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After three years of building The Stygian Society, we're excited to announce our evolution into something bigger: Stygian Media.

We've reached two and a half years of publishing The Stygian Zine, and Issue 5 is now available. Love Lies Dying  examines what happens when love decays, when it becomes something we no longer recognize. This issue doesn't flinch from the messiness of endings, the weight of grief, or the strange shapes devotion takes when it sours. You'll find ghosts here, both literal and figurative. A woman receives her lover's heart and locks it away. A widow is visited by something that w

The latest updates on our December events and new year plans!

Montréal is a city of contrasts. Stone churches cast shadows over modern galleries. The voices of poets echo in both French and English. From the storied streets of Mile End to the quiet study halls of McGill, Montréal’s literary history is as complex and compelling as the city itself.

Large language models are harvesting written content across the internet, and most writers have no idea their novels and articles are being used this way. The scale is staggering. ChatGPT alone was trained on 300 billion words. To put that in perspective, if you wrote 1,000 words every single day, it would take you roughly 2,740 years to reach just one billion words. The question every writer should be asking is: where did all those words come from?

This October, 13 Haunted Nights returns in a new edition featuring cover art by Winnipeg creator Randall Wall of Artlab Design & Development.

Librairie Phoenix, tucked into the vibrant heart of Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, has been an anchor for literary discovery and community connection since its doors first opened. Just down the street from our old HQ, this bookstore has always felt like both a neighbour and an inspiration.

The Stygian Society originally launched The Order of the Written Word to create a space for human-focused storytelling. After its first year, the community has grown to over 500 members, and it made sense for The Order to become its own independent entity with its own website, socials, and identity. We continue to sponsor and support it, but all things O2W now live under their own banner, allowing the initiative to focus fully on fostering creativity and connection.

Literary Events Manager Sarah L. Pratt brings a decade of experience and infectious passion to Owl's Nest Books, where she's transformed her love of literature and conversation into a cornerstone of Calgary's literary community. A writer herself (author of Suicide Stitch, Infractus, and They're All Named Poppy) Sarah embodies the spirit of someone who lives and breathes books.

Owner Chelsea McKee-Trenchard turned her retirement dream into reality with Raven’s End, a Winnipeg bookstore devoted to horror and its many haunting branches. Curated with both big names and hidden gems, Raven’s End thrives as a community hub where overlooked and unusual stories find space, and readers of every taste feel welcome.

In speculative fiction, dystopian and post-apocalyptic narratives have long served as mirrors for cultural anxiety, political critique, and philosophical exploration. Although frequently conflated, they actually emerged from distinct literary traditions and serve different imaginative functions.

In late August 1967 I gazed from the back seat of a Chrysler Saratoga as we exited a farmyard full of cultivation equipment and assorted outbuildings...

Most people recognize Friday the 13th as a date marked by superstition, whispered warnings, or horror movie marathons. But long before the hockey masks and slasher films, this odd combination of day and number carried a reputation that spanned centuries.

There are few better places to talk about the value of handwriting, paper, and the written word than a pen show named after an obsolete verb. To scrive—to write—may have fallen out of common use, but at Scriven 2025, the act itself was alive and well.

Tell me, when the sun has set, and you’re sitting under a lavender wisteria tree, hands intertwined with the blades of grass, eyes glistening in the shade, thinking about faithfulness that is unseen, will you turn to mathematics to realize your dream?

Most horror readers know the greats—Poe, Jackson, King. But beyond the familiar, there are stories that never gained wide recognition. These works are quieter, more unusual, and often more unnerving for their obscurity

Horror has always reflected the fears of its time. From the Gothic tales of the 19th century to the graphic, psychological horror of today, the genre has shifted in both style and substance. Early horror often relied on atmosphere, implication, and psychological tension, while modern horror tends to be more explicit—pushing boundaries with visceral imagery and unflinching depictions of violence. Understanding this evolution can reveal not only how horror affects audiences but

How does one pick up a pen and paper to write whatever swims in their heart when the mundane tasks of the day have taken over the mind?

The Stygian Society invites you to the first-ever Spring Conclave, a month-long writing challenge focused on time, not word count.

From ravens perched upon crumbling towers to nightingales singing mournful songs, birds have been a haunting presence in gothic literature..