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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

“DANCING WITH THE KILLER” by Mara Masolini

Submitted to Contest #117

DANCING WITH THE KILLER She had been undecided until the last moment, we can say. Only on the last day that the great event would take place in the night, she had made up her mind to go to the great party in the wonderful, magnificent Renaissance villa to which she had been invited by Judith, who was a friend of the hosts who gave the great party. Judith had told her that all the guests participating in the party had to wear a costume from past centuries, preferably a Renaissance co...

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“The Man in the Hallowe'en Mask” by Rob Ryter

Submitted to Contest #117

All Hallows EveMichael Rymes pushed open the door of the Cricketers Arms and made his way toward the bar. It had been a tough day. He was seriously looking forward to a cold pint, to wash away the stresses and tribulations of work. The Cricketers had the best kept IPA in the village, and beyond.Michael had lived in Chiselford for a year now. He still didn’t know many of its two thousand souls; he liked a quiet drink, eschewing quiz nights and darts tournaments, and his work took him out of the village most days. As area manager for a high st...

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“Return” by Christine Hedrick

Submitted to Contest #117

Ten Years Ago: It had happened while Kira was strolling through a busy parking lot, in the light of day, nodding absently to the chatter of her three-year-old. How had no one noticed or helped her? She had felt the sharp prick of a needle in her arm and caught a glimpse of a gloved hand holding a syringe. She reached feebly for her confused little boy in the shopping cart as her mind and body folded inwards. When she regained consciousness, Ki...

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“Missing” by Melinda Madrigal

Submitted to Contest #117

What happen to Grace Anderson? Point lookout, Halloween five years ago Grace Anderson disappeared into thin air. Grace Anderson disappeared at a Halloween party hosted by her best friend Leah. No one saw her leave the party. No one even remembered Grace being at the party until the next day when her parents filed a missing person's report. The sheriff didn't do anything to help Grace's parents find her, he told them she will come back, she's just a teenager, but Grace never came home after a week of waiting. The search for Grace began ...

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“Sacrifice” by Brielle Walters

Submitted to Contest #117

(Warning: Character Death!) I don’t know where I am. One moment I’m walking home from school and the next I find myself here. I am tied to an old, wooden chair in a room I can't see far in. The room is dark, but there is little light coming from the red candles that are placed around me in a circle. The stone floor is cold to the touch, telling me I’m wearing nothing on my feet. My favorite band jacket is also missing. The smell in the air is thick with dust and something horrid. I don’t know what that smell is, but it has a hint of copp...

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“Penumbra” by Kinjal Sukani

Submitted to Contest #117

It was late evening on one of the most beautiful Autumn day. Leaves on the trees in the backyard hang loosely and have started to look more like slightly dreamy orange falling on the ground as wind blows. It was gloomy outside and dark clouds had completely covered sky; gentle air was blowing which made the weather little cold. Raindrops slowly falling from the sky were touching the window glass softly. After a long and tiring day at work, Kai changed into her loose white top and dark grey joggers pant. She is a young 25-year old wom...

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“The Hummel Cannibals” by Ashley Workman

Submitted to Contest #117

Everyone in the small town of La Arbolita, NM knows the urban legend of Hummel Park. It has been said that a group of cannibalistic albinos inhabit the park and if caught alone at night, will attack to drag you away for dinner. Though no one has ever seen one of these cannibals, many eerie happenings have taken place in the park to cause enough alarm. Stories of shadowy figures appearing between the dense foliage have been reported but never confirmed, and numerous people have entered the park never to be heard from again, their bodies never...

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“Let the night come” by Lauren D'Alessandro-Heath

Submitted to Contest #117

[Trigger warning: violence, mentions of distressful deaths]Oh, let the night come!Mania stood in the centre of the wide, empty field and rubbed her hands together. Her long fingers with their extra joint slid over each other like dead eels. All Hallows’ Eve was her favourite night of the year, the truest of nights, the only night. It was an unboxing of freedom in the endless sprawl of unnamed years, unfolding and deep, she could feel a scream well up in her drainpipe of a throat and gurgle its way from her sharp and ruined mouth. Leaning bac...

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“Across the Clawed Barrens” by K R Stanfield

Submitted to Contest #117

The beasts beyond the veil whickered, moaned and trailed their quarry across the floodplain, eager for the shield to break. Five-year-old Juto clung to Mariah’s hipbone near the edge of the dome, anxious. His eyes flitted from one aberration to the next. They were caked in green twilight. “Mama, what if they –“ “They cannot. Never. They can only try, and fail.” She'd seen her fair share of shield breaks. She knew death. This was a necessary lie. “Not true,” replied an eavesdropping traveler, fast-stepping the moist loam. His name was L...

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“A Bridge Connecting Two Worlds” by Lee Kendrick

Submitted to Contest #117

A Bridge Connecting two worldsIt was a difficult time for Brenden. Just a few days ago on Monday he had the heartbreaking task of taking his twelve year old Bichon, Cindy to the PDSA to be put to sleep. She was having problems with her breathing and struggling walking, not long after a successful operation to remove a cancerous lump on her belly. The Vet had warned Brenden that it may spread as there were already signs of it showing on her chest. He had decided to keep her at home giving her all his...

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“Unseen” by Johannes Heinonen

Submitted to Contest #117

The streetlamp flickered a little, and the teenage girl drew her scarf more tightly around her neck. The boy walking next to her glanced at her with friendly concern, but she was staring straight ahead at the ominous shapes of the trees that reached out their branches from the woodland that surrounded the village. Outside of the sphere of the streetlamps, all was dark, but as they came up to the top of the hill, they could see little clusters of lights here and there in the valley below. The street diverged: the paved road led on to the top ...

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“The Little Ones” by Bryce Block

Submitted to Contest #117

Not many of us are left in the small town of Bramble, but the few who remain know what needs to be done each Halloween. The Little Ones will be coming by for their treats, and we have to be ready. The preparations aren’t too different from what you might expect in any other town. Each house is decorated in a festive yet unsettling way. Impossibly large spiders crawl up the walls, jack-o-lanterns grin in glowing candlelight, and skeletons line the yards. All of us get extra-large bowls of candy and set them by the door when the sun begins ...

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“Home” by A.M. Yura

Submitted to Contest #117

As soon as she steps outside, a number of fallen leaves on the driveway caught on fire. As she got closer the fire smolders down, leaving a single circle of ashes on the grey pavement. She has one day left it seems, not that any reminder was needed. One life exchanged for the other. To be honest, she has been putting this matter off a bit longer than she should, but she has her own reasons. Kiera came from a long line of faery law keeper, it was their household duty to ensure everyone follows and upholds what little law they have ther...

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“The Old World” by Carlen Hultgren

Submitted to Contest #117

I had hoped for French wine country. But swayed by my husband’s whims, and an enthusiastic neighbor, we are instead, in the land of leprechauns, fighting for our lives. The incessant scratching at the door and shutters, the mangled mixture of screech and growl, from creatures on the other side of the walls, horrific, more than any rational person could have foreseen. Knocking, banging, scurrying on the roof towards the peak, the chimney…. did we block the chimney? A lifetime ago, my husband Gene and I met Tom and Nancy Clancy at the Bowl-o...

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“Another Successful Dinner in which Two Lovers Form a Plan” by Virtual Chesse Emporium

Submitted to Contest #117

(Sequel to "An Extremely Successful Dinner Where Nothing Bad Happens")"You are absolutely forbidden from associating with those disgusting river creatures. If anyone in the royal family were to be seen being friendly with those creatures, we would be ruined." I laughed to myself as my father’s words swam through my mind. Despite the threats of disownment and shame, I would love to see the look on his face as he saw me and my maid Amira sneaking past the guards to the forest. Ever since that disastrous dinner with the Riverside Tri...

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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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