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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

“Bella's First Halloween” by David Dicaire

Submitted to Contest #65

Bella’s First Halloween Every day, George Marchand watched the Asian mother with her little girl. They played in the garden or went for a walk. The little girl, Bella, was almost three. One day, there had been a pleasant exchange as he walked into town and came across the pair. The summer ended and the little girl still too young to go to school went to a babysitter every day while her mother went to work. He would see them arrive home together as a man from the mother’s work drove them to their place. The fal...

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“I'm Not a Ghost for Halloween” by Jane DiGiovanni

Submitted to Contest #65

Blood drips from the jagged cut across my forehead over my black and blue eye. Bloody abrasions cover my cheek. I glance down at the multiple cuts and bruises covering my arms and legs. My beautiful dress is a thing of the past. It is now torn and covered in blood. I can't believe how good this costume turned out. "I should have been a make up artist instead of a boring accountant." At least this party won't be boring. I absolutely love Halloween costume parties and Annie has yet to have a boring one. Its cool its actually on Halloween th...

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“Nécropole Des Amoureux ” by Adrian Locke

Submitted to Contest #65

She looked so beautiful under the moon's pale light, her skin glistening in a way James never thought possible. She was silent as she reached back, a smile over her shoulder as their fingers touched. The graves danced their way around her feet, leading them to their special spot just beyond the tombstones, their little place. James was surprised he even made it out tonight, his mother becoming more difficult with each passing day, not that it was her fault. "What are you thinking about baby?" Macy's voice cut through his mind like a knife...

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“A Dead End” by Tony Hadley

Submitted to Contest #65

I looked up at the old iron sign dangling over the entrance by a single rusty chain. It had lost a few letters over the past hundred and fifty years or so. Now the words “Memori Cemete” swayed back and forth with the occasional squeal of ancient metal. “You sure we want to go in?” I asked, looking over at William who stood beside me with his hands in the pockets of his well-worn slacks. “I think we have to.” The dusty shoulders of William’s jacket seemed to bounce with his shrug. “Only choice we have left.” “But we haven’t tried…” I start...

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“Grotesque Paradise” by Khadija A. Kasuri

Submitted to Contest #65

My back was nearly broken when I finally straightened it. “Fooohhh!!” exclaimed Shane. “This took forever. And it looks pretty comfortable and more fun you know a camping in the middle of a Grotesque Paradise” Shane and I were known to be brave little kids, but when Shane said “Grotesque Paradise” I had the pinch that he said to satisfy himself, because, though brave, had never been dared to camp in the graveyard, and when Halloween was a night away. It was all because of my cousins who were spending there a week at our house had dared us to...

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“Child of the Moon” by K.M. Hotzel

Submitted to Contest #65

When I reached the woods wisps of fog had settled on the ground winding their way through the forest. I took my clothes off, folded them neatly into a little package, and stuck them into the hollow tree stump of a gnarly oak. Despite the chilly breeze, my body tingled with excitement as I buried my toes in the fallen leaves. Today was a full moon, and not any full moon, but a blue moon. I relaxed my body, watching the small cloud in front of my mouth dissipate. The moon had barely risen over the edge of the horizon when I felt the su...

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“The Big Surprise ” by Charles Wasilausky

Submitted to Contest #65

"I am sorry, but I am afraid your father didn't survive the crash," Dr. Fleming said keeping his voice solemn. "What happened," Dave asked. He was planning on visiting his father over the weekend. Once he received the phone call from the hospital saying there was a car crash, and his dad was looking slim for survival, Dave rushed to the local hospital. Once he arrived, he learned that his dad was in critical condition and there was a chance he would pass away from his injuries during the night. Dr. Fleming came in six hours later with the ne...

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“Ghostly Memories” by Sue M

Submitted to Contest #65

Levi pulled a black shirt from his closet, black jeans from the laundry basket and a pair of mismatched black socks from an assorted pile of things behind the bedroom door. After getting dressed, he slipped on a pair of black sneakers and put on a black baseball cap that he decorated with two felt triangles to look like ears.This will have to do, Levi thought.Since early February, Levi startled when he looked in the mirror. After taking a few seconds to compose himself, he drew whiskers onto his face using a piece of coal from the barbeque g...

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“Do Not Be an Ostrich for Halloween” by Cassie Poormokhtar

Submitted to Contest #65

For thirty years, I ate candy corn with you. Now I watch you eat it without me. Setting off the motion sensors on your security system and taking down your dad’s Internet from time to time, those are the ways I haunt you. I come to your dreams; sometimes you remember, other times, you don’t. The second night I was dead, I threw a photo from your dad’s dining table—the dining table that was up until two nights prior, my dining table, too—and for you...

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“Batman and...Jake?” by Paige Pruett

Submitted to Contest #65

“But Aunt Tabitha, I was Batman last year,” Nicholas Bradshaw’s seven-year-old face was scrunched up in clear disappointment at the black and yellow costume neatly laid out on his bed. “I know Nicky,” Tabitha Michaels’s shoulders slumped with her spirit as she sighed and sat beside the costume on her nephew’s poorly made-up Mario sheets. “But…” She made the fatal mistake of looking into Nicky’s eyes. The hazel ones that matched, or used to match, her sister’s. She pulled the boy close to her, gathering him up into her arms and setting him...

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“The Three Witches of Cloverwood” by Giraffe Person

Submitted to Contest #65

"Oh, Martha, do shut up."In the graveyard of the beautiful Cloverwood town, there sat three very ugly hags. They were, in fact, so ugly, that people's eyes burned after seeing them. The three hags provided a contrast with the majestic pines of Cloverwood forest with their own extremely ugly selves. But the three hags didn't care about their ugliness and their effect on other people. They didn't care about anything, actually, except one day in particular."Well, Elena, you always tell me to shut up and I feel like not shutting up today. I...

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“A Ghost Story” by Nancy Davis

Submitted to Contest #65

A Ghost Story Grace lay quietly in the hospital bed. Her heart monitor showed a slowing of her heartbeat. Her husband sat beside her bed crying. Grace felt as if she were melting into the bed. She tried patting her husbands’ hand, she felt cold creeping up her body. Her legs felt like ice. She breathed through her mouth gasping for every breath. Her husband kept raising her gown to feel her legs. He could feel the cold moving up her body. Grace quietly wondered what was on the ...

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“The Tidy Habits of Veronique Galan” by Jennifer Osborne

Submitted to Contest #65

Maybe this time...Maybe I can blend in, regroup, and learn to let go.The quiet streets of Millersrun, with their colorful Victorians and thrift shops show the vulnerability of this small city. I find comfort in this, as it mirrors my own situation, both currently and historically. I find no peace in high-end, pristine cities where everyone is beautiful and has a full family. I tend to look for a mix...some diversity, some sense of a struggle, and hard work.To keep myself out of the news, I have to change my name every seven or so years. I us...

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“The Hunt” by Lisa Hills

Submitted to Contest #65

Yurei was a people person. An extrovert. She loved being amongst people, interacting with them, and just being around them in general. She can't seem to stay away from people, and they seemed to like her too. People always noticed her, laughed and joked with her, even if they were complete strangers. Yurei had this... charisma about her, allowing her to get along with anyone and everyone. She rarely met anyone who didn't like her or didn't get along with her. In other words, she was an extremely bubbly extrovert and made friends wherever she...

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“A New Start” by Jeremy Johnson

Submitted to Contest #65

The empty moving van bounced down the ancient driveway spewing clouds of exhaust into the air as it drove away from the old house, then turned north on the brick road that ran towards the center of town. From the covered front porch, the man watched the movers drive away while he sipped an ice cold beer. The house was situated on a sparsely populated block on the outskirts of some no name little town. A few neighbors were out working in their yards but most had retreated to the comfort of their homes for their nightly routi...

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$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!

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