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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#169: I've Got Goosebumps

Whether you celebrate Halloween or not, late October is an interesting time, full of contradictions. On the one hand, you’ve got chunky sweaters, auburn leaves, tea, grinning pumpkins, the flicker of candles. On the other, the looming threat of winter, darkness hiding just under the surface of all this cozy festivity.

This week, let’s see if we can give each other the creeps.

This week's prompts

Start your story with a character encountering a black cat.

Horror – 74 stories

Write a story where someone sees the shadow of someone standing behind them.

Mystery – 62 stories

Start your story with a blast of lightning casting a graveyard in a flash of brief, white light.

Dramatic – 36 stories

Write about someone finding a monster under their bed.

Kids – 32 stories

Write a murder story where the murder weapon is the knife used to carve a pumpkin.

Thriller and Suspense – 49 stories

Stories

“The Accident” by D.J. Lewis

Submitted to Contest #169

A black cat jumped onto the sofa, where Sophie had made herself comfortable for the evening. She regarded the cat with deep suspicion. It wasn't her cat. The cat glared at her with an accusation in its’ cold green eyes. Then, lifting an elegant yet deadly paw, it started to lick itself as if it had every right to be there, and, in fact, Sophie did not.She hadn’t remembered leaving a window open; the doors had been locked since the early hours. Sophie wasn’t expecting visitors. She loved her own company, having no need for spurious gossip or ...

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“Carving Jack” by K. C. Brote

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #169

Carving JackLydia Smith bought a house in New Hampshire simply because she fell in love with autumn. In New Hampshire, autumn gives lungs to Vivaldi’s violins. It drinks from a witch’s brew of smoky smells and corduroy textures then follows it up with a warm cinnamon chaser. It is the height of perfection, and gone so quickly all that remains is a sense of it, like a dream you can’t quite recall, but that affects you nonetheless. Lydia’s dreams were affecting her during this particular autumn, but not because of the falling ...

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“Alpaca Republic” by Scott Christenson

Submitted to Contest #169

My father casts his shadow 50 feet over my shoulder out onto the cobblestones of Prazania Square. The outline of his preposterous Generals hat is the icing on the cake. If someone had told me I would be standing in front of his statue wearing the same hat giving a speech to the nation, I would have laughed, but reality is stranger than fiction.Side note: by law, my father's statue is the tallest structure in the capital city. Which is fine by me because I build most of my structures underground.I face the crowd of seventy thousand and begin ...

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“The Curious Case of Ambrose Sykes” by Rose Gresh

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #169

I.From the Journal of Ambrose Sykes, Aspiring Writer & PoetThe Curious Case of Storms in Graveyards – 1849The graveyard blazes to life in a brief flash of white light, and all at once, the lightning seems to inhabit every space–each imperfection on the silent sentinels keeping watch over the dead. Angelic faces weep. Crosses burn in the heat of it. It is chaos in an instant and no more. When it dies, darkness returns. Layers of the blackest ink spilled–spread across the dotted cemetery, fleeing the long, annoyed groan of thunder as it mu...

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“Sincerely Yours” by Jennifer Cameron

Submitted to Contest #169

Dear Bradley, I dressed for death today, burnt oranges and smoky greys. Everyone else is wearing black but that is such a cold colour, and you were all fire and warmth, so I wrapped myself in your fire to say goodbye. I don’t really know how to write today, and my tears are staining the page, now the ink is smudging but I needed you to know that I’m thinking of you. Your mum said, ‘I know how much you loved him.’ She was trying her hardest to be sweet but how awful to think that it’s all past tense. I’m thinking of you Brad and I’m loving y...

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“It was a Graveyard Smash” by Edward Latham

Submitted to Contest #169

“Brilliant!” I cried, looking down at my son gleefully. “This has got to be the best lightning generator I’ve ever seen!”The most beautiful bolt leapt across the sky like a startled deer, before splitting into a cascade of electric tributaries. It silhouetted the daunting manor on the horizon in a way that could only have been perfected by one man. Well, monster.“Dracula has really nailed it this year! You wait until we get inside Ludwig, this party is gonna blow your brains out! He’s invited every single monster in Transylvania!”My son grin...

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“Your Pal Pete” by Angeliki P

Submitted to Contest #169

Peter is very serious about becoming your forever friend, but you don’t know this yet. You don’t even know what it means. In the beginning, you stand at the edge of your aunt’s walkway with your suitcase in hand, squinting against the sun. A friend of your father’s drives away in his pickup. Exhaust fumes linger above the asphalt like a black ghost, encumbered by humidity. Aunt Wendy appears on the front porch, urging you to come indoors where there’s air-conditioning and sweet tea. “Aryan,” she calls. She’s one of those people, the ones...

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“G-R-A-N-D-M-A” by AnneMarie Miles

Submitted to Contest #169

My husband thinks I’m crazy, but I know I see your shadow. In the moments when the light is right. Outside on a sunny day, or even inside amidst the dim lights we’ve set for our relaxing jazzy evenings. I know I told you not to leave me, but I meant, stay here, don’t die. I didn’t mean for you to haunt me like I’m living out some spooky, Halloween movie. The sun is shining through the window this morning. It’s warming up our dining area/living area – no, we haven’t found a bigger place yet – and leaving a great big sun-patch on our...

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“A Squirely Halloween” by Charlie Murphy

Submitted to Contest #169

A shadow stood behind me.I gasped and turned around.“You scared me, jerk!” I slugged Marzipan.“Sorry, are you ready to go?”“I dunno. I have no freakin' idea what I’m looking for.”"That’s why we’re going.”“But it’s been five years since I dressed up.”“Well, it’ll be fun shopping.”“Yeah .” I ran the brush through my long, blond hair. “’Ooh! Check this out, Gloria.”I turned my head. “Uh, no way!”“You don’t wanna be a sexy pirate?" Marzipan smiled holding the costume.“No.”He put it back. “How about a dinosaur? Or… Whatever the Hell this is?...

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“Kismet” by Cindy Strube

Submitted to Contest #169

KismetIt almost got Sissy today.She’s the littlest one, and Mama usually keeps a careful watch over her — but somehow she crawled too close to the doorway.I saw it out of the corner of my eye; something dark and very quick.Sissy squeaked in fear. Mama grabbed her and bundled all six of us into the farthest part of the room.~~~Mama says we can’t go out. “We’re in mortal danger!” she warns. “Don’t you stir from this spot!”It’s boring in here. All there is to do is eat, sleep, and squabble with my siblings.Our home is cramped. I want to ex...

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“Hidden Portraits” by Anne O

Submitted to Contest #169

The canvas remains nestled on the easel. No image bestowed. No story to tell. Dust gathers around the square edges. The paints are all dry, nothing left of them to use. What used to be vibrant greens, yellows, oranges, and reds have turned to a dull cracked paste. Leroy hates this room; he hates it with every atom of his being. Why he hates it? He does not know. There are pieces of him he cannot access. Memories, stories, and his past have all fleeted him now. He is left to be consumed only by his raw emotions, never knowing their explanatio...

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“Gunpowder Cologne” by Delbert Griffith

Submitted to Contest #169

The flash of the nearby lightning lasted for only a fraction of a second, yet the images that Piper and Decker saw were temporarily frozen behind their retinas. Blinding white and oppressive black were the only colors to be seen, each finding its rightful place according to the properties assigned to them by the laws of physics. Thunder cracked, sending a shiver through the countryside, and then tailing off to a pleasant grumble. The nightmarish snapshot of the graveyard revealed a lone figure standing before them. An old lady, attired in a...

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“Terms and Conditions” by Tamarin Butcher

Submitted to Contest #169

A sudden blast of lightning lit the graveyard in a flash of brief, white light. The gathered teenagers shivered involuntarily. Except for Alice. Alice surveyed the scene with mild interest. This wasn't her first midnight trip to a graveyard, and it wouldn't be her last. "Yes, thank you, Primal. Very dramatic, we're all very impressed. Now, if I could please be allowed to continue without further interruptions, lightning or otherwise!" The demon named Angst, who'd been in the middle of a speech when the bolt hit, was starting to lose her ...

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“The Depth of the Rubicon” by Delbert Griffith

Submitted to Contest #169

The red and blue lights of the police cars clashed with the orange and black decorations that festooned the neighborhood. Halloween night. A body in the bathtub. A hysterical housekeeper. Sergeant Higgs sighed and walked inside the home, up the stairs, and in to the bathroom. “Who would have thought the lady to have had so much blood in her?” “What?” Higgs asked irritably. He bent down by the bathtub and looked at the dead woman’s right wrist. Slashed to hell, he thought. Suicide was his next thought. “Shakespeare, sir. Macbeth. I paraphras...

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“Birthday Beam” by Amanda Lieser

Submitted to Contest #169

CW-allusions to death The notification indicating a missed call had occurred sounded off. DING. Kim turned her phone over and shook her head. Soft, calming music filled the room. The pungent odor of incense burning and the soft flickering of tea candles gave the impression that this was a calm space—an inviting space. She breathed in deeply. She exhaled slowly. Her groin ached slightly because it had been at least 10 years since she last sat in the butterfly pose with the bottoms of her feet together. Kim bobbed her knees up and down to re...

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$250

Prize money

253

Contest entries

109

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Oct 28, 2022 EST

Won by Lindsay Flo 🏆

Title: Maniacal, Manipulative, Psychotic

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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