Lantern author

Karen Cody

✨

First Million WordsFounding word contributor

How it was earned: Published work that helped Lantern reach its first one million story words.

Writing the stories that make you check the locks, question the shadows, and wonder if you'd survive what comes next.

Horror,Post-Apocalyptic,Zombie,Survival,Paranormal

33,150published words across 1 Lantern story

Behind the byline

About the author

Karen Cody writes horror, survival, and supernatural fiction. She likes her stories creepy, her characters flawed, and survival far from guaranteed.

Author marginalia

The fun stuff.

The little things readers always want to know after the last page.

Forever shelf

Favorite books

The author is still arranging this shelf.

In the headphones

Writing soundtrack

A playlist is coming soon.

Tiny author lore

Things to know

If the zombie apocalypse happens, I have a plan. Whether it's a good plan is another question.

On Lantern

Stories by Karen Cody

Zombie Apocalypse

When Everything Went To Hell

Fifteen-year-old Aaron thought he knew what it meant to have a bad day.

Then the dead started walking.

With the world falling apart around him and the people he loves scattered or missing, Aaron has only one goal: survive long enough to find his family. But getting there means leaving behind everything he knows and heading into a world where abandoned roads are dangerous, strangers can be worse than the undead, and one bad decision can get you killed.

Aaron isn't a soldier. He isn't a survival expert. He's just a teenager trying to figure things out as he goes—and learning some lessons the hard way.

How to find food when the stores have been picked clean. Why you should always knock before opening a closed door. When to trust a stranger. And when running might be the smartest thing you can do.

Every mistake comes with a lesson. Some are useful. Some are terrifying. And some you only get to learn once.

Because surviving the zombie apocalypse doesn't come with an instruction manual.