These magazines and anthologies publish horror fiction. Most of them also publish other genres, like science fiction and fantasy. While they all publish horror, the kind of stories they want varies widely; please read the guidelines and, where possible, their stories, to see if your work is a good fit. Many are open for submissions now, or have announced their next submission period. Some of the calls are themed. All of these outlets pay writers.

Small Wonders
They publish speculative flash fiction (including reprints), and poetry. “We’re looking for speculative fiction with elements not of this world: fantasy, science fiction, horror. Our very favorite stories are those that don’t rely on a twist or gotcha ending. We love stories with big feelings, and don’t necessarily mind set pieces with very little plot.” They also accept artwork. They want up to 1,000 words for original flash fiction, up to 1,100 words for reprints, and pay $0.10/word for original fiction, $0.01/word for reprints, and $60 for poetry. They were open to reprint submissions only, at the time of writing. Details here.

The Dark
They want horror and dark fantasy fiction. “Don’t be afraid to experiment or to deviate from the ordinary; be different—try us with fiction that may fall out of “regular” categories.” Pay is $0.05/word for stories up to 6,000 words. They also accept reprints. Details here.

Etherea Magazine
They publish fantasy and science fiction, from flash to novelette length. Although they are not too interested in horror or grimdark in general, for flash, they will accept horror submissions also, provided it has an element of the supernatural. Also, “We are an Australian publication, and have dedicated ourselves to publishing a minimum of 25% Australian content.” Pay is AUD25 for flash fiction (500-1,000 words), AUD100 for short fiction (2,000-5,000 words), and AUD200 for novelettes/novellas (15,000+ words). They were open at the time of writing; submission is via a form. Details here.

The Brothers Uber: Once Upon a Moonless Night – Tales of Betrayal, Revenge, and Redemption
Their guidelines say, “It’s the fear—not of the dark—but rather what lurks in the dark. The terror that the mind can feel, but cannot see. The whisper on the wind, heard but not understood. … You know that you shouldn’t go out in the night, shouldn’t heed its seductive call. Night after night the darkness beckons. You know that one day soon you’ll lose your resolve, give in, and become the darkness. There’ll be no going back once you do.
These are the tales whispered in dark corners. Of good people pushed too far. Stories of revenge and redemption for past wrongdoings. Stories that excite the mind where what seems to be true isn’t always the case. Dark, foreboding, full of suspense, can you weave the story of what happens during the moonless night?” They want stories in all genres, of 250-15,000 words. Pay is $0.05/word, capped at $400. The deadline is 15 December 2024. Details here.

34 Orchard
They accept fiction (1,000-5,000 words) and poetry. “At 34 Orchard, we like dark, intense pieces that speak to a deeper truth. We’re not genre-specific; we just like scary, disturbing, unsettling, and sad.” Pay is $50. Their next reading period is 1^st to 15^th January 2025. Details here.

Tenebrous Press: Skull & Laurel
The Skull and Laurel is a quarterly magazine of New Weird short fiction by Tenebrous Press. They want Weird Horror, Dark Fantasy, and Dark Science Fiction. They also accept translations and reprints. The press publishes works of other lengths, too (novels, novellas, and novelettes), which have different submission windows. They are open now for short fiction and poetry submissions. For this submission window, they want “Weird Horror, Dark Fantasy, Dark Science Fiction. Short Fiction, Narrative Poetry. We also encourage trying us with things like comic strips, mixed media, found footage, puzzles, games, experiments, and other weird forms, as long as they tell a story.” They are also looking to accept at least one extra weird eco-horror/cli-fi submission from a BIPOC writer. Pay is $0.03/word for original short fiction of 100-4,499 words. Their recently reopened for submissions; their general submission window (for all writers) is open until 1^st November, and they have an extended submission window for marginalized writers until 7^th November 2024. They now accept submissions via Google forms. Details here and here.

Dust & Dark
This is a new print and online horror magazine, and they are reading submissions for their first issue. “We’re in the market for short, scary stories between 2,000 and 7,000 words in length. The majority of stories we publish are expected to be between 3,000 and 5,000 words.
We’re looking for stylish, atmospheric horror fiction, and we take a broad view of what that means. We’re interested in clearly defined characters, evocative settings, tight pacing and compelling plots. But most of all, we’re looking for stories that leave a lingering sense of unease after we’ve read them. We’re much more interested in expertly rendered dread than straightforward shocks. We also see horror very much as part of the speculative fiction spectrum, and if your story has something to say, it’s likely to stand out in our submissions pile. Don’t just scare us: surprise us, intrigue us, open us up to new perspectives.” They pay. Please note, this project will only take off if their Kickstarter is successfully funded. Details here.

Whisper House Press: Dread Mondays
This is a workplace horror fiction anthology. While they accept stories up to 4,000 words, stories under 3,000 words will get preference. Pay is $0.06/word. The deadline is 31^st October for all writers, and there is an extended submission window for marginalized authors, up to 30^th November 2024. Details here.

Dreams & Nightmares
They publish poetry, as well as some fiction. “I print primarily poetry, but also publish a small amount of short fiction. The genres of fantasy and SF are preferred. I am interested in experimental formats and content, and prefer fantastic horror a la Lovecraft or Blackwood to the blood and gore type.” They want works up to 2 pages; pay is $15-30 for North American contributors, and a three-issue subscription for overseas contributors. Details here.

Apex Magazine
This award-winning magazine wants literary genre fiction: horror, science fiction, and fantasy, of up to 9,000 words. They pay $0.08/word for fiction, and an additional $0.01/word if the story is podcast. They also run a monthly flash fiction contest. Details here.
(And, Nightmare is another award-winning horror magazine, you can read about them here; their next submission period for fiction will be mid to late 2025, see here.)

Midnight & Indigo
They publish works by Black women writers only – speculative and literary fiction, and essays. “Are you a Black woman writer with a passion for speculative fiction and horror? We want to hear from you! We’re looking for previously unpublished, character-driven narratives that transport readers to worlds beyond their wildest imagination.” They’re also reading works for a special Music issue. Speculative fiction is accepted on an ongoing basis, and there are deadlines for other genres. For speculative fiction, they want works of 2,000-7,000 words, and pay is $0.07/word. Details here and here.

Spooky
They publish fiction and haiku: “Cozy horror. Fun horror. Classy horror. Dare we say, wholesome horror?” They pay $0.01/word for fiction up to 5,000 words. Watch for their next submission period. Details here.

Imaginary Comma: Thirteen Podcast
This is a horror podcast. “We are an audio-drama/audio fiction podcast specializing in feature length (~ one hour) productions that are characterized by slow-burn, atmospheric stories, horror and ghost stories.” They want stories of up to 5,000 words. They pay.   

(And PseudoPod, from the Escape Artists’ suite of magazines, is also a horror podcast and online magazine. They pay $0.08/word for original fiction. They are closed for original fiction until mid-year of 2025, but usually open earlier in the year for a reprint anthology; see their general submission guidelines here and schedule here.)

Renaissance: Choices – An Anthology of Reproductive Horror
This is a horror fiction anthology by Renaissance, a publisher of diverse Canadian voices. They want submissions from writers of marginalized genders only for this anthology; please note, 50% of stories included in this anthology must be written by Canadian authors. They want submissions from Cis women, Trans women, Trans men, Nonbinary people, Two-Spirit people, and also encourage disabled, 2SLGBTQIA+, neurodivergent, racialized, and working class/poor writers to submit.  “Few things are more horrifying than having your bodily autonomy stripped away. Unfortunately, for people of marginalized genders, this is a common experience. Our autonomy and choices, especially those around reproduction, are challenged every day. In many places, making our own choices has become illegal – or was never legal in the first place. Choices: An Anthology of Reproductive Horror aims to create a space for people of marginalized genders to explore these horrors through fiction. We hope this exploration will provide catharsis for both the writers and the readers.” Pay is CAD0.08/word for stories up to 6,000 words, and the deadline is 30 November 2024. Details here.

Tales to Terrify
Their guidelines say, “Tales to Terrify is a volunteer-run fan podcast featuring short horror, dark fantasy, and other disturbing fiction. … We encourage you to challenge the definition of horror. Standard tropes and monsters are welcome, but give us your own unique take. Avoid the cliche and expected, unless as devices used purposefully and cleverly to further your story.
Drag us deep into the unsettling atmosphere of a crumbling Gothic mansion. Show us the gritty, real-world horrors of evil people with dark intentions. Make our blood run cold and our breath catch in our throats as we’re hunted by ravenous creatures. Unhinge our minds with reality-bending, psychological horrors. Make us feel the pain and sorrow of a long-suffering spirit.” Please note, they are currently only accepting flash fiction (up to 2,000 words), for which there is no payment. They occasionally open for longer fiction of up to 10,000 words, for which they pay $0.02/word for originals and $0.01/word for reprints. Details here. 

Mysterion
They want science fiction, fantasy and horror stories that engage meaningfully with Christian themes, characters or cosmology. The stories need not teach a moral, or be close to an approved theological position, or be pro-Christian. They are especially interested in stories that show Christians from cultures beyond those of the United States, Canada, and Western Europe. (You can read more about what they’re looking for here.) They also accept translations and reprints. They have two annual reading periods for fiction, January and July. Pay is $0.08/word for stories up to 9,000 words. Details here.

Wallstrait
This is a new magazine. Their tagline says it is ‘A Journal of Hard-to-Define Fiction’. “We welcome flash fiction, longer stories, hybrid, and experimental stuff you can’t quite define.” About genre, they say, “We’ll read and publish short stories in the realm of action, adventure, coming-of-age, crime, detective, drama, dystopia, fairytale, fantasy (high/low/second-world/portal/Eldritch/magical realism/paranormal; just go for it), gothic, horror, humor literary, mystery, noir, philosophy, psychology, politics, realism, romance, satire, science fiction, steampunk, supernatural, thriller/suspense, tragedy, Western, etc. Send us your work. If your genre isn’t on this list, just pretend it is and send it”; see here. They prefer works of 500-3,000 words, but will read up to 5,000 words. Pay is $25. Details here.
(Another multi-genre project that accepts horror works too is Big Smoke Pulp, which publishes noir, sci-fi, horror or romance; they pay; watch for their next submission period. Details here.)

The Last Girls Club
This is a feminist horror magazine. Their upcoming theme is ‘Lost at Sea’, for which they’ll open on 1^st January 2025. They want works of up to 2,500 words for fiction, and up to 3 poems. Pay is $0.015/word for fiction, and $10 for poetry. Details here and here.

Infinite Horrors
Infinite Horrors is a print publication, affiliated with the science fiction magazine, Infinite Worlds. For Infinite Horror, they want horror stories of 1,500-5,000 words. They pay $0.08/word. They also publish comics. Details here.

Archive of the Odd
Their website says, this is “A home for the strange, the uncanny, and the odd.” They want “stories told in the style of found footage, also known epistolary, neo-epistolary, found file, or found document fiction. Essentially, stories told in the form of other documents. All submissions must be found fiction.” They want stories of 500-8,000 words, and pay 1.5c/word and royalties. Submission is via a form. Details here.

Augur
This Canadian magazine is open for speculative fiction and poetry, and translations; they want unthemed as well as submissions around the theme, ‘A Natural Desire’. For this theme, they want “speculative stories and poems that explore:
Raw connection
Love and lust
Desperately important platonic relationships
Community in context
Especially when grounded in nature; flora; fauna; and other non-urban settings. Give us conflict and challenge; joy and celebration; and the spark of repair. Give us pieces that span genre from high fantasy to supernatural, from myth to body horror, from dreamy realism to deep scifi.
We are especially interested in pieces that explore desire from non-Western and Indigenous contexts, or interrogate the ways in which Western relationships are often tied to colonialism and extraction.” They are open for general submissions for all writers until 31 October, and have an extended submission period for Canadian writers who are BIPOC, trans, and/or disabled during 1^st to 14^th November 2024. Send up to 5,000 words for fiction, or up to 5 poems. Pay is CAD100/poem and CAD0.14/word for prose, details here.
(Their sibling magazine, Tales & Feathers, is also open for short cozy fantasy stories, see here.)
 
Not One of Us
This print publication accepts fiction and poetry. They want work “about people (or things) out of place in their surroundings, outsiders, social misfits, aliens in the SF sense—anyone excluded from society for whatever the reason. We’d like Not One of Us to consider the problem of “otherness” from every possible fictional angle: horror, SF, fantasy, noir, slipstream, Western, mainstream, whatever.” Pay is a quarter cent a word, up to 5,000 words. Details here.

WolfSinger Publications: Midnight Menagerie
Midnight Menagerie is a fiction anthology. ““Ladies and gentlemen,” the Ring Master waved her arm toward the crowd, “and, of course, all you ‘sweet’ children daring to see what, up until now, only existed in your dreams.” Her voice floated outward to the crowd. “Or perhaps your nightmares.” Her golden skin seemed to crack when she offered them a toothy grin. “Behind me, lurking in the blue-black darkness on the fringes of the unknown are the stars of the show. Creatures waiting to be seen, anxious to meet you…creatures from so many galaxies you never knew existed.” Again she offered a toothy grin as her red eyes took on a fiery glow. “And I, as the master of the show cannot wait for the entertainment to begin.
~ * ~
What we are looking for are stories that feature the strange and bizarre from around the cosmos and other dimensions. They can be the stuff of dreams or nightmares. Think along the fantastical lines of Something Wicked This Way Comes but with an intergalactic or other dimensional feel to the carnival or carnival sideshow. Magic and Science, Dreams and Nightmares, Joy and Terror, Love and Hate, combined with the alien and the familiar — they all blend together at the Midnight Menagerie. The two paragraphs above will be the intro to the anthology – so imagine a ringmaster or guide in your story using those lines to draw your reader into what you are about to show them. WolfSinger does ask that stories maintain a PG-13 rating”. Pay is $15 for stories of 1,000-7,500 words, and the deadline is 31 October 2024. Details here.

The Ghastling
This is a print magazine. They publish “literary fiction and illustration devoted to psychological horror, folk horror, ghost stories and the macabre.” They pay £15. Watch for their next submission period. Details here.

Burial Books: Inanimate Things – Volume Two
“We are looking for horror short stories between 1,500 and 6,000 words in length (can go over a little bit, we aren’t too particular. Just not shorter than 1,500 words) about inanimate things that are living. It could be a doll, the dead flesh of zombies, or your Ford F-150. The story needs to involve this subject in some way…and be scary too.” Pay is $10, and the deadline is 1^st December 2024. They also publish ongoing, unthemed horror and dark fantasy anthologies, and horror novellas. Details here.

Saros Speculative Fiction
Saros is a new magazine, and the sibling publication of Fusion Fragment. Each issue will have a different prompt/guidelines, and a different guest editor. For their second issue, they want “Original speculative fiction between 1,500 and 5,000 words, and drabbles of exactly 100 words. … This is a themed issue, so all stories must heavily feature cocktails of some form (this could be alchemical, poisonous, tavern barreled, alien-secreted, whatever is imbibed in a similar nature to modern cocktails). … We are happy to see any and all subgenres of fantasy, horror, and science fiction, but especially love stories with a touch of the weird or surreal. Our preference is towards focused stories that are character-driven with a strong sense of place. Genre bending and blending is welcomed and encouraged.” They pay CAD36 for short stories, and CAD4 for drabbles. The submission period is 21^st October to 4^th November. Details here.

Parsec Ink: Triangulation Anthology Series – Dark Hearts
This is a fiction (prefer up to 3,000, will accept up to 5,000 words) and poetry (up to 100 lines) anthology, and will soon open for submissions. “Dark Hearts is a women-centered theme for which anyone can submit stories. The anthology will feature speculative stories and poems about women who are anti-heroes. Send us your stories about shady ladies: women and female-presenting characters breaking the rules, defying social norms, and getting up to no good!” The editor loves “supportive female friendships. Women with a mastery of weapons or powers. Women in STEM or in disguise. Cyborgs. Hackers. Heists. Underdogs. Romance!” Regarding genre, they accept science fiction, fantasy, and horror, and blends of the three. Pay is $0.03/word for fiction, and $0.25/line for poetry. The submission window is 1^st November 2024 to 31^st January 2025; their Submittable will be active during the submission period. Details here. 

Allegory
They publish fiction and nonfiction. “We’re looking for good, solid fiction. We specialize in the Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror genres. We will consider other genres, such as humor or general interest, provided that the work possesses an original, “quirky” slant.” Very short stories (under 500 words) or longer stories (over 5,000 words) are a hard sell. Pay is $15. Details here.

Cosmic Horror Monthly
They publish horror and weird fiction, and related nonfiction. They pay $0.03/word for stories up to 5,000 words, up to $150. They have two regular reading periods, 1^st to 7^th January, and 1^st to 7^th July; and they issue special submission calls periodically. Details here.

The Other Stories Podcast
This is a horror/sci-fi/thriller fiction podcast from Hawk & Cleaver. They accept themed fiction submissions of up to 2,000 words. Some upcoming themes are: Bleeding Hearts, deadline 1 November; Found Footage, deadline 1 December 2024; Weird, deadline 1 January; and The Workplace, deadline 1 February 2025. They pay £15. Details here, here, and here.

Ill-Advised Records: The Dark Door
This is a new print and digital magazine. They publish short horror fiction, art, and music (via QR code). “This zine will be modeled after 70s/80s pulp fiction zines.” Pay is $15-50. “There is no maximum word count, however it should be within the realm of “short fiction”. Details here.

DBS Press: Dracula Beyond Stoker
Dracula Beyond Stoker publishes fiction issues (with some poetry) featuring characters and more from Bram Stoker’s Dracula. You can read about the magazine here. For their upcoming submission period, they want work on Jonathan Harker. “What happened on the way from the castle to the hospital in Buda-Pesth? What happens after the story ends? What is his relationship with his son? Jonathan is often perceived and portrayed as impish and weak, but he might just be one of the bravest characters in the book.” Pay is $0.05/word for stories of 1,500-5,000 words. The submission period for this theme is 1 November to 31 December 2024. Details here.

The Future Fire
They want “beautiful and useful fiction and poetry that focuses on the social-political elements of imaginary, futuristic, fantastic, horrifying, surreal or otherwise speculative universes. We are particularly interested in feminist, queer, postcolonial and ecological themes, and writing by under-represented voices (but nobody is required to self-identify, publicly or privately, as any identity).” They also accept translations. Pay is $10 for flash and $20 for short fiction. Links to guidelines for all genres are here and fiction guidelines are here.

Weird Horror Magazine
They publish horror and weird fiction. They also accept translations. “We are seeking horror and weird fiction from 500 to 5,000 words, firm.  Query first if your story is over 5,000 words. We are a home for the strange, the macabre, the eerie, the esoteric, the fabulist, and the gothic. The darkly numinous. The odd.  We are not interested in extreme horror. Do not send science fiction or fantasy.” Payment is $0.02/word, up to $100. They will reopen for submissions during 2-15 November 2024. Their submission form will open during the submission period. Details here.

---

Bio: S. Kalekar is the pseudonym of a regular contributor to this magazine. She can be reached here.