The Heart of Fear:

Accepting poetry and stories under 10000 words. Send 1-3 of your best scary short stories and poems to be considered for publication in our upcoming, love-themed horror anthology. Those chosen will receive 1 free printed copy and a copy of the ebook for family and friends. No fee to submit.

We want your most horrifying love stories and poems. They do not have to feature romantic love: self-love, familial love, the love of a pet--love is love, and we want to scream about it!

📚 Submission Guidelines
Genre: Horror
Word Count: Up to 10,000
Simultaneous submissions: Allowed
Multiple submissions: Up to 3

Deadline: December 1, 2026
Publication: February 14, 2027
Submit to: heather@crosstheteas.org

We welcome a wide range of interpretations of the theme "Heart of Fear," including (but not limited to):

Obsessive Love Horror 🩸🔪
Love that consumes, possesses, or refuses to let go

Devotional Horror 🕯️🖤
Worship disguised as love, lovers as offerings, rituals of devotion

Body Horror Romance 🫀🧬
Physical transformation, merging, or the literal cost of intimacy

Cosmic / Weird Love 🌌👁️
Love that transcends humanity, reality, or comprehension

Dark Psychological Love Stories 🧠💔
Control, fixation, codependence, or emotional unraveling

Tragic or Gothic Love (with teeth) 🥀🦇
Longing, loss, and doomed relationships, but with a strong horror core

We are not looking for:
light romance with horror elements
generic ghost girlfriend stories
surface-level “spooky love”
breakup trauma drama
smut or gore

We are especially interested in stories where:
Love changes something permanently.
Love takes something.
Love becomes something else.

If your story makes us uncomfortable in the right way, you’re on the right track.

The best stories hold up a mirror--confronting the reader with their own humanity.