The Dread Literary Review
Ideas from the dark side of the mind.

Latest

23
Jul
“Last Train from Manchuria” by Matthew M. Ployhart

“Last Train from Manchuria” by Matthew M. Ployhart

Pipes, steel, and blinding snow without. The hulking furnace breathes onward, Gasping fiercely into a blinding white. Winds from south,
35 min read
15
Jul
“Bloodford Creek” by Jay O’Shea

“Bloodford Creek” by Jay O’Shea

The way I count it, the night my brother had that run in with the dog was around when the
21 min read
23
Jun
FEATURE: “Jackalope” by Colton Merris

FEATURE: “Jackalope” by Colton Merris

They tell you when you’re quitting anything that it’s normal for the dreams to come. You pick your
7 min read
19
Jun
FEATURE: “Oscarquiet” by Riley Passmore

FEATURE: “Oscarquiet” by Riley Passmore

SITUATION REPORT On the morning of Monday, 03/05/2007, at 08:31am, Concealer MELISSA MARIE BENNET (Asset# OSCARQUIET) failed
4 min read
10
Jun
FEATURE: “Eyes on the Side” by EJ Trask

FEATURE: “Eyes on the Side” by EJ Trask

Derailment, Alex thought, when he felt himself rise out of his train seat against his will.  The train shrieked and
8 min read
04
Jun
FEATURE: “Acquisitions” by Sascha Goluboff

FEATURE: “Acquisitions” by Sascha Goluboff

Tall and handsome with a mind for finance, Bryce Martin quickly made a name for himself in the Louisiana real-
2 min read
30
May
FEATURE: The Poetry of Jennifer Ruth Jackson

FEATURE: The Poetry of Jennifer Ruth Jackson

Woodland of the Fair Folk We were misled, through woods where boughs of pine ate starlight from the ground. Our
3 min read
22
May
FEATURE: The Poetry of E.G. Ware

FEATURE: The Poetry of E.G. Ware

A Hymn to the Mother-Sire What hand first stirr’d the calculus of clay, and bade the mineral think,
12 min read
16
May
FEATURE: The Poetry of Melissa Shepherd

FEATURE: The Poetry of Melissa Shepherd

Sonnet for a Gravestone Not for nothing would I kiss your chloral corpse, grandmother—panic-flung near Fresh Kills (before
3 min read
08
May
SPRING 2026: Lyric and Elegy

SPRING 2026: Lyric and Elegy

Some of you have been with The Dread long enough to remember when this was a looser, less intentional space.
10 min read