Short Stories
Fixins for Dinner
Gates of Hell Unleashed
The Fear House 12/02/2025
Part Three of the best-selling Gates of Hell series returns. GATES OF HELL UNLEASHED is a powerhouse horror anthology that throws open the infernal gates and invites readers to journey through the darkest corners of the human soul—and far beyond. Curated by The Fear House, this collection delivers a relentless barrage of chilling, imaginative tales. Twice before in this epoch, the gates of hell have been opened upon the earth to release terrible nightmares, a sly whisper of evil slithering into the very air and permeating the world with decay. For the third time, a crack has appeared between the inferno and our world, and the nights grow blacker as sinister forces slip through, setting right things to wrong, bringing forth the madness of men. Every terror imaginable comes to life as the darkness of the human soul is pulled toward iniquity. It is a time for hellspawn to feed, for the sickly souls to rise out of hiding and show what is buried inside. When you stare too long into the abyss, the abyss may decide to come for you.
Inside, you’ll find psychological terrors and supernatural horrors to dystopian futures and twisted folklore, each entry explores what happens when the boundaries between our world and the abyss grow thin. Whether it’s a doomed Antarctic outpost, a sinister family secret, a post-apocalyptic bunker, or a simple wish gone wrong, the anthology’s stories are united by a single theme: when hell is unleashed, no one escapes unchanged.
With contributions from 20 acclaimed and emerging authors—GATES OF HELL UNLEASHED is a must-read for fans of horror who crave variety, depth, and a touch of the diabolical. Enter if you dare—but remember, some doors can never be closed again.
TOC includes:
Interview with Rookie Burwick, creator of Gates of Hell anthology series
Someone Is Watching by Jack Wells
Specs by Rich Restucci
A Casualty of War by Dave Crerand
The Transformative Power of Love by Matthew V. Brockmeyer
Outpost 29 by John A. DeLaughter
The Sky Burns Brightly by p.j. burgy
Is There an Amazon in Heaven? by Dane Hatchell
Loyal by Jacob Austin
The Place Out at Penkton Forest by Catherine McCarthy
The Bunker by DJ Cooper
These Demons Inside by Nicholas Catron
Fixins for Dinner by Claire Davon
Alice by Marie Lanza
All Pigs Go to Heaven by Richard Clive
The Quarter Man by Brandon Scott
The Pack by Matthew Hollis Damon
The Secret Name of The Sphinx by James Harper
Apple Jack by David Greske
Vodka and Orange Juice by Shane Woods
Suicide is for Suckers by Derek Barton
Excerpt
“Honey, what’s for dinner?”
Samuel pondered the various ways he could answer his wife’s question as he stood in his cold storage room, examining the offerings. The shelves lining the walls glistened with frost, each holding wrapped packages, all labeled and dated with his special code.
If Tasha understood what was in the room, he would be done for—or she would be. He loved her, and didn’t want to have to kill her.
The meat in front of him caught his eye. Samuel picked it up and hefted it. “I’ve got venison, and moose. Are you in the mood for either? The moose might be tough. If you were thinking about that one, we would have to marinade it first. It would be good for tomorrow.”
His “hunting trips,” made the lie easier to maintain. Sometimes he did bring back game, never going beyond the authorized yearly harvests. At least—not animals. Plenty of hunters took more than was legal, and employed various methods to escape detection. Samuel had modeled himself on that, for his nocturnal activities.
Cops noticed violent deaths, if the killer was foolish and let their victims be discovered. However, thousands went missing every year. Those unfortunates fell into the files on a busy cop’s desk and never got dealt with.
An arc of blood spraying as he hit the artery. The man gasped his final breath before Samuel finished cutting his throat…
“I didn’t like the one we had last night,” Tasha said. “It had a weird taste.”
The man had been in the wrong place at the wrong time. Samuel needed to ensure that nobody located him when he was done. He’d carted him back to the house, as well as with his original victim. From the flavor, the man’s diet had sucked.
He doubted his butchery class teacher would be happy if he was ever told how his favorite student had utilized his lessons.
“Sorry, honey. I’ll cook the rest of that buck and leave the pieces out for the wild beasts.”
“Please. Not even my best marinade helped that one. The deer from two months ago was wonderful. Do you have any of that?”
The shrill screams as he stabbed into the fleshy part of her abdomen had been muted by the gag. She’d taken a long time to die, and Samuel had savored every moment. When the light went out of her face, he’d been almost sad.
“Sorry, I don’t. That tarragon and lemon marinade recipe was perfect, I have to admit.” Samuel always marinaded his special cuts, just in case. Tasha didn’t have a connoisseur’s palate, or had never commented on the difference. If she ever went Gordon Ramsey on him, he’d be in trouble.