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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#281: The Fright Before Christmas

Don’t forget to use the hashtag #ReedsyHoliday to share your stories (and potentially get featured on our social accounts)!

With less than two weeks left until Christmas, I’ve been filling my days with cozy activities that are perfect for the festive season. While baking, caroling, and wrapping gifts are pretty standard for this time of the year, I also enjoy doing something a bit unexpected with my friends: holding creepy holiday movie marathons.

With that in mind, here are five prompts inspired by eerie holiday classics like Krampus and The Nightmare Before Christmas. Snuggle up with your thickest blanket and get started on a tale of regret, longing, love, horror, mystery — whatever you fancy! Good luck, and happy holidays to all those who celebrate!

This week's prompts

Write about a mysterious guest who arrives at a party — but no one knows who they are.

Dramatic – 60 stories

Start or end your story with someone receiving a strange — and possibly sinister — gift.

Dramatic – 54 stories

Write a story from the POV of a non-human character.

Short Story – 103 stories

Set your story during the coldest day of the year.

Short Story – 52 stories

Write a story that includes the line “Be careful what you wish for.”

Dramatic – 40 stories

Stories

“Dark Black Stone” by Thomas Wetzel

Submitted to Contest #281

In April of 1919, shortly after the end of World War One, Colonel James Forrest Cain of the Royal West African Frontier Force was stationed in Cameroon for a period of one year, which might be extended depending on the prevailing conditions in the territory at that time. He was to serve as the commanding officer of a garrison of 200 soldiers stationed at Douala, a port city where the river Wourri pours out into the Atlantic Ocean. There was some social unrest but no major uprisings during Cain’s term there so he was able to spend much o...

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“Bella Renard” by John Rutherford

Submitted to Contest #281

It was Christmas Eve in the Ba world, and Santa hadn’t mistakenly delivered this unusual package to the wrong address at Kubbeli Evler, he was busy elsewhere. This is not a nativity story, as the newborn in the story was not the son of God, and there are no wise men bearing gifts. “Shall we eat it? I’m hungry and haven’t eaten flesh for days.” Said the twins, Jupiter and Saturn together, they always uttered their views in unison, like a stereo sound system. It was completely out of context with the scene and situation in front of them. ...

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“O Tannenbaum!!” by Murray Burns

Submitted to Contest #281

O Tannenbaum!!“Taking down the Christmas tree makes it feel official: time to get back to joyless and cynical.”-Greg FitzsimmonsMarv’s Tree Farm- Endeavor, WisconsinEvergreens at all stages of development, from the 3” seedings to the twelve footers, dotted the entire 100 acres. There was a wave of change across the landscape each year as mature trees were cut down and replaced by a new, younger crop. November is always a time of great excitement at a Christmas tree farm.“Do you think they’ll chop me down and ship me off somewhere this year?”...

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“THE PUPPET’S HEART” by Darvico Ulmeli

Submitted to Contest #281

The nights are the hardest.By day, sunlight streams through the narrow gaps between thatched rooftops, casting golden pools on the uneven cobblestones of the village. The boys dart across the streets, their bare feet slapping against the stones with careless abandon. Their laughter swirls in the air, a melody that dances on the wind, brushing past me but never quite settling in my hollow chest. They are so alive, their movements fluid and unrestrained, as if their very existence is music - limbs like pliant willow branches, bending but never...

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“Treeadore” by Chelsey B

Submitted to Contest #281

*trigger warning for kidnapping/mild abuse (of a young tree) I, Treeadore Spruce, was only seven years old and six feet tall when my world came crashing down. Actually, I was only seven years old and six feet tall when I came crashing down. One minute, I was standing in the forest, vibrant and green against a swirling winter wonderland. Snowflakes were dancing all around me. My boughs were bouncing in the breeze. The next minute, I was falling face first into the snow. Everything went black. When I came to, I found myself being carrie...

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“The First Gingerbread Man” by James Scott

Submitted to Contest #281

Trigger Warning: Suicidal ideation and candied violence.I remember being made. A sting of stainless steel cut my shape from a sheet of dough and as soon I was released from its embrace, I was aware. Heat filled me next, radiating from the dark void, suffusing my fresh body with the warm air of life. Gentle hands, with a power beyond my reckoning, gifted me further senses with the painting of my features and attachment of my candied eyes. The first thing I saw when my vision adjusted to the blinding light of day was her face, Amanda; my creat...

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“The Value of the Corn” by Colin Wadeson

Submitted to Contest #281

*Murder / Suicide / Mild Gore*It was the coldest day of the year. The crow swooped down from the white sky and landed in the middle of the field in front of the scarecrow.The crow said nothing yet, but paced back and forth on the frozen soil like a drill sergeant. A few minutes of this passed, then the crow stopped and announced to the scarecrow:'Bad news, friend. Spring isn't coming. Neither the warmer summer. This winter is, it pains me to apprise, all you'll see from now until your splints give, or the farmer dismembers you for kindling. ...

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“The Big Freeze” by Simeon Whiting

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #281

Everyone in Longstanton knows the story of Tom Forbes. It began as a ghoulish news item in the South Cambridgeshire Recorder in December of 1962, fuelled village gossip for months afterwards and finally passed into local folklore. The Rev and Mrs D.P. Goodwin were scandalised when they heard that their beloved daughter, Caroline, had been accosted by Tom, an uncouth young farm labourer. (Accosted repeatedly in fact and, I might add, a very enthusiastic participant in the accosting.) The ever-respectable vicar forbade Caroline from seeing Tom...

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“Migration” by Story Time

Submitted to Contest #281

The gull saw the husband explaining why he didn’t know how to change a tire. He had told his wife on their first date seven years ago that he knew how to change a tire. He crowed about it over linguine at Nino’s Bistro. Somehow, in all those years, neither he nor his wife had ever gotten a flat tire. Now, they were on their way to her mother’s house for a holiday dinner, and the passenger’s side tire was a goner. There was a spare, but the husband didn’t know how to put it on, nor did he have the proper tools. He could have used the tools as...

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“Pendulum Swing” by Ava J

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #281

Tick, tick, tick. The party started at eight-thirty, but nobody could recall when the man arrived. The lady with the pink boa, quite extravagant for such an occasion, swore she saw him dance in. He swept through the double doors, she said, with a flourish so dramatic it must have been rehearsed. Surprisingly, this grand gesture had drawn no attention besides her curious eyes. The lady with the pink boa had noticed other people at the party too, for she had a knack for noticing things. Not the things most people paid attention to. No, h...

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“Whose Party Is It Anyway?” by Murray Burns

Submitted to Contest #281

Whose Party Is It Anyway? “Many are called, but few are chosen.” &nbs...

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“Oh Tannenbaum's Revenge” by Mary Butler

Submitted to Contest #281

I always though I’d make a classy corpse—lit up in gaudy white lights, a gold star perched on my severed head, and a mountain of overpriced presents stuffed under my body. Instead, I’m still here. Still rooted. Watching. Waiting. Listening to the screams of my kin as they’re hacked down and strapped to the roofs of SUVs like trophy kills.My name’s Tim Burr. Yeah, I know—hilarious, right? I’m a seven-year-old Fraser fir in this Christmas tree death camp. Think of me as the guy in the horror movie who knows what’s coming but can’t do a damn th...

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“Sinister Wish” by Donald Haddix

Submitted to Contest #281

Tom Williams walked into his office party and it looked so festive. The buffet was unbelievable. It was Christmas Eve, so it was bonus time for all the employees. Tom's top three were in attendance. Mr. Williams, Tom, started his department chain by hand in the hills of Arkansas. Before Tom, it was only the big box stores. He broke the mold though, and now these three were in control. The company put together this party to honor the three and everyone was dancing, drinking and having a good time. As he looked around the room, he only saw g...

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“The Red King's Wrath” by Calum Mathison

Submitted to Contest #281

The fire crackled gently in the rough stone hearth, its warmth fighting a waning battle against the icy wind that howled through the ancient halls of the elven enclave. Snow battered the thick wooden shutters and thick tendrils of frost crept along the edges of the windows. Noel sat in an old rocking chair close to the fire, a thin blanket pulled in close to himself. Around him sat his twelve children, their young faces pale and drawn in the flickering light as they huddled together. The old elf’s silver hair caught the faint glow of t...

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“A Kind of Magic...” by Kendall Defoe

Submitted to Contest #281

Okay, this is really not my fault.I am now in a very different spot than I’m used to (buzz). And I really did not expect the screaming and the trip through the air like that (buzz buzz). So dark, too…But let me talk a little about myself and you might have a bit of sympathy about my plight.Buzz…Many years back (buzz), according to my manufacture date, I was put together in a factory in (buzz) a country that many of you read about online, and yet know so little about. It may seem strange that I can remember my (buzz) date of birth – such a st...

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$250

Prize money

309

Contest entries

154

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Dec 20, 2024 EST

Won by Karissa W 🏆

Title: The Counter and the Coal

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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