Malefic Magazine
Literary Horror & Elegant Speculative Fiction
CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS!
First Issue coming in 2026. See details below.
CONTACT:
malefic.magazine@gmail.com
Latest Updates
Our Unique Vision
MALEFIC is published quarterly in digital format with print-on-demand capabilities. We are a literary horror magazine dedicated to showcasing fiction that explores the darker territories of human experience through elegant prose and psychological depth. Our mission is to publish stories that linger in the mind long after the final page—tales that illuminate the shadows between what we know and what we fear.
Each issue features original fiction, poetry, and visual art that honors the literary tradition of masters like Shirley Jackson, Edgar Allan Poe, and contemporary voices pushing the boundaries of atmospheric horror. We seek work that disturbs through subtlety rather than shock, that finds terror in the familiar, and that treats horror as a legitimate means of examining the human condition.
Submissions are welcome from both emerging and established writers who understand that the most effective horror often whispers rather than screams.
CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS!
Malefic Magazine seeks literary horror and speculative fiction that explores the darker territories of human experience through elegant prose and psychological depth. For our inaugural issue, "The Long Dark," we invite submissions that illuminate the shadows between what we know and what we fear—stories that find terror in winter's endless embrace.
What We're Looking For
We seek stories that linger in the mind long after the final page—tales that disturb through subtlety rather than shock, that find terror in the familiar, and that treat horror as a legitimate means of examining the human condition. Think The Haunting of Hill House, not Friday the 13th. Think "The Fall of the House of Usher," not Saw. We want fiction that whispers rather than screams.
Winter horror themes we're drawn to:
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Isolation's grip: Snow-locked cabins, severed communications, the terrible intimacy of being trapped with others—or utterly alone
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Cold as living malevolence: When winter itself becomes predator, when frostbite writes its own narrative on human flesh
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The long night's psychology: How endless darkness reshapes the mind, how shortened days stretch into eternal anxiety
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Ice-preserved secrets: What the thaw reveals, what should have stayed buried in permafrost
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Holiday darkness: The horror lurking beneath seasonal traditions, when celebration turns sinister
Literary Ancestry
We draw inspiration from the masters of atmospheric dread: Algernon Blackwood's "The Wendigo," Jack London's merciless "To Build a Fire," Michelle Paver's haunting Dark Matter. These works understand that the most lasting horror comes from exquisite craft married to genuine terror.
What We Don't Want
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Slasher fiction masquerading as literary horror
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Zombie apocalypse scenarios (unless they serve a deeper literary purpose)
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Gratuitous violence or gore for shock value alone
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Horror elements that feel tacked-on rather than integral to the story's heart
Every frightening element must earn its place through narrative necessity and emotional truth.
Submission Guidelines
Fiction: 500-5,000 words Poetry: Up to 5 poems per submission Creative Nonfiction: 500-3,000 words (horror-adjacent essays, memoir pieces that explore fear, darkness, winter's psychological impact)
Format: Standard manuscript format, double-spaced, 12pt Times New Roman Simultaneous Submissions: Accepted (please notify us immediately upon acceptance elsewhere) Multiple Submissions: Please limit to one submission per reading period Rights: First serial rights, with rights reverting to author upon publication
How to Submit
Send submissions to: malefic.magazine@gmail.com
Subject Line: SUBMISSION: [Title] by [Author Name]
Include in your email:
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Brief cover letter (100 words or less)
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Author bio (50 words or less)
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Manuscript attached as .doc, .docx, or .rtf file
Timeline
Submission Window: 7/25-11/15/2025 Response Time: 5-10 days Publication: Issue 1, 2026
Mission Statement
Malefic exists to illuminate the shadows between what we know and what we fear. We are a quarterly literary horror magazine dedicated to publishing fiction, poetry, and visual art that treats horror not as mere entertainment, but as a legitimate means of examining the human condition.
In a landscape crowded with disposable scares and gratuitous violence, we champion work that disturbs through subtlety, that finds terror in the familiar, and that honors the literary tradition established by masters like Shirley Jackson and Edgar Allan Poe. We seek stories that whisper rather than scream, that burrow beneath the skin and take up permanent residence in the reader's psyche.
Our mission is simple: to provide a home for literary horror that prizes craft over carnage, atmosphere over adrenaline, and psychological truth over cheap thrills. We believe the best horror fiction doesn't just frighten—it transforms, revealing uncomfortable truths about ourselves and the world we inhabit.
Malefic is where darkness becomes literature, where fear becomes art, and where the monsters that matter most are the ones we recognize in the mirror.
Marcas P. O'Dea (Gaelic: Ó Deaghaidh, pronounced "oh-DAY") haunts the intersection of literary craft and primal fear. An award-winning Irish-American writer whose work has appeared in The Sun, The Bark, New York Magazine, and the fiction anthology Darker Times (UK), Marcas understands that the most effective horror emerges not from what we see, but from what lurks just beyond our peripheral vision.
As an editor, educator, and story sherpa, he has spent years guiding writers through the shadowed territories of narrative craft. His screenplays have caught the attention of industry luminaries including Barry Sonnenfeld and James Cameron—proof that stories, like ghosts, find their way to those who need to hear them.
Marcas founded Malefic from a simple conviction: that literary horror deserves a sanctuary where atmosphere trumps gore, where psychological depth matters more than shock value, and where the ancient art of storytelling can explore humanity's darkest corners with unflinching elegance.
When winter settles over his desk, he listens for the whispers that become the stories that become the nightmares that linger long after the last page turns.
