Menu

Prompts

Contests

Stories

Blog

Menu

✕

CONNECT

Editing Design Marketing Publicity Ghostwriting Websites

BLOG

Success Stories

APPS

TOOLS

Book Promotion Sites Book Review Blogs Booktube Channel Guide Book Title Generator Character Name Generator Independent Publishers Literary Agents Literary Magazines Pen Name Generator Plot Generator Publishers Directory Short Story Ideas Writing Contests Writing Exercises Writing Scholarships

ABOUT

About Reedsy Terms Privacy

CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#65: Spooky Season

What is it about Halloween that we find so deeply appealing? Is it the excuse to dress up and pretend to be something other than ourselves for a few hours? The exploration of all things creepy and macabre, of subjects normally too taboo to engage with? Perhaps it’s just the abundance of all our favorite candies at the same time.

Whatever the reason, there’s no denying the allure of this thrilling and chilling holiday. And while many people’s Halloween celebrations will need to be very different this year, there’s no reason why we can’t still enjoy a bit of spooky fun!

Whether you like horror, the creepy aesthetic, or just overloading on candy, this week’s prompts have plenty of inspiration to get you into the Halloween mood.

This week's prompts

Start your story with two characters deciding to spend the night in a graveyard.

Novel – 320 stories

Write about someone’s first Halloween as a ghost.

Halloween – 206 stories

Write about a group of witches meeting up on Halloween night.

Halloween – 135 stories

Write about a vampire or werewolf who moves into a quiet suburban neighborhood.

Vampire – 160 stories

Write about someone taking a child trick-or-treating for the very first time.

Kids – 87 stories

Stories

“A Walk in the Hereafter” by Tim Benson

Submitted to Contest #65

“A Walk in the Hereafter” It’s taking a lot longer than I thought it would. Of course, there’s no guidebook for dead people, at least as far as I know. After three months I’m still trying to get used to being dead. Even using that word is hard to adapt to. When death comes, people use terms like “He passed away” or “He’s in a better place”. It makes them feel better but the person is still dead and words can’t change that. It’s just how people adjust to the whole situation. And one of the biggest things I’m trying to adjust to is that sinc...

Read story

“Thinking in Pictures” by Mutant Llama

Submitted to Contest #65

Most of the world has stopped believing altogether by now, and stop practicing, and stopped following dogmatic rules, so I don’t think anybody’s gone to heaven in quite a while. Thanks possibly to my study of theology, I was just barely good enough to get into their purgatory. Nobody on Earth really knew what purgatory was, though. They explained the rules to me, though. I am sent to earth, in a ghostly form. I have no physical body. I move through things, nobody can sense me, except for a cold sensation when my spectral form intersects the...

Read story

“Hell of an Afternoon” by Zion Hintay

Submitted to Contest #65

"And what, pray tell, is the meaning of this emergency meeting." Spoke one woman."Especially on a night as auspicious as this." Spoke another."We are busy women, Maggie. Potions to brew, curses to cast and spells to place...""And tonight is the night when all our powers are at their best.""Yes, yes. But you must have heard of about our curious mister Buquet." Maggie insisted.It was midday and the sun shone above them in the clearing where they stood. Five witches forming a pentagon drawn with chalk as it was customary. Wyrding stones were on...

Read story

“Mandarins in China Town” by Ka Yan

Submitted to Contest #65

I tugged at my mother’s hand. “I'm not feeling well, mummy."“Honey, we just got here.” She squeezed my fingers gently.I look down at my Mulan costume and shrugged. “I know.”It was October 31st and my mother had agreed to take me Trick or Treating in London's China Town. But until now, with the moon pale, I never noticed the numerous Guanyins sitting outside each door. Guardian spirits, but who knew whether it was entry or exit that was forbidden?Painted faces stared out of the mini altars, back-lit by red lights. The female buddha, Guanyin, ...

Read story

“Goodbye Sam Hain” by Chris Wagner

Submitted to Contest #65

We named our rock group Sam Hain because we only play on Halloween. I guess you'd call us a novelty band because we wear big pointy hats and robes and have a bubbling cauldron on stage with us. The magic is real, but we let everyone think it's just special effects. It was our 'sexy witch' Judy who came up with the idea because we were so busy with our normal lives that we couldn't find a good time to get everyone together and jam out. Amberlee was busy taking care of her aging parents. It's a full time job. Anima...

Read story

“Unionised Halloween.” by Len Mooring

Submitted to Contest #65

“You’ve got to be kidding. A union for ghosts; I don’t believe it, and a closed shop union to boot? Get out of here.“No, I don’t mean ‘Get out of here.’ It’s an American expression for ‘I find it difficult to duplicate the intention or statement you are conveying to me.’“Jesus Christ, to use another expression I’ve picked up from the many streaming programs that litter the airwaves, you must be familiar with these ‘low class’ expletives to express disbelief. However, to get back to the original point, you’ve got to be kidding, a ‘closed shop...

Read story

“Happy Halloween, Yami!” by Angela Louise Fernandez

Submitted to Contest #65

This is it!!!! For some families, their biggest holiday would be Christmas or Thanksgiving. But for us, it is the last day of October. Halloween. Today is a big day for my niece, Yami. She will be experiencing her first ever trick-or-treat. Over the last 4 years of her life, we have filled her with stories about Halloween, trick-or-treat, costumes, and the like. As a child who grew up with parents and aunts who were big fans of Halloween and trick-or-treat, you sure bet that all she ever wanted was to grow big enough to wear her costumes ou...

Read story

“Cliche” by Nyla Otey

Submitted to Contest #65

"Fine, I'll stay the night in a graveyard like an idiot. For you." my god, I wished those words had never left my mouth, I never should have stayed with him. "Hey." Nate had texted me. I should have known, nothing involving Nate ever went well. He had the 'let's be bad and get arrested' touch. I should have blocked him when we broke up, that would have fixed everything. But he was just so much fun, how could I not want him in my life? So I responded to my ex-boyfriends 'hey', and when he asked if I was free I said yes, so I had no escape...

Read story

“Hollows Eve” by Temnit Meshesha

Submitted to Contest #65

The carved pumpkins, hardly frightening costumes. The vibrant fall leaves, kids giggling nearby after taking more than one candy out of a bowl. It’s finally here. Halloween.I'm still fond of my trick or treating days. Dressing up as superheroes with my friends, a simple vampire alone. I can’t believe this time I will be going with my first child.We walk for a few minutes trying to find a good house, the ones with loads of decorations on the lawn. We settle on one with fake spiders on its fake webs. “Go on,” I say, nudging him forward. H...

Read story

“I don't want you to stop haunting me” by Miles Spades

Submitted to Contest #65

It took me a while to realize I was dead, not dreaming. Have you ever had a dream where you dragged yourself out of bed, brushed your teeth, got dressed for work, and then woke up and realized you were actually still in your bed? It was kind of like that, except that I realized my body was still in my bed, but I wasn't. I was scared, but also relieved. I've always feared death like nothing else. I've dreaded it since I found out about it. I was terrified to stop existing. But it wasn’t as bad as I feared. I’m not alive, but I still exist! I...

Read story

“Kevin and Phillip” by A.G Mitchell

Submitted to Contest #65

The doorbell rang for the third time when Kevin finally called up the basement stairs. "Really?" He shouted. He was met by silence. He cleared his throat and again yelled up the stairs. "Phillip, I know you hear that!" "What's that?" Phillip yelled back. Kevin huffily stomped over the bottom of the basement stairs, looking up at the open door. "Phillip, you have the ears of a godamn canine! Get off of your furry ass and go answer the door!" He nodded his head satisfactorily as he heard the shuffling and subsequent grumblin...

Read story

“A night at the graveyard ” by RABI CHATTERJEE

Submitted to Contest #65

The surrounding was filled with festivals. Everyone in the neighbourhood was planning for something. There was an excitement in everyone. Some planned to travel, some were preparing for a long trip. Some were planning to go for cruise holidays, and some got holidays to finish their personal jobs. But the most important thing was when Prashant shared his idea of spending a night at a graveyard on Halloween's day with Amal. It was really a childlike idea. Everyone was shocked. Well, they must have been because of Amal's tremendous fear about t...

Read story

“A Visit with My Best Friend” by Arizona Foster

Submitted to Contest #65

It was a familiar, homey scent that reached my nose first and made my eyes flicker open with hope. Could it be true? Was I back home with my favorite person in the whole, wide world? I looked around cautiously, unsure of what would greet me first. I felt like I had been in a haze of sorts. Things weren’t quite as I remembered them. Nothing I knew as a cat made any sense lately. Not that I could articulate what I experienced recently; I only knew it wasn’t like it had been during my time with Bianca.B, as everyone so lovingly referred to...

Read story

“The Trickster's Treat” by Ramon Martensen

Submitted to Contest #65

‘Aren’t you cold?’ I ask the little girl who’s walking next to me. Her diadem wobbles with every step she takes. She insisted on being a princess even though her mother had told her that it might be a bit old-fashioned. She didn’t care. It was her fantasy from the first trick-or-treating she had to miss, and she was not about to let go of it. ‘No, I’m not cold at all,’ she answers. Her cheeks seem to glow with excitement as she looks at all the children haunting the streets. Floating orange and red flickering lights seem to send laughter i...

Read story

“The Three Witches of Castle Falls” by Gabe Finch

Submitted to Contest #65

Halloween night in the town of Castle Falls is always one of the biggest events of the year, and this year should not disappoint. As darkness fills the night, children dressed as their favorite princess, witch or wizard, superhero, and ghastly ghoul begin infiltrating the neighborhood in search of the next door to knock and scream out “Trick or Treat!!!” for the delight of the next holder of candy and treats. The people of Castle Falls are a festive bunch and they take pride in celebrating their holidays, and it is not uncommon for...

Read story

Load more stories

$50

Prize money

908

Contest entries

0

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Oct 30, 2020 EST

Won by Joshua G. J. Insole 🏆

Title: Bridgemoss Guardians

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!

Explore more writing prompt ideas:

Adults Writing Prompts ⭢

Adventure Writing Prompts ⭢

Angst Writing Prompts ⭢

Character Writing Prompts ⭢

Christmas Writing Prompts ⭢

Dark Writing Prompts ⭢

Dialogue Writing Prompts ⭢

Dramatic Writing Prompts ⭢

Dystopian Writing Prompts ⭢

Fall Writing Prompts ⭢

Fantasy Writing Prompts ⭢

Fiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Fluff Writing Prompts ⭢

Funny Writing Prompts ⭢

Halloween Writing Prompts ⭢

High School Writing Prompts ⭢

Historical Fiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Holiday Writing Prompts ⭢

Horror Writing Prompts ⭢

Kids Writing Prompts ⭢

Middle School Writing Prompts ⭢

Mystery Writing Prompts ⭢

Narrative Writing Prompts ⭢

Nonfiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Novel Writing Prompts ⭢

Poetry Writing Prompts ⭢

Romance Writing Prompts ⭢

Sad Writing Prompts ⭢

Science Fiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Short Story Writing Prompts ⭢

Spring Writing Prompts ⭢

Summer Writing Prompts ⭢

Teens Writing Prompts ⭢

Thanksgiving Writing Prompts ⭢

Thriller and Suspense Writing Prompts ⭢

Valentine's Day Writing Prompts ⭢

Vampire Writing Prompts ⭢

Winter Writing Prompts ⭢