Heck yeah it’s Friday! The weekend is upon us, and today we are showcasing the ninth story in our upcoming horror anthology, CHROMOPHOBIA. If you’ve missed previous entries in our month-long promotion, there’s a handy set of links at the bottom of this article. This anthology is loaded with talent, and we hope you like what you’ve seen so far!
Today’s story:
“Golden Hour”
by Kathryn E. McGee
An excerpt:
In the lobby, employees handed out waivers, asking everyone to sign. Liv flipped through the lengthy document, which covered so many possibilities. Slip-and-fall accidents. Headaches and seizures. A trauma advisory if the museum amplified any “intense or violent thoughts.”
“Yikes. This is a lot,” Liv said. “Should we be worried?”
“Just sign it, whatever,” Bethany said. “You want to take photos for that contest, right?”
Liv nodded, floating her pen above the signature line. Bethany had always been supportive of her photography. Today the museum was having a contest for the best photos to be reposted to their social media, which had millions of followers. If Liv’s shots got reposted, her fledgling business could get a lot of engagement.
“Fine.” Liv shrugged like it was no big deal and signed the waiver.
When they got to the front of the line, they handed in their forms.
“Great, now we just need a pinprick,” the woman at the front desk said. Her nametag read, Hi, my name is Allison and I love unicorns. She held up a needle and smiled.
“What?” Liv said, “why do you need blood?”
“To tailor your museum experience using our proprietary Selfie-3000 technology, which enables room customization. It’s what makes the manifestation possible.”
This is another excerpt that we felt best to keep short. Readers will want to head into this story fresh, because this is a narrative of discovery, both for the reader and the protagonist. And, interestingly enough, this is the first entry in CHROMOPHOBIA to take place inside the confines of an art museum. An excellent setting (utilizing some nice speculative sci-fi elements) for an anthology wherein “color” and “fear” are the main focus.
Kathryn McGee has a wonderful author site that you can see HERE. She’s an active member of the HWA, and she hosts their Horror Lit webinar, Skeleton Hour. We look forward to catching up with her work, and hope you do, too.
Want to read the previous CHROMOPHOBIA showcases? Click a title:
“Hei Xian (The Black Thread)” by Frances Lu-Pai Ippolito
“Eat Your Colors” by Sonora Taylor
“Toxic Shock” by Chelsea Pumpkins
“Red Light/Green Light” by EV Knight
Pre-order the special hardcover edition of CHROMOPHOBIA HERE.
Check out part one of editor Sara Tantlinger’s CHROMOPHOBIA roundtable HERE.
[…] “Golden Hour” by Kathryn E. McGee […]