As a kid who grew up on horror, I have fond memories of the great horror magazines of my youth. I can still remember the anticipation of riding my bike to the local comic book shop in search of the newest Fangoria or Famous Monsters. With these treasures of terror wedged in between the latest copies of Justice League and Batman, I would peddle to my favorite reading spot and spend glorious summer afternoons devouring all the latest horror news. I’d find myself sweaty with anticipation as I read updates on John Carpenter’s newest film, wide-eyed as I stared at images of Tom Savini’s latest gore effects, and dizzy with delight when one of these magazine’s lavished the most recent obscure Canadian slasher movie with an extravagant spread belying both its budget and box office potential. Those magazines introduced me to Michael and Jason and Freddy and an offbeat second-generation actress with a slightly crooked smile named Jamie Lee Curtis who seemed to have an incredible lung capacity for screaming.

As I neared adolescence those reading experiences were supplemented by the dark works of Jack Ketchum, Richard Laymon, Peter Straub, and another guy named Stephen who wrote some wildly demented stuff about rabid dogs, killer cars, and a haunted pet cemetery – a book about which I was certain I had discovered a misspelling on the cover. And while I grew increasingly hooked on the bloody prose of these and other writers, I could find scarce little about them in my beloved horror magazines.

Flash forward two decades. Still hooked on works of horror, suspense, and thrillers even as my own first attempt at a novel entered the market, there were still very few publications that celebrated the creative forces behind these marvelous works of the macabre and fewer still whose sole focus was on dark genre literature.

Enter Dark Scribe Magazine. With a focus on horror, suspense, and thriller writers and their works, we’re hoping to create a brand new reading experience for dark genre bibliophiles of all ages. With each addition to our virtual pages, we’re endeavoring to bring you into the realm of these master scribes, as well as those of the editors, artists, retailers, publishers, and webmasters who support them with unflagging commitment.

So, welcome. Whether you’re a reader first discovering the world of dark genre literature or a bibliophile long enamored by the same, whether you’re a pedigreed writer or an aspiring author, we hope that you’ll grab your laptop and revisit your own favorite childhood reading spot with the latest virtual edition of Dark Scribe Magazine.

Vince A. Liaguno / Editor-in-Chief