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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

“Written on Juniper Leaves” by Scout Tahoe

Submitted to Contest #65

Meisie can recall all the names of the dead in the Levell Graveyard. She could list them off on her chubby fingers, starting with the ones placed near the entrance gate. The names were carved and darkened by time and shadows to the point of blurriness. Perhaps that’s why she memorized them. One, two, three, four. Five, six, seven, eight. You knew she was an odd child, but when she told Pa there were 109 in all, he threw his head back and laughed. It was an uncommon noise in a graveyard, almost to the point of extinction. Pa led her...

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“That's what families do” by Rebecca Lee

Submitted to Contest #65

“Murph! Murph! Wake up!” I gently nudged my little brother as he lay snoring under the plush throw on our large couch. He groaned, and wouldn’t open his eyes. I hit him with the velvet throw pillow from the end of the couch. “Get up, dummy.” He opened his eyes, and growled, “I was having a pretty good dream. What do you want?” “Your nephew is on his way over for us to take him shopping for his Halloween costume,” I said as I picked dishes he left on the coffee table the night before. My brother apparently had slept on the couch again l...

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“The Adventures of Luke and Lexi ” by Malz Castell

Submitted to Contest #65

“Come on Lexi! We had an agreement.” I sighed in exasperation, “That was before you died, doofus.” “Alive, dead… does it really matter?” my brother shrugged. I felt like standing against the wall and repeatedly banging my head on it. Carrying on a conversation with Luke often made me feel like it. And not for the most obvious reason. He was twenty four years old, well twenty three when he passed. But he still acted like a three year old. “How are people ever going to get that I’m Lilo when they can’t see Stitch huh? They’re just gonna th...

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“The Malicious Spirit of Hallows Eve” by Yolanda Wu

Submitted to Contest #65

First, it was the witch with the crimson cloak. She pulled her hood back to reveal a mane of black hair; tight curls frizzed from the drizzling of rain. Eyelids lined with a thin stroke of red.Jenetta Locknae.Fashioned the name Red Spider.Then, it was the witch with the dark talons. She tapped them against the table impatiently. Her small mouth twisted and pointy like a beak. Eyes beady with the keenest of sight.Descine Trimary.Known as The Ominous One.Then, it was the witch with the golden necklace. She was the tallest of them. A serpent sl...

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“Yours Forever” by Radhika Diksha

Submitted to Contest #65

Oh my god, what has she done with herself? I couldn't believe my eyes. My Roxanne without laughter, perfume, and mascara. Roxanne was my beloved and only child. What I had dreamt about her and what has she become now. She looks like she hasn't combed her hair for days. Her beautiful golden brown hairs are tied into a messy bun, her shoes are filthy. She's wearing my shirt. My orange color collared button-down shirt. The shirt makes her look muscular, the collar has literally covered half of her shoulder. And she's sobbing while walking down ...

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“The Street King” by Greydon Blight

Submitted to Contest #65

The sluggish countdown of the clock to home time ticked slower and slower the more I stared, as my eyes began to sting, I swear the second hand moved backwards. Class had dragged more than usual today, perhaps because I finally had something to look forward to after school. My birthday had been a success and we had the SNES. No more long bike rides to the arcade on the weekend now, no… it was video games every night from now on. “Ryu… you get the game? We on for tonight?” Li asks, leaning over from her desk beside me, her eyes facin...

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“Little Miss Annie” by Derrick Kakooza

Submitted to Contest #65

The beat from my father’s lyre courses through my body like a rabbit in a foreign warren. He fiddles with it, eyes closed as if thinking about every beat with great devotion. The microwave beeps and my father springs from the smooth acacia seat. He runs to hail his warmed pumpkin soup. Everything about the day is weird. At least that’s what my mother wanted when she set the Halloween challenge. My father is half Dracula, half a clown. His shoes squeak like a kid’s toy. He straightens the collar of his coat, black and long with Count Dracula’...

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“Good Night” by Amy St. Pierre

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #65

The day had been unseasonably warm for October, but the night air was cold. I put on extra thick socks and my coziest hoodie, and I packed two extra blankets with my sleeping bag. Then I watched outside from my bedroom window, peering outside through the blinds, waiting for the flash of headlights coming down the road. Moments later, Jade pulled up outside my mother’s house. She was driving her mother’s old black Saab, and she had her bright strawberry blonde hair pulled up and tucked up inside a baseball cap. ...

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“Delicate” by Scout Tahoe

Submitted to Contest #65

My boyfriend knows the day I’ll die. He sees the future, not in a glass ball, but at the bottom of his nightly whiskey. He’ll never tell me and try as I might, all I see in the glass bottle are dawn dusted droplets. He comes over a lot more now. It’s the result of him moving into a house a few doors down. We’ve been together for barely more than two months now—but since then, the nightmares have kicked in. I wake up every day with swollen, red dots on my wrists. Rhys says they’re probably from thrashing around subconsciously in the midd...

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“The Legend of the Potomac Witches” by Kristin Neubauer

Submitted to Contest #65

I scribble this statement with a trembling hand. My heart still pounds fiercely, though the horror I am about to relate is but two hours past. I have been taking brandy since I arrived at my home, but my nerves are yet unsettled. To he who holds this account, I implore you to read carefully and beware the great Patowmac River.My story begins on this last night of October, just after the clock in the city square had struck 11. My brother John had paused in his travels from Pennsylvania colony to spend three days with me before returning to hi...

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“Dreams of The Dead” by Keya M.

Submitted to Contest #65

Memories. So many. I wish I could erase them all. Then perhaps, I wouldn’t feel so much pain. This is what I think as I hug myself, staring at the starry night sky in front of me, millions of marigold petals creating a path across it, leading back to the mortal world. The bridges are alive, busy with those who are quite the opposite. I push my foot into the red sandstone ground I stand on, laughter echoing around me. It’s been 11 months and 8 days since the accident. I remember slipping into Mami’s beautiful black cashmere coat, not wanting ...

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“Circus Life” by Itay Frenkel

Submitted to Contest #65

Looney the clown was too dependent on his environment to survive in the outside world, like an animal kept in captivity its whole life. Tooney watched Looney’s grave like it was a blinding sunset. Tears stung his eyes, falling to the ground and welling in a sea of shame. Tooney was the proverbial clown nobody wanted to see cry. * Looney’s palms were sweaty, stomach twisted in knots, heart beating against his ribcage. He forced himself to yawn, loosening up his jaw. Performed jumping jacks to get his blood going. Raised his shoulder...

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“Gavin's Bedtime Story” by Stephanie Albright

Submitted to Contest #65

Gavin’s Bedtime Story Excerpt from The Storm “Can ye tell us a story afore we go ta bed? Please, Grandda?” “Ooh aye, I’ll tell ye my favorite story of all, but ye mus’ promise to be quiet and let yer mam rest, the new bairn is making her verra tired.” “We will, Grandda, Willie too.” Willie nodded his head solemnly. Once the lads were settled, one on each side he began, “Back in Scotland there...

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“Obedient to Impulsive” by Natalie Dafoe

Submitted to Contest #65

My hands were turning white, I thought, pausing to look at them. Did Ruby curse me as she threatened? Was I gripping my spellbook too tight? Or was it simply the full moon casting a colourful illusion overtop of my skin. Sending my already-pale skin into an icy blue, highlighting how I wasn’t truly human.“Admiring your hand, are you Evanora?” I jumped at Nyx’s voice, shattering the silence in my room. “I told you to call me Nova,” I spoke through gritted teeth, not bothering to turn around. Her heavy leather shoes clunk on my wood floor...

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“A Letter From Limbo Land” by Howard Halsall

Submitted to Contest #65

I escaped my recent death by becoming a ghost in limbo land. In exchange for being undead I agreed to attend and perform haunting services upon request. I understood my obligations and signed the standard ten-year contract that requires two visitations a month and allows me four annual social calls to see my family, on compassionate grounds. This is a very workable arrangement with plenty of scope for unchecked mischief making. I keenly anticipated returning to surprise my old friends and teasing them with impunity.“So,” I hear you say. “Sur...

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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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