Raise your hand if your dream horror story includes the visceral terror of Cassandra Khaw, Paul Tremblay’s apocalyptic anxiety, the unforgettable bright image transferred from Alyssa Wong’s brain to your own.. Then you are in luck, and you had better be prepared to have the pants scared off you, with Serial Box’s nifty new Halloween project: Exquisite Corpse resurrects the popular parlor game for a one-day, spinetingling, serialized extravaganza in which ten horror authors will stitch together “a monstrous Franken-tale with a sci-fi twist.”
Instead of a typical Serial Box production spanning ten weeks, Exquisite Corpse will take place over just ten hours: On Friday, October 19, Serial Box will post one installment an hour from 11 a.m.-8 p.m. EST. These 1,000-word installments will be available in text (about 6-12 minutes to read) and atmospheric 3D audio form.
The full list of authors participating in this “Killer Serial” (slow clap) event:
- Cassandra Khaw (A Song for Quiet)
- Paul Cornell (Chalk)
- Brian Keene (The Rising)
- Sisters of Slaughter, a.k.a. Michelle Garza and Melissa Lason (Mayan Blue)
- Paul Tremblay (A Head Full of Ghosts)
- Richard Chizmar (Gwendy’s Button Box)
- Christopher Golden (Snowblind)
- Stephen Kozeniewski (The Ghoul Archipelago)
- Nick Mamatas (Hexen Sabbath)
- Alyssa Wong (“God Product,” “Hungry Daughters of Starving Mothers”)
Horror website Dread Central has kicked things off by supplying an intriguingly creepy prompt:
With only a few days left until the big gallery opening, you’re struggling to finish your final pieces. However, it’s not lack of inspiration but rather dwindling supplies that’s holding you back. The problem is that your art uses rather… unorthodox materials.
The authors then have the option to either provide the next writer with a bevy of gory/scary/intriguing story elements with which to play—or write them into a bloodstained corner and see how they’ll escape.
Exquisite Corpse will come to life on Friday, October 19 at 11 a.m. EST. In the meantime, you can sign up for updates here; the mailing list will also be offering up prizes and promotions every hour on the 19th—you know, if you need to take a breather in between screams.
