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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#272: Fright Night

Don’t forget to use the hashtag #ReedsyFright to share your stories (and potentially be featured on our social accounts)!

Spooky season has arrived, and what better way to embrace this time of year than by diving into some spine-chilling writing? I’m constantly amazed by the variety of enthralling narratives we come across in this contest — from subtle, eerie stories with sinister undertones to tales that are outright macabre.

So, as one of the year's most popular holidays approaches, let’s get into the Halloween spirit and conjure up some creepy tales. Grab your coziest sweater and favorite hot drink, and let’s get writing!

This week's prompts

Write a story with the aim of scaring your reader.

Short Story – 112 stories

Start or end your story with someone running away from something, literally or metaphorically.

Dramatic – 85 stories

Write a story from the point of view of a ghost, vampire, or werewolf.

Short Story – 144 stories

Center your story around someone trying to resist their darker impulses — and they’ll either succeed or fail.

Angst – 63 stories

Write a story in which the narrator or a character says "Did you hear that?"

Short Story – 84 stories

Stories

“Eve in the Château Corbeau” by Ben Lages

Submitted to Contest #272

Having never been to a big city before, I always figured that my first time in New Orleans would be a tad overwhelming. My friends probably told me the same thing a dozen times: Just stick with us and don’t go down any dark alleyways, and you’ll be fine! And I thought that telling myself that same thing over and over again would help. I had common sense, I’d be surrounded by other FSU kids, there was no way I’d get in trouble. That worked until we arrived at a packed Bourbon S...

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“Not All Who Wander Are Lost (Part III)” by Jango MyHeart

Submitted to Contest #272

In front of Maya’s Den shop, a new-age, medieval apothecary shop, Marion paces back and forth agitatedly, flipping her phone over constantly to check the time, as she tries to steady herself on the uneven slabs and cracked pavement. Looming over her are the clouds getting greyer by the second and the rain storm intensifying. The water spills from the overhang, splattering onto the auburn cobblestone. As she checks her phone, her foot catches an edge, causing her to tumble to the ground. Feeling overcome, she remains on the ground, lacking th...

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“Lion” by Jamshid Samareh

Submitted to Contest #272

Asad scored his third goal, leading his soccer team to a rare victory. His compact build and agility made him a perfect striker. His best friend, Hasan, lifted him off as if he were performing a Heimlich maneuver. Asad looked around and relished every crumb of his team’s adoration, making his smile wider and his back straighter. Coach would now pick me to lead my high school team, he thought. Sun plunged below the horizon, and the cemetery walls cast a long shadow over the soccer field. The warm orange clouds turned to a fiery red. Everyone ...

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“The Viper King” by Brian Bosader

Submitted to Contest #272

I push myself up from the ground, brushing the dirt from my jeans and curse Timmy Smith’s name. Why must the biggest middle school bully be here at the town carnival on the same day as me? Someday Timmy Smith will get what’s coming to him. The stupid bully.My stomach lurches as I instinctively reach for my neck. Relief fills me. The pendant is still there. Grandmama gave it to me before she died. My mom says I can’t wear it. She says it’s too creepy. Maybe she will still be drunk on the sofa when I get home so she doesn’t bust me wearing it....

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“An Antique Polaroid” by Tanisha Zaman

Submitted to Contest #272

I toss the nicotine patches into my bag. I’ll definitely need it. Getting coerced into a camping trip with my ex-best friend, Lena and her toxic friends was definitely not how I'd spend my weekend but here we are. I didn't exactly get coerced, but I felt like I had to go. Lena had gone from being my best friend to just a stranger. Every day we talked less and less until our parents had had enough and forced us to go camping together. Just like old times, my mom said. I remember the first time we talked after a while; it made me wan...

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“Around Full Circle” by Jed Cope

Submitted to Contest #272

The pub was noisy, but to a level that wove a cocoon around the two friends. A log burner churned out a lazy heat, there was the promise of more from the dance show behind the glass, but that promise was breathless and lacklustre. Besides, Jake found the temperature suited him just fine. He’d undone his coat, but not bothered to take it off. Toby however, had shrugged his coat off like he was shedding skin, and now the coat lay around him on the bench. A marker, so no interloper would attempt to take his place. Not that the two of them would...

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“The Shadow ” by Gee Mendez

Submitted to Contest #272

Autumn is my favorite season. The weather is just right, not that blazing heat of summer. It’s been a struggle trying to adjust, moving from our old home. Everything is new, and soon I’ll have to make new friends, if even. The drive to our new home was so long; a two-hour drive up the mountain can make the strongest legs cramp. At least I can enjoy the many pine trees that cover everything in sight. The home slowly came into view through the windshield of the car. “Wow, that looks amazing!” My little sister said gleefully. The two-story hous...

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“Passenger” by Robin Butterworth

Submitted to Contest #272

I never thought I could be nostalgic for immigration at Julius Nyerere Airport. Those endless, untidy snakes of exhausted humanity. The scratched glass booths and the scufffed officers who walked in and out of them. Their faces unreadable, their movements unknowable, the queues they abruptly left behind abandoned to confusion. I had stood there for almost an hour, face to face with an empty desk, my dusky pink suitcase merrily spinning around the distant carousel, taunting me with imaginings of freedom. Of course, the roads of Dar es S...

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“The Rotting Sandwiches” by Haya H

Submitted to Contest #272

The sandwiches her mother packed for her would rot in her lunch box, uneaten. She refused to eat them. The sandwich would sit in her lunch box, growing soggy as the hours passed, suffocated by the plastic bag it came in. The school introduced a ban stating that kids were forbidden to throw away their lunches. It was supposed to teach them the value of food, to stop waste. But it only made things harder for her. Day after day, she edged closer and closer to the bin, making sure no one saw her. Wrapping the sandwich in tissue paper, she disgui...

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“The Pile” by Aimee Lavigne

Submitted to Contest #272

“No,” Tessa said quietly, “Not yet.” She stared at The Pile, glaring at it. She knew it was judging her. The Pile had waited for her all weekend from the spot on the dining table where she had unceremoniously dumped it. But Tessa was covered in blood. She certainly couldn’t deal with The Pile right now. She still had time. It was only 5:00 pm. Sunday wasn’t over yet. She could deal with it later. Tessa noticed more blood on the kitchen cabinets. Damnit, she thought. Was that from the stabbing, or the dismembering? Either wa...

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“I Do” by Amanda Bhaer

Submitted to Contest #272

It started with a kiss, just like the best hate stories do. A kiss between a boy and a girl, lovers who thought that, together, they could conquer anything. It ended with a kiss, poison on a woman’s lips. A kiss between a man who thought he could walk away, and a lover who would never let him. Love wins every time, after all, and theirs was a love that could conquer anything, even life. She had the antidote, she could have saved herself after watching the surprise on his face when his throat started to fill with bile and his hear...

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“Running Towards Freedom” by Sydney Flowers

Submitted to Contest #272

The sound of footsteps echoed against the darkened streets, growing fainter as the figure sprinted through narrow alleyways. Maya's lungs burned with every breath, but she couldn't stop—she wouldn't. Behind her, the weight of everything she had been running from for years still loomed, but tonight was different. Tonight, she was running towards something, not away. It had all started three years ago when Maya first felt the crushing weight of her choices. Raised in a family steeped in tradition, her life had always been laid out like a caref...

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“In the Dead of Night” by Ivy Chelaru

Submitted to Contest #272

My father bashed my head with an axe.I was 20 years old, and I noticed that if you talk to nature, nature answers you back. I began to pray to the river behind our house, to our apple tree that bloomed such beautiful flowers in the spring, and even to the sun as it shone brightly every morning. I was a good daughter; I cooked, cleaned, and fed the animals. Ever since my mother passed away, I have taken on all of her responsibilities and even more. The only thing I misbehaved about was not wanting to get married, mainly because my father want...

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“Pleasant Hill” by Tucker Sloan

Submitted to Contest #272

The Pleasant Hill Bed and Breakfast only had four guest rooms, and it sat on a hilltop surrounded by stunningly beautiful trees that had changed colors just in time for Halloween. There was one vacancy, and Pam had been slaving away in the kitchen making a turducken for her guests. The preparation process was not very appetizing, but once it was fully cooked, the guests, one-by-one, would descend the stairs from the second floor, and they would sit in the dining room salivating like mad dogs. Oh! The wine! She forgot to get wine for dinner. ...

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“Full moon ” by Michelle Sahu

Submitted to Contest #272

I walk through the forestAs far from civilization as l can getBreathing in the cool pine airCatching the last light of dayMy favorite time to hikeMy body one with the woods I feel something deep withinA tickle…An itch……An urge Something deep withinCalls to meA darknessA desireA bad dream I press onMy heart racingAs I hikeDeeper into the woods I watch the skyShift from Brilliant orangeTo midnight blue I shift my gazeThrough the skyMy eyes fallingIn dismay andPleasureOn the moon The moon Is full tonightIt fills me Us… itWith lun...

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$250

Prize money

488

Contest entries

175

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Oct 18, 2024 EST

Won by Mortimer Ridgewood 🏆

Title: Drone

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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