Alien: Tribulation

Narayan | horror | Complete

The Year is 2183, four years after the tragedy at Hadley's Hope on LV-426. On the edge of theOuter Rim Territories, residents of an aging and outmoded sister-station to Sevastopol are embroiled in crisis. Socioeconomic, corporate and political considerations aside, the true threat to Ashkelon Station are dark secrets taking shape as Xenomorphs. Reese Castle and Wade Barrett are partners in crime, smugglers posing as spacecraft repair technicians until they can manage to steal their ship back. Weyland Yutani terminated their lease for the USCSS Casimir, an old M-Class Bison starfreighter, but they'll be damned if they let it get away so easily. A space truckers ship is their home and they're keen to leave the station while they still can. As a series of unfortunate events create a perfect maelstrom of chaos, death and upheaval, Agent Shella Roodt of the Interstellar Commerce Commission (by extension an entity of Weyland Yutani) and Chief Colonial Marshal John Coffee have a mandate to investigate wrongdoing and save lives. When they come face-to-face with the monsters however, there will be only one outcome. A final tribulation of survival of the fittest.

77.15 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-25 14:40

Plumbeous Professor

Frostfire20 | horror | Complete

An Archaeologist's execution is put on hold when he is sent to another world as a scout. He wants to be a [Tourist]. Unfortunately for him, an ancient evil has other plans.

47.28 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-26 11:00

Good People Die (Twelve Monoliths Book I)

Ryan Geever | horror | Complete

Release Window: [3/14-04/03] Six players. One gun. One way out. Lucas Gray has no idea who he is or why he was captured to participate in the mysterious Roulette Game--A death game centered around trust in complete strangers in order to avoid being shot and killed. Pieces of the puzzle will begin to come together and a terrible truth shall be revealed. Trigger Warnings: Death, Gore, Animal Violence, Decay

44.51 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-26 16:12

Vigor Mortis

Thundamoo | horror | Complete

In a world of sky islands orbiting around a core of mist, humanity is besieged with countless threats. When a young girl from the slums unwittingly becomes one of those threats, she finds herself capable of horrific things that she can't help but learn to love... Vigor Mortis is a lighthearted story about existential terror. Come for the horror, stay for the hope. Updates Fridays. Enjoy the read!

456.61 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-27 16:39

Palus Somni

Ohmwu | horror | Complete

It is the final days after the end of the world and you only have one month left before the last sanctuary erupts into chaos. There's a dead body hanging from a tree and cadaverous giants watch you sleep at night. The end is already here, you just don't know it yet. Now rated in the top 3% of all novels on Royal Road! Palus Somni (Marsh of Sleep') is a worldbuilding webnovel about what happens when your God forsakes you. Inspired by gothic horror and mingled with British myth and folklore, join the Alucinari nuns as they struggle with day-to-day life after the world has ended. Every night when the sun sets the monstrous Gol, colossal beings with too many teeth, awaken and roam the marshlands. Only those with a faithful heart will be spared. Young acolyte Wille has never seen the walls fail, but when a fellow nun is murdered within their sanctum the very safety of the monastery is thrown into question. Did the Gol find a way to breach their defences, or is there a human traitor amongst them? The answer lies both far in the past and deep beneath the earth, through the maze of ancient catacombs. With a cast of over thirty different characters, watch as your friends and enemies spiral into inevitable madness at the hands of a callous and unforgiving world. Discover the secrets of Palus Somni through letters, diary entries and notes found scattered across the monastery. Uncover the mystery of the grotesque giants that stalk the night and bring your challenge to the Gods themselves. Each character has their own handmade pixel art, and every update includes a music recommendation for a dark atmospheric dungeon synth album that you can listen to while you read. Slice of life meets cosmic abomination: Palus Somni is a collection of intertwining stories, some chapters are stand-alone tales while others feed into the overarching narrative. It is an exploration into a community, and rather than focusing on any one character the story meanders through the convent, exposing the hopes and fears of its inhabitants. Story updates every full moon.

83.11 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-13 10:57

Scavenger

M. R. Aze | horror | Complete

Now available on Amazon! Only the ruins of vast mega-cities remain of the old world after everything went down the drain& Well several times at that, but who cares? It's what is left behind that is important - secrets, wealth, knowledge, technologies, food and the occasional pack of mutants.There is also Axion, the last of the floating cities, but only the privileged leave there. Only those who have obtained the expensive permits can dive into the locked sectors. Those who cannot afford such a luxury, become Scavengers.Dubbed criminals, they are mostly ignored by Axion's law enforcers. But not Grey. No, Grey is a wanted man, for being the only one who has entered Sector 7 and come out to tell about it. In other words, nothing that out of the usual day to day life of a Scavenger.So, who are these Axion teen wannabe Tech-hunters? Why do they want to get in Sector 7? But most important of all, what do they hope to find there? Cover image done as commission by revismissing.

52.85 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-29 11:46

A Stirring at the Ridge

Solus-Solace | horror | Complete

A new dawn is on the horizon for the land of 揲rge. The cult of Irka has found a means to quickly expel the blight that devastated the land, many generations ago. With the power of the St閗kr trees, great hosts of immense spiritual energy, the cult shall send their witches into dangerous regions still beset with blight where they will attempt to purify the land. While many of these regions are only slightly blighted, others are steeped in a miasma powerful enough to ruin the body and drive the mind to madness. Summoned by the high king to guide a witch through the deadly wilderness, the ranger captain G髍in arrives in the city of Elbregn, where another secret and urgent mission awaits him... ------------- Cover artwork made by Wong40k

40.19 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-29 11:50

Voracity - Book One

Camelboy | horror | Complete

NOT ACTUALLY COMPLETED Can't figure out how to remove the "Completed" tag :P Update 02/29/24: Working on chapter 12 Voracity - A low-fantasy romance steeped in pain, misery, and an internal hunger bent on consuming the most sane of us all. Thomas is a gentle person, too innocent for his own good. He's kind, thoughtful, and caring. Tragedy befalls the compassionate man and he's torn from his peace by the violent, strangling grip of anguish. Can he remain the kind-hearted man he's always been, or will he slip into dark depths occupied only by those with cracked minds and wicked thoughts as he embarks on the journey of a lifetime, or does he even have a choice? The story is a bit of a slow burn to start, but I promise you'll be rewarded for sticking around. I hope you enjoy Thomas's journey through the dark as he slips into madness.

28.11 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-29 18:23

In the Service of Lady Scarlet (A psychological horror take on gamelit)

Lack of Poochline | horror | Complete

My dear friend, I have sent you a transcript of a most curious find I bought from a street peddler. In this package you may find a weird, dateless diary where the most lively and mad servant of "Lady Scarlet" details his day to day working in her impossible palace: organizing balls that have a gender, using valuable wine to water the garden, and in general being at her beck and call. But soon after he started writing, he began to notice foreign messages were being written in it by a vandal: "Pierce the heart with the sword of gold! Set it ablaze and sear the wound with the blade! Kill the dragon, Francisco! Kill the dragon before it gets you again, before it consumes you." Armed only with his holy sword and the magic he learned before becoming a butler, he sets out to find who this individual is, what he wants, and which dragon they refer to, as such beasts were seemingly not allowed into the realm of Lady Scarlet. I hope you enjoy this find, and even if you don't, appreciate my work transcribing the pages, molded, stained with, or written in, blood.(This story is a Writathon project.)

30.62 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-29 17:46

Comfort Blanket

Astrille | horror | Complete

The only thing scarier than being alone in the dark, is not being alone in the dark. Alice had always been good at keeping secrets. However, when a young man mysteriously disappears, a catastrophic series of events are triggered, threatening to upend Alice's seemingly quiet life. Haunting memories of her past threaten to make themselves known. A childhood protector turns predator, threatening to defend her from all threats  No matter the cost. Can she navigate the dangers of the unpredictable present? More importantly, is her secret worth dying for?

21.53 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-29 17:48

Godpunk: A Tale of Swords, Sorcery, and the No-Good Journalist Who Saw It All

BillyHiggins | horror | Complete

The world is ending, and it's all George's fault. Can the ace reporter figure out who's trying to kill the universe? Can he deal with the metal dragon, Death Cult, and Angel of Death he meets along the way? It doesn't matter, if he doesn't care. It doesn't matter if he gives up on the world.

47.45 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-29 17:52

Other-Terrestrial Episode 1 - "Leviathan"

NolanConrey | horror | Complete

The Sapient Union city-ship Craton, twenty-five light years out from Sol have an encounter with a terrifying life-form. The giant entity, known as a Leviathan, has been asleep for deep ages of time, but now . . . they may have woken it up. Other-Terrestrial is a hard sci-fi story with cosmic horror elements.

15.57 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-29 17:53

Next Dawn

forevercelest | horror | Complete

The second story published on RR, with a complete change in genre, compared to the first story uploaded. This story is about the adventure of Jasper. Being lost in the deep ocean, nonetheless, did he not lose any hope. What awaits him at dawn? How will he fight?

0.26 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-25 11:57

into the water

Robin Autumns | horror | Complete

A boy thinks he's getting away this time, but nature won't let him.

0.60 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-25 11:56

Promise

Orb of Night | horror | Complete

A Cold and Cruel world besiege the dammed as everything dies off. A Collection of Grimdark & Horror Stories.

1.52 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-25 14:33

No One Like/s Albert

fsarbolaez | horror | Complete

A man lives his life in Boca del Locura County, with no actual social life to speak of, but not exactly by choice. One day, he overhears his supervisor and coworkers talk about something that might be connected to peculiar and disturbing circumstances, which has haunted him throughout his life. This moment of eavesdropping quickly sends him colliding into a confrontation with tragic consequences. (Content Warning: Contains abuse, other traumatic experiences, and a moment of gore)

2.61 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-25 14:36

Wander West, in Shadow

CloverCloverClover | horror | Complete

BOOK 1 COMPLETED A young wizard journeys west, through dark forests and dangerous lands, searching for something. Accompanied by a wild witch who has secrets of her own, they come across terrible creatures, hauntings, cursed villages, and memories from their past. Who else will they meet along their journey, and to find what he is looking for, how far will the wizard have to wander west? NOTE: The above synopsis is intentionally written to be as spoiler-free as possible. If you would like a more in-detail synopsis, one that contains minor spoilers, please check out the "Synopsis" chapter at the beginning of this fiction. If you read and enjoy, please leave a rating or review! FORMERLY TITLED: THE GLIMMERLING This story was formerly titled "The Glimmerling", because the first part was a short story of that title; it has since been expanded upon, thus the title change. Chapters 1-8 (30k words) are the first 'arc', if you want to get a feel for the story. To give some context on the setting: Magic is a bit weaker in this story than you might be used to, and we start off following some relatively new magic users. For some perspective, being able to light a campfire with magic is considered relatively advanced for someone who is the age of the main character. Magic can become very powerful - and there are some examples of powerful wizards within this story - but it's not where the main characters are yet. Part of the story is about following them as they learn more about magic. Enemies are also very dangerous, and running, hiding, or trying to talk their way out of a dangerous situation is often a better choice than fighting for the characters. While I have added tags for traumatizing content, sexuality, violence, swearing, etc. I try to avoid super-explicit descriptions of these things. But they are part of the story.

228.03 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-27 16:26

An Unwilling Monster

cathfach | horror | Complete

In the city of Kholakel, the highlight of the year for the upper classes is the annual monster pacification of the misty woods. Ostensibly it's a culling of the monster population to prevent them encroaching on urban areas, but it's an open secret that it's actually treated as more of a blood sport, the participants competing to score the most kills. After all, why else would the politicians and elites of the city bother to attend personally? Given the intense competition and high-tech weapons and gear in use, one might wonder how the forest has not yet been completely depopulated. As this year's culling approaches, a group of unfortunate children are about to discover the answer first-hand, but thanks to an unexpected twist of fate, one of them will score the chance to play the role of the hunter instead of the prey. This was an attempt at writing something darker than my usual fare. The story I actually ended up with isn't as mean to the MC as I'd originally planned out, to the point that I'm not sure the story deserves the horror/grimdark tags anymore, but this is still an unfair world with unambiguously evil antagonists. Chapters are short to start with, but get longer once the first act is over. Published here and Scribble Hub.

34.37 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-11 16:03

[OLD VERSION] Netherborne Book 2

XKARNATION | horror | Complete

Book one of this novel is being reuploaded after a round of professional editing: Here Victor awakens in a new world with a body taller than the trees, composed of pure darkness and far too many eyes. He had become a Netherborne, a legendary creature from the void that does not tire nor die. Instead, they consume all that lives until there is no more. Legends say when a Netherborne is summoned to the mortal plane, civilizations that stood for centuries are toppled overnight while their nobles evacuate to the seas. As a being from the void, the world fights his existence. However, resistance is futilethe prey can only run. But what happens when a human mind inhabits such a creature? Does only destruction await, or will there be a new age of civilization? Victor is about to find out. [Kingdom Building] [OP Undead MC] [Isekai] [Strong to Stronger]

69.53 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-27 16:39

I Was a Teenage Necromancer

Dreadwizard Siegfried | horror | Complete

Craven Falls has a serial killer stalking the streets. Amber should know, she's the latest victim. Dead but not gone, her ghost settles in to haunt the cemetery when the literal chance of a lifetime comes by in the middle of the night: a classmate of hers, Scott Havenbrook. Showing up with a shovel, it turns out he's a practitioner of the mystical art of necromancy, and can revive her-for a price. But before he can, they must find the killer in order to put everything right, while a sinister plot takes shape in the darkness. Can they save her before it's too late?

47.38 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-27 16:35