POWER CHORD APOCALYPSE
Power Chord Apocalypse
Troy’s off key voice bellowed through the room as Wolf’s fingers moved up and down, strumming and wishing his vocal chords could match that ego. Nothing he could do could drown out the weak voice of his lead singer. But he had no other options now and he just wanted to play with a band and hope they’d notice his talent.
THE HUDSON ABDUCTION
The river was calm, moonlight shimmering on its dark surface as Jake cast his line. Beside him, Ryan cracked open a beer. "Perfect night," he murmured.
Then, the sky split open.
An eerie orange light descended, wrapping around them. Their limbs went stiff. They could think—they could scream in their minds—but their bodies refused to move.
Final Transmission
Aten floated alone in the sealed wing of the Odyssey-9, the emergency lights flickering in erratic pulses. His hands trembled as he replayed the events in his mind. Europa. The ice. The way something moved beneath it. How the parasite clung to his suit, invisible, waiting.
THE GIFT
Emily’s phone buzzed—Jill. Her cousin’s name glowed on the screen like a ghost from the past. They hadn’t spoken in five years. The message was simple: I’ve been thinking about you. I miss you so much. I’m back in New York. Join me this weekend in Woodstock. It will change your life.
Wetlands, Witch Girls, and Whispered Revenge: Origins of Desire in Orchid Fens Is a Haunting Folk-Horror Masterpiece
If you’ve ever walked into a swamp and felt like something was watching you—really watching you—Lynn Hutchinson Lee’s Origins of Desire in Orchid Fens will reach into your chest and squeeze. Published by the reliably radical Stelliform Press, this novella is a gut-punch of atmospheric folk horror, dripping with grief, beauty, and the heavy scent of rot.
The Algorithm’s Final Trick
Rob used to be normal—at least, as normal as a guy who vaped bubblegum-flavored smoke and owned a "Live, Laugh, Lift" poster could be. His diet was 70% energy drinks, 20% Taco Bell, and 10% the free samples at Costco. Life was fine. Then the Algorithm happened.
It started with quirky conspiracy videos. Harmless stuff. "The moon is a hologram," "Tom Hanks was two raccoons in a trench coat," "Your microwave is a government informant." He chuckled, shared a few ironically, and moved on. But the more he saw the videos the more they burrowed into his brain. What if Reptilian shapeshifting aliens really did run Hollywood, he wondered.
Nerd Horror Newscast | Ep. 4
We’re back with another earful of blood-soaked headlines and horror nerdery. In today’s episode, your scream shepherd Justine Norton-Kertson dives into the genre’s latest madness
THE KINDRED GLITCH
Nerd Horror Newscast for March 19, 2025
Gore-glorifying gremlins, unite. Episode 3 of the Nerd Horror Newscast is here—and it’s gnarlier than a cursed VHS in a haunted Blockbuster.
Sasquatch’S AWAKENING
Alone in the woods, Dave had eaten way too many psychedelic mushrooms. So when a massive figure—hairier than an overgrown lawn, with eyes that glowed like fireflies emerged from the shadows and stood over his campfire, he didn’t even panic.
CHAMP 2.0
Billy Walsh was a shitty, mad scientist whose anger caused a lot of issues in his life. With an emphasis on mad—he was also an arrogant, grudge holding asshole with mommy issues, whose rich parents footed the bill for his life. The people of Ticonderoga, NY, had shunned him after The Incident (which involved a genetically mutated squirrel, a taser, and an unfortunate explosion at the Stewart’s gas station). But tonight, revenge would be his.
MARIO’S SPECIAL PIZZA
Mario, the lab’s most promising chimpanzee, had always been curious. His handlers, marveled at his growing intellect as they pumped him full of experimental pharmaceuticals. The VR headset, designed to boost his cognitive abilities, was his gateway to a new world. The only thing Mario loved more than the pizza he was given for doing a good job in VR by his favorite scientist, Dr. Kim, was the world itself. He excelled at navigating through it unlike the other chimps—those vibrant landscapes, the endless possibilities were a respite from the real world and cruelness at the hands of Dr. Keller. But today, something was different.
RABBIT MEAT
Ben awoke violently to the sound of a large thud. The smell of damp earth and rot filled his nose as he opened his eyes. His wrists burned from the ropes binding him to the cold, wooden floor of the dilapidated house. He turned, realizing now, that the noise that brought him back to consciousness was his best friend, Jake. His lifeless body leaked a pool of blood onto the floor. A grotesque, half-rabbit figure stood over him menacingly. Ben looked into its eyes, glowing with malevolent hunger. The cultists, draped in filthy, ragged rabbit masks, left the room. Ben could see them through the open door in the hallway as they circled the altar, chanting in a language that made his skin crawl.
THE DEMON’S DESERT
Grandma rocked in her chair, the firelight flickering in her cloudy eyes. “Your great-grandfather told me stories, bambina. From Calabria, where he was a boy. Dark stories.”
WOLFMOTHER
Rachel crouched in the darkness, fingertips brushing the metal band at the base of her skull. Below, five men laughed—her family’s murderers.
LENA
Lena had never seen the app before. A black icon with a blinking red eye sat on her home screen, though she didn’t remember installing it. Curious, she tapped it.
WAKE UP AND OPEN YOUR EYES
WAKE UP AND OPEN YOUR EYES! WITH PAUL TAMMANY
An animated video for Nerd Horror inspired by the new novel, Wake up and Open Your Eyes by Clay McLeod Chapman.
Companion (2025) Review: Setting The Standard for Nerd Horror
Companion not only cements itself as one of the most socially relevant horror films of our time but also solidifies its place as a defining work of .nerd horror.
Exploring the Evolution of 1920s Horror – A Nerd Horror Perspective
For days 6-10 of our 365 Days of Horror, I dove into some of the most foundational and visually striking horror films of the 1920s.
