Editor's Note
October 30, 2026
Welcome, welcome all to a very special and much-anticipated issue of Carmina Magazine: this is our first themed mini-issue and one that I have been very excited for. It's spooky season, and I am so over the moon to get to introduce you all to our special "Monsters & Cryptids" installment, featuring a great lineup of diversely creepy, frightening, and monstrous pieces.
As always, we have a wonderfully wide range of narratives contained within. Some pieces feature familiar figures from a variety of myths and legends—ghosts and vampires, witches and werewolves, various other monsters of differing shapes and sizes. Some pieces, on the other hand, approach the themes of the season through other lenses, taking the form of personal ghost stories, tales rooted in local folklore, and more, leaning into the overall atmosphere of spooky season rather than centering one particular monster or monstrous creature.
Whatever form they take, all of these pieces are delightfully resonant in their own way, and I hope they linger long in your bones and in your minds after you are done reading.
Thank you all for being here again. I am so appreciative of your stories, your readership, and your support.
Until next time,
Clarabelle Miray Fields
Founder and editor-in-chief