Call for submissions for Spectrum (Horror Anthology)

Post Reply New Topic

Saw on my twitter feed that there is an open call for short stories for Spectrum, "a Horror Anthology centered around the Autistic experience" .

https://twitter.com/AquinoAuthor/status ... 0871947266

They want stories up to 4k words and are paying $0.10 per word.

I don't know the editors but I'm just posting this here in case some of you are interested. Submission guidelines are linked in the tweet.

"My autistic experience is a horror" - Ferris.

They can post that and keep the 60 cents

"Horror stories based on the autistic experience" is an odd concept.

Horror is horror regardless of your neurology.

It seems to me that someone may be looking for cheap stories to publish, or gullible aspies to exploit.  Be careful.

10c a word is pretty much a pro rate.

One of the requirements to join Horror Writers Association as an affiliate writer is having sold a story of at least 500 words for at least $25, which works out to 5c a word.

hmm that sounds cool, but creative writing has not ever been a strength I have, seems I prefer to just enjoy other people's creative writing.


So I probably won't try and contribute anything, but I'd for sure enjoy seeing the final product, especially if they make a horror short involving sensory issues, that would be interesting.

So, a sensory nightmare?

Yeah, I mean I like horror but I hate that half the time the concepts they put in aren't actually scary. Like some rather older horror movies go with a lot of 'the devil' being the scary part but those are lost on me since if anything I like Satan. Also ghost stories can be interesting like for lore in fantasy settings, but aren't scary because I am well aware ghosts don't actually exist so ghost horror is also sort of lost on me.

But put in some sensory nightmare stuff and that might keep me on the edge of my seat. I mean I do prefer like sci-fi horror since it actually gets closer to adressing real life scary stuff.

Like not that it is that interesting but I had a mud dauber wasp making a nest on my patio...but looked it up and learned these wasps paralize spiders and stuff them into their nest for their young to feed on. Well me and my boyfriend did not want that on or patio so we ended up ripping down the nest paralized spiders and all and then I was able to deter the wasp from attempting to rebuild there by taping peppermint tea bags around the spot because they don't like the smell. So like something like that could be turned into horror sci-fi easily like what if now the wasps are bigger than people sized and paralyzing humans to feed to their young.

For the horror anthology...if you look into bugs, insects and arachnids you will find your horror, just need to adjust it a little so instead of doing what they do to other bugs they do it to people. Also look into what some fungus species do to some bugs it is, well horrific, simply apply to humans and you have a horror movie.

I know I said I wouldn't contribute but, I couldn't help saying it.

I'm digging this too. My life is already a sensory nightmare so I can only imagine how to embellish it.

It's very hard to scare me with horror movies and I'm often disappointed. I don't know what I'm looking for but I hate special effects and monster faces. I'm into ghost stuff but even that isn't usually scary, it's just interesting. Psychological horror like deranged people or captivity terrifies me so I can't even watch it. I couldn't do that movie called Get Out. That means all that's left is the stupid movies like Friday the 13th, and I just laugh at those.

Sensory.

Now you've got me.

I liked The Omen and Rosemary's Baby. I wish they still made them like that.

My sensory hell nightmare story:

I'm outside on a bright sunny day with blue skies and white snow without sunglasses. Someone has forced me into a bra, tight itchy socks and laceup boots that I can't get off. The sun is blinding me as I start to hear weather reports on a car radio and people crunching paper bags. There's leftover pasta with meat sauce, or stew in a bowl and I have to get it out and wash the bowl with my bare hands touching the water, as the bag crunchers start squeaking styrofoam and dousing themselves in perfume or Italian Wedding Soup with extra garlic. I turn around and there's mud everywhere and my boots are gone but now I have to walk barefoot in the mud which is crawling with monsters, and I"m forced to wear latex gloves, rubber gloves, or any kind of gloves until my dog appears with a big lump that I have touch when applying medicine that smells like cocoa, and someone tries to feed me chicken with tendons. Then kids pull at my clothes for attention, breathe in my ear, and put me in bed with my feet zipped into a sleeping bag. I wake up to find myself in a straightjacket so I can't touch my feet even though they're finally clean, bare, and free.

The end of me.

I do like Rosemary's Baby I have to admit, probably one of my favorites of older horror, another good even older horror movie is that one the term gas-lighting came from...now that is a scary movie. but by the time I saw the omen I had already seen too much of the possession scene made into comedy I couldn't take it serious.

And dammit I was going to mention a movie I thought you might like, but my internet cut off and I had to reload it and so now I forget what movie it was I was going to mention. I think I may have add or adhd but have not seen a doctor about it yet. but I do feel like it could explain some things about me.

When I was eight my cousin was babysitting for a whole week and she took me to see a movie called Burnt Offerings. I have no idea why lol. It was Restricted and absolutely terrifying to me because of two recurring sensory things. I was so freaked out I had a breakdown. I still can't watch it.

I remember a story on one of those "horror" series' on TV (Twilight Zone?  Night Gallery?) featuring a young boy who found a copy of the Necronomicon and began to read it.  After a while, he started seeing and hearing things no one else could, which further alienated him from his classmates and family until the night he had a severe panic attack and meltdown, while calling out the name "Cthulhu" several times.

The next morning, he was calmly eating breakfast while his mother was busy in the background.  After a few exchanges, the boy slowly tilts his head up to reveal that his eyes had changed color and acquired pupils shaped like those of a Nautilus shellfish.

Then he smiled.

Do the stories have to be related to autism in some way, or do they just want autistic authors to submit stuff that's horror-related? The way they word things confuses me a little bit.