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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

“Globe” by Kendall Defoe

Submitted to Contest #281

Please, please come in. You can put your coat on the stand by the door.Would you like some coffee or tea? I have a kettle that is electric and they tell me that things are better when life goes faster. I'm not sure.Okay, I was expecting you earlier, but that does not matter. I seem to have more than a day to finish everything before they pack up my life and forget about me.No, I don’t mean you. I called you for a reason.They are not taking everything, you know. I decided a long time ago to make sure that certain things would not just disappe...

18 comments 18
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“The Christmas Fairy.” by Julie Grenness

Submitted to Contest #281

So this was Christmas. The Christmas Fairy was gorgeous. A scintillating frock adorned with glitter and sparkles, a golden wand and crown, completed by gossamer wings. By now, she was six foot four inches tall, plus inclusive high heeled, jeweled, platform sandals. But, hey, she was loud and proud. Abusive and aggressive, yes, alone for now, but still, she was lovely looking Christmas fairy. So this was Christmas. And what had the Christmas fairy done, finally achieved? She had her own considered personal point of view about the spirit of Ch...

3 comments 3
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“Onset” by Martin Ross

Submitted to Contest #281

“Creepy.” EmilieCoggins’ tone was flat, which means little in isolation. But as our “eyes” met, I registered an incongruity. I was new at this, indeed new at everything, and I logged it for further consideration as I developed a viable baseline. Incongruities may signal systemic anomalies, anomalies systemic dysfunction, and dysfunction the potential for systemwide malfunction and, without intervention, eventual breakdown.Until you factor in adolescence. Or onset adolescence.“I think it’s adorable.” SherylCoggins’ voice, on the other hand, w...

15 comments 15
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“Gifts are Given, Not taken” by Michelle Oliver

Submitted to Contest #281

Lazaro wended his way through the crowded ale house, one hand greeting everyone with a warm handshake, the other slipping fingers into pockets that were not his own. He beamed, and smiled, and thanked everyone for coming out on this cold, blustery evening to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of his birth, a most auspicious occasion.By the time he had circumnavigated the room and arrived back at the bar, everyone was in rowdy, high spirits. He leapt up on the counter, his diminutive height put him at just a head above the crowd, and, flingin...

8 comments 8
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“Liar, Liar” by Viga Boland

Submitted to Contest #281

<only mild suggestion of childhood mental abuse>I watch her now as she carefully lowers herself into what she hopes will be a comfortable chair for at least half an hour. Only I notice the wince that escapes her lips before she plasters on her best smile for the family. It’s Christmas. Only tidings of comfort and joy today, please and thank you.“Are you ok, Grandma?” 12-year-old Emily asks. “Would you like a cushion for your back?”She shoos Emily away gently with assurances she is fine. Liar, liar, pants on fire! That’s what I use...

16 comments 16
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“Thumpety Thump-Thump” by Joshua G. J. Insole

Submitted to Contest #281

Leon, Timmy, and Spike ran down the road, throwing snowballs at each other, laughing and yelling.Davy Dennis sighed. It was easy to have a snowball fight when you had friends. It was only workable to do it solo if you loaded up an automatic ball launcher with ice and stood before it. It was also tricky to join in with a group of kids he didn’t know. Throwing a snowball at a buddy was funny. Throwing one at a stranger was assault. Besides, Davy had never been very good at approaching others, hence his predicament. Dad had told him to go outsi...

13 comments 13
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“The Witch Who Came to Christmas” by Scott Taylor

Submitted to Contest #281

The town lay wrapped in Christmas's warm, glowing embrace, its streets alive with the mingling scents of pine, cinnamon, and wood smoke. Snowflakes danced like tiny crystal messengers in the flickering light of decorated trees while the sounds of bells and carolers wove through the air like a spell. It was a season of traditions, of joy and togetherness, yet beneath the soft hum of holiday cheer lingered the shadow of a recent tragedy—a loss so profound it seemed to cling to the snow-covered rooftops, refusing to melt away. And as laughter s...

3 comments 3
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“THE CAPTIVES” by BRUCE MARTIN

Submitted to Contest #281

I have been a prisoner in this camp for more than one year. Many of us have died, mostly at the hands of our captors, but some from disease and trauma. Somehow, I have survived, but it hasn’t been easy. They beat us mercilessly today with leather straps. At least four men surrounded us and whipped us. They yelled at us, “Move, you stinking beasts!” They made us run into a wooden structure, then locked us in. I was afraid they would light the structure on fire with us locked inside. But whipping is not the worst. One of the men used a red hot...

12 comments 12
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“CURSED QUILLS AND COFFEE STAINS” by Darvico Ulmeli

Submitted to Contest #281

"Why are we in the coffee shop, Darvico? I don't even like coffee shops.""Me neither, Reed. But never mind that. I'm writing the book, Reed.""Really? What's it about?""It starts with 'Be careful what you wish for.'""Oh, groundbreaking. Truly. No one's ever used that phrase before.""Sarcasm noted, but hear me out.""Do I have a choice?""No. It's about this guy who...""Wait, let me guess. He makes a wish, but it goes awry, leading to hilarity."Fine, Reed. If you hate it so much, why are you even here?""Because you dragged me here, Darvico. And ...

9 comments 9
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“The small impression that we leave” by Penelope Stansfield

Submitted to Contest #281

Another knock at the door and Susan hastened down the hallway to welcome her friends.  “Come in, Alice, Bobby, oh, I love that dress, wine, oh thank you!” “How are you Susan?  It’s been ages since we’ve seen you.” “Oh, you know, here, give me your coats, Darren, Darren?!  Can you get a drink for Alice and Bobby please?” “Hello you two, good to see you!  What will it be Bob?  Beer, whisky?  G and T Alice?” Darren led Alice and Bobby to the modest, mid-century living room where the other friends and neighbours wer...

4 comments 4
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“For Better or Worse” by Ralph Aldrich

Submitted to Contest #281

Master Meow lives in a lovely, comfortable apartment in Toyko with his human companion, Mr. Sato. Mr. Sato is retired and lives on a small pension. He has enough to keep himself and Master Meow comfortable and well-fed. Master Meow is a beautiful white and light brown cat, part Persian and part Angora. He is very fluffy. He spends his day grooming and purring on a satin pillow in the window. He also has a very high opinion of himself. He loves it here because his food dish is always full of fresh red salmon, his water b...

3 comments 3
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“Ironic Hubris Party Guest” by Lily Finch

Submitted to Contest #281

Oh, how delightful it is to be here among such intriguing companies! The audacity of it all is undeniable, isn't it? A certain bravado, a charming overconfidence, permeates the air, dancing around the table like a well-rehearsed performance. Isn't it almost like we're all part of a grand prank? The conversations swirl with a mix of wit and whim. Isn't it fascinating how irony unfolds? It's that delightful twist where what you anticipate takes a surprising turn, leading to the opposite of your expectations. Quite the conversation starter, wou...

5 comments 5
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“Harmony” by Vladimir Stefan

Submitted to Contest #281

Reboot. System is loading… My eyes open and I am recharged. I lift my legs so that my heels can detach from the charger and start making my way to the line. The morning shift is usually the longest but I don’t get to experience tiredness. I’m XA781, a third-generation AI food processor. Unlike humans I have no parents – I come from their ancestors’ work, and I keep being updated, my knowledge evolving further. My wiring remains the same, however, and with time I lose efficiency but not knowledge, ultimately serving other purposes. As th...

7 comments 7
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“The Stranger in Silent Night ” by JC Forrest

Submitted to Contest #281

Brittle branches hung limp like remnants of forgotten joy as the small donated white office tree leaned in its corner. Its brown needles flaked off with every movement, leaving sharp, dry debris scattered across the floor. A cobble of twisted broken candy canes, frayed Christmas wrapper bows, and a meager string of popcorn and dark berries hung from the sagging branches, desperately trying to hide the tree’s sorry reality, but failing miserably.Connie moved slowly around the kitchen, perfecting the turkey stew. She’d tried to make the evenin...

4 comments 4
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“Wither” by Ellie F

Submitted to Contest #281

“Hard to kill.” That’s what she’d said when she met me.Many seasons ago, I was nestled in a pot alongside my brethren, all of us contentedly drawing up water from our recently dampened soil. She was an unremarkable human drifting past us, eyes lazily flicking over the rows of foliage surrounding her. Air rushed through my leaves as I felt myself being lifted and she read from the card wedged into my uppermost roots.“Easy to care for, thrives in bright light, water when soil is dry.” She examined my fleshy emerald leaves that spiralled o...

10 comments 10
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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!

Prompts | Big Blue Hand | 2024-11

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Prompts | Big Blue Hand | 2024-11

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