OPEN CALL: Carnage House

CARNAGE HOUSE ISSUE 11:

We want solid entertaining writing. That has to be clearly stated because we are open to gore, extreme horror, splatterpunk, and horror with sexual elements to it.

SUBMISSION WINDOW:

April 2nd -- May 1st (General Submissions)

March 18th -- May 1st (BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ Extended submission Window)

WORDCOUNT:

500 -5,000 words

PAYMENT:

Token $5 Payment

LINK TO ORIGINAL CALL

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WHAT THEY'RE LOOKING FOR:

Know we might not read your entire story. We read as long as it’s interesting, error-free(ish), and fits this publication. If we didn’t get to the end it’s not getting published.

Establish your story is a horror story and that it’s got heart –and blood and guts. Using atmosphere is okay, but telling us about spooky settings isn’t what we want. Drive your story with pulp action. Descriptions of creaking floorboards or a tree filled with crows starring down the main character are typical dry horror. Mainstream publications are interested in that stuff… We’re here for the weird messy fun stuff.

Things have to happen. If we’re 500 words into your story and it’s just descriptions of gore or worse backstory and nothing has happened, we probably stopped reading it 100 words ago. Describe your character through their actions.

Your story must have characters. The people in your story aren’t there just to be fisted to death by a serial killer with forearms like Popeye. We need to connect with either your victims or your killer/s.

If we were looking for “classy” writing, we’d go work for The New Yorker. We want trashy, fun, pulp horror.

Make us gag in revolt, or laugh at slipping in guts, or cry at inhumanity…

Great writing evokes feelings.

Be a great writer.

PLEASE DON'T SEND

NO sex with children, NO sexualization of children, and NO child rape. If you’re writing a story about a child predator who gets what’s coming to him –great. But we don’t want to read about that predator coming on his victims.

We won’t publish anything supporting a racist, transphobic, or homophobic agenda, so don’t try it.

Sex and sensuality are fine, but we publish horror. We won’t publish a story that’s 90 percent lesbian vampires having explicit sex and 10 percent them ripping their victims to pieces. Go 50/50 on that and you've got our attention.

REPRINTS?

NO

MULTIPLE SUBMISSIONS?

NO

One per submission period.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

"SplatterPUNK" contains the word "Punk." Punk has an ethic. Punk is antifascist, anti-conservative, and anti-establishment. We are for free speech, pro-choice, freedom of expression, the freedom to read, the freedom to be weird, and the expression of political ideas in art.

We're not saying every story we accept has to focus on fighting oppression. Writing sermons is as boring as reading them. However, in America, for too long, the idea of art and politics has been taboo. This is because of the scum-fuck corporations. You can only sell to everyone if your product is milquetoast, has no opinions, and doesn't alienate the evangelicals, incels, Proud Boys, conservatives, the alt-right (now rebranded as "the right,") or the 1/3rd of Americans who watch Fox News.

To those people, we'd like to straighten our tie, extend a middle finger, and say, "Fuck off."

We'd like to tell you: We're crazy left. We're gonna publish your non-political horror or your left-leaning horror. You know, put the "PUNK" in "SplatterPUNK." If we can work in a "Fuck you, Donald Trump," we will.

We hope this encourages other genre writers and publishers to follow. The place for apolitical art is in the safe, clean confines of the Amazon/Disney/Temu Store.

We don't do "safe."

We don't do "clean."

...and fuck corporations.

FORMATTING GUIDELINES:

• Write your email address in the top left corner of page 1.

• The title of your story and your name should be sentered in the middle of page one.

• Word count .

• Font size: 12-point.

• Font: New Times Roman.

• Double-space.

• Keep your headers and footers empty.

• Send your stories in .rtf, .doc, or .docx file format.

• Absolutely NO .pdf files. They banned in our system.

• Leave your HOME address off the submission --this is for your protection.

• DO NOT EMAIL US STUFF!

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES:

• 1st sentence: “Story Title” is an XXXX-word long story.

• 2nd sentence: Just the setup. DO NOT TELL US HOW WE WILL LOVE IT.

• 2nd ¶ (optional): Writing credits –only if it makes you feel good. We don’t care. We want a great story. If we get crap, we’ll pass. Even if you think you’re famous, we’ll pass. If we get genius, we’ll publish it, even if you’re nobody –maybe more so.

RIGHTS REQUESTED

This website runs on our love of horror. We offer a token payment of $5 USD to support your drug habit, paid upon publication. However, you keep your rights –we don't want them.