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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

“Vincent the Insufferable ” by Morgan G

Submitted to Contest #272

The tiny human was back again. Vincent the Insufferable, known by those in the supernatural community as Vincent, sighed when he noticed a small hand pushing a few rotten wooden boards from the fence up. The velvet curtain in his hands wrinkled when he pulled it open wider to see the backyard better, using a little more strength than he should have.The rotten wood had been falling apart in the last few years because of frequent rain in Washington. The green grass and flowers in the back garden appreciated the rain, as evident by how big...

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“Garden of Lost and Found” by Tiffany Harris

Submitted to Contest #272

The garden was alive—wild, tangled, and full of ghosts.Dolores ran, not like a woman of her age, but like someone being chased by time itself. Her arthritic knees protested with each step, a reminder of her seventy-three years, but she pushed on. The wind whipped through her silver hair, catching it in a dance that was at once wild and deliberate. It wrapped itself around her face, almost like the fingers of those she had lost—every touch, every strand, a reminder.She could hear their voices. Feel their presence.Every bloom she passed was a ...

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“Heater” by Alia Divine

Submitted to Contest #272

BOO! Did I scare ya? I think I’m getting better at it!When I was a really little kid my parents would take me trick or treating every Halloween, and whenever I could, I’d play a game of hide and seek with ‘em. I’d hide on porches next to big skeletons, and behind doors, and when they got close I’d jump out and scream “BOO!”, and it becames really good practice.I miss Mommy and Dad a lot, but now every days’ is Halloween! That’s what my new best friends tell me. But it doesn’t feel the same without dad’s homemade sugar cookies he l...

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“They're Already Here” by Needs Chocolate

Submitted to Contest #272

"Mommy! Mommy! Help, it's chasing me!"My four-year-old crashed into our bedroom dressed in his Toy-Story pajamas, wild-eyed and hysterical. Leaping onto our bed, he burrows beneath the blankets, shaking and crying. "Good grief. He needs to learn to sleep in his own bed," my husband griped, tired of this constant nightly battle that began shortly after Jimmy's fourth birthday. "Jimmy, sweetie, what is chasing you?" I asked gently, trying to peel him off my leg. "There's monsters in my room, an one got out and is trying to eat me." Why are hum...

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“Till Death Do Us Part ” by Jen Kerry

Submitted to Contest #272

There are lilies at the bedside. I smell them before I see them. The sweet lingering perfume wafts around the room, determined to mask that retched hospital stench. They stand aimlessly in a crude hospital vase, which is little more than a jam jar filled with not enough water. I used to love lilies.You would bring them to me every Valentine’s Day and on my birthday, knowing that I much preferred them to roses. They would be wrapped in brightly coloured crepe paper and attached would be a card with your name; your signature a spindl...

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“HOW TO MAKE ENDS MEET” by Janet Lorimer

Submitted to Contest #272

Note: This story contains references to necrophilia, abuse of a corpse, murder of a child. HOW TO MAKE ENDS MEETBy Janet Lorimer Tonight is Halloween. Under the porch light I stand, holding a bowl of candy. Small ghouls and goblins run by, laughing and shouting. I watch for the little straggler who has fallen behind the older children. His cries of “Wait for me!” go unheeded. I am ready, my open hand outstretched so he can see the treat that rests upon it. He climbs the steps, coming to me just as I once cam...

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“Moonlit Maul ” by Vince Roman

Submitted to Contest #272

The world teeters on its axis, spinning with relentless fervor. I'm caught in the whirlwind of its dizzying dance, a flurry of color and jarring sound that engulfs my senses. I twirl in my yard amidst this chaos, the hem of my dress billowing outwards in a bold display of pink that harshly contrasts with the eerie silver glow cast by the full moon hanging heavy in the night sky. My dress flutters around me like iridescent wings of a butterfly trapped mid-flight - delicate yet pulsating with life. It's vibrant, almost violently so, a garish s...

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“The Ghost of the Brookdale Lodge” by Ute Gillett

Submitted to Contest #272

The Ghost of the Brookdale Lodge “Did you hear? They’re going to open the Brookdale Lodge again? Some fancy Indian hotelier bought it!” Al hollered over the noise of the mill.“Bought that little girl’s ghost, too, you know!” Brode’s voice came back over the noise of the saw. “Wonder if he knew what he got himself into.” The mill quieted down; the log had finished running through. “Oh, just lay off with the old wives’ tales,” Al laughed. “There’s no ghost! It was an accident. Slipped and fell on her head, the poor thing.” “Maybe you’r...

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“The Choice” by KC Foster

Submitted to Contest #272

Trigger Warning: Drugs, Suicide, substance abuse, mental healthThe world spun around Markus in vibrant colors. A whirlwind blur fascinated his drug-filled eyes, joyful music filled his ears, and the memories were lost in the mix. Everything was a haze and he was finally free from the pain. The moment the memories returned, he took hold of another needle feeling the table beside him, and rammed it into his arm feeling the release and groaned with pleasure, and another. He never wanted to return this time.Everything went dark and the vibr...

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“The Transition Point” by ISIL KARDAS

Submitted to Contest #272

Isil leaned back into her airplane seat, the soft hum of the engines vibrating beneath her. The flight from Doha back to Australia stretched ahead like a long, silent tunnel between the past and an uncertain future. The seatbelt light had just flicked off, and the flight attendants moved down the aisles with practiced efficiency. Outside, the endless expanse of clouds drifted below them, while inside, Isil felt a different kind of weight settling in her chest.Beside her sat Valney, his eyes glued to the flickering screen in front of him. He ...

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“Blood Bond” by Axel S.

Submitted to Contest #272

The day of the ritual comes with the clearest sky they’ve had in a long time. Alicia and Orion prepare together, not saying a word. Tears dry on both of their faces, a sensation neither of them have experienced in years. Orion throws up outside while Alicia covers her eye bags with pencil and powder. The outfits chosen for them are itchy and uncomfortable, hardly suited for the long hike through the woods that awaits them. When they finally step outside, cloaked townspeople paint both their faces and pull veils over their heads. A...

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“Cause, Silly, It’s Mine” by Pete Devlin

Submitted to Contest #272

Cause, Silly, It’s Mine Donna and Ian had met in college. They had a mutual interest in serial killers and met in the stacks at the university library. Donna was looking for a book about H. H. Holmes, Ian was searching for a biography on John Wayne Gacy. They started talking about their mutual interest, compared knowledge, and talked about how it would feel to murder someone. These meetings in the library evolved to discussions over coffee, then conversations over dinner, and finally as debates over who was the deadliest killer before bed. O...

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“Green Apple with Cheese” by Tempest Phoenix Smith

Submitted to Contest #272

She rubbed the towel against her hair which was damp where the shower spray had caught it. When she entered the room, she saw at once that he was asleep on the sofa, his long legs squashed to fit the cramped space. She felt her eyebrow quirk upwards, a movement out of her control. Not much was, these days. She hung the towel on a chair and walked into the kitchen. Domesticity amused her sometimes. She clicked the kettle on that she had already filled for the two of them. Soon, she carried an aqua tray with two full m...

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“Godzone” by Mark Snoad

Submitted to Contest #272

The unnatural silence alerted Tāne to the encroaching threat. The normally boisterous woodland stunned into silence. No intermittent birdsong, scraping or rustling. Nothing. Nothing at all. Tāne ignored the bead of sweat caressing his forehead and focused on the clearing in front of his cottage. There. A suspicion of a shadow. Would he never be free of this? Tāne adjusted his gilded bow. The already cocked arrow targeted the intruding presence. The sense of utter revulsion screamed at Tāne, but he didn’t allow his focus to waiver. Touching t...

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“Relief #ReedsyFright” by Jari Rosnell

Submitted to Contest #272

Relief My first memory from childhood is when I was about five years old. It was also my first memory of it and at the same time, of my present...My father and mother put me to bed, and I remember their faces as if it were yesterday. How they hugged and kissed me and wished me good night and sweet dreams. As I closed my eyes, I remember how strange the ...

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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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