See, when I was a kid, we had a pair of ferrets. Cool but stinky rodents. The ferrets had been together since they were babies. We had them for years, and then one day one of them took ill and died. The remaining ferret would no longer sleep and kept us all awake at night, rattling the cage and making a racket. My Mom filled a soda bottle with warm water and wrapped it in a towel, then placed it in the cage as we went to bed. The ferret curled up against it almost immediately and went to sleep. She was lonely and missed the warmth of her sister.

And I've never forgotten how f.u.c.king tragic and sad that was.

-John Boden.

"One Good Turn"

I pretty much loathe serial-killer stories, and yet the only idea that jammed its talons into my brain for this theme was a serial-killer Santa tale, which made me roll my eyes something fierce.

But then I thought to myself, Wouldn't it be cool to put together a scenario where the serial killer chose the wrong house, a place where an immortal family of blood-drinking demons lived, and then got his just desserts?

So I took that idea, added a suitably ridiculous backstory, gore, and disturbing imagery, and this tale is what emerged on the other side.

-Robert J. Duperre.

"Christmas Wish"

Being the one member of Shock Totem who isn't a writer can sometimes make me the odd "man" out. They're always writing something for this, a review for that, or working on an interview with so-and-so, and I'm quietly sitting there reading slush.

Last year, Ken said, "Let's write Christmas stories!" So while everyone else was talking about it, discussing how they were going to make them available to readers, I decided that I would write a story too, if only just to amuse myself.

The rules were simple: Write a story about Christmas or the holiday season and, somehow, incorporate Shock Totem into it. Simple enough.

I banged away at the keyboard for a short time and came up with "Christmas Wish"-which no one but Ken was ever supposed to read.

Sending it to him might have been my biggest mistake, since he then edited it and posted it online for the world to read. I guess I should be happy he at least edited it first.

It's been heavily updated for 2011, but the core of the story remains the same.

And for the record, you'll note that I was the only one to incorporate Shock Totem into a story. Just saying...

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed "Christmas Wish," at least a little bit.

-Sarah Gomes.

"'Twas the Night"

I've always tried to write the kinds of stories I would like to read, and for my money, some of the most satisfying tales are those that pull the rug out from under you at the very end. I'm always impressed when the last sentence makes me want to turn back to the beginning to try to spot the clues along the way and see whether or not the author played fair with the twist at each step along the journey.

I tried to be fair here while doing everything I could to encourage the reader to think something else was going on. I think I was successful in that, but the true success of any story lies with the reader, not the author.

-Nick Contor.

"A Krampus Christmas"

In the writing group I belong to, The Illiterati, we have a rule: If you don't have something new to share that week, don't bother showing up. Usually I'd use that as an excuse to skip out, but when your group is comprised of some of your closest friends, it's something you don't want to miss.

That rule is responsible for "A Krampus Christmas" accidently coming into existence.

With time running short before our weekly meet-up, I had to come up with something on the spot or face the very real threat of banishment and ridicule. Luckily, I'd read an article about the various incarnations of the whole "Santa Claus" mythology that had developed around the world and through the years. I found out that Santa wasn't always the lone wolf we know him to be today. Turns out, he used to have a partner named Krampus: a goat-like creature who visited naughty children and took them to h.e.l.l while Santa did his thing.

Joyous holiday cheer meets horrific nightmare creature? Yeah, that's right up my alley.

So with visions in my head of a Rankin & Ba.s.s television special gone horribly wrong, I went to work on a story that's convinced it is a holiday fairytale, completely unaware as it derails and starts to get...messy.

-Ryan Bridger.

THE SHOCK TOTEM CONNECTION.

Shock Totem 1 Shock Totem 2 Shock Totem 3 Shock Totem 4 Featuring...

K. Allen Wood The Zombie Feed 52 St.i.tches: Horror Stories, Vol. 2 Epitaphs: The Journal of New England Horror Writers Mercedes M. Yardley 52 St.i.tches: Horror Stories, Vol. 1 52 St.i.tches: Horror Stories, Vol. 2 The Gate: 13 Dark and Odd Tales Hint Fiction: An Anthology of Stories in 25 Words or Fewer Werewolves and Shapeshifters: Encounters with the Beasts Within Vicious Verses and Reanimated Rhymes: Zany Zombie Poetry for the Undead Head Demons: Encounters with the Devil and His Minions, Fallen Angels, and the Possessed John Boden 52 St.i.tches: Horror Stories, Vol. 2 Nick Contor 52 St.i.tches: Horror Stories, Vol. 2 Robert J. Duperre Silas The Fall: The Rift Book I Dead of Winter: The Rift Book II The Gate: 13 Dark and Odd Tales ARTIST BIO.

Silent Q Design was founded in Montreal in 2006 by Mikio Murakami. Melding together the use of both realistic templates and surreal imagery, Mikio's artistry proves, at first glance, that a pa.s.sion for art still is alive, and that no musician, magazine, or venue should suffer from the same bland designs that have been re-hashed over and over.

Mikio's work has been commissioned both locally and internationally, by bands such as Redemption, Synastry, Starkweather, and Epocholypse. Shock Totem was his first book-design project.

For more info, visit www.silentqdesign.net.

SHOCK TOTEM SUBMISSION GUIDELINES.

What We Want: We consider original, unpublished stories within the confines of dark fantasy and horror-mystery, suspense, supernatural, morbid humor, fantasy, etc. Stories must have a clear horror element.

We're interested in journalism, well-researched and emotionally compelling nonfiction about real horrors-disease, poverty, addiction, etc.

We're interested in dark poetry on a limited basis.

What We Do Not Want: We're not interested in hard science fiction, epic fantasy (swords and sorcery), splatterp.o.r.n (blood and guts and little more), or cliched plots. Cliched themes are okay. No fan fiction.

What We Will Consider: Reprints not published within the last 12 months. Author must retain all applicable rights.

Average Response Time: 2 months.

Payment Rates: We pay 5 cents per word for original, unpublished fiction. We pay 2 cents per word for reprints. There is a $250 cap on all accepted pieces.

Rights: We claim First North American Serial Rights and First Electronic World Rights (not to include Internet use) for a period of one year. After which all rights revert to the author.

For more detailed information, please visit us at www.shocktotem.com Digital Edition Copyright 2011 by Shock Totem Publications, LLC.