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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#117: All Hallows' Eve

October 31st: Halloween — or All Hallows’ Eve, to give it its spookier name. Just an excuse to wear a costume? Or, for one night a year, do spirits walk among us?

The Celts certainly thought so — and many of our own holiday pastimes stem from the methods they used to keep Halloween ghosts at bay. Others, like bobbing for apples, evolved from Halloween rituals for matchmaking and divining the future.

Personally, I prefer to spend the holiday with my nose in a spooky story rather than a bowl of icy water, which is why this week’s prompts are designed to put you in touch with your macabre side. Happy Halloween!

This week's prompts

Start your story with the words “Everything was ready for the ritual.”

Horror – 48 stories

Write about a character who uses a night where everyone’s in costume as cover for something sinister.

Horror – 34 stories

Write about a missing person nobody seems to know or remember.

Thriller and Suspense – 49 stories

Set your story at the boundary between two realms.

Halloween – 69 stories

Write about someone whose busiest night of the year is Halloween.

Halloween – 26 stories

Stories

“The Ritual” by Diana Crispino

Submitted to Contest #117

Content Warning: Blood, Violence Everything was ready for the ritual. Every little corner of the old mansion was decorated to be perfectly macabre. Megan’s slender fingers held the crystal chalice with grace, the dark red wine inside catching the candlelight and giving her the feeling that she was drinking real blood. She found the thought amusing as she blew the ink dry on the contract before her. Not a second of preparation had gone to waste planning the evening's events. They had set the stage for the main event in...

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“Ritual of Bones” by Marie Martello

Submitted to Contest #117

TW:Gore Everything was ready for the ritual. The Bandruí held her lover's bones high above her head. The newly slaughtered lamb lay silent within the circle. Her arms and chest painted with its blood, thick and wet, staining the bleach white bones and the loam underfoot. She twisted her mouth around the words, ancient and old, gripping them with her tongue and releasing them with a hiss. She refused to fail again. She may never be able to bring her lover, Nero, back to the land of the living but she could make sure to rescue him from the ...

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“The Beholder” by Taylor Boes

Submitted to Contest #117

Everything was ready for the ritual.The sacrifice was to be held precisely at 12:01am. Duchess said we were to silently pray during the first heavenly minute of the new year so as to show gratitude to Our Savior before asking for more. “We are to be humbled by our allowance to live and breathe His life,” she said, “and once absolved we may beg Him for another year’s blessing.” I think she said that. In reality, she told the Countess and the Countess told the Baroness, who then told the Dames who told the Ladies who told me. But I imagine tha...

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“I Am The Night.” by Mark Nero

Submitted to Contest #117

I ‘love’ this time of the year! All Hallows Eve… or All Saints’ Eve or… what we call it today, Halloween. I mark my calendar ever year for October thirty first, as it’s the only night of the year that I can be truly myself among normal people. Who am I? I’ll start with who I was… My name was William Smith and I was born near London on the eleventh of January 1666, during the Great Plague of London. My mother Constance had contracted the virus before I was born and fought it with all of her might, for the sake of her unborn baby. People w...

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“Cultish Intentions ” by Lil Bett

Submitted to Contest #117

It was all ready for the ritual. We hung the cat on the lamp post as a sign for where the other members of our cultish group should meet. In dark hooded robes and in muscade colored masks, we start making our way to the seldom house in the woods right outside of the dimly lit streets we all live on. For some, this is a way to escape reality for a while, for others however, they just like the torment and agony of others. When we get to the entrance of the woods, we put blind folds on the new initiates, as a safety measure to keep our little s...

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“Masked night ” by Ria Kaur

Submitted to Contest #117

Sophia stood aimlessly naked in front of the bedroom mirror and studied herself like one inspects out of date fruit to see if it is safe to eat. Strangely she felt awkward and somewhat exposed as she stared vacantly at her own bare skin. It felt almost improper of her as if she should not be doing this. She slipped into an elegant red mini dress that accentuated her waist and was slightly too tight for her body. After putting her heels on she sat and now she waited. The front door creaked open like clockwork and her body involuntarily stood ...

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“Invisible Threads” by Carrie Fitzgerald

Submitted to Contest #117

I lost my brother. People usually mean death when they say that, but I had no reason to believe my brother was actually dead. When I began looking for him, I couldn’t remember how long it had been since that one afternoon, when after years of absence, I had met him at his workplace- a Ford dealership in rural upstate New York. After, we back to his apartment for a dinner of take-out pizza. We talked- laughed even- for hours, all the while careful to keep the past in its hiding place. After that brief meeting, I wrote him, maybe...

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“My Precious Child” by Isabelle Ray

Submitted to Contest #117

A young girl travailed up the overgrown steep hill. With the Highland winds blowing through her hair, she heard the sheep’s bleats getting louder. Lambs cried for their mothers’ safe warmth as the tempestuous winds became more intense. Despite her family’s pleas to not venture to the cemetery on the cusp of a storm, Alana had remained persistent in her tradition to visit her birth mother’s grave every year on Samhain. The town found Alana cradled in her birth mother’s arms on Samhain. Unfortunately, her birth mother had already passed from b...

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“The Lost Hillsboro Boys” by Lane McDonough

Submitted to Contest #117

The Lost Hillsboro BoysI used to play the guitar.“What did you say, David?”“Did I just say that out loud?”“You did. But we’ve already discussed how brain injuries can change personalities. Would you like to change the subject, or stick with what we’ve been discussing?”“My 25th high school reunion?”“So, are you planning on attending?”“No way. No.” I shook my head. “Damn, I don’t know why I even mentioned it,” I said aloud to myself. “Or the guitar.”“Freudian slip? I think there’s something here that we need to unpack.”“Doc, there’s nothi...

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“Night Music” by Wayne Scheer

Submitted to Contest #117

Night Music It was just after construction began on our house that we discovered our new home was haunted. No, we don't see ghosts in white sheets or little girls in flowing nightgowns carrying candles down narrow staircases. But our house is haunted nonetheless. Although our house is made of brick and mortar and is as real as a baby's cry, I'm convinced it also exists in a supernatural world. We hear music, beautiful music. It's taken us a while to accept the soulful cry of what sounds like a cello coming from somewh...

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“Abby's Imaginary Friend, Hugh” by Brittany Lieteau

Submitted to Contest #117

My sweet precious Abigail has trouble sleeping some nights. Her twin sister can sleep through the night, but for some reason, she just can't. It's not uncommon for young babies to have night terrors, but I didn't think I would have front row seating for them. Each time, her cries of agony pierce my heart which thrusts me out of my sleep no matter how deep I think I am into my rem cycle. My husband, Craig, sleeps through the whole thing, which is why now, she only cries out for me. “Mommy!!! Abby shrills!” I whip back my covers and in...

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“The Passing Veil” by Jenny K

Submitted to Contest #117

(Possible trigger warning. Contains obsession, control, and death)“There you are.”A rough yet soothing voice woke Jesse with a start, causing her eyes to adjust faster than they actually could in the darkness of her bedroom. She’d been in a deep sleep, her body dead weight in the center of her plush bed, refusing to move despite the urgency that rushed through her core to do so. The sound of the voice had been crystal clear, vibrating through her ears, but the room remained still and quiet. Through the skylight above, her blurry eyes fought ...

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“One of us” by Georgia Papp

Submitted to Contest #117

My dear, If this letter reaches you, it is from beyond the veil. Forgive my humor. As you know, I was never a fan of the written word. Words set down gather power of their own, grow roots and spread far beyond their creator’s reach. Losing control like that is what frightens me the most. Still, you asked me two questions that I wish to answer before stepping outside my door tonight. Downstairs awaits the Circle of the Veil. One. You asked me when I first glimpsed through the Veil. The answer lies deep within my childhood, a memory I have ra...

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“Dark Guardian ” by Marley Monroe

Submitted to Contest #117

The boundary between our realms was meant to protect and shield us from heartache. To give both sides, humans and succubi collectors, the space they needed in order to keep from growing attached. We enter the human realm, collect what we are owed, and return home. That is the order to things. Only love doesn’t care about rules, regulations or traditions. Love cuts through boundaries, finding its mark on the hearts who need it most. I had no idea how much I needed her, until her cries reached my stubborn ears. I spent months attempti...

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“Group Therapy” by Hugh Thakkar

Submitted to Contest #117

A rough day at work had me walking aimlessly in the rain. I was soaked through, it was dark, and I did not even begin to think about where I was. I wanted to be home, and I kicked myself for not having taken the bus straight from work. I felt numb and defeated, like nothing could faze me further. Still, when I saw the only café-bar I’d seen in miles, with warm lights that leaked into the cobbled streets, it looked inviting. Maybe an evening coffee would do me some good. The door met me with the soft ring of a bell. It reminded me of the o...

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$250

Prize money

226

Contest entries

153

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Oct 29, 2021 EST

Won by John Merino 🏆

Title: Sleep Story

Submissions must be between 1,000 - 3,000 words and will be approved and published on Reedsy Prompts within 7 days of the contest closing.

Read the full terms & conditions or check out the FAQ if you have any questions!

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