FOUND-FOOTAGE CARNIVAL HORROR
LETTERS FROM THE ROTTING MIDWAY
Step right up! Everyone loves the carnival. So fun you'll never leave...dead or alive.
One night at the carnival. That's all it was supposed to be. Exposure therapy. But Elliot Voss can't find the exit, he's being hunted by disfigured monsters, and the only person who might know why is a sister who hasn't spoken to him in years.
Mailed to Your Door · 24 Letters Across 12 Months, Tracked · Personalized to You · 30-Day Money-Back Guarantee
How it works
Choose Your plan
Prepay for the year at a discounted rate, or pay monthly.
letters arrive
Twice a month, both envelopes and letters addressed to you, for a full year.
the story unfolds
Follow Eliah's letters until you learn the truth about Husher Creek.
The Legend of Husher Creek
Elliot Voss spent years making his world smaller. No crowds, no strangers, never leaving his apartment. One night at the Evervale Traveling Exposition was supposed to prove he could still be "normal," whatever that meant. Elliot bought one ticket. He walked through the gates. And somewhere between the lights and the music, the exit stopped...existing.
The letters he writes now are addressed to you. About a clock frozen at 7:42 p.m. since 1983, a Ferris wheel that shows riders something unbelievable, and monsters wearing faces not their own, drifting through the midway like they own it. Because they do.
And they are hungry.
Elliot hasn't spoken to his sister Claire in years. But she might be the only person who can understand why the carnival wanted him there in the first place...and what it's going to take to get him out.
What's included
- 24 letters, mailed twice a month for a full year
- Every letter personalized and addressed to you by name
- First letter mailed out immediately when purchased prior to noon PST
- Subsequent letters mailed out the week of the 1st and the 15th monthly
- Every letter tracked, not just the first one
- Maps, field notes, newspaper clippings, and found evidence in every envelope
- A free year-long subscription to HORRORSMITH: The Magazine
- 30-day money-back guarantee
- Prepay and save, or start monthly.
Military-Famly Owned
Horrorsmith: Your Horror Fiction Studio is owned and operated by publisher and editor Lyndsey Smith and her husband, Daniel—a proud military family with a deep love for horror. While they live for a good scare, their true purpose lies in service, community, and creating impact where it matters most. They actively support veterans experiencing homelessness, survivors of domestic abuse, and first responders, using their passion for storytelling and creating fear as a force for meaningful, positive change.
The Dead Letter Dispatches, Horrorsmith's first story letter collection, was created and written by Lyndsey and her oldest daughter, Julia. Each edition of the Dead Letter Dispatches pulls you into a new location where someone is trapped in a darker, distorted version of once familiar places. Their only connection to the living world is you.
Every dispatch is a cry for help. Every letter is a warning. And every new reader brings the darkness one step closer.
Some places don't stay dead. They write.
FAQs
The first letter ships off immediately unless you have selected a future ship date. Subsequent letters are sent every two weeks, for a full year, around the 1st and 15th of each month.
DISCLAIMER: Some limited editions will be all the letters at once. For these editions, there will be no additional letters sent out after the main mailing.
Both! You have the option to pay monthly or to prepay for the full year and save.
No, your subscription does not auto-renew. Your subscription is over at the twelve-month conclusion of the edition you selected. You will need to purchase a new edition to continue receiving letters.
If you pre-pay for the entire year, you have a 30-day money-back guarantee. If you are a monthly subscriber, you can pause or cancel your subscription at any time and then renew it at a later date.
Each story letter edition stands on its own. Pick whichever world calls to you first. However, you will want to read the letters within them as they arrive or in chronological order. Each letter within each edition is numbered.
You cannot switch stories partway through. However, you can purchase a second story letter edition whenever you would like. There is currently no waitlist, enrollment waiting period, etcetera. However, some enrollments are limited edition, which means you can only purchase them during their preorder window.
There are currently no dedicated sequels to our story letter editions. However, we do offer seven-day email editions as extensions of each edition, purchased separately. These focus on some of your favorite peripheral characters or events preceding or following the main story letter narrative.
Physical. Every letter arrives in your actual mailbox.
Yes, every mailing includes a letter addressed to you or to your gift recipient by name
These are horror stories, not family-friendly fiction. Expect psychological horror, themes of disappearance and loss, and content involving child and adult endangerment. We recommend these stories for readers 15 and up, or mature younger readers with a parent or guardian's discretion.
Most of our story letter editions are considered psychological horror with heavy paranormal or supernatural elements. A couple of them contain mild gore but nothing excessive.