About Spindle House

Our Mission

Spindle House is dedicated to the storycraft of horror, especially gothic horror, folk horror, cosmic horror, psychological horror, and urban legend. We are firm advocates of horror as a healthy and fundamentally human mode of storytelling. We attest that horror stories heal the soul as much as they horrify the mind, and that there is nothing quite so beautiful as a well-written nightmare.

Our Values

Growth over personal gain. Spindle House is a small press, and we intend to grow over time. That growth includes: increasing payment for our contributors, publishing horror in additional forms (novellas, collections, anthologies), bringing on additional team members, and distributing to wider audiences. Our enterprise needs to be profitable for that growth to manifest, so in that sense we are “for profit,” but personal gain for our team is at the bottom of our priorities.

Respect and fair payment for contributors. All prospective contributors (authors, artists, etc.) will be treated with the utmost respect from the start, whether we publish their work or not. We will never charge for submissions. Those we accept will be paid the highest rate we can afford, and paid promptly. All contributors receive a contract. We will never disclose any confidential information about our contributors without their express consent.

Respect and fair prices for readers. Out of consideration for our wide array of readers, we will provide applicable content warnings for all new works we publish, and we will do so in a way that does not detract from the reading experience of those who would rather skip those warnings. We aim to set our prices at the lowest reasonable rate so that more people can read our delectable nightmares.

Diversity in horror. We strive to publish authors and works that represent a diverse array of all kinds of identities. We believe horror is for everyone, and that horror benefits from the diversity of its stories and storytellers. All are welcome here. You are welcome here. Join us in the shadows.

Our Story

Spindle House was established in 2022 and is based in Chico, California. Inspiration for our name and logo comes from the architecture of the Bair-Stokes House in Arcata, California—a building that looks as haunted as we aspire to be.

The Bair-Stokes House in Arcata, California.
Photo credit: Benjamin Vandersluis

In 2023 we launched a new periodical called The Deeps, geared toward traditional storytelling in horror, which released two issues in 2023. In 2024 we’ve also launched Dark Tales from the Tarot, a regular flash fiction competition guided by the fateful hands of the tarot. We also hope to begin releasing a line of Kindle-exclusive novelettes.

Follow us on social media (links below) or subscribe to our Substack newsletter to stay apprised of our latest submission calls, publications, and other announcements! We’re glad to have you along for the ride, and we certainly hope it is a terrifying one.