horror writing contest 2023

There are a lot more truths in the books we read, than we’d like to admit. What if a book delves into the lives of the very town you live in? Reveals to you some personal stories of people you know? Or thought you knew. Bookstore owner Kevin Ellison faces this truth when a mysterious book shows up in Through a Mirror, Darkly by Kevin Lucia. Through a Mirror, Darkly is a Supernatural Thriller collection masked as a novel. With elements of mystery, suspense, and otherworldly horror, Through a Mirror, Darkly successfully delves into the worlds of Lovecraft, Grant, and the mysterious Carcosa. ©️ Crystal Lake Publishing Arcane Delights. Clifton Heights' premier rare and used bookstore. In it, new owner Kevin Ellison has inherited far more than a family legacy, for inside are tales that will amaze, astound, thrill...and terrify: An ancient evil thirsty for lost souls. A very different kind of taxi service with destinations not on any known map. Three coins that grant the bearer's fondest wish, and a father whose crippling grief gives birth to something dark and hungry.

Syanja eventually made a choice regarding her life after attempting numerous jobs and different careers. She waited for a chance while writing novels. One day, she received an email from a sizable business located distant from her hometown. She quickly accepted their offer and signed the contract with them without any hesitation. She joined that organisation mostly because she wanted to advance her profession and it is the top corporation in the world for authors. Jeong Jung-Hoon, the CEO's younger son, noticed her assisting someone one day. Jung-Hoon was awestruck by her acts and beauty, and his affections for her gradually grew. He was supported in pursuing her by his siblings and friends. They get close and fall in love after a few dates, but Syanja's ex Hyung-Shi returns to her life. He visited her and made an effort to reunite them. Due to their respective occupations, Jung-Hoon was likewise quite busy at work and barely found time to spend with her. They took a step back. Rumors started to circulate. They began to lose faith in one another, went their separate ways, and concentrated on their occupations, but neither of them knew what fate desired. Their love wasn't over after that. They encountered each other again, this time with stronger souls and no love but anger. They had transformed and strengthened their character. They made each other regret everything they had done for one another this time. They made every effort to bring each other down, but it just brought them closer.

A forced excursion to the bottom of the world could only end in one way. Disaster For Fantasy Oliovenko, a young and beautiful State Department Agent, life was swiftly becoming one emerging horror stacked upon another and yet to her own horror the last of her spiritual tests in an uncertain future was becoming more of a possessing passion than it was a pain to bare. He'd come from the forest to save her. He meant to mate her – own her – utterly possess her. Sometimes the hardest part of giving into the path that God has for one makes no sense at the moment of its emerging inception. For Fantasy the struggle to believe is as hard as her inability to surrender and yet life while it remains gives ample time for both. Time is ticking though, and the rapacious bite of monsters that take no prisoners are ever eager to take advantage of a fool's demise.

“His skin is white as porcelain, his blonde hair flows flawlessly through the air. His pulpy lips were luscious as.. No, what are you thinking? He’s just a character, he’s not real. He’ll never be real” Natalie Smith, an inspiring Romance novel writer, got caught in an accident and was woken up in an unfamiliar place that soon she’ll learned was old wales, the place of the current story she’s been writing of. She somehow transported to the novel she’s been writing up and decided to play along as she was trying to figure out how she will returned back to her own reality as she becomes one of the palace housemaids to survive. “She’s just a mare servant here in this castle, yet she piques up my interest” Alex Evans, the coldhearted first Prince of Wales took notice of Natalie as she becomes a housemaids in their royal household. He then took her as his personal servant and as time passed love blossoms between them. “How did I entangled myself with the male lead?!”

Vacations are a true description of peace and relaxation. What if this is proven wrong? Imagine getting stranded in a foreign place! Chloe is a simple nerd who prefers books to have a social life. Tired of being bullied by the mean girls on campus, she decides to take place in a school contest to piss them off and ends up winning a trip to Belize. Her vacation turns sour when she is kidnapped by a gang and sold to the cartels. Derek is an undercover agent on the run, trailing the cartels. When these two cross paths, sparks erupt causing certain emotions which might be a threat to his work. A journey of constant battles, guns and action pack where red is both the colour of love and bloodshed. Can the duo best the cartels? Will they live to tell?

Fear  Noun 1. a distressing emotion aroused by impending danger, evil, pain, etc., whether the threat is real or imagined; the feeling or condition of being afraid. Synonyms: foreboding, apprehension, consternation, dismay, dread, terror, fright, panic, horror, trepidation, qualm. Until that night, Kinsley never knew true fear, never felt terror. She could taste the fear on her tongue, salty with a hint of copper, her throat felt constricted. She wanted to scream but the terror was too thick in her throat, coating it to the point of near suffocation. She was prey and he was the hunter who never failed. Verendus was powerful, a ruthless and cruel Boss, he did not fail and he did not quit. Kinsley Anderson was a woman he coveted, and he would stop at nothing to claim her. He had the means and the manpower to pursue her to the ends of the earth and he would do it, claiming her once and for all.

This an autobiography of a man's childhood day, the horror and the dread that he went through, it also comprises of other happenings that made up his childhood day: both sad and happy moments.

"You Can’t Hate Love" In high school, Arjun stole Preetah's heart. Nights spent writing love letters she never had the courage to show him—were the closest she came to confessing her feelings. Arjun, raised by a strict father who drilled into him the importance of school over everything else, never saw her. To him, classmates were distractions, and Preetah was just another face in the crowd. Years later, Arjun has transformed into a dominant, self-absorbed alpha male—a wealthy, powerful figure whose only focus is his business, relationships—especially with women—are nothing more than a game to him. His father, convinced that marriage will tame his son, arranges a marriage for him with the girl who topped second after him in their high school rankings: Preetah. ★Updates: every Friday at 12am UTC+2

**Dez** Dezmond woke in a cold sweat. The ache in his heart was worse than ever before. It had been growing more intense over the past few weeks. He got out of bed and went to the bathroom to wash his face. He didn't bother looking in the mirror, he knew what he would see. His face would be white and his eyes haunted with the need to find answers. Dezmond needed to know why he was being tormented in his dreams. He was never supposed to dream again. "I can't take this anymore." said Dezmond gloomily. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ **Ruby** Ruby couldn't focus in class, another night of tossing and turning. Seeing the flames consume her house. Hearing the screams as her family slowly died, knowing there was nothing she could do. It had been almost three years since the incident. The day she lost her family in the fire. She was the only one who wasn't in the house. And she relived that horror every night in her dreams. Though recently her nightmares felt different. More like a warning rather than a memory. "Rough night?" whispered Haven. Haven had been friends with Ruby since they were little kids. "Yeah, they started happening again." Ruby whispered back. They never really stopped. "Have you talked to anyone about it? Ruby, you can't keep it a secret forever." This is the same discussion they had just after the incident.

In a land of mystery, mayhem, love, hate, betrayal and redemption. There lives a princess of great beauty and grace. Angelina is the only daughter of the King and Queen of Avareen and heir to the thrown. She lives in a Kingdom of mystical creatures where magic and the riddles of life exist in a whirlpool of nature's beauty.On the day of her eighteenth birthday, a celebration is underway, where all the princes' and Kings' of neighboring lands will come to win her heart and make her their Queen. Uniting them in a peaceful reign of two kingdoms joined together under holy matrimony. All seems to go well until that fateful night that will change her life forever. An evil is lurking in the shadows that threatens to darken the brightness of her days and steal the lives of those she loves. It's patience is eerie. It's deceit, cruel. It's horror, unimaginable. It's manipulation, unending. It's form, a man. But will he succeed in corrupting her innocent heart? Or will her innocence and kindness be his saviour?