#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.

100 Best Horror Books of All Time

All of the Best Stephen King Books, Ranked

And Then There Were None: The 10 Best Agatha Christie Books

33 Best Vampire Books to Sink Your Teeth Into

The 50 Best Suspense Books of All Time

Guide to Southern Gothic: 10 Dark Must-Reads

This week's prompts

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

Halloween – 45 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 – 49 stories

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

Mystery – 40 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 – 52 stories

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

Kids – 37 stories

Stories

“Running into trouble” by Alyssa Perry

Submitted to Contest #13

Abby was a widow with two children, Josh and Suzy. Josh was in high school and very athletic, while suzy was in middle school and insanely shy. Abby has been in a depressed phase since the divorce from her husband. She was struggling to support her children. She’s been getting better now that she has a new job and has been working on herself. She goes on runs, does yoga, and works out, which makes her feel much better. One morning before she had to wake the kids up for school she went on a run around the neighborhood. She looks down at her w...

1 comment 1

Read story

“Who's There?” by Lynn Den

Submitted to Contest #13

The sun was beginning to set over the city landscape. Rudy’s tail flicked from side to side in frustration as they paced around the small apartment. School was kicking their ass and it was making their anxiety spike again. They glanced up as the sun began to shine in their eyes. A thought ran through their mind. “Maybe a quick walk would help clear my mind.” The thought was quite appealing. Fall was in full swing, bright oranges and reds coloring the trees lining the streets. Tullest Park was only a short walk from their apartment too....

0 comments 0

Read story

“911 Call: Neighborhood Fright” by Phoenix Bednar

Submitted to Contest #13

“911, what’s your emergency?”“Hello, I need someone to come to my neighborhood please”“Okay, what’s the problem?”“I was sitting in my backyard of an apartment complex. Just passing out some halloween candy for trick or treaters. And I see a van come by.”“What did the van look like?”“It actually looked like a blue faded, 1999 Toyota van. Seemed like it was a normal van. At first glance, the windows are tinted.”“What’s the license plate?”“Umm....mentomori.”“Mento mori?”“...Yeah.”“I think it’s Latin for ‘Remember you will die’ but shortened for...

0 comments 0

Read story

“Jorby the Jorbeater” by Patrick Hisel

Submitted to Contest #13

"He's too old for trick or treating", thought Jordan. He had his suspicions that his mother was behind the arrangement. She could be counted on to stand up for him since she doted on the baby of the family. Cliff resented the idea of spending Halloween night with his annoying little brother, but at least his girlfriend Jenny was tagging along. Or at least he hoped she would decide to be his girlfriend after tonight. "We can't forget to go by Mrs. Flannigan's house, she has full sized Snickers bars this year!" Jordan sensed the excitem...

0 comments 0

Read story

“The curse of the little town” by Walt Landers

Submitted to Contest #13

There was no moon this night, just a cool gentle wind. Horteignquas responded to the cool, raised her wart filled chin to enjoy this natural refreshment. It was a mere moment, and then her duty came to chase her revery away. She scanned the hill of marble and plaster grave markings and began to float over a row. At each carved monument, her wrinkled features grimaced, pulling her crooked features close to her nose. A faint light, barely discernible looked to be dropping from her face, down her chest, to hips,...

0 comments 0

Read story

“Trick or Treat” by Maddie Wells

Submitted to Contest #13

Molly rang the door bell.She pressed the door bell at least five times in a row until her sister Annie told her to stop. Annie told Molly it was rude to ring someone’s door bell more than once. An elderly woman soon answered the door. She wore a witch's hat and green face paint. “ Trick or treat,” Molly shouted, holding her jack o lantern up in the air.“ Aw, you’re so cute,” the woman told Molly. “ I’m sorry my adorably annoying sister rang your doorbell so many times,” Annie said, rolling her eyes” Molly just loves tric...

0 comments 0

Read story

“ the monster time ” by Dimond Votaw

Submitted to Contest #13

Once on a stormy night in a misty , gloomy island filled with monsters and killer clowns . Thunder crashes and lighting flashes hitting stones and trees . In the small forest filled with thorns and big brown bears . Deep in the forest, there was a small cave filled with bats and vampires . Hives field with the beating of small wings of bees . No human has been there before. But on this night a family with one baby girl and 2 ten year old boys washed ashore from a lighting storm hitting their boat .Then they awoke from their sleep t...

0 comments 0

Read story

“Death at Dark” by Benji SIlver

Submitted to Contest #13

Another week of “spooky” costumes and getting sick on candy. It would be my first year doing it all by myself, my parents were out of town on a business trip and there were no relatives or baby sitters. I had just turned 16, which is probably why my parents were letting me stay home. I had just finished decorating the house and had made a plan to meet up with my two best buddies to spend the night watching horror movies all night. They would be arriving at 6 for a pizza dinner, so I had a few hours to kill. Time to make a c...

2 comments 2

Read story

“Trick or Treat? ” by T.D. Johnson

Submitted to Contest #13

“Boooooohahahahah!” “Ahhhh! Stop it Ethan you scared me!” Halloween was Ethan’s favorite holiday. Don’t get me wrong it was mine too, but I liked the fun things about Halloween. The costumes, the running around the neighborhood with friends, and of course the trick-or-treating. Ethan liked all the scary things about Halloween. The ghouls, ghosts, and goblins. He loved the pranks, the fake blood, and haunting masks. I don’t know why I always agree to go trick-or-treating with him. But hey, he was my best friend and it wouldn’t be a real Hallo...

0 comments 0

Read story

“Trick or Treat” by Adelaide M

Submitted to Contest #13

Ding Dong! Ugh. Here they come again. Every year, this fateful day comes around, where parents dress their babies up as pumpkins, kids and eighty-year-old men disguise themselves as ghosts or ninjas, and everybody has to spend a butt-load of money on candy. I groan and walk over to the door, where I can hear kids chattering and giggling quietly amongst themselves. I open the door to a wave of, “TRICK OR TREAT!!!” “Here you go,” I mutter in a surly tone, holding the bowl of candy out to the mini witches and black cats standing outside m...

1 comment 1

Read story

“Halloween can be spooky ” by Christopher Bailey

Submitted to Contest #13

The air was cold against my exposed skin. I couldn’t feel my fingers inside my flippers.its October 31st, 2019 I’m 13 years old and walking around in a duck onesie. I don’t care about all the stupid glances or off-handed remarks about my appearance; I feel better than ever. Honestly, I think I feel more at home now than I have since I got here. I am on my estate and I’m walking around with my best friends looking like we have just escaped from some kind of backward zoo. There’s me a duck, Bianka a frog, Chloe a penguin, Clare a flying squirr...

0 comments 0

Read story

“A Butchered Halloween ” by Alexandra Gramnea

Submitted to Contest #13

“Mommy, mommy, come here! The old lady will give us lots of candy if we go! Come on!” Kids… They’re everywhere. I love kids. They’re cute. So were my daughters. After I got rid of my “habit” I used to have only on Halloween I wanted to go out Trick-or-Treating too. I wanted to be supervised by my wife. The love of my life. But I couldn’t allow anything to go out of my hands. I couldn’t risk anything. It’s all my fault… I should have protected them! I was the man of the family. My wife was as strong as me and yet… she still died. It should ha...

0 comments 0

Read story

“We Are All Fallen Angels Here” by Kayla Wood

Submitted to Contest #13

I always loved Halloween. It’s been my favourite holiday since I can remember. I love it all! The decorations, the candy and especially the costumes. I enjoy the idea of being able to be whoever you want. It’s positively thrilling! When I finished high school I started a career as a special effects make up artist. This has allowed me to work on a number of horror films. I’ve always been a sucker for a scary movie and a good jump scare.For the first time in a long time, I don’t actually have any plans for Halloween. My older sister and her hu...

0 comments 0

Read story

$50

Prize money

223

Contest entries

0

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Nov 01, 2019 EST

Won by Zilla Babbitt 🏆

Title: Queen Cymbeline

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!

Menu

CONNECT

BLOG

APPS

TOOLS

ABOUT

#13: Spooktacular

This week's prompts

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

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.

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

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.

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