The book will be a short story collection, along with some longer ones!

A selection of stories that include: a woman turns her boyfriend and his friends into mermaids after trying to turn herself into one.

A girl realizes her mystery solving gang are actually dolls.

A father locks three kids called "Coachella" "ticket" and "hotel" in his basement for purposes his daughter tries to figure out.

And a strange phenomenon turns a boy's class into a collective circus.

One step closer to releasing a full moon book... 🙏❤️

Sorry if this is the wrong place to ask this, but no one in the r/whatsthatbook seems to know what this is.

I'm looking for a horror book that I read in elementary/middle school (2010 - 2012ish), and I'm fairly certain the book is from the 1990s, maybe late 1980s. It was an anthology of several short, scary stories. I have no clue what the name of the book is, who the author is, or the title of the book. I will do my best to recall whatever details I can here:

Title: While I do not remember the exact title, I am certain that it is name after one of the stories featuring an African "demon" or curse.

Book cover: I vaguely recall the cover of the book prominently featuring a skull. However this may be a red herring because I'm honestly not sure if I would recognize the book by the cover even if I seen it

Stories: The book contained several stories. I do not remember how many. But they were all short, scary, and featured some kind of twist that made it scarier. I had literal nightmares as a preteen from these, so the book was probably meant for for young teenagers. The content was written to target such an audience, so the content wasn't anything gory or overly dark

The Hairy Hand: This is the story I can best recall. It is about a boy who is sent to some kind of magic school. When he gets there, the class is told that the last person to leave the room will be taken away by the Hairy Hand, which is a disembodied hand covered in thick hair. The protagonist becomes friends with another boy (I'm fairly certain that the friend's name is Magnus), and they come up with a plan to trick the Hairy Hand. When it's time to leave, the protagonist gets in the back of the line, but before he leaves, he tells the Hairy Hand that there's someone behind him. The Hairy Hand grabs the protagonist's shadow, effectively tricking the Hairy Hand into not being able to enslave anyone. The twist at the end is that the protagonist meets up with Magnus, and Magnus puts his hand on the protagonist's shoulder before it is revealed that Magnus was the Hairy Hand all along

The Mermaid and the African curse: I remember these stories but only vaguely and do not remember any significant details. The Mermaid story is about a boy who finds a mermaid and at the end it turns out she is a monster and drags him to the depths and drowns him. The African demon story is about a boy who tries to curse a priest, but inadvertently casts the spell on himself. I believe this is the leading story and the one the book is named after

What I can find online: I have found other threads confirming the details I recall, as well as filling in a few gaps in my memory. Using Google Books has done nothing to help me. I fear that this may be a case of "lost media" or "obscure media" that is very unlikely to be found online. If anyone has a copy of this book, I'd love to know so I can read it again

Edit: Reformatted. Being on mobile messed up the original format

Yes, I write on my phone lol, and you can most likely tell! I used to write on my laptop, but I feel more comfortable with my phone. I just got a MacBook for writing, but I'm scared I'll ignore if in favor of my phone. I think I just don't like change lmao

Feel free to add your own and use mine!

Hi. Has anybody else had this issue and/or know how to fix it?

I used to have hundreds of followers. Then I noticed, a few weeks ago, that I have zero. When I click on the follower list, it shows me perhaps about 20 or 30 names. This is making me sad. I liked looking at my follower count, and noticing as it went up. I still write and post stories for the love of the game, but I'd like to see my count.

Anyway. I filled in some "contact Reddit" form (twice) and described the issue - but I don't think I will get any response because the form only has options for if someone is impersonating you or harrassing you etc. Nothing about this specific issue, and no "other" option.

Thank you for any suggestions or advice.

UPDATE: THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR THE ADVICE. IT'S SOLVED!

All the options under "profile curation" were greyed out. I changed the settings so it's "showing". I can now see my previous follower count. Yay!

"Third Person Thursday". A Thursday is picked in the near future and every writer who enters has to write their story in the third person. And to make it interesting...

Rather than choosing the winner by upvotes, it's chosen by engagement with readers and the number of comments.

Might be a fun way to encourage engagement with the people who take time out of their day to read our stories.

I'm aware that third person stories don't attract that much attention, but I think it might be fun... Maybe...

It's my thirteenth reddit Cake Day! I just wanted to stop by and say thanks to all the mods, writers, and readers who made this place so fun - and continue to keep it one of the more active and positive horror subs.

Greetings and Welcome!

Newsletter from the Void is a new little project the mod team and I have concocted to see if we can drive more community interaction on r/ShortScaryStoriesOOC. Admittedly, this is a selfish, pet project of mine to see if I can bring a better sense of community to r/ShortScaryStories. Writing is a lonely craft. It's usually a blank page, a bunch of self-doubt, and the sound of keystrokes ringing in your ears as you're trying to find the perfect words to describe the horror scene in your mind's eye. At least that's how it feels for me.

A long time ago, r/NoSleepOOC was a place where authors gathered and there was a huge sense of community there. It lead to a lot talk about the craft. A bit of fun with each other in regards to stories and ideas. Some friendly competition. A bit of drama, of course. But all in all, it was a wonderful experience getting to know the personalities and thoughts behind the authors who entertained me with their incredible stories.

Additionally, it became a place to recruit talent for projects within NoSleep and then beyond. For example, my first published stories came from invitations from other authors who'd read my work and believed I could contribute to their projects. Eventually, this led to me taking on my own project in the name of SSS called the Horror d'Oeuvres Trilogy with Bite-Sized Tales of Terror, It Came From the Snack Bar , and Unjust Desserts. All proceeds from the sales of those books were donated to charity.

In addition to this newsletter, I'm hoping to get contests up and running again. Get some AMA's from our popular authors to see what's going on with them and if they're okay. And whatever else comes to mind.

Hopefully this appeals to a good amount of people and we can get our own little community running here. I understand a lot of this stuff has moved over to Discord, but frankly, I don't wanna have to manage another aspect of the community on another platform. So without further explanation, let's get this party started!

Anchor in the Storm of Negativity

Right now, things in the world feel heavy. Politics. That's about all I have to say about that for you to understand where I'm coming from. Uncertainty is tightening everyone purse strings both domestically and commercially. Artificial intelligence is coming for our jobs. There's a relentless barrage of horror being blasted at us on social media, the news if you can stomach watching that anymore, and the general complexities of life are forcing many of us to live in this storm of negativity and fear. And to top it all off, I am a Mets fan. If you know about our 12 game losing streak before yesterday's win, you'll know that we were all on a ledge.

Speaking for myself, there are days I feel like I'm drowning, and nothing feels like it's going to get better. Then all of a sudden, something descends from the Heavens (or rises from Hell, depending on your inclinations) which pulls you from the depths of despair to a place of genuine happiness and excitement.

We're living in an age and time where arts and entertainment mean something far more than ever. These are our escapes into a different world, if only for a few minutes or hours. We can forget about the ills of our lives and society temporarily and find joy again. These are the anchors in the storm of negativity we cling to so we don't drown. I'd like to share and discuss my anchors and hopefully, you will share yours with the rest of the class as well.

The Power of the Page - Red Rising Series

While I'm not typically a sci-fi reader, I've decided to expand my horizons, and see if I can draw inspiration for my own writing from other genres. Little did I know how completely and utterly I'd be sucked into the narrative of Darrow of Lykos from the series, Red Rising by Pierce Brown. I haven't been so hyped up or sucked in by a series of books since Stephen King's Dark Tower series. While I'll always remain a tower junky, I think Red Rising has taken the top spot for me now. It's been such a long time since I've felt such profound enjoyment in a story. I'm audibly cheering at triumphs. Repeating the most badass lines of dialog and motivational speeches in the books. God damn, I want to buy t-shirts and spread the gospel of how awesome this series is. So here I am. Get on Red Rising. It lives up to the hype.

Must-Watch Television

Season 4 of From returned this past weekend. I haven't been able to stop thinking about it since binging the series last year. If you don't know about this show, it is best to go into it without knowing anything about it. Maybe you can watch a trailer. But don't get anything spoiled. It is one of those shows where everything is a constant feeling of "WTF is going on?" but in the most curious and interesting ways you can imagine. It is equal parts mystery and horror, but the horror aspect is first and foremost, as there are various shades of it throughout the 4 season run.

A 2nd show I'm watching right now is the Amazon animated series, Invincible. Yes, it's a super hero animated show, but it is nothing like the offerings of DC or Marvel. There's tons of action, blood and gore, and lots of humor in between. I finished the 4th season of this show last night, and I cannot emphasize how much I enjoyed it. Give this a chance if you are looking for something super hero related but don't want to have to follow a decade plus or more of movies by Marvel or the inconsistency of DC's offerings.

DIGITAL ACTION

For the past couple of years, I've been addicted to two games. You'll find me playing Diablo IV or The Division 2. Yes, these are older games, but their live-service models and seasonal aspects keep me coming back for more and more. In a week, Diablo 4 will be releasing a new expansion which will overhaul the game yet again. I think the most interesting aspect of these games is how each change brings upon a new way to play the game gives you a reason to keep coming back again and again. A new expansion means a whole new continent to explore and more storyline progression.

The Division 2 is another game I've been pouring my gaming time into. Tinkering with character builds and gear makes the game new with each new armor set in the game allowing you to play in a different style. There's also seasonal content and events which change the style of play and refresh what would be an otherwise stale game. However, if you are searching for an atmospheric experience, I suggest The Division 1 as an entry into the series. Not only will you understand the storyline, but you'll be thrown into a post-apocalyptic New York City during Christmas time. It's eerie. Depressing. And it adds a weight that the Division 2 is sorely lacking.

What Is Your Anchor?

Like I said, there's a lot going on right now in the world. Honestly, there's not much we can do about it, except watch on in fascination, confusion, and/or terror. Sometimes we need to bury our heads in the sand and enjoy our lives. So what brings pure joy for you? Is it a book? Movie? Television show? Video game? Music? Whatever it is, share it with us. Who knows? You might introduce someone to something which will brighten their day or maybe even save their lives.

My story was removed without and real explanation that matched up. I would just like to talk to a mod so I can understand this issue with my story.

I just noticed the change in rules to 1000 words. Would it be possible to add tags for 500 and 750 word stories?

I think it would be cool if there were competition categories for shorter length stories as well.

Hey, mod people. (See what I did there? Like pod people, but more situationally appropriate? Ok, maybe not.) Anyway, I noticed the warning above when I was posting my latest story a few minutes ago. I was able to alter my title, so not a huge inconvenience for this story. But is this another form of the moratorium from last year? Is a more robust crackdown coming? Just want to know so I can plan ahead.

If you enjoyed:

• The Onion Ring
• Finish Your Plate
• Reflection Punishment
• The Touch
• Time Flies

these stories and more are now in my debut collection Silent Walls:Stories

/sss inspired me to write these stories.

check it out if you enjoy black mirror/twilight zone vibe.

Ebook or paperback: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GMG33PD6

A while ago, someone did a monthly challenge on the page. I've been in the mood to write a lot lately, so I was curious if that's still a thing. If not, are people interested in doing it again?

(I looked and didn't see anything but I'm also bad at Reddit, so please tell me if I just missed it.)

I’ve got a question regarding the rule about recurring characters. I’ve had a lot of comments, and I’ve seen over the years that other authors have the same comments as well, about further stories of certain characters. I understand why the sub doesn’t do it, and I love that the sub isn’t littered by numerous parts to never ending stories, but as far as characters go, I was wondering if it might be possible to stretch that rule just a little bit as long as the story is still self contained with an ending?

Like more of an old time cartoon strip in concept, where the story is different but the characters are the same. Gary Larson and his cows is the best example I can think of. I guess I could also point to Desperation and The Regulators, but I, like most people, like to pretend The Regulators never happened.

I was just wondering if anybody else felt the same way?

Was wondering if theres a discord server or something where people share stuff their working on? Im trying to get back into writing regularly and I wanted to share work/make friends with fellow writers. Im not always the most social in group servers but I wanted to give it a shot. Ik subreddits like these are literally groups for this stuff but idk. If anyone knows of any id love to know!

Fuck yeah, that's what I'm talking about!

I'm looking forward to getting back into posting stories again.

I don't post much these days, and I've kinda fallen out of the loop of short horror. Just wanted to check in, wish everyone well. And I guess just see if there's anything that youse are excited about, writing or otherwise. Take care XOXO

Hi! Just trying to get more involved with, like, horror and horrorlit communities, I guess? I'm a human being with a normal life and job who does some self-publishing in the side, but not in horror. I've always loved reading horror and wanted to do more with it, however, and so I've decided to dip my toe into flash fics and love it! I think, eventually, I'd like to write longer form stuff, and maybe publish a small book of short stories or a Zine or something, but...baby steps. I see a lot of people here do publish their stuff and I think that's awesome.

I'm mostly in it to enjoy writing horror, sharing my stuff with others, and seeing what people think! What do YOU do this for?

Hello everyone. Several years ago I began posting short stories. I had no idea what to expect, but never in my wildest dreams did I imagine how much fun I would have, how encouraging people would be, or how many people I would get to know as both collaborators and friends. And I certainly never imagined that one day an entire collection of stories that started here would become a published book. But it did, and my collection Midnight Wanderings ( https://books2read.com/midnightwanderings ) is here, and it would not have been possible without the incredible support you all have given me. Thank you all so much for letting me tell stories, and here's to plenty more stories to come!