Call for Submissions

We're now taking submissions for the anthology

The Haunted Train: Creepy Tales from the Railways.

Photo by Liselotte Brunner from Pixabay

Wanted

Stories about trains, tracks and railway stations.

Especially welcome:

Creepy, spooky tales about haunted trains
Stories with strong settings
Locations in Africa, Asia, Australia, NZ, South America
Unusual trains – e.g. a suspended train, an underground train

Genre

Gothic, Horror, Fantasy, Mystery

Mood

Suspenseful, atmospheric, creepy

Length

Any

Reprints

(previously published stories)

Yes – very welcome, provided you own the copyright

Multiple submissions

(submitting several stories to this anthology)

Yes

Simultaneous submission

(submitting to other markets at the same time)

No problem

Payment

Flat fee, 10 Euro per story on publication

(This anthology is essentially a reprint market, featuring previously published stories, and the fee reflects this. We’ll consider previously unpublished stories as well, but they won’t get a bigger payment.)

Rights

One-time publication rights for this anthology. The writer retains all rights to the story and can publish it elsewhere.

We believe strongly that writers, not publishers, should own the copyright to their stories.

Note regarding previously unpublished stories: we will consider new works, and you will keep the copyright and can also sell the stories elsewhere. However, keep in mind that some markets buy only previously unpublished stories. Once your story has been published in this anthology, it will no longer be eligible for those markets.

Editor

Rayne Hall

Submission Period

2 June – 15 August 2022

Decisions

Selected authors will be notified before 30 September 2022, probably much earlier. If we like your story, but it’s not quite right, we may ask for changes (especially in the case of previously unpublished stories). You can decide whether you want to make those changes and have the story included. Requested changes need to be made promptly.

Similar Anthologies

This anthology will be similar to Headstones: Creepy Tales from the Graveyard edited by Rayne Hall which presents twenty-seven of the finest - and creepiest - graveyard tales with stories by established writers, classic authors and fresh voices.

Here you'll find Gothic ghost stories by Robert Ellis, Lee Murray, Greg Chapman, Morgan Pryce, Rayne Hall, Guy de Maupassant, Myk Pilgrim, Zachary Ashford, Amelia Edwards, Nina Wibowo, Krystal Garrett, Tylluan Penry, Ambrose Bierce, Cinderella Lo, Nikki Tait, Arthur Conan Doyle, Priscilla Bettis, Kyla Ward, Edgar Allan Poe, Paul D Dail, Cameron Trost, Pamela Turner, William Meikle and Lord Dunsany who thrill with their eerie, macabre and sometimes quirky visions.

How to Submit

Send your story umm.akk@gmail.com. In the subject line, write ‘Submission: [your name] – [story title]’ (e.g. Submission: Suzie Scrybe – Fast Freight to Moscow)

Attach the story manuscript in doc or docx. No specific formatting required. The manuscript needs to contain your name and email, the story title and the wordcount.

We don't need a bio, query letter or anything else at this stage. Let the story speak for itself. Just tell us if/where the story has been published, and that you own the copyright.

Stories received after 15 August 2022 will not be considered.

We look forward to reading your creepy tales.