The Unreliable Narrator Literary Challenge: Horror

The admin team of Vocal + Assist is sponsoring another challenge. This one is called "The Unreliable Narrator Literary Challenge: Horror."

❤️❤️ Please read rules toward the end of this post...

Q: What is an unreliable narrator?

A: I am going to give you a few descriptions of what an unreliable narrator is as follows:

The following description is from Jerichowriters.com:

What does unreliable narrator mean? An unreliable narrator can be defined as any narrator who misleads readers, either deliberately or unwittingly. Many are unreliable through circumstances, character flaws or psychological difficulties. In some cases, a narrator withholds key information from readers, or they may deliberately lie or misdirect.

While the term is fairly new – it was first used by literary critic Wayne C Booth in 1961 – unreliable narrator examples date back hundreds of years. Medieval poet and chronicler Geoffrey Chaucer used various unreliable narrators in The Canterbury Tales, for example the bragging and exaggerating Wife of Bath.

Some Shakespearean characters could also be described as unreliable. Could we trust Hamlet, in his grief and paranoia, to tell us the whole truth and nothing but the truth?

In modern writing, unreliable narrators feature frequently in crime and thriller books, but the technique can be used to withhold information and surprise readers of any genre, as the many thousands of readers who enjoyed romantic suspense The Man Who Didn’t Call by Rosie Walsh can testify.

An unreliable narrator usually tells the story in first person, but there are notable exceptions to this such as Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None which uses limited third person. The world’s bestselling mystery novel uses an unknown narrator who shows us the numerous points of view of the potential killers (and victims) trapped on an island.

The unreliable narrator in literature, if written well, will cause the reader to experience the delight of a shocking twist or a dawning realization that they have been misled.

In my own two-part story "The Flashlight," the lead character, Isidoro, is an unintentional unreliable narrator.

The Flashlight Part One:

The Flashlight Part Two:

The following is from jerryjenkins.com:

The unreliable narrator, a device that, true to its name, allows the storyteller to take readers on a wild goose chase as they determine what’s true, what’s not, and why they feel bamboozled.

An unreliable narrator ignorantly or intentionally offers inaccurate information that misleads or confuses the reader.

The viewpoint narrator must speak and act consistently with his character. We see things through his eyes, hear things through his voice, and intuit his character through his actions.

Types of Unreliable Narrators

1. Picaro. A narrator with a propensity for exaggeration.

Examples: Moll Flanders by Daniel Defoe, Nelly in Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte, Michael Scott in NBC’s The Office.

2. Madman. Suffering from PTSD or something similar, this narrator has a severe mental illness.

Examples: Patrick Bateman in American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis, Tyler Durden in Fight Club by Chuck Palaniuk, Franz Kafka’s narrators.

3. Clown. Thinks storytelling is a joke and toys with readers.

4. Naïf. An immature or ignorant narrator who sees things only through his own point of view.

Examples: Huck in Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, Forrest in Forrest Gump by Winston Groom, Holden Caulfield in Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, Rachel in The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins, Dr. Malcolm Crowe in The Sixth Sense, a film written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan.

5. Liar. A narrator who intentionally misrepresents the truth, often for self preservation.

Examples: Dr. Sheppard in The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie, Pi Patel in Life of Pi by Yann Martel, Amy and Nick in Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn.

Most successful unreliable narrators are charming. Your goal is for the reader to like them enough to keep turning the pages. (Even antagonists should have likable, redeemable qualities.)

❤️❤️ Now we have an idea of what an unreliable narrator is. So now let's get on with the rules of this Challenge/Contest.

1. The goal is to write a microfiction story of 200 to 600 words.

2. The story must be a horror or scary story.

3. Your story must be submitted to the Fiction community in the microfiction category.

4. Since the expectation is to create something of literary excellence the deadline for accepting stories is Monday November 6th.

5. Please post the link to your story (stories) in the comments section of this Challenge announcement.

6. In order to qualify you must subtitle the story: "The Vocal + Assist Unreliable Narrator Challenge". Also at the beginning of the story mention: This story is part of the Vocal + Assist on Facebook Unreliable Narrator Challenge. You can learn more about it here: (embed the URL to this post so others can click to this post for the official instructions). Here's the URL: https://vocal.media/fiction/the-unreliable-narrator-literary-challenge-horror

7. The last Vocal + Assist was a raffle. This time the challenge will be a contest in which the two best stories win a prize. The stories will be judged by a panel of three judges. The judges will be announced shortly.

8. The first prize winner will win a $10 tip and the second prize winner will win a $5 tip.

The idea for this challenge came from V+A admin River Joy. Thank you River for such a brilliant idea.

Let's have fun friends and write some truly great creative scary stories!!!

Disclaimer: Judges can submit stories but will not be eligible to win.

Due date for stories in Monday November 6th

With Love, RHC 💕💕💞