Out of the Dream Challenge Winners

When we launched Out of the Dream, we definitely expected plenty of shadowy figures and things lurking in the dark. We certainly got those, but we also got impossible cruise ships, surreal cults, lucid dream interrogations, apocalyptic visions and a truly alarming number of snakes.

This shortlist was a wild fever dream of a ride. With the strongest stories embracing the strange logic of dreams, and each time, waking up only made things worse.

Congratulations to the finalists and everyone who participated, this one was nuts!

🏆 Winners

On the Fourth Day You Will Rest by Dorian Hatch

Dorian Hatch's commits fully to nightmare logic, letting every apparent escape lead somewhere stranger and more unsettling. By the time the story reaches its final reveal, even waking up doesn't feels safe.

Şnakes in the Glass by Lightning Bolt ⚡

It's that spiraling, inescapable sense of being judged by your own dream that sticks in this piece. Lightning Bolt turns every fear, grudge, and insecurity into part of the nightmare until the ending forces Selene to confront them all at once.

We Grope Together by Hannah Moore

What hits hardest is the family's closeness at the center of the nightmare. Hannah uses that bond to give every moment of fear and loss extra weight.

Ontological Overwrites by D. J. Reddall

What works so well here is how casually D. J. Reddall blurs the line between dream and reality. The deeper the story goes, the less certain anything feels.

The Cruise by Sasha Desideri

Sasha Desideri understands that the best nightmares don't start with monsters. This one begins with discomfort, then keeps finding new ways to make it worse.

🎖️ Runners-up

• The Nameless by Deanna Grey
• Before Bertie by Paul Stewart
• Thalassophobia by Edward Swafford
• Where I Wake by Aaron Morrison
• Swallowed by the clearance by Imola Tóth
• Her Watchman by Lauren Everdell
• Buried in the Dream by Andrea Corwin
• Somnium by Sara Wilson
• Mirror, Mirror, Leave Me Alone! by Lana V Lynx
• The Last Room by Tim Carmichael
• Afterbirth by Cali Loria
• Ring Around the Rosie by Julie Lacksonen
• Under the Tree by Amanda Starks
• Black Box by Kristen Keenon Fisher
• The Sword Box by Kera Hollow

🏅 Honorable Mentions

• A Father’s Waking Nightmare by Jesse Lee
• Turnout by Aarsh Malik
• Hunter's Moon by Gus Gresham
• Day Her Field of Vision Split by Caitlin Charlton
• Bowling Bowls and Candles and Pepper Spray, Oh My by Raine Neal
• House of Masks by Steph Marie
• There Are No Dogs by J. Otis Haas
• Here's the Kicker by Amos Glade
• Where the Wicked Pray. by Novel Allen
• In Current News by Sian N. Clutton