It’s easy to forget the pleasure of fascination for the sake of itself and for ourselves, especially from the pre-internet days, when it was possible to have not known anybody else in the world who cared about the things you liked.

Hailey Piper

Why I Love Horror (2025)

ABOUT

Hey, I'm J. Federle

I'm writing hopeful horror, romantic sci-fi, and monsters that are (sometimes) gentle.

I grew up in Kentucky in a big, brick house in front of the woods. Catholic school left me with a love of the macabre, an empathy for monsters, and not much else. (This probably wasn’t the intended effect.) My favorite Star Trek episodes are the scary ones.

I've been pub'd in The Saturday Evening Post, which my dad recognized, and in The Threepenny Review, Strange Horizons, The NoSleep Podcast, and several other places my dad “has never heard of” but was proud about anyway. I'm rep'd by Ginger Clark of Ginger Clark Literary.

My writing →

Find my writing in . . .

WHAT'S IN MY ODDITY SHOP?

Two Monthly Emails

THE AUTHOR. An author update email with details I don't share anywhere else.
THE ODDITIES. Lovingly curated oddities, especially creations from indie authors and small artists.

Why sign up?

AI-Free

I'm here for humans. To the best of my own human ability, I don't share AI-generated content.

Nostalgia

Find that shivery chill of stumbling into something uncanny via early 2000s internet.

Creativity

I'm a creator who loves creatives. Every newsletter is the very best of my own inspiration fodder.

The value of art is not how much it costs and how little effort it requires.

It’s how much would you risk to be in its presence.

Guillermo del Toro

In 2025, I did an oddity list every month. Each one even had a theme! Check out this blog for some highlights.

Expect horror, sci-fi, and dark fantasy book recommendations and reviews—plus a dash of monster romance.

You'll also find recs for indie games, film shorts, music, and art. Sometimes I include weird history too, with emphasis on the Victorian era.

Join me . . .