50 Word Horror Contest Winners from 2017!
Good news, bad news and the 50 Word Contest Winners of 2017
First let me say thank you to all of you for being part of our contest. We got 100s of entries. We deleted many from the thread and people emailed us, again. Don’t do that with these contest please. The winners are below, but first:
Bad news
If you follow the site, you may have noticed some changes lately. To be honest we have had a lot of issues. We were hit by some malware and an engine update. This has knocked us down in our rankings, which gives me high anxiety. Every Writer has ranked first on some pages for the last 15 years, to see them drop is heart breaking.
So this had to be address. I had to make some major changes, and those changes are still in process. This frankly took precedent over all the other projects we had going on. If you noticed we did not have a magazine publish October 1st as promised. The new goal is to have this horror issue out by the end of 2017.
Good news:
We have our winners, and they WILL be in the magazine. Before, because of the early publication date, we could not include the winners in the print issue of our magazine. Now we can. We will also STILL be including many of the other stories from the contest in the magazine. I have to say, this was a great year for the contest! Thank you so much guys!
We will not be announcing the 500 word winners until later this week.
Here are our winners for the 50 word horror contest. You will be contact shortly:
First place winner:
Susan Oldham for The Embalmer.
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.”
This story was simple was very high quality. It’s very well written. I love it.
Second place:
Opioid Constipation by Emily Gammel
My stomach is distended, and I’m immobilized and lying on the floor.
You only come in when it’s time to force feed me narcotics, and chocolate cake.
My mouth is bruised, from your fingers, squeezing my cheeks, and forcing the decadent dessert, down my throat.
My intestines burst.
Out of all the gore horror we got for this contest, this story was the best. It also spoke to a broader theme, and today’s events. It is also just simply a wonderful scary story. Thank you Emily.
Third place
BBQ Carrie Ann Golden
The patties sizzled in the flames as the crowd eagerly waits; he wonders if they’ll notice his missing wife.
Being a minimalist writer, I’m always looking for the fewest words and the most punch. BBQ does it well in so few words. Even the title BBQ being attached to a horror story gave me a little twinge.
Thank you to all who entered. These 3 winners will be contacted and they all get varing levels of free promotions on our site, plus they will be featured in our print magazines.
Now, all the following stories, will be included in the upcoming print magazines. These are basically runners ups, which we loved. See if you made the cut:
The Next Bride by Laura Hudson
The scent of anticipation and cheap perfume fill the air as she throws her flowers. Women dive, grasping at petals. Press on nails and fake eyelashes litter the floor. A bridesmaid tears the heel off her shoe and stabs blindly. She picks up the bouquet from the bloody pile.
———–
HOT BATH by Conda V. Douglas
“Turn up the water heater.”
“Costs too much.”
“Do it! I love hot baths.”
“And hate me.”
While she lay in her bath, he complied. He turned up the hot water. Way up. She screamed once.
When she came to him, boiled skin sloughing off, he asked, “Hot enough?”
———–
Dishwasher by Gena Ervin
She heard knocking coming from the kitchen and went to investigate. The slow knock, knock, knock was coming from inside the dishwasher. Thinking it was a dish that needed to be shifted, she opened it. Once cracked, arms reached out and pulled her in quickly closing her inside forever.
————
THE TOOTH FAIRY by Storm McAdrian
The straps were tight as her stomach. Bright lights blinded her, tools clinked, work began. One by one he hammered and yanked. No screaming today; she choked on her blood falling in and out of consciousness. “Tooth fairy, tooth fairy,” he hummed. Her eyes wide – silence.
————-
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.
____________
Adrian Hill says:
*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…
__________________
Lloyd Poast says:
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.
____________________
Wendy Montoya says:
October 5, 2017 at 8:55 am Edit Reply
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.
Wendy Montoya says:
INSANE LOVE
_____________
Trevor Elder says:
October 11, 2017 at 7:18 pm Edit Reply
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.
__________
The Itch-Rip Skin Condition by Kevin Steffanson
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.
Loretta Martin
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.
Checked in to see how the results were looking. Am absolutely thrilled to bits to see you chose my story The Embalmer for first prize! Thank you so much, this means such a lot to me. Thank you.
SP, will you please email eds@everywritersresource.com. I was having some issues digging up you email.
Have emailed that address, thank you.
Thank you so much for choosing BBQ for Third Place!
Carrie
Thank you for choosing me as one of your runner up’s, being apart of the chosen is a wonderful feeling!
Wendy
HI, I don’t know if there are ongoing problems with my email but I am having difficulty contacting you. Could you let me know if my emails are getting through please? Thank you,
Sue Oldham
I am so excited! What a wonderful gift! How do I get a copy of the print magazine? It is my first publication and I am super excited.
I would love to know how and where to get the copy of the magazine too please. Thanks,
Hi, I am getting no replies to emails or to comments here. It has been 3 months since the competition winners were announced (Oct 31 ’17) and I would love to know how to go about claiming the wonderful prize you so generously offered up here, but am having no luck in communicating with you. If there are any issues I would appreciate it if you could just let me know. I would love to take advantage of the advertising since I have a book coming out in paperback later this year, as well as obtaining a physical copy of the magazine. I would also like to provide the relevant links to your pages on my website and social media. I would appreciate it if someone would get in touch and let me know what is going on please. Thank you.
Same, I haven’t gotten any responses to the multiple emails, these past 3 months, if you hear anything SP Oldham can you please let me know. Thank You!
I have had a couple of emails stating difficulties with the site, and explaining illness. I have forwarded details regarding my advertising requirements as per the prize. I have to say though that replies to enquiries are very slow and not much seems to be being done. Have you received a copy of the magazine yet? I have asked a couple of times when it will be out or where it can be bought, to no avail.I am trying to be patient and understanding given the difficulties EWR is evidently experiencing, but am beginning to have misgivings. I would suggest contacting them yourselves for more clarification. Best wishes.
SP, I appreciate your reply… I have tried multiple times contacting them to no avail. I haven’t even received my copy of the magazine. This is so frustrating! I appreciate your response, and if i receive any news ill keep you informed.
Thank you,
Wendy
SP, interesting to see this. I’m also having trouble getting response. Let’s hope whatever’s broken gets fixed soon. Congrats on your win!
Hi Loretta, I have since had an email from them explaining the situation. I am sure they will be in touch soon.
Best Wishes,
Sue x
I’m not understanding why I haven’t been at least given a response to my multiple emails.
Yes, I’m sorry I have not returned your emails. To be honest, the person who responded to the email no longer works at EWR. As a matter of fact I’m the only person left here. Everyone who helped can no longer be paid, and it’s funny how quickly they head for the hills when they are not earning any money.
I am very sorry, but just as our contest was closing we were hit with massive earnings loss. We were also hit with malware and a drop in website placement world wide. It was devastating.
THE PRINT MAGAZINE IS canceled. The promotions are canceled. IF in the future I come to a place that I am able to honor these winners, I will! I feel really bad, but we are basically bankrupt. If you would like your story removed from our site, I will completely understand.
Please remember this was a 50 word contest that DID NOT have an entry fee. We ran these for years and always honored passed winners.
Richard
Richard,
I’m sorry for your losing people. I honestly understand, I run a non-profit. However, I now request that you remove my story from your site on both the comments section where I originally submitted it and the place where you posted it. I have a longer, cleaner version I would like to submit for publication elsewhere.
I will remove your story soonest. If the print publication ever runs do you want your story in it? Right now I can’t promise anything, but the sites down but not completely out, there’s no telling where we will be in a year or 6 months…..
No need to do that. I appreciate it though.
Ritchard,
I’m sorry to hear this happened… it’s surely a disappointment on all accounts! I wrote a longer version on the 500 scary story project as well! Was there a top pick for that contest?