Happy Halloween, everyone! It really is our favorite holiday, and we have dedicated the month to celebrating spooky, surreal, and unnerving fiction. Here are some highlights from our October content. Of course, you can also browse the archive to check out all of our past creepy stories, essays, and interviews.

Stories That Teach: “When I Make Love to the Bug Man” by Laura Benedict – Discussed by Adrian Van Young

In the October edition of our Stories That Teach series, the estimable Adrian Van Young deconstructs the creepy craft elements of Laura Benedict’s masterfully haunting tale “When I Make Love to the Bug Man.”

Shirley Jackson’s Haunting Interiors by Kim Winternheimer

It’s impossible to discuss horror without mentioning Shirley Jackson. In this essay, founding editor Kim Winternheimer examines Jackson’s uncanny ability to write eerie fiction from the perspective of unreliable narrators.

Featured Fiction: “Room Tone” by Brian Evenson

This month, we were honored to feature an original story by the Brian Evenson. In “Room Tone,” Filip is working to finish his movie, but he can’t quite seem to perfect the room tone. Don’t miss this quiet and terrifying tale.

Interview: Award-Winning Editor, John Joseph Adams

It was a true honor to speak with John Joseph Adams, editor and publisher of the magazines Nightmare and Lightspeed, and editor of a new science fiction/fantasy imprint from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, among many other projects. Here is a teaser from our chat: “I have a kind of weird relationship with horror, especially as someone who publishes a horror magazine: horror never scares me.”

Five Micro Ghost Stories

This October, we asked our readers to send us their scariest tales of 250 words or less that played with the traditional notion of what a ghost story is. We published five of the most unique and subversive entries.

Fall Fiction Contest, judged by Kelly Link

Even though our favorite month may be coming to a close (sigh), it’s not too late to submit to our Fall Fiction Contest, judged by Kelly Link, which is open until November 15. The winner receives $2000 and publication and second and third place winners will receive $200 and $100 respectively, as well as publication on the site. What are you waiting for?

<<Submit to the Fall Fiction Contest here.>>

Thank you for a great October! Keep the creepiness coming, because the Halloween spirit is something that should last all year long.