Perhaps it was all those Calvin and Hobbes comics consumed from a young age. Perhaps it was the disturbingly twee illustrations in that one children’s book. Perhaps it was a deep-seated suspicion of magical hats instilled by watching “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice” in Fantasia.

Whatever it was, I find snowmen creepy.

After all, what do we really know about Frosty? A bunch of kids find a silk top hat, and it brings their snow sculpture to life. Then the suddenly sentient stack of snowballs convinces this group of minors to go the local town square and dance in the street, chasing him all over the place and blocking traffic. Don’t forget he thumpety-thump-thumps around brandishing a broomstick like a psycho but vanishes when the cops show up, ominously declaring he’ll come back… someday.

Now we’re forever left wondering if the cute creation the kids made in the front yard is just one possessed top hat away from wreaking havoc in the neighborhood.

I rest my case. Snowmen are sus.

In honor of my chionoandrophobia, Obsidian will release a winter chiller anthology this December that is themed around creepy (possibly murderous) snowmen, and we need your submissions!

All submissions should be spooky and centered around a snowman in some way. “Snowman” can be interpreted somewhat loosely, such as tiny cryo-robots forming a giant snow octopus that ravages a city in search of heat, a child ghost that haunts the city park when it snows, or a sorcerer carving his ideal woman out of the glacier next to his remote hut, bringing a new meaning to the term “ice queen”.

• Length is 2k-10k words.

• Stories can be any speculative genre and should be written for an adult or young adult audience.

• No middle-grade, romance, or excess gore.

• No flash fiction or novellas.

• Must adhere to Quill & Flame’s content standards (Please see this link for details).

• Must be received by 11:59 EST April 30, 2026.