Curious about Japanese horror? Me too! Insignia Stories' resident translator and drabble contributor, Toshiya Kamei, was kind enough to write the following overview of the horror genre in Japan, and to introduce the work of one of his clients, Umiyuri Katsuyama. Umiyuri Katsuyama, Queen of Tenohira Kaidan By Toshiya Kamei The Japanese word kaidan 怪談... Continue Reading →
Welcome to Women in Horror Month at Insignia Stories!
February is Women in Horror Month, and it's my pleasure to host a small blog series to celebrate the amazing women who contribute to projects here at Insignia Stories. WiHM banner We are an Asian speculative fiction press, with contributors from all over the globe. Our horror works tend to be more dark fantasy than... Continue Reading →
NEW RELEASE: ‘HORROR MATSURI 2020’ EBOOK
Happy Thanksgiving to our friends and followers in the US! Hope you have a wonderful day with family and/or friends. Today, I'm pleased to share the Amazon release for the Horror Matsuri 2020 ebook! If you pre-ordered a copy (thank you!) it should now be available in your Kindle Library. Regarding non-Amazon sellers, the links... Continue Reading →
HORROR MATSURI #10: ‘I SHOULD BE ASLEEP’ BY JOYCE CHNG
The final flash story for Horror Matsuri is by one of my favorite Asian writers...one of my favorite people, in fact, the incredible Joyce Chng! I asked for a werewolf story for Horror Matsuri and she delivered. Enjoy! I SHOULD BE ASLEEP Joyce Chng I should be asleep. They are real. They are out there.... Continue Reading →
Horror Matsuri #9: ‘A Yōkai’s Haiku Halloween Abroad’ John H. Dromey
HORROR MATSURI #9 / INSTINCTS (POETRY) #14 It's Week 5 of Horror Matsuri, and sadly today is the last poem, but it's a good one! This is John H. Dromey's second poem for the month. The first, 'Spooky Yuki-onna' can be read here. A Yōkai's Haiku Halloween Abroad John H. Dromey Just one day... Continue Reading →
Horror Matsuri #8: ‘Night with the Batibat’ by Maggie D. Brace
Welcome to Week 5 of Horror Matsuri! We'll have another flash story and a poem coming up on Thursday and Friday, plus a blog tour stop on Saturday. Check the calendar here for more details. Today's wonderful contributor, Maggie D. Brace, also had a Persian horror poem published on October 15th. You can check it... Continue Reading →
HORROR MATSURI #7: ‘DECEPTION’ BY THERESE CHOON
It's Week 4 of Horror Matsuri, and this is Therese Choon's second publication in the series! Check out her poem 'Qingming; Clarity' if you haven't already. Today, enjoy a very creepy yōkai story 🙂 DECEPTION Therese Choon Yokohama comes alive at nine PM, thriving on flickering neon signs and the faint buzz from low-lying electric... Continue Reading →
HORROR MATSURI #6: ‘RUBIES & GOLD’ BY KELLY MATSUURA
HORROR MATSURI #6 / INSTINCTS POETRY #13 How is it Week 4 already? Time to crank things up! We have 3 posts this week, and 4 coming next week...Stay tuned! Today I'm sharing my own freestyle poem. I was inspired by the Indian and Persian myths of a creature similar to a sphinx or chimera,... Continue Reading →
FEATURED BOOKS 2020: ‘BLACK CRANES’ ANTHOLOGY
I have the perfect book recommendation for Horror Matsuri - Black Cranes: Tales of Unquiet Women, edited by Lee Murray and Geneve Flynn and just released on September 26, 2020. I picked this up yesterday and can't wait to read it! And how awesome is this cover? Blurb: Almond-eyed celestial, the filial daughter, the perfect... Continue Reading →
HORROR MATSURI #5: EYE FOR AN EYE’ BY MAGGIE D. BRACE
HORROR MATSURI #5 / INSTINCTS (POETRY) #12 Welcome to Week 3 at Horror Matsuri! Only 2 posts this week, but we have a lot of content coming from Oct 23rd to 31st. Today's poem introduces a new Insignia Stories contributor, Maggie D. Brace. Maggie tells me that this poem was inspired by an article from... Continue Reading →