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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 Dark Reality” by Zoë Page

Submitted to Contest #169

And it was there – inches from me – I let out a scream and felt as if I rotted into the mystery – I couldn’t see – I swung wildly with it in my grasp and then – and then – then… * We’ve learnt to live in darkness. For years now we have faced little light and have adapted our ways to fit the safety precautions. Nobody leaves their homes in the daylight. Nobody switches on much more than a weak bedside lamp if they have intention to move. It may seem like a strange world to you, but for us it’s reality, and reality is what you grow to live...

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“The Devil's in the Detail” by Dave West

Submitted to Contest #169

The Devil's in the DetailThe black cats in our town are becoming a bit of a nuisance. We first noticed them shortly after our little writing group – there are two of us, in a town of about 30 households – decided to enter this week’s short story competition. It’s coming up to Hallowe’en, and the theme is “I’ve got goosebumps”: The prompt says: Whether you celebrate Hallowe’en 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 f...

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“Mystic's Mountain” by Jeannette Miller

Submitted to Contest #169

The air was still and quiet. Fresh snowfall from the night before blanketed the grounds of the mountain resort like a winter wonderland seen on postcards begging someone to leave their footprints as proof they existed. The light from the full moon reflected off the new snow lighting Lucy’s way as she walked the path to the equipment shed. The new snow felt crunchy under Lucy’s feet. Perfect for building a snowman. A light bulb went off in Lucy’s head. A snowman! Yes! That’s it. Why hadn’t she thought of this before? If the weather held up, ...

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“The Shadow Eater ” by Carissa Cherrington

Submitted to Contest #169

Jamie Green grew up in a house full of monsters. Her dad drew them for comic books and his office was littered with sketches of fanged, nightmarish creatures. It might have been cool, having a comic writer for a dad. But Tom believed monsters were real, and that one had taken his sister when they were children. It grew to a point of obsession, which is why Jamie’s mom wasn’t around anymore. But Jamie stayed. She hoped she could one day convince him to go back to therapy and tackle the real monsters: ...

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“Under The Bed” by Vincent Cruz

Submitted to Contest #169

When Thomas was four years old he woke to a strange noise coming from his closet. It was a sound like a slow moving creature walking through his toybox. Down the hall the light from his mother’s bedroom was on. Thomas got out of bed and went to his mother’s room where she was curling her hair in the bathroom. “Mom, there is something in my toybox,” he said. “What do you mean?” she asked.. “I hear something. It's moving around, and it's scaring me.” “Oh it's fine, it's just your step father,” she said. It didn't m...

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“I Miss You” by Zoey H.

Submitted to Contest #169

Today was the day.I never thought I’d be wearing this black dress, and these uncomfortably tight shoes, this jingling jewelry. A picture of you clutched tight in my fist, tear stained paper wilting like a dying flower in between my fingers. The air was crisp, almost frigid. The wind blew, a ghostly howl sending a chill up and back down my spine. My eyes were fixed on a young black cat perched, eyes bright yellow and beckoning me closer, on the painted brick steps of the funeral home. It mewed as I inched closer, reaching down to stroke the f...

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“The Kiss of Death” by Sarah Goodner

Submitted to Contest #169

I first met the woman a month ago at the voodoo shop. She had been locking up the store, and I could sense her power from across the Rue Royal. She was practically glowing with it. This was no retail hack, she was the real thing. Why she was slumming in the Quarter, I had no idea. I carefully crossed the street, dodging in and out of the tourists drunken legs and cautiously approached the woman, whose name was Serafina. She stopped and looked around suspiciously when I plucked the fact from her head, confirming her sensitivity and power. She...

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“You Should Never Have a Favorite Child” by Renee Atherton

Submitted to Contest #169

Trigger Warning: Suicide, violence, gore You Should Never Have a Favorite Child It was raining. Well, not real rain, not the soak you to your bones, ice cold New England downpour Ellie and her family had left behind nearly 5 years ago. That was a very specific rain she felt she could go her whole life without encountering again. This rain was still cool, but not freezing. This rain wasn’t the kind that overflowed the gutters, sending dirt and plant debris down the sides of the road in fat, fast rivers. This was more of a drizzle, pre...

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“Are you hungry, Puss?” by Emma Sinclair

Submitted to Contest #169

Trigger Warning: Descriptions of Death, Bodies and Decay. Stop looking at me like that- I know you are hungry and I’m sorry, but can’t you see I’m a corpse? A corpse. One that is splayed at unnatural angles across the bathroom floor while you sit watching, poised on the cistern. The sun beam behind you makes you shimmer; it’s such a perfect Instagram shot! Oh, swish your tail all you like, it’s not like I can just get up and walk across the apartment to your food bowl. If I started walking then it’s the start of the zombie apocalypse...

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“The Visit” by Alexander Blackie

Submitted to Contest #169

The candle on the bedside table flickered briefly. Afraid of the dark since a small child, I could not find the solace of sleep without the security of light. ‘Oh no, please do not go out!’ I pleaded terrified of waking alone and defenceless in darkness. I sat up in bed to check if the candle needed replacing. It did not. Only half consumed, its flame burned steadily as if recognizing how much I needed its comfort. ‘Thank you.’ I breathed. Neck muscles relaxed as relief flooded through me. I watched the candle flame grow brighter mesmeri...

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“Grounded” by Cajek Veilwinter

Submitted to Contest #169

Arachne was stomping around her room - it was the most annoyed she’d ever been. Grounded? ...On Halloween, of all nights?! She wished the house was a little smaller so that her parents - who had violated the most sacred rule of the parents of magic users - could hear her little stomps down on the first floor. “Sid, can you believe this?” Arachne asked her fluffy pink bed in consternation, picking up her favorite pink unicorn plush from off the floor. She waited, then looked underneath. Right when Arachne was lying on the fluf...

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“Noctuary” by 𝔊𝔲𝔞𝔡𝔞𝔩𝔲𝔭𝔢 𝔗𝔢𝔩𝔠𝔬𝔫𝔱𝔞𝔯

Submitted to Contest #169

Damian sat with his legs dangling over the edge of the rocking deck of the ship, holding onto the lower rung of the metal railing and gazing at the horizon. The waning sunset was a blaze of glorious color, the drifting clouds purple against the red western sky, with the swells of the Atlantic ocean sapphire-blue beneath. The old adage red sky at night, sailor’s delight bobbed to the surface of his thoughts. As stars materialized in the darkling eastern sky, Damian headed below deck, occasionally steadying himself with the rails lining t...

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“No Place for Monsters” by Jay Wayne

Submitted to Contest #169

The town guard calls it the graveyard shift, because everyone knows the most dangerous things in the dark are the dead ones. Hamlin has never found the joke funny, and especially not tonight with the rain and thunder making it difficult to see or hear much of anything as he makes his rounds. As he passes by the cemetery, he feels his shoulders grow tense. The rain and crushing darkness obscure his view, making it impossible to tell if anything is amiss or not. After a long moment of introspection and more than one prayer, Hamlin unlatches t...

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“The 9th Life” by Beth Elliott

Submitted to Contest #169

CW: Substance abuse & brief (non-graphic) animal violence. I keep seeing the black cat. She’s been appearing outside my apartment every morning, sitting on the stone wall next to my now vacant parking spot, seemingly waiting for me. The first day I barely noticed her; I was pretty hungover, despite it being a Wednesday. The night before I had read through all my old text messages with Jared, and somehow polished off an entire bottle of wine while I scrolled and ugly-cried into a family-sized bag of M&Ms. Safe to say the cat...

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“Fear No Shadow” by Brian Stanton

Submitted to Contest #169

Ignorance is the soil of lies, darkness nourishes the roots. -Dad Currently, Grumpkin didn’t have lips, but if he did, he would have licked them. All he had was eyes, and they narrowed on the plump object in the room. “When’s that blasted moon coming, I’m tired of being so flat. I wanna sink my teeth into one of these toys.” Phlegmdrake rolled his yellow eyes. “Remind me never to shadeskip with you again, you’ve got the patience of a piranha.” Grumpkin’s red eyes burned, turning the shadows under the little bed crimson. “...

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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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