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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 – 111 stories

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

Dramatic – 84 stories

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

Short Story – 143 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 – 83 stories

Stories

“We Know What We Heard” by Amanda Stogsdill

Submitted to Contest #272

We Know What We Heard by Amanda StogsdillThumpity thump! Inside their cozy living room, teens Danny and Tommy paused their video game. Onscreen, two cars were about to collide with one another. Deciding it was the wintry wind, they returned to their game.Thump, thump. There it was again, a little louder than before. Tommy looked at Danny, perplexed. "Are you doing that?" He shook his head, just as confused as his brother.After about a half hour, their mother returned with groceries. Unpacking in the kitchen, they told her about the mysteriou...

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“The Corpse Matron” by X Kaiser

Submitted to Contest #272

Greene Memorial Clinic in Wingston was founded in the 1950s, and many cases of disappearance have occurred. Many residents say that a ghost known as the Corpse Matron wheels people away in the middle of the night. Many argue that it's just a rumor and that those missing patients passed away. If they had, why wasn't the other staff on shift notified? Yet somehow, the date and time of their passing were written in red ink in their files, along with the initials A.E. at the bottom of the paper. It was narrowed down to someone on the night shift...

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“Halloween Srory” by Samuel Newsome

Submitted to Contest #272

Halloween Story October thirty-first arrived in the Landry household with great anticipation. At least the smallest Landry, Larry, was excited for the holiday. At eleven years young, he had experienced trick or treat in past years with one parent close behind him as he marched up door steps in a kangaroo or clown costume and bravely announced, “Trick or treat!” The neighbors would bestow treats upon young Larry while waving at his parent ...

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“The Fall of Autumn” by Daniel Costa

Submitted to Contest #272

There is a stillness in the air. A blood moon rises over the tree line like a ruby that glimmers in the torch light. A man sat in his parked car at the side of a dirt road. This man is a solitary man, a hermit if you will. He ponders the great questions of life and writes down his dreams in the attempt to interpret their meaning. He has had a few lovers in his life, fewer friends, but that is a distant memory to him, although young. He was at a place called Deadwood by the locals. It is known for its sightings of Bigfoot in 1978 and has beco...

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“Hide and Seek by Ada Omerez” by Mia Balansag

Submitted to Contest #272

Hide and seekBy: Ada Omerez Ever since the first day of kindergarten, Tyler dragged his half-closed backpack up the twisty stairs of his old apartment building. The dim yellow ceiling lights flickered, and he could hear the faint water trickle from the gray day outside. His bag was soaked, not making it any easier to carry. His bag deeply reminded him of the crumbling walls around him, tattered, teared at the seams, and held on by a frayed thread. Tyler wanted to replace his bag, but he never found enough time to fix it. Mostly, he jus...

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“Her” by Colbi Johnson

Submitted to Contest #272

I never thought much about the girl at first. She was just someone I saw in passing—on the street, in a coffee shop, or at the park. She always seemed to be there, but I never paid her much attention. Just another stranger. Before all of this started, my life was ordinary. I worked at an office downtown, a predictable routine that I didn’t mind. My mornings were the same—early commutes, black coffee, and half-hearted small talk with coworkers. I liked the comfort of my routines, the way everything was orderly and familiar. Then I saw her. It...

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“Butterflies of the Broken Mind ” by Theresa Sullivan

Submitted to Contest #272

Thema had always been a figure of whispered conversations and hushed warnings among the locals of the sleepy town of Windsor. She haunted a narrow stretch of Traveler Trail, a path through ancient woods that maneuvered parallel to a river. People had been reporting strange happenings on that road—disembodied voices, flickering lights, sudden chills, and most chilling of all, sightings of Thema herself—for as long as anyone could remember. What made Thema Mercer different from other ghost stories wasn’t just creepy experiences. She disp...

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“Hide” by Katie Kim

Submitted to Contest #272

“Hide,” My mother told four-year-old me sternly. “Hide, and I’ll find you.” I giggled and ran into the house to find a hiding place as my mother began counting. I hid under the coffee table, trying to stay perfectly still as she announced, “Ready or not, here I come!” I heard her footsteps approach softly, and she stooped under the table with one swift motion to come eye-to-eye with me. I didn’t know how, but she always knew exactly where I hid. A few years passed, and I got better at hide and seek. The rules… cha...

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“When One Door Closes” by Macy Farmer

Submitted to Contest #272

In his dreams he was always running, running from unseen entities that nipped at his heels, or running towards a home he could never reach. Always exhausted, utterly drained, but unable to stop. His pounding feet were a constant soundtrack to his slumber. He could feel it thump in his skull as he slowly came to consciousness, heavy beats replaced by the rhythmic ka-clack of train tracks. It rattled his bones, and pulsed in time with a throbbing headache at his temples. As he stood on numb legs he found himself alone in a train car, poised at...

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“Escape From Darkness ” by Ayanna Edwards

Submitted to Contest #272

Emily, trapped in an abusive relationship with Ryan, discovers his darkest secret: a gruesome chamber beneath their home. Desperate, she flees, navigating treacherous terrain and evading Ryan's traps. But Ryan, driven by obsession, hunts her down. As Emily runs, cryptic messages from an unknown number hint at Ryan's true nature. She uncovers his link to an ancient cult, and fragmented memories of her past suggest a connection to Ryan's darkness. A mysterious figure aids or hinders her escape, their intentions unclear. Ryan's journal entries ...

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“It Came At Night!” by Randy Ramos

Submitted to Contest #272

It was a normal Saturday when boyhood friends Noah Bill And Skylar were hanging out At their typical spot by the creek on the other side of town they always heard of the urban Legend of the creek monster from the other bigger kids across the town and bullies at their Local middle school they say that if you stay at the creek long enough at night they say A monster comes out of the pitch dark and eats you, Noah believes it, bill and Skylar Don't with noah saying you guys dont think the urban legend is true guys?&...

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“High Wire” by Leslie Parado

Submitted to Contest #272

TRIGGER WARNING: This story contains references to sexual and physical violence.The first things to fall are my shoes. There’s a quiet smack-smack as they hit the ground, the pair creating their own echo in the almost-empty tent. The only other sound is a plodding clump…clump…clump, giant shoes finding their place on the ladder behind me. Quickly I am mid-wire, ahead of him, but not far enough. I need to create more space.From behind, he threatens: “You can’t…” (clump) “run away…” (clump) “from me…” Clump-clump. He is on the platform. I say ...

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“The Burning Woman” by G S Martin

Submitted to Contest #272

August 1760 Pouring out of the south with righteous attitude, Comanche raiders swept over the Ranches of Taos. They took fifty-six women and children, a considerable percentage of the Ranchos' population, leaving behind the dead and broken, their homes razed, and their livestock slaughtered. Their sisters and daughters...poof! Some of these ranches survived. &nbs...

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“Black Cloche Hat” by Trey Blevins

Submitted to Contest #272

My dog is not a chihuahua or a pomeranian or any other normally petite breed, but he's the smallest dog you've ever seen. And when I say 'seen,' I mean in real life. We've all seen videos of artificially bred goblin pups with eyes the size of their brains and lifespans shorter than their compression snouts, but I mean the dogs you see at the park or a pet shop or, in our case, the train. I take my dog on the train every day. He's a shiba inu and you might immediately think that yeah, shiba inus can be pretty small, and I'd say you're right, ...

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“The Good News” by Ben Lages

Submitted to Contest #272

Content warning- The beginning of this story is set in a warzone and contains a few glib descriptions of the dead; this could potentially be sensitive. Shep Mercier’s father had warned him against enlisting, and Shep always assumed that time had softened the old man too much. How could he tell him not to enlist when he’d fought in the last war and come home with so many stories? Shep still felt a twinge of disappointment in the look of horror that had been on his father’s face the first time he’d come home in uniform. I’ll be just fine, he...

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$250

Prize money

484

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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