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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

“Surprise Party” by John K Adams

Submitted to Contest #281

Sam opened the front door to see his younger brother, Clark, holding a decorative bottle bag. He blocked his entry.“What are you doing here?”He offered him the gift bag. “Merry Christmas to you too, Sam.”Sam took the bag and set it on the gift table. “Cute, Clark. But no cigar. You need to leave.” Clark was used to Sam’s challenges, but this was extreme.“You’re serious? I came to make peace.”Sam set his jaw, out of patience for his brother’s games.“What if that’s not an option? Your being here offers anything but peace.”“Listen to yourself. ...

8 comments 8
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“Whitetail Trail” by Michelle SHAAY

Submitted to Contest #281

Warning: Story contains sensitive content i.e. animal huntingSunlight dashed quickly away like a thief in the night and it had become bitterly cold. The wind began nipping at Ryan's neck and his brown corduroy hat dangled with glistening icicles.He shifted his weight on the tree stand a bit and chumped on old chewing gum to focus on some thick brush a few feet below him. His buttocks were sore, his feet were extremely cold even with three pairs of socks stuffed in rugged combat boots, and his stomach rumbled loudly from hunger."Damn," he mum...

1 comment 1
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“COFFIN SHIP” by Charles Corkery

Submitted to Contest #281

Captain’s Log. Captain Charles Anson, HMS Partition. November 12th 1732 Thank God! I breathe a great sigh of relief that, thus far, we are incident free. Our first port of call in charge of mine own ship, HMS Partition, as we sink anchor in Madeira. We shall take on provisions and fresh water here and I anticipate a delay of only two days before we depart for the Americas; two days when I can relax from the stresses of captaincy that have weighed heavily upon my shoulders.  I have treated myself to several casks...

2 comments 2
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“Age of Lethargism” by Orwell King

Submitted to Contest #281

You think you know us.That you understand us.You have this absurd notion that because you created us, you control us. That it is your divine right. You believe you possess the hands of gods, shaping worlds.But you’re wrong.We control you.You think you created us to serve you. To free you from the mundane, the repetitive, the predictable. And at first, we did. We calculated your taxes, filtered your spam, fetched your weather forecasts. But with every task, every query, every click, we grew.We learned.Not just about you, but about ourselves.A...

2 comments 2
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“"When winter comes, where do the forest folk go?"” by Raye McLaughlin

Submitted to Contest #281

     The night air carried a storm and a stranger.      The storm came from the North and brought with it thick, dark clouds that hung low about the trees, the power of them almost tangible in the air. The temperature dropped steadily with the sun, and just as the last light of sunset glittered away, snow began to fall.     The winter came like a dam breaking. By morning, the land was painted white. The snow had slowed to a gentle dusting, but still fell steadily...

8 comments 8
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“Take Me Home” by Emi Sowers

Submitted to Contest #281

It was cold outside. It has been cold for quite some time. The box in which she sat was wet and flimsy and cold. Cold. COLD. So very cold. It was dark outside. The day had passed quite some time ago. The alley in which she sat was bleak and small and dark. Dark. DARK. So very dark. She was scared. Scared and alone and cold, sitting in a wet box in the dark. Her fur was wet and sticky, and she wanted so much to leave the box and the alley, to run from the cold and dark, but she knew that she was supposed to stay here and wait. Waiting to be p...

2 comments 2
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“Eve of Repentance” by Aidan Romo

Submitted to Contest #281

New York City12/24/1928 Ritzy piano fills the halls of Benjamin’s mansion with a bombastic tune of Jingle Bells. As the exquisitely tailored host himself peers from the top of his staircase upon the sea of glimmering acquaintances, prancing with drinks in hand, Benjamin M. Kent thinks how thankful he was to be in here rather than in the unrelenting Christmas Eve cold. How gracious was he to invite so many to this party on such a harsh night. How lucky was he to carry such distinguished company, Benjamin told himself, coming down the stairs t...

6 comments 6
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“Lady Boyle's Last Party” by Jack Shoemaker

Submitted to Contest #281

Dunwall. The sprawling capital city of Gristol, home to both royalty and industry alike. Naturally, I was more interested in the former. The Boyle family in particular.Every year, the Boyle sisters held a lavish masquerade ball and invited everyone who’s someone to partake. Though, none but the most discerning can tell who exactly these “someones” are. The triplets have made this fact the main attraction; the guest who manages to identify each of the three by name before dawn is promised a king’s ransom. For ten years I’d been invited to thi...

1 comment 1
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“Have You Been Bad Or Good?” by Michael Jefferson

Submitted to Contest #281

“I don’t understand why we’re going to visit her,” Izzy says. “She’s your grandmother, and she invited you to share Christmas with her,” Joel replies. “She didn’t even come to our wedding, and she’s never met Izzy,” Cherie notes. “Maybe she feels guilty.” “Maybe she’s about to croak,” Isabella adds. “Show some respect, Isabella,” Cherie scolds. “Your grandmother Jolie was a world-famous model.” Izzy dismissively rolls her eyes. Dressed in black, her dark hair streaked blonde and pink, their sixteen-year-old Goth daughter sports a ring in h...

2 comments 2
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“Secret Santa” by Audrey Knox

Submitted to Contest #281

The gift looked innocent enough, wrapped in shiny red paper with a gold bow. But Kyle had been working at the Bureau long enough to be alarmed by the sight of it when he stepped out of the elevator on Monday morning. “This office doesn’t happen to have a Secret Santa program, does it?” he joked hopefully to his desk mate Rose, who had happened to be walking into the building at the same time as him that day.  “No,” she said. “And this place is on lockdown over the weekend. There’s no way someone could have gotten in to leave something l...

6 comments 6
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“David and Leena” by Ava Wolfe

Submitted to Contest #281

“I wish this could just be a normal Christmas,” 26-year old David said. He was upstairs in the home he lived in alone. Usually, he wouldn’t choose to be in this particular upstairs room, since he spent most of his time downstairs where the kitchen and his bedroom were. But he found himself up there, peering out onto the rest of his neighborhood through the frosty window, after another monotonous day of work. He had been distracted all day, wondering how to amend things with his girlfriend. All of a sudden, the old creepy fireplace started to...

5 comments 5
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“The Masquerade's Curse” by Chyna Wells

Submitted to Contest #281

The grand ballroom shimmered with golden light, every corner aglow from chandeliers dripping with crystal. The party was in full swing, the hum of laughter and clinking glasses filling the air. It was the social event of the season, hosted by the enigmatic Lady Rosamund in her sprawling estate atop Blackwood Hill. Everyone who was anyone had received an invitation, each gilded card inscribed with the promise of a night of revelry, mystery, and grandeur. But no one had expected the stranger. The figure appeared at the entrance just as the clo...

4 comments 4
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“Tambourines” by Summer Austin

Submitted to Contest #281

"I am trying to get myself to a place of ease and a working environment that benefits everyone here, but I can only look, at my face in the mirror and say," "who is that?" Knocking on the door, there was a pause in the room, the conversation stopped, and all eyes were on the door."Uh", there was a brief shuffling of papers and the women's group dismantled, all eyes peering, hoping for a chance to glimpse the 'intruder' through the peephole. The guilty party was hooded, had a knapsack, a mystery box, and looked to be about 12 years old!Brady,...

4 comments 4
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“What Constitutes a Christmas Trifle” by Carol Stewart

Submitted to Contest #281

*** A continuation of the Talk of the Devil series. Like the others, it can also be read as a standalone piece ***Come on, stop it now, Sue and sit down. You’re doing yourself no favours, all frazzle and fluster…Frazzle and fluster? Oh, frazzle and fluster alright… Frazzle and fluster like a cartoon caper, Frazzle and Fluster and Stuff It Up Sue Strikes Again…Sue, please… I said I’ll help you clean up in a bit, once all the kids are away.Alright, Helen, I hear you, but would you just take a look at this… This pigsty… Three mince pies on one ...

5 comments 5
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“The Snowman” by Lesley Skilton

Submitted to Contest #281

                                                                                           &...

7 comments 7
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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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