7 Unique Halloween Writing Prompts to Give Your Readers THE Capital-C CREEPS

Get your spooky on! To prepare for the festivity that is Halloween (/spooky season, which I would argue is year-round), I have created a list of 7 Unique Halloween Writing Prompts to Give Your Readers the Real Creeps—and to give you some inspiration.

(That's a lot!)

For more writing prompts and inspiration, visit: tiktok.com/@lynmri

Helpful Tips for Writing Halloween Stories

• Play with the setting.

Sometimes the most eerie settings are the most seemingly normal—but there's just one thing that's off. What elements of setting might you manipulate to create your desired atmosphere/mood? Considering this will add a new level of creepiness to your Halloween story.

• Unleash the element of surprise.

Add suspense. Throw in a good plot twist on occasion. Readers love stories that will keep them on their toes, especially when it comes to the spooky stuff.

• Challenge audience expectations.

There is comfort in predictability, and maybe you want to create that sense of security for your audience as they read. Or maybe you want to throw that comfort completely out the window.

Audience expectations can greatly influence how a story is interacted with, so keep them in mind when writing.

Halloween Writing Prompts

1.

"What is your least favorite Halloween candy? Now make it the protagonist of your story." (Via @lynmri on Tiktok)

How does your candy behave when personified? Who/what might they be up against?

2.

"Zombies don't want brains anymore, they want ________." (Via @lynmri on Tiktok)

What is the new thing that pushes your zombies to the extreme? How do they go after it, and are they successful?

3.

"It's your last year of trick-or-treating, and your parents have let you go alone. At your last house, you ask to use the restroom, and when you leave the house, you realize the streets are all empty and all the lights along the street are out... including the house you were just in." (Via @inkbleedss on Tiktok)

Where has everyone gone? What is the explanation for this phenomenon?

4.

"The grim reapers are short-staffed this year, so they have to call on some extra help. Describe a zombie's first day at their new job collecting... souls?" (Via @lynmri on Tiktok)

How do these two supernatural kinds come together/interact? What are the zombie's work conditions like?

5.

"'Fairy godmothers don't exist—you're just in denial that you've been seeing ghosts. We're REAL, princess.'" (Via @lynmri on Tiktok)

How does your fairytale take a haunted turn? What is motivating the ghost(s) to help the princess (and are we sure anyone's motives are entirely good in the first place)?

6.

"Climate change is not only destroying the environment, but it's also killing off the humans and animals that make up the vampires' main blood supply. Vampires live a long time, but not long enough to not be worried of their own potential extinction with the rapid loss of their kind... which is why a new group of vampires forms their own team of environmental scientists/researchers to save the planet—and ALL those who inhabit it." (Via @lynmri on Tiktok)

7.

"The dark princess (protagonist turned...?) is taken in by the 'antagonist' band of witches (antiheroes? maybe even the true good guys?) and learns their ways to protect herself from imminent threats. She is a natural in no time... but that just means things are bound to take a turn for the worse." (Via @lynmri on Tiktok)

(For her or her opponents? Or maybe even for a third party caught in the crossfire?)

Got your own inspiration for writing Halloween stories? Share them in the comments!

Related: Let's Talk About: Writing Light-Haired Villains