October has ended, The veil has closed. Our souls and spirits alike get to rest now. This month has been filled with stories that have delighted me and consumed me. The Hive was hungry… but now it needs rest. Hibernate if you will.

I cannot thank our cult members enough for participating in feeding us.

Consider joining to… contribute to satiating The Hive.

Subscribe now

Here are the stories that filled its stomach this month:

Prompt 1: The call is coming from inside the house.

Magical Musings with MeBrady

Scream in Whiskey Gulch

Sheriff Jack Rockford knew the rules. He’d read every dime novel from here to Sacramento. They all said the same thing. When you’re alone at night and you hear something, don’t investigate. Especially not in your own jailhouse…

Read more

6 months ago · 15 likes · 17 comments · Maryellen Brady 💗📚

the Sacred lilith

Alexa, Scream

I was halfway through microwaving leftover pad thai when the smart speaker lit up…

Read more

6 months ago · 10 likes · 5 comments · 𝔗𝔥𝔢 𝔰𝔞𝔠𝔯𝔢𝔡 𝔏𝔦𝔩𝔦𝔱𝔥 ♡

The Shiver Dispatch

The Wrong Sort of Stories

[THOUGHT SECURITY DIVISION] SUBDIVISION - D.S.A. [DEPARTMENT OF SYMBOLIC ANALYSIS] CASE FILE: 19-5555-CE [MILK AND HONEY] ASSIGNED AGENT: M.N. STRAUN =BEGINNING TRANSCRIPT…

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6 months ago · 8 likes · 1 comment · Brody Farrow

Prompt 2: Eat Your Heart Out

Magical Musings with MeBrady

Eat Your Heart Out

The fluorescent lights in Bay 4 hummed their familiar dirge. Dr. Miranda Angelo learned to tune it all out during her residency. Tonight, she heard every vibration. Every flicker. The sound carved into her skull like a scalpel through flesh…

Read more

6 months ago · 22 likes · 18 comments · Maryellen Brady 💗📚

Snark Floats

Just a Mirror

⚠️Content Warnings: sexual assault, implied incest, violence, death, and trauma recovery themes…

Read more

6 months ago · 13 likes · 7 comments · Jenifer Jorgenson

Stay Weird Press

Chew Before Swallowing

Written for Week 2 of Milk & Honey’s October Slasher Sundays Challenge…

Read more

6 months ago · 17 likes · Rebecca Watson (ReBe)

Judith Ashcraft

The Solanas Society

Note: This story contains graphic depictions of gun violence and death, as well as homophobic characters and mentions of rape…

Read more

6 months ago · 30 likes · 13 comments · Judith Ashcraft

Prompt 3: The Family Business

Magical Musings with MeBrady

MAGNOLIA GROVE

The heat hit Reese like a living thing the moment she stepped out of the Mercedes Sprinter van. Southern Georgia in June didn’t just surround you, it invaded every pore. It filled your lungs with air thick as honey…

Read more

5 months ago · 10 likes · 8 comments · Maryellen Brady 💗📚

Stay Weird Press

Sweet Tea and Iron Hooks

Written for Week 3 of Milk & Honey’s October Slasher Sundays Challange…

Read more

5 months ago · 23 likes · 7 comments · Rebecca Watson (ReBe)

Prompt 4: Restless

Judith Ashcraft

Seven in the Shadows

A figure like a shadow, darkness with blurred edges, crept into the bedroom I shared with my husband Derek. With long, shadowy claws, it picked up baby Adelaide, just two months old, out of the bassinet next to my bed. It lifted her and dropped her into a sack it carried, another dark shape with blurred edges. And Adelaide …

Read more

5 months ago · 19 likes · 5 comments · Judith Ashcraft

the Sacred lilith

(((Parenthesis)))

3:33 A.M…

Read more

5 months ago · 12 likes · 3 comments · 𝔗𝔥𝔢 𝔰𝔞𝔠𝔯𝔢𝔡 𝔏𝔦𝔩𝔦𝔱𝔥 ♡

Magical Musings with MeBrady

Restless Dreams

I wake up…

Read more

5 months ago · 5 likes · 6 comments · Maryellen Brady 💗📚

And with that.. Milk & Honey’s writing challenges have come to a close…for now.

Remember, it’s see you late.. never goodbye.

Until the hunger returns…

M

Thanks for reading our monthly wrap up on our Sunday Slashers for October 2025. Milk and Honey is a reader supported newsletter. Your contributions help me create more stories like this one and support our free zine that showcases other horror writers on Substack. Please consider becoming a paid subscriber or donating to our “cult” with the buttons below.

Subscribe now

Share

Donate to the Cult

Check out the first issue of The Hive Archive: A reader supported magazine that showcases horror writer’s on Substack via Milk & Honey’s writing challenges.

Looking for more of Milk & Honey horror? Click here. or here. or here.

Or are you in the mood for poetry? Click here. or here.

If you are reading this, I appreciate you still being here and following along with the prompts.

This is the last one. A bittersweet moment. A finality of challenges for the foreseeable future but also rest. October is known for the veil between us and the shadow realm is at its thinnest. Constantly communicating with spirits is exhausting, all of that energy being expended… I think we could all use some rest.

Close your eyes, fall asleep…see who appears…

Welcome to Milk & Honey’s October Slasher Sundays Writing Challenge.

Rules & Expectations:

For the month of October, each week we will explore together:

• A short analysis/review of a cult-classic slasher

• A prompt that will challenge you

• Me restacking your work with personal feedback

Each week’s challenge will be posted in a dedicated Substack thread. Submit your work by replying directly in the chat thread — this is the only way I’ll be accepting submissions (so they remain easy to find).

New prompts drop every Sunday. Submissions close Saturday at 11:59 PM. (Please write under 3000 words so I have time to read everyone’s piece)

Don’t forget to tag Milk & Honey in your submissions— we’re always looking for more cult members…

In Milk & Honey fashion, at the end of the month, I will share my favorite pieces from this challenge and add them to our recommended page.

Your entries act as submissions for a chance to be featured in The Hive Archive, where I design a custom page to exhibit your work

This is a cult-member only challenge (subscribers only - free or paid

Subscribe now

Week 4: Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)

We took typical serial killer who stalks you in the physical world into the supernatural with this film. Nightmare on Elm Street innovated slashers by introducing dream logic. This meant that killer was inside your head. You are never safe. He will be there when you close your eyes, he already is there. The psychological torture of sleep deprivation combined with nightmares that feel a little too real to build into being butchered when you fall asleep. It was a masterpiece and completely changed the game for typical slasher. Watch it. Then don’t fall asleep.

The Prompt: Restless

In 3000 words or less, short story or prose, write me a story that blurs the lines between what’s real and what’s a dream. A nightmare that haunts them in your waking life or a monster that invades your dreams. Give me something original, don’t rewrite the plot of Freddy Krueger, give it a twist. Use psychological horror and unreliable narrators that explore themes of guilt, repression, and the subconscious.

I believe you can do it.

Do it for me.

or I’ll see you in your dreams…

farewell

~m

Thanks for reading. Milk and Honey is a reader supported newsletter. Your contributions help me create more stories like this one and support our free zine that showcases other horror writers on Substack. Please consider becoming a paid subscriber or donating to our “cult” with the buttons below.

Donate To The Cult

Check out the first issue of The Hive Archive: A reader supported magazine that showcases horror writer’s on Substack via Milk & Honey’s writing challenges.

Looking for more of Milk & Honey horror? Click here. or here. or here.

Or are you in the mood for poetry? Click here. or here.

Welcome to Milk & Honey’s October Slasher Sundays Writing Challenge.

Rules & Expectations:

For the month of October, each week we will explore together:

• A short analysis/review of a cult-classic slasher

• A prompt that will challenge you

• Me restacking your work with personal feedback

Each week’s challenge will be posted in a dedicated Substack thread. Submit your work by replying directly in the chat thread — this is the only way I’ll be accepting submissions (so they remain easy to find).

New prompts drop every Sunday. Submissions close Saturday at 11:59 PM. (Please write under 3000 words so I have time to read everyone’s piece)

Don’t forget to tag Milk & Honey in your submissions— we’re always looking for more cult members…

In Milk & Honey fashion, at the end of the month, I will share my favorite pieces from this challenge and add them to our recommended page.

Your entries act as submissions for a chance to be featured in The Hive Archive, where I design a custom page to exhibit your work

This is a cult-member only challenge (subscribers only - free or paid)

Week 3: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)

A timely piece due to Netflix’s Monsters recent release on Ed Gein, the real serial killer this film was based on. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre made sure to play into it by getting its audience to run out of theaters screaming not for its carnage but because it felt real to them. A rotting rural America set in the 1970s, the film used its low budget to its advantage to make the film feel like a documentary. The absolute grittiness this slasher propelled southern gothic themes forward for future films. If you haven’t seen it, please at it to your watchlists but definitely check the trigger warnings. I mean look at the picture above, the dude is wearing a mask out of human skin, if that isn’t for you, I would skip this one.

Prompt: The Family Business

You guessed it, prose or stories under 3000 words about a family with a disturbing secret, toxic domesticity, and/or dark generational trauma that permeates through each heir with southern gothic themes.

~A note on the Southern Gothic subgenre since you may not know exactly what that would look like: Southern Gothic is typically using societal commentary to critique southern rural America. It uses decay, poverty, and is typically focusing on the Old South, but I have seen modern versions. This is one of my absolute favorite genres, I know you’ll do it justice this week.~

until next time….

-m

Thanks for reading! Milk and Honey is a reader supported newsletter. Your contributions help me create more stories like this one and support our free zine that showcases other horror writers on Substack. Please consider becoming a paid subscriber or donating to our “cult” with the buttons below.

Donate to the Cult!

Check out the first issue of The Hive Archive: A reader supported magazine that showcases horror writer’s on Substack via Milk & Honey’s writing challenges.

Looking for more of Milk & Honey horror? Click here. or here. or here.

Or are you in the mood for poetry? Click here. or here.

Welcome to Milk & Honey’s October Slasher Sundays Writing Challenge.

Rules & Expectations:

For the month of October, each week we will explore together:

• A short analysis/review of a cult-classic slasher

• A prompt that will challenge you

• Me restacking your work with personal feedback

Each week’s challenge will be posted in a dedicated Substack thread. Submit your work by replying directly in the chat thread — this is the only way I’ll be accepting submissions (so they remain easy to find).

New prompts drop every Sunday. Submissions close Saturday at 11:59 PM. (Please write under 3000 words so I have time to read everyone’s piece)

Don’t forget to tag Milk & Honey in your submissions— we’re always looking for more cult members…

In Milk & Honey fashion, at the end of the month, I will share my favorite pieces from this challenge and add them to our recommended page.

Your entries act as submissions for a chance to be featured in The Hive Archive, where I design a custom page to exhibit your work

This is a cult-member only challenge (subscribers only - free or paid)

Week 2: Jennifer’s Body

Jenifer’s Body can hold itself at the epitome of not only iconic slasher horror but iconic feminist horror. Loosely based on a real crime, Jennifer’s assault and murder drive her thirst for revenge but also for her beauty as each boy she eats preserves it. The film layers societal commentary on violence against women, beauty standards, and female rage with Needy and Jennifer’s complex sapphic relationship. Jennifer’s Body makes hefty strides for feminist horror using slasher tropes, meta-satire, and campy carnage.

Prompt: Eat Your Heart Out

Write from a feminist perspective in under 3000 words, a story or poem that captures the essence of an iconic slasher while making commentary on a social issue women face. Use the above line and film for inspiration. Horror bleeds for feminism. I want to pay homage to all of the horror that made women feel seen or powerful.

Watch the movie or I’ll eat your heart.

Thanks

bye

M.

Hi friends and cult members. I am pleased to present you with another gruesome challenge for the month of October. What get’s you more in the Halloween mood other than a revered slasher?

That begs me to ask the question…What’s your favorite scary movie?

Answer the cult’s call to write.. or don’t. I’ll find you anyway.

(no seriously I want to know what your favorite scary movie is in the comments below!)

Welcome to Milk & Honey’s October Slasher Sundays Writing Challenge.

Rules & Expectations:

For the month of October, each week we will explore together:

• A short analysis/review of a cult-classic slasher

• A prompt that will challenge you

• Me restacking your work with personal feedback

Each week’s challenge will be posted in a dedicated Substack thread. Submit your work by replying directly in the chat thread — this is the only way I’ll be accepting submissions (so they remain easy to find).

New prompts drop every Sunday. Submissions close Saturday at 11:59 PM. (Please write under 3000 words so I have time to read everyone’s piece)

Don’t forget to tag Milk & Honey in your submissions— we’re always looking for more cult members…

In Milk & Honey fashion, at the end of the month, I will share my favorite pieces from this challenge and add them to our recommended page.

Your entries act as submissions for a chance to be featured in The Hive Archive, where I design a custom page to exhibit your work

This is a cult-member only challenge (subscribers only - free or paid)

Week 1: Scream (1996)

Often recognized as one of the best slashers out there, Scream redefined and inspired the horror film industry. One of the first meta-horror films, it uses self awareness and subtle fourth wall breaks to subversively hold you in suspense. The poster literally had Drew Barrymore, an A-lister, on the cover to simply kill her off in the first few minutes. This was to deliberately suggest that the movie, while using common horror tropes, would be completely different than what horror fans have seen before. It also combined humor with gore while still maintaining the ability to scare expertly which can be seen within Ghostface’s cruel sense of humor; changing how we see typical killers in horror of the time.

Prompt: The call is coming from inside the house.

Write a short story or poem that demonstrates the expertise used in Scream. Through the use of self-awareness and wit, combining themes of humor with distinct characters, write without losing scares or suspense. I am not asking for a lighthearted piece, but something that leans into the twisted mind of Ghostface’s sick sense of humor.

oh— and it should go without saying that it should be a slasher.

P.S. Watch the movie!

Until next time…

m

Below is The Hive Archive, an online free horror literary magazine. This is viewable via this post, however, there is a free downloadable version below that includes working imbedded links.

This issue of the magazine is free and will remain that way, however, this took weeks and hours of my time. Eventually I would like to be able to monetarily compensate the contributors. Please consider donating to Milk & Honey or become a paid subscriber.

Donate To The Cult

Subscribe now

A list of contributors is at the end of this post and I highly recommend checking them out. They’re the best out there.

Please let me know what you think.

I love you.

Until next time…

meg.

The Hive Archive: Augtober 2025 Issue

The Hive Archive: Augtober 2025 Issue

302MB ∙ PDF file

Download

An online horror literary magazine

Download

List of Contributors

Check out last week’s prompt here

As we wind down to our last week of Augtober, I am feeling overwhelmed by all of the community I have seen as submissions came in. I saw you guys comment, restack, and show support to each other in a way that made me feel proud to have brought us all horror writer’s together. I also saw superb writing and creative takes on last week’s prompt. You guys transformed the prompt and made into your own. Your writing process is incredible to watch unfold.

Welcome to Milk & Honey’s Augtober Writing Challenge.

Rules & Expectations:

For the month of August, each week we will explore together:

• A micro-lesson on a core horror concept

• One prompt and writing ritual

• Me restacking your work with personal feedback

Each week’s challenge will be posted in a dedicated Substack thread. Submit your work by replying directly in the chat thread — this is the only way I’ll be accepting submissions (so they remain easy to find).

New prompts drop every Sunday. Submissions close Saturday at 11:59 PM.

Please tag Milk & Honey in your submissions— we’re always looking for more cult members…

In Milk & Honey fashion, at the end of the month, I will share my favorite pieces from this challenge and add them to our recommended page.

This is a cult-member only challenge (subscribers only - free or paid)

Week 4: Paranormal Horror

While the name is mostly self-explanatory, paranormal horror refers to beings, themes, or events that defy scientific explanations. Ghosts, demons, and sprits rule this subgenre of horror but things like witches, curses, and other haunted or supernatural beings can definitely apply. This subgenre can be combined with many other subgenres and we have seen it in our other prompts such as analog horror and gothic horror when themes of religion are present. Think of things moving on their own, levitation, or anything that defies natural laws. The fears that this plays into include the fear of death & afterlife, the unknown, and like last week, the fear of losing control.

Core Concept: Possession

Typically seen on TV as inanimate objects or people who have been taken over by an evil entity that not only gains control over them but turns them evil from the inside out. The Conjuring franchise uses this frequently. Other notable paranormal horrors that involve possession include The Amityville Horror, Insidious, and any movie that begins with “The Exorcism of…” Last week we talked about our physical bodies losing control, succumbing to something inside it and changing into something gruesome, horrific, and disgusting. This week we are moving from our physical bodies to our souls, something almost more important. Something dark, something pure evil, something the devil can’t even conjure will be possessing our main characters and changing who they are from their core. I think out of the movies I mentioned, the biggest sucker punches came from when the MCs turned on the ones they loved.

Prompt: A possession

In 3000 words or less write about your character being possessed. You can combine this theme with any subgenre you would like including the ones we have already discussed like folk, analog, gothic, or body horror. Anything is fair game with paranormal horror as it transfers easily between genres. Remember: Horror can have happy endings, there can be survivors, there can be a satisfying end. Setting is really important for this one.

Literary Devices to consider:

Synesthesia - Blurred senses

Unreliable narrators - the reader can’t trust the words on the page

liminal imagery - in-between spaces for spirits to linger

Optional Ritual: We have all done it

Pick your favorite childhood scary story or tall tale that you used on your friends to scare them and do it again on yourself as an adult. The one I think about the most Bloody Mary, go into a dark bathroom and say Bloody Mary into the mirror three times. Does she appear behind you? Do you see the blood coming out of the mirror? What are you afraid of? It’s just a game…until it isn’t. Write about your experience. You don’t have to share this with me or anyone else, it can be just for you.

Milk & Honey is honored to have you a part of our cult. I can’t wait to read your submissions.

until next time,

meg.

Check out last week’s prompt here.

This entire week I have been reading submissions that are generally about a VHS tape being found in an unclean space and with every single one I am being terrified of what are on those tapes. I’ve said it before but I will say it again, it doesn’t matter if you, I or anyone else are rewriting the same story a hundred times, we each have a unique voice and create unique stories from that voice. Well done everyone! Be proud of what you have done so far in the month of Augtober and be prepared for what comes next…

Welcome to Milk & Honey’s Augtober Writing Challenge.

Rules & Expectations:

For the month of August, each week we will explore together:

• A micro-lesson on a core horror concept

• One prompt and writing ritual

• Me restacking your work with personal feedback

Each week’s challenge will be posted in a dedicated Substack thread. Submit your work by replying directly in the chat thread — this is the only way I’ll be accepting submissions (so they remain easy to find).

New prompts drop every Sunday. Submissions close Saturday at 11:59 PM.

Please tag Milk & Honey in your submissions— we’re always looking for more cult members…

In Milk & Honey fashion, at the end of the month, I will share my favorite pieces from this challenge and add them to our recommended page.

This is a cult-member only challenge (subscribers only - free or paid)

Week 3: Body Horror

A subgenre of horror that focuses on grotesque violations of the human body. Including themes of mutilation, transformation, and graphic depictions of physical trauma. This genre relies heavily on imagery, creating vibrant scenes of these themes that almost burn through the words on the page and into your mind. In cinema, body horror relies heavily on special effects to achieve this which is why writing it can be challenging. In week one’s challenge we explored the concept of dread, in week two’s we distorted reality through found media, in this week’s challenge we will explore the horror that lies within all of us, when not only our mind betrays us but our body as well.

Core Concept: Metamorphosis

Metamorphosis refers to a complete change from one thing to another by natural or supernatural means, typically in horror we are not talking about caterpillars and butterflies (Do you remember that one episode of SpongeBob?). I want you to create a character that completely evolves from one thing to the next while staying in the style of body horror. This isn’t anything we haven’t seen before, but I have a feeling some really interesting stories are going to come out of this one. Think: The Thing, The Human Centipede, Tusk, The Fly

Prompt: Something is inside me.

In 3000 words or less create a story that revolves around a character who discovers that something is wrong with them, something is in them and is slowly changing them into something else. How you get there is up to you.

Literary devices to consider:

Imagery - The more grotesque the better, really lean into the disturbing and the disgusting.

Personification - Things that aren’t meant to be alive coming alive? Sounds pretty gross to me! Body parts having their own free will is a good start.

Defamiliarization - Lean into things feeling alien to your MC, over time they can’t figure out what is real and what isn’t, what is part of their body or what is part of the new thing they are becoming.

Optional Ritual: Grab a mirror

Preferably one that can be moved around. Look deeply into the mirror and study your own body. Hold it in front of your limbs and move them around while only looking in the mirror. Write in as much detail as you can about a very specific part of your body. For example, your fingernail on your thumb, is it ridged? Is it a different color than normal? Is the skin around it dry and cracked or plump and moisturized? Write until that part of you feels alien to you. Write until you start to distrust it. You don’t have to share this with me or the Substack community, it can be for you alone. This will help tap into those descriptors you will use to write body horror.

Milk & Honey is honored to have you a part of our cult. I can’t wait to read your submissions.

until next time,

meg.

[RECORDED 2:17 AM DATE: UNKNOWN]

Check out last week’s prompt here.

Welcome back to our Augtober writing challenge. You’ve been here before.. I can tell you look familiar. We had a fantastic start to Augtober, I saw a lot of my own fears woven into your writing. We explored the concepts of dread and how to build upon them to create something truly terrifying through foreshadowing, settings, and suspense. While you are watching.. you would tell me if something was behind me right? Actually never mind, its silly.

[MEDIA DEGRADATION 12% | DO NOT TURN OFF YOUR DEVICE]

Welcome to Milk & Honey’s Augtober Writing Challenge.

Rules & Expectations:

For the month of August, each week we will explore together:

• A micro-lesson on a core horror concept

• One prompt and writing ritual

• Me restacking your work with personal feedback

Each week’s challenge will be posted in a dedicated Substack thread. Submit your work by replying directly in the chat thread — this is the only way I’ll be accepting submissions (so they remain easy to find).

New prompts drop every Sunday. Submissions close Saturday at 2:17AM.

Please tag Milk & Honey in your submissions— we’re always looking for more cult members…

In Milk & Honey fashion, at the end of the month, I will share my favorite pieces from this challenge and add them to our recommended page.

This is a cult-member only challenge (subscribers only - free or paid)

[MEDIA DEGRADATION 46% | DO NOT TURN OFF YOUR DEVICE]

Week 2: Analog Horror

A branch of found-footage horror, this subgenre uses nostalgia and outdated media to draw fear from its audience. Think of VHS tapes, fuzzy camera footage, and audio distortion. Its settings are typically set as early as the 1960s through the early 2000s. I chose this subgenre for this week because it would really work your writing muscles. ARE YOU ERAL? You have to convey a different time period along with making your reader really feel the outdated media through words alone. How do you get them to squirm at the static in their ear? Shudder as the camera’s footage get’s taped over without the cameraman’s knowledge? Sweat as the tape recorder shows someone was actually answering the questions being asked during the seance? R E YOU REAL?

Does my voice sound funny to you? I can see something on the audio input level even when I am not talking.

Media to consider: VHS, Late Night With the Devil, Skinamarink

[IMAGE NOT FOUND][IMAGE NOT FOUND][IMAGE NOT FOUND]

Core Concept: Uncanny Valley

Uncanny valley refers to the unease humans feel when confronted with something that is close to humans but not quite there completely. Think of AI generate people, robots made to look like humans, skin walkers, and mimics. This feeling of nausea or unsettledness comes from our innate sense of danger.. something that we have evolved to be afraid of.

[MEDIA DEGRADATION 74% | DO NOT TURN OFF YOUR DEVICE]

Prompt: A piece of Found Media

In 3000 words or less, write a story where your piece revolves around found media— a VHS tape, a CD, an old radio broadcasting, or footage of some kind. Within it, there will be something made to look or sound human. ARE YOU REAL? Something about it seems wrong or off in some way. Don’t reveal it immediately or at all. You should use what you learned about dread in last week’s challenge to help with this. Make it feel nostalgic. Make it feel real to your readers.

By the way… did you hear that? ARE YU RE AL?

Literary Devices to Consider:

Ekphrasis - Vivid and dramatic description of a work of art or image (or your found footage) so your reader can see it without seeing it. Think of imagery on steroids.

Juxtaposition - Mixing themes of comfort next to disturbing content.

Semantic Satiation - Repetition to the point of fatiguing the reader. Repeating a word, phrase, theme, or action enough times to the point it removes all meaning from it and starts to feel warped.

[MEDIA DEGRADATION 93% | DO NOT TURN OFF YOUR DEVICE]

Optional Ritual: Sit in the dark and write about it.

At night pick a corner of a room in your home and turn the lights off. What do you see in the shadows? What do you hear? What do you feel? Then write about your experience in a few sentences. AR E YUO R EAL? Try to sit in your fear as long as you can and then return to your keyboard or notebook and put those feelings into words. You don’t have to share this with the Substack community, it can be only for you. RAE OYU RE AL ?

Milk & Honey is honored to have you a part of our cult. I can’t wait to read your submissions again if that is really you. ARE YOU REAL?ARE YOU REAL?ARE YOU REAL?ARE YOU REAL?ARE YOU REAL?ARE YOU REAL?ARE YOU REAL?ARE YOU REAL?ARE YOU REAL?ARE YOU REAL?ARE YOU REAL?

until next time,

meg.

[MEDIA DEGRADATION COMPLETE | ITS TOO LATE]

I am honored to announce Milk & Honey’s second ever horror-writing challenge. My intentions are to provide a space where concepts are explained and in tandem are practiced through on-topic prompts or writing exercises. I also wanted to include rituals of reflection meant to tap into the darker parts of yourself. As you may know, I am returning to school in the fall to become an English teacher and I want this newsletter to be an online capsule capturing my improvement throughout my university years.

I consider August to be the start of fall as any other normal person would. Something shifts in the air and there is a crisp coolness that comes in with the breeze. The trees start behaving differently. There leaves are not ready to fall but their roots are ready to sink deeper in the ground, preparing for the frost to freeze the soil, they reach for the warmth that radiates from the earth’s core. It’s like you can hear them sighing breaths of relief as they look forward to their winter slumbers. I walk under their branches and leaves and I can feel it too. That feeling of relief that autumn brings. Relief isn’t the only thing I feel. I feel a desperate need to create works of terror. Terror that comes from within you. A guttural feeling of dread that makes you walk a little quicker as the sun sets earlier in the day. It makes your neck sweat and your heart race. It makes your stomach do somersaults until you reach your front door and can close the darkness behind you, safe in your home… like it can’t reach you there.

Autumn brings out the best in me.. and the worst.. I am going to show you how to bring out the worst in yourself as well.

This begs the question… What are you afraid of?

Welcome to Milk & Honey’s Augtober Writing Challenge.

Rules & Expectations:

For the month of August, each week we will explore together:

• A micro-lesson on a core horror concept

• One prompt and writing ritual

• Me restacking your work with personal feedback

Each week’s challenge will be posted in a dedicated Substack thread. Submit your work by replying directly in the chat thread — this is the only way I’ll be accepting submissions (so they remain easy to find).

New prompts drop every Sunday. Submissions close Saturday at 11:59 PM.

Please tag Milk & Honey in your submissions— we’re always looking for more cult members…

In Milk & Honey fashion, at the end of the month, I will share my favorite pieces from this challenge and add them to our recommended page.

This is a cult-member only challenge (subscribers only - free or paid)

Week 1: Horror as a Genre

A genre entirely based on eliciting fear from its audience. Something that sounds so disturbing, yet it attracts a cult-following and amasses massive revenue for its films and literature. I have talked about using horror as a coping mechanism and we have all learned about why we make the choice to be afraid. We have this need to have control when faced with uncontrollable conflicts in our day to day life. Horror intertwines real life fears with the otherworldly aspects the genre. The feeling it evokes in us is a combination of comfort for what we can connect to, (violence, oppression, and the depravity of humans), and intrigue for what we can’t connect to, (supernatural, mythical, and the unlikely). Humans have a plain as day appetite for the bizarre, otherwise known as morbid curiosity.

Core Concept: Dread

I don’t think I can name a single horror movie or novel that doesn’t use it. Definition: Anticipating with a great sense of fear.

The most important part of any story is setting. Set the mood of your piece through the use of the senses. What does your main character feel when they walk into the room? What do they hear or smell? What is the weather and temperature? Don’t choose these things arbitrarily. Why is it raining? Does It further the story?

Pace the story appropriately and don’t answer every question that is asked.

Prompt: What are you afraid of?

In 3000 words or less, choose something that scares you the most, and write a story demonstrating that fear through the use of dread. It could be abstract (losing control, loneliness, shame), personal (a specific memory), or physical (insects, blood, drowning).

This should not be a recollection. The challenge to create a story where a character experiences this fear in a literal or symbolic way (show don’t tell). The goal is to build anticipation and foreboding without giving away the primary antagonist.

Literary Devices to consider:

• Foreshadowing - Providing clues for what’s to come

• Suspense - Building the feeling of excitement or unease about what might happen

• Allegory - narrative with a concealed or symbolic significance

Optional Ritual: Write 5 of your own personal fears.

These can be things like the fear of water or the fear of spiders but I want you to dig deeper. What about the fear of hurting the ones you love the most? What about the fear of not being believed? What made you choose these? Which ones are you ready to write about? Which ones are you avoiding? Why?

This is where your deeper sense of self will come from and in turn better horror writing. This optional writing ritual does not have to be shared with me or the Substack community. This can be for just you.

Milk & Honey is honored to have you a part of our cult. I can’t wait to read your submissions.

until next time,

meg.

I have had four weeks of reading submissions from some very talented writers both known and new to me. The theme, as always, was horror and we dived into four very different but also very interesting subgenres including, psychological, gothic, folk & ecological horror.

Horror as a genre is meant to scare its audience. It’s meant to cultivate feelings of anxiety and terror. Horror, in my humble opinion, is one of the hardest genres to write. Invoking fear and unsettledness through words on paper or screen is undeniably difficult to do but there are so many ways to do it. Through the submissions for this challenge I have been thoroughly disturbed, disgusted, and just plain been given the heebie jeebies. Horror for me is a place of comfort. You guys are awesome. I loved every bit of it. The talent that is hidden on Substack is unreal.

This challenge was meant to gather a community who has the same love for horror as I do. I was looking for my people. I was looking for validation and like-mindedness. I definitely found it. I also found incredibly talented writers. Our challenge was also meant to be a learning experience for all of us. While practicing writing within other genres we grow and become better. This also allowed us all to find and consume writing from a variety of different styles, skill levels, and unique voices. The creative takes on each prompt throughout the month surprised me in the best way.

Another thing I have learned through hosting a challenge like this is that it is a lot of work. The amount of time it takes to create each prompt and read everyone’s post was overwhelming, however, I have learned so much myself and I give credit to anyone who has hosted or is hosting anything similar.

There are many of you who deserve to be mentioned and recommended by Milk & Honey but sadly I have to pick one per each prompt. I plan on creating many different challenges as the year goes on so there will be more opportunities to win and grow as this newsletter grows as well. Please take a moment to vote in the poll below, I will use this as a guide to determine my next move as the author of Milk & Honey.

Prompt 1: Psychological Horror

The premise of this prompt was to evoke fear using the mental and emotional states of your characters within your work. This is typically done through unreliable narrators, paranoia, or gaslighting. The submissions I received for this prompt absolutely made my blood run cold. The winner I have chosen for Week One: Prompt 1 of Milk & Honey’s June Writing Challenge is: for their piece titled: Flicker and Fade.

E.J. Moon perfectly captured the characteristics of psychological turmoil through this poem. Being able to instill fear or unsettledness in your audience through stanza lines is incredibly difficult work so it was a no brainer for this to be our first winner.

My favorite line: The clock’s heart stutters through the night.

A huge congratulations to E.J. for their ability to completely wow me with this poem. You will be featured in Milk & Honey’s recommended section for your writing talent. Please consider subscribing to E.J. Moon here:

E.J. Moon

Step into the shadows with me, E.J. Moon, where Gothic tales meet dark academia. Explore eerie folklore, haunting short fiction.

A huge thank you to everyone who participated in this prompt. I wanted to highlight a few other submissions that I really enjoyed and I highly recommend that you check out these pieces and their other work as well:

for Paint it Shut

for “I Hear Buzzing…” Part 1

for The Voice of Grief

Prompt 2: Gothic Horror

Gothic horror romanticizes the genre through the use of forbidden love, vampires, themes of death & decay, or family secrets. I really enjoyed reading the submissions for this subgenre. I felt haunted. I felt the torture of loneliness and love lost. I felt the undeniable dread and eeriness that gothic settings convey. You all had incredible submissions that really exemplified your talent. With that being said, the winner I have chosen for Week Two: Prompt 2 of Milk & Honey’s June Writing Challenge is: for their piece The Embroiderer.

Laura embodied gothic horror with this piece. It slow-burned dread right into my skin as I was reading it. The merging of gothic and body horror was a perfect combination for this prompt and I felt my skin crawl with each of the MC’s diary entries. The writing expertise that was exhibited through this piece was unmatched by any other gothic/body horror I have ever read. I truly loved reading this and everyone should take the time to read it as an example of these genres, it will make you a better writer when you do.

My favorite lines:

I only felt joy and ecstasy as I slid my mirrored blade along the bone and parted the flesh, it was quite a magical experience. It was as though I was removing the meat from an animal, something apart from me and yet knowing it was mine own body, I trembled with delight Mother and there before me, I saw a sparkling light, shining above me, bringing me great peace.

A huge congratulations to Laura. You will be recommended by Milk & Honey for your incredible talent as a writer. You can subscribe to Laura here:

The Pale Horse

Writer, illustrator and collector of old clothes. I weave folklore, horror and the uncanny into short fiction, personal essays and art.

By Laura B

I can’t thank everyone enough for participating in this prompt. I wanted to highlight a few other submissions that I really enjoyed and I suggest that you check out these pieces and their other work as well:

for An Eternity of Longing

for The Mirror

for Amor Omni Vincit

Prompt 3: Folk Horror

Folk horror draws fears from rural isolation, communal beliefs and ritualist tendencies. It often relies on pagan or other spiritual traditions that an outsider happens upon and severely underestimates the deep, dark roots of the locals. The submissions that came in for this prompt instilled a dread in me. A dread that chilled me all the way through. This one was so tough. I want to extend the biggest congratulations to for their piece The Clearing!

The imagery in this story was viscerally horrific, especially when it came to the descriptions of the deer. I felt the fear that the hunters felt. I loved reading this. It felt like I was being told an old folktale from long ago.

My favorite lines:

A jaw hung open, slack and too wide. And behind it, something too large to be a man, but too upright to be a beast, unfurled its limbs from shadow.

Congratulations, Clara. You will be recommended by Milk & Honey for your writing ability. You can subscribe to Clara here:

The ramblings of a MacGauffin

I write shorts stories and musings about (mostly) Scandinavian folklore and horror. Speak of the devil and the troll shall appear! is for folklore only.

By Clara MacGauffin

Thank you to everyone for participating in this prompt. I wanted to highlight a few other submissions that I really enjoyed and you can check out these pieces and their other work as well:

for The Solstice

for Grianstad an Fhómhair

for The Thornwood

Prompt 4: Ecological Horror

Last but certainly not least, ecological horror is where mother nature finally fights back. The natural world is tired of being taken advantage of and uses the fragileness of humanity to its advantage. Other subgenres are often seen here as the world turns into chaos or even apocalyptic, it is a genre where the creative freedom can go absolutely wild. Submissions for this prompt created phobias that I didn’t know I had. I want to extend congratulations to for their piece Mycelium Eyes!

This piece haunted me in a way that only decay could. This story captures a world both overgrown and rotting. The emotions the MC experiences as he traversed feelings of guilt, grief, and surrender were unforgettable. This felt incredibly intimate to read.

My favorite lines:

But she tilted her head up and brought her lips to his. Where they touched, the fungus blossomed. It dampened his cheeks, mingling with his tears. It threaded through the cavity of his chest, until he no longer knew what he felt.

Congratulations, Artemis! You will be recommended by Milk & Honey for your writing ability. You can subscribe to Artemis here:

Thank you to everyone for participating in this prompt. I wanted to highlight a few other submissions that I really enjoyed and you should check out these pieces and their other work as well:

for Erasure

for Fertile Soil

To conclude: There are some really talented people on this app. It was nearly impossible for me to pick the winners for this challenge. You all should be so proud of yourselves for showing up for this challenge and for me. Thank you.

Until next time…

meg

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Welcome back to Milk & Honey’s June Horror Writing Challenge—

We have reached the finale of Milk & Honey’s first ever writing challenge. I cannot express my gratitude for the participation and support I have received during the past couple weeks. I have read some absolutely beautiful but terrifying pieces and I know I am going to have a really tough time choosing the “winners” (You are all winners in my heart <3 )

Last week’s prompt was Folk Horror— the submission deadline for this one has technically passed but if you would like to write something for Week #4, I encourage you to do so, I will still read it and restack it! I also encourage you to go through the submissions that I have restacked for all of the previous weeks, there are some really impressive writers that have participated and some really great scary stories.

Some reminders for this week’s prompt:

• Any category of creative writing (story or poem) Under 3000 words— This keeps things manageable for me to be able to read everyone’s post.

• Tag me! Tagging me is he easiest way for me to be able to see it and helps me keep things organized so I am not searching through DM’s or comments, however, I totally understand if you submit it in the way that’s easiest for you. As long as I can find it, it’s submitted but if I don’t restack it, it means I did not see it so bring it to my attention. (Saturdays 11:59PM is the deadline for each week)

• Follow the prompt— I am choosing winners based on the ability to follow the prompt & the strength of writing. Winners will be featured at the end of the month in their own post and be recommended on Milk & Honey’s recommendations page.

Any questions? Use the chat! I would appreciate it if you could be subscribed to enter (free or paid) as it helps support my newsletter so that I could continue to do these.

Subscribe now

Why Join?

This challenge is meant to build community, spark creativity, and help us all become stronger, more intentional writers. It’s also a way for me to stay aligned with my core purpose on Substack— to grow as a writer.
If horror is your genre, or even just your curiosity, this is your space. There will also be a potential to have a spotlight in my newsletter at the end of the month.

Without further ado and last but not least…

Week Four: Ecological Horror

Ecological Horror invokes the unknown and wrath of the natural world. This subgenres explores the consequences of disrupting nature’s balance. This often combines themes of apocalyptic horror and the fragileness of humanity when faced with mother nature’s wrath. This could include supernatural elements or can be from nature’s own arsenals including, contaminated waters, underground creatures, widespread illness or even killer trees. I think the themes of ecological horror are particularly relevant today as we are faced with the consequences of global warming. Think The Happening (2008 Film), The Birds (1963 Film), Annihilation (2014 Novel).

Prompt #4: You thought the season was changing. But it’s the world that’s rotting.

Reminder: Any style of writing is fair game up to 3000 words, stick with the prompt/theme, and tag me so I can find it!

Welcome back to Milk & Honey’s June Horror Writing Challenge—

I can’t believe that we are already on week three of this challenge. I have been amazed by the submissions so far. You guys really know how to bring it when it comes to these challenges. Last week’s prompt was Gothic Horror— the submission deadline for this one has technically passed but if you would like to write something for Week #2, I encourage you to do so, I will still read it and restack it!

Some reminders for this week’s prompt:

• Any category of creative writing (story or poem) Under 3000 words— This keeps things manageable for me to be able to read everyone’s post.

• Tag me! Tagging me is he easiest way for me to be able to see it and helps me keep things organized so I am not searching through DM’s or comments, however, I totally understand if you submit it in the way that’s easiest for you. As long as I can find it, it’s submitted but if I don’t restack it, it means I did not see it so bring it to my attention. (Saturdays 11:59PM is the deadline for each week)

• Follow the prompt— I am choosing winners based on the ability to follow the prompt & the strength of writing. Winners will be featured at the end of the month in their own post and be recommended on Milk & Honey’s recommendations page.

Any questions? Use the chat! I would appreciate it if you could be subscribed to enter (free or paid) as it helps support my newsletter so that I could continue to do these.

Subscribe now

Why Join?

This challenge is meant to build community, spark creativity, and help us all become stronger, more intentional writers. It’s also a way for me to stay aligned with my core purpose on Substack— to grow as a writer.
If horror is your genre, or even just your curiosity, this is your space. There will also be a potential to have a spotlight in my newsletter at the end of the month.

Without further ado…

Week Three: Folk Horror

Folk Horror incorporates elements of folklore, paganism, superstition, and rural isolation. While sometimes emphasizing the supernatural, folk horror, typically relies on the behaviors of people using the supernatural (or what they think is supernatural) for their own rituals and superstitions. This is usually exhibited by outsiders coming against their deep seeded beliefs naively. Some media to consider: Resident Evil: Village, The Ritual (2017 Film), The Village (2004 Film), The Only Good Indians (Stephen Graham Jones Novel), Bone White (Ronald Malfi). This is one of my absolute favorite subgenres of horror. Be create. Be sick and twisted. Be terrifying.

Prompt #3: Every year on the autumn solstice, one of us disappears and we act like they never existed. This year it was my mother.

Reminder: Any style of writing is fair game up to 3000 words, stick with the prompt/theme, and tag me so I can find it.

Welcome back to Milk & Honey’s June Horror Writing Challenge—

Last week’s prompt really emphasized that not every word is written. We can write from the same prompt, write the same storyline, or tell the same tale but no one has written it from our perspective. A huge shoutout to everyone who has participated and submitted something for me to read. I thoroughly have enjoyed each submission and it has made me even more excited for this week and the rest of the challenge.

Our voice is unique. Your voice is unique, so share it!

Some reminders for this week’s prompt:

• Any category of creative writing (story or poem) Under 3000 words— This keeps things manageable for me to be able to read everyone’s post.

• Tag me! Tagging me is he easiest way for me to be able to see it and helps me keep things organized so I am not searching through DM’s or comments, however, I totally understand if you submit it in the way that’s easiest for you. As long as I can find it, it’s submitted but if I don’t restack it, it means I did not see it so bring it to my attention. (Saturdays 11:59PM is the deadline for each week)

• Follow the prompt— I am choosing winners based on the ability to follow the prompt & the strength of writing. Winners will be featured at the end of the month in their own post and be recommended on Milk & Honey’s recommendations page.

Any questions? Use the chat! I would appreciate it if you could be subscribed to enter (free or paid) as it helps support my newsletter so that I could continue to do these.

Subscribe now

Why Join?

This challenge is meant to build community, spark creativity, and help us all become stronger, more intentional writers. It’s also a way for me to stay aligned with my core purpose on Substack— to grow as a writer.
If horror is your genre, or even just your curiosity, this is your space. There will also be a potential to have a spotlight in my newsletter at the end of the month.

Without further ado…

Week Two: Gothic Horror

Think of settings that emphasize darkness & decay, supernatural elements such as vampires, demons, or ghosts, themes of death, family secrets, while intertwining romantic elements such as a forbidden love or tragedy. I chose this genre because I struggle with the use of romance in my writing, its a genre that I am sort of scared to write about. I try to keep these prompts vague enough for you to be as creative as possible. Feel free to take liberties and have fun with it!

Prompt #2: The mirror that hung in the east wing carried this family’s secrets for generations…

Reminder: Any style of writing is fair game up to 3000 words, stick with the prompt/theme, and tag me so I can find it.

As promised, I am hosting Milk & Honey’s first ever writing challenge for the month of June. My newsletter typically is horror focused so I thought I would connect with the Substack community to see what darkness lies within it and yourselves. I am hoping to find more like-minded horror writers, help push our creative boundaries, and tune into our morbidity with a weekly prompt.

Every Sunday for the month of June, I will be posting a prompt that will allow us to hone our craft while being within four distinct horror subgenres.

Guidelines:

1. Follow the weekly prompt - I will post each prompt every week on Substack and on Instagram. They will fall into specific categories but feel free to write in any style (short story, flash or micro fiction, poem, etc.) as long as it is under 3000 words.

2. Submitting your work - As long as I can find it (i.e. I am tagged so that it notifies me that you have submitted something to the challenge) then it will be included. If I don’t see a piece for whatever reason, DM me to let me know how to find it. Please only submit one entry per week. Submissions will open once the post is published every Sunday and close at 11:59PM the following Saturday.

3. Winners? - I will restack each piece that is submitted to the challenge. At the end of the month, there will be a post that highlights my favorites and those newsletters will be featured in my Recommendations on Milk & Honey’s newsletter. I will choose based on the strength of the writing and ability to stick with the theme of the week. I am sure every piece submitted will be entirely worthy but I wanted to include an extra incentive to entice some competition.

4. I would also ask kindly that you be subscribed to enter, I won’t disqualify you but to show your support so I can hopefully keep doing these challenges, I would appreciate it — it’s free!

Why Join?

This challenge is meant to build community, spark creativity, and help us all become stronger, more intentional writers. It’s also a way for me to stay aligned with my core purpose on Substack— to grow as a writer.
If horror is your genre, or even just your curiosity, this is your space. There will also be a potential to have a spotlight in my newsletter at the end of the month.

Are you in?

P.S. I will try my best to participate in the prompts every week but I honestly do not have a lot of time on my hands these days (I work a 9-5 during the week and on weekends I work at my second job and sometimes my first as well which is what is happening this weekend so just be kind to me)

If so the first prompt of the month is below… write if you dare… (LOL)

Week One: Psychological Horror

Think gaslighting, hallucinations, unreliable narrators, and paranoia. I chose this as the first prompt because I definitely can rely on vivid gory imagery or monsters a little too much. I want to practice creating a terrifying environment using mental and emotional states to evoke fear— this will allow the reader’s own minds to fill in the blanks with their own imagination. Our own mind is sometimes scarier than reality, let’s see what we can do to make our reader’s scare themselves. Fear of the unknown is one of the strongest tools we can use as horror writers

Prompt #1: There’s something in the walls that only I can hear…

Reminder: Any style of writing is fair game up to 3000 words, stick with the prompt/theme, and tag me so I can find it.

Recently someone told me that as long as you’re having fun doing it, it’s worth it — So my final guideline is to have fun.

Thanks for reading and I hope you participate in Milk & Honey’s first ever challenge. Please consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Lets write together — meg.

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