The October Devotion: A Lovecraftian Apocalytpic Horror Short Story by Cherie Priest

by Cherie Priest, Lars Mai (Photographer)

All those devout, faithful people, staring up at the late-19th-century sky, waiting for God to return. They got so much wrong! What else did they miss? Maybe instead of looking up for salvation, they should’ve been looking down.

This short story by acclaimed horror writer Cherie Priest explores a Lovecraftian theme of 1800s apocalyptic cults--what may be above, and what may be below.

30 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 4, 2026

About the author

Cherie Priest is the author of about thirty books and novellas, most recently the modern gothics It Was Her House First, The Drowning House, and Cinderwich. She's also the author of the Booking Agents mysteries, horror projects The Toll and The Family Plot – and the hit YA graphic novel mash-ups I Am Princess X and its follow up, The Agony House. But she is perhaps best known for the steampunk pulp adventures of the Clockwork Century, beginning with Boneshaker. She has been nominated for the Hugo Award and the Nebula Award, and the Locus award – which she won with Boneshaker.

Cherie has also written a number of urban fantasy titles, and composed pieces (large and small) for George R. R. Martin’s shared world universe, the Wild Cards. Her short stories and nonfiction articles have appeared in such fine publications as Weird Tales, Publishers Weekly, and numerous anthologies – and her books have been translated into nine languages in eleven countries.

Although she was born in Florida on the day Jimmy Hoffa disappeared, for the last twenty years Cherie has largely divided her time between Chattanooga, TN, and Seattle, WA – where she presently lives with her husband and a menagerie of exceedingly photogenic pets.

Reviews

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I may be at the point of wearying of Lovecraftian horror.