Backstage Pass
Logo
The Calamity
The Calamity

THEMED ARENAS

cross

Necropolis of Notoriety

Visit the Haunted Cemetery on the outskirts of the Calamity.

storefront

The Odds 'n' Endings Boutique

Don't forget to stop by the Calamity's ... er, Curious gift shop!

SOCIAL MEDIA

butterfly

Bluesky

threads-logo

Threads

InstagramLogo

Instagram

Backstage Features
Backstage Features
FEATURES

🎟️ Backstage Pass

Every single issue of the Backstage Pass, gathered in one place.

🩸 A Vampire's Vengeance

Read the exploits of the vampires Edgar and Isabelle

πŸ™ Classic Tales of Horror

Modern horror has much to thank to earlier pulp. Read it here.

🎬 Calamity on Cinema

This is what you're watching this weekend

SERIALS

🧟 The Groundskeeper

Relive the Groundskeeper's first night in the Necropolis

EXPOSITION

🀑 JEST

The Calamity Content Rating System

βœ’οΈ Of Monsters and Madmen

On the Horrors of Classic Literature

Login
Sign Up

classic horror


classic horror

πŸ™ MAD Alex Presents: An Occurrence in an Antique Shop

Mar 5, 2026

β€’

12 min read

πŸ™ MAD Alex Presents: An Occurrence in an Antique Shop

A strange carving of strange originals leaves a shop owner feeling strange about it.

M A D A L E X
M A D A L E X

classic horror

πŸ™ MAD Alex Presents: The Weaving Shadows, by W. H. Holmes

Feb 26, 2026

β€’

29 min read

πŸ™ MAD Alex Presents: The Weaving Shadows, by W. H. Holmes

A man goes to stay with his sister and niece, and finds things are not what they appear.

M A D A L E X
M A D A L E X

classic horror

πŸ™ MAD Alex Presents: The Specter Priestess of Wrightstone, by Herman F. Wright

Feb 19, 2026

β€’

15 min read

πŸ™ MAD Alex Presents: The Specter Priestess of Wrightstone, by Herman F. Wright

A story of vengeance upon a bloodline by supernatural entities. One scion wonders, could it be real?

M A D A L E X
M A D A L E X

classic horror

πŸ™ MAD Alex Presents: The Terrific Experiment, by Hurley von Ruck

Feb 12, 2026

β€’

41 min read

πŸ™ MAD Alex Presents: The Terrific Experiment, by Hurley von Ruck

A story of hypnotism where the hypnotized hypnotizes the hypnotizer instead, escaping a just fate and sending an innocent man to the gallows instead.

M A D A L E X
M A D A L E X

classic horror

πŸ™ MAD Alex Presents: Itself, by Seabury Quinn

Feb 5, 2026

β€’

18 min read

πŸ™ MAD Alex Presents: Itself, by Seabury Quinn

A doctor describes the mysterious events surrounding the death of two of his patients.

M A D A L E X
M A D A L E X

classic horror

πŸ™ MAD Alex Presents: The Jelly-Fish, by David H. Keller

Jan 29, 2026

β€’

14 min read

πŸ™ MAD Alex Presents: The Jelly-Fish, by David H. Keller

In stupefied horror the students watched as the hanging drop of water and its living contents, under the microscope.

M A D A L E X
M A D A L E X

classic horror

πŸ™ MAD Alex Presents: Drowned Argosies, by Jay Wilmer Benjamin

Jan 22, 2026

β€’

11 min read

πŸ™ MAD Alex Presents: Drowned Argosies, by Jay Wilmer Benjamin

A man gone mad by the sea and the sun meets sailors from ships long past.

M A D A L E X
M A D A L E X

classic horror

πŸ™ MAD Alex Presents: The Illusion of Flame, by Paul Ernst

Jan 15, 2026

β€’

24 min read

πŸ™ MAD Alex Presents: The Illusion of Flame, by Paul Ernst

A withered stranger from far-off Tibet showed the Great Caprini a bit ofterrible magic that made the blood run cold in his veins. A curious tale, and one not without a touch of horror.

M A D A L E X
M A D A L E X

classic horror

πŸ™ MAD Alex Presents: The Thunderstones of Nuflo, by Ralph Allen Lang

Jan 8, 2026

β€’

26 min read

πŸ™ MAD Alex Presents: The Thunderstones of Nuflo, by Ralph Allen Lang

A grim story of Haitian Voodoo, of revivified corpses, and the gruesome death that stalked the deck of the yacht Oberon.

M A D A L E X
M A D A L E X

classic horror

πŸ™ MAD Alex Presents: The Disinterment of Venus, by Clark Ashton Smith

Jan 1, 2026

β€’

20 min read

πŸ™ MAD Alex Presents: The Disinterment of Venus, by Clark Ashton Smith

A bizarre tale of the strange yearnings and carnal desires that beset a brotherhood of monks when the statue of a pagan goddess was dug up in the abbey garden.

M A D A L E X
M A D A L E X

classic horror

πŸ™ MAD Alex Presents: The Mystery of Black Jean, by Julian Kilman

Dec 25, 2025

β€’

26 min read

πŸ™ MAD Alex Presents: The Mystery of Black Jean, by Julian Kilman

Man trains bear. Woman trains man. Man’s attempts to reclaim man. Man and ex mysteriously disappear. And that’s not even the worst part of this story.

M A D A L E X
M A D A L E X

classic horror

πŸ™ MAD Alex Presents: The Curse of Alabad, Ghinu and Aratza, by Wilfred Blanch Talman

Dec 18, 2025

β€’

18 min read

πŸ™ MAD Alex Presents: The Curse of Alabad, Ghinu and Aratza, by Wilfred Blanch Talman

A Witch. A Parrot. A superstitious, bloodthirsty community. A curse. What could go wrong?

M A D A L E X
M A D A L E X

classic horror

πŸ™ MAD Alex Presents: Fog, by C. Franklin Miller

Dec 11, 2025

β€’

26 min read

πŸ™ MAD Alex Presents: Fog, by C. Franklin Miller

First there was the Mist Monster. Then there were Phantoms. Now there's ... Fog? What are we doing here?

M A D A L E X
M A D A L E X

classic horror

πŸ™ MAD Alex Presents: Phantoms, by Laurence R. D'Orsay

Dec 4, 2025

β€’

16 min read

πŸ™ MAD Alex Presents: Phantoms, by Laurence R. D'Orsay

Sometimes, the horror is very real. And sometimes, the horror is of our own making.

M A D A L E X
M A D A L E X

classic horror

πŸ™ MAD Alex Presents: The Mist Monster, by Granville S. Hoss

Nov 27, 2025

β€’

18 min read

πŸ™ MAD Alex Presents: The Mist Monster, by Granville S. Hoss

Shadows and phantoms and mist, Oh My! What is it about a voracious mist that is terrifying? I wonder.

M A D A L E X
M A D A L E X

classic horror

πŸ™ MAD Alex Presents: The Shadow on the Moor, by Stuart Strauss

Nov 19, 2025

β€’

34 min read

πŸ™ MAD Alex Presents: The Shadow on the Moor, by Stuart Strauss

Sometimes you fight the shadows. Sometimes you give yourself up to them.

M A D A L E X
M A D A L E X

classic horror

πŸ™ MAD Alex Presents: The Ghost-Table, by Elliot O'Donnell

Nov 12, 2025

β€’

36 min read

πŸ™ MAD Alex Presents: The Ghost-Table, by Elliot O'Donnell

Horror? Perhaps. Thriller? Possibly. Absurd? Absolutely. Join us as we share a story of a blood-thirsty table.

M A D A L E X
M A D A L E X

classic horror

πŸ™ MAD Alex Presents: The Dead Man's Tale by Willard E. Hawkins

Nov 5, 2025

β€’

43 min read

πŸ™ MAD Alex Presents: The Dead Man's Tale by Willard E. Hawkins

"An astounding yarn that will hold you spellbound and make you breathe fast with a new mental sensation"

M A D A L E X
M A D A L E X

classic horror

πŸ™ MAD Alex Presents: The Festival, by H. P. Lovecraft

Oct 29, 2025

β€’

25 min read

πŸ™ MAD Alex Presents: The Festival, by H. P. Lovecraft

A sullen town. A nightmare ritual. These are things nightmares are made of. Come join us for the presentation of an eldritch terror by the illustrious H. P. Lovecraft.

M A D A L E X
M A D A L E X

classic horror

πŸ™ MAD Alex Presents: The Shambler From the Stars, by Robert Block

Oct 22, 2025

β€’

27 min read

πŸ™ MAD Alex Presents: The Shambler From the Stars, by Robert Block

The story of a blood-freezing horror, evoked by the magic of Ludvig Prinn's terrible "Mysteries of the Worm," by Robert Bloch

M A D A L E X
M A D A L E X

classic horror

πŸ™ MAD Alex Presents: The Place of Madness, by Merlin Moore Taylor

Oct 15, 2025

β€’

35 min read

πŸ™ MAD Alex Presents: The Place of Madness, by Merlin Moore Taylor

Now we have doctors and confidence, a veritable soup of themes we explored throughout the last few installments. Come find out what happens when a doctor walks a mile in a prisoner's shoes.

M A D A L E X
M A D A L E X

classic horror

πŸ™ MAD Alex Presents: Fear, by David R. Solomon

Oct 8, 2025

β€’

17 min read

πŸ™ MAD Alex Presents: Fear, by David R. Solomon

Do YOU know what you would do in a terrible situation?

M A D A L E X
M A D A L E X

classic horror

πŸ™ MAD Alex Presents: The Extraordinary Experiment of Dr. Calgroni, by Joseph Faus and James Bennett Wooding

Oct 1, 2025

β€’

25 min read

πŸ™ MAD Alex Presents: The Extraordinary Experiment of Dr. Calgroni, by Joseph Faus and James Bennett Wooding

In a follow up to last week’s story on mad doctors, here is another classic horror story involving a doctor with illicit research.

M A D A L E X
M A D A L E X

classic horror

πŸ™ MAD Alex Presents: The Electric Chair, by George Waight

Sep 24, 2025

β€’

32 min read

πŸ™ MAD Alex Presents: The Electric Chair, by George Waight

Death Faced Him--or Else the Grisly Horror of an Unknown Fate.

M A D A L E X
M A D A L E X

classic horror

πŸ™ MAD Alex Presents: The Novel of the Iron Maiden

Sep 17, 2025

β€’

16 min read

πŸ™ MAD Alex Presents: The Novel of the Iron Maiden

More a short story than a full length novel, this is but one of a few episodes taken from Machen's The Three Imposters.

M A D A L E X
M A D A L E X
Load more

The Backstage Pass. Your guide to the Calamity. Don’t miss an issue.

Be our guest. Unsubscribe anytime.

I consent to receive newsletters via email. Terms of use and Privacy policy.

Β© 2026 M A D A L E X.
Report abusePrivacy policyTerms of use
beehiivPowered by beehiiv