On a treelined suburban sidewalk, a man wearing a white mask and blue coveralls steps out from behind a hedge.
  • In Bluebeard, a woman stands at a table with her hand resting on the temple of a decapitated head on a platter

    Two Poems by Marta Núñez Pouzols

    While we await the arrival of the giant squid & watch for blue whiskers, we ruminate on a tale as old as the marriage plot, in two poems by Marta Núñez Pouzols. Read the poems.

  • Four chapbook covers featuring collages by Kayte Terry

    The 2024 Chapbook Series is now available!


    CDSOB’s first print chapbook series has arrived! Check out new collections from Juliet Cook, Christine Kanownik, Jonathan Minton, and Michael Sikkema! View the books.

  • A line drawing of a vintage projector

    Friday Feature


    Mini-reviews of horror movies, books, albums, and other cultural artifacts dropping every Friday.

    Now screening: Companion (2025)

Recent Work

In Deathgasm, Brodie sits in full metal gear and corpse paint on a park bench while eating ice cream next to a more traditional-looking pretty girl who stares at him lovingly

The Tar Pit, 88.5 Chicago, WHPK
by J †Johnson

It’s after the end of the world. Don’t you know that yet? Today we tune into DJ Livy Onalee‘s WHPK Chicago radio show & get our cosmic death metal fix.

Published March 21, 2025

A heavy metal inspired logo that reads, "Cul-de-sac of Blood"

Illustrations
by Chris O'Neal

Artist Chris O’Neal recently designed some new metal logos for Cul-de-sac of Blood. Today we present a selected gallery of Chris’ illustration work.

Published March 17, 2025

From the movie Inferno, a red light glows behind paned windows covered in sheer curtains.

Three Poems
by Rich Boucher

“You can hear a calliope in the distance somewhere but you know there’s no circus in town.” Today, we present two confessions & a bitter ending, all in the strange light of sometime past midnight & before a reasonable hour: three prose poems by Rich Boucher.

Published March 10, 2025

In the movie Pet Semetary, Church the cat stands on detritus in an overgrown pet cemetery

Goo
by Laura Shell

A pet cemetery, a cursed object, and a strange substance with a mind of its own. Laura Shell’s “Goo” has it all. Won’t you join us for a walk through the boneyard in today’s feature story?

Published March 3, 2025

In Nosferatu (1922), Ellen sits on a bench at the cemetery beach and looks toward the sea

Vampires
by Shira Dentz

Shira Dentz opens an iris on “Vampires” in our feature poem.

Published February 24, 2025

Frankenstein stands in a dungeon doorway

Shelley's Monster Nears the End of Treatment by Ann DeVilbiss

“I am risen, new form pieced and sewn.” Ann DeVilbiss uses gothic body horror to become both monster & maker in her poem, “Shelley’s Monster Nears the End of Treatment.”

Published February 12, 2025

With a shocked expression on her face, Jamie Lee Curtis as Laurie Strode peers out of a circular window into the masked face of Michael Myers

Glass Globe Triptych
by Natasha N. Deonarain

Glass globe horror dioramas in water, snow & sand. Natasha Deonarain hands us 3 concise, meticulously detailed prose poem nightmares that defy us to look away.

Published February 3, 2025

A mirror over a creek in a lush green forest

They Only Play Minor Chords in Hell
by Matt Shadbolt

Bounce through a portal with us. What could go wrong?

Published January 27, 2024

A black and white movie still from Nosferatu where the shadow of Count Orlok is creeping up the stairs
An image from the movie Candyman, where Candyman hovers vertically in the air near the ceiling in a hospital room
A still from the movie Carrie, where Carrie stares blankly with eyes wide while she is covered in blood against the blue curtain
A still from the movie Re-Animator where Dr. West is filling a hypodermic needle with a glowing green liquid