Skip to content

EveryWriter

Empowering Writers Since 1999

Menu
  • Home
  • Reading
    • On Writing
    • Interviews
    • Famous Authors
    • Stories
    • Poetry
  • Writing
    • Writing Lab 101
      • Writing Tips
      • Writing Tropes
      • Grammar Help
    • Contests & More
      • Contests for writers
      • Games for Writers
      • Quizzes for Writers
    • Writing Inspiration
    • Writing Prompts
      • Writing Prompts
      • Creative Writing Prompts
      • Student Writing Prompts
      • Journal Writing Prompts
      • Poetry Writing Prompts
      • Daily Writing Prompts
      • Holiday Writing Prompts
    • Writer’s Questions
  • Publishing
    • Publishing Tips
    • Literary Magazines
    • Book Publishers
  • Promotions
    • Book Promotions
    • Promoting Tips
    • News and Announcements
    • Classifieds
    • Newsletter
  • Teaching Writing
  • Submit
    • About Us
    • Submit
    • Privacy Policy
  • Community
Menu
Every Writer Halloween 50 Word Scary Story Contest!

Every Writer Halloween 50 Word Scary Story Contest!

Posted on October 16, 2017February 3, 2023 by Richard

Every Writer Halloween 50 Word Scary Story Contest!

Happy Halloween! Yes, it’s August 7, but we have to start now! Welcome to the Every Writer Halloween 50 Word Scary Story Contest. I know we just ended our other 50 Word Summer contest, but we have to get this one started now. It’s our big contest. It’s the big show. The contest to end all contest! You already know the ground rules. Our writers always seem to have fun doing these, and this is the one that started it all!  We are looking for the scariest of the scary this time. We want your best possible stories please.

I know Halloween is a little ways away, but we have to have material to publish in our October 1st print issue of Every Writer. It’ll be our big Halloween issue. That’s why we are starting early. Here are our requirements:

Stories:

  • Must be scary
  • Must be 50 words or under
  • Must be a complete story
  • Have to be in before our deadline.
  • Deadline is October 29, 2017
  • Enter as many stories as you like!
  • Post your story in the comments below.

What you win:

  • Publication in our print magazine (will not be the Halloween issue, see below).
  • 1st Place wins 1000$ in ads on our site
  • 2nd Place wins $500 in ads
  • 3rd Place wins $250 in ads
  • Also, if we like your story we may pull it off our list, contact you, and publish it our Halloween issue.

I have to explain. We will not know the winners of this contest until October 29, and our Halloween issue will publish October 1, so the winners can’t be announced in that issue. They will be in our January issue, BUT if we see ANY stories on this contest thread that we like, we will simply ask you to publish them in our Oct issue, before the first. Those people may be winners, they may not be, but we are looking for 50 word scary stories to publish. In our last print issue we published 15 50 word stories. October promises to be a bigger issue, so we will need as many 50 word stories as we can get.

What I’m saying is, win or no, you have a chance of being published in our Halloween print issue, if you post a 50 word SCARY story below.

Last contest was awesome, and we have some of those stories already going into our print issue. Please creep us out. Scare us!

We will announce and post the winners on October 30th! We will do a movie and a chat, as always. We will watch something scary and fun and do all of that, which people really like, when they show up for it.  Post your stories:

 

If you want to be in our latest contest, please visit: Our 2021 contest!

 

  • Author
  • Recent Posts
Richard
Richard
Richard Everywriter (pen name) is the founder of EveryWriter and a 25-year veteran of the publishing industry. With degrees in Writing, Journalism, Technology, and Education, Richard has dedicated two decades to teaching writing and literature while championing emerging voices through EveryWriter's platform. His work focuses on making literary analysis accessible to readers at all levels while preserving the rich heritage of American literature. Connect with Richard on Twitter  Bluesky Facebook or explore opportunities to share your own work on ourSubmissions page. For monthly insights on writing and publishing, subscribe to our Newsletter.
Richard
Latest posts by Richard (see all)
  • 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
Category: Expired

171 thoughts on “Every Writer Halloween 50 Word Scary Story Contest!”

Comments navigation

Newer comments
  1. Kevin Steffanson says:
    August 7, 2017 at 9:04 pm

    Agatha’s Descent

    I gripped the ax against my chest and peered around the wall. She wasn’t there. Slowly I crept along, my heart pounding in my ears; she could hear it too. A floorboard creaked, I spun around. Nobody. Trembling viciously, I looked up. A dark figure descended upon me. Agatha, babe.

  2. Kevin Steffanson says:
    August 7, 2017 at 9:35 pm

    The Itch-Rip Skin Condition

    Why does it keep itching? I scratched until the red stuff poured out, then I scratched all the way to hard white stuff. When will it stop? I’ll keep scratching and digging until it’s over. I need to pull away this soft warm stuff, but dang, it’s stuck tight.

  3. Sanga says:
    August 8, 2017 at 11:59 pm

    Murder or Suicide?

    I am running hard. Someone’s chasing me. My lungs burn and legs give away. I pull myself up, glancing behind, curious to know my killer. I see me; standing poised with a wicked grin, a slit throat and a knife raised, ready to plunge into my heart.

    1. Loretta Martin says:
      August 23, 2017 at 12:47 pm

      Eeewww. Creepy and philosophical. Great read!

      1. Sanga says:
        September 25, 2017 at 3:07 am

        Thank you, Loretta!

  4. Tyler D Leonard says:
    August 9, 2017 at 9:31 pm

    Feed

    The village is in flames.

    Men, women, and children scream as they burn.

    I watch from the pines.

    As only a few make it through.

    They crawl out from the fire.

    Like little lame lambs.

    I feel the hunger rise.

    It is time to make my move.

  5. Ditrie Marie Bowie says:
    August 11, 2017 at 10:31 am

    He sat at his desk. The phone rang. A familiar voice.

    “You were cheating.”

    His dead wife’s picture appeared on his desktop.

    “I was dying in a ditch. Clawing for my phone. You didn’t answer.”

    The image shifted to him from behind. She stood there, too. Wielding a knife.

  6. C A Clark says:
    August 12, 2017 at 7:18 pm

    The trembling girl presses her face into my chest.
    “Daddy, kill the monsters, kill ‘em!”
    The face in the closet is terrified. “Don’t kill me Daddy.”
    The one under the bed curls in a foetal position, sobbing.
    I couldn’t save – the original.
    She begged. “Kill me Daddy!”
    I couldn’t.

  7. Eileen Sateriale says:
    August 13, 2017 at 6:02 am

    Stop the Pain.

    His stomach gurgled. The pain was wretched. The chemotherapy drug was destroying his body. Painkillers did little to help. If he stopped the drug, the cancer would kill him. The loaded gun on the nightstand lured him. His hand inched towards it.

  8. Ginger Strivelli says:
    August 16, 2017 at 6:58 am

    She looked over each shoulder, seeing nothing but blinding sunlight. Desert sands stretched out forever. Yet, someone was with her, pushing her down. She screamed. Running again, she was pushed again and again. It stopped only when she died of thirst. Then she had to push someone else to death.

    1. Ginger Strivelli says:
      September 20, 2017 at 11:51 am

      Title: Pushed to Death

  9. Chris Allen says:
    August 17, 2017 at 9:35 pm

    Peace and Comfort

    Ani walks to the old temple to seek peace and comfort. When she arrives she says her prayers with an unseen audience of one next to her. Soon the unseen one fills Ani’s head, and makes itself at home. So much for finding peace and comfort.

  10. Eileen Sateriale says:
    August 18, 2017 at 3:35 pm

    Douching the Fire

    The campfire was out of control. I reached for what I thought was the water can and poured in the fire’s direction. What I didn’t realize was that I grabbed the gasoline can. Next thing I knew, I was flying through the air.

  11. Carrie Ann Golden says:
    August 19, 2017 at 7:52 am

    Evil Dentist

    Whimsical images flash through my mind as I wait for sleep to overtake me only to be interrupted by the deafening crunches of the bones in my mouth.

    1. Loretta Martin says:
      August 23, 2017 at 12:52 pm

      Creepy and funny–good one!

  12. Carrie Ann Golden says:
    August 19, 2017 at 7:54 am

    Shark

    The ocean water

    oh so blue and clear…but

    when she peers down into

    the salty sea

    the last thing she’d see

    are those black, doll eyes

  13. Carrie Ann Golden says:
    August 19, 2017 at 7:55 am

    BBQ

    The patties sizzled in the flames as the crowd eagerly waits; he wonders if they’ll notice his missing wife.

  14. Carrie Ann Golden says:
    August 19, 2017 at 7:56 am

    The Hunt

    Two girls running through the dark woods not as friends but as a predator chasing her prey.

  15. Carole Mertz says:
    August 19, 2017 at 9:17 am

    Into the shadowy wood she runs on gloomiest night of nights.

    Lady-Hag, why tread you alone?

    “Must reach it before too late.”

    Greedy branches slap her face—this one, James, her son. Suppurating leaves underfoot, her dead deformed daughter.

    Disdaining them, Lady-Hag departs into the closed casket, dead.

  16. Susan Oldham says:
    August 19, 2017 at 12:32 pm

    The embalmer wore an expression of respectful acknowledgement.

    “They are beyond pain now,” he spoke softly, regretfully.

    My hands secured as they were to a swivel hook in the ceiling, he spun me round to look upon his painted dead.

    “You, however,” he intoned, knife glistening, “are quite another matter,”

    1. Tamara Shaffer says:
      August 23, 2017 at 3:04 pm

      Great story.

    2. Gail Kavanagh says:
      August 24, 2017 at 5:46 pm

      Well done – short, succinct and spine chilling.

    3. S P Oldham says:
      September 9, 2017 at 10:56 am

      As per my other post, can I also add a title to this one please? “The Embalmer.” Thank you.

  17. Jonathan D says:
    August 19, 2017 at 10:50 pm

    A drip, drip, drip in the bathroom woke me. I hung my arm down and felt Rex’s warm tongue lick my hand. I smiled and stood up to fix the faucet. There I saw Rex, hung by the neck, blood falling to the floor in a steady drip, drip, drip.

    1. Loretta Martin says:
      August 23, 2017 at 12:57 pm

      Creepy with a surprise twist–good one!

  18. Max Brown says:
    August 20, 2017 at 1:31 pm

    The caller ID showed my husband’s cell number. “Hi honey, I’ve had an accident.”
    “Are you alright?” I asked.
    “I’m okay just cold. I’m at marker 86 on highway F. Call the police.”
    I was calling the police when I noticed his cell phone on the kitchen table.

    1. Loretta Martin says:
      August 23, 2017 at 12:59 pm

      Voice from the dead–engaging read!

      1. Tamara Shaffer says:
        August 23, 2017 at 2:59 pm

        He’s cold all right. This is a fun story.

  19. JB Wocoski says:
    August 20, 2017 at 2:48 pm

    The Zombie Overlord rasping proclaimed, “Bring out your humans!”
    The last of mankind now hunted down and dragged from their hiding places; all manacled and chained, force marched away.
    Zombies, relentlessly, shoved the terrified humans through barbed wire gates, into pens to meet their end at the man-made meatpacking slaughterhouse.

    1. Tamara Shaffer says:
      August 23, 2017 at 3:01 pm

      I love this turnaround story. Part of the reason I don’t eat meat.

  20. Marta C Weeks says:
    August 20, 2017 at 3:50 pm

    A rustling noise interrupted my sleep.
    “I’m not a spirit, nor a demon” His voice swept over me like a spring breeze and thundered into my senses.
    Am I asleep am I dreaming? How long has he been around?.
    “Eternity,” he said as an echo from a cavern.

  21. Avatar photo Every Writer says:
    August 21, 2017 at 12:07 am

    I can’t tell you how much I am enjoying these stories! This contest equals between 1-3 months of ads on our site, depending how you use your promotion. Our 500 word contest is 1 full year of promotions: https://www.everywritersresource.com/500-word-scary-story-contest-10000-promotions/

    If you have a 500 word scary story send it!

  22. Jaime Villarreal says:
    August 21, 2017 at 9:53 am

    At midnight, the minister drug his wife to the barn where the creature waited for its next meal. The minister promised a special gift for his son’s birthday. The boy did not recognize his own mother; she had been ashamed since his birth. Now, she knew why the congregation dwindled.

  23. Tamara Shaffer says:
    August 21, 2017 at 1:27 pm

    I hate Halloween. I flee to my country house to avoid the trick-or-treat silliness. Yet, someone knocks at my door, wearing a witch costume, silent, grinning, with blackened teeth. I apologize, I have no candy. I reach to give her an apple and my hand goes right through hers.

    1. Loretta Martin says:
      August 23, 2017 at 1:03 pm

      The witch, which really was. Charming!

    2. Tamara Shaffer says:
      October 15, 2017 at 6:32 pm

      TITLE: The Great Escape

  24. Ginger Strivelli says:
    August 22, 2017 at 5:33 am

    “Who’s there?”

    “Me.”

    “But who are you?”

    “I’m me, we’re alone.”

    “Where are we?”

    “Dead, I think.”

    “I can’t see anything.”

    “I can’t see either.”

    “Are you sure we’re alone?”

    An ice cold hand, clawed like a tiger, took ahold of her hand as he said “We have each other.”

    1. Ginger Strivelli says:
      September 20, 2017 at 11:52 am

      title: We have eachother

  25. Tamara Shaffer says:
    August 22, 2017 at 8:49 pm

    The news says women are disappearing. I encounter a woman in my yard, reaching out to me, silently. Her horror-stricken face falls, then her hands, arms, and the rest of her, disintegrating into a puddle on the ground. I hear footsteps, then feel a hand on my shoulder.

    1. Loretta Martin says:
      August 23, 2017 at 1:05 pm

      A 10 on the creepometer!

      1. Tamara Shaffer says:
        October 15, 2017 at 6:15 pm

        TITLE: The Confirmation

  26. Loretta Martin says:
    August 23, 2017 at 12:41 pm

    The Dream
    Voices mingle like low-frequency transmissions, the words unintelligible. Hushed movements are efficient, punctuated by the clink of metal. I’m paralyzed, cold, speech disabled. One voice punctures the white noise. “Dr. ___, chief forensic pathologist. Body is Caucasian female, approximate age 29, height 71 inches, weight 142 pounds. . . .”

    1. Tamara Shaffer says:
      August 23, 2017 at 3:05 pm

      I want this one to be a movie.

  27. Loretta Martin says:
    August 23, 2017 at 12:43 pm

    I opened my front door, and a strange cat entered and padded upstairs, sure-footed. For the past week, I and 30 years of memories have lived here. I followed the creature. It leaped onto the bed, settling confidently into Dave’s imprint, undisturbed since paramedics removed his body a week ago.

    1. Tamara Shaffer says:
      August 23, 2017 at 3:06 pm

      Great creepy story.

  28. Loretta Martin says:
    August 23, 2017 at 12:45 pm

    Garden of Eatin’
    A shadow eclipsed the sun. Edie looked up from weeding, a chore she dispatched with savage vigor. An emaciated woman with fern-green eyes hovered, her clothing loose and dirt-encrusted.

    “Yes?” Edie snapped.

    “Eat.”

    “What?”

    Irritated, she stood. The last things she saw were bloody incisors and a leathery, fern-green tongue.

    1. Tamara Shaffer says:
      August 23, 2017 at 3:09 pm

      Clever play on words in the title, and the last line produces a delightfully scary image.

  29. Quentin M says:
    August 23, 2017 at 5:33 pm

    Eric truly had it all. He was everything Trish was looking for. Her perfect man. She knew that no other man would come close, and that no matter how hard she tried she would never find another as pristine. She was glad she had chosen poison for this one.

    1. Tamara Shaffer says:
      August 25, 2017 at 5:50 pm

      An entertaining 15 seconds.

  30. Yoshino Yamauchi says:
    August 24, 2017 at 5:11 am

    I was ridding my place of everything my ex. I loved her so much, but somewhere, everything just started falling apart. So here I was, trying not to see red. It wasn’t my fault.
    I cleaned her bloody limbs, and went to the river.
    I had dumped my girlfriend indeed.

    1. Tamara Shaffer says:
      August 25, 2017 at 7:41 am

      Very clever.

  31. Yoshino Yamauchi says:
    August 24, 2017 at 10:03 pm

    “There is no sound more beautiful than a baby’s laughter, don’t you think, officer,”
    The foreign woman said, clicking her (way) too red nails on the counter.
    I gripped my gun tighter as her accent made a hissing sound over each consonant.

  32. Tamara Shaffer says:
    August 25, 2017 at 7:30 am

    “I noticed some strange new buds on that plant in the back yard,” Roberta gushed to her best friend Gloria. “You gotta come over and look.” Gloria found her friend’s head, eyes bulging in fright, next to her limbs and empty dress, the red-stained pods above her, fat and pulsing.

    1. Loretta Martin says:
      August 27, 2017 at 1:07 am

      A little garden of horrors–love it!

    2. Tamara Shaffer says:
      October 15, 2017 at 6:22 pm

      TITLE: The Joys of Gardening

  33. Judy Opdycke says:
    August 25, 2017 at 4:00 pm

    About midnight there’s a scratching at the glass.
    I rouse, lift the sash, see something dark and soft as night.

    A pulsing creature bites my neck; the rough tongue laps my blood.
    I grab and throw; wings unfurl.

    Strength drained, I sleep, but wake again to lapping at my vein.

  34. Judy Opdycke says:
    August 26, 2017 at 5:22 pm

    Write a horrifying tale in 50 words? Can it be done?
    I grab my 50, shuffle the pile, and toss them across blank paper. Arranged, rearranged, they fail to frighten. Then the words unite without warning, surround me, drag me down. The stain of my fear oozes across the page.

  35. Gerry Strong says:
    August 26, 2017 at 11:23 pm

    THE DARK ONES

    Tombstones surround me.
    The names unfamiliar.
    But I feel their presence,
    Damp and cold in my bones.

    Why am I here?
    A night in a cemetery;
    A Halloween dare.
    How foolish, I now think.

    Screams everywhere.
    They are coming for me.
    I run.
    “Catch me, if you can,” I say.

  36. Loretta Martin says:
    August 27, 2017 at 4:27 pm

    The armchair was a bargain because its upholstery was stained. At home, the stain spread, a Rorschach blotting out fabric. I woke the night before returning it, covered in chill bumps. The bedclothes had been peeled away. I screamed, frozen, helpless against a moonlit stain creeping up the bed.

    1. Tamara Shaffer says:
      August 27, 2017 at 4:38 pm

      Oooh, so delightfully creepy and written so vividly I can picture it.

  37. Yoshino Yamauchi says:
    August 28, 2017 at 5:33 am

    “He’s so…cold now.”
    Lydia complained. Tom was never the romantic type.
    “Maybe a bubble bath will fix things,”
    I suggested.
    “I’ll try it out, I guess…”
    The next morning, she still looked down.
    “Did it work?”
    “The bath really warmed him up for a while… Then he became icy again.”

  38. Yoshino Yamauchi says:
    August 28, 2017 at 5:49 am

    Been drowned
    Water fills my lungs as I gasp for air. Just then, I see a pair of feet. I reach out and grab my chance of survival. Someone screams. I sigh. It’s been six years but I still forget. How I had so many spirits I became one myself.

  39. S P Oldham says:
    August 28, 2017 at 1:04 pm

    Hand in hand at the cliff edge. He always said together forever; now he was proving it.

    How could I have doubted him?

    He pushed me firmly, but did not follow. Despite the rush of air, my breathless descent, I heard him say,

    “Catch you later, darling,”

    But he didn’t.

    1. S P Oldham says:
      September 9, 2017 at 10:54 am

      Can I add the title “Together Forever” please? Only just read the post about titles and that they are not included in the word count. Thank you.

  40. Yoshino Yamauchi says:
    August 29, 2017 at 3:20 am

    We were watching Psychic Kids when Tyler piped up.
    “Do you reckon they’re bluffing?”
    “ Dunno, some people can see ghosts, others can’t.”
    “Like how that guy’s standing behind you.”
    I whirled around. Nothing.
    “Wait…you’re psychic?”
    Ty laughed.
    “I was just messing with you. I’m not psychic. But you are.”

    1. S P Oldham says:
      August 29, 2017 at 7:31 am

      I like this!

  41. Ginger Strivelli says:
    August 29, 2017 at 6:20 pm

    Out the International Space Station window we see the invasion fleet coming. Should we tell Earth? They, we had no chance. It was hopeless. Humanity was about to go extinct. They were shooting down every ship humans had sent out. We’d be next, then the whole planet would be last.

    1. Ginger Strivelli says:
      September 20, 2017 at 11:53 am

      title; Should we tell Earth?

  42. E.M. Blaisdell says:
    August 30, 2017 at 6:51 pm

    Rotting leaves under my broken fingernails. Moldy odors rising from the
    hole. I claw into the ground. Six feet deep? No! Traditional or not, that’s too
    difficult.

    The moon shines bright enough for this. Careful, now… I brush dirt away gently.

    My face looks up at me.

  43. Maria DePaul says:
    September 3, 2017 at 3:57 pm

    A longer time with this one:
    First a little prick, then deeper
    Dribble, Dribble
    The blood comes in spurts
    Trickle, Trickle
    She tries to pull away, but then softens
    Gush, Gush
    Faster now, it seems harder to control
    Splash, Splash
    Drop her aside and go on to seek another

  44. Maria DePaul says:
    September 3, 2017 at 4:34 pm

    Wrong Match

    Jane’s escape call came on time.
    This date wasn’t working out.
    Lewis knew it was a ruse. This happened to him before.
    “Why?” Lewis asked.
    “I’m sorry,” Alice said. “You’re not my type.”
    “Give me another chance.”
    “OK,” Alice said, knocking him out. “Maybe Jane likes 0 Negative.”

  45. Ginger Strivelli says:
    September 4, 2017 at 5:04 am

    It was just a random Tuesday. What could have happened? Every animal had disappeared over night. Every pet, every pest, every wild beast, every tame creature. They just were gone. The madness followed, we had needed the animals. We became monsters without them, killing each other, destroying everything on earth.

    1. Ginger Strivelli says:
      September 20, 2017 at 11:54 am

      title: We are monsters without the animals

  46. Gerry Strong says:
    September 6, 2017 at 8:12 pm

    SILENT CRIES

    I float up out of nowhere.
    Are my eyes open?
    I try to see. But cannot.

    Many voices.
    Hands touching, grabbing me.
    I try to move. But cannot.

    Now they are hurting me.
    I try to scream. But cannot.

    I find I am helpless.
    I try to cry. But cannot.

  47. Charlotte Rossi says:
    September 7, 2017 at 3:27 am

    The lights flickered out. I was in darkness, once again.

    “I want to stay with them… because they’re both very important to me…”

    His wish came true. He really did stay with them.

    There they were, three corpses in a row – his brother, him, his twin, holding one another’s hand.

  48. Charlotte Rossi says:
    September 7, 2017 at 4:35 am

    She reached to touch the red flowers.

    Poppies, they were. Stained with a vivid, unforgettable scarlet.

    Just as memorable as her father, as his content smile, his sleepy face.

    Even as she held a rusty garden shovel over his unwary head, poised to strike down.

    Even as the blood sprayed.

  49. Tyree Varney-Bush says:
    September 7, 2017 at 6:33 am

    “Why don’t you love me?”
    “You’re a monster!”

    “But aren’t mothers supposed to love their children?”
    “You are no child of mine.”

    “I know you loved the others more, so did I, they tasted delicious.”

  50. Avatar photo Every Writer says:
    September 7, 2017 at 11:50 am

    Gasp! I forgot, and I’m sorry I didn’t say this before. Please include a title, AND titles DO NOT count in the word count.

  51. Michelle "Motherella" Piper says:
    September 7, 2017 at 7:46 pm

    I SURVIVED THE BOX

    Pure darkness. My chest tightening, heart racing. Sweating. Suffocating. Trapped.

    I was in a box.

    I screamed, only silence.

    My eyes would not open.

    A heard a strange voice whisper, “it’s time to leave”.

    The light appeared, the box opened. I was alive. I survived. I left him for good.

  52. Alissa says:
    September 9, 2017 at 7:53 am

    >> Alive <<
    You couldn’t see anything, but the stench almost didn’t let you breathe.
    With teary eyes you felt narrow, wooden walls.
    Lying here alive had been your greatest fear, but…
    Your trembling hand touched the bloated body next to yours and you turned your head.
    The old woman smiled.

  53. Ginger Strivelli says:
    September 10, 2017 at 5:21 am

    “No handouts, no food stamps, work if you’re hungry.” She told beggar, speeding off in her convertible.

    Phone rang, showing; ‘Beelzebub calling.’

    “Hello?”

    “Bring water on your way.”

    She’d veered into an oncoming dump truck. Hit it head on. Her head came off.

    “You forgot to bring water.” Beelzebub said.

  54. Ginger Strivelli says:
    September 18, 2017 at 9:19 am

    (Title-not thankful)

    The stepmonsters and the demons-in-law are coming to Thanksgiving dinner.

  55. Cynthia Cain says:
    September 19, 2017 at 2:19 pm

    Darkness slithers around me as whispers of contempt explode in my head. “Kill him.” I slide the knife across his midsection. Crimson spills onto his milky white flesh, the deeper the cut, the deeper the desire. It’s then the mirror reflects the malevolent creature living inside of me.

    1. Cynthia Cain says:
      September 20, 2017 at 8:05 am

      Can I add a title “The Fury Within”

  56. Chloe says:
    September 19, 2017 at 6:31 pm

    THE MAN IN WHITE
    I saw a man
    Down my road at
    11:34 p.m he had
    All white hair and
    A white shirt with
    White pants he only
    Looked at the ground
    And he scared me so I
    Went inside and opened
    My window therefore it
    Was hot I turned around
    ‘Ahh’ it was…

  57. Avatar photo Every Writer says:
    September 20, 2017 at 6:16 pm

    People have lost their minds on this thread and have been spamming some nonsense. Please don’t do that. We are picking stories for the magazine right now. If the ridiculous spamming continues, I will have to block ips. I am blacklisting some emails.

    Please take a look if you posted a serious story. In the flurry it may have been deleted. If so I’m very sorry. Also, we are picking from these stories for the magazine….

  58. Avatar photo Every Writer says:
    September 20, 2017 at 6:18 pm

    Oh, it is of course ok to post as much as you want, but don’t mock the contest, or post ridiculous spam…thank you.

  59. Sanga says:
    September 25, 2017 at 3:20 am

    HOW I SAW MYSELF

    “What are you doing?” I shriek in terror. The creature in front says, “Helping you see yourself.” It grins wickedly. A blinding pain shoots through me. I blink my eyes and realize that I am seeing myself lying on floor from a place that I can never return from.

  60. Sanga says:
    September 25, 2017 at 3:21 am

    A MOVIE FOR REAL

    I pause the movie. The Ghost is about to stab the girl. I grab my water bottle. Terror has induced thirst. The water spills on my keyboard but turns crimson. “What’s this?” I cry. “Your blood from the future…” grins the Ghost extending its knife through the screen.

  61. Soumya says:
    September 25, 2017 at 9:34 pm

    The lady with half her body was somewhere in my house…alive. I could feel her presence. the lights went out. I sat on the bed drifting to sleep. I woke to see a lady with her whole body. I stood up only to realize that half my body was gone.

  62. Soumya says:
    September 25, 2017 at 9:39 pm

    The doll has been in this house for years. Nobody knows how it even got here. It creeps us all out. One day it would be on the shelf, the next day it would be in the basement. No one dared to touch it but it dared to touch us…

  63. Soumya says:
    September 25, 2017 at 9:59 pm

    “Did you open the front door?” I questioned my sister. “No, you closed it two minutes ago” she replied. We heard a loud noise behind us. “GRAB HER NOW!” screamed my sister. A man charged towards me and tied me up. I turned to see my sister holding a knife…

  64. Soumya says:
    September 25, 2017 at 10:22 pm

    I looked at the stairs where the blood was slowly dripping. Fourth time this week. I picked up the bucket full of water and started cleaning. An hour later I went to the living room and swept under the couch. There was someone there… dead…

  65. Adrian Hill says:
    September 26, 2017 at 11:23 am

    *thump*
    I hear his quick feet.
    I run to my room.
    He catches me.
    I feel nails in my stomach.
    I taste iron in my mouth.
    I see his malicious grin.
    Then, I see and feel nothing.
    Finally…
    No more running…
    No more hiding…

  66. Yoshino Yamauchi says:
    September 30, 2017 at 5:37 am

    Psychic
    We were watching Psychic Kids when Tyler piped up.
    “Do you reckon they’re bluffing?”
    “Dunno, some people can see ghosts, others can’t.”
    “Like how that guy’s standing behind you.”
    I whirled around. Nothing.
    “Wait…you’re psychic?”
    Ty laughed.
    “I was just messing with you. I’m not psychic. But you are.”

  67. Lloyd Poast says:
    September 30, 2017 at 10:35 am

    I think she saw me today.
    She looked towards me before the shadows stole me away again. I’ll try harder tomorrow like I always do. Maybe then she’ll see me for who I really am.
    Maybe then I’ll be more than just that thing at the corner of her eye.

  68. Cherie Mitchell says:
    October 1, 2017 at 9:05 pm

    There was someone in the house.

    Her heart spluttered alarmingly, sending a sharp shockwave of adrenalin to her brain. There. A creak on the stairs, a whisper of fabric against fabric, a harshly inhaled breath, and the thick atmospheric sense of another living being.

    There was someone in the house.

  69. Coralie Border says:
    October 2, 2017 at 8:58 pm

    “Pop, goes the weasel,” the little boy sang distantly. “Shush,” the teacher muttered. Where I saw but she couldn’t, his chubby fingers gripped his stuffed weasel. “Pop,” he breathed, and then squeezed. I stared, petrified. The weasel blinked before blood ran through his fingers to the linoleum floor.

  70. Ginger Strivelli says:
    October 4, 2017 at 12:29 pm

    (((Title; Seriously?)))

    I hit send.

    Sending my precious baby out into the cruel world for judgement.

    Submitted my new short story.

    I worked so hard on it.

    I am so proud of it.

    I love it so much.

    Later the same day, I get the rejection letter for my baby.

    The End.

  71. Angela says:
    October 4, 2017 at 5:01 pm

    I tried to breathe but it was too difficult
    I jump up out of my bed gasping for air and choking.
    I feel something cold touch my back
    I can’t move
    And then I hear “Shhhh”
    I tell my friends and im petrified
    The next night it’s back whatever it is
    It says “you should have been quiet”
    And then it…..

  72. Wendy Montoya says:
    October 5, 2017 at 8:55 am

    It was their wedding day, a bad vibe jolted through her entire being. She suppressed a sigh. Her head started to spin wildly, the memory of his confession pained her. The affair with her sister; she cried out in agony as she realized; there in her hands rested his bloody heart.

    1. Wendy Montoya says:
      October 5, 2017 at 9:05 am

      INSANE LOVE

  73. Wendy Montoya says:
    October 5, 2017 at 8:57 am

    She ran barefoot soaked in blood through woods. A whacking sound came savagely behind her. She feels the air of the blade, suddenly falling to the ground. He stood above her with the bloody machete. Curdles of blood shot from her mouth, she hadn’t fallen, he sliced her in two.

    1. Wendy Montoya says:
      October 5, 2017 at 9:06 am

      BLOOD SOAKED

  74. Wendy Montoya says:
    October 5, 2017 at 8:58 am

    He sat next to her on the king size bed taking her hand in his. She wept of his affair with her sister. He turned to her just as she lunged on top of him plunging a kitchen knife into chest. She sliced viciously wanting his heart, for breaking hers.

    1. Wendy Montoya says:
      October 5, 2017 at 9:08 am

      INSANE LOVE II

  75. Wendy Montoya says:
    October 5, 2017 at 9:25 am

    BLOOD SOAKED II

    He stared curiously in her eyes, She gagged on her blood. After a few seconds He was frustrated; yanking her with handful of her hair dragging her forward to his cabin. She felt herself slipping away; she was glad. He picked her remains up tossing her in the blazing fire.

  76. Ginger Strivelli says:
    October 5, 2017 at 4:09 pm

    (((Title: Lowest bid?)))

    Being Miss World 2210 got me on the first trip of the space elevator from Paris to the Lunar Colony.

    Its inventor and I, are now shooting up its tether.

    “I was afraid it’d never get built, finally we got the lowest bid from some unknown company. Don’t look down.”

  77. JB Wocoski says:
    October 7, 2017 at 7:30 pm

    The dead arose once more from all the cemeteries of our world. Driven insane by the hunger pains for brains and eviscerated organs. Roaming city streets and country lanes, the truth soon sunk home, lamenting the living were all dead. Now, the only thing left was to devour each other.

  78. Yoshino Yamauchi says:
    October 8, 2017 at 6:22 pm

    Mean-spirited

    “It’s so cool you’re psychic. What do you see?”
    “Well, there’s a ghost of a guy who died in the railway tracks over there, and a girl who hanged herself.”
    “What else?”
    “Oh, and a old lady ghost coming at us with a knife!”
    “Weird. I see her too.”

  79. Yoshino Yamauchi says:
    October 8, 2017 at 6:23 pm

    I dumped my girlfriend

    I was ridding my place of everything my ex. I loved her so much, but somewhere, everything just started falling apart. So here I was, trying not to see red. It wasn’t my fault.
    I cleaned her bloody limbs, and went to the river.
    I had dumped my girlfriend indeed.

  80. jake cosmos aller says:
    October 9, 2017 at 11:20 am

    The Ghost on the Moor

    Sam decided to take a walking tour/whiskey tour of the Scottish Highlands. A man dressed in black appears out of the fog. Sam screams echoes through the moors as the ghost lifts a large knife and cuts off Sam’s head yelling,
    “Are ye afraid of Ghosts now?”

  81. Wendy Montoya says:
    October 9, 2017 at 5:48 pm

    The wreckage….

    She slammed her fists at the window trying to break free.
    It was too late the creature lunged itself into the passenger seat.
    It was no use the bulletproof windows wouldn’t give way…. Silence, she took a deep sudden breath gasping when she felt the warmth of on her neck.

  82. Trevor Elder says:
    October 11, 2017 at 7:18 pm

    2 am. Supermarket.

    There was nobody near the register.

    “Hello?”

    Nothing.

    “Hello?” I said again.

    I started walking out.

    “Guess this candy is free!” I shouted.

    The door didn’t move.

    I pulled, to no avail.

    I turned.

    Someone was coming down an aisle.

    With an ax.

    The lights went off.

  83. Trevor Elder says:
    October 11, 2017 at 7:25 pm

    The alcohol was working faster than usual, and I was feeling it.

    The people seemed to be looking at me.

    They didn’t look happy, so I said,

    “Drinks on me!”

    They just nodded.

    When I woke up there were five straws sticking out of my chest,

    and five smiling customers.

  84. Kristy Gherlone says:
    October 14, 2017 at 7:37 am

    The hunter rises and enters the stillness of a midnight forest. Decaying leaves litter the trail, concealing the remnants of his season’s kill. Blood slick roots cause him to stumble into the carcass of a rotting buck. The flesh closes around him. When he awakens, the hunter becomes the hunted.

  85. Storm McAdrian says:
    October 15, 2017 at 1:01 pm

    FAIREST OF ALL

    “Mirror, Mirror…,” the mirror stood silent. “Why do you refuse to talk?” Madeline asked. Alas! It now spoke. “Come closer, look deeper.” It said smoothly – cunningly. Madeline cautiously moved in for a closer look. Then she sees it coming with fury, “Fairest of all!” It shrieked,…Death!

  86. Storm McAdrian says:
    October 16, 2017 at 10:22 pm

    THE MAN WHO SAT ALONE

    Pleasure. I quietly watched as panic enveloped the petri little lives of insignificant colonies. Ones who sought to ridicule my very existence. The world is mine, and they’ll soon know…everything comes with a price. I am the beginning and the end…until then, they will suffer-they will wait.

  87. Storm McAdrian says:
    October 16, 2017 at 10:32 pm

    THE CASE OF THE CURIOUS HAT

    “It eats people. Poof! and they’re gone.” “Just like that?” “Just like that!” He replies. “You’re not serious?” She asks. “Go ahead, try it.” He urges. In the blink of an eye, there it sat. That curious looking hat, on the ground- her blood beneath. “Thank you sir.” It said.

  88. Storm McAdrian says:
    October 16, 2017 at 11:01 pm

    HE KNOWS WHEN YOU ARE SLEEPING…

    Winter air rushed in as the window slowly opened; then I felt his presence. He stood at my bedside, watching. My body quivered while he sniffed the air. Eyes shut, ‘Sleep, sleep, sleep,’ I repeated in my head. “Wide awake-” he said as his talons reached for the covers.

  89. Caroline Spain says:
    October 17, 2017 at 6:35 pm

    The blind woman with black eyes read his tarot cards back to him. Upon the last card she whispered, “Avoid the man with yellow eyes for he is the devil.”
    The next morning, he made eye contact with himself in the mirror. A pair of yellow eyes stared back.

  90. Molly Clarke says:
    October 18, 2017 at 2:14 am

    China Doll
    I try to cry, but I can’t open my mouth. Instead I feel a cold hard, substance crawling its way up my arm. The darkness around me seems to inch closer, wrapping around me, pulling tighter until there is no escape and I let it swallow me whole.

  91. Molly Clarke says:
    October 18, 2017 at 2:20 am

    Shadow
    I shiver runs down my spine as I wake up from my nightmare. My eyes catch on something in the shadows. There staring back at me is my own reflection- a wicked smile tracing her lips. “What the hell” I whisper…I have no time to run as a knife comes plunging into my heart.

  92. Molly Clarke says:
    October 18, 2017 at 2:25 am

    Knife
    I watched as the people around me fled. All running as though that would save them. A wicked laugh escaped my lips as I plunged knifes into each and every one of them. They thought they could run, hide perhaps, well they were wrong. You cannot hide from darkness itself.

  93. Chloe Clarke says:
    October 18, 2017 at 2:42 am

    The forest around me was too quiet until a voice, not from this realm spoke.
    “I told you to stay in the light. Well, let me show you something that will make darkness hide and shiver in fear”.

  94. Chloe Clarke says:
    October 18, 2017 at 2:43 am

    Realm of Darkness

    The forest around me was too quiet until a voice, not from this realm spoke.
    “I told you to stay in the light. Well, let me show you something that will make darkness hide and shiver in fear”.

  95. Molly Clarke says:
    October 18, 2017 at 2:56 am

    Monsters
    I peered into the window of the bookshop.
    “Go on” Charlie dared me. I took a deep breath and stepped in through the door. I gasped. It’s like all the monsters from every story have crept their way out of their books… blood dripping from their claws… and each one was known staring at me.

  96. Ryva Holman says:
    October 19, 2017 at 11:30 am

    The little boy with cancer catches turtles from our rocks by the lake. To pay the doctors, the boy’s father sells the turtles shells. But forest, the dad removes the turtles bodies by dismembering them, then setting them in ant beds. Comic justice? Revenge? I can never figure it out.

  97. Obaidullah Alothman says:
    October 20, 2017 at 5:23 pm

    Out of Curiosity
    My friend and I passed an abandoned house, we heard weird noises, the door closed behind us, a cold dark smelly place, the door disappeared, my friend fell on the floor I screamed, suddenly a voice calling me, I opened my eyes. Thank God! It was just a nightmare.

  98. Yoshino Yamauchi says:
    October 22, 2017 at 6:37 am

    Who
    I’m smart for my age. Like, the other day I tried to talk about Poe with my friends. “Who?” I asked my teacher about it, but all I got was “Who?” Seriously. I even tried asking Mom.”Who?” she said, trembling. They must be scared of how smart I am.

  99. Sara says:
    October 22, 2017 at 5:23 pm

    The Serial Killer
    Suddenly, a dark eyed face with stringy hair and bloodcurdling smile popped up on the other side of the window! It sent shivers down my spine; I jumped back. It ducked down as I tried calling help. I felt something touch my back. I turned around and there it was…

  100. Laura Hudson says:
    October 24, 2017 at 12:09 am

    ”Ruby Would Surely Get Hungry”

    I lay on the crinkled tarp. This would be an easy clean up for everyone, I thought. I slid the razors across my wrists and relaxed. On my final inhale I realized that I’d forgotten to put out the dog food. It would be a while before anyone found me.

Comments navigation

Newer comments

Comments are closed.

Call for Submissions

Open Submissions for fiction and poetry. See our submission guidelines.

Search

Get the magazine and free books

When you sign up you get 2 free horror ebooks and digital copies of our magazine for free!



Latest

  • Capi Irato on HALFWAY TO HALLOWEEN: 50 Words of Horror Contest: “The real horror was in her avid determination. “Mom, if you pass those out my life is over.” “Don’t be…” Jun 15, 07:16
  • David Reeg on HALFWAY TO HALLOWEEN: 50 Words of Horror Contest: “I withered beneath the violent stare of my enemy. Icy diamond daggers dripped within his bloodshot eyes. He whispered that…” Jun 11, 18:56
  • K. Maier on HALFWAY TO HALLOWEEN: 50 Words of Horror Contest: “The murmurs start and dread sews me stiff into the sheets of my bed. Mine is not the only shadow…” Jun 11, 08:55
  • K. Maier on HALFWAY TO HALLOWEEN: 50 Words of Horror Contest: “He lays a rose at your grave. You’ve been buried eight days. He thinks he hid the truth well and…” Jun 11, 08:50
  • Demi Engemann Sweatshirt on The Only Love Haiku You’ll Ever Write Contest: “ohhhhh!” Jun 9, 23:51

Around our site

  • Writing Prompts
  • Writing Tips
  • Contests for writers
  • Submissions
  • Stories
  • Poetry
  • Literary Magazines
  • Book Publishers
  • Newsletter

New Poetry

Blindsight by Julie Dexter a poem

J.M Summers’ New Poem Crocuses

New Short Stories

1979, Hungary By Zary Fekete

Read 1979, Hungary By Zary Fekete

Damn if You Do…by R.S. Nelson

Damn if You Do…by R.S. Nelson

 

Featured Classic Work

The Call of Cthulhu by H.P. Lovecraft

© 2025 EveryWriter | Powered by Minimalist Blog WordPress Theme
We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
Do not sell my personal information.
Cookie settingsACCEPT
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are as essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
SAVE & ACCEPT