top of page
All Posts


Dark Fiction vs. Horror: What Are You Actually Writing?
The terms “horror” and “dark fiction” frequently appear in overlapping contexts, which leads to uncertainty during submission and revision.

Holly Rhiannon
3 days ago4 min read


The Symbolism of Birds in Gothic Literature
From ravens perched upon crumbling towers to nightingales singing mournful songs, birds have been a haunting presence in gothic literature..

Holly Rhiannon
Apr 83 min read


Montréal’s Best Independent Bookstores for Readers and Writers
Montréal’s independent bookstores have long been at the heart of the city's cultural pulse, not just as retailers, but as spaces where ideas

Holly Rhiannon
Apr 84 min read


Canadian Horror Tropes: What Makes Our Stories Different
Canadian horror fiction and film frequently develop through environments shaped by isolation, institutional presence, and the quiet pressure of landscape and climate.
In these settings, the ordinary arrangement of homes, schools, hospitals, and small towns becomes a surface beneath which disturbance gathers, often without immediate spectacle and instead through gradual changes in perception, bodily condition, or social relation.

Holly Rhiannon
Apr 45 min read


Writing Body Horror vs. Psychological Horror
Horror fiction occupies a wide and varied terrain, and within that landscape, different subgenres operate according to different principles of fear.
Among these, body horror and psychological horror are often confused or conflated, yet their methods, sources, and effects diverge in fundamental ways. Understanding these differences can help writers choose the techniques best suited to their narrative goals and can help readers appreciate the mechanisms through which horror o

Holly Rhiannon
Apr 46 min read


Anatomy Of A Horror Scene
The horror scene has a hidden skeleton, and every moment is a bone, a muscle, a pulse that keeps it alive. Step inside, and you can trace the lines of tension: where rhythm stiffens, where anticipation twists, where revelation strikes.

Holly Rhiannon
Feb 85 min read


How To Build Suspense In Horror Writing
Picture a reader alone with your story. The lamp is low, the house quiet, the night uneventful. They turn a page and feel their shoulders tighten for no clear reason. Nothing dramatic has happened yet. No monster has appeared. No violence has taken place. And still, the air around them feels thinner.

Holly Rhiannon
Feb 85 min read


The 5 Best Short Horror Stories You’ve Never Heard Of
Most horror readers can summon the greats without hesitation: Poe, Jackson, King. Their names anchor the genre. Yet horror has always lived beyond the well-lit shelf, in the quieter reaches where stranger works drift in and out of view.

Holly Rhiannon
Feb 44 min read


What Makes a Short Horror Story Truly Terrifying?
A short horror story, when done well, has the power to grip readers in just a few paragraphs, leaving them unsettled long after they’ve finished. But achieving this is no easy feat. So, what makes for a bite-sized horror tale that does the trick?

Holly Rhiannon
Feb 43 min read


Classic vs. Modern Horror: How the Genre Has Evolved
Horror has always reflected the fears of its time. From the Gothic tales of the 19th century to the graphic, psychological horror of today, the genre has evolved in both style and substance.

Holly Rhiannon
Feb 45 min read
bottom of page
