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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

“Hill Cross ” by Roxanna C Revell

Submitted to Contest #65

Hill Cross cemetery is possibly the world’s most incorrectly named cemetery that has ever existed, on account of the fact that there’s no hill anywhere in sight! In fact, it’s set so low that you could almost call it a valley, and as such it’s prone to flooding and there’s been more than one occasion when a gravestone has been uprooted and floated down the lane! The valley of the dead! Not a nice place to be in the daytime, let alone at night!Thankfully, no bodies have been unearthed (yet) but it’s only a matter of time! The ground is so ero...

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“Bewitching Hour” by Carol Keefer

Submitted to Contest #65

"Bewitching Hour" Ghostly shadows dance across the faded gray carpet and onto the whitewashed walls. Hidden secrets, lying undisturbed for many years. The sound of a ticking clock echoes in the silence, a silence that clings in the air like cobwebs in the dark corners of one’s soul. A soul where darkness lingers and hope no longer lives. Yet somewhere, there is hope if one chooses to search and are ready to pay the cost. Kara sits cross-legged...

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“Chinwe, Run!” by Tobby Fadeyi

Submitted to Contest #65

“Remind me again why we’re doing this?” I ask as we park the old beat-up pickup truck at the only available parking spot down the street. This, is us setting camp to spend the night, not at a friend’s place, not even on a busy road, but at a freaking graveyard – on the eve of Halloween. The street is basked in a faint yellow glow both from the street lights and from the houses covered in Halloween decorations. It’s around ten pm and everyone’s indoors already, trying to gather enough energy for the trick-or-treaters tomorrow. “Oh...

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“Memories” by Pablo Mascaraque Glenn

Submitted to Contest #65

“I’m no sure we have the energy for all of that, Dave,” said Neil. “But it’s quite the memory trip, I’ll give you that.” “Aye, it is. Be good to see what’s changed and what hasn’t, don’t you think?” “Depressing is what it’ll be, if you ask me.” “Depressing?” chuckled Dave. “Wait till I tell you what the last stop is, pal.” “The last–? Aw, no Dave. Please tell me it isn’t the bloody cemetery.” Dave nodded, the smile never leaving his face. “Come on, Dave, you know I hate those places. What have we lost there anyway?” “We could pay old Hedge a...

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“Halloween Dare” by . .

Submitted to Contest #65

“Come on, take a risk!” He said from across the room. “Fine, I pick.... Dare.” I say after a minute. “I dare you, to spend the night in the graveyard.” “WHAT?!” I quickly stood up. Everybody in the room turned their head so their facing me. I take a deep breath, “I’m only doing it if someone else goes with me.” I didn’t think anybody else would offer. “I'll go.” My friend Jacob walked over to me and rested his hand on my shoulder. “Great so it’s settled, tonight you and Ja...

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“Graveyard Rendezvous” by Lizee Newt

Submitted to Contest #65

Maia cups her mug as she stares out the café window, her eyes closed and a content smile on her face as the mid-morning sun warms her skin. The low hum of chatter rises and falls in waves and mixes with the Zen music streaming from hidden speakers. She brings her mug up to her face and takes a deep inhale of her cinnamon coffee. The sweet and woodsy spice compliments the light roasted brew and added milk. The door of the shop slams open, earning a few surprised exclamations. Quick steps approach Maia’s table the chai...

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“Shadows in the Hills” by Stuck_in_the __clouds

Submitted to Contest #65

“Are you sure about this?” It was a cold winter, the harshest since 2009. I glanced up at the stars and embraced the wind that hit me, brushing against my fingertips. Smiling at the silence, I danced in the moonlight, moving with staggered steps—drunker than yesterday and as blind as a bat, navigating through the woodlands. “Did you read the sign? It said Mandeville, as in the devil’s cemetery.” Jonathan, a close friend of mine, walked behind me. His voice was so full of discomfort and I swear, for someone who wasn’t book smart, he always ...

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“Revenge” by Jessica W

Submitted to Contest #65

The air had just started becoming crisp and the leaves slowly changing from their summer green to the vibrant colors of autumn the morning that I was died. Summer was quickly coming to an end and I was looking forward to the annual beach trip that my husband and I indulged in every year, but unfortunately the universe had other plans in store as to how we were going to kick off the autumn season. It had been a morning like any other; snooze alarm, brush teeth, apply mascara, straighten hair. Chain smoke until it’s time to get dressed an...

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“Empath Energy” by Sara Blanch

Submitted to Contest #65

Agitated beeping, like an insolent child's cries roughly pulled Erica from her slumber as she smacked at her wrist sporadically...attempting to stop the incessant noise pollution. Glancing around quickly, she took note of her surroundings before diverting her attention back to the still beeping appliance as her mind slowly but surely eased itself awake. According to the neon green numbers currently illuminating the watch's dark surface, it was almost evening...which meant that if she didn't hustle she would be, not suprisingly, late on...

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“Harold” by Chelsea S D

Submitted to Contest #65

Okay, okay, here we go. You can do this Harold. There, right over there. A nice guy, all alone walking down the street. That's right, my dude... come a little closer... a littler closer... *Woosh* HA AH! I did it! Wooshed right through the sucker. He even shivered! This is getting easier. Well done Harold. Okay, next target... what do we think..... there. Two kids... hmmm... do I want to spook kids? I mean I always enjoyed a good spooking... and it is Halloween.... Drat. Too far away anyway. This whole not knowing how to ...

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“Wildest Dreams” by V S

Submitted to Contest #65

“Trick or treat!” echoed throughout the neighborhood followed by the laughter and giggles of children. The loud music from house parties filled with drunk and rowdy teenagers could be heard from miles away. At the corner of the bustling street on 5th Avenue, the pubs were filled to the brim with long queues with people in different costumes. Outside the pubs, there were tipsy couples making out against graffiti filled walls and drunk teenagers vomiting alongside the road. Ah, Halloween... the only time where we can be anyone that we wish to ...

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“Halloween Escort” by Jess Elliott

Submitted to Contest #65

Halloween Escort I remember sunning myself in the back garden as usual, licking my tail, my paws. Letting the warmth sink through my fur to my skin. I extended my front paws and clawed the ground inserting my claws and extracting. Insert, extract. It felt so good to stretch. With it getting dark so early now and the air so chilly, the moment of peace in the sunshine was exquisite. I fell asleep with comforting smells of leaves and hints of a wood fire somewhere in the neighborhood. I was dreaming about my bowl brimming with fre...

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“What a ghostly scene” by Sidney B.

Submitted to Contest #65

I don’t remember dying. Or… living, really. I just remember waking up, and feeling amazing. Well, not really waking up, but sort of, you know? I opened my eyes and I was in my city, not far from where I lived. And I didn’t realise I was dead, at first. But then people kept walking through me and not responding to me, you know, the classic stuff that makes people realise they died in movies. I went to my funeral. It was quite pretty, actually. Apparently, I was loved by a lot of people, as it was really crowded. That, or I was just a ...

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“Take Me Home” by Lindsey Albright

Submitted to Contest #65

Rain splattered and pooled in the mud over Charlie’s grave and in the middle, Charlie’s ghost sat. He was a young man when he died, only twenty-seven, and even though he had never believed in ghosts, there he was. He knew the air around him was cold. That much was obvious even if he couldn’t feel it. If it wasn’t for the steady and large droplets of water that fell from rolling gray clouds overhead or the brisk wind that rattled what remained of the leaves in the trees, the group of teenagers wearing Halloween costumes that snuck into the ce...

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“Halloween Unseen” by Peter Watts

Submitted to Contest #65

A young boy with smudged face paint and dressed in a skeleton suit jogs along the sidewalk and runs straight through me. He stops a few feet in front of me and turns around, the beaming smile on his face has slipped, replaced by a quizzical look. He reaches towards me and I flinch when the touch of his hand slides into my shoulder joint and back out the other side. I will never get used to that feeling. Two other children: a superhero and a zombie; call out to the boy who is looking at me. His head snaps round to find his friends, ...

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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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