Foggy Waters

Summoning all horror-loving spirits! This Challenge is inspired by the unforgiving New England coasts, the lakes too deep to see the bottom, and the clowns and gators that live in the sewer. This spooky season, we're asking you to create a piece of short horror fiction that is set in or near a body of water.

The body of water can be natural or man-made, and serve as an integral plot point or a scenic detail. Whether you choose to create a story about a Victorian ghost ship, a lighthouse where the residents slowly go mad, or a Jaws-inspired massacre amidst the waves, the only requirement is that your entire story takes place in, on, or around the water.

Your story should be between 600 and 3,000 words and adhere to our Community Guidelines. Stories published on Vocal and entered into the contest up until November 2, 2021, at 11:59 PM EST will be entered for consideration. Official Rules for the Challenge can be found here.

The Foggy Waters Challenge is exclusive to Vocal+ members. To learn more and upgrade to Vocal+ visit https://vocal.media/vocal-plus.

To be eligible to win the grand prize, second place, or third place prizes, you must be over the age of 13 and residing in a country where Stripe is available at the time of entry. A complete list of countries where Stripe is available can be found here—winners will need to have a Stripe account created and connected in order to receive the prizes. For this reason, entrants located outside of any of these countries will not be eligible to win.