Welcome, dear readers, to the HALLOWEEN special edition of APOCALYPSE CONFIDENTIAL. Halloween is, as Scottish poet Robert Burns said, “thought to be a night when witches, devils, and other mischief-making beings are all abroad on their baneful midnight errands.” It is the ultimate liminal space: not just a transition from autumn to winter, but between living and dead, when the barrier between our world and the netherworld is at its weakest point, and sometimes, ghosts, ghouls and “other mischief-making beings” cross the threshold to wreak their deeds among the living. While certainly macabre, there’s something strangely comforting about that image, especially when you’re in good company. So as the storm of ghouls rages outside this weekend, settle in with your hot drink of choice and enjoy the company of the following stories, essays, poetry, and more. We have a veritable bushel of apples for you–but be careful: some apples herein are riddled with worms, and others hide razorblades.
Happy reading, and happy Halloween!
— J Everett, editor and publisher
A Most Unfortunate Man by Arbogast
An Afterlife for Whales by Noam Hessler
“An American Exorcism (in three parts)” by J. Martin Strangeweather
The Autumn Witch of Crawford County by Brendan
Baptism Of Wisdom by HS Thurston
The Bug Chaser by Todd Matthews
Burial At Or/And by Will
Corn on Macabre – An Appreciation of Robert McCammon by Detective Wolfman
Count Whack-ula by Matt Fresta
Demons for Dummies by Joseph Aisenberg
Dr. Brian O’Blivion’s TV Channel Guide – Horror Movie Marathon with Additional Programming by EMPTYCOLLECTIVE
“Frankenstein God” by J. Martin Strangeweather
Fulci the Pessimist by Dan Thrall
Hatterras by IHJ
Helios In Amber & “Jupiter Scarred” by KS
House Party by AA Moore
“In Cold Blood Moon” by Tom Will
Lubricious Musings, or A Dead Bed Of Roses by Josef Desade
Miss Jones and the Designs of the Devil by PFG
My Little Judgment Day by necrozoid
The Night Guest by KS
Palm Sunday by Max Thrax
Prince of Putridity by Lindsay Temple
The Rat-Man of Yellowdale Industrial by Clark
Sailor’s Knoll by Paul Carlucci
Semen World by postwillem
Souvenirs From Dead Man’s House by Gabriel Hart
Thirteen Apples by Jim Towns
Though The Witches Are All Hung by Dawson Wohler