Third Coast Review Horror Stories Project Thingmabob

So, here’s what I’m looking for, all in one place.

1. Share a paragraph or three about a story that truly scared you or creeped you out. It can be based on a childhood reading memory, something you perused last night, or anything in between.

This is for the literature section, so try to think storytelling without visuals (book illustrations and comics, of course, are acceptable).

Later Note: Upon consideration, movies, plays, TV commercials, music and recordings, news stories, advertisements, amusement park haunted houses, childhood dares, irritating sibling pranks, or the like are all fine horror fodder, but try to tie in literature by telling us a good story about it. Not just “I saw this weird music video once and it freaked me out. Here’s a YouTube link. The end.”

2. Suggestions:

  • Horror fiction (novels and short stories)
    FYI: I love Stephen King too, but I may have to limit the number of King entries to two, I think. Likewise, someone is already doing the cover of Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, but I’m amenable to hearing about a particular story from that collection that frightened you as a child. Call dibs though.
  • Horror comics
  • Folktales
  • Urban legends
  • Campfire stories
  • Nonfiction about terrible events/people
  • Local folklore
  • Illustrations are fine, but they should be tied to a story.

Did I miss anything?

3. Tell us a story about your scary story. Try to get at WHY it scared you. How did it affect you? Did something frightening happen before or after you read it? How did you deal with the fear?

Not:

“The urban legend about the guy with the hook hand always freaked me out! Eeeeeek! And…scene!”

But rather:

“After I read Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, I began to see the great gangling man everywhere. For three years, I refused to enter a room with a fireplace, worried his body parts might come tumbling down at any moment. I couldn’t sleep without hugging Booboo, my teddy bear, which is embarrassing for a 52-year-old man, let me tell you… Etc.”

4. Keep it PG-13 (or, at least, a mild R). I’m fine with disturbing and slightly gruesome, but this isn’t a splatterpunk or creepypasta fiction site.

5. Send submissions to dan@mrdankelly.com by Sunday, October 27.

If you let me know something is coming for sure, I can leave space.

If I get a lot of submissions, I’ll do a two-parter. If you need more than three paragraphs, drop me a line.

Did I miss anything? Let me know!