John Togher
@thecairnshoretides.bsky.social
Author. Debut folk horror novella out now. https://amzn.eu/d/00cU0zUq
First Warden. Salt Clerk. Hearth and Bone Warden. All have their roles in the Tidewardens. Bureaucracy as horror. #folkhorror #cosmichorror
September 14, 2026 at 8:07 PM
First Warden. Salt Clerk. Hearth and Bone Warden. All have their roles in the Tidewardens. Bureaucracy as horror. #folkhorror #cosmichorror
September 13, 2026 at 7:36 PM
It's always surprising that someone somewhere had picked up my book, read and enjoyed it, and then took the time to review it. A recent one from Goodreads is honest, thorough. Glad they haven't given away the twist 😅. #FolkHorror #cosmichorror #folkhorrorrevival #britishhorror
September 5, 2026 at 5:56 PM
It's always surprising that someone somewhere had picked up my book, read and enjoyed it, and then took the time to review it. A recent one from Goodreads is honest, thorough. Glad they haven't given away the twist 😅. #FolkHorror #cosmichorror #folkhorrorrevival #britishhorror
Reposted by John Togher
Write horror?
Want to talk about it?
Join the #HorrorWritersChat community on Wednesdays.
Next meeting: Wednesday 2nd September for an hour.
2 pm (EDT - USA) / 7 pm (BST - UK)
All horror writers from all time zones are welcome!
#AmWriting #HorrorSky
Want to talk about it?
Join the #HorrorWritersChat community on Wednesdays.
Next meeting: Wednesday 2nd September for an hour.
2 pm (EDT - USA) / 7 pm (BST - UK)
All horror writers from all time zones are welcome!
#AmWriting #HorrorSky
September 1, 2026 at 6:30 PM
Write horror?
Want to talk about it?
Join the #HorrorWritersChat community on Wednesdays.
Next meeting: Wednesday 2nd September for an hour.
2 pm (EDT - USA) / 7 pm (BST - UK)
All horror writers from all time zones are welcome!
#AmWriting #HorrorSky
Want to talk about it?
Join the #HorrorWritersChat community on Wednesdays.
Next meeting: Wednesday 2nd September for an hour.
2 pm (EDT - USA) / 7 pm (BST - UK)
All horror writers from all time zones are welcome!
#AmWriting #HorrorSky
Reposted by John Togher
Wispy tendrils wove together forming a body. Frail, small, familiar
A little shadow boy, made of sorrow, wearing my son's face
Consumed by grief, I held him close as he cried
Each wail casting blame, confirming failures, condemning me
I hugged my son, drowning in his darkness
#HorrorWritersChat
A little shadow boy, made of sorrow, wearing my son's face
Consumed by grief, I held him close as he cried
Each wail casting blame, confirming failures, condemning me
I hugged my son, drowning in his darkness
#HorrorWritersChat
#HorrorWritersChat Q3: Finish the prompt - "A cry trembled from the shadows like rattling keys, and as I waited, a figure coalesced from out the darkness."
August 26, 2026 at 6:57 PM
Wispy tendrils wove together forming a body. Frail, small, familiar
A little shadow boy, made of sorrow, wearing my son's face
Consumed by grief, I held him close as he cried
Each wail casting blame, confirming failures, condemning me
I hugged my son, drowning in his darkness
#HorrorWritersChat
A little shadow boy, made of sorrow, wearing my son's face
Consumed by grief, I held him close as he cried
Each wail casting blame, confirming failures, condemning me
I hugged my son, drowning in his darkness
#HorrorWritersChat
Reposted by John Togher
Thanks, Steve!
Out in October is a unique horror noir anthology, The Devil's Justice in New Arona, ed. @moanariafc.bsky.social & @paippolito.bsky.social. It contains interlinking stories set in city imploding societally and physically.
www.amazon.co.uk/Devils-Justi...
#HorrorWritersChat
Out in October is a unique horror noir anthology, The Devil's Justice in New Arona, ed. @moanariafc.bsky.social & @paippolito.bsky.social. It contains interlinking stories set in city imploding societally and physically.
www.amazon.co.uk/Devils-Justi...
#HorrorWritersChat
August 26, 2026 at 7:26 PM
Reposted by John Togher
I have two creature features, but today I'll share DEEP DOWN, about a man and his dog descending into a cave system at the end of the world. It goes about as well as you'd expect (full warning).
www.amazon.com/Deep-Down-Am...
#HorrorWritersChat
www.amazon.com/Deep-Down-Am...
#HorrorWritersChat
Deep Down
Amazon.com: Deep Down eBook : M. Blake, Amanda: Books
www.amazon.com
August 26, 2026 at 7:11 PM
I have two creature features, but today I'll share DEEP DOWN, about a man and his dog descending into a cave system at the end of the world. It goes about as well as you'd expect (full warning).
www.amazon.com/Deep-Down-Am...
#HorrorWritersChat
www.amazon.com/Deep-Down-Am...
#HorrorWritersChat
Reposted by John Togher
Some monsters are more monstrous than anything not-human you might encounter. Rose Taggert learns that the hard way in "Rose," the Kafkaesque fantasy-horror story of a young woman turned into a plant/human hybrid. Certain to give you chills!
#HorrorSky #BookSky #HorrorWritersChat
#HorrorSky #BookSky #HorrorWritersChat
Rose
Amazon.com: Rose (Audible Audio Edition): Rami Ungar, Sara Parlier, Castrum Press: Audible Books & Originals
www.amazon.com
August 26, 2026 at 7:13 PM
Some monsters are more monstrous than anything not-human you might encounter. Rose Taggert learns that the hard way in "Rose," the Kafkaesque fantasy-horror story of a young woman turned into a plant/human hybrid. Certain to give you chills!
#HorrorSky #BookSky #HorrorWritersChat
#HorrorSky #BookSky #HorrorWritersChat
Reposted by John Togher
Thanks Steve, everyone! Absolutely thrilled to be in next CHM - the very first venue listed on my Big Spreadsheet of Writing Seriously!
'The Split' is a gothic tale about families and pressure - and an old wooden door that reveals violence through the fine splits in its panelling. Monsters abound!
'The Split' is a gothic tale about families and pressure - and an old wooden door that reveals violence through the fine splits in its panelling. Monsters abound!
August 26, 2026 at 7:13 PM
Thanks Steve, everyone! Absolutely thrilled to be in next CHM - the very first venue listed on my Big Spreadsheet of Writing Seriously!
'The Split' is a gothic tale about families and pressure - and an old wooden door that reveals violence through the fine splits in its panelling. Monsters abound!
'The Split' is a gothic tale about families and pressure - and an old wooden door that reveals violence through the fine splits in its panelling. Monsters abound!
Reposted by John Togher
Thank you for the fun monster questions! I would like to promote a multi-author sci-horror anthology from Terrorcore Publishing. The stories are canon to each other & is truly terrifying:
#HorrorWritersChat
terrorcorepublishing.com/products/som...
#HorrorWritersChat
terrorcorepublishing.com/products/som...
Some Thing Out There | Edited by Billie Karras
Some Thing Out There Preorder Bellflower, Nevada For fifty-one weeks a year, it’s just another sun-baked desert town with dusty roads, half-empty bars, cheap motels, bored locals, and the long shadow ...
terrorcorepublishing.com
August 26, 2026 at 7:07 PM
Thank you for the fun monster questions! I would like to promote a multi-author sci-horror anthology from Terrorcore Publishing. The stories are canon to each other & is truly terrifying:
#HorrorWritersChat
terrorcorepublishing.com/products/som...
#HorrorWritersChat
terrorcorepublishing.com/products/som...
Reposted by John Togher
Thanks for the monster of a good time!
If you're in the mood for a monster story of another kind, "The Last Real Man" from the Selfies from the End of the World anthology is a delight, as are the other stories in it. #horrorwriterschat www.defconone.com/book/selfies...
If you're in the mood for a monster story of another kind, "The Last Real Man" from the Selfies from the End of the World anthology is a delight, as are the other stories in it. #horrorwriterschat www.defconone.com/book/selfies...
Selfies from the End of the World: Historical Accounts of the Apocalypse
"It would be our duty, as citizens on this earth
to document its end the best way we know
and if that means a second by second update
of the world ...
www.defconone.com
August 26, 2026 at 7:10 PM
Thanks for the monster of a good time!
If you're in the mood for a monster story of another kind, "The Last Real Man" from the Selfies from the End of the World anthology is a delight, as are the other stories in it. #horrorwriterschat www.defconone.com/book/selfies...
If you're in the mood for a monster story of another kind, "The Last Real Man" from the Selfies from the End of the World anthology is a delight, as are the other stories in it. #horrorwriterschat www.defconone.com/book/selfies...
Reposted by John Togher
Thanks for the chat, Steve! Love speaking and thinking about monsters! 😄
I write about monsters all the time, so it's hard to promote one perfect pick this week. Maybe check out my universe introduction and see what I've been cooking up: www.patreon.com/arcdirective...
#HorrorWritersChat
I write about monsters all the time, so it's hard to promote one perfect pick this week. Maybe check out my universe introduction and see what I've been cooking up: www.patreon.com/arcdirective...
#HorrorWritersChat
Initiation Protocol [START HERE] | The ARC Directive
Hello Initiates. Welcome to The ARC Directive. The ARC Directive is an archive of stories and case files for the use of the Agency for Retri
www.patreon.com
August 26, 2026 at 7:10 PM
Thanks for the chat, Steve! Love speaking and thinking about monsters! 😄
I write about monsters all the time, so it's hard to promote one perfect pick this week. Maybe check out my universe introduction and see what I've been cooking up: www.patreon.com/arcdirective...
#HorrorWritersChat
I write about monsters all the time, so it's hard to promote one perfect pick this week. Maybe check out my universe introduction and see what I've been cooking up: www.patreon.com/arcdirective...
#HorrorWritersChat
Reposted by John Togher
Thank you Steve
I'll push my most recent
Depressing stuff, but funny
AN ADULT FILM STAR IS FOUND UNALIVED ON A SPACE STATION.
HILARITY ENSUES!!!
#scifi
#horror
#comedy
www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B...
I'll push my most recent
Depressing stuff, but funny
AN ADULT FILM STAR IS FOUND UNALIVED ON A SPACE STATION.
HILARITY ENSUES!!!
#scifi
#horror
#comedy
www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B...
Killer Kagami (Twainearth Tales)
Killer Kagami (Twainearth Tales) eBook : Beird, H D: Amazon.co.uk: Kindle Store
www.amazon.co.uk
August 26, 2026 at 7:14 PM
Thank you Steve
I'll push my most recent
Depressing stuff, but funny
AN ADULT FILM STAR IS FOUND UNALIVED ON A SPACE STATION.
HILARITY ENSUES!!!
#scifi
#horror
#comedy
www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B...
I'll push my most recent
Depressing stuff, but funny
AN ADULT FILM STAR IS FOUND UNALIVED ON A SPACE STATION.
HILARITY ENSUES!!!
#scifi
#horror
#comedy
www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B...
Reposted by John Togher
Thank you, Steve. A great #HorrorWritersChat!
Monsters that look harmless and childlike are even more terrifying because they don't look like monsters. My protagonist in *Porcelain Soul* realizes this... too late.
mybook.to/PorcelainSoul
Monsters that look harmless and childlike are even more terrifying because they don't look like monsters. My protagonist in *Porcelain Soul* realizes this... too late.
mybook.to/PorcelainSoul
Porcelain Soul: A short horror story (English Edition)
Read it now
mybook.to
August 26, 2026 at 7:09 PM
Thank you, Steve. A great #HorrorWritersChat!
Monsters that look harmless and childlike are even more terrifying because they don't look like monsters. My protagonist in *Porcelain Soul* realizes this... too late.
mybook.to/PorcelainSoul
Monsters that look harmless and childlike are even more terrifying because they don't look like monsters. My protagonist in *Porcelain Soul* realizes this... too late.
mybook.to/PorcelainSoul
Reposted by John Togher
Thanks for hosting, @stevewestenra.bsky.social !
Talking about monsters & empathy... Check out my crowdfund opening in Oct about navigating a haunting while dealing w/ grief. This project is very close to my heart; wrote it after my brother died #HorrorWritersChat
www.backerkit.com/c/projects/a...
Talking about monsters & empathy... Check out my crowdfund opening in Oct about navigating a haunting while dealing w/ grief. This project is very close to my heart; wrote it after my brother died #HorrorWritersChat
www.backerkit.com/c/projects/a...
Such Sweet Sorrow
Get notified when Such Sweet Sorrow launches on BackerKit!
www.backerkit.com
August 26, 2026 at 7:09 PM
Thanks for hosting, @stevewestenra.bsky.social !
Talking about monsters & empathy... Check out my crowdfund opening in Oct about navigating a haunting while dealing w/ grief. This project is very close to my heart; wrote it after my brother died #HorrorWritersChat
www.backerkit.com/c/projects/a...
Talking about monsters & empathy... Check out my crowdfund opening in Oct about navigating a haunting while dealing w/ grief. This project is very close to my heart; wrote it after my brother died #HorrorWritersChat
www.backerkit.com/c/projects/a...
#HorrorWritersChat First time I've done one of these and thoroughly enjoyed reading everyone's posts.
Thanks everyone!
This is Bound by the Salt, book one of the Cairnshore Tides Trilogy. A missing woman, a cursed coastal village, and a secret that should never surface.
amzn.eu/d/00cU0zUq
Thanks everyone!
This is Bound by the Salt, book one of the Cairnshore Tides Trilogy. A missing woman, a cursed coastal village, and a secret that should never surface.
amzn.eu/d/00cU0zUq
August 26, 2026 at 7:17 PM
#HorrorWritersChat First time I've done one of these and thoroughly enjoyed reading everyone's posts.
Thanks everyone!
This is Bound by the Salt, book one of the Cairnshore Tides Trilogy. A missing woman, a cursed coastal village, and a secret that should never surface.
amzn.eu/d/00cU0zUq
Thanks everyone!
This is Bound by the Salt, book one of the Cairnshore Tides Trilogy. A missing woman, a cursed coastal village, and a secret that should never surface.
amzn.eu/d/00cU0zUq
Reposted by John Togher
#HorrorWritersChat
My queer horror comedy about a cryptid-hunting YouTuber who follows a video of his presumed-dead mom to an isolated island in the Canadian wilderness that was once a gay conversion camp & may house the monsters he swears aren't real
books2read.com/u/boB9YL
steve-westenra.itch.io
My queer horror comedy about a cryptid-hunting YouTuber who follows a video of his presumed-dead mom to an isolated island in the Canadian wilderness that was once a gay conversion camp & may house the monsters he swears aren't real
books2read.com/u/boB9YL
steve-westenra.itch.io
August 26, 2026 at 7:10 PM
#HorrorWritersChat
My queer horror comedy about a cryptid-hunting YouTuber who follows a video of his presumed-dead mom to an isolated island in the Canadian wilderness that was once a gay conversion camp & may house the monsters he swears aren't real
books2read.com/u/boB9YL
steve-westenra.itch.io
My queer horror comedy about a cryptid-hunting YouTuber who follows a video of his presumed-dead mom to an isolated island in the Canadian wilderness that was once a gay conversion camp & may house the monsters he swears aren't real
books2read.com/u/boB9YL
steve-westenra.itch.io
#HorrorWritersChat
Q4
Maybe trauma. A 'monster' could behave the way trauma behaves, as in it returns, or distorts memory, can make ordinary places unsafe, oh and can be inherited.
Q4
Maybe trauma. A 'monster' could behave the way trauma behaves, as in it returns, or distorts memory, can make ordinary places unsafe, oh and can be inherited.
#HorrorWritersChat Q4:
What inspiration can we take from monsters, "real" or imagined? If you like, share a favourite creature feature (book or movie form is fine, but if you can, think of a book or short story).
What inspiration can we take from monsters, "real" or imagined? If you like, share a favourite creature feature (book or movie form is fine, but if you can, think of a book or short story).
August 26, 2026 at 7:09 PM
#HorrorWritersChat
Q4
Maybe trauma. A 'monster' could behave the way trauma behaves, as in it returns, or distorts memory, can make ordinary places unsafe, oh and can be inherited.
Q4
Maybe trauma. A 'monster' could behave the way trauma behaves, as in it returns, or distorts memory, can make ordinary places unsafe, oh and can be inherited.
Reposted by John Togher
#HorrorWritersChat
A cry trembled from the shadows like rattling keys, and as I waited, a figure coalesced from out the darkness.
They say when one life ends, another begins. That it's the natural order. Yet, as I look at the baby, I panic. I get out my pocket knife. I'm not ready to go yet.
A cry trembled from the shadows like rattling keys, and as I waited, a figure coalesced from out the darkness.
They say when one life ends, another begins. That it's the natural order. Yet, as I look at the baby, I panic. I get out my pocket knife. I'm not ready to go yet.
#HorrorWritersChat Q3: Finish the prompt - "A cry trembled from the shadows like rattling keys, and as I waited, a figure coalesced from out the darkness."
August 26, 2026 at 6:43 PM
#HorrorWritersChat
A cry trembled from the shadows like rattling keys, and as I waited, a figure coalesced from out the darkness.
They say when one life ends, another begins. That it's the natural order. Yet, as I look at the baby, I panic. I get out my pocket knife. I'm not ready to go yet.
A cry trembled from the shadows like rattling keys, and as I waited, a figure coalesced from out the darkness.
They say when one life ends, another begins. That it's the natural order. Yet, as I look at the baby, I panic. I get out my pocket knife. I'm not ready to go yet.
#HorrorWritersChat
Q3
Its mouth opened revealing rows of jagged teeth, the pale light picking out the wetpoint of each one. Emerging like a roused snake, its tongue flicked out, tasting the distance to me.
Q3
Its mouth opened revealing rows of jagged teeth, the pale light picking out the wetpoint of each one. Emerging like a roused snake, its tongue flicked out, tasting the distance to me.
#HorrorWritersChat Q3: Finish the prompt - "A cry trembled from the shadows like rattling keys, and as I waited, a figure coalesced from out the darkness."
August 26, 2026 at 6:55 PM
#HorrorWritersChat
Q3
Its mouth opened revealing rows of jagged teeth, the pale light picking out the wetpoint of each one. Emerging like a roused snake, its tongue flicked out, tasting the distance to me.
Q3
Its mouth opened revealing rows of jagged teeth, the pale light picking out the wetpoint of each one. Emerging like a roused snake, its tongue flicked out, tasting the distance to me.
#HorrorWritersChat
Q2
The 'monster' in The Cairnshore Tides Trilogy is the psychological hold your home town will always have on you and the debt the people there thinks you owe.
Q2
The 'monster' in The Cairnshore Tides Trilogy is the psychological hold your home town will always have on you and the debt the people there thinks you owe.
#HorrorWritersChat Question 2:
What do the monsters in your work mean or convey? Or, if you don't include anything that could be called a monster, what can monsters mean or do in horror as a genre?
What do the monsters in your work mean or convey? Or, if you don't include anything that could be called a monster, what can monsters mean or do in horror as a genre?
August 26, 2026 at 6:40 PM
#HorrorWritersChat
Q2
The 'monster' in The Cairnshore Tides Trilogy is the psychological hold your home town will always have on you and the debt the people there thinks you owe.
Q2
The 'monster' in The Cairnshore Tides Trilogy is the psychological hold your home town will always have on you and the debt the people there thinks you owe.
#HorrorWritersChat
Q1
John. I write Cosmic Folk Horror. As a child I was scared of the demon in the wardrobe.
Q1
John. I write Cosmic Folk Horror. As a child I was scared of the demon in the wardrobe.
Greetings, #HorrorWritersChat! Today I'm guest-hosting, so buckle up. 😈
Question One:
Introduce yourself, the horror you write, and share the monster that frightens (or once frightened) you most! It can be a general type, or something specific.
Question One:
Introduce yourself, the horror you write, and share the monster that frightens (or once frightened) you most! It can be a general type, or something specific.
August 26, 2026 at 6:38 PM
#HorrorWritersChat
Q1
John. I write Cosmic Folk Horror. As a child I was scared of the demon in the wardrobe.
Q1
John. I write Cosmic Folk Horror. As a child I was scared of the demon in the wardrobe.
Reposted by John Togher
This Is Just To Say
I have written
the folk horror novels
that were in
my brain
and which
you were probably
unaware
even existed
read me
they are available
so folk
and so horror
I have written
the folk horror novels
that were in
my brain
and which
you were probably
unaware
even existed
read me
they are available
so folk
and so horror
August 23, 2026 at 5:00 PM
This Is Just To Say
I have written
the folk horror novels
that were in
my brain
and which
you were probably
unaware
even existed
read me
they are available
so folk
and so horror
I have written
the folk horror novels
that were in
my brain
and which
you were probably
unaware
even existed
read me
they are available
so folk
and so horror