kat" Silva, writer of the sad, existential, & horrific. Regret is a staple in my books. Humans are imperfect. We make mistakes. It's important to show we can recognize and try to atone for them. #horrorwriterschat

I'm Stephanie Ellis, writer of folk horror, gothic, post-apocalyptic and a dash of historical horror. Both seem to emerge naturally when I write, I think redemption is particularly important because it shows people can change, allows for their acceptance in society. #HorrorWritersChat

#HorrorWritersChat Regret manifests in my stories as the character's perception of the world around them. I love playing with environments to make the world increasingly unsettling and twisted. Inanimate objects become menacing, and buildings warp into looming, threatening formations.

In one of my books in particular, redemption comes at a huge price, and it nearly kills my protagonist in the process. I think he earned it but it wasn't a happy ending... #HorrorWritersChat

Redemption is, sometimes, even more critical concept than regret. It's very important for me that regretful characters must genuinely WORK towards rehabilitation of any kind - even if it involves a load of sacrifices and agonies to undertake. #HorrorWritersChat

I like to mirror humanity in a lot of my work. So, depicting regret comes in many forms, be it a silent apology before their demise or killing the bigger monster in the story even though they're one too. Regret shows up like scars on the faces and places of those who bare them. #HorrorWritersChat

Regret can take many forms - inner conflict, lashing out, confusion, and of course fear. It might manifest in certain objects too, if they're part of the source #HorrorWritersChat

Hi, I'm Nate. I tend to write working-class Cosmic horror. I think redemption plays a pretty big role in my work--some people deserve it and get it. Some people very much do not, and they get what's coming to them, typically. #HorrorWritersChat

Hi, #HorrorWritersChat! I'm Trish Wilson, Media Director for The Horror Zine. I write quiet horror, horror comedy, and I conduct author interviews. Do regret & redemption play important parts in my horror stories? Not a chance. It's more like revenge and rage with a heavy dose of sarcasm.

Hoi! I'm J. Neira, cozy horror author & slush reader for too many presses! 😜 Redemption & regret are very important themes in several of my stories. I'm compassionate & I like for even some of my jerks to see the consequences of their actions on other people & themselves. #HorrorWritersChat

I write all sorts of horror, specfic, & (ghostwrite) romance. Usually in historical settings. Often inspired by my Choctaw-Irish heritage. Regret & redemption are key factors in a lot of my work. My current WIP is all about generational trauma & how to redeem ourselves from it. #HorrorWritersChat

Hello! I’m Gary Kruse, I write supernatural thrillers and horror stories set in rural villages hiding dark secrets, sinister conspiracies and forgotten crimes… For most of my MC’s, there’s regret and sometimes they seek redemption. #HorrorWritersChat

Good evening #horrorwriterschat. I'm Daniel Lorn, creator of psychological & supernatural horror. Regret & redemption are both concepts I lean on to lend substance to my 'monsters', especially for my psychological horrors. I love contorting the emotional response into something truly terrifying!

#HorrorWritersChat I'm James Ryan, and I write horror among other things. I bring up "other things" because regret and redemption figure into most of my work across all areas. I even have these themes pop up a lot in my nonfiction, when I write about a film for my column and go into its history...

I’m Clover, and I write experimental horror and dark fantasy. Regret is a HUGE theme in all of my work. There are many things I regret about my life, and I find it healing to explore it through writing. Ask me about my regret poetry sometime. #HorrorWritersChat

Hello! I'm Gree, writer of body, psychological, and religious horror for my Bloodied Rose: Verses of Midnight setting! Regret & redemption are key concepts for me. Living a very complicated, difficult life amongst others, they have become crucial for me to explore creatively. #HorrorWritersChat

Mark Guyer writes horror/fantasy fiction about pop culture and identity with lots of jokes and plot twists. He is the pseudonym of nonfiction writer Dustin Pinney and regret & redemption are massively important to his work. Like big time. #horrorwriterschat

I'm Rebecca Cantrell and I write horror/mystery/thriller/comedy/whatever. Mostly dark stuff. Regret and redemption do feature in my work. They say "you regret the things you don't do most" but in fiction and life that's often not true. Things you do can haunt you...and others. #horrorwriterschat

#HorrorWritersChat My name is Rosé Black. I write horror and horror comedy. To answer the question, sometimes? It depends on whether I want a series to get serious or stuff.

I'm Amber, a horror and dark fiction writer from central Maine. I write all kinds of horror, most with cults or ghosts. I think regret is natural in horror. Lots of my characters regret the choices that led them to a nightmare reality. For redemption, it depends on the story. #HorrorWritersChat

Good evening #HorrorWritersChat! I'm Lawrence (she/her) and I write dark fantasy and Jamesian/religious horror You might think writing horror with a religious bent means redemption features heavily, but it rarely does. I'm too cranky, and by the time my characters reach me they're beyond redeeming

Hi, I'm Vivian and I write horror. Regret and redemption play a part in some of my work because fiction often mirrors reality and in real life lots of us have regrets and seek redemption--well, those of us with character. Redemption is the last calling card of morality, imo. #HorrorWritersChat

I'm Beverley, a dark fiction writer from the UK, specialising in atmosphere and the build-up of dread. Regret and redemption often appear in my works. Regret for past decisions and the fall out. Redemption for some, but not for others if fate turns the wrong card... #HorrorWritersChat

This one's a delight, and you should read it. @erynmccee.bsky.social - is this on your radar, or did you already read it?

Anyone out there who hasn't heard yet and wants to chime in with Matt's last wish to donate to MacMillan or give blood instead of sending flowers for his funeral (which is on the 19th, so you still got time to be on time - and in case you'll be late, I'm quite sure nobody cares)? #MGMasonRocked 🖤🕯️

The Spanish edition of The Sum of Your Flesh is finding its way into readers' hands! Thank you @consupinky.bsky.social 💙 @dilatandomentesed.bsky.social

Thanks, Gabino! I'm trying to get the word out about prorders for my upcoming Novel, Calliope Street, a Giallo-inspired haunted house freak out coming in July of 2026. www.moonstruck-books.com/shop/p/calli...

Thanks Gabino!