The Sacrifice

by Edmund Stone

A tattoo artist goes on a journey into the unknown when he decides to ink something nefarious.
At the request of his girlfriend, he tattoos drawings on her skin, taken from an ancient book.
During the process he falls deeper in love with her, forming a bond through art both are drawn to
completely.
Unknown to the couple, the etchings are used for human sacrifice. This triggers an event neither
is prepared for, and the result is a bloodbath of enormous proportions.
In this short story by Edmund Stone, the question is asked. For love, what are you willing to
Sacrifice?

52 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2026

Reviews

[Milt Theo · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautifully written, two-part cosmic horror novelette, the first part already published in 2017 and included here, the second deepening the story and offering even creepier scenes of unsettling ambience and sinister menace! Figuring a tattoo artist who thinks it's a good idea to tattoo on his girlfriend's skin designs and images taken from that one book that'd better not be named (even for the purposes of a review lol), he unwittingly unleashes horrors and monstrosities hungry for souls and flesh. I really liked the descriptions of what happened to the poor girlfriend - a short gorefest of disturbing body horror visuals - though the story soon turned into a complex showdown involving Old Gods, the Miskatonic University, and the Catholic Church. If you love those sanity-shattering moments of the Lovecraftian Mythos, don't miss this!

[Dawn Schock · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fast-paced, amazing story about the horrific consequences of exploring the occult without understanding it. It grips you from the start and doesn't let go until the end.

[Crystal DeBoard · Rating 4 out of 5]

This quick read was dark and entertaining. A tattoo gone so very wrong, the book of the dead, a man desperate to save a loved one, and a twist at the end I didn't expect.