A Twinge of Terror: 16 Light Horror Stories

by The Butchered Writers Terror Monthly

Fear doesn’t always announce itself with blood and screams.
Sometimes, it waits.

A Twinge of Terror is a curated horror anthology that explores the unease you remember from childhood—the shadow in the hallway, the silence that lingers too long, the feeling that something is watching just out of sight. These stories are not built on excess or spectacle. They are designed to slip under your skin quietly, reminding you where fear learned to hide.

Written by members of The Butchered Writers collective and invited contributing authors, each tale offers a distinct voice and a shared terror doesn’t need to shout to be heard. It only needs a moment. A pause. A single twinge.

If you’re drawn to atmospheric horror, psychological unease, and stories that linger long after the final page, this collection is waiting for you.

Step closer.

Featuring Stories by
Ken Austin
Sharon Ballentine
Glynn Owen Barrass
J. Rocky Colavito
J. G. Davies-McCabe
Thomas Folske
D. L. Garvin
Ash Hartwell
Colt Henderson
Andy Holberry
R. A. King
Stephen Lang
Winona Morris
Melinda Pouncey
Megan Russ
Raven Tomes

305 pages, Paperback

Published February 27, 2026

About the author

The Butchered Writers is a collective of writers and artists from around the world that are joined together by the love of horror. We write horror anthologies. There, done.

Honestly we could stop there, but for the few of you that will read this, you may want to know a little more. There are around 25 members of The Butchered Writers. We've managed to crank out about 14 anthologies in the last year with the title Terror Monthly, and have big plans for the upcoming 2025 year. Most of us chat on Facebook quite often. The conversations there can get chaotic and out of hand very quickly, as you can imagine a group of writers talking about whatever is on their mind. Topics range from food (probably the most popular), to what we're reading, to "is this a good story?", to "you'll never guess what my neighbor just did". But we always come back to horror. It's who we are and it's what we enjoy writing. Whether it's something that screws with your mind, blood and guts, monster, or folk, it doesn't matter. We love it.

So here's the pitch: If you enjoy horror stories, we're your people. Get in touch and we can chat about whatever you want, preferably horror related. Buy a book or two that we've put out. There are fantastic writers among us. The Best of Terror Monthly will be FREE in February 2025 for a month. What better way to start your journey with us than the best stories from our first 13 volumes? Read it. Tell us how much you loved it. Tell us it sucked. Tell us about the one story in the volume you read that turned your stomach.

Look us up on the Terror Monthly FB page for more info.

Reviews

[Winona · Rating 5 out of 5]

Horror doesn’t always have to shock, gore, or terrify you into sleepless nights. Sometimes, the most enduring chills come from subtle unease, clever twists, and eerie atmospheres instead. A Twinge of Terror embraces that gentler side of horror with 16 light horror stories. These tales offer stories that are more about shivers than screams. Each story in this anthology tiptoes along the line between the unsettling and the whimsical, proving that fear can be delivered without blood or brutality. Sometimes, the most haunting stories are the ones that play with your imagination rather than your stomach.

The stories in this collection were gathered by The Butchered writers as part of their first anthology that wasn’t written by group members alone, so it offers up some new and different horror talent from their past collections.

The stories inside include:

TAPPED IN - First things around her house start being destroyed under mysterious circumstances. Then the trees start tapping…..
THE CANDLE IN THE WINDOW - An old fashioned haunted house story where one girl becomes a self appointed guardian.
A GILDED BUTTERFLY - A woman on the run from her husband finds herself living in a boarding house with some unusual occupants.
THE BELDAM OF BEDLAM - A man set on disproving the existence of witches visits an accused witch in the asylum that houses her.
BLANKY - A unique take on a child's favorite blanket and the monster in the closet.
CRUISING WITH HONEY DOWN DIABLO ROAD - A young man on the hunt for his estranged mother finds her, on Diablo Road.
FRIEND - A girl bullied by her older brother asks her imaginary friend for help, only to find out it might not be that helpful after all.
SALLY’S RIDE - A classic radioactive creature feature, and the family dog gone wrong.
THE FEBRUARY PACT - An old family curse means someone is lost every February. Leah is determined to break the curse, but will the price be too much to pay?
THE GIRL WITH THE FLOWER BONNET - When a family acquires an antique painting, and the family dog immediately hates it, you know it's not going to end well.
THE GOOD PEOPLE - A man becomes a census taker in an attempt to escape a more dangerous job, only to find there are some jobs you can’t get away from.
THE HANDPRINT - There is civil unrest among the humans and the paranormal citizens and a proposition on stronger rights is up for vote. But people keep turning up dead, and solving the case might be the turning point in the vote.
THE HANDS OF OTHERS - A man purchase a place he worked at once, to revisit a tragic past.
THE PERFECT WORLD DOESN’T NEED YOU - In a future where strong emotions are
forbidden, a teenager must face the consequences of hers.
THE SURPRISE PASSENGER - A young man picks up a very surprising hitchiker.
THE TENNENT - The moral of this story might be, be careful what you invite in with a Oujia board.

Taken together, the stories in A Twinge of Terror show that horror doesn’t always need blood and brutality to work. Sometimes a strange knock on the door, a cursed painting, or an imaginary friend that might be a little too real is more than enough to raise the hairs on the back of your neck. If you’re looking for a collection that leans into eerie concepts and classic spooky storytelling rather than graphic scares, this anthology is an easy and entertaining read.

[Felicia · Rating 5 out of 5]

nice

Always enjoy these campfire stories. These authors are amazing writers! Another great book by them! Off to read more books.