Tombstone Verses: Halloween Horror Haiku Contest 2024
Greetings, ghoulish poets! We’re resurrecting our spine-chilling Halloween Horror Haiku contest for 2024. Sharpen your quills and prepare to craft the most terrifying tiny verses that will make our judges’ blood run cold. The top 3 haikus will be eternally enshrined on our website, complete with the authors’ bios and social media links for all to admire (or cower from).
The Rules:
- Follow the 5-7-5 syllable structure (we’re flexible on strict haiku conventions)
- Your haiku must be horror-themed: scary, ironic, terrifying, or monstrous
- Keep it creepy, not gross – we want chills, not nausea
- Gory is okay, but not graphically so (walk that fine line!)
- Deadline: October 30, 2024
- Post your haiku in the comments below
- One haiku per comment, but enter as many times as you dare!
The Prize:
Bragging rights as one of the top 3 horror haiku masters of 2024!
Example:
Moonlit Masquerade
Masks hide true faces
Shadows dance in candlelight
Who lurks behind yours?
Witch’s Brew
Bubbling cauldron steams
Eye of newt and toe of frog
Magic fills the air
Ghostly Whispers
Creaky floorboards groan
Unseen spirits softly sigh
Chills run down my spine
Pumpkin’s Grin
Jack-o’-lantern glows
Flickering flame carves darkness
Mischief in its smile
If you want to title the Haiku, that’s fine, and enter as many times as you like. Also, sign up for our mailing list and stay up to date on winners and more.
- 6 Words of Horrible Horror Until the End of October Contest - October 7, 2024
- Tombstone Verses: Halloween Horror Haiku Contest 2024 - October 1, 2024
- October 2024 Halloween Fright Contest: 50-Word Horror Stories - October 1, 2024
Shadows creep closer
Whispers from an empty room
Cold hands touch my neck
Moonlit fangs glisten
Crimson drops on pale skin fall
Eternal thirst waits
Screams echo for help,
His blade strikes her, heartless, cold,
Cheating sealed her fate.
She loved him in dreams,
Unaware of the dark price,
Now he claims her soul.
“Kill the dog,” she said,
Screams echo through the dark night,
Lonely hearts remain.
Harvest of Souls
Fields whisper your name,
Scarecrow watches with dead eyes,
The reaper is here.
Devil’s Lullaby
Crimson tears cascade,
Hushed whispers cradle your fear,
Sleep now, never wake.
Feast of the Damned
Beneath the full moon,
Wolves howl for the lost tonight,
Souls feast on despair.
Dreadful Temptation
“Shatter your frail soul,
Embrace the abyss’s chill,
Join the feast of wraiths.”
Moonlit graveyard mist
Witches cackle on broomsticks
Bats flit through the air
Misty cemetery
Skeleton rattles his bones
Owl hoots, night deepens
The reason skulls grin
Is that only when we’re dead
Do we get the joke.
Blade teases the skin
“Slice The Flesh,” cajoles the witch
So now we obey
The Boy is coming
Red, your red, between his teeth
You won’t be the last
I have seen too much
Gouge out my eyes, Oedipus
You have practice, right?
Here Lies Quackenbush
She’s Got Bette Davis Eyes
No Longer—We Fear.
Philip Livingston
Took the trip of a lifetime
Always Mind the Gap
Charlotte Anderson
She had the loveliest eyes
My favorite food
Día de Muertos
Sugar skulls and marigolds
Invite me back home
Demon Scarecrow lurks
He’s stalking more than just crows
I…hear…you…coming
Silent moon shivers,
Cold breath crawls beneath my skin—
Shadows start to grin.
In dark woods they roam,
Eyes aglow with hunger’s thirst,
Children lost to night.
In dark woods they roam,
Eyes aglow with hunger’s thirst,
Children lost to night.
Rotting breath lingers,
Pale hands drag from the shadows—
No dawn comes today.
Creaking door opens,
Wet nails scrape beneath the bed—
Something waits. Don’t breathe.
shrouded head to toe
in red a girl skims ghostlike
through the dark, scything
Beneath the twilight,
The blood moon shines, darkly
A corpse rises, hypnotized
Hooting, ruffling owl
On Halloween he lunges
Warning us all
Shrieking gliding bat
At night he hunts for his prey
A mouse hides in fear
the buzz and flicker
of War Cemetery’s “War”
Eve of All Hallows