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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

“Whispers in the Hollow” by U H

Submitted to Contest #272

Julian ran, his breath sharp and ragged, feet pounding the cracked earth of the desolate highway. The night sky loomed heavy above him, the moon swollen and dim behind a veil of clouds. His legs burned, but stopping was not an option. Not tonight. Not after what he'd seen.It was chasing him.He could hear it behind him, a faint rustling that seemed to come from nowhere and everywhere all at once. It was a sound like dry leaves scraping across stone, except it wasn't leaves, and there were no stones. There was only the road, stretching endless...

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“What Our Demons Do in the Dark” by Isabella Sparks

Submitted to Contest #272

Cass and Dean were on their way home after a late night movie. The roads were deserted as they drove through their small sleeping town. It was a pastime of theirs, to joyride in Dean’s old Impala, taking the long way home in the late hours of the night. Dean grabbed Cass’s hand, interlacing his fingers with hers. He lifted it up to his lips and gave it a light kiss before he rested it on her thigh and smiled. Cass returned his warm gaze, and a moment later his eyes flitted past her and he nodded at the old building on the right as he idled b...

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“All That Lives in This Dark Corner” by Abby Johnson

Submitted to Contest #272

There was one thing Miller knew for sure after his first day in his new house; His house had a ghost. He had bought this house on Rural Road #5 two weeks prior. It was a plain house with an open floor plan and its wooden panels outside painted an abysmal gray. It was a Cape-style house, his realtor told him. “Built in 1905 by a man named Ernie Betts. He was a fisherman, you see, and needed his house close to the bay.” The house sat on fifty-five acres of land outside of Hamlet, Maine in a little township called Doe’s Head. Miller thoug...

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“The Punishment” by Sophia Marvin

Submitted to Contest #272

It is through the whims of those surrounding us that we become prey to our greatest fears. The greatest fear of her life was to never move on, to always be stagnant, never moving forward or getting better. Perhaps it was fate itself that let her succumb to the whims of others, and fall to rest upon her greatest fear. She’d been a slight veil in the world for a long period now. She was on the bridge between life and death, the in-between that she’d been so afraid of for all of her mortal life. Beyond the veil al...

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“My little Ghost - The Voice of dreams' soul is breath!” by Stefania Katz

Submitted to Contest #272

“Who he was? He feared me the most when I was walking into his office, so to avoid me he always had in his pocket some coins to give for sweets! He was a lawyer-layer. He never worked as a lawyer, he was a tree landlord, and he had to manage a huge land of trees. He was a lonelier, quiet, and smart person always working in his office. He never asked me anything. I once decided to tell him that I was doing a PhD in London, he knew it, and after my mentioning he smiled back at me saying: “Of course, that’s great!” I did not know how to continu...

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“Did You Hear That?” by Cade Holter

Submitted to Contest #272

"Did you hear that?"Hank lifted his head from his phone and looked over at Felix. "Hear what?"Felix didn't bother to look up from his own phone. He always did that, Hank thought. Never paid attention when he was spoken too."Felix!""What?" He still didn't look up."You said you heard something?"This time Felix did bother to look at him, squinting like he was looking at the dumbest man on earth."Uh, I didn't?""What do you mean you didn't?" Hank asked, gesturing around at their apartment, at the grey walled living room full of nothing but a ratt...

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“The Hunger In the Shadows” by Vera N

Submitted to Contest #272

I have forgotten the exact year I died. Time dissolves in the darkness, becoming an endless night. I remember flashes—the sound of wind howling through the trees, the sharp sting of frost on my face, and the cold, relentless grip of death as it sank its teeth into my soul. But the details blur, fragments of a life I can barely remember, overtaken by the hunger. I think I was a man once. I think I had a name. I lived, I breathed, and I walked among the living. But now, I am something else, something far older and more sinister. I have become ...

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“Eternally yours” by Sandy Burke

Submitted to Contest #272

Melody lifted her head from the steering wheel and opened her eyes. All she could see was billowing grey smoke and flashing lights from emergency vehicles. The front end of her car was crunched like a beer can waiting in the recycle bin, and she could hear the hissing from the engine ringing in her ears. The car in front was facing the wrong way and looked as severely damaged as hers. Looking around, she noticed the driver's side door was already open, so she stepped out to see if she could find out how this occurred.An ambulance was parked ...

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“The Secret Life of Arthur” by Anna Marie Taylor

Submitted to Contest #272

The Secret Life of Arthur The dinner bell rang with its usual tinny voice, starling Arthur out of his reverie. He had been watching two black beetles chase one another across the windowsill and hadn’t noticed the sky growing dark. It wasn’t as though that mattered to him, really; spirits such as himself didn’t need light to see. The attic room was painted scarlet and lavender in the approaching dusk; the retreating sun piercing the twilight with a final vindictive swath of golden glory before it sank below the horizon and relinquis...

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“Escape” by M.C. Raven

Submitted to Contest #272

When Layla stared into the mirror, all she could see were her mother’s eyes. The rim of her iris’s were an emerald green that gradually faded into shades that reminded her of blades of grass glinting with fresh morning dew, flecks of gold weaving throughout. She could not tear her eyes away from her sunken cheekbones and the grayed hue that hung in low rings beneath her bottom lashes. She bit her crusted, swollen bottom lip, her tongue like sandpaper as she licked it for the hundredth time.God, what she would do for a bottle of water or even...

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“A Walk Home” by Tara D. Wilson

Submitted to Contest #272

He glimpsed his weary reflection as he stepped off the elevator. He stopped to look at the muddled mirror of the elevator's walls. The long nights at his corporate job were catching up to him, as his pale face and the dark circles under his eyes demonstrated. He sighed and loosened his tie as he grabbed his coat and made his way out of the gray concrete building. The weekend was finally here.Outside, the night air was calm and cold. Amidst the street lights, he could see the stars and bright full moon above if he squinted just right. "A...

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“Boogieman ” by John K Adams

Submitted to Contest #272

Jonathan’s kids, Arlo and Devon, crawled into their beds. Cal, their cat, curled up at the foot of Arlo’s bed. Its tail swept up and landed with a contented thud every few seconds.Arlo asked, “Will you read us a story?”Devon giggled. “A scary one.”“I don’t know… would your mom like that? The idea’s to sleep, not get nightmares…”Grinning, she held out an old, hard covered book. “This one…”The book looked familiar to Jonathan, as if from a dream. Taking it from her he looked at the faded print on the spine, ‘Stories for the Sleepless, by Edwin...

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“A Vampire's First Day” by Ellie Northrop

Submitted to Contest #272

'I don't think I've ever been so close to being in the sun like this.' Juliet thought, staring through the car window. With the safety of the tinted windows, she is protected from sunlight. Looking through the glass makes everything gray and dull, but Juliet can imagine the colors.The red, green, and yellow of the stoplights. The red on the roses that are displayed outside a flower store. The splash of colors that are shown on clothes displayed outside a boutique. The blue in the sky and the white in the clouds.'It would be nice to see it al...

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“The In Between” by Natalie Lee

Submitted to Contest #272

I see everyone but no one sees me. Alone in the dark is little old me. I want to be heard; I want to be seen. I try, and I try but do not succeed. I cry out to everyone passing by, but they do not even bat an eye. Why is no one paying attention to me when all I want is some company. I do not ask for much you see, give me just a few minutes to share my misery. I miss my life, my family and friends, it never seems to end. I visit them often and try to touch them but pass right through. I cannot feel them, and they cannot feel me. I miss t...

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“Teetering Domino” by Jed Cope

Submitted to Contest #272

In life, one action leads to another and another. A single domino can topple a thousand. A seemingly insignificant ripple can encourage and cajole her brothers and sisters to join her in a dance that brings colossal waves to crash upon the shore and cause fatal devastation. The causality in life is due to connection. Connection cannot be avoided, for if it is, the destructive nature of isolation is even more vile. The dark ingenuity of an isolated mind is truly evil. The hateful intent that finds the button to press or the lever to pull, abs...

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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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