BLACKGUM LAKE Stains a Page In RUE MORGUE Magazine

I’ve been slacking on this one.

With a degree of (welcomed) astonishment, I’d like to note that the latest issue of Rue Morgue magazine (#231) includes a favorable review of The Sacraments of Blackgum Lake (Lethe Press). Monica S. Kuebler writes, “Clint Smith’s The Sacraments of Blackgum Lake offers up a solid reminder that not every cabin-in-the-woods story is a slasher tale—and that our genre is infinitely better for that variety.” 

Read more of Kuebler’s reflections of TSoBL in the July/August, 2026 “Summer Slasher” issue of Rue Morgue.

“Listen” Up: “Watching the Crawl” Adapted to Audible Episode of The NoSleep Podcast

Literarily speaking, this is a professional first: my story, “Watching the Crawl,” has been adapted into a fully-produced episode on Season 24 of The NoSleep Podcast.

Among other mediums, I cut my creative teeth on classic, old-time radio series (The Black Museum…Lights Out…Inner Sanctum), and for intermittent periods as an adult, those shows continue to offer a throwback solace during more solitudinal stretches. To say this is a personal achievement is a weighty understatement.

The NoSleep episodes are a cinematic experience in auditory form, replete with performances featuring a cast of voice actors, sound effects, and atmospheric soundtracks. The cast for “Watching the Crawl” (produced by Jesse Cornett) includes Peter Lewis (as the narrator); Mary Murphy (as Gwen); Ella Boone (as Ashley); and Graham Rowat (as the Officer). Kyle Akers (standing in for David Cummings) is the host for this installment, and his introduction of “Watching the Crawl” begins at the 1h 23min mark.

Settle in somewhere quiet (or perhaps press play on some seldom-traveled backroad), and give “Watching the Crawl” a listen (1h 07min) on Season 24, Episode 12 of The NoSleep Podcast.