THIS WAY LIES MADNESS: The Digital Guide

This is the digital guide to This Way Lies Madness: Short Stories from the Edge of Darkness.

Here you will find materials which will help provide a better understanding of the anthology, including interviews, features, videos, and blogs, as well as links to mental health resources.

The Anthology

This Way Lies Madness is an anthology project showcasing “madness” in horror in ways that challenge stigma and promote understanding.

Comprising stories and poems which feature representations of mental illness, the anthology is a vehicle for the development of quality genre literature on the theme of mental health from a mix of established and emerging writers.

It provides good practice examples in order to raise mental health awareness and understanding among horror readers and beyond.

With accompanying one-page author vignettes revealing the author’s reflections & personal experience that inspired their work, the book offers a valuable benchmark resource for horror creatives while also offering insights for scholars, social groups, and practitioners… and solace for sufferers.

The Myth & Fiction Podcast

This Way Lies Madness is featured across two episodes on the Flame Tree Myth & Fiction Podcast.

• Part One
  • In this episode you will hear from Lee Murray and Dave Jeffery, the anthology editors, as well as two short stories from the book, alongside a special note from their authors: "The Dark Gets In" by Sean Hogan, narrated by Nathan Chatelier & "A Note for William Cowper" by Sara Larner, narrated by Amanda Benzycry.
• Part Two
  • This bonus episode gives the rest of the anthology's contributors a platform to share their thoughts and inspirations behind their work.

The Author Blog Tour

A series of author spotlights on the Flame Tree blog, where each contributor to This Way Lies Madness provides an excerpt from their work in the anthology, along with an explanation of their experience behind the tale.

Find the series here.

Features

The British Fantasy Society

World Mental Health Awareness Day, 10 October 2025​

Lauren McMenemy catches up with Lee Murray and Dave Jeffery to hear about mental health stigmas and how horror can actually help us.

Read here: Fighting Stigma Through Dark Fiction.

Horror Writers Association

Mental Health Initiative: A panel discussion moderated by contributor L.E. Daniels (chair of HWA Wellness Committee) with Emily Ruth Verona, Kayleigh Dobbs, and Stephanie Wytovich and Lee Murray examines TWLM and the importance of short forms in capturing mental illness through metaphor, structure, internal voice, white space, and other techniques.

Hearts & Wallpaper: Writing Short Form Madness and Horror. Around 71 mins.

Watch below.

Horrifically Well Read, Bled and Said

A discussion on the Horrifically Well Read, Bled and Said Podcast, hosted by Adam & Rebecca Allen who talk with Dave Jeffery & Lee Murray about This Way Lies Madness, including a deep dive into their favourite stories in the anthology. 

Listen here. Around 1h10.

Uncomfortably Dark

Praise

"Horror has had a problem with mental illness – but things are changing. This Way Lies Madness challenges the genre’s often lazy reliance on demeaning stereotypes, tired settings, and hackneyed resolutions. Forget psycho killers, creepy asylums, and the ritual expulsion of the monstrous other. This ambitious and genre-crossing collection brings together a range of authors, from luminaries such as Ramsey Campbell to rising stars of a new generation. Many of them write from lived experience. All of them use horror to bring insight into mental illness. While psychiatric jargon keeps lived experience at a distance, these stories and poems bring it close, with vivid portrayals of the borderland between sanity and madness, and the journey from one side to the other – not just the familiar descent into madness but also glimmers of recovery. We find horror in monstrous but revealing form in the supposed safety of intimate relationships, in the mundane setting of the supermarket, and lurking in the bathroom sink. This much-needed volume challenges horror to do better. It also reassures. Many of us will experience mental ill-health during our lives. This book says: as a matter of fact – and never mind Halloween – you aren’t the boogeyman." Dr Gavin Miller, Reader in Contemporary Literature and Medical Humanities, University of Glasgow

"A mesmerizing and remarkably ambitious mosaic of delicate minds possessed, of spoiled and haunted hearts, of gaping wounds both seen and unseen. This Way Lies Madness weaves a beguiling and profoundly revealing tapestry of psychological terror with such nuance and depth in each collected story." Eric LaRocca, author of Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke

"A powerhouse of an anthology." Benjamin Unsworth, Ginger Nuts of Horror

Mental Health Resources

Global Mental Health Resources

World Health Organization (WHO) – Mental Health: A trusted global hub offering multilingual information, research, and policy resources on mental health, wellbeing, and community care.

United for Global Mental Health: Connects people to international helplines and mental health support in countries around the world; focuses on global awareness and stigma reduction.

International Association for Suicide Prevention (IASP): Provides a global directory of crisis centres and hotlines, available in multiple languages and regions.

Befrienders Worldwide: A network offering free, confidential emotional support to people in distress across more than 30 countries.

Open Counseling – International Helpline Directory: Comprehensive, constantly updated list of emotional-support hotlines and mental health services worldwide.

Mental Health Innovation Network (MHIN): A global community sharing research, resources, and innovative practices to improve mental health systems and access globally.

Mental Health Global Network (MHGN): International initiative promoting trauma-informed education, workplace wellbeing, and global mental health advocacy.

Find a Helpline (Global Crisis Directory): Verified global helpline directory supported by IASP and WHO — helps anyone find immediate mental health support by country.

UK Mental Health Resources

Mind: Provides information, helplines, and support for people living with mental health problems and those supporting them.

Mental Health Foundation: Focuses on prevention and public understanding of mental health, offering research, guides, and practical wellbeing advice.

Rethink Mental Illness: Offers support services, campaigning, and advice for people severely affected by mental illness and their carers.

Mental Health UK: Brings together four national charities to improve awareness, provide resources, and connect individuals with help across the UK.

Hub of Hope: A UK-wide database and app that helps users find local mental health services quickly and confidentially.

Shout (24/7 Text Support): Free, confidential text service offering round-the-clock support for anyone in distress. Text SHOUT to 85258.

NHS – Urgent Mental Health Help: Official NHS page explaining what to do if you or someone you know needs urgent or emergency mental health support.

Samaritans: Available 24/7 for anyone feeling distressed or struggling to cope. Call 116 123 (free, UK & Ireland).

Self-Help and Education

Five Steps to Mental Wellbeing (NHS): Evidence-based strategies for improving mental wellbeing through connection, activity, mindfulness, and learning.

How to Support Someone with a Mental Health Problem: Practical advice on recognising distress and providing empathetic, informed support to others.

Creative & Lived Experience Resources

These resources support creatives who draw on lived experience, write about mental illness, or explore emotional and psychological themes in their art. They promote safe, authentic, and compassionate creative practice.

ArtsMinds: A wellbeing hub for people in the creative industries, offering information and support on mental health, performance pressure, and life challenges in the arts.

Creative Wellbeing Workshops (Mental Health Foundation): Explores creativity as a tool for recovery, connection, and self-expression. Ideal for artists, writers, and educators working with mental health themes.

The Recovery College Collective: A peer-led educational community where people with lived experience of mental illness co-produce creative courses exploring recovery and expression.

The National Centre for Creative Health (NCCH): Promotes the role of creativity in wellbeing and healthcare. Provides resources on integrating the arts into mental health awareness and practice.

Trauma-Informed Creative Practice: Practical guidance for writers, educators, and facilitators on how to approach creativity and storytelling with sensitivity to trauma and lived experience.

The Blurt Foundation: Focuses on self-care, creativity, and communication for people living with depression. Offers practical tips, reflective prompts, and creative wellbeing tools.

Mindframe: Provides evidence-based guidance for creators and media professionals on portraying mental illness and suicide safely and responsibly in storytelling.

Time to Change: Though the campaign formally ended, its extensive archive remains a valuable resource on reducing stigma and portraying mental illness authentically.

Creative Lives: Supports and celebrates everyday creativity as a path to mental wellbeing. Offers case studies, community projects, and wellbeing frameworks for artists.

The Mighty – Mental Health Community: Online community where people share personal stories of living with mental illness — a great example of lived experience narratives that destigmatise “madness.”

BBC – Mind Set for Artists: Video and article series on managing creative stress, imposter syndrome, and the emotional demands of artistic work.

If You or Someone You Know is in Crisis

Visit https://findahelpline.com for a verified global directory of mental health helplines by country.

If you are in immediate danger or crisis, contact your local emergency number right away.