Welcome to our 2019 $500 Halloween Horror 50 Word Story Contest. Yes, that’s right. It’s already here. Every year we run our contests, and those of you who have been frequent readers, this is what you’ve been waiting for.
First we will be doing a print issue! We will be doing 2 print issues, and we will pick entries from this contest to be in our issue. If you had a 50 word story designated to be in our print issue, from a past contest, please contact us.
Second, we will be giving out a $500 reward for the best 50 word horror story. This is not easy for us. Every Writer is not doing as well as it did in the past, but we want your stories. I believe writers should get paid for their work. I wish we could pay all of our writers, but it’s just impossible. So $500 for 50 words, I think is a unique and valuable statement to our readers. Ten dollars a word is what all writers really deserve.
So here are the rules:
• Story must be scary
• Story must be 50 words
• Story must be original and your own
• Story may not be published elsewhere
• Story must have a title (does NOT count in word count)
• Deadline is October 25, 2019
• Enter as many times as you want
• Story must be written in the comments below!
• Be nice or be disqualified
I love these stories. This is one of favorite traditions of Every Writer. I look forward to this every year, and this year I have extended the time we are going to spend with the contest.
The winners will:
• Be announced on October 31, 2019
• Will get $500
• Will be published in our digital and print issue.
• Will get an author page on our site
There is no entry fee for this contest. It would help us out greatly if you would donate 1$ or more, if you can, to help out the site. We would really appreciate it. A donation will not be considered in the deciding this contest.
If you want to keep up with me on Twitter, please follow me at @everywriter, I follow back all writers.
Good luck, and let the writing begin.
HERE IS THE WINNER
I have picked 4 stories. They all have times and days on them. If the winner does not respond by Friday 11/22/19 the money will go to the next story on the list. Here are the top 4 stories in order. ONLY OUR 1st PLACE WINNER gets the $500. Also, so this insanity never happens again, the winner will be invited back next year to be one of the judges.
WINNER 1st Place:
Kit Steward 10/13/19 5:20 pm
THE MIDNIGHT INCUBATOR
She heard mushy sounds for days and suffered from unbearable itchiness.
A doctor’s visit revealed earwig pupae nesting in her ear canal, it was flushed out.
Later, weary from stress, she crawled into bed.
That night while she slept, the creature returned.
And finding the eggs missing, it laid more.
2nd Place:
Elizabeth Lee 09/24/19 4:36 pm
Secondhand Doll
She didn’t want a secondhand doll so she flung it across the room. Porcelain cracked against the wall. Her mom made her glue the pieces back together. A thin shard sliced her hand, baptizing the doll in her hateful blood. The secondhand doll decided she didn’t want an ungrateful child.
3rd Place:
Alexander Daley Escobedo 10/25/19 3:38pm
Heirloom
We Buried my brother today. Suicide. He thought something evil was haunting him. He’d been medicated, institutionalized, shocked and secluded. He found his own way out. I wish I could tell him I’m sorry. Or had listened more closely. Because, when I got home, it was on my couch. Laughing.
4th place:
JB 10/25/19 8:12pm
TITLE: RESEVOIR
We should have known something was wrong when we first tasted the water. It was a little brown, but no more than usual in this apartment complex.
We kept drinking it until it turned black.
When they opened the water tank, they found the bloated, rotting corpse of my neighbor.
We usually always contact the winners first, but after all the trouble, we are opening up the process. I am again, very sorry for how late this is. I did not expect 4000 stories. Next year I will be ready.
James Winter says
Sleep Tight.
Laying in darkness, blackout blinds drawn, when she suddenly thought;
“Did you lock the front door honey?”
Grumbling, he got up and went to check.
A few minutes later she felt him return to bed. Expecting a gentle kiss, she screamed at the touch of a cold dead hand instead.
James Winter says
Alone.
The rubbing paper and charcoal laid scattered on the ancient grave. So quiet and peaceful here, no-one to hear her scream. If only she could scream. But her throat had closed, her eyes now swelling shut. One little sting, and now she will die here, panicking and alone, forever more.
Angel L Collins says
The Payback
BOOM! CLASH! CRASH!
The noise filled the house and spilled out the windows.
Neighbors scrambled to see the aftermath.
CRASH!
Through the window a laptop flew. Then a mouse. Then a printer. What could have driven the doctor to this extreme madness?
“TO HELL WITH YOU STUDENT LOANS!” she yelled.
James Winter says
Losing it All,
He was on his knees, tears streaming down his face. Fear had given way to sorrow. People rushed around him; shouting but he did not hear. The roar of the flames was too loud, all he could do was watch, as his home and family burned before his eyes.
Danielle Hagar says
Dog With a Bone
“It’s time for dinner,” he told his family as he set the plates on the table.
The youngest, Polly, her head drooped at an unnatural angle. He was greeted by blank lifeless stares from the others.
“Time for dinner,” he repeated, The dog lapping up blood from the floor.
Kit Steward says
UPON FURTHER DIGESTION
The werewolf pack lounged after their nightly kill.
“Maybe we should go vegan,” the Alpha offhandedly said with a belch.
The group grew silent.
“The Board considers your leadership way past its prime,” asserted the whelp.
The underlings howled.
After the fray, scraps were evenly distributed from the hostile takeover.
Jina S. Bazzar says
The Tomb Treasure
Hoots and cackles came from the open tomb.
I huddled against the dusty corner as creatures with flaming-coppery eyes, corkscrew-horns and lizard skin climbed out.
Six years, six months, and six days of carefully planned dreams evaporated when sharp claws dragged me inside the tomb.
Silently, the lid slid shut.
Kit Steward says
NOW YOU SEE ME…
“A volunteer please…”
The crowd demurred and a noble man approached the stage.
A mallet was produced from thin air,
instantly the magician drove his wooden wand into The Count’s heart.
The vampire audience gasped as dust trickled.
“And for my last routine, a vanishing act,” said Master Magician Dr.V.H.Sing.
Greg Arens says
TRUE HORROR
Donald Trump became President. Lies overwhelmed truth. Everybody hated everybody else. The atmosphere overheated. Antarctica’s icecaps melted. Consequently, Bangladesh flooded. Hindu Nationalists massacred its fleeing citizens. Dark people fleeing the overheated tropics were massacred by whites everywhere. Siberia became balmy. Putin told Trump, “Your debt to me is now paid.”
Danielle Hagar says
Fifteen Bucks… Little Man.
“Sure, fifteen bucks is perfect,” I replied. “Let’s meet at the gas station on Riverside?”
Thirty minutes passed and I met the burly stranger. “Let me just grab that end table out of the trunk for you,” I said, while reaching through the array of body parts littering my trunk.
Lisa C. Manuel says
Regret
Blackest night EVER. Silence. Smells. Thoughts. Nothingness. Mind racing between horrific images and blankness. A sound. Another. Tensed, flexed, on the cold ground. Hands grabbing knees. Tucked chin holds everything in place. You know it’s about to end. Why didn’t you say, “Yes!”? Swoosh. Too late now! The head falls.
David Mickolas says
It wanted tea. So I carefully skirted it, made my way to the kitchen. Got the chamomile from the cupboard, looking over my shoulder. It hasn’t moved, only dripped. Can’t bring myself to call it ‘her’, or ‘Catherine’. The water is boiling now. It’s been 6 months since the funeral.
Aaina Batool says
A BRILLIANT SHADE OF RED
She was behind me again, strange words flowing smoothly from her lips.
Hush my darling
Don’t you weep
Take a leap with me
Bring a little madness inside
And make the world go bleak
And down we went right onto the pavement which was begging for a splash of color.
Michael Devine says
Immortal Love
Decapitated women strewn about floor, she said
“You’ll never find her amongst these…children.
She wasn’t immortal, she died 300 years ago.
You have me…forever.”
Suddenly he flashed his fangs, and with a
stake impaled her heart.
He was then a bat, soaring above.
He knew tonight he would find her.
Kit Steward says
CAGEY UNDERPINNINGS
The exterminator crawled deep into the building’s conduits after the emergency call.
Sweaty progress was halted and Arnold’s body was lodged in tight.
Then, terror struck, violent screams raged.
After a frantic effort, a flea-ridden rodent stretched its haunches and slept in the warm safety of a freshly hollowed burrow.
Michael Devine says
THE LOTTERY (PART II)
The villagers had their stones. Someone even
gave little Davy Hutchinson a few pebbles.
“It isn’t fair,” protested the ‘winner.’
Two high school students observed.
“Hey, is that Shirley Jackson.”
“Yeah.”
“Man give me a stone, I hated that fuckin’ story.”
“Stupidest story ever.”
And then they were upon her.
Kit Steward says
We have a winnnahhh! Your check is in the mail… that was PRICELESS!
Michael Devine says
lol
Kate Rose says
Failed Anesthesia
What? I wake up to nurses chatting and cannot move my mouth or anything to ask how the surgery went, though I feel the needle in my arm. “Scalpel,” orders the doctor. No! A cold swab of cotton over my belly – DO NOT CUT ME! I silently scream.
Kit Steward says
YOU SWEET TALKER MR.CROCKER
The woman came home to a husband muttering on the steps.
“Baking flour,” he mumbled blankly.
“Jack?” she said.
“Baking flour..”
“Are you okay?”
“Baking flour…” he whispered.
“Where’s Violet?”
Smoke filled the windows as the fire alarm squelched.
Betty’s eyes widened, and she raced inside to save her daughter.
Angel L Collins says
Who’s There?
Every night she passes the same creepy old house. She’s never seen anything odd or unusual, that is… until tonight. It wasn’t just the sound of wind rustling the shutters, or rotted wood creaking and echoing through the halls. Tonight she saw smoke puffing through the chimney. The house was abandoned.
Danielle Hagar says
Hair Got Your Tongue
Scratching started in the back of my throat. I coughed to clear it. Leaning over the bathroom sink, I reached down my throat and pulled out a long strand of hair. Following that hair – was another and then another. I realized with horror, a head was emerging from my esophagus.
Mckenzie Lantz says
Good morning,
The spoopy orange pumpkin wakes up. The spoopy orange pumpkin eats breakfast. The spoopy orange pumpkin goes outside to play with his friend the spoopy spicy scarlet squash. The spoopy orange pumpkin gets squashed by spoopy spicy scarlet squash. The spoopy orange pumpkin goes to bed.
Good night.
Lauren Marcilliat says
VANITY
Highlight, contour, fake lashes, and colored lenses. Every day I draw this mask. With it I am someone else: confident, sexy, bold. Every night I wash it off. I find myself scrubbing harder and harder until one day I look up and my reflection isn’t mine. I scream. She winks.
Angel L Collins says
Drive or Dare
“You have beautiful eyes Ms. Uber Driver,” he flirted.
I smiled, “the better to see you with,” jokingly.
Very sternly he replied, “I didn’t say they were big. Your next comment will determine if you keep them.”
Fourty five minutes of awkward silence. “Have a good night.” I’m blind now.
Benjamin Peck says
Her Crimson Voice
Rodger stumbled down the alley, whimpering as he slumped against the brick wall.
“Come back,” he pleaded, “please come back.”
Silence.
He grabbed the side of his own head, bashing it against the brick.
Once.
Crimson gushed forth.
Twice.
Again.
She sang to him.
“Beautiful!” He cried. “Thank you!”
Again.
Kayleigh says
The Unseen
2AM she heads to the kitchen for a drink. Moonlight streams in from the window. She doesn’t look. She knows it’s watching. The sane voice in her mind tells her to face the irrational. That it’s not real. But if she looks and she’s wrong it will come for her.
Marianne Villanueva says
WHAT’S THAT SOUND
A rustle of wings, like an eruption. As if a thousand pigeons have taken flight. Moments later, the sound of just one pair of gigantic wings.
A shadow on the cobblestones, a little ahead of where he walks. Soon, he is in the shadow. There’s a head. A wing. Claws.
Kayleigh says
Widow
She pulls the covers over her head and pretends to be asleep as her late husband crawls into bed beside her. He wraps his frigid too thin arms tight around her waist pulling her close. Not even a knife and six feet of dirt would keep him from her bed.
Leonard Varasano says
Uh-Oh
Going to get some tonight! He rang the bell.
She opened the door smiling, long legs and red hair. “Glad you made it.”
As he stepped inside she asked, “You’re definitely a virgin?”
“You bet.” Then something hit him.
He awoke hanging upside down surrounded by robed figures with knives.
AJ B. says
The Hotel
He watched through his hotel window, expecting something to happen. Stories said people died in the hotel. His legs were tired from standing, so he crawled out on the 14th floor balcony and sat on the rail, waiting for something to happen. That’s when it pushed him, and he fell.
SherrisAnne says
Darkling
“Oh, this kitty’s the cute one!” she squealed like a real girl, hoisting it too hard; hind legs pinched between greedy grubby fingers. Snap! Like a wet towel. For days it dragged itself mewling on shaky forelegs until caught by a merciful owl– limp cargo.
Jennifer Rogala says
Jackie
Jackie was happy on the farm, until one morning strangers ripped her from her bed.
They sliced her face, ripped off her flesh, and threw her body outside.
As she laid there dying, many other evil strangers examined her mutilated body.
The last words she heard were, “Cool, jack-o-lantern, mister!”
Gerri Zimmerman says
Ravenous Raven
There was blood splattered everywhere. The greedy raven had plucked the guts from his kill. Still, he was not content. Then, a noise caught his attention. He glanced up to see a young girl walking briskly in his direction. It was time to wish the girl a happy, happy Halloween.
Jeanne E Briggs says
Midnight Eyes
She laid asleep as the midnight hour approached. A tapping woke her from her slumber. Tap, tap, tap. She sat up. Looking around only for her eyes to meet dark red eyes glowing from outside her window. She screamed, and that’s the last thing she saw before darkness took her.
Jeanne E Briggs says
The Walls
Exploring the abandoned house, he felt something watching him. Shadows moved across the faded white walls. They were not from him. A figure formed and motioned him closer. He backed away, bumping into an already broken stand. He ran for the door, so close to freedom the shadows grabbed him.
D.K. Spencer says
Is He Dead?
He stared at me. His eyes were slits. “I don’t want to talk about that.”
“Fine,” I said. I grabbed the doorknob. “I’ll just let myself out.”
But this didn’t satisfy him. His awful smell permeated the dank room and closed in around me.
“You’re not going anywhere,” he said.
Lexi Jensen says
He Made Me Do It
The little girl entered the house, dragging a man with his eyes gouged out by his hair. Her bloody hands released the dead man, the body hitting the floor with a thump.
“What have you done?!” Her mother cried.
“He made me do it,” the girl pointed to a mirror.
Kayleigh says
Just the Wind
A powerful gust of wind batters the small house causing it to shudder and groan. It sounds as if its haunted by hundreds of tortured souls. But its not ghosts Tracy is afraid of it’s the breeze she feels caress her tearstained face. The poison has found its way inside.
D.K. Spencer says
Now Go to Sleep, You Little Monster
“That’s right dear, put your foot in. That’s good. Let me pull it snug.
Do you like the new socks mother has gotten you? Now the other foot, please.
Oh, they look darling on you! OK, the next one, dear.
That’s right. Good. Now your last foot, sweetie … Good night.”
Keith Coles says
John nearly died defending his family from the virus that fueled Martin’s bloodlust. The drill narrowly missed his heart. John was always more adept with the tools; it was in his blood.
Turning to his wife, drill dripping red, he would succeed where Martin failed.
It was in his blood.
Keith Coles says
Title: “In the Blood”
Pradeep Atrey says
Pocketful of Coins
Midnight. As he set foot on cremation ground, childhood ghost-stories thumped in his heart. A cold shiver down his spine. Panicked, he strode. Jingling sound behind. Blinded, he dashed; jingling intense and closer. He galloped, jingling louder, at heels. He collapsed; jingling stopped. He came to, touched – pocketful of coins!
D.K. Spencer says
Cover Your Eyes
“Geesh, dear, I’m only an hour late,” replied Alfred.
“You know dinner is at 7:00. The kids have to eat on time.” said Janice. “Eyes are only good when freshly plucked. You’ll have to eat them cold, now.”
“All of them?” asked Alfred, eyeing the bowl that was eyeing back.
Angela Morgan says
A shadow figure in my room,
this can’t be real, I won’t believe.
Fear grips my soul and drowns my scream
when I realize I can’t leave.
The pain he causes, I’ve not met,
but his mask, I did remove.
How surprised was I
to see someone that I knew?
RICK MALOY says
“The Hunt”
“Run!” Luke shouted as he chambered a round. The shaggy beast was tiring and would soon be his. The chase had been exciting and even spooky when he lost the trail, but he spied the den. A heavy, hairy fist sent the rifle flying. Then a monstrous voice growled, “RUN!”
Angela Morgan says
The sandman only comes, once you are asleep. He tiptoes to your bedside, a funnel in his hand. One end goes in your mouth and the sand comes pouring in. You wake up gasping, thrashing, as the sand runs out of your hourglass. The sandman puts you to sleep, forever.
Angela Morgan says
The Sandman
The sandman only comes, once you are asleep. He tiptoes to your bedside, a funnel in his hand. One end goes in your mouth and the sand comes pouring in. You wake up gasping, thrashing, as the sand runs out of your hourglass. The sandman puts you to sleep, forever.
Angela Morgan says
Shadows of Death
A shadow figure in my room,
this can’t be real, I won’t believe.
Fear grips my soul and drowns my scream
when I realize I can’t leave.
The pain he causes, I’ve not met,
but his mask, I did remove.
How surprised was I
to see someone that I knew?
Arlo C. Sharp says
PROMISES TO KEEP
His sorceress lover promised she’d come back, no matter how much time passed. As the years became decades, he despaired of ever seeing her again.
But at last, she returned. And shouted the ancient incantations by moonlight.
To no avail.
His body had decayed far too long to rise again.
Lauren Marcilliat says
DEJA VU
DING!
“This is your captain speaking. We’re about to hit turbulence. Please make sure your seatbelts are fastened.”
An impact.
A wing rips off.
A roar.
We plummet.
Everyone screams.
OH GOD, OH GOD, OH GOD!
I am going to die.
DING!
I startled awake.
“This is your captain speaking…”
Brooke Tiedt says
STORMY WEATHER
Rain beats against the glass, like a fist knocking on a door. “It will go away, won’t it?” I say.
“It always has before,” Austin says. My stomach continues to churn.
I pull back the curtain and scream. Crimson streaks across the window, a single handprint on the other side.
Helene Bowen says
TRICK? OR TREAT?
With an evil eye,
and a
ghoulish limp,
the ancient one
led me like a wimp.
He had me by the nape
as he flourished with his cape.
With a terrible eerie laugh
he threw out his staff,
and cut into my skin,
and turned me into
a scary pumpkin.
Brooke Tiedt says
REFLECTION
Clay dries on my hands as I stare at my work. It’s supposed to be my reflection. My cheekbones are off, my lips fuller, but I can’t help but wish it was more lifelike… Not a second later, my creation grins, its features twisting. “Be careful what you wish for.”
Brooke Tiedt says
THE BACK OF A COP CAR
“Don’t let him take me!” My pulse skyrockets, fighting against the hands pushing me in the car.
“We’re taking you to the station.”
I pull against my handcuffs, sticky with blood. “Please!” No one answers; the door shuts.
The cop smiles at me, still bleeding. “Let’s finish what we started.”
Jennifer Menendez says
SCANDAL COVERED IN SNOW
A dusting of snow covered her house but outlined the handprint on the side. She thought the nightmare was over. She thought he was dead. Snow crunched under her boots as she turned the corner. There, amongst the falling snow, stood the sign she had feared for all her life.
Lauren Marcilliat says
RUNNERS HIGH
Clothed only in a sports bra and running shorts, I push myself faster down the dark trail.
I feel so alive.
But I’m not alone.
Suddenly, he is on me, knocking me savagely to the ground.
Perfect, I think, as I sink my fangs into his throat. I was thirsty.
Kit Steward says
HOW’D ALL THAT COLLEGE WORK OUT FOR YA?
The piranha’s tank sign reads “$5000 – FOR LASTING A MINUTE”.
“Tell it again,” said the crony.
“Wiseguy waiter comes outta the kitchen, his hand thick in Crisco.
Forty-five seconds in… I shove his head in the tank ‘til his FACE…GONE!”
Lou laughed through tears, “Best Five-G’s I ever spent.”
Hilary Stanton says
HalloWiz
Ding-dong. Dorothy Gale cracked the door.
“Trick-or-treat!” chorused green-faced witches. Again.
She grabbed the bowl and sloshed it over their heads. Hissing, screams, the usual.
Dorothy collected their shoes from the steaming heap and crammed them in the ebay bin. Someday she’d have enough for a ticket out of Kansas.
Ann Howle Davis says
Stranger Danger
She didn’t recognize the sounds but she knew they meant trouble. Reaching for the gun in the nightstand, she was jolted into awareness. Not her room, not her nightstand, no gun. In what universe was this possible? In the darkness, she became aware of her nakedness. Tears fell, she froze.
Carmen Wilkinson says
AWAKE
by: Carmen Wilkinson
“Don’t fall asleep. Remember that’s how they got Jesus. Stay awake. I am awake. Wait a minute. How can you be awake, I mean how am I awake? Why am I talking to myself? Who are you talking to? You, you big dummy, duh? Oh my God, am I dead? “
Kay Rae Chomic says
EVIDENCE
The skeleton under the porch knew us all. Its secret harmed no one. Then knuckles rapped at the door. Questions surged. Our answers blocked—No, sir. Yes, sir. Never, sir.
We double-locked the door, loaded the shotgun, knew how to deal with threats. The skeleton need not be lonely.
Lauren Marcilliat says
SIREN’S SONG
Man, what a party! I’m wasted. I spy a scantily clad girl in the pool. God, she’s hot. I’m staring.
My buddy throws me in. She swims away, then coyly beckons. I catch her and pull her in for a kiss. Water fills my lungs as she pulls me down.
Megan Organ says
It’s crowded in here, shoulder to shoulder
Cold shadows whispering your past trauma
The only light comes from the windows
to a boarded up soul
it’s dark here, please let go of me
Your screams are only empty fear
Fear consuming you, why
Right now, none of it is real
Shell McLennan says
BAD DREAM
The metallic buzzing became loud whining. Moving closer she thought, as she struggled awake. Clicking, grunting sounds, a rhythmic back and forth. What a nightmare! Clare tried rolling but couldn’t. Huh? The whining came closer and excruciating pain began. Eyes flying wide, Clare screamed as the aliens held her down.
Tammy Bray says
“The Mushy Mass”
As bad as my stomach is wrenching, and the burning acid is creeping into my throat, I force myself to touch it. My hand shakes as it approaches the oozing mass. I feel the moist, lukewarm, mushy creature. As I touch it, it explodes with a moaning, wheezing sound.
Craig Crawford says
Will O Wisp
Walking the back road, dusk on your heels. Lost and lonely save the shiver of autumn breeze in the trees. Light looms down the earthen lane, sallow and bright, twinkling against black. Faith in salvation gives chase even when led off the path. Darker and deeper until hope is swallowed.
Michael Devine says
POSITIVE IDENTIFICATION
“That’s the man- blond hair, blue blazer- who raped me.”
“You sure?”
“Positive.”
“I’ll kill him.” And he did.
Back home they watched a repeat of a mystery show his wife was obsessed with. The TV victim declared, ‘That’s the man- blond hair, blue blazer- who raped me.’
D.K. Spencer says
Garden of Earthly Delights
Deep within the empty belly of a cavernous white beast, resides the board of inquisition. Consisting of naked, bearded old men with animal tails, wearing pointy, brimmed hats, the board is discussing matters of morality and great importance concerning the fate of your soul.
And the prognosis doesn’t look good.
Jack Draver says
Title: Winter Vacation
Richard awoke and could not see. The texture of brick walls ran across both shoulders as he squirmed to a stand through bound hands.
“Hello? Hello?!”
Only whistling responded. Chris stared at his immaculate grout, just finished. He smiled and knocked the brick.
“Enjoy your winter vacation.”
Chris strolled out.
Cleo Brooks says
Milk
On his 84th birthday, he left his sleeping wife to brush his teeth, forgetting toothpaste, dresses, shirt buttoned, and makes himself cereal, forgetting the cereal. At 2AM, he finally keels over. Not from the effects of the serrated knife through his eye, but from loss of blood, reddening his milk.
Kelly Knight says
Howling so anguished, echoed through the darkness. This was the end of reality. Running across the graves to escape the cemetery I fell. That’s when the vacuuming force pulled me through the earth. Vines appeared and roped me deep down as the ground closed over me. Buried alive like my dream.
Shelquandae Taylor says
RECYCLE
“Brains, brains, brains.” The disfigured face “person” chanted after shooting the red head. It danced over her body while holding the brain matter in its hand.
As a furious, tall, muscular man approached the person, he used a bat to bash its head. “Now you’re out of brains, brains, brains.”
Kelly Knight says
Drifting to sleep I feel an evil presence hold me down. Without breath I start to lose consciousness. Awakening after what seems an eternity. My husband stirs and reaches lovingly for my hand. With super human strength I pull his arm clean off his body. First meal of human flesh.
Stoori says
Frozen Horror
The new frozen foods became the talk of the town. Everyone who purchased it admired its juicy and unique taste. On the other hand, the children of that area mysteriously started missing. After a month, the breaking news of inroad on an underground “Human” frozen foods making factory left people astonished.
Ben von Jagow says
HIM
“He’s escaped.”
It takes a moment to register. The Red Wings are on the power play.
“Huh?” I mumble, my eyes still glued to the TV.
“Carl.”
I turn. Linda’s wearing that look, the one I haven’t seen in years, and the gravity of the situation settles in. He’s escaped.
"Lou" Ammerman says
The Baby Rattle
My guttural screams abruptly woke me. What is this foul taste in
my mouth? Why is there blood and skin in my bed?
My God! The baby!
As I rushed to my baby’s room, I began choking and threw up a
baby’s toe!
Death’s rattle came from my baby’s room.
Ave Jeanne Ventresca says
A Visit to Mom’s House in November
After dad’s funeral I returned to mom’s house. The day was intense, and sleep was the only thing I needed. Under blankets my eyes now combing through chills and all blackness. Suddenly, footsteps began from the doorway, making heavy, slow steps towards my bed. “Dad!” I screamed. The footsteps stopped.
Shelquandae T. Taylor says
No More Feeling
Splash! The sound I made after jumping into the rectangle shaped abyss. Farther and farther I sink, approaching the bottomless pit of despair. Gasping for the oxygen that’s been replaced by H2O, filling my lungs to the brink. No more sun, no more pain, and guilt, just the feeling of…
Michael Devine says
CATOPTROMANCY CRISIS
On a dare, the little girl chanted in front of the mirror and a bloodied female face appeared.
“ Bloody Mary, I’m scared. Are you…going to hurt me?”
“No, I’m here to help you.”
The medicine cabinet opened slowly revealing a single bottle. The girl spelled the label aloud: F-E-N-T-A-N-Y-L.
Candice says
TRAPPED
Hands tied behind her back made it impossible to scratch her scalp as the lice crawled through her strands of hair by the thousands burrowing into her welted flesh with blood sucking intensity. She closed her eyes, praying for death, instant relief from the burning itch that consumed her soul.
Ave Jeanne Ventresca says
Earthquake 6.9
The only thing she feared was being bored. Her marriage and career were becoming dull. Despair embraced her. Now, dressing for bed, the sound of crumbling wood attracts her attention. Walls quiver, furniture crawls across the room, and ceiling liberates downward. Notice how this heavy board falls, crushing her head.
Catherine moore says
Bloody Face
The door slowly creek open and five bloody heads shoved inside. “Mama!” I yelled but I got no response.
I close my eyes and the heads went away. I sigh then laid back down to see my mother’s head stapled to the my roof dripping crimson all over my face.
Kit Steward says
GOOD OL’ BUCKTOOTH
The battle’s result; an overwhelming stockpile of dead soldiers.
Muddy boots worked hard kicking dog tags between corpse teeth.
SHUNNNK,
“How long do we gotta do this?…” the private grumbled.
SHUNNNK,
SHUNNNK,
“YAARGGH!” one foamed, springing violently to life.
“Hey, dumb ass!” yelled the Sergeant, “Why’d you ruin Buckley’s nap?”
Cindy O’Nanski says
THE ROOM
Screams echo over
The stench of
Stomach curdling
Rotting corpses and
Wounded flesh in
Bug infested
Slumber while
Rats crawl over
Blood stained walls
Try to run but your
Frozen to the bed
In feces splattered
Stained sheets with
Guts wrenching in
Spine chilling terror
Eyes searching
For eternal solace.
William Cennamo says
NICE! So descriptive!
Kristofor Hellmeister says
The Birth of a Monster
The child screeched, sucking out of the air the joy of birth. It screamed a voice of decay. Its piercing cries stabbed like wounds. The father felt faint, his breath coming shallow, a puddle now. As his son devoured the air, the father’s life faded into a desperate, choking death.
Rach says
I love you.
I’ve always been with you, even when you thought you were alone.
One day we’ll be together. Old age or maybe an accident will make it so.
My fingers on you, down your throat, pressing to reach every part of you. Finally, I will have you.
Kristofor Hellmeister says
The Death of a Star
The world stared upward, numb, detached, paralyzed. The sun was on fire. The atmosphere sizzled and popped. The clouds became stars. The mountains toppled. Oceans became vapor. The heat feasted upon cities, lovers, strangers, children. Skin melted from bone as all is consumed by the death of the sun
Stoori Khan says
Goosebumps
It was 12 am, the light went off. The gate started banging. He went to see who it could be. “Let me in.” She pleaded. He opened the gate for help. Suddenly, there was a huge crash of thunder, gazing down, the first thing he noticed was her hind foot!!!
Mackenzie says
Nancy Has a Cold
It was a thick, phlegmy cough that racked her chest and left her desperate for breath. She felt a slimy glob, propelled by the hacking, land on the back of her tongue. With a grimace, she spit it into a tissue – there landed a wriggling slug, yellow-green and quite alive.
Mackenzie says
There’s a Monster Under the Bed
It would be too easy to bite into your naked heel. I watch you place one foot then the other on the chilly floor. Bare toes curl at the cold. You slide a foot into your slipper. I cradle its match in the darkness and wait for you to reach.
Bob Thurber says
The Old Maestro’s Birds
When he snaps his fingers, Edgar’s parakeets push air through their beaks. Their squawks and screeches sound more like wind gusting through a rainspout than synchronized melodies. Edgar, a retired composer and conductor, admits he had to train ruthlessly, snapping the necks of any bird refusing to sing on cue.
Robert Green says
A Haunted Home
The stairs creaked under Casey as she climbed towards her childhood bedroom. She hadn’t wanted to come back home, but her mother had insisted. She opened the door, recognizing the noises before the sights. She sat in bed, eyes closed, and spoke timidly “hello?” The room answered, hungrily, “Welcome Home.”
Kristen Morris says
DON’T LOOK
“Mommy.”
She must not look; can’t look. They are the last two. He clings desperately. Her eyes shut tight.
“Mommy, please.”
She knows what awaits. It took everyone bestowing black eyes rimmed yellow. His hand grips harder.
“Mommy, I love you.”
She shudders as the tiny hands lift her eyelids.
Fayiz Sidhique says
ETERNAL LOVE
After her boyfriend died, she stared long at the mirror and cried.
Looking at her reflection she said, “I wish I was also a dead.”
“I wish that too,” replied the mirror. Suddenly she tried retreating her hand in terror. But the reflection had it already clutched; now that’s horror.
Helene Bowen says
A BLOODLESS SCREAM
In the chill of a moonless night
two figures squeal with delight
as they hover over the bods
looking like gourds,
satisfying their hunger
as they plunder those poor souls.
Returning from
their graves in the earth
to learn of their new birth,
again and again.
Infinity.
Carrion. Carry on.
Catherine Kenwell says
BABY RUTH
“Take the candy, dammit!”
Her fingers crept forward, grabbed the Baby Ruth, and retreated to her pocket.
“You little witch! Now, eat it!”
She slowly pulled the bar from her coat.
“Now! So I can watch!”
She unwrapped it to find a tiny human newborn. Sweet, Baby Ruth. Her favorite.
Robert Green says
The Follower
The woman had followed him for years. Never speaking. Never leaving. Nights were the most difficult to get used to, but he had become accustomed to her standing over him; with eyes fully black. However, last year he discovered something that nearly broke him: She was standing one step closer.
Lexi Jensen says
The Basement
“Dad, can you come down for a second?!”
“Give me a minute! What do you need?!”
“Someone’s screaming in the basement! It’s really loud but I’m too scared to go down there!”
“What are you talking about?! We don’t have a basement!”
“Dad, it’s getting closer! Come down here right—“
Jacqueline Larson says
Excellent, self-contained little story!
Catherine Kenwell says
TRICK OR TREAT
“Trick or treat!”
The door creaked open. She ushered inside a Halo, a panda, and a mermaid.
“Trick or treat!” they muttered, hesitant and afraid.
The door slammed shut.
“Tricked you, you brats. You’re my treat!”
Wide-eyed, they saw the mammoth steaming cauldron, and the discarded costumes scattered in front.
Isobel Granby says
The Inn at the Crossroads
The fire prevents the ghost from rising. The hearth where his bones are buried can never be left untended. I was there when he was murdered, when the fire was made, and I will be there when it consumes the whole house, and myself with it. When he avenges himself.
Jacqueline Larson says
I like that! Good use of the 50 word-limit.
Betty says
Namaste
“Breathe out, shhh…”
She was finally so relaxed, so calm. Her hair was in a perfect bun; buttery soft clothing tailored just so.
She closed her eyes and laid perfectly still on the sticky, well worn mat.
“Savasana. You’re doing great.”
She kissed her and wiped her mouth clean, leaving with her scrunchie.
George Kazarian Jr. says
THE DEAD
So tired…out of breath…panting…
Stop and hide behind a tree.
A ragged horde of dead slowly meander past.
Safe.
Suddenly a sharp pain on my arm!
One bite, then another!
A group of stragglers are here for a taste of my flesh.
Carissa says
Missing Piece
He gazed around trying to find it. Didn’t she understand? He needed it back. “Stop laughing and give it back!” He yelled at her grotesque form.
“You cannot have back what you never had,” she replied with a cackle that chilled him to the bones.
“But I need my heart.”
Carissa says
Silence
She couldn’t place where the sound was coming from. It was an odd mixture of a creak and a groan. She sat upon her bed, eyes closed, focused on the sound. The sounds grew louder with a new one intermingling. She tried to place it; then she heard nothing.
Carissa says
The Forest
Tripping on an exposed root she fell onto her knees, biting her lip to keep herself from crying out. “Get up, keep moving,” she whispered as she used her bound hands to pull herself to her feet. “Just a little further to go,” she murmured continuing through the dense forest.
Kit Steward says
ECO-CONSCIOUS
Contrary traveling backpackers stop trail-side and have a lunch break together.
“Pack it in and pack it out,” said the one struggling with his overstuffed Kelty rucksack.
“Travel light and leave a dusty trail,” said the other while removing an empty urn from a threadbare satchel to get more snacks
Jacqueline Larson says
AN APPRENTICESHIP
The monster under your bed spares you for the names of your bullies.
A fair trade.
After years of peaceful school days and nights lulled into slumber by the sound of familiar, deserving whimpers? You think: The night must be so lovely, living under a roof thick as a mattress.
Liv Senghor says
PARALYSIS
The hooded being is back.
He’s standing in the corner of my room, staring at me with his bright red eyes.
His long fingers extend like shadows of tree branches in the moonlight.
He floats toward me. I cannot move, I cannot scream.
I close my eyes. Then it’s morning.
Alexa Falcone says
CLONE
Hands and feet roped together; unmoving. Mouth taped shut, suppressing my shrieks for help. My desperate eyes can do nothing more than gaze at the figure. Brown eyes, crisp curls, freckled cheeks; identical to me in all things but one…intentions.Dagger in hand, she exited the closet. Click-locked.
Cassie Bertsch says
HANDPRINTS
I stepped into my car one freezing, dark night. I put the key into the ignition; it didn’t start. I heard a rumble in the back seats, The hands suddenly gripped my neck, hard. Then I was gone; my existence erased from memory. My handprints were the only thing left.