Analogue of Horror

1. Introduction to Current Works and Works in Progress
2. Haunted Places: Myrtles Plantation
3. Serial killer Highlight Hell's Belle: Belle Gunness
4. Cinema-Horror Highlight: Companion
5. Artist Highlight: Bridgett Nelson: Red Inside
6. On Writing

Michelle lan, a proud native of New England and a self-proclaimed horror fanatic, delves fearlessly into the depths of suspense, thrillers, and the eerie arts. In her spare time, she diligently sharpens her skills as a creative writer, aspiring to breathe life into three-dimensional, emotionally resonant characters who will captivate readers and lead them on unforgettable journeys. One can also find her on...

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https://substack.com/@michelleian682329?r=2b9w82&utm_medium=ios&utm_source=profile

You find out your childhood friend might just be a serial killer. What would you do? Try to kill him? Or report him to the police that you know won't be able to contain him?

Gabriel Connolly struggles with what’s right. Then, when he’s faced with pure evil, and realizes he has no choice, he tries to drown his soul-less friend in a river. But evil doesn't die.

And that’s just the start of Gabriel's new nightmare. You can’t cheat death, that’s the catch. Even worse, Gabriel realizes he may have passed on supernatural gifts to a heartless killer.

As fiendish plans and unspeakable atrocities are set in motion, Gabriel learns that he alone may hold the key to a series of terrifying events: a secret cabin in the woods, a hidden tomb housing a trail of dismembered corpses, the young killer who lingers in a coma intent on cheating death. And at last, a depraved madman hellbent on saving his only son’s life. Can Gabriel take back the gifts given and triumph over the wicked? And most importantly, will death lay claim in the end?

The Dominant One is a sinister standalone suspense. If you like conflicted heroes, violent plots, and supercharged villains, then you’ll love Michelle Ian’s eerie genre bending suspense horror.

"Reality, memory, and the dark side of dreaming collide in The Dominant One by Michelle Ian, a spiraling work of supernatural horror that hooks hard from the very first chapter. A wise protector with a hidden power finds himself on a desperate rescue mission in the Arizona mountains, haunted by the fatal fallout of his own tragic heroics. With a hypnotizing plot and enthralling, suspenseful prose, this is a sinister masterpiece of modern horror, with surreal sequences of mind-bending descriptions, dream-world battles, a corpse-swallowing void, and a psychotic killer who can terrorize outside of space and time. A disturbing escape, Ian knows precisely how to craft a thriller to make one turn the pages even as the book gets darker and more foreboding." Self-Publishing Review. ★★★★½

The Myrtles Plantation, built in 1796 by General David Bradford, also known as “Whiskey Dave,” originally went by the name Laurel Grove. The general lived alone until his wife, Elizabeth, and their children joined him from Pennsylvania. After the general’s death in 1808, the plantation was managed by his daughter, Sara Mathilda, and her husband, Clark Woodruff, on behalf of Elizabeth.

In 1851, the plantation was sold to Ruffin Gray Stirling, who undertook an expensive remodel, nearly doubling the size of the home. It was also around this time that the plantation was renamed The Myrtles Plantation. Upon Stirling’s death in 1854, the property passed to his wife.

The plantation changed ownership several times over the years, with notable owners including Harrison Milton Williams, who bought it in 1891, and Teeta Moss, the current owner. Today, The Myrtles Plantation operates as a popular bed and breakfast, known for its beautiful European-style decor, including hand-painted stained glass, Aubusson tapestries, Baccarat crystal chandeliers, and Carrera marble mantels. It sits on 10 acres of land, surrounded by live oaks.

The plantation has a storied history filled with rumors of restless spirits. Among them is Chloe, a former slave and mistress of Clark Woodruff, who is said to haunt the house. According to legend, she was punished by Woodruff for listening at the door to his study, resulting in her ear being cut off. In revenge, she poisoned a cake, killing the family members, except Clark. Chloe was hung for her crime. Other ghosts reportedly include two murdered children and William Drew Winter, an attorney who died on the 17th step of the stairs after being shot by a stranger in 1871. Visitors and staff alike claim to hear his footsteps echoing through the house. The grand piano, too, is said to play on its own, repeating the same haunting chord.

Despite the ghostly occurrences, The Myrtles Plantation remains a popular destination for parties, corporate events, seminars, and retreats. The plantation has one guest room on the first floor, five on the second, and six more on the grounds. While it offers top-notch service and delicious meals, many guests struggle to stay the full night due to the frequent paranormal happenings.

Belle Gunness, born Brynhild Paulsdatter Størset in Norway on November 11, 1859, moved to Chicago in 1881, where she adopted the name Belle Petersen. She worked as a maid and butcher, known for her strength and her knowledge of meat cutting from her farm upbringing. In 1884, she married fellow Norwegian immigrant Mads Sorenson. The couple owned a candy shop, but after a fire destroyed the store, Belle collected the insurance money, despite investigators finding no evidence of an exploded kerosene lamp as the cause.

Tragedy struck again when their two infant children died from acute colitis—symptoms similar to poisoning by strychnine. Both children were insured, and Belle collected the payouts. She encouraged Mads to take out additional life insurance, and when he died mysteriously on the day the policies overlapped, Belle gained more money. She then bought a farm in La Porte, Indiana, in 1901.

In 1902, Belle remarried Peter Gunness, a widower with two daughters, but both of his daughters died shortly after the marriage, and Peter himself died eight months later from a bizarre accident where a sausage grinder supposedly fell on his head. Belle was left with a sizable insurance payout.

Soon after, Belle began placing lonely hearts ads in Norwegian newspapers, seeking a wealthy man to marry. Numerous men responded, visited her farm, and vanished without a trace. They often withdrew large sums of money before disappearing. One man, Andrew Helgelien, grew suspicious when his brother went missing after visiting Belle. Upon questioning, Belle claimed she didn't know him and that he had left her farm.

In April 1908, Belle’s farmhouse burned down, and the authorities discovered the bodies of three children and a woman—whose head was missing. When former farm employee Ray Lamphere was arrested for arson and murder, he confessed that he had helped Belle bury body parts around the property, though he claimed he didn’t kill anyone. Lamphere also stated that the body found in the house was not Belle’s but her housekeeper’s, and that Belle had likely escaped to Chicago.

A search of the farm revealed multiple “soft depressions” where burlap sacks filled with dismembered body parts were buried, 11 bodies were found in her hog pen. Possibly, 40 plus people.

Over time, authorities stopped counting the remains, and people in La Porte were horrified by the scale of Belle’s crimes. Lamphere, who was later sentenced to prison, died of tuberculosis and reiterated his claim that Belle had faked her death in the fire.

While some believe Belle faked her death and escaped to live under a new identity, the body found in the fire could have been Belle’s, with her head missing due to the severe effects of the fire. There’s speculation that she may have been a victim of “thermal amputation,” where the heat causes body parts to burn at different rates. Whether Belle Gunness truly escaped or died in the fire remains unsolved, and sightings of her have continued for decades. The mystery of "Hell’s Belle" endures.

A young woman, Iris, recalls meeting her boyfriend Josh for the first time. Later, they travel to an isolated lakehouse to meet friends Kat, couple Eli and Patrick, and Sergey, Kat's boyfriend who owns the house. The next day, Sergey attempts to sexually assault Iris at the lake and Iris kills him in self-defense. Blood-soaked and panicked, she returns to the house, attempting to explain what happened. Josh tells her, "Iris, go to sleep", shutting her down.

-Review-

Watching Companion feels like staring into the future—an unethical and rather detached future where the line between human and machine isn’t just blurred, but almost entirely erased. Set in a near future where artificial companions are seamlessly integrated into everyday life, this film doesn't just entertain—it forces us to reflect on how close we are to reaching this point in reality.

The premise is simple but unsettling: a group of friends go on a weekend getaway, only to find out that one of them is not human but a highly sophisticated companion robot. This revelation spirals into a thriller that explores trust, companionship, and the complex moral landscape of a world where humans are increasingly surrounded by artificial beings, prisoners to mankind and the deadly consequences.

Once an operating room registered nurse, Bridgett Nelson so enjoyed playing with human organs, she decided to turn her macabre interest into a horror writing career. She loves bubble baths (because nothing says spooooky writer like orange-scented bubbles), hates not knowing what’s swimming in the water with her, lives for Halloween season (but loathes chainsaw-wielding dudes in haunted houses), adores her West Virginia University Mountaineers, is very pro-Oxford comma, and thinks bananas are absolutely disgusting.

Her first collection, A Bouquet of Viscera, is a two-time Splatterpunk Award winner, recognized both for the collection itself and its standout story, "Jinx." Deadgirl, the novelization of the cult classic film, is now available from Encyclopocalypse Publications and includes forewords from the films actors, Noah Segan and Shiloh Fernandez, a Q&A from screenwriter, Trent Haaga, and a fan fiction piece from noted horror author, Jeff Strand. Her latest collection, Embracing the Profane, includes fifteen extreme stories that play on Bridgett's dark humor and twisted brain. She is also the author of Poisoned Pink, What the Fuck Was That?, Sweet, Sour, & Spicy, and Red Inside, a finalist in the 2025 Books of Horror Indie Brawl.

Her work has appeared in multiple anthologies, including the iconic Deathrealm Spirits, Crystal Lake's Hotel Macabre, Edward Lee's Erotic Horror for Horny Housewives, The Rack, GhabaGhoul, To Hell and Back, Evil Little Fucks, Y'all Ain't Right, Splatterpunk's Basement of Horror, Dark Disasters, October Screams, American Cannibal, A Woman Unbecoming, and the legendary Splatterpunk Zine.

Bridgett is working on her first original novel, a sequel novel to her most popular short story, and a collaborative novel with a very funny writer.

When Edward Lee read her story "Giggly," available in the Poisoned Pink collection, he said to her:

"Giggly kicked my ass. Outstanding job! I need therapy now."

Bridgett is mom to Parker and Autumn, three pugs, a Saint Bernard, and a ball python. She is a 2022 Michael Knost WINGS award nominee, won second-place in the '22 Gross-Out contest at KillerCon in Austin, Texas, and third-place in the ’23 Gross-Out contest.

She's a freelance editor. Audiobook proofer. Bookworm. Dog lover. Tarantula whisperer. Bra avoider. ENJF. Amaretto Sour obsessor.

Bridgett currently lives in Duluth, Minnesota, with Bram Stoker Award-winning author, Jeff Strand, and their ball python, Indie Hellspawn McFangy Serenity Strand.

Bethany can’t wait for the end of her hospital shift – four glorious days of relaxation await. Secretly, she’s most excited about the fun-filled nights reveling in an unexpected flirtation with her co-worker, Michelle. Thoughts of her long, cozy weekend vanish, however, when Francisco Delgado is admitted to her floor from the emergency room. Delgado, a man who came into contact with an unknown arachnid species in South America, and who now has something…squirming…beneath his skin.

Initially a medical curiosity, the case rapidly turns into a full-on body horror nightmare…one with eight legs, a deadly set of fangs, and the ability to spread through the hospital at a terrifying pace. Trapped inside the building under a rifle-enforced quarantine, Bethany, Michelle, and the rest of the staff must do whatever it takes to survive the grisly night, defending their patients against an unstoppable menace…one who seeks out the weakest prey.

We're all red inside, and tonight the proof will be splashed all over the hospital corridors.

Bridgett Nelson's mother wonders when she will mend her wicked ways and write something nice. Red Inside is not that book.

Love- And- Disgust! This grotesque tale tickles one in all the right places... You'll want a shower and a few cocktails after reading the carnage inflicted by this (killer) arachnid. Imagine this unleashed within your very own workplace walls, trapped and terrified while also crushing on a certain coworker... What fun! There's no where to run and no means of escape from this mega creepy crawly. Brain busting, bursting, oozing, bloodied, vomitous, vile and fast paced thrill ride.... Yes, we are all truly RED INSIDE...

-https://www.hauntedrooms.com/louisiana/haunted-places/haunted-hotels/the-myrtles-plantation

-https://www.ranker.com/list/facts-about-belle-gunness/amandasedlakhevener

-https://www.historicmysteries.com/history/belle-gunness/27943/

-https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Companion_(film)

-https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B08D36NFNP/about

-Bridgett Nelson Author (American Author)