#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 – 46 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

“Tea with Miss Crisp” by Kat Bybee

Submitted to Contest #13

My mother once told me that if something didn’t make sense I should sit down and write about it. I should write the whole thing down, and then I would be able to make perfect sense of the matter. I fear my dear mother shall be proved well and truly wrong in this particular instance, but as I am under constant observation and have nothing else to do in this place, I suppose an attempt to make sense of the last twenty-four hours might be of some value. It cannot do any more harm—that much is certain.So, to begin. Yesterday morning began like a...

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“Billy's Crutch ” by Mike Davies

Submitted to Contest #13

Warren Styles is an excellent neighbour, many times he’d bail me out of my latest self- inflicted mess. I have many issues that are far too complicated to discuss now. Suffice to say, Warren is discreet and loyal, I couldn't hope for a better neighbour, he was also my friend. I relied on him a little too much, in fact, he was my crutch. As frightened and confused as I was, it was now my turn. The night seemed to have drawn in quicker than usual. It was full dark, no visible clouds, no moon or stars; the sky ...

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“Halloween Horrors” by Nivea Franco

Submitted to Contest #13

It’s 6pm on a particularly eerie Halloween night and I walk up to Mr. Jenson’s house wearing a pink floral dress my grandmother lent me. The stark contrast from my usual faded jeans and oversized T-shirt makes me feel like a completely different person. Just before ringing the doorbell, I straighten my skirt, adjust my shoulder length wig and pat a little more powder on my face. The distorted reflection of myself on the floor-to-ceiling windows beside the door show a 80 something year old woman way wiser and beyond my actual 27 years of age....

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“BECOMING NELL” by Ferdinand Otieno

Submitted to Contest #13

The message was strange by any definition of the word.RUN!A text that sent Mary Smithson out of her 469 Pellan Cul- de-sac home to check on her closest friend, who also happened to be her childhood neighbour. She matched across the small street and knocked on the silver door. She waited a little bit longer than usual before she heard footsteps hurrying to the door. She had mentally prepared a reprimand for Dylon Mathers for trying his usual attempts at Halloween pranks, but she was a little worried with the urgency of the text.She had alread...

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“Ten O'Clock” by Claire Chastain

Submitted to Contest #13

The clock struck ten times, each ring seeming louder than the last, and the whole house reverberated with its tolling. Beth looked up from her book in surprise, as though it didn’t do this every day at exactly ten o’clock. Glancing back down at the words in her book, she realized she hadn’t moved the page in quite some time. In fact, she couldn’t remember the last thing she had read. Perhaps she had fallen asleep. The teapot sat cooling on the stove, leftover from when she had last fired it up. Though she suspected it was ...

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“Maggie” by Emily Barton

Submitted to Contest #13

She'd always lived next door. Margaret, or Maggie as she said we could call her. Her house was small, but it looked so grand in comparison to the rest of the houses in our estate, and when Christmas came around every year she'd go all out with the decorations, transforming her house from a simple brick building into a winter wonderland, complete with fake snow on the front lawn. The transformation always happened overnight like magic; it was fitting as she was the most magical person I knew. She was lovely, the sweetest lady on th...

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“Worry Stone” by Sasha Walden

Submitted to Contest #13

One, two, three, four, five, six, and seven. Flip over. One, two, three, four, five, six, and seven. I punch into work. 9:17 in the morning. Like every other Friday, but not today. It is 13th, of November, on a Friday. A Friday the 13th. Superstitious? Maybe. Careful? Indeed. Every other street; a black cat crosses my path. Seven times. Seven times. Seven times, a black cat crossed my path. Work. Work. Work. Stock here. Stock there. Stock in this way. 11:33 in the morning, that is when I clock out. Like every other regular Friday. blac...

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“The Emerald Eye” by James Ehle

Submitted to Contest #13

Lawrence Knight was familiar with the whole “nine lives” spiel about cats, and he even believed it to some extent. When he was eleven years old his mom brought in a stray cat from the street that she decided to call Winky for their family to raise as their own. Lawrence was always slightly afraid of Winky, which only had one good eye and limped with each step, but his mother assured him the cat was perfectly healthy.“He’s got at least four more lives in him, hon,” she used to say. He often wondered what took the first five.In his nightmares,...

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“Sorrow” by Beth Doherty

Submitted to Contest #13

I sunk my fingers into Sorrow’s black fur. She let out a hiss. A neat little claw took a swipe at me. ‘You can’t stay here,’ I told her. ‘I need to use my keyboard.’ The black cat finally drew herself up, back arching, hackles raised. I returned my eyes to the bleary screen. The essay only contained a single sentence. I tapped my fingers on the desk, awaiting the demons of inspiration. There was an unopened letter close to my escape key. I already knew the sender from the scrawled letters of my name on the front. If my uncle had ...

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“ The Ominous Feline” by Fatimah Jery

Submitted to Contest #13

My sight was going around and upside down, rolling until it settled and, is that me? From the corner of my eyes, I saw my body lying on the floor, my neck unattached to the rest of my body revealing a mass of blood. How am I still alive? is this the state when the brain remains alive after a matter of minutes? But, he plugged my eyeballs and- oh there he is, still finishing me with the grin on his face. But above all, the whole thing remained surreal to the very end. People said that crossing a path with this ominous jet-black crea...

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“They Say Black Cats are Bad Luck... Maybe They're Right?” by Richard Brown

Submitted to Contest #13

“They say black cats are an omen, but I think they’re pretty cute.” Jenny was telling Diane as they happened upon one while window shopping. They lived in New York and both lived successful lives; Jenny was a writer and Diane was an advertising specialist for a major television network. They were out getting lunch when they passed by a new, trendy clothing boutique named Franchella’s. They noticed a beautiful white dress in the window, but then Diane jumped when something scurried between her legs. A black cat. “I hate those little things,” ...

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“Superstitious Misfortune” by Jade Copeland

Submitted to Contest #13

She notices the kitten around noon.Black cat or not, whether her friends whisper about misfortune following her in to form of an animal, Maria doesn’t really see a reason to make it into something bigger than it is. An animal.The cat’s too tiny to be intimidating, to be some harbinger, an omen designed to resign a person to their upcoming downfall. Having watched it creep forward on legs too thin to support its own paws, fur matted and patchy, there was less worry about it having hold over any misfortune other than its own.So, Maria doesn’t ...

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“The Cat” by Robin Vc

Submitted to Contest #13

There it was again, gently walking across a thin, backyard wall. Wagging its tail from side to side as it moved. Its black fur shiny in the afternoon sun, it looked at Steven as it passed him. For the tenth time today. Steven was sure of it. The cat was entirely black save for its eyes, which were a deep yellowish-green, but there were some visuals about the cat that made him sure it was, in fact, the same cat. The way one ear had a chip out of it, the length, and particular fluffiness, of its tail. How it would stare at him as he ...

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“Contact ” by Shaun Liriano

Submitted to Contest #13

Alison sat straight up in her loft bed and almost hit her head on the ceiling fan. There was so much noise coming from the basement. She could smell intoxicants but she couldn’t identify where they were coming from. Alison and her parents lived in a small two bedroom house. Her father Darrell converted the basement into his man cave/ laundry room/ storage unit/unfinished renovation. Consequently, it was his personal area because no one else wanted to be down there. Her baby sister was rushed to urgent care when...

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“Sturm und drang within Mouse a' Leanie” by Matthew Harris

Submitted to Contest #13

Preface: Tabby wandering upon mine twinkle toes (woozy after drinking excess Boozie), this stray wrist took cat attired with trademark funereal black swallowtails quietly saunters (on faux paws) with somber self importance. Yours truly relegated Topeka outlook around outer limits of Katmandu, especially smug with knowledge that paganistic superstitions still maintain tide score in tandem with rubric (and mortar) accepted organized religion. This nearly twenty Earth orbitz within demarcated (Gregorian calendar) twenty first century after cat ...

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$50

Prize money

224

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!

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#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.