Top Stories
New stories you'll love, handpicked for you by our team and updated daily.
Sinister Normal Things. Top Story - October 2026.
"There is a reason this place is called murder mansion," Tommy whispered to Hannah, his eyes on the ashen pink bricks that dotted between twisted iron bars. Only the front of the house was ever visible from the street, and no one lingered very long to get more than a passing glance. But there they stood, in strict defiance, two faces peeking in and out of the overgrown shrubs like windowed curtains, hoping to catch a glimpse of something worthwhile. Each house on this street was aging and solitary like a tomb. A graveyard, a mausoleum of lives passed, hoping the next would be better than the last—and so on, and so forth, until you arrived here, standing in front of 1521 Sycamore Street , where lives were cut shorter and shorter with each passing decade.
By K.H. Obergfoll21 days ago in Fiction
Best of Both Worlds. Top Story - October 2026.
In my childhood I enjoyed Hannah Montana because she got to live two different lives. As Miley she could be treated like any high school girl and as Hannah as an adored celebrity. People either encouraged my enjoyment of the show or made negative commentary like, "Everyone would know they are the same person, you would have to be dumb to not." I think about this and wonder... The word isn't dumb, more like influenced by society to believe a certain way. I already knew people with different status are approached and spoken to differently. People will go with what they have been told about someone and how that may affect interacting with them.
By Seashell Harpspring 23 days ago in Geeks
Women’s Power Part III. Top Story - October 2026.
Welcome back! We will be continuing this week with our Women Power series, where I talk about media that celebrates the many facets of women. We are not just one thing. Many moments make us into the women we are today. We will continue our series with the following: Women Are Allowed To Be Messy.
By J. Davis Mallory23 days ago in Viva
Ear Worthy: Indie Podcasts You’ll Love This Week (10/6/26). Top Story - October 2026.
This Week’s Indie Star: Amanda B., creator/host of Six Degrees of Cats. 6 Degrees of Cats is a cat-themed culture, history, and science podcast. The show explores how cats have influenced human history, culture, science, and daily life, connecting unusual feline facts to the modern world. In a deliberate act of kindness, Amanda redesigned the Ear Worthy logo.
By Frank Racioppi22 days ago in Interview
Truth in Politics. Top Story - October 2026.
I'm publishing this in the Horror community because American politics feels like a House of Horrors now and because this note has been sitting in my drafts for too long. Besides, I've found a fitting image to go with the story. What could be better than a reference to the Walking Dead , one of the most successful horror TV shows, in an image and story to be published in October, the month of Halloween and horrors?
By Lana V Lynx22 days ago in Horror
Tallow Her Heart. Top Story - October 2026.
Her heart is in autumn kept as tallow in a jar too stubborn to melt in her state, too stubborn to be here now where summer never ends and every leaf-worn wind sends her back again to all the reasons she hates seasons where nothing ever falls but her feelings— unhappy with the weather unwrapping her present for another, where sumac turns scarlet and pumpkins light the porch, where lovers get lost in tall grass and crows gather around the straw man. If those northern pastures are what she's after, those crows, like her, are free, and the next October wind, when she falls again, I can follow her there. I can follow her where tallow melts her heart, till dusk bells ring us home. Or she can go alone— there is no lid holding her in. Autumn isn't the love I'm missing— it's the present she's unwrapping. If she'd rather be there than here, where am I?
By Pixel Floyd25 days ago in Poets
Out of Season Challenge Winners
We’re trying something new with our challenge awards structure. Starting with Out of Season , each challenge will recognize one grand prize , four winners , and ten honorable mentions . That’s 15 stories to celebrate, with a little extra love for the top pick. For this challenge, the strongest stories made the timing matter. Something showing up early or returning when it shouldn’t changed what people did, what they assumed, or how they saw each other. There was humor in trying to carry on as usual, and sadness in realizing why the usual schedule no longer worked. Sometimes the wrong time of year turned out to be just when someone needed it.
By Vocal Curation Team21 days ago in Resources
Broken Mirror. Top Story - October 2026.
The lights are on, and you stare at yourself in the mirror, still and soft is the curve of your cheeks. Chubby, but they manage to stay clear, now and through the growing years of your teens. You never pick at your skin, though there are some blemishes that naturally come as years trek on.
By Rachael Anra22 days ago in Fiction
Mississippi Wizards . Top Story - October 2026.
What better way to start off spooky season than a little horror book review from one of our very own! You know those trope boards? Those ones all over booktok? I despise, no I abhor those things because if you only ever pick books like you're ordering at Chipotle, you might never pick up a book like this.
By Matthew J. Fromm23 days ago in BookClub
