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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

“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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“The Smoking Room” by Rob Ryter

Submitted to Contest #272

I am sure it used to be here. Shit, there can’t be much of my break left. This is ridiculous. I get little enough free time as it is. Hell, one corridor looks just like another in this place. They’ve moved it again. They must have done. We used to have a proper smoking room with soft chairs and a water cooler, kettle, fridge and stuff. It’s no more than we’re entitled to. I know some people don’t smoke. I get that. But it’s about freedom of choice, isn’t it. You can choose whether you smoke or not. We won’t inflict our smoking on you. We’ll ...

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“Out With the Boyos” by RE Beck

Submitted to Contest #272

“My lover slept with my mother” was playing on an old episode of Jerry Springer and it was 91 degrees in the shade. The kids next door were outside running through a sprinkler, screaming as they chased each other into the spray. But at least I wasn’t at work, and I had cold beer. I was basically a happy guy. Later, I would think about how the weather doesn’t pay attention to people. It’s only in movies that someone gets mad and a thunderstorm starts. That day sure as hell didn’t pay attention to us. If it had, it would have been cold, f...

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“Stories of Terradran. Story 1: Beneath the Surface” by Tarja Mo

Submitted to Contest #272

The forest floor was a tangled web of tree roots, each one seemingly intent on tripping Elowen as she hurried away from the camp, her pace quick and uneven. It was the fourth day of their journey to Greenfield, and the second since they had entered the dense Cragwood Forest. Her cheeks were streaked with tears, which she angrily wiped away, muttering curses under her breath. Thomas, the blacksmith’s son from her village, had managed to make each day of their escape unbearable. Despite the tragedy of their village being burned to the ground, ...

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“The Hunt” by Avery Forrester

Submitted to Contest #272

It always hurts to eat.I can barely remember what it’s like to enjoy the act of eating. Savouring the reward was always my favourite part of a hunt; sinking my teeth into soft, supple flesh, warm blood trickling down my chin and leaving my hands slick and red, taking my time to relish every last bite. It’s all gone now. Killing has become nothing more than a chore, knowing that in the end, I won’t enjoy the feast. Never again. ***The winter air was harsh and biting that night. The seasonal chill always made it harder to get a good meal—the f...

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“Ellie's Ghost” by Katie Rose

Submitted to Contest #272

I just wanted to see her again. She was the light of my life, and she still is the light of my afterlife. As I look through her window, I can feel the sorrow pouring out of her as she picks up the picture frame she keeps of us on our – her – bedside table. It’s from a decade or so ago, when we went to a farmer’s market and ran into her friends from college. She asked them to take a photo of us, which is rare for her since she is normally behind the camera and not the subject. We were just browsing the booths, and as usual, she talked me into...

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“Birthday Parties Aren't for Werewolves” by Sydney Fisher

Submitted to Contest #272

How a werewolf ends up at a mostly human birthday party on the night of the full moon is beyond me. Yet, here I am, surrounded by normal humans as if tonight wasn't the singular most dangerous night of the month. Admittedly, my friend Tesha is probably to blame, the extrovert. She sits across the table from me, sipping blood from her trendy Stanley tumbler like she hasn't a care in the world. And maybe she doesn't. After all, she isn’t the one liable to sprout fur and claws at a moment’s notice. This is what happens, I think, when an introve...

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“Life of the Party” by Joshua G. J. Insole

Submitted to Contest #272

The teens opened the doors, packs of beer on their shoulders like pallbearers at a funeral for booze.Beatrice Baxter gasped. She had visitors. It had been so long. She couldn’t remember the last time people had stepped through these doors. But my, how brazen these youngsters were in flaunting their rule-breaking. Did they have no fear of the coppers catching them breaking the dry laws? But, on the heels of that thought came another: was there to be a party here in the family manor? It seemed so. Oh, how Bea longed to host one of her grand so...

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“The Long Night” by Ralph Aldrich

Submitted to Contest #272

High atop the Carpathian Mountains sits a medieval Romanian castle. It is eerily dark as the wind howls through, disturbing the cobwebs and thick layers of dust. Deep down in its bowels lies an ancient coffin containing a dark secret.As the last rays of light kiss the castle’s pinnacle, the wolves of the forest begin to howl. The lid of the ancient coffin starts to creak and snap as it slowly opens. Within lies the body of a man. It appears as though he was placed there just the day before. His hands are folded ...

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“Not All Men” by Allix James

Submitted to Contest #272

(This story does include some swearing, and hints at inappropriate behaviour - though this is not explicit) The forest crept dark into the valley. It was there I found myself, tucked away in my uncle’s cabin, retreating from the world. A malaise held thick the woods outside, pushing me deeper into my story, the ghost of it ugly in my periphery. I had come to write, to alter the narrative - the incident haunting my mind. I kept a pattern during those days, an order to placate the ruinous thoughts: would write the morning through; pour coffee ...

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“Dead End” by Angela Ewing

Submitted to Contest #272

Word count: 2743 Dead Endby Angela Ewing I am lost, driving on a long empty road in the Arizona desert in front of a truck that has been beh...

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“NIGHT FISHING” by Glenn Parsons

Submitted to Contest #272

NIGHT FISHINGNorthern Gulf of Mexico, Fishing Vessel Crimson Tide,40 miles south of Mobile Bay, Alabama, 4 AM The tiger shark had followed the boat for several hours attracted first by the low-frequency sounds that a working shrimp boat created and further reinforced by the smell of dead and dying fish that trailed behind. A twelve-foot female, her sensory systems fired urgent signals into her walnut-sized brain alerting her that food was nearby. Having found no prey in days, she was starving and the 38 pups she carried in her swollen belly ...

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“Nightbloods” by Yvonne Garza

Submitted to Contest #272

It all began so long ago, everyone has lost track of the years, the eons. We are the Nightblood, originating underground close to the earth’s core. Over time as it is with the evolutionary process, we formed into human shaped beings. Our only difference was because of our origins, we require a lot of iron and red blood cells to sustain ourselves. The first known of our kind to live on the surface was Andina. I admit it, I’m somewhat of an introvert for the most part. I work at home; I shop online and have almost everything delivered. Occasio...

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“The Gloaming of Bitterness” by Debra Tillar

Submitted to Contest #272

The Gloaming of Bitterness Brora leaned over the balcony wall, taking a slap of wet wind to her face. She held tight to the iron baluster and wondered what it would feel like to uncurl her fingers and let herself fly. The palace courtyard was two stories below and paved with rough-cut flagstone. Some weeks earlier a young servant, suspected of treachery against the Earl, had been dangled over the east tower parapet then deliberately dropped, legs first. He hadn’t died, had been sent in agony by mule cart back to his co-conspirators in Strom...

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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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