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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

“Ghost Song” by Joseph Ellis

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #272

They came to hurt us again. Not just me. They bring a machine specifically for this purpose. They came to hurt The Doctor and little Lulubelle, and the transient ghosts who sometimes occupy the cells. The first time they turned the machine on, I didn’t hear the screams of the others, only my own. The second time I heard them all, but mixed together. The third time I could hear each one, discreetly, distinctly.This is the fourth time they’ve come. The first time it was just one man, carrying the machine like a child carrying a watermelon, set...

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“I AM THE SILENCE BETWEEN HEARTBEATS” by Darvico Ulmeli

Submitted to Contest #272

"Did You Hear That?"I'm talking to you. Yes, you.Don't pretend you didn't notice. That creak that whispers you tried to dismiss as nothing, it wasn't. I've been watching. Listening. You've felt it, haven't you? That cold shiver crawling down your spine when you thought you were alone. When you told yourself, the darkness was empty. But it's not. And neither am I.You're not scared? Oh, you will be.Do you know what bones sound like when they break?It's not the quick snap you're thinking of. No, it's much worse than that. It starts with a groan...

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“The rooftop” by Anoush Hovnanian

Submitted to Contest #272

‘Wait!’ I scream, between coughs. I remember when I used to run up those stairs that fast, with as much ease as she does now. Those were the days! What I fear has happened, she passed by the science labs and classrooms. She’s not going to stop until she reaches the top. I have to join her. 47 is no age for such barbary. I’m pretty sure I sprained my ancle a couple of floors ago. ‘Miranda, a little help…’ I ask, but my wife’s voice is far behind. I hear her p...

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“Three Wishes” by John K Adams

Submitted to Contest #272

Furman Bentley awoke in a foul mood, an emotional state more common than not. “Deadlines… deadlines, deadlines…!”A popular author, Furman resented his editor’s incessant prodding him to excellence. Harley Houston, of Houston, Farley and Plum was his editor and publisher.Their phone conversations usually ended abruptly. Furman would tell Harley, “I’m always excellent. I don’t submit until it’s perfect. You only make changes to justify your pay.” For emphasis, almost his signature, he’d slam his phone down. Preserving the freedom to slam phone...

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“Take Me.” by James Scott

Submitted to Contest #272

Trigger Warning: Suicidal ideation, slight gore and violence, fertility. I no longer wanted to live my life, but neither did I wish to die. So I resisted the temptation of the eternal abyss, knowing that any afterlife would hold no consolation. In effect choosing a living death. Achieved by numbing my senses against the world and disappearing within.By day it was books, movies, video games; anything to place my mind in the body of another. Transporting my consciousness to a plane where there were strict rules and the main character always tr...

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“The Unforgiven” by Kaitlyn Wadsworth

Submitted to Contest #272

Laurena's family lived in a large fawn adobe home supported by long wooden posts. "Es muy grande casa," their servant Maria said with pride.These beams projected from the top corners of the house. The walls were relatively smooth. A covered verandah at the front divided the lower and upper floors. The flat top had a parapet around it, which could be accessed through a trapdoor via a narrow internal stairway. This opened inside a tower room with another narrow stairway and its own trapdoor. The tower room had a door that opened onto the ...

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“Don't” by Rebecca Hurst

Submitted to Contest #272

In the mid-seventies, a group of young teenagers went out on All Hallows Eve with the intent to frighten another member of their peer group. Their scratched-together costumes would not have frightened her, but the fishing rod scraping at her bedroom window did. So much so, in fact, she suffered a psychotic break so severe that she was institutionalised. She has been institutionalised ever since. *****Transcript of a conversation between Dr Alex Lee [AL] and Dr Sarah Lipscombe [SL] in the High Tor Restaurant, Castleton. [All small t...

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“Out for the Count” by Joshua G. J. Insole

Submitted to Contest #272

A knock-knock-knock came from the top of his coffin lid.Ekkehard Freudg closed his eyes and gritted his teeth. One day’s sleep was all he wanted, one day of peace. That damn boy would jump at the shadows of his own bat wings. Ekk pushed up his coffin and glared at the boy, not even deigning to sit upright. He kept his arms crossed over his chest. ‘Yes, Dunstan, what is it?’Dunstan Grieves stood there in his PJs, holding a blanket. He shifted from one foot to the other, looking awkward. ‘I heard a noise, Ekk.’Ekk’s eyebrows rose. He tried to ...

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“Mommy's Saddest Day Ever” by Hannah Lynn

Submitted to Contest #272

“Mommy, don’t cry.” I climbed up onto the bed and scooted under her blanket. She lay curled up on her side, and I squeezed into the space that was empty near her tummy, facing her. I stared into her eyes which held the sadness of the world. “I’m ok. I promise,” I whispered to her without reaction except for another tear slipping out sliding sideways landing on her pillow. I reached up to wipe the streak that the tear had left behind feeling my mother’s softness that I remembered so well. Every year on the same day she d...

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“Nudist’s Haven” by Scott Taylor

Submitted to Contest #272

Storms had damaged the road with potholes and washouts. Heavy rains had ravaged the earth, making the drive treacherous. Each jolt of the car reminded her of nature reclaiming its territory. Many years had passed since Sarah last visited the remote cabin. On her last visit, a bear tore down the clothesline, angering her granny. Her Grandmother had threatened to make a rug out of that bear if he came back around. It was now hers, a gift from her grandmother. Memories of her grandmother and the cabin flooded her as she neared the white split r...

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“ The Friendly Phantom” by Murray Burns

Submitted to Contest #272

The Friendly Phantom“A man’s got to know his limitations.”-Clint Eastwood/Dirty HarryOut and About the Town on a Chilly October Evening-“Boo!”Nothing.“Boo!!”Nothing.“BOO!!!”Worse than nothing- laughter.Wilbur dreaded turning in his tally sheet for the day at this evening’s meeting at the PIA (Poltergeists in Action) Lodge. Thirteen attempts; the number of people frightened- zero. Damien won’t be happy. Wilbur again felt like a complete failure as he slowly made his way back to the Lodge.The PIA Lodge-“Gosh, Wilbur, you’re almost late ag...

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“Phantom of the Mist” by Suzanne Jennifer

Submitted to Contest #272

The sideways rays of the sun painted a soft glow over the land, a familiar scene for this time of year. The deserted dock was a common sight during winter, and today was no exception. A lone figure walked toward the end of the pier and stepped into a small rowboat. Glancing skyward, the man in the dory silently pleaded with the sun for its guiding light to navigate the perilous channel.In the summer, this channel was teaming with seagoing vessels, large and small. Sailors and yachtsmen came from all directions inland to vacation here in this...

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“Visiting Time” by Penelope Stansfield

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #272

This story contains themes of grief, loss, and trauma. Mentions a car accident, death, physical injuries, and emotional pain.Early Sunday morning, the bus station is quiet with just the remains of last night's takeaway wrappers rolling around the stands, like dirty greasy passengers who’ve disembarked but have nowhere to go. The November chill turns my breath into little lost clouds and the slight breeze carries the scent of autumn, tickling my nostrils. Of all the places to be on a Sunday morning, this isn’t what I’d choose. ...

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“Obituary” by K.A. Murray

Submitted to Contest #272

I look frantically from left to right, trying to decide which way to go. I don’t know these Pennsylvania woods, and that’s a problem right now. When I hear footsteps crunching through the leaves I just ran through, my heart starts to race even faster. I’m fighting to breathe normally, lest my heavy breathing be overheard by the man who has been chasing me for the past ten minutes. Were it not for my history as a sprinter and the morning jogs I’ve taken every day for the past three years, I’d probably be dead by now. I crouch behind a wide oa...

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“A Vampire's Tale” by Ty Warmbrodt

Submitted to Contest #272

When the world was young and mankind was new to it, the sons of God came and went as they pleased. They pleasured themselves with the daughters of men, bringing forth men of great power, stature, and size. These men who were half angel and half man had an unquenchable thirst for blood. They were called Nephilim, better known today as Vampire. Today, there is much fictitious lore we must dispel concerning my kind before proceeding with my tale. We do drink the blood of humans, rejuvenating our bodies, giving us exceptionally long lives, but ...

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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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