Where Are the Results? All Hallow's Tales Contest

Oct 1, 201512 min read

Deviation Actions

Published: Oct 1, 2015

9.9K Views

WHERE THE DEVIL ARE THE RESULTS, JAY?
I know Halloween has come and gone and still no contest results. I KNOW, OKAY. The judges have their stuff in to me, just need some last-minute details detailed and I'll get things up as soon as possible. Thanks for your patience!

THIS CONTEST IS CLOSED TO ENTRIES! Good luck to all who entered.

Prize donations will be accepted until winners are announced, hopefully before November 2.

This contest is generously sponsored by prize donors and:

The Entry Gallery is now open!

Remember, all entries are fair game for judging as soon as they are placed into this gallery!

Ghouls and Ghasts and ne'er do wells, welcome once again to the LaBORatory for our annual celebration of stories in the season of all things spooky.

This year, we return to the abandoned house at the end of the block, with the upstairs window from which something always seems to wave at passersby. We drive along the lonely stretch of road at midnight, eyes unblinking, hoping to catch a glimpse of the girl who hitches a ride, only to vanish from the passenger seat when we pass the old cemetery. We point trembling fingers over the rail at the spectral ship that has spelled the doom of generations of captains and crew. We roll the ball into the old, dark nursery, and wait to see if it will roll back out again.

This year, we are telling ghost stories. Have a seat by the fire, won't you?

THE CONTEST

This is a Halloween-inspired, Literature-only contest asking for submissions of PROSE FICTION (or NONFICTION). This time around, you are asked to write a ghost story. You are encouraged to write about your own experiences if you have any to share, or write a completely fictional story if you like. Whether your story is true or not isn't important, it's all in the way you tell it.

What kind of story you write is up to you, but please remember that this is a Halloween contest. We're looking for stories that are scary, disturbing, morbid, chilling, creepy, or darkly funny. Halloween, most of all, is supposed to be fun. Your story should be entertaining to read, regardless if it is true or not, and no matter how scary or gritty or butt-puckering it is. So have fun with it!

HOW TO ENTER

You have the option to request a PROMPT from me if you like, to get you started on your story. Just send me a note with PROMPT REQUEST in the title, and I'll send one your way. Only one prompt request per person, please. You don't HAVE to request a prompt from me if you don't want to, and if I give you one, you're free to use it or not as you like. The prompts are just idea starters, nothing more, and you won't get "extra credit" for using them.

When your story is finished, upload it as a deviation and send a note to me (Memnalar) with a link to your entry. I will then collect your entry into an Entry Gallery. You can make changes to your entry even after you've entered, but be aware that your entry is fair game for judging as soon as I've placed it into the Entry Gallery.

RULES:

Deadline is midnight October 25(CST), and winners will be announced by October 31 or thereabouts. Prose fiction or nonfiction only, 3,000-word maximum.

Let me repeat that. 3,000-word M A X I M U M. No, I will not take your entry if it's 3,001 words long. Don't even ask.

One entry per contestant will be accepted. Prize donors are eligible to enter, but not judges. Entries must be new pieces posted after the contest begins. Entries earning Daily Deviations or major features before the end of the contest will be disqualified. No fan-fiction will be accepted. Prose only, no poetry.

JUDGING:

Each entry will be judged on a point system encompassing three factors: Creativity, Technique, and "The Halloween Factor."

The official judging period will be the week after the contest deadline. HOWEVER, judges will be encouraged to read and score the entries as they come in. Please be aware that your entry is fair game for judging as soon as I place it in the entry gallery, so don't send it to me until you're ready for it to be judged.

JUDGES
These brave souls have agreed to read and score the entries. Worship

TheMaidenInBlack
neurotype-on-discord
LiliWrites

PRIZES:

I will be accepting prize donations until the contest results are revealed. Anything is welcome: Points (through donation widget on Memnalar's page), Premium Memberships, Prints, Commissions, Original Artwork, Journal Features, whatever you've got.

Points Pool Donors:
Pooled points may be used for prizes or other contest-related activities.

670 points from Tobaeus
400 points from Nichrysalis
100 points from ThornyEnglishRose
30 points from DeriveAnemone
20 points from Rieal-Dragonsbane
10 points from VeronicaRiles

First Place
Scary Stories Treasury by Alvin Schwartz, including artwork by Steven Gammell - from Memnalar
$20 Amazon Gift Card (or equivalent amount in dA points) from Memnalar
$15 Amazon Gift Card from LiliWrites
$15 Amazon OR Barnes & Noble Gift Card (or equivalent amount in dA points) from aunjuli
Signed copy of the novella Supernova by JD McDonnell (also known as BarbecuedIguana), with a personal message from the author.
Signed copy of the chapbook A Guide for the Practical Abductee by E. Kristin Anderson (also known as PinkyMcCoversong)
2,500 dA Points from communityrelations
200 dA Points from Nichrysalis (via points pool)
A clerihew (a whimsical, four-line biographical poem) on the subject of the winner's choice by ThornyEnglishRose

Second Place
$15 Amazon Gift Card (or equivalent amount in dA points) from Memnalar
1,000 dA Points from communityrelations
100 dA Points from Nichrysalis (via points pool)
A clerihew (a whimsical, four-line biographical poem) on the subject of the winner's choice by ThornyEnglishRose

Third Place
$10 Amazon Gift Card (or equivalent amount in dA points) from Memnalar
500 dA Points from communityrelations
100 dA Points from Nichrysalis (via points pool)
A clerihew (a whimsical, four-line biographical poem) on the subject of the winner's choice by ThornyEnglishRose

Features for All Winners donated by: ikazon, HugQueen, MagicalJoey, pullingcandy

...BUT WHAT'S THAT IN THE ATTIC?

This month, the CRLiterature Book Club is reading the excellent Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife by Mary Roach. Take it away, dust-jacket blurb:

"What happens when we die? Does the light just go out and that's that―the million-year nap? Or will some part of my personality, my me-ness persist? What will that feel like? What will I do all day? Is there a place to plug in my lap-top?" In an attempt to find out, Mary Roach brings her tireless curiosity to bear on an array of contemporary and historical soul-searchers: scientists, schemers, engineers, mediums, all trying to prove (or disprove) that life goes on after we die.

So here's the deal, ghouls and gals. If you win first, second or third place in the All Hallow's Tales contest AND make a good showing in this month's Book Club Spook discussion threads (and I'll be watching

), then you will win a SECRET MYSTERY PRIZE OF MYSTERY AND SECRETS. And you'll also get to read a fantastic book by one of my favorite nonfiction writers, and talk about it with cool people. So please do.

Have fun, darlings!

Other Contests around dA

I support and encourage Literature and/or Halloween-themed contests, so if you are running one or know of one, let me know and I'll pimp it here.

Literature groups! Sign up for the First Annual Hungerature Games! Test your might against other Lit groups and compete for awesome prizes, up to and including a Super Group Subscription!