Welcome to our $100 50 Word Horror Creepy Christmas Contest. We are going to run one of these every couple months due to the popularity, and it seems like people really like them. It also seems like people really love the horror stories, so we are doing it again. This contest is basically the same set up as the last contest.
We have developed new rules this year to stop all this nonsense. We want to be clear who wins. We want it to be transparent and fair!
Please read our rules carefully!
Stories:
- Must be high quality horror stories
- Must be 50 words or under
- Must be a complete story
- Have to be in before our deadline.
- Deadline is December 20, 2020
- Enter as many stories as you like!
- Post your story in the comments below.
- Scariest Story Wins
- Enter as many times as you like
- If you won other contests, you can still win this one
We will announce the winners in a movie chat night.
What you win:
- Your story will be placed on a tile and shared on our social networks
- You will get a winning announcement post with links to your books and/or website
- You will win $100 cash paid through paypal.
Contest requirements
- Winner must respond to our email within 2 days. If you do not it goes to the running up.
- Winner must agree to use his or her name on our site (it can be a pen name
We will announce the top 3 stories on December 23, 2020 at our movie night. If you want to know the winner, come to the movie night. We will repost the winner after the winner responds.
We want this to be fun. We have not run a contest in a year due to death threats from the last contest. Please be nice, play well together. Your stories and comments will be held for moderation, so please give it a little while for the story to post.
Post your stories below.
Get news, listings and contests winners fast by joining our mailing list. It really helps us if you sign up!
- Science Fiction Quiz #1 - May 21, 2025
- Awakening All Five Senses: How to Write Descriptions That Come Alive - May 15, 2025
- Comment Contest: Win Promotion for Your Writing! - May 14, 2025
THIS YEAR’S NEW SUIT
The Big Guy smoothed out the fabric of his retailored suit with his gloved hand, relishing the beauty of the warm carmine as it glowed near the fireplace. The dye was from a special color his wife recommended, thus proving her point.
The naughty were good for something after all.
The Box
Door bell rings I open the door it’s a big box.
Slides the box inside no postage
Opens box out pops me. I climb out the box.
Holding a small box. Hands box to myself and says Open. I open the box it’s my tounge.
Elf
He shouldn’t have signed the contract. Cochineal ink – the colour of blood – was the first clue. The name at the top was the second. But vanity and dyslexia blinded him. The lure of immortality called. He ignored the faint metallic smell, the carmine S signed in a bold hand, the sonorous, malevolent laugh that reverberated off the walls as the ink dried.
Knees pulled up to his chin, long, thin arms wrapped tightly around them, he rested his back against the spine of a leather-bound Dorian Gray. If only he’d understood the personal cost of eternal itinerancy and vigilance.
Elf
He leaned against a Dorian Gray.
He shouldn’t have signed.
Cochineal ink, the first clue. The name on the contract, the second. He ignored the metallic smell, the carmine S, the sonorous, malevolent laugh. Vanity and dyslexia blinded him. The lure of immortality called.
The price? Eternal itinerancy and vigilance.
A CHILD’S ANTICIPATION
The joyful breathtaking magic spreads throughout me. It’s actually him! I watch as he rises from the fireplace, larger than life, with his enormous sack of toys…
…and the firecrackers detonate, injuring and incapacitating him! Success!
Now, I go to find something to cut off and use as a trophy.
Holiday date
I have a date this Holiday year, he sits at the table oh such a dear
My family will rejoice ,the date I have ,
For he will not talk back or say anything bad.
Knitted a scarf to wrap around his neck, no one will see the cut I left.
My family surrounds me again. So many of us have passed now. But I keep tradition alive.
I keep them alive for my happiness. I reunite us for Christmas dinner, reincarnating their spirits.
They haunt me, alarmed by their revival. This is my tradition, reclaiming what I’ve lost every year.
Slay-ride
Giggling with glee she sat down in front of me,
A nudge of my foot, away we go, down the hill, nobody will know.
With a push I say “you should have chose me that day”!
Sled hitting her head I look back to see, red Christmas color following me.
The present
He will now stay, and never leave , for what Iv done is sure to please.
With a cut and a slash , my boyfriend will see,
I’m the prettiest present under the tree .
He will be surprised , full of glee,
At my new face Santa gave to me.
QUITE A DISPLAY
It was an enchanting sight. Lights of every color were impeccably positioned in different patterns, dimming, chasing, radiating that holiday spirit glow.
There, too, were animatronic mannequins that were, at first, exquisite with its lifelike appearance, but that was because upon closer inspection I saw they were freshly-killed corpses.
Is it a requirement for entrants to your contests to be professional, published writers? I have not been published nor have I received payment for my writings. I’m just curious.
Anyone can play, and anyone can win.
A CHRISTMAS CAROL
“Oh, holy night,” I heard from outside, as the carolers gathered in my yard repeated the refrain over and over like a record stuck. I opened the door and saw them in long robes, moving toward me as though adrift, their eyes piercing, their hands waving me into their fold.
The fire crackled as she crept into the living room, tiptoe silent. This was going to be the year! Crouching behind an armchair, she waited. Creaking from above, along with jingle bells, marked his arrival. A thud was followed by a loud snap! “Break into my house, will you?” she spat.
Hoof beats play upon the roof. Waiting below, giant sac in hand, Jr.’s stomach rumbles. His grandfather had never been a vengeful man, but then again, the love of his life is gone, and they are to blame. Shots ring out! They’ll love the mince pies this year-real venison.
IT CAME UPON A SILENT NIGHT
The deep, guffawed “hos” bursting loudly outside rousted him from his deep slumber in the dead of Christmas Eve. He got up to look out the window but saw nothing.
His wife spoke behind him. “Honey?”
He spun around, seeing no one, suddenly terrified. His wife died a year ago.
It possessed a morbid air that caused the hairs on his flesh to prickle; nonetheless, he added it to his collection.
That night, in bed, he awoke to find his new little wooden friend right in his face, a crimson glow sparkling in his intensely painted eyes, taking him away.
Title: AN INTERESTING NUTCRACKER
Santa Claus
Brother told Pete
of Santa Claws’
great big teeth
and sharp sharp paws.
He emphasized Santa’s
“Good Kid’s Lists.”
Penance comes
with knuckle fists!
Mommy thought,
“A treat……
visiting Santa
with toddler Pete.”
Big brother gave him
a knife,
And fear-filled Petey
stabbed Santa!
Took away his life.
These stories do not have to be about Christmas. They can be just scary stories, regular old scary stories. Horror stories.
So, what happened? Did you announce the top 3 stories?
BUILDING THE PERFECT SNOWMAN
I was six years old when I built the perfect snowman. Mittens, coat, scarf, corn cob pipe, carrot nose, the works; but before I could finish, the rude girl next door said it “looked ugly, like me.” I fixed that by taking her eyes out and giving them to him.
WAITING
I stay up all night waiting for him. While I wait, I think of every good deed I did this year.
Thumps on the rooftop. He’s here!
As I hear him shuffling down, I suddenly remember the joke about Santa I made yesterday.
Down the chimney come two enormous hooves.
ONE FLESH
We dine amidst the soft glow of candlelight.
”Oh, Mary.”
Flame and shadow dance across her face. Her head tilted back. Mouth slack-jawed.
I glance at the viscera protruding from her lacerated abdomen.
”We would’ve been so happy together.”
I scoop a portion onto my plate and take another bite.
Teeth under her pillow, she drifted off to sleep, hopeful.
Crunch. Crunch.
The sound roused her and she tuned an ear toward it.
The crouching shadow grinned, teeth razor-sharp, and pressed a spindly finger against her lips.
Retrieving another tooth from under her pillow, it popped it into its awaiting jaws.
The note, propped up against a plate of cookies, read: for Santa. As always, no real persuasion was required. With only crumbs remaining, Santa felt a sharp pain in his abdomen and projectile vomited, Christmas red, while I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus played in the background.
It stared through the icy window, yearning for an invitation. Closing the curtain, she knew she was being watched. Moments later, it was overjoyed as she walked out into the yard, deep footprints trailing after. Reaching out, she plucked out the pieces of coal, plunging the watcher into darkness.
SECRETS
”I want to tell you a secret.”
”What is it, Mama?”
I sit on his bed and scooch closer to him. Leaning over, I kiss the nape of his neck. His body shivers.
“The nightmare you’re having is real.”
I open my mouth wide and bite deep into his flesh.
NAILED IT
Woman: “Where are we going?”
Man: “We are going to party, then have a surprise.”
Woman: “I like your surprises.”
###
Woman: “What a beautiful box, I like lying next to you.”
Man: “The dirt is starting to fall. The first facefull is the worst.”
SLAM!
CAPTAIN WALTON REACHES THE NORTH POLE
The Captain was under the impression it was dead.
Finally, they reached their destination. And there it was again, standing before another entity of bulking proportions, clad entirely in red. Both stood immobile, facing each other.
The intense sight brought fear that the world’s fate was hanging in the balance.
Vlad
We danced outside the manor where the snow dropped in sleets. Music wafted to the barn where Master Vlad found me saddling a horse. I was not interested in the ball at all.
He cut his left arm with his sword until I sucked him. My first taste of blood.
Grandpa
I was twelve when I met grandpa.
A burglar entered our kitchen door and sat down for coffee. We talked and laughed.
Later, mama, tried something. She opened an old album and asked if this were the man I met.
This is grandpa. He’s been dead for 10 years.
.Witch
She was from Asia and was accused of killing her husband. I covered the story and saved her from a lynch mob of villagers. I brought her to America where she took to serving me a tasty brew each day until I choked on the last one, to death.
Lovers Lost at Sea
I tugged the old boat I found with my own. It was still in good condition and I cleaned it well.
At night as I smoked and watched my progress, I could hear conversations of lovers saying sweet nothings.
The next day I returned the boat to sea, forever.
Resurrected
I watched the footage again and again. My professor was behind me, watching as well. Two white transparent figures fused to kiss. A blast rang out and the figures dissipated. The footage suddenly cleared up to reveal more.
The professor pulled a dagger behind me.
The Edge
The same dream each night, my white cat darting silver in the dark forest with a boy. A judge in black on a horse ran after them knowing what lay ahead. The edge.
My cat shape-shifted into a girl and together with the boy they held hands and jumped.
Mermaid
Recently married, my husband and I steered a boat to sea. Being a singer, I sang him arias at night, to sleep.
One night I awoke to the sweetest song I have ever heard. I found my husband watching a mermaid with sharp fangs pulling him to the dark ocean.
Under the Tree
The children had a present under the tree, heavy and round. Mommy had nestled it under the tree. Daddy with his fast, hard hands would never bring anything. Never did, and now never would. It was a present from Mommy. They would open it soon and scream.
Secret Recipe
My Grandmother baked some wonderful Christmas treats: pies, tarts, great glistening white cakes.
“It’s all in the recipe,” she told me once. “All good recipes require sacrifice.”
“What kind of sacrifice?” I asked, agog.
“Oh,” she waved her knife vaguely. It glinted red under the kitchen lights. “Anyone will do.”
While you slept, my darling, I walked between the headstones. Over weeds and roots and forgotten flowers. I traced abandoned names beneath my fingertips, whispered them to the frost. Moved so silently, my love, so softly, so as not to wake you.
But I am here, my darling.
I walk.
Krampus Klaus
(version1)
The portly elf stood beside the fireplace. Blood dripped off the knife in his hand. He smiled in a sharp-toothed grin. A trickle of red dripped out of the corner of his mouth. He relished the last mouthful as he chewed. Tommy no longer topped the naughty list.
(version2)
The jolly-bellied elf dropped a large lump coal into Tommy’s stocking as he chewed on fleshy meat with rows of sharp teeth. He glanced at the naughty list in his other hand. Now Sarah topped it. He slung the heavy red sack over his shoulder as he winked.
(version3)
Covered in soot, standing beside the stockings hung on the fireplace, a plump elf stood, chewing. His black tongue shot out past rows of sharp teeth to lick up a trickle of blood. His red eyes glisten above a matted beard as he scans the naughty list. Tommy’s house next.
(version4)
Under a red, soot covered hat, an elfin grin spread, revealing rows of pointy teeth. His clawed hand ticks Tommy’s name off the naughty list. The elf drops a lump of coal into a hung stocking and absently chews on a bone. Up the chimney he flies. Ho ho ho.
(version5)
Ho, ho ho. A red, jolly belly shook with laughter as he dropped a lump of coal into a stocking. Cookies and milk; Tommy’s last meal. Elfin eyes scanned the list to see the next name as pointed teeth hungrily chewed. A trickle of blood stained his straggly, white beard.
(version6)
A portly elf stands beside the fireplace. He smiles a sharp toothed grin as blood drips off his knife. He drops a lump of coal into a stocking, relishing the last mouthful as he chews. Tommy no longer tops the naughty list. Ho, ho, ho. Up the chimney he goes.
Husband says , No one decorates a Christmas tree like my mother!
Looking disgusted at the decorations, she asks , We using these?
No I replied.
Her fingers and toes, all painted red, hung on each branch, Head for the top.
You’re right husband, No one decorates Christmas tree like your mother
I really like this . . . there’s a story fidgeting inside . . . and I want to see it, and while I clearly see the husband . . . I can’t see who the fingers and toes and head belong to? wife or mother? I feel like a minor pronoun or proper-noun edit can light this up! Thanks.
That was so good!!! Loved all the versions ,first one was my favorite.
I think you did amazing job describing Krampus!
I stood in front of the bathroom mirror plucking my eyebrows when my left eye started to sting. Had a lash fallen in? I got up as close as I could to the mirror. I stared at my reflection to see several slimy worm-mutations wriggling right out of my eyeball.
The last thing I saw was my bedroom closet opening. The last thing I heard was heavy footsteps. The last thing I felt, was her scalpel-sharp rotting nails tearing my chest open. I couldn’t get away. My heart was ripped from my chest and gnawed on like a dog bone.
For days he kept hearing a buzzing sound. A visit to his doctor; who discovered a nest of ants and cleaned it out. That night while he slept, the queen returned to see her babies gone. Fueled with anger, she crawled inside and laid more, far deeper than before.
Joy to the World
My partner, detective Hamilton, came into my office to tell me he thinks he solved the Christmas murders. The conviction in his voice was so convincing too. When he turned to leave and call chief, I let him know he was wrong with a quick, fatal stab. The Savior reigns!
He opens the box, crumpling the bright green wrapping paper with tiny hands. The bulbous nose looks a bit crooked, and one eyelid is almost closed, but that makes him laugh, a silvery sound sprouting from his baby mouth. Red drops stain his little feet when he begins to play.
He was chasing me. His face blistered and burned from the fire. His once jolly expression now gone. He grabbed hold of me and dragged me to the chimney where the fire still burned. He pulled back preparing to throw me and I knew this would be a Christmas I would never forget.
Nothing matters anymore and nothing will ever be the same. I roam through the trees, moss growing on my feet, white lace shimmering in the moonlight. Pain is no more, and whatever is beyond it sings of things that hide in the darkness. It sings of me.
Title: All I Want For Christmas Is You
“Please. Just one kiss. It’s Christmas.” I held up the mistletoe above both our heads. He choked back a sob when I placed the still bloody knife under his chin. He hadn’t spoke since he saw his wife’s corpse under the tree. “Don’t you want to see New Year’s Day?”
Santa Clause
I heard thumps on the roof knowing he was here. As he came down the chimney all I saw was an imposter. It looked as if he got in an accident and walked out of the hospital leaving blood on the floor. I will never forget this Christmas.
Christmas Carol
He’s holding a knife. Walking slowly towards me. I wanted to run. I can’t move. He’s so near. I wanted to shout but there’s no voice coming out. My whole body stiffens in fear. I pray. Then, I hear children singing. Christmas carol saved me from my nightmare.
REFLECTION
Thunder, wind roar and the window banging. It’s 3AM. I get up in bed to close the window. The lightning strikes and show a reflection of a man. I run to my bed and cover my self. I peek. It was Santa Clause. My surprise gift for my kids.
“Santa’s Rabid Reindeer Salve”
In Santa’s stable, Wunorse elf, arms crossed, says, “Rabid fox bit her. Salve’s on, finally.”
Santa aims his .45 at Prancer and says, “It’s just tranquilizer.”
“No. I thought,” Wunorse slurs. His hand slips to reveal glistening bite marks.
Santa winks out a tear and turns his head.
K-BAH!
K-BAH!
Iceman
By Elinor Nerenberg
Moon light glints off cold, frosted window panes, a ceaseless howl rattles trees. The scratch of claws against ice frozen glass frightens her. A creak on the stairs down the hall, with heavy steps towards her door, ice melts under the doorway followed by a sinister laugh. Death.
He was overworked, raging he had never received a real Christmas present. And so, on Christmas Eve at midnight, he rapped on a door. A sleepy child opened. He shoved the milk and cookies on the doorstep down her throat. Her eyes bulged, as Dancer impaled her with his antlers.
You go to bed after food, drink, and merriment. You close your eyes, fall asleep, dreaming of a Christmas morning that will never come. His shadow covers your bed before he drags you into the void, erasing you from existence. His booming laughter covers your screams as you vanish. Ho-ho-ho.
The boys who played at slaughtering were given a choice between an apple or a gold coin. The girl who collected the blood wasn’t asked—neither was the boy who played the lamb. One butcher choose apple, one the coin.
Hungry, dejected, Nicholas clutches his coin.
Every Christmas Eve, forevermore.
Imposter
We caught Santa in our living room. We couldn’t believe we achieved every child’s dream. But when we heard scuffling down the chimney, we turned back to Santa to ask who was coming, it was too late. He already murdered everyone upstairs and the knife was lunging towards us.
Christmas Gifts
“My boss gives the best gifts,” Jeremy proclaimed.
Knowing Jeremy’s distain for his boss, I questioned his sincerity. He knew it.
“Look at all the gifts he gave this year,” he says while pulling boxes out of a black bag. Each box, meticulously wrapped, was labeled a different body part.
“They Heard The Bells On Christmas Day”
Hank could scarcely remember a time before the bells. The incessant chiming in his head drove him mad. Nobody in town believed him. Nobody helped. Then one Christmas, Hank took a hammer to his skull. The sound escaped and the whole town finally heard. The bells drowned out their screams.
Hi, quick question, where can I watch today’s Movie Night?
Did Movie Night happened yesterday? I tried to find it on the website and checked if it was announced on twitter but I didn’t see anything. Was the winner chosen yet?