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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#13: Spooktacular

This Thursday is Halloween! And you know we couldn't let October 31st go by without giving you all a batch of spooktacular writing prompts.

 

But don't worry if your tolerance for the scare factor is low: whether you're a fan of spine-chilling fiction or prefer stories about friendly ghosts, there's something in these prompts for everyone! 

If you want to do some Halloween reading after you submit your short story, here are some great resources to help you find the perfect, spooky read.

 

🥇 Winning story

“Queen Cymbeline” by Zilla Babbitt

Submitted on 10/27/2019

The island reeked of fish; scattered guts and oozing blank eyes littered the black beaches, and the mountains smelled of bubbling, potting fish intestines. The sky was continually dark with the smoke from the fires beneath the cauldrons, and the water had a thin film of scales and oil, all in the bays and quaysides round the island. In the deepsea around the island, the fish that were still alive avoided the inlets and told tales among their young that a bloodthirsty monster lived on the isle, with a mouthful of s...

31 likes 26 comments 26 WINNER 🏆
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This week's prompts:

Write a story about someone spending the night in an old Victorian home-turned-hotel on Halloween.

Holiday – 48 stories

You go to visit your neighbor. When you ring the doorbell, a stranger appears and tells you that your neighbor has been dead for ten years.

Thriller and Suspense – 56 stories

Write a story about someone who sees a black cat cross their path... for the tenth time that day.

Mystery – 41 stories

You go for a walk and accidentally bump into someone. They feel the bump, but the person can't seem to hear or see you.

Thriller and Suspense – 57 stories

Write a story about an eventful evening of trick-or-treating.

For Kids – 40 stories

Stories

“Queen Cymbeline” by Zilla Babbitt

Submitted on 10/27/2019

The island reeked of fish; scattered guts and oozing blank eyes littered the black beaches, and the mountains smelled of bubbling, potting fish intestines. The sky was continually dark with the smoke from the fires beneath the cauldrons, and the water had a thin film of scales and oil, all in the bays and quaysides round the island. In the deepsea around the island, the fish that were still alive avoided the inlets and told tales among their young that a bloodthirsty monster lived on the isle, with a mouthful of s...

31 likes 26 comments 26 WINNER 🏆
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“Maybe we are all different” by Abigail Airuedomwinya

Submitted on 11/01/2019

So how does a story start? It starts in mid sentence as though searching for an evaporated clue. It doesn't always start with someone laughing and pulling back their hair in clumsy delight. Sometimes it begins much like how everything else falls into silent existence; like it has always waited to be told. The story starts with her.Her name used to be the talk of the Town back when it was easy to believe she was the talk of the town. First it was the little baby she'd found wrapped in dirty cloth by her doorstep. She fed the child a...

31 likes 0 comments 0
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“A New Life” by Cam Croz

Submitted on 10/27/2019

I never thought that the most important day of my life would turn out like this…A trip to the store.A friend.A wig.A party.

24 likes 6 comments 6
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“Katie” by Marte Van der linden

Submitted on 11/02/2019

I rang the doorbell to Katie’s house and a woman in a blue dress opened the door. You can always tell whether grown-ups are parents. Parents look friendly and comfortable but also a little bit ragged around the edges. This woman was not like that. Everything about her was neat and tidy, with sharp creases in her clothes and smoothed angles on her body. She glanced left and right before looking down. “Oh, hello!” She made her voice go up a little bit at the end and when she smiled I could count her teeth. “Can Katie come out ...

17 likes 8 comments 8
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“Fantasy or fantasy’s” by Twilight Bee

Submitted on 10/31/2019

As individuals, we hold the pen and paper. We hold it to victory, in hope of a stroke of luck that may come up and pat us on the back. We crave for many events to occur and you may or may not get that chance. You see it is all about opportunities. And that first opportunity I got was one you’d never get.If I told you, you’d think I was mad. Delusional. Living a fantasy life. However I built my fantasy life through bloody fists, every single day after school. They’d approach me, in a huddle or flock. They’d hold onto their ...

11 likes 2 comments 2
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“Chrysalis Factory, a Heart, a Death, a Ghost” by Zilla Babbitt

Submitted on 10/26/2019

Anam sat down on the dusty ground and pulled her knees up to her chest and rubbed her temples with her fingers. She felt so hot, so tired, so sick. Her chest heaved and her head spun and she knew she needed air. Anam needed to breath before she threw up.She darted a look at the foreman.He was yelling at poor Mary again. That Irish girl never knew which bobbin to spool when, and it was costing Mary tears and blood. Final...

10 likes 2 comments 2
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“One time thing” by Theodora Simões

Submitted on 10/31/2019

Dead, he said. His words carried the usual weight of someone who is not used to death, someone who maybe fears an unsettling reaction from the receptor of those grim news he had to deliver; after all, the only thing scarier than the absence of emotions is their very display. I wanted to laugh, really, tell him to not be so frail and hesitant, it is nothing but pathetic. Yes, Lucas has been dead for years now! Shout it! Proclaim it! Do not be faltering, looking at me as if I was the poor man who got the news too ...

8 likes 3 comments 3
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“I Am the Groundskeeper” by Joshua Insole

Submitted on 10/31/2019

1The knife doesn’t slip in easily, I have to really force it.  2During the summer months, the hotel is bustling with life. People from all over the country holiday in our little slice of heaven. People from other countries come to pay us a visit, too. Our fields are green and expansive. Our mountains – albeit small – instil a sense of peace and wonder in the hea...

8 likes 4 comments 4
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“Behind the Pine Door” by Deborah Mercer

Submitted on 11/01/2019

BEHIND THE PINE DOORI’d always liked Virginia – Ginny, as she preferred to be called. We weren’t the sort of neighbours who were constantly in and out of each others’ houses. We needed our own space and respected each others’ privacy. But she was a comfortable and considerate neighbour, and I liked to think she thought the same about me. I knew she thought my garden was messy, and I wasn’t too keen on her excess of decking, but it never turned into an issue. At Christmas she had a ...

8 likes 3 comments 3
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“Appleface” by Zilla Babbitt

Submitted on 10/26/2019

When Halloween came around, Augustus Street went crazy. Balloons and movies and stickers and bloody decorations plastered to the windows. Candy in abundance, enough to fill a swimming pool, enough for the entire city to get diabetes. Children counted down the days with more excitement than Christmas, the adults gobbling pumpkin lattes and scones and cider with just as much enthusiasm as their bratty kids. There on the corner, where Augustus crossed Catchall, was a little lone house ...

7 likes 1 comment 1
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“The moon in my hands ” by Nicole Plaia

Submitted on 10/28/2019

I woke up with cotton stars sticking to my arms. A patch of desiccated currants waiting to be cleansed. I am twenty years old, and wearing my own blood as a mask. I sank beneath my moon stained quilt and slept. To sleep I had to swallow pill after pill, and at some point I felt nauseous and lightheaded with electric eels ricocheting from ankles to knees.I thought I was older yesterday. When I finally stood up to leave my bedroom I heard the tv mumbling in the living room. I listened without moving, and then stepped into ...

6 likes 4 comments 4
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“Trick” by Lee Kull

Submitted on 10/31/2019

"Get over it, Marge. I paid for it, and I can eat it all if I want to," he grumbled at his wife."We need to save those for the trick-or-treaters. That's the last of the candy," she pressed, her eyes wide.He popped another Hershey kiss in his mouth and glowered back at her. "I could, if I felt like it. Those little brats don't need anymore candy. Did you see how much candy they already have? Their sugar highs should last at least a month.""That's not the point. Please, George, save the ...

6 likes 0 comments 0
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“Old Man Murray” by Glen Evans

Submitted on 10/26/2019

"Raisins! What kind of people give out raisins on Halloween?" protested Mark."People with no taste, that's who! Next year we're definitely skipping that house" replied Donny."Without a doubt!" agreed Travis.The three boys had been friends since first gra...

5 likes 7 comments 7
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“The Transition” by Elliott Laurence

Submitted on 11/02/2019

I found out in the most interesting way that I died. My plan was to stay in all weekend. The first time for a while. I was simply going to watch the college football triple-header, but then I realize I have nothing to drink, no pizza, no chips nothing for breakfast or lunch next week. No point starving in the process. It’s an early October weekend, but not too cold. I throw on some shorts and head out. And who do I run into? Literally, run into. Lake Montgomery.

5 likes 2 comments 2
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“Home for the Holiday” by Madalyn Lueken

Submitted on 11/02/2019

I was sixteen when I first realized the aching in my heart that I had for him. He was an enigma to me, a mysterious figure. I was never able to get him alone until that one night - the rest was history. It had been three months since I had last been home; he was all I could think about. Memories of him kept me...

5 likes 0 comments 0
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$50

Prize money

278

Submissions

Ended on 23:59 - Nov 01, 2019 EST

Won by Zilla Babbitt 🏆

Title: Queen Cymbeline

Winning stories will be featured on our website and in our weekly newsletter. For more information, please consult our terms of use.

Submissions will be approved and published within 7 days of the contest closing.

Please keep your submission between 1,000 - 3,000 words.

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