Thank you for all the letters everyone. They have warmed my heart.

A lot of you have asked what is happening with darkmarkets.com. I had no idea how to respond and still don’t know. I don’t want to get into specifics, but the past year has been terrible. For the time being, I just want to put things on hold. If you want to be notified if/when the cogs start turning again, you can sign up for the newsletter (if you are not on it already)!

I highly recommend following Lorna on Twitter, she contributed to darkmarkets for a number of years back in the day: https://twitter.com/lornadkeach

For market updates:

• The Horror Tree
• Open Call: Horror Markets
• Duotrope (paid, but pretty dang thorough)

I wish you all the best of luck on your writing adventures! See you all on the flippity flop. ❤️

- Randi

genus: ia ia 
order: Terror
also called: Lovecraftian Horror, Metaphysical horror, Existential horror

Common traits – In Cosmic Horror, something exists beyond our mortal plane, and it is too awful to comprehend. Whether it is unintelligible beings floating out of space or hideous ancient gods sleeping deep within the earth, these cosmic horrors are alien and terrifying to behold. One look upon their otherworldly visages will drive a character totally batnuts. These existential horrors are not so much evil as they are cold and completely anti-human, and so they call into question the very meaning of human life—people are as insignificant hiccups in a larger cosmos that is chaotic and unfeeling towards human plight. For this reason, the human animal should be quite thankful it is unable to “correlate all the contents” of the cosmos and just try not to read that book or dig up any ancient relics. The only other option is to set up a cult and worship the otherworldly being, which happens a lot too.

Historical sightings – While many of writers throughout history have contemplated the horrors of the cosmos, cosmic horror has its roots in the works of H.P. Lovecraft—so much so, that it’s often called “Lovecraftian” horror. The linage of cosmic horror can be traced in-step with Weird Tales; the two subgenres are not so much siblings as they are conjoined twins. In Lovecraft’s prolific Weird Tale career, he built his now-famous Cthulhu mythos, which was said to be inspired heavily by Robert W. Chamber’s The King in Yellow and his rampant xenophobia.

Over the years, Lovecraft’s Cthulhu mythos spread like crazy, partially thanks to his willingness to share the mythos with other writers. The “Lovecraft circle” was comprised of writers such as August Derleth, Robert E. Howard, Robert Bloch, and Fritz Leiber. It was a brilliant marketing move because readers of the time were exposed slowly to an organized mythos shared across several stories, and this helped promote the uncanny feeling that maybe these stories weren’t as fictional as they seemed—maybe the elder gods would wake up and nibble everyone, no matter what distant shores they hailed from.

Modern habitats – Many modern markets that thrive on Weird Tales and Sci Fi- Horror stories would likely not be opposed to new cosmic horror or existential horror in various forms. But, tread carefully; Cthulhu himself has become a bit of a running gag. Some markets still work in the grand tradition of the Cthulhu mythos, just like Lovecraft and Derleth did back in the early 20th century: Markets like Lovecraft e-zine and Martian Migraine press will either actively seek stories within the Cthulhu mythos or tales of an overall Lovecraftian bent for anthologies or serial publication. Publishers like Three Lobed Burning Eye and Dagan Books derive their names from mythos, (although new takes on the Lovecraftian atmosphere are most likely going to be better accepted in such demanding markets). Otherwise, Cthulhu is seen everywhere now from webcomics to coffee mugs, so unless the market specifically asks for “mythos” or “Lovecraftian,” it’s safe to say that wise writers will come up with a new kind of cosmic being to terrify mere mortals with.

See also: Introduction

LD Keach

genus: supersticiae ad infinitum
orders: Tales of Terror, Horror, Gross-out

Common traits – Supernatural Horror most often involves a protagonist battling against some force that is above or greater than nature, and that force can be anything from spiritual to occultic, religious to mythological. This force must inspire revulsion and fear in the protagonist (because prancing around happily with a sexy supernatural centaur does not Supernatural horror make). For the right horrifying effect, ghosts and demons are popular, sometimes joined by vampires, ghouls, succubi, poltergeists, werewolves,

While the supernatural elements in the story can combine to aid the hero or heroine in their war with forces beyond their understanding (such as helpful gypsies with spells to close the gates of hell or priests who know how to shut that malignant ghost up), for the most part the protagonist is at odds with the supernatural, wishing to kill/escape/stop it. The supernatural can almost always be killed, escaped from, or stopped because the spirit world is just as regulated as the boring old mundane one, and that is what sets Supernatural Horror apart from the Weird Tale or Psychological Horror: the threat is a faith, myth, or superstition-based menace that can be defeated by the rules set forth by whatever occult know-it-all happens to be hanging around.

Historical sightings – The supernatural has been used in fiction since the first storytellers crawled out of the primordial sea; it’s been used even more heavily in life throughout history. There have been decades of life on this earth where people actually believed that an improperly-blessed sneeze could let demons in, so the use of such ghastly ghost mongering in stories is hardly something that can be tracked.

However, the use of the supernatural in order to terrify is a relatively recent phenomenon. In Western publishing, Supernatural Horror has its roots in the Gothic traditions of the 18th and 19th centuries, with notable occurrences like Henry James’ story “The Turn of the Screw” and W. W. Jacob’s “The Monkey’s Paw”, not to mention the stories of occult-obsessed Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.  Bram Stoker’s immortal classic Dracula also hails from this camp, as the well-informed Professor Von Helsing battles against the shape-shifting ancient evil bent on draining the blood out of ol’ Harker’s honey boo.

The tactic of using the supernatural to give readers the willies has been taken up by tons of writers throughout the 20th century: Richard Matheson, Shirley Jackson, Ramsay Campbell, Anne Rice, Ray Bradbury, Clive Barker and a slew of others. It was during this horror-happy decade that The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty and Rosemary’s Baby by Ira Levin emerged as stunning classics of occult fiction (the former actually leading to a spike in exorcisms requested by the general public).

While the frenzied bloodthirst for Horror fiction has tapered off in the beginnings of the 21rst century, many horror writers still put in hard time in the grand Supernatural tradition. Writers like Caitlyn R. Keirnan and Laird Barron are serving up serious literary fare with a supernatural taste, and more mainstream writers like Bentley Little and Edward Lee dip their pens in the inkwell of the occult. And of course, many other cultures around the globe have fantastic traditions of terrifying with the supernatural, on every continent from Latin America to Africa to Asia, each following their own completely different sets of rules and gory regulations, but to survey them all would take a lifetime of arcane study.

Modern habitats – The old tropes of supernatural horror—possession by Judeo-Christian-style demons, wrathful souls of the dead speaking through Ouija boards, anything with gypsy curses—are not taken well in modern Western Horror publishing. (In Western Horror films, of course, they live mercilessly unchallenged, and anyone who says the Paranormal Activity series isn’t wet-your-pants scary is probably not wearing pants. But Paranormal Horror is a different species.) Still, that doesn’t mean the supernatural itself is shunned. Big Guns like Clarksworld Magazine still is happy to look at an offical Supernatural Horror story, and Reputable Guns like Psuedopod and Three Lobed Burning Eye won’t shake a mojo stick at them either. But, if a writer is interested in a market that doesn’t specifically say supernatural accepted here, then it’s a simple trick to rely more on another subgenre like Psychological or Weird, and then dole out a helping of supernatural on the side.

Related: Ghost Story, Creature Horror, Werewolf, Vampire, Demon, Dark Fantasy

See also: Introduction 

LD Keach

According to the experts, there are three sublime emotions employed throughout the use of Dark Fiction: Terror, Horror, and Gross-out. All three are versions of fear in some sense or another—that delicious feeling that many well-adjusted contributing members of Western society have craved—but it is the subtle differences in a writer’s approach towards those emotions that mark what family a story belongs to. Namely, if it is true Horror, a Tale of Terror, or a yarn built specifically for the blood-soaked Gross-out effect.

The first order is Terror, in which the story attempts to convey upon the reader that dread or anticipation of a terrible event about to happen. Terror is most often employed with ambiguity, with the monster obscured, and it stirs a fight-or-flight response in the reader often recognized as the fast-beating heart and sweaty palms. It is the moment before the shroud comes off. In this, the sensation of Terror can be compared to suspense, in that it occurs just before the abominable event happens. The larger family of Tales of Terror often include Gothic fiction, Weird Tales, Ghost Stories, Thrillers, and occasionally those cuddly fireplace mysteries your aunt reads.

Next, there is the illustrious Horror, which signifies an emotion that occurs after the awful deed has taken place. The anticipation of the event is replaced by awe and fear of the event itself—it is radiation poison and mass graves after the war, it is the shock of what lies hidden in the attic. Horror stories are what most modern Western audiences are used to, and it can be seen reflected in most Mainstream, Domestic, Creature and Cross-Genre Horror. It can also be called (in some circles of people who want to talk about Horror but who don’t want to look like they’re talking about Horror) the Grotesque.

Gross-out is a relatively new addition to the pantheon of dark feelings, and has been oft maligned for being the baser of the three. Also known as Body Horror, the Gross-out exploits humanity’s fear of death and dismemberment by displaying both in the most creative ways possible. It derives from the emotion of horror, but it emphasizes the salacious nature of revulsion and bodily disgust. Most famously in this category are Splatterpunk, Serial Killer fiction and many forms of Bizarro. Despite it’s similarities to the Grotesque of old, Gross-out gains its own place on the Dark Fiction family tree, because it raped that family tree’s bleeding eye sockets until the rooty thing gave it what it wanted.

LD Keach

pulpicanous fantasicae  
order: Tales of Terror

Common traits – An elusive species to pin down, a Weird Tale is simply a story that is hinged on the idea that this is not the world you know. It can involve anything from cosmic witches to metaphysicist prophets, parasitic changelings to homicidal pineal glands, and generally it whips up Fantasy, Sci Fi and Horror elements into an uncanny mush. Outright scares and gore tactics are not necessary for a Weird Tale’s survival; however, in order to live, it needs to create a sense of unease, otherness, or a nagging feeling that the laws of nature have somehow been terribly broken.

Historical sightings – The Weird Tale emerged at the turn of a troubled 20th century, when technological developments and the seeds of globalization had people questioning their place  in the world. Writers such as HG Wells, Mark Twain, Franz Kafka and other heralds of the literary establishment created stories that re-wrote existence in a weird fashion: Well's War of the Worlds (1896) was a classic progenitor of Sci Fi with a thick vein of Horror pumping through it; Twain’s stories “The Great Dark” (written 1898) and “The Mysterious Stranger” (1910) were both extrapolations on the horrific nature of the universe; Kafka easily made readers regret being alive. Among this boom of troubled fiction came Robert W. Chamber’s collection of short stories called The King in Yellow (1895), which is widely quoted as being inspiration for a little-known author at the time, Howard Phillips Lovecraft.

Thankfully, there was this little-known magazine around to help little-known Howard get his eldritch vision of the world out to audiences—in 1923, Weird Tales was founded to deliver fiction that was speculative and alternative, challenging the notions of Western literature and Western existence at the same time. It was through Weird Tales that audiences were introduced to the worlds of Robert E. Howard's Conan the Barbarian right along with H.P. Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos, but it’s said that the term Weird fiction wasn’t official until Lovecraft used it in his essay, Supernatural Horror in Literature (1927).

Continuing the tradition, many writers in midcentury years wrote fiction that has been labeled Weird, from literary darling Shirley Jackson to Twilight Zone creator Rod Sterling, giving way to a contemporary clutch of Weird artists, such as China Miéville, Clive Barker, Ramsay Campbell and Thomas Ligotti. Movements have begun to classify a millennial take on Weird Tales, called New Weird, which at first glance seems to be an updated urbanization of the fantastical world building traditions Lovecraft and his contemporaries made popular.

Modern habitats – In modern publishing, a Weird Tale is treated very similarly to Cross-Genre, Slipstream or any blending of the speculative triumvirate Fantasy-Sci Fi-Horror—and generally the less gore, the better. The roots of the genre are entrenched in the idea of the uncanny which, according to Freud, means a feeling one gets when seeing a thing that is at once familiar yet foreign; this is why a lot of modern Weird fiction gets classified under Urban Fantasy, Modern Fantasy, and Soft Sci Fi. Weird fiction’s fixation on uncanniness lends well to dark speculations on the terrible nature of existence, but Texas Chainsaw-style running amok is not going to be appreciated here. (Unless you’re Clive Barker; then you can do what you want.) Some good places to spot this creature in the wild are the modern day Weird Tales (no kidding!), Apex, and Shimmer Magazine.

Related: Supernatural Horror, Cosmic Horror, Cross-Genre, Slipstream

See also: Introduction 

LD Keach