Summer of Horror Exchange Letter
May. 24th, 2026 07:50 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rynlingDear author,
Hello, and thank you for offering to write me a creepy story forsummerofhorrorexchange! I love horror-themed fanfic, and I’m very excited to read your work. I’m a veteran explorer of cursed and haunted spaces; and, though I tend to tread on the “atmospheric” side of horror, I always enjoy encountering terrible new possibilities.
I’m a big fan of:
- dark fantasy
- haunted houses
- creepy little towns
- folk horror
- gothic horror
- cosmic horror
- horror comedy
- monster friends
- monster romance
I’m totally okay with:
- canon deviation
- original characters
- non-canon relationships
- straight sexuality
- queer sexuality
- death
- undeath
- murder (yay)
- happy endings
- horrible endings
- ambiguous endings
I’d prefer not to see:
- Splatterpunk or medical horror.
- Young children in explicitly sexual situations.
- Extended scenes of torture, assault, or pregnancy-related body horror.
- A story longer than 15k words (but if you must, please divide it into chapters).
- Domestic animal death (you can kill as many people as you like, though).
- H.P. Lovecraft as a fictional character (fuck that guy).
And here are my fandom-specific prompts and requests:
The Shadow Over Innsmouth
As an appreciator of antiquarian architecture, I’ve always wanted to visit the charming seaside town of Innsmouth. I’m curious as to why it’s not featured in any guidebooks, but I’m sure that’s just a random oversight. If you’d like to invite me on a tour of Innsmouth, I’d love to join you!
I’m happy to explore Innsmouth at any point in its history. This is just a suggestion, but it might be interesting to see how the town is doing here in the 21st century. Do they have Dunkin Donuts in Innsmouth? Sometime during the second half of the twentieth century might be fun too. I hear there are many benefits to being a marine biologist...
On a personal note: My reading of the horror of Innsmouth is that the town’s isolation, economic deprivation, crumbling infrastructure, and coercive religion (human sacrifice included) are far more troubling concerns than the process of making babies with beautiful multicultural fishpeople. I think perhaps it might be interesting to have an amphibious seaside romance... but maybe that’s just me.
Final Fantasy VI
It’s wild that, right in the middle of this game, the world is totally destroyed. That’s a fun transformation to experience as the player, but I can’t imagine it would have been enjoyable to live through. Putting Kefka aside, we’re talking about a complete environmental collapse following a series of natural disasters at an unprecedented scale.
How did people survive? And what about the ones who didn’t?
This is just a suggestion, but I think it might be interesting to follow one (or more) of the characters during the year between the catastrophe and the point when your party regroups itself. When Celes finds most of the main characters, they’re not doing okay. What led them to that point? I love all the characters in this game, but I’d also love to see them suffer. <3
Stories about NPCs and complete OCs are okay too!
Final Fantasy VII
I am eternally fascinated by the creepy little town of Nibelheim. Before the infamous “incident,” the town residents would have probably aided in the construction of the reactor, as well as the facilities under the Shinra Manor. Even if they didn’t, they probably would have interacted with the contractors who serviced the construction sites. And then, after the town was burned down, it was repopulated by actors hired to pretend that nothing had happened.
Do you think this was weird and unpleasant? I bet it was weird and unpleasant. Tell me any story you like about Nibelheim, and I will go get my popcorn.
A notable resident of Nibelheim is Tifa Lockhart, and I will forever be a fan of this character. If you’d like to tell a story about Tifa or from her perspective, that’s more than okay with me!
On a personal note: I work for an institution that isn’t “evil,” necessarily, but let’s just say that it wouldn’t have been my first choice if I had somewhat more agency to choose. I therefore try not to judge the people who work for the Shinra Company too harshly. The rent isn’t going to pay itself, after all.
Final Fantasy XII
Here are two things I love so much that it’s embarrassing: the Viera, and botanical horror. The Golmore Jungle is a scary place, and the Feywood is even worse. I bet the Viera wood-warders have seen some shit. Aside from the two Moogle merchants at the entrance to Eruyt Village, your party doesn’t encounter any fellow travelers in these areas. Why not? What happens to them?
I’ve also long been curious about what happens to Viera who left Eruyt Village but then try to come back. Does the Wood, you know... punish them?
As an alternative, I’m infinitely curious about the Nabreus Deadlands and the Necrohol of Nabudis. If you prefer exploring magically irradiated ruins instead of carnivorous forests, I’d love to join you on your journey.
Silksong
The more I poke around in Silksong, the more terrifying bits of lore I encounter. This game is laced through with upsetting little horror stories, and I would be delighted to read about any character(s) and any situations at any point in Pharloom’s history.
These are just suggestions, but here are some prompts if you’d like:
- What made Garmond finally snap?
- Why was the Second Sentinel decommissioned?
- What was the fate of the early Weavers who tried to escape Pharloom?
- What happened to the Surface Village? Did it happen slowly, or all at once?
- What was it like for the pilgrims who climbed all the way to the Citadel only to find themselves assigned to toil in the Underworks?
One more note: I love flash fiction! Longer stories are fantastic, of course, but I will be equally entertained by a story closer to the 500-word minimum. Whichever path you choose to take, I’m wishing you a pleasant journey through these shadowed lands.
Hello, and thank you for offering to write me a creepy story for
summerofhorrorexchange! I love horror-themed fanfic, and I’m very excited to read your work. I’m a veteran explorer of cursed and haunted spaces; and, though I tend to tread on the “atmospheric” side of horror, I always enjoy encountering terrible new possibilities.I’m a big fan of:
- dark fantasy
- haunted houses
- creepy little towns
- folk horror
- gothic horror
- cosmic horror
- horror comedy
- monster friends
- monster romance
I’m totally okay with:
- canon deviation
- original characters
- non-canon relationships
- straight sexuality
- queer sexuality
- death
- undeath
- murder (yay)
- happy endings
- horrible endings
- ambiguous endings
I’d prefer not to see:
- Splatterpunk or medical horror.
- Young children in explicitly sexual situations.
- Extended scenes of torture, assault, or pregnancy-related body horror.
- A story longer than 15k words (but if you must, please divide it into chapters).
- Domestic animal death (you can kill as many people as you like, though).
- H.P. Lovecraft as a fictional character (fuck that guy).
And here are my fandom-specific prompts and requests:
The Shadow Over Innsmouth
As an appreciator of antiquarian architecture, I’ve always wanted to visit the charming seaside town of Innsmouth. I’m curious as to why it’s not featured in any guidebooks, but I’m sure that’s just a random oversight. If you’d like to invite me on a tour of Innsmouth, I’d love to join you!
I’m happy to explore Innsmouth at any point in its history. This is just a suggestion, but it might be interesting to see how the town is doing here in the 21st century. Do they have Dunkin Donuts in Innsmouth? Sometime during the second half of the twentieth century might be fun too. I hear there are many benefits to being a marine biologist...
On a personal note: My reading of the horror of Innsmouth is that the town’s isolation, economic deprivation, crumbling infrastructure, and coercive religion (human sacrifice included) are far more troubling concerns than the process of making babies with beautiful multicultural fishpeople. I think perhaps it might be interesting to have an amphibious seaside romance... but maybe that’s just me.
Final Fantasy VI
It’s wild that, right in the middle of this game, the world is totally destroyed. That’s a fun transformation to experience as the player, but I can’t imagine it would have been enjoyable to live through. Putting Kefka aside, we’re talking about a complete environmental collapse following a series of natural disasters at an unprecedented scale.
How did people survive? And what about the ones who didn’t?
This is just a suggestion, but I think it might be interesting to follow one (or more) of the characters during the year between the catastrophe and the point when your party regroups itself. When Celes finds most of the main characters, they’re not doing okay. What led them to that point? I love all the characters in this game, but I’d also love to see them suffer. <3
Stories about NPCs and complete OCs are okay too!
Final Fantasy VII
I am eternally fascinated by the creepy little town of Nibelheim. Before the infamous “incident,” the town residents would have probably aided in the construction of the reactor, as well as the facilities under the Shinra Manor. Even if they didn’t, they probably would have interacted with the contractors who serviced the construction sites. And then, after the town was burned down, it was repopulated by actors hired to pretend that nothing had happened.
Do you think this was weird and unpleasant? I bet it was weird and unpleasant. Tell me any story you like about Nibelheim, and I will go get my popcorn.
A notable resident of Nibelheim is Tifa Lockhart, and I will forever be a fan of this character. If you’d like to tell a story about Tifa or from her perspective, that’s more than okay with me!
On a personal note: I work for an institution that isn’t “evil,” necessarily, but let’s just say that it wouldn’t have been my first choice if I had somewhat more agency to choose. I therefore try not to judge the people who work for the Shinra Company too harshly. The rent isn’t going to pay itself, after all.
Final Fantasy XII
Here are two things I love so much that it’s embarrassing: the Viera, and botanical horror. The Golmore Jungle is a scary place, and the Feywood is even worse. I bet the Viera wood-warders have seen some shit. Aside from the two Moogle merchants at the entrance to Eruyt Village, your party doesn’t encounter any fellow travelers in these areas. Why not? What happens to them?
I’ve also long been curious about what happens to Viera who left Eruyt Village but then try to come back. Does the Wood, you know... punish them?
As an alternative, I’m infinitely curious about the Nabreus Deadlands and the Necrohol of Nabudis. If you prefer exploring magically irradiated ruins instead of carnivorous forests, I’d love to join you on your journey.
Silksong
The more I poke around in Silksong, the more terrifying bits of lore I encounter. This game is laced through with upsetting little horror stories, and I would be delighted to read about any character(s) and any situations at any point in Pharloom’s history.
These are just suggestions, but here are some prompts if you’d like:
- What made Garmond finally snap?
- Why was the Second Sentinel decommissioned?
- What was the fate of the early Weavers who tried to escape Pharloom?
- What happened to the Surface Village? Did it happen slowly, or all at once?
- What was it like for the pilgrims who climbed all the way to the Citadel only to find themselves assigned to toil in the Underworks?
One more note: I love flash fiction! Longer stories are fantastic, of course, but I will be equally entertained by a story closer to the 500-word minimum. Whichever path you choose to take, I’m wishing you a pleasant journey through these shadowed lands.
