Published Stories
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Serial — Chapter One — Edinburgh
Beneath
by the James Herbert Fan Site — 2024
“The vaults made noises. Everyone who worked down here knew that. But scratching was different.”
Something is moving beneath Edinburgh's Old Town. A sealed vault, a missing maintenance worker, and a council engineer who has been told too many times that he is imagining things. A horror serial in the tradition of James Herbert.
Ghost Story — Chapter One — Yorkshire
The Residue
by the James Herbert Fan Site — 2024
“There is a quality of occupied darkness that is distinct from empty darkness in a way that no sceptic has yet satisfactorily explained.”
Three residents of a converted Victorian asylum in Yorkshire each wake at half past two to find the same figure at the foot of their bed. Nadia Okafor is a rational sceptic with a podcast and two hundred and sixty episodes of scepticism behind her. She goes in without conclusions. A ghost story in the tradition of the David Ash series.
Posthumous Sequel — Chapter One — London & Scotland
The Covenant
by the James Herbert Fan Site — 2024 — Sequel to Ash
“The ledger would reach into every institution he could name and several he probably couldn't.”
Eight months after Castle Comraich. David Ash is contacted by a journalist with encrypted files from inside the organisation. The register. The ledger. And a knighted man who can't be moved from the corner of his room. A posthumous sequel to James Herbert's final and most controversial novel.
Open Submissions
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Could be yours
Submit your first chapter and join Beneath, The Residue and The Covenant on this page.
Submit a Story →What We're Looking For
Submission Guidelines
We're not prescriptive about setting or subject matter — James Herbert himself ranged from mutant rats to ghost stories to apocalyptic thrillers. What we are looking for is quality: real characters, real tension, and writing that earns its darkness.
First chapter only
Submit your opening chapter — up to 3,000 words. It should stand alone well enough to hook a reader who knows nothing about you.
British settings preferred
Herbert's work was rooted in Britain — its towns, its landscapes, its particular quiet dread. UK settings are welcome but not required.
Horror, thriller or supernatural
Any horror subgenre is welcome: creature horror, ghost stories, psychological terror, apocalyptic fiction. Make it frightening.
Original characters only
No direct use of Herbert's existing characters or plots. Be inspired by his style and approach — don't copy his stories.
Non-commercial
Published stories are shared free of charge. This is a fan community, not a commercial publication.
We respond to everything
If we can't publish your chapter, we'll say why. We aim to respond within two weeks of receiving your submission.