Ausiàs Tsel
@ausiastsel.com
País Valencià. Mediterranean Gothic in Catalan/Valencian & English. Fiction in Flash Phantoms. Forthcoming work in Pithead Chapel, Flash Fiction Magazine, Neon & Smoke, miniMAG & Black Sheep. Rejected by better magazines than you. ausiastsel.com
Pinned
The Relief
A story about finding a way out—and not taking it.
ausiastsel.substack.com
"The Relief" has been my most read piece so far. I think I know why: it has almost no horror in it. No monsters, no gore, no twist. Just a woman who finds a void and recognizes it. The scariest thing I've written is existence itself, knowing that you only can play make-belive. Or choose the relief.
Mediterranean Gothic. Work in Flash Fiction Magazine, Pithead Chapel, Flash Phantoms. Stories forthcoming in Black Sheep (Hobb’s End Press, 2026). More at ausiastsel.substack.com #HorrorWritersChat
February 11, 2026 at 8:14 PM
Mediterranean Gothic. Work in Flash Fiction Magazine, Pithead Chapel, Flash Phantoms. Stories forthcoming in Black Sheep (Hobb’s End Press, 2026). More at ausiastsel.substack.com #HorrorWritersChat
She hadn’t opened the chapel since her mother’s funeral. Seventeen years of dust. She expected rot, collapse. Instead: fresh lilies on the altar, still wet. A candle with a flame that didn’t move. Something had been waiting. And patience was the worst thing a thing could have. #HorrorWritersChat
February 11, 2026 at 8:12 PM
She hadn’t opened the chapel since her mother’s funeral. Seventeen years of dust. She expected rot, collapse. Instead: fresh lilies on the altar, still wet. A candle with a flame that didn’t move. Something had been waiting. And patience was the worst thing a thing could have. #HorrorWritersChat
There’s a scene in my novel where a character enters a church during a flood and finds the saints floating face-down. I’ve rewritten it five times. I think the problem is I keep trying to make it symbolic when the image itself is already enough. I don’t trust the silence yet. #HorrorWritersChat
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 8:08 PM
There’s a scene in my novel where a character enters a church during a flood and finds the saints floating face-down. I’ve rewritten it five times. I think the problem is I keep trying to make it symbolic when the image itself is already enough. I don’t trust the silence yet. #HorrorWritersChat
Inherited grief. The things your family carries that never get named but shape every room they enter. I keep circling back to it. It’s not supernatural, but it behaves like a haunting. I’d rather write about ancient gods, honestly. This is closer to the bone. #HorrorWritersChat
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 8:06 PM
Inherited grief. The things your family carries that never get named but shape every room they enter. I keep circling back to it. It’s not supernatural, but it behaves like a haunting. I’d rather write about ancient gods, honestly. This is closer to the bone. #HorrorWritersChat
Mediterranean Gothic, mostly. Coastal villages with too much silence. Saints carved from wood that seem to watch you leave the church. The kind of horror that doesn’t need the dark; it festers under a white sky. I write from the Valencian Country, and the material was always there #HorrorWritersChat
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 8:05 PM
Mediterranean Gothic, mostly. Coastal villages with too much silence. Saints carved from wood that seem to watch you leave the church. The kind of horror that doesn’t need the dark; it festers under a white sky. I write from the Valencian Country, and the material was always there #HorrorWritersChat
Last night I watched Louis CK tell a thousand people that understanding life is useless, and a thousand people laughed because the alternative was worse.
I got bad news right before the show. I laughed anyway. Zapffe and Ligotti would have understood why.
New essay: “The Laughter That Doesn’t Save”
I got bad news right before the show. I laughed anyway. Zapffe and Ligotti would have understood why.
New essay: “The Laughter That Doesn’t Save”
Writing from the Low Place VII — The Laughter That Doesn’t Save
Last night in Barcelona, Louis CK performed Ridiculous to a packed Coliseum.
open.substack.com
February 10, 2026 at 3:08 PM
Last night I watched Louis CK tell a thousand people that understanding life is useless, and a thousand people laughed because the alternative was worse.
I got bad news right before the show. I laughed anyway. Zapffe and Ligotti would have understood why.
New essay: “The Laughter That Doesn’t Save”
I got bad news right before the show. I laughed anyway. Zapffe and Ligotti would have understood why.
New essay: “The Laughter That Doesn’t Save”
101. No fireworks, no giveaways. Just more stories from the dark side of the sea. Thank you for taking a seat.
February 10, 2026 at 11:58 AM
101. No fireworks, no giveaways. Just more stories from the dark side of the sea. Thank you for taking a seat.
Today I’ve seen this live in Barcelona. I can’t write it right now ‘cause -not related- I’ve recived some bad news just before entering the theatre. But I’m gonna write something about it.
February 9, 2026 at 11:38 PM
Today I’ve seen this live in Barcelona. I can’t write it right now ‘cause -not related- I’ve recived some bad news just before entering the theatre. But I’m gonna write something about it.
"The Relief" has been my most read piece so far. I think I know why: it has almost no horror in it. No monsters, no gore, no twist. Just a woman who finds a void and recognizes it. The scariest thing I've written is existence itself, knowing that you only can play make-belive. Or choose the relief.
The Relief
A story about finding a way out—and not taking it.
ausiastsel.substack.com
February 9, 2026 at 9:00 AM
"The Relief" has been my most read piece so far. I think I know why: it has almost no horror in it. No monsters, no gore, no twist. Just a woman who finds a void and recognizes it. The scariest thing I've written is existence itself, knowing that you only can play make-belive. Or choose the relief.
It's live.
Part One. The chair. The chains. The man who's been waiting.
Part One. The chair. The chains. The man who's been waiting.
The Inevitable Encounter 姤
Part One
open.substack.com
February 8, 2026 at 6:31 PM
It's live.
Part One. The chair. The chains. The man who's been waiting.
Part One. The chair. The chains. The man who's been waiting.
It’s late in the Valencian Country and everything is dark and quiet. The first part of The Inevitable Encounter is programmed to publish while I sleep. I won’t be clicking the button tonight — it felt right to let the text leave on its own terms.
ausiastsel.substack.com
ausiastsel.substack.com
Mediterranean Gothic – Ausiàs Tsel | Substack
Dark fiction from the Valencian Country. Stories and notes in Catalan/Valencian and English: wounded memory, fractured rituals, domestic unease. Click to read Mediterranean Gothic – Ausiàs Tsel, a Sub...
ausiastsel.substack.com
February 7, 2026 at 8:46 PM
It’s late in the Valencian Country and everything is dark and quiet. The first part of The Inevitable Encounter is programmed to publish while I sleep. I won’t be clicking the button tonight — it felt right to let the text leave on its own terms.
ausiastsel.substack.com
ausiastsel.substack.com
The decision is made.
This Sunday I begin publishing my first serialized story on Substack.
Six parts. Six Sundays. Dark fiction.
Someone is waiting for you.
And you have no option. This is… Inevitable.
This Sunday I begin publishing my first serialized story on Substack.
Six parts. Six Sundays. Dark fiction.
Someone is waiting for you.
And you have no option. This is… Inevitable.
February 5, 2026 at 10:52 PM
The decision is made.
This Sunday I begin publishing my first serialized story on Substack.
Six parts. Six Sundays. Dark fiction.
Someone is waiting for you.
And you have no option. This is… Inevitable.
This Sunday I begin publishing my first serialized story on Substack.
Six parts. Six Sundays. Dark fiction.
Someone is waiting for you.
And you have no option. This is… Inevitable.
Me: talking into de Void about posting a short novellette serialized on Substack.
A bunch of strangers that had never read me:
A bunch of strangers that had never read me:
February 5, 2026 at 9:56 AM
Me: talking into de Void about posting a short novellette serialized on Substack.
A bunch of strangers that had never read me:
A bunch of strangers that had never read me:
Reposted by Ausiàs Tsel
Write horror?
Join #HorrorWritersChat a weekly meet-up on BSky to chat about horror and answer four questions/prompts.
Participants can promote their work or other opportunities in the outro.
Next meet up:
Wednesday 4 February at 2 pm ET (USA) 7 pm GMT (UK)
See you there!
#amwriting #horror
Join #HorrorWritersChat a weekly meet-up on BSky to chat about horror and answer four questions/prompts.
Participants can promote their work or other opportunities in the outro.
Next meet up:
Wednesday 4 February at 2 pm ET (USA) 7 pm GMT (UK)
See you there!
#amwriting #horror
February 3, 2026 at 5:39 PM
Write horror?
Join #HorrorWritersChat a weekly meet-up on BSky to chat about horror and answer four questions/prompts.
Participants can promote their work or other opportunities in the outro.
Next meet up:
Wednesday 4 February at 2 pm ET (USA) 7 pm GMT (UK)
See you there!
#amwriting #horror
Join #HorrorWritersChat a weekly meet-up on BSky to chat about horror and answer four questions/prompts.
Participants can promote their work or other opportunities in the outro.
Next meet up:
Wednesday 4 February at 2 pm ET (USA) 7 pm GMT (UK)
See you there!
#amwriting #horror
Reposted by Ausiàs Tsel
A recent cartoon for @newscientist.com.
p.s. my new book of science cartoons, ‘Physics for Cats’ is out now. Links at www.tomgauld.com
p.s. my new book of science cartoons, ‘Physics for Cats’ is out now. Links at www.tomgauld.com
January 31, 2026 at 10:38 AM
A recent cartoon for @newscientist.com.
p.s. my new book of science cartoons, ‘Physics for Cats’ is out now. Links at www.tomgauld.com
p.s. my new book of science cartoons, ‘Physics for Cats’ is out now. Links at www.tomgauld.com
Reposted by Ausiàs Tsel
Looking forward to sharing this story. Many thanks to @ausiastsel.com for bringing some well-crafter horror to our pages. February Smoke coming soon.
“The Hermitage” forthcoming in @neonandsmoke.bsky.social , Issue 2, mid-February. Heat, a stolen rosary, and a saint whose eyes look somewhere you can’t follow.
January 30, 2026 at 4:56 PM
Looking forward to sharing this story. Many thanks to @ausiastsel.com for bringing some well-crafter horror to our pages. February Smoke coming soon.
“The Hermitage” forthcoming in @neonandsmoke.bsky.social , Issue 2, mid-February. Heat, a stolen rosary, and a saint whose eyes look somewhere you can’t follow.
January 29, 2026 at 10:17 PM
“The Hermitage” forthcoming in @neonandsmoke.bsky.social , Issue 2, mid-February. Heat, a stolen rosary, and a saint whose eyes look somewhere you can’t follow.
This story is one of a kind. I didn't enjoy writing it. Not one bit. I think it talks about deep horrors—the worst kind—that we all face in our lives.
I would love to know if it unsettles you too. More than knives, vampires or—I don't know—death itself.
I would love to know if it unsettles you too. More than knives, vampires or—I don't know—death itself.
The Relief
A story about finding a way out—and not taking it.
open.substack.com
January 29, 2026 at 7:42 PM
This story is one of a kind. I didn't enjoy writing it. Not one bit. I think it talks about deep horrors—the worst kind—that we all face in our lives.
I would love to know if it unsettles you too. More than knives, vampires or—I don't know—death itself.
I would love to know if it unsettles you too. More than knives, vampires or—I don't know—death itself.
She lied about what she saw in the hole.
He loved her anyway. That was the problem.
New story on Substack.
He loved her anyway. That was the problem.
New story on Substack.
The Relief
A story about finding a way out—and not taking it.
open.substack.com
January 29, 2026 at 3:19 PM
She lied about what she saw in the hole.
He loved her anyway. That was the problem.
New story on Substack.
He loved her anyway. That was the problem.
New story on Substack.
Rejection from @remainsmagazine.bsky.social — but Andy Cox called it "a near miss." For those who know his work at Black Static and Interzone, that's not nothing. Back to the desk with something close to optimism.
January 29, 2026 at 9:45 AM
Rejection from @remainsmagazine.bsky.social — but Andy Cox called it "a near miss." For those who know his work at Black Static and Interzone, that's not nothing. Back to the desk with something close to optimism.
Marc's flat had a wardrobe he never opened. One day the floor inside sounded hollow. He dropped a coin. Nothing came back.
He put his hand in. Then his head.
"The Relief"
He put his hand in. Then his head.
"The Relief"
The Relief
A story about finding a way out—and not taking it.
open.substack.com
January 29, 2026 at 8:48 AM
Marc's flat had a wardrobe he never opened. One day the floor inside sounded hollow. He dropped a coin. Nothing came back.
He put his hand in. Then his head.
"The Relief"
He put his hand in. Then his head.
"The Relief"
I’ve been away for a couple of days on a little family trip. Fair warning: I’m back with a suitcase full of dread. And a couple of fridge magnets.
January 25, 2026 at 10:23 PM
I’ve been away for a couple of days on a little family trip. Fair warning: I’m back with a suitcase full of dread. And a couple of fridge magnets.
Reposted by Ausiàs Tsel
🎉 Celebrem 30 anys de rol primigeni en català (1996-2026)
#30AnysDeRolPrimigeni
#LaCrida30
#RolEnCatalà
#30AnysDeRolPrimigeni
#LaCrida30
#RolEnCatalà
Celebrem 30 anys de rol primigeni en català (1996-2026)
El propvinent 7 de març commemorem la publicació de LA CRIDA DE CTHULHU (1996) en català tot repassant la història del rol tentacular en català i jugant a dos escenaris clàssics, pensats tant per als ...
www.lapesanta.cat
January 25, 2026 at 9:50 AM
🎉 Celebrem 30 anys de rol primigeni en català (1996-2026)
#30AnysDeRolPrimigeni
#LaCrida30
#RolEnCatalà
#30AnysDeRolPrimigeni
#LaCrida30
#RolEnCatalà