Jez Conolly
@jezconolly.bsky.social
I’ve got away with words
Books: The Thing | Dead of Night | Seconds
Essays: Routledge Companion to Folk Horror | Scarred for Life volume 3
Horror fiction writer
NEW BOOK: CAPTURE SPIRAL
Aberdeen dweller
He/Him
https://linktr.ee/jezconolly
Books: The Thing | Dead of Night | Seconds
Essays: Routledge Companion to Folk Horror | Scarred for Life volume 3
Horror fiction writer
NEW BOOK: CAPTURE SPIRAL
Aberdeen dweller
He/Him
https://linktr.ee/jezconolly
Pinned
Jez Conolly
@jezconolly.bsky.social
· Jan 17
'Capture Spiral: An Escape From Memory' by Jez Conolly Book Event
Join us for an event with Jez Conolly about his new book 'Capture Spiral: An Escape from Memory'
www.eventbrite.co.uk
A heads-up that I’ll be launching my new book, Capture Spiral, at Somerville Books on Friday 27 March. Please do come along. It’s free but you’ll need to book through Eventbrite. www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/capture-sp...
#HorrorWritersChat
Thank you very much, Gree!
My new book, Capture Spiral, has been at the preorder stage of availability for a wee while, but I’m pleased to say that it’s due to be sent off for print in the coming days, and start shipping in March. temporalboundary.bigcartel.com/product/capt...
Thank you very much, Gree!
My new book, Capture Spiral, has been at the preorder stage of availability for a wee while, but I’m pleased to say that it’s due to be sent off for print in the coming days, and start shipping in March. temporalboundary.bigcartel.com/product/capt...
February 18, 2026 at 8:15 PM
#HorrorWritersChat
Thank you very much, Gree!
My new book, Capture Spiral, has been at the preorder stage of availability for a wee while, but I’m pleased to say that it’s due to be sent off for print in the coming days, and start shipping in March. temporalboundary.bigcartel.com/product/capt...
Thank you very much, Gree!
My new book, Capture Spiral, has been at the preorder stage of availability for a wee while, but I’m pleased to say that it’s due to be sent off for print in the coming days, and start shipping in March. temporalboundary.bigcartel.com/product/capt...
#HorrorWritersChat
I need to stop looking at my fucking phone. I’m addicted to doomscrolling. It’s so bad for my health. I need help. I’m desperate. Wait - what would Jesus do? What was it that he said? Oh yeah: “If thine eye offend thee, pluck it out”. Thank you Lord. Where’s my pen knife…
I need to stop looking at my fucking phone. I’m addicted to doomscrolling. It’s so bad for my health. I need help. I’m desperate. Wait - what would Jesus do? What was it that he said? Oh yeah: “If thine eye offend thee, pluck it out”. Thank you Lord. Where’s my pen knife…
You finally pry your eyes open. You can’t breathe. Burning vines sink deep into your throat and joints. Gilded thorns shear your body open.
You weep. The dreams. They beckon you again.
“I can’t resist any longer. My bloodshot eyes close.”
Continue it.
#HorrorWritersChat
You weep. The dreams. They beckon you again.
“I can’t resist any longer. My bloodshot eyes close.”
Continue it.
#HorrorWritersChat
February 18, 2026 at 8:04 PM
#HorrorWritersChat
I need to stop looking at my fucking phone. I’m addicted to doomscrolling. It’s so bad for my health. I need help. I’m desperate. Wait - what would Jesus do? What was it that he said? Oh yeah: “If thine eye offend thee, pluck it out”. Thank you Lord. Where’s my pen knife…
I need to stop looking at my fucking phone. I’m addicted to doomscrolling. It’s so bad for my health. I need help. I’m desperate. Wait - what would Jesus do? What was it that he said? Oh yeah: “If thine eye offend thee, pluck it out”. Thank you Lord. Where’s my pen knife…
#HorrorWritersChat
Reflections are purely reality. Take this quote from my story ‘Nuggets’:
“A quick grit rictus into the shaving mirror. Christ All bloody Mighty. That face. Seventy-two years of it. He couldn’t remember the last time it had managed a genuine smile. Nineteen forty seven perhaps.”
Reflections are purely reality. Take this quote from my story ‘Nuggets’:
“A quick grit rictus into the shaving mirror. Christ All bloody Mighty. That face. Seventy-two years of it. He couldn’t remember the last time it had managed a genuine smile. Nineteen forty seven perhaps.”
The ground gives in. You tumble down, slamming into dark waters.
You float, motionless. A titanic shadow surrounds you. Its gleaming red eye carves words in your mind.
Horror dreamscapes can be reflections of a character’s turmoil. What’s your favourite dreamscape reflection?
#HorrorWritersChat
You float, motionless. A titanic shadow surrounds you. Its gleaming red eye carves words in your mind.
Horror dreamscapes can be reflections of a character’s turmoil. What’s your favourite dreamscape reflection?
#HorrorWritersChat
February 18, 2026 at 7:48 PM
#HorrorWritersChat
Reflections are purely reality. Take this quote from my story ‘Nuggets’:
“A quick grit rictus into the shaving mirror. Christ All bloody Mighty. That face. Seventy-two years of it. He couldn’t remember the last time it had managed a genuine smile. Nineteen forty seven perhaps.”
Reflections are purely reality. Take this quote from my story ‘Nuggets’:
“A quick grit rictus into the shaving mirror. Christ All bloody Mighty. That face. Seventy-two years of it. He couldn’t remember the last time it had managed a genuine smile. Nineteen forty seven perhaps.”
#HorrorWritersChat
I tend to think, if you’re going to feature a dream in a story, it should act as an indicator of the whole story’s questionable reality. In effect, the whole thing should be beholden to dream logic.
I tend to think, if you’re going to feature a dream in a story, it should act as an indicator of the whole story’s questionable reality. In effect, the whole thing should be beholden to dream logic.
The hall sprouts into a forest, its trees darker than shadows.
Its hum rakes your ears. The skulking shapes leaden your legs.
They draw near. A query bursts inside you.
Are horror dreamscapes a factor in your stories? If not, how would you write a horror dreamscape?
#HorrorWritersChat
Its hum rakes your ears. The skulking shapes leaden your legs.
They draw near. A query bursts inside you.
Are horror dreamscapes a factor in your stories? If not, how would you write a horror dreamscape?
#HorrorWritersChat
February 18, 2026 at 7:29 PM
#HorrorWritersChat
I tend to think, if you’re going to feature a dream in a story, it should act as an indicator of the whole story’s questionable reality. In effect, the whole thing should be beholden to dream logic.
I tend to think, if you’re going to feature a dream in a story, it should act as an indicator of the whole story’s questionable reality. In effect, the whole thing should be beholden to dream logic.
#HorrorWritersChat
In my stories nobody dreams because nobody sleeps. Being alive is the bad dream. The only thing that sleeps is reason. As the old songs say: all the nightmares came today, and it looks as though they’re here to stay.
In my stories nobody dreams because nobody sleeps. Being alive is the bad dream. The only thing that sleeps is reason. As the old songs say: all the nightmares came today, and it looks as though they’re here to stay.
The hall sprouts into a forest, its trees darker than shadows.
Its hum rakes your ears. The skulking shapes leaden your legs.
They draw near. A query bursts inside you.
Are horror dreamscapes a factor in your stories? If not, how would you write a horror dreamscape?
#HorrorWritersChat
Its hum rakes your ears. The skulking shapes leaden your legs.
They draw near. A query bursts inside you.
Are horror dreamscapes a factor in your stories? If not, how would you write a horror dreamscape?
#HorrorWritersChat
February 18, 2026 at 7:25 PM
#HorrorWritersChat
In my stories nobody dreams because nobody sleeps. Being alive is the bad dream. The only thing that sleeps is reason. As the old songs say: all the nightmares came today, and it looks as though they’re here to stay.
In my stories nobody dreams because nobody sleeps. Being alive is the bad dream. The only thing that sleeps is reason. As the old songs say: all the nightmares came today, and it looks as though they’re here to stay.
#HorrorWritersChat
Jez - hiding in Scotland from the Fascists - I write ‘kitchen sink horror’ - the sexiest dream I ever had featured showroom dummies who had taken over the ground floor of my family home. I was about 6 when I had the dream. I woke up screaming.
Jez - hiding in Scotland from the Fascists - I write ‘kitchen sink horror’ - the sexiest dream I ever had featured showroom dummies who had taken over the ground floor of my family home. I was about 6 when I had the dream. I woke up screaming.
February 18, 2026 at 7:06 PM
#HorrorWritersChat
Jez - hiding in Scotland from the Fascists - I write ‘kitchen sink horror’ - the sexiest dream I ever had featured showroom dummies who had taken over the ground floor of my family home. I was about 6 when I had the dream. I woke up screaming.
Jez - hiding in Scotland from the Fascists - I write ‘kitchen sink horror’ - the sexiest dream I ever had featured showroom dummies who had taken over the ground floor of my family home. I was about 6 when I had the dream. I woke up screaming.
February 18, 2026 at 7:04 PM
#HorrorWritersChat
Jez - hiding in Scotland from the Fascists - I write ‘kitchen sink horror’ - the sexiest dream I ever had featured showroom dummies who had taken over the ground floor of my family home. I was about 6 when I had the dream. I woke up screaming.
Jez - hiding in Scotland from the Fascists - I write ‘kitchen sink horror’ - the sexiest dream I ever had featured showroom dummies who had taken over the ground floor of my family home. I was about 6 when I had the dream. I woke up screaming.
#horrorsky
#booksky
A shout out to anyone on here who hosts a podcast/website/etc - I’m available for chats/Q&As about my new book (or my other writing on film, horror) - just hit me up on here. temporalboundary.bigcartel.com/product/capt...
#booksky
A shout out to anyone on here who hosts a podcast/website/etc - I’m available for chats/Q&As about my new book (or my other writing on film, horror) - just hit me up on here. temporalboundary.bigcartel.com/product/capt...
Capture Spiral by Jez Conolly PREORDER
In Capture Spiral: An Escape from Memory, Jez Conolly revisits the haunted textures of a 1970s childhood on the Lincolnshire coast, where faded...
temporalboundary.bigcartel.com
February 17, 2026 at 6:01 PM
#horrorsky
#booksky
A shout out to anyone on here who hosts a podcast/website/etc - I’m available for chats/Q&As about my new book (or my other writing on film, horror) - just hit me up on here. temporalboundary.bigcartel.com/product/capt...
#booksky
A shout out to anyone on here who hosts a podcast/website/etc - I’m available for chats/Q&As about my new book (or my other writing on film, horror) - just hit me up on here. temporalboundary.bigcartel.com/product/capt...
I very much enjoy using BlueSky. I’ve not found it to be especially good for ‘engagement’ (ie promotional purposes) but I’ve gotten to know some nice people who I wouldn’t otherwise have come across. It’s a bit of a faith-restorer. And also much more than the lifeboat I initially thought it was.
a blue sky with a butterfly and the word bluesky on it
Alt: a blue sky with a butterfly and the word bluesky on it
media.tenor.com
February 17, 2026 at 4:39 PM
I very much enjoy using BlueSky. I’ve not found it to be especially good for ‘engagement’ (ie promotional purposes) but I’ve gotten to know some nice people who I wouldn’t otherwise have come across. It’s a bit of a faith-restorer. And also much more than the lifeboat I initially thought it was.
Advertise your account with a gif
February 17, 2026 at 3:28 PM
Advertise your account with a gif
I’m sorry to be rude, but I honestly think that people who support and vote for Reform UK are utter shit. I’ve a feeling that many of them vote that way purely because they keep being told not to. They’re gutter contrarians. They have the values of the football thug. Screw. Them. All. To. Fuck.
February 14, 2026 at 5:04 PM
I’m sorry to be rude, but I honestly think that people who support and vote for Reform UK are utter shit. I’ve a feeling that many of them vote that way purely because they keep being told not to. They’re gutter contrarians. They have the values of the football thug. Screw. Them. All. To. Fuck.
Another track from Melissa Guerts’ second album ‘Maintenance Mode’, due out end of March. Yes, it’s AI generated, but unlike the other slop that’s now widely available on music platforms, I can see real human fingerprints all over this. youtu.be/h2cCwqR5jao?...
temper temper (lumière menteuse) Official Video
YouTube video by @melissageurts
youtu.be
February 13, 2026 at 9:53 PM
Another track from Melissa Guerts’ second album ‘Maintenance Mode’, due out end of March. Yes, it’s AI generated, but unlike the other slop that’s now widely available on music platforms, I can see real human fingerprints all over this. youtu.be/h2cCwqR5jao?...
I’m pretty anti AI, but I’m starting to hear it get used in music in an interesting glitchy, messy way. There could be room for it when used in this way. I can’t deny that I really like what Melissa Guerts is doing. youtu.be/ohaRy3B95wk?...
not because it's romantic (official video)
YouTube video by @melissageurts
youtu.be
February 13, 2026 at 9:45 PM
I’m pretty anti AI, but I’m starting to hear it get used in music in an interesting glitchy, messy way. There could be room for it when used in this way. I can’t deny that I really like what Melissa Guerts is doing. youtu.be/ohaRy3B95wk?...
Caroline and I ‘got together’ on February *13* 23 years ago, so Valentine’s Day doesn’t mean that much to us. We like to do things differently ☺️
February 13, 2026 at 8:32 PM
Caroline and I ‘got together’ on February *13* 23 years ago, so Valentine’s Day doesn’t mean that much to us. We like to do things differently ☺️
Thank you if you’ve preordered a copy of my new book Capture Spiral! Apologies that it’s been a wee while since I first shared details, but I’m confident that copies will start shipping in March. If you haven’t ordered a copy yet, now’s the time!
temporalboundary.bigcartel.com/product/capt...
temporalboundary.bigcartel.com/product/capt...
Capture Spiral by Jez Conolly PREORDER
In Capture Spiral: An Escape from Memory, Jez Conolly revisits the haunted textures of a 1970s childhood on the Lincolnshire coast, where faded...
temporalboundary.bigcartel.com
February 13, 2026 at 7:43 PM
Thank you if you’ve preordered a copy of my new book Capture Spiral! Apologies that it’s been a wee while since I first shared details, but I’m confident that copies will start shipping in March. If you haven’t ordered a copy yet, now’s the time!
temporalboundary.bigcartel.com/product/capt...
temporalboundary.bigcartel.com/product/capt...
#HorrorWritersChat
Cheers Eryn! My aforementioned story Vinegar and Brown Paper will be appearing very soon in the next volume in the BHF Book of Horror Stories series. Here’s the draft cover. Oh, and here’s me according to Chat PG Tips.
Cheers Eryn! My aforementioned story Vinegar and Brown Paper will be appearing very soon in the next volume in the BHF Book of Horror Stories series. Here’s the draft cover. Oh, and here’s me according to Chat PG Tips.
February 11, 2026 at 8:05 PM
#HorrorWritersChat
Cheers Eryn! My aforementioned story Vinegar and Brown Paper will be appearing very soon in the next volume in the BHF Book of Horror Stories series. Here’s the draft cover. Oh, and here’s me according to Chat PG Tips.
Cheers Eryn! My aforementioned story Vinegar and Brown Paper will be appearing very soon in the next volume in the BHF Book of Horror Stories series. Here’s the draft cover. Oh, and here’s me according to Chat PG Tips.
#HorrorWritersChat
It can’t be. I made sure. There was no doubt. No room for error. I don’t make mistakes. And yet, somehow, here I am. Still alive. I look at the day and I think ‘please, not this again’. I’m not supposed to be here. And now I can’t face another attempt. Just in case I fail, again.
It can’t be. I made sure. There was no doubt. No room for error. I don’t make mistakes. And yet, somehow, here I am. Still alive. I look at the day and I think ‘please, not this again’. I’m not supposed to be here. And now I can’t face another attempt. Just in case I fail, again.
February 11, 2026 at 7:47 PM
#HorrorWritersChat
It can’t be. I made sure. There was no doubt. No room for error. I don’t make mistakes. And yet, somehow, here I am. Still alive. I look at the day and I think ‘please, not this again’. I’m not supposed to be here. And now I can’t face another attempt. Just in case I fail, again.
It can’t be. I made sure. There was no doubt. No room for error. I don’t make mistakes. And yet, somehow, here I am. Still alive. I look at the day and I think ‘please, not this again’. I’m not supposed to be here. And now I can’t face another attempt. Just in case I fail, again.
#HorrorWritersChat
You know, I don’t think there is. And the reason for that is, when I wrote my story Nuggets, one of early ones, I deliberately hit every sacred cow I could come up with, so I’ve been there, done that, at the outset. If you read it you’ll need a bucket and a priest.
You know, I don’t think there is. And the reason for that is, when I wrote my story Nuggets, one of early ones, I deliberately hit every sacred cow I could come up with, so I’ve been there, done that, at the outset. If you read it you’ll need a bucket and a priest.
Q3:
Here at #HorrorWritersChat we really do like to peel back those insecurities and fears and expose them to the light. You can do this.
Which scene do you keep putting off? And why?
Here at #HorrorWritersChat we really do like to peel back those insecurities and fears and expose them to the light. You can do this.
Which scene do you keep putting off? And why?
February 11, 2026 at 7:29 PM
#HorrorWritersChat
You know, I don’t think there is. And the reason for that is, when I wrote my story Nuggets, one of early ones, I deliberately hit every sacred cow I could come up with, so I’ve been there, done that, at the outset. If you read it you’ll need a bucket and a priest.
You know, I don’t think there is. And the reason for that is, when I wrote my story Nuggets, one of early ones, I deliberately hit every sacred cow I could come up with, so I’ve been there, done that, at the outset. If you read it you’ll need a bucket and a priest.
#HorrorWritersChat
Small town cannibalism. You’ll be able to hear my story ‘Vinegar and Brown Paper’ in narrated form on the Nocturnal Transmissions podcast very soon. It’s all about biscuits and TV remote controls and the eating of a brain with spoons. You’ll love it.
Small town cannibalism. You’ll be able to hear my story ‘Vinegar and Brown Paper’ in narrated form on the Nocturnal Transmissions podcast very soon. It’s all about biscuits and TV remote controls and the eating of a brain with spoons. You’ll love it.
Q2.
This question is not about the comfortable places that we go with horror. But the uncomfortable ones. The ones that turn us inside out even as we write them. The ones that make us wonder who we are, at the end. #HorrorWritersChat
This question is not about the comfortable places that we go with horror. But the uncomfortable ones. The ones that turn us inside out even as we write them. The ones that make us wonder who we are, at the end. #HorrorWritersChat
February 11, 2026 at 7:20 PM
#HorrorWritersChat
Small town cannibalism. You’ll be able to hear my story ‘Vinegar and Brown Paper’ in narrated form on the Nocturnal Transmissions podcast very soon. It’s all about biscuits and TV remote controls and the eating of a brain with spoons. You’ll love it.
Small town cannibalism. You’ll be able to hear my story ‘Vinegar and Brown Paper’ in narrated form on the Nocturnal Transmissions podcast very soon. It’s all about biscuits and TV remote controls and the eating of a brain with spoons. You’ll love it.
#HorrorWritersChat
Jez in wet and windy Scotland. I write ‘kitchen sink horror’. That’s just how it comes out. I don’t know how to write any other kind of horror. My monsters are entirely human.
Jez in wet and windy Scotland. I write ‘kitchen sink horror’. That’s just how it comes out. I don’t know how to write any other kind of horror. My monsters are entirely human.
OK, so here we go, #HorrorWritersChat bods.
You know the drill. Four questions, repost as many as you like, no links: promo at the end.
First I want to know.
What makes you write the kind of horror that you write?
You know the drill. Four questions, repost as many as you like, no links: promo at the end.
First I want to know.
What makes you write the kind of horror that you write?
February 11, 2026 at 7:08 PM
#HorrorWritersChat
Jez in wet and windy Scotland. I write ‘kitchen sink horror’. That’s just how it comes out. I don’t know how to write any other kind of horror. My monsters are entirely human.
Jez in wet and windy Scotland. I write ‘kitchen sink horror’. That’s just how it comes out. I don’t know how to write any other kind of horror. My monsters are entirely human.
Oh dear, how many gallons of water did it take to generate this rubbish? Also, it looks nothing like me.
February 11, 2026 at 5:46 PM
Oh dear, how many gallons of water did it take to generate this rubbish? Also, it looks nothing like me.
This is the draft cover artwork for the next volume of the BHF Book of Horror Stories. This one will contain my new story ‘Vinegar and Brown Paper’.
February 10, 2026 at 11:15 PM
This is the draft cover artwork for the next volume of the BHF Book of Horror Stories. This one will contain my new story ‘Vinegar and Brown Paper’.
Understanding the Reform voter #428: when they see all of the reasons not to vote Reform getting posted on social media, they think ‘right, ‘cos nobody’s gonna tell me what not to do, I’m gonna fuckin’ vote Reform anyway, just to piss off these clever bastards’. Poundshop contrarian bants, innit.
a man in a suit and tie is smiling in front of a painting of london
Alt: a man in a suit and tie is smiling in front of a painting of london
media.tenor.com
February 8, 2026 at 9:07 PM
Understanding the Reform voter #428: when they see all of the reasons not to vote Reform getting posted on social media, they think ‘right, ‘cos nobody’s gonna tell me what not to do, I’m gonna fuckin’ vote Reform anyway, just to piss off these clever bastards’. Poundshop contrarian bants, innit.
Holy Lord, almighty Father, everlasting God, bless this cross, that it may be a saving help to mankind. Let it be the support of faith, an encouragement to good works, the redemption of souls, let it be consolation, protection, a shield against the cruel darts of the enemy; through Christ our Lord.
February 6, 2026 at 11:19 PM
Holy Lord, almighty Father, everlasting God, bless this cross, that it may be a saving help to mankind. Let it be the support of faith, an encouragement to good works, the redemption of souls, let it be consolation, protection, a shield against the cruel darts of the enemy; through Christ our Lord.
He should count himself lucky it was only boos.
February 6, 2026 at 10:51 PM
He should count himself lucky it was only boos.