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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

“The Coldest Day in Kirksville” by Zoe Dye

Submitted to Contest #281

Kirksville, Missouri, February 11th, 1983 I awoke in my bed with my dachshund curled up next to me, shaking like a leaf. My feet were so cold I couldn’t wiggle my toes and my fingers felt like ice bricks. I covered my dog, Poppy, with my heated blanket, along with myself, and turned it on to the highest setting. I reached over to my night stand and grabbed my glasses. I put them on my face which instantly made it colder. I looked over at my thermostat. Forty-seven degrees!?! That can’t be right. I got out of bed, put on my slippers, and trie...

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“The Ice Veins” by Chyna Wells

Submitted to Contest #281

The coldest day of the year had arrived in Black Hollow, and no one dared venture beyond their doors. The frost was unnatural, deeper and sharper than anything that came before it. The townsfolk whispered that it was the doing of the ice veins—strange fissures that had appeared across the frozen lake in the past few weeks, glowing faintly blue as if alive. Samantha "Sam" Miller didn’t believe in the town's superstitions. She believed in science, in reason. Ice veins were just a natural phenomenon, caused by trapped gases or thermal pressure—...

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“Strangely Unforgettable ” by Chris Baum

Submitted to Contest #281

Strangely UnforgettableIt was a family Christmas Eve party that I would never forget, and not just because it was the coldest day of the year.My family always got together during Christmas Eve. We would each take turns on whose house we would visit. It was an annual tradition that never got missed, save for the first year Covid hit.It was my mom’s turn to host–G.G.’s place. My mom was one of the best cooks out of the bunch, in my opinion, which always made the holidays delightfully tasty. If you left G.G.’s place still hungry, it was your ow...

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“Hunger” by Krystian Maj

Submitted to Contest #281

Eternal Winter. Eternal white. The deafening hurling of the wind. It’s all that was left of the world. Snow and ice, covering everything an eye can see in this grey atmosphere that hasn’t witness the sun since the Last Summer. The freezing blades of air piercing through not so warm fur Lucas wore were a painful reminder of what everything has become.The sharp crunch of snow under his boots. One, after another. He was marching through this white hell, going forward. Looking for food. Looking for survival. His and of his family. Struggling thr...

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“The Last Wave” by Lindsay Marshall

Submitted to Contest #281

It was the coldest day of the year, in Southern California, which meant I put away my 3/2mm Rip Curl wetsuit for a few months and pulled out my 4/3mm. Cold meant we stowed our shorts in the closet for a few months and resurrected our long lost jeans. Everyone started wearing their Patagonias, but let’s be honest, it wasn’t because we needed them. It was only because Patagonia was based in downtown Ventura and the small group of people who worked there had somehow made it trendy to wear the snow-grade jackets in our small surf tow...

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““Sayemontess- The Death of a Loved One.” #ReedsyHoliday” by Tucker Sloan

Submitted to Contest #281

“Sayemontess- The Death of a Loved One.” Trigger Warning: this short story contains Strong Violent Content and Gore, Sexual Content, Nudity, Harrowing Situations, and Suspence.As Sonja blared Maria Callas’s, “Tosca, Act II: Vissi d’ arte,” she took to the stage at Sayemontess. It was located in the beautiful rose-filled courtyard that had wonderfully creative statues of sweet cherubims. This was where all of the events would take place- from public humiliations, plays, executions, and so forth. Fun stuff. “Richard,” said Sonja, and...

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“An Overcoat, a Flask, and a Crossbow” by Cajek Veilwinter

Submitted to Contest #281

The sidestreets of Vulane were a tangled web of alleys and forgotten passages, a perfect maze for those who thrived in the shadows. Here, amidst the flickering glow of lanterns and the distant hum of the city’s opulent districts, sat a modest office between a baker and below an apothecary. The worn wooden slab above the door simply read: “Uresh Greystone: Investigator.” Being an investigator in the City of Lies was like being a captain on a ship that had already sunk three times. Uresh was busy relighting candles in his shop when he st...

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“Be Careful What You Wish For” by Sarah Adewolu

Submitted to Contest #281

The next day was a clear, blue Wednesday morning, and when I woke up, I still felt the same as I did yesterday morning… Only this time, I realized I had magical superpowers; yesterday, I had no idea. Assuming that my powers were gone after I flushed that piece of paper down the toilet, my life was going to return to normal after all this. This was just a temporary thing, even if I’d already written in the diary with a pen. No more wishes for the time being. For now, whatever I wished for, I’d type it onto my Google Docs. So far, nothing unu...

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“Burning” by Shanna Wilson

Submitted to Contest #281

Note: This story contains sensitive information such as mental illness and violence. Please read at your own risk. Looking in the mirror, I spot a small bump on my face. Great—just one more thing to add to the list of worries. As I prod and poke at it, torn between risking an even uglier scar or heading downstairs to face 15 people while hoping they don’t notice the volcano of pus on my face, my brother strolls into the room through the open door to my left. Flashing his annoyingly perfect, gleaming smile, he chuckles and quips, “At least i...

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“Uninvited: The Nightmare Guest” by Marissa Twardy

Submitted to Contest #281

The mansion stood in eerie silence, its windows aglow with the soft light of candles flickering in the dark. Snow had begun to fall heavily, blanketing the grounds in a layer of pristine white, as if the world itself had been hushed for this one night. Inside, the laughter and clinking glasses filled the grand halls, a stark contrast to the desolation beyond the walls. It was the night before Christmas, and the Langley estate was hosting its annual holiday gala. The fire roared in the hearth, the scent of spiced wine and roasted chestnuts ha...

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“A Nightingale's Tale” by Katie Mobley

Submitted to Contest #281

"Live like you die tomorrow"The Birds;He first came when the sun set. The fledglings were still squawking on the highest branches when he slinked through the undergrowth- mischief in his steps. The great night hunters- The Owls sat in wait, their bright amber eyes following his tracks. While the songbirds went to sleep, the Owls would remember and whisperer the tales to the singers to spread through the forest upon daybreak. The Mockingbird sings his melancholy echo. His interest perked in the figure passing below. The Nightingale watches: h...

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“Jingle Bell Rock” by Eric S

Submitted to Contest #281

The surround sound system plays Christmas music throughout the whole house. Jake and Sarah are hosting a large party on Christmas Eve in their new home, which they just constructed. They moved to the country, far away from friends and family, to escape the city. After obtaining loans, they found someone who put up their dream farmhouse. They invited old and new friends to a Christmas and housewarming party. They both started working new jobs when they moved out of the city and made some new friends as well. "Isn't this amazing?" Sarah whispe...

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“Frostbitten Christmas” by Abbey Ryan

Submitted to Contest #281

The house strained under the weight of garish Christmas. Something felt… wrong. As though caught in a chilly loop of stifled memories. Daniel ascended his front steps, wary of the banister strangled with garland. The cold bit at his skin, but it was the flood of holiday music that churned his stomach the moment he opened the door. He plunged into a home not his own, the door smashing behind him. His soaring ceilings were smothered with evergreen garlands and glaring lights. A towering tree bulged with flowers and mismatched ornaments, overst...

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“Everpresent Radiance” by Andrew Darrah

Submitted to Contest #281

“Who’s that fella over there?” asked one of the rabbits.“Not sure. I’ve never seen him before,” replied a deer.“Well, he kind of looks like you… except for, well, you know,” a squirrel chimed in.“Yeah… what’s the deal with that?” asked another deer.“And what’s he doing here? Was he invited?” inquired a chipmunk.“Hey, it’s Molly’s party,” said the first deer. “She may know him.”The woodland animals had no idea what to make of this mysterious guest. He just wandered into the clearing, where they were holding a birthday party for their friend M...

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“Unexpected Guest” by Tempest Phoenix Smith

Submitted to Contest #281

Content warning: Contains sexual undertones and suggestive imageryPart One. ObserverAs I made my slow progress around the fringes of the dance and revelry, trying to ignore the more passionate embraces of the masked dancers because they stirred feelings in me that made me want to join them, I focused on my father.Though nobody else would have noticed, I could see that he leaned more on his ceremonial staff than ever before. Eyes alert under the ever-unruly white hair, watching for any unwanted intrusion, he was the one unmoving point at the ...

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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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