With a penchant for terror and dread, a publishing company in Bountiful is helping to redefine, support and expand the landscape of horror literature. 

Started in January 2021 by Cody Langille, a retired military veteran, Timber Ghost Press, located at 20 S. Main St., #674, is a niche company, specializing in horror stories and creepy tales. 

“I’ve been writing for over 25 years and the main thing I like to write is horror. So the main thing I like to read, of course, is horror,” Langille said. “I had mixed experiences with small press, publishers and stuff. Some are great, some not so much. I wanted to create [a publishing company] that I would have hoped to work with.”

The company opens for submissions each summer and receives dozens of novels, short stories, poetry, fast fiction and novellas from horror writers. Timber Ghost is another name for elk, which can be elusive. Langille is searching for the elusive manuscripts that will offer readers a creepy, weird and terrifying experience. 

Caryn Larrinaga grew up in Bountiful and graduated from Woods Cross High. She reads and writes lots of horror because she likes the way it makes her feel. She connected with Langille during a ghost hunt at the Benson Grist Mill in Tooele County.

“I couldn’t pass up an opportunity to go on a ghost hunt for the first legit time,” Larrinaga said. “And while I was there, the chapter members were talking about an anthology that they were getting ready to release that they were accepting submissions for. I thought I had a little story for that.”

She submitted her story and it was accepted. She’s gone on to write four novels, a novella and several short stories for horror anthologies. Her novella, “Mousetrap”, won the Silver Quill Award in August.

Larrinaga is a member of the Utah Chapter of the Horror Writers Association, organized by Langille. She believes horror writing taps into our deepest fears and provides the opportunity to confront the darkness within us. 

“I think [horror stories] give us kind of a tangible, actual, literal feeling,” Larrinaga said. “We can feel it in our bodies when our heart starts to race or that sense of relief when that quiet moment comes, or the humor comes. We feel all of that in our bodies with actual physiological responses. So I think that’s what attracts us. We get some genuine highs and lows.”

Langille (who writes under the name C.L. Langille) now works with several horror writers including Scott Johnson, Caleb Stephens and P.L. McMillan, and has a new book coming out in October titled “Branches and Bone”. It’s a weird mix of horror and the Old West. Readers interested in horror can find books at TimberGhostPress.com.

“I think people like to read those stories because it can give you a little bit of a rush, an adrenaline rush, but in a safe manner,” Langille said. “We can read all these scary stories from the safety of our own home and not have to worry about if there really is something in the closet or someone in the house who’s coming to get us. So we can get that thrill but not have to actually live it.”