For those of you who enjoy writing spine-tingling stories, you’re in luck. We’ve compiled a list of publications that publish horror stories, and some of them pay extremely well. A knack for scaring readers could also be a generous payday.

Not all of these publications are currently open to submission.

1. Clarkesworld Magazine has won both Hugo and World Fantasy awards. They’re open to submissions of horror stories, both “supernatural or psychological.” They pay 10 cents per word for the first 5,000 words and 8 cents for every word over 5,000. They also maintain a strict word limit of 1,000 to 16,000 words. To learn more, read our write-up of Clarkesworld as well as their submission guidelines.
2. Nightmare magazine is an online horror and dark fantasy magazine edited by bestselling anthologist John Joseph Adams. They accept “all types of horror and dark fantasy” and pay 6 cents per word for original fiction (or 1 cent a word for reprints), up to 7,500 words. To learn more, read their submission guidelines.
3. Drabblecast is an award-winning podcast that publishes stories “at the far side of weird.” They accept submissions for short stories via email and have specific guidelines for submitting. They pay 3 cents per word, and stories must be 500 to 4,000 words long. To learn more, read their submission guidelines.
4. Fiction Vortex is a unique site that publishes “Serial Boxes,” which are collaborative episodes of fiction. While their next submission period is not announced yet, they run them regularly throughout the year. They pay $300 for one featured story. To learn more, read their submission guidelines.
5. Choice of Games is another unique publisher. They create interactive text-based games that allow the reader to choose their own path throughout the narrative arc. Authors can either host a game or publish under the Choice of Games label. Authors who host receive 25% of royalties, while authors who publish under the CoG have two payment options to choose from. To learn more, read our write-up on Choice of Games as well as their submission guidelines.
6. Dirge Magazine is looking for “dark fiction with an occult theme” for its first print issue. They’re looking for “deeply engaging, unsettling work with developed characters that lingers long after you’re finished reading.” They pay 6 cents per word for stories between 2,000 and 4,000 words. To learn more, read their submission guidelines.
7. DarkFuse Magazine is an online magazine that publishes “anything with a dark slant.” Both emerging and established writers are invited to submit stories. They pay 5 cents per word up to 2,000 words ($100). Stories longer than 2,000 words will only be paid for the first 2,000 words. To learn more, read their submission guidelines.