Interview with Horror Author Chloe Spenser

1. Hello Chloe! Thanks so much for joining me! Let’s begin with an introduction. For those who don’t know you, can you please tell us a bit about yourself?

Howdy! I’m an author, filmmaker, and game developer from Minnesota. I have two cats who are my absolute world, Kiwi and Coconut, and when I’m not writing, you can probably find me in front of my computer playing video games (probably The Sims.)

2. Your latest book CodeSkull is coming out July 2025 and will be published by Mad Axe Media. Congrats! Having read the book myself, I know it’s a killer YA sure to electrify readers, but how would you describe it? What can readers expect?

You can expect some serious stuff, but you can also expect to laugh! The three main characters play off each other really well, and they have some sweet moments together even as they’re trying to save their town from a terrifying, technological monster.

3. I’m going to go out on a limb and say your desire to write a book with a rouge video game villain has something to do with being a game developer 😊. Have you ever considered making CodeSkull into an actual game and when can we expect it to hit our computer screens (no pressure, but seriously, it’d be an INCREDIBLE game since the book is filled with amazing storyworld building!).

I would definitely say that my passion for making games influenced me to write this book. I haven’t considered making CodeSkull into a game yet, but that could be so fun! In all honesty, I’m working on an adult dating sim/survival horror RPG called FEVER. My computer broke about a year ago and I just recently got it replaced, so development’s been on hold for a while, but I’m hoping to get back into the swing of things. However, I have thought of a sequel to CodeSkull already. Let’s just say it involves ghosts, Gatorade, and leave it at that. 

4. Let’s shift to another one of your talents. Not only are you a writer of fiction books and a game developer, but you’re an award-winning filmmaker, which is so awesome, and it sounds like you’re really busy! Outside of your own books, what would be a dream book-to-movie adaptation you’d love to create and why?

Oh gosh, there are so many! I would love to work on an adaptation of Terry Moore’s graphic novel series Strangers in Paradise, but that would need to be a TV show, not a movie. I think Hailey Piper’s Benny Rose the Cannibal King could be such a fun adaptation, too.

5. Who is your favorite author and why?

I think everyone should be reading Tiffany D. Jackson. I don’t care which book you pick, anything of hers is a banger, and I can’t put it down once I start it. She is so masterful with prose. I remember doing a signing event, and I said, “I’ll read a metaphor in one of her books, and be thinking about it for days.” Just that metaphor. Just the way that she put it together. There are many amazing writers, but few writers whose sentence construction and word choice sticks with me long after I close the book, rather than the story … although if you read Allegedly, I mean, good luck not being sick to your stomach for days on end afterwards.

6. Okay, let’s move to some hard-hitting questions. Would you rather have spiders crawl from your mouth whenever you start to speak or have maggots come out of the shower whenever you’re trying to bathe? Why?

Chloe Spenser

I had to talk to my girlfriend about this one for advice because to be honest, it depends on the size of the spiders. If I think about it, I have long hair and I’m constantly pulling it away from my face or out of my mouth, so that’s kinda like having spiders in my mouth already, so I think I’d be okay with that. With maggots, I mean, their whole job is to burrow inside your body, right? I’m thinking about every single possible way they could get inside my body if they were coming out of a shower spigot, and I don’t like my chances.

7.     If you had to live in one of the following haunted houses, which would it be: the house on haunted hill or the house from the Conjuring? Why?

Honestly I’d pick the house from The Conjuring. Based on the movie-specific lore, Bathsheba the ghost tends to only haunt women with children. I have no children other than my cats, and cats tend to ward off paranormal influence well. Other people have stayed in the house, and aside from reporting some strange activity, they seem to have had a decent time. Even the Perron family has admitted that no spirit was violent, at worse they were “unpleasant” or “mean-spirited.” The house I grew up in had those sorts of hauntings, so that’s pretty on par for me.

8. Who would you consider the scariest horror villain of all time?

This is so basic, but I think it must be Pennywise. Pennywise is a truly heinous creature that preys upon children regardless of their age. Worse, he’s basically immortal and it’s difficult to kill him, and on top of that, he shape-shifts? He can be the physical manifestation of any one of my fears? Count me out, bro. Count me out. I’m clocking in and clocking out.

9. Thank you so much for joining me! Do you have any final thoughts? Where can readers find you online?

I can’t wait for y’all to read CodeSkull! You can get it from any major retailer, but please please PLEASE consider supporting your local indie bookstore! Go to Bookshop.org to find them. You can also get e-books there now, too.

It’s critical to support local, independent bookstores instead of major retailers because these are often the places that are going to host live events for authors or will order stock of our books that we can come in and sign for you. You can also preorder directly from Mad Axe Media’s website if you prefer and get some cool swag that way!

Aside from that, you can find me online @heyitschloespencer on Bluesky, Instagram, and TikTok. Right now, I’m hosting a fundraiser for the Animal Humane Society of Minnesota, so if you feel so inclined, please contribute!  And if not, follow me, because I might have some cool giveaways and prizes planned for those who donate.

The Head is IN the Basket

The1982 comedy horror movie BasketCase is 1h 31m of pure gold! This is the best “head in a basket” movie ever!

Okay, so the premise pretty straight forward: “A young man carrying a big basket that contains his extremely deformed, formerly conjoined twin brother seeks vengeance on the doctors who separated them against their will.”

I mean, pretty believable, right?

Honestly, there isn’t much more to even say about it. It’s a great Friday night movie when you want to unwind from a long week and just escape into the world of 80’s bonkers horror! Enjoy! And you’re welcome!

The Problem with Invisible Velociraptors

First, there isn’t. A movie based on an invisible dino, specifically a velociraptor, is flawless.

Second, just for the sake of argument, let’s dive into this super realistic idea. I introduce to you one of the very best films of all time:

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Third: Yes, that is the dude from Lord of the Rings.

Okay, so here is the premise:

“An invisible raptor goes on a killing spree after a top-secret experiment goes wrong. Now, it's up to a disgraced paleontologist, his ex-girlfriend, a security guard and a chicken farmer to save their small town from the creature's ravenous rampage.”

The acting is exactly how you would expect in a movie like this, and I feel like there were other was to capture this dino with more efficiency . . . what in the hell am I talking about? It’s an invisible dino movie! Perfection!

Recently, I’ve been getting into watching ridiculous movies. I highly recommend as a form of escapism, and this one really scratches that itch. Oh, and here is the amazing trailer. Enjoy!

Support Black Authors

Here are some incredible Black books ranging from horror, magical realism, poetry, and so much more! Diversify your TBR!

Unique Halloween Costume Ideas for Duos!

Whether it’s your BFF, spouse, partner, or kiddo, here are some unique Halloween costume ideas for duos!

From The Menu, smores would be a fantastic nod to the film!

From The Menu

This one can also be homemade, although there’s multiple options from Amazon including some where one person is the bottom half and the other is the top. But, if you want it more authentic to the actual unique costumes from the movie (even the dripping of the chocolate!), it will probably have to be homemade. Cotton balls would work great for the marshmallows (or even real marshmallow if you’re adventurous!) and the chocolate hat can be made out of painted cardboard. The melting chocolate can be makeup or there’s a wax makeup tutorial to help get the dripping.

Ripley and Jonesy

Amazon Cat Head Mask

Imagine showing up to a Halloween party as this popular human-cat combo! Amazon has a Ripley costume, but it’s a little too pricey for my budget ($64!). They have one for $49, but I recommend shopping second hand. Gray boiler jump suit from PoshMark are a bit cheaper, and you can always offer a deal for less and see if the buyer bites!

The cat costume can be done a few different ways based on budget. There’s a slightly terrifying cat mask on Amazon for $16 which would require you to build the rest of the costume yourself with orange clothing. Another option is to simply buy an orange cat bodysuit which is $39 from Amazon.

You can always do Jack and Wendy from The Shining, or you can spice things up by being the infamous door with Jack’s face and the axe.

So, how to make this possible.

The door can be made from painted cardboard word like a walking sign with straps (that can be made from duct tape) over the shoulders. A print out picture of Jack’s head can be glued to the center.

Now, the axe may be harder. It will require some sort of full body “handle” (consider a sleeping bag or simply pants and a shirt that are tan like the handle) and with the axe acting more like a mask. This can be made from cardboard and either paint of even aluminum foil wrapped around it for the blade.

Will this costume look homemade? Yup, but isn’t that part of the fun of Halloween?

The Static TV from Poltergeist and Carol Anne

This will be another that looks homemade, but at least it will save some cash! The TV will be worn like a cube over your body (see this Rubrix cube costume for an idea of how to make the box. The static can be painted or printed out (there’s a bunch of free static images out there). Then, it’s just a matter of finding some pajamas that look like the ones Carol Anne wore. If you don’t have blonde hair, no worries. You can find one on Amazon for $13 which can be styled and cut.

From Cyborg Love Stories to Sapphic Gore: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly of Writing

The first novel I ever attempted to write was a cyborg love story.

A scientist decided to craft her perfect mate and, somehow, ended up with a cyborg. The anti-cyborg government decided their love ruined their plan to dismantle all non-human entities and started hunting them.

Really, looking back, it’s not the worst plot I’ve ever come up with, but the writing and characters are best placed in a b-movie (are their c-movies? d-movies? that’s more accurate LOL). I remember that my scientist had gold eyes (no idea why) and the cyborg had one eye in the middle of their forehead (yeah, I clearly got cyborgs confused with cyclopes). Needless to say, it never got published :) In fact, I never showed anyone the story, and it sits on a floppy disc (yes, I’m that old) somewhere in the universe for which I have no idea exactly the coordinates.

Since then, I’ve studied writing, joined many different writing groups, and fulfilled a dream of going back to school and getting my MFA in Writing. I’ve published books, editing anthologies, and become a freelance fiction editor to work with authors and help them enhance their work and, of course, to help them understand the different between an AI creature and a giant from Geek mythology. Oh, and my work-in-progress is a sapphic horror with plenty of gore.

The journey has been wild, and here’s a summary of what I’ve learned about the writing community as well as myself:

The good: Writing is our lives, dreams, therapy, and purpose. It’s the reason we get up in the morning. Creating worlds, characters, and stories is something that runs through us even in those times of writer’s block. For me, it’s the only thing I’ve ever truly wanted to do, and I am thrilled, privileged, and humbled to be a storyteller like so many before and many after. The indie community is extremely supportive and helps boost each other up. Getting something published for the first time is elating, and even if a story never sees the pages of a publisher’s catalogue, sitting down and constructing a story from start to finish is a huge accomplishment that fuels creativity. It’s an incredible occupation!

The bad: We must be our own marketing team, or at least, most of us must be our own cheering squad. The lucky few will land big contracts from big publishers and have teams come up with strategies to sell books. For those who stay in the indie word, by choice or because of living in the slush piles, the responsibility for book selling rests completely on our shoulders. So, if you are an introvert, if you’re not great on TikTok or Instagram, if you don’t want to have an account of every new social platform that comes up, it really isn’t a choice. You have to step up and that can be extremely draining not only mentally but in terms of your time that could be spent writing.

The ugly: It’s no secret that writers get crushed under the sole of egotistical editors, receive a ton of negative reviews from disgruntle readers, and often have their souls squashed by the never ending wait for a publishers response (I submitted a manuscript back in 2014 and still haven’t heard back. Fingers crossed!). We’re expected to accept silence from submissions that go unacknowledged. We are pitted against fellow authors for a rare seat at the table. This is the side of writing and publishing we aren’t meant to speak out about.

So, why do we do it? Is the good worth the bad and the ugly? That’s a decision we all have to make for ourselves. There’s no shame in deciding to move forward in a career that brings more joy. Many of us consider quitting, myself included. There’s times with the bad and the ugly get the best of me, and I want nothing more than to restore my sanity and step away. That’s normal. For me, it’s the good that keeps me going. I remember why I started writing, decades ago, as a little kid buying her first diary with money she earned from cat sitting. Writing was an outlet. It was my joy, and even on the worst days, it still is.

Sometimes, that joy is clouded with disappointment, envy, or frustration, but it’s still there, and while I have to dig deep at times, once I pull it out, it keeps me going.

Happy writing :)

FALL into These Five Fall Themed Horror Books

Fall is my second favorite season after winter, and for those looking to step into the crisp weather and pumpkin spice lattes, here are some horror books to get you in the mood!

DARK HARVEST BY NORMAN PARTRIDGE

Amazon Description: Halloween, 1963. They call him the October Boy, or Ol' Hacksaw Face, or Sawtooth Jack. Whatever the name, everybody in this small Midwestern town knows who he is. How he rises from the cornfields every Halloween, a butcher knife in his hand, and makes his way toward town, where gangs of teenage boys eagerly await their chance to confront the legendary nightmare. Both the hunter and the hunted, the October Boy is the prize in an annual rite of life and death.

Pete McCormick knows that killing the October Boy is his one chance to escape a dead-end future in this one-horse town. He's willing to risk everything, including his life, to be a winner for once. But before the night is over, Pete will look into the saw-toothed face of horror―and discover the terrifying true secret of the October Boy.

BOUND FEET BY KELSEA YU-Okay, technically this is on the border of summer and fall, but still, it’s a great read that will get you in the mood for spooky season!

Amazon Description: On the night of the Hungry Ghost Moon, when spirits can briefly return to the living world, Jodi Wu and her best friend sneak into Portland’s Chinese Garden and Ghost Museum. Kneeling before the pond where Jodi’s toddler drowned one year before, they leave food offerings and burn joss paper—and Jodi prays that Ella’s ghost will return for the night.

To distract Jodi from her grief, the two friends tell each other ghost stories as they explore the museum. They stop at the main display, a centuries-old pair of lotus slippers belonging to a woman whose toes were broken and bound during childhood. While reading the woman’s story, Jodi hears her daughter’s voice.

As Jodi desperately searches the garden, it becomes apparent that Ella isn’t the only ghost they’ve awakened. Something ancient with a slow, shuffling step lurks in the shadows…

AUTUMN CTHULHU EDITED BY MIKE DAVIS

Amazon Description: Nominated for a Shirley Jackson Award!

H.P. Lovecraft, the American master of horror, understood with horrible clarity that all things must die. After summer is winter, and life inevitably gives way to frozen sterility. In our modern world, we live cushioned existences, and congratulate ourselves on our supposed escape from the old dangers. We think ourselves caught out of nature’s reach by our technological wizardry. Safely cocooned. This foolishness blinds us to the truth that our elder forebears could not avoid. Engulfed by the rhythms of the world, they understood... Autumn means death.

There are far worse fates than mere death, of course. As blight spreads, the leaves wither and fall — as do the most important foundations of life. There is nothing more horrible than watching the sources of meaning in your world unravel before you. But these things we cherish are just pretty lies. In autumn’s cold grasp, the bright petals of our reality shrivel and die. Beneath them, there is nothing but the insanity of the howling void. Faced with inevitable, agonizing corruption, death is a gentle blessing.

The stories collected in "Autumn Cthulhu" reflect the darkest, most ancient truths of the season. Inside, you’ll find nineteen beautiful, terrifying glimpses of decay and loss inspired by Lovecraft’s work. Be sure that you want the burden of understanding before venturing further, though. The dissolving strands of mind, of love, of legacy within leave no room for merciful doubt.

The true meaning of life is that there is no meaning.

BLACK RIVER ORCHARD BY CHUCK WENDIG

Amazon Description: LOCUS AWARD FINALIST • AN NPR BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR

It’s autumn in the town of Harrow, but something besides the season is changing there.

Because in that town there is an orchard, and in that orchard, seven most unusual trees. And from those trees grows a new sort of apple: strange, beautiful, with skin so red it’s nearly black.

Take a bite of one of these apples, and you will desire only to devour another. And another. You will become stronger. More vital. More yourself, you will believe. But then your appetite for the apples and their peculiar gifts will keep growing—and become darker.

This is what happens when the townsfolk discover the secret of the orchard. Soon it seems that everyone is consumed by an obsession with the magic of the apples . . . and what’s the harm, if it is making them all happier, more confident, more powerful?

Even if something else is buried in the orchard besides the seeds of these extraordinary trees: a bloody history whose roots reach back to the very origins of the town.

But now the leaves are falling. The days grow darker. It’s harvest time, and the town will soon reap what it has sown.

THROUGH THE WOODS BY EMILY CARROLL

Amazon Description: Discover a terrifying world in the woods in this collection of five hauntingly beautiful graphic stories that includes the online webcomic sensation “His Face All Red,” in print for the first time.

Journey through the woods in this sinister, compellingly spooky collection that features four brand-new stories and one phenomenally popular tale in print for the first time. These are fairy tales gone seriously wrong, where you can travel to “Our Neighbor’s House”—though coming back might be a problem. Or find yourself a young bride in a house that holds a terrible secret in “A Lady’s Hands Are Cold.” You might try to figure out what is haunting “My Friend Janna,” or discover that your brother’s fiancée may not be what she seems in “The Nesting Place.” And of course you must revisit the horror of “His Face All Red,” the breakout webcomic hit that has been gorgeously translated to the printed page.


HAPPY READING!

Back to School Horror Books!

It’s back to school time! Let’s jump into some horror book recommendations that are set in schools:

Killer Nashville Claymore Award Finalist!

I’m beyond thrilled to announce that my screenplay for Food Fright (my first ever published book) is a Killer Nashville Claymore Award Finalist! It moved from the top 20 to the top 6!

If you haven’t had a chance to check out Food Fright, here’s a bit about it, and you can purchase it here!

High school junior Cassie Adler just wanted the bullying to stop. She thought gaining a spot on the varsity soccer team would whip up instant friends, but it isn't until the popular girls need Cassie's help that they acknowledge her presence. Cassie reluctantly agrees to participate in a prank that turns sour fast. Now with blood on their hands, she and the popular girls race to cover their tracks. But something savage knows what they've done, and it's hungry for revenge. Can Cassie redeem herself before it's too late, or will her deadly sins ketchup to her?

Book 7 in the Rewind-or-Die series: imagine your local movie rental store back in the ’70s, ’80s, and ’90s, remember all those fantastic covers. Remember taking those movies home and watching in awe as the stories unfolded in nasty rainbows of gore, remember the atmosphere and textures. Remember the blood.