𝕬𝖚𝖌𝖚𝖘𝖙 𝕳𝖔𝖗𝖗𝖔𝖗 𝕮𝖍𝖆𝖑𝖑𝖊𝖓𝖌𝖊 𝕽𝖊𝖘𝖚𝖑𝖙𝖘

First, Congrats to all who participated. The Submissions are all top-notch!

It is very difficult to judge these. I feel the pain of the Vocal Judges.

Nevertheless, I must make the difficult decisions, even though they are ALL Winners, in my opinion.

If you have not yet read these Submissions, take a little time to read them. Impressive work!

°º×º°°º×ᗪᖇᑌᗰ ᖇOᒪᒪ׺°°º×°º

🥇 🅵🅸🆁🆂🆃 🅿🅻🅰🅲🅴 🥇

(Have I mentioned these are all winners? True story!)

Tim Carmichael nailed it with this instant horror classic. Tim has captured a blend of Edgar Allan Poe and Guy de Maupassant in this tale. The descriptions and the dreamlike pacing make this especially powerful.

It began, this affliction, with a single dream. Pale faces crowded above my bed, mouths wide in a scream I never once heard, though I felt it in my teeth, in the roots of my hair, the way a man feels a bell too large for his ears to hold. I woke that first night gasping, and laughed at myself in the candlelight, for what sensible creature permits an old wives' tale to govern his nerves? The tale runs thus, that the soul which perishes within a dream perishes also in the flesh that dreams it. A child's terror, I told myself, dressed in the robes of philosophy. I dined well. I slept again.

A Confession Concerning my Nightly Deaths (Tim Carmichael)

Incredible writing, reminiscent of horror classics. Well done, Tim! Winner of $15!

🥈 🆂🅴🅲🅾🅽🅳 🅿🅻🅰🅲🅴 🥈

Stephanie Hoogstad knocked it out of the park with this gem. Stephanie's descriptive writing added to her imaginative tale.

A lava field appeared before me. In boiling cauldrons all around, naked bodies writhed in pain as the flesh bubbled and peeled off their bones, yet never did they make a sound. Skeleton dogs howled on distant hills, accompanied by equally skeletal riders on flaming horses guarding over the scene below. One of the riders turned his skull towards me and gave me a demonic grin, sending a shiver down my spine.

The Dreamwalker's Battle (Stephanie Hoogstad)

This was named by Vocal as a Top Story, and it takes home the honors of a Top Story here, as well. Congratulations, Stephanie! Well done! $10 Winner!

🥉 🆃🅷🅸🆁🅳 🅿🅻🅰🅲🅴 🥉

It pains me to narrow this down to one final Winner. There are several worthy tales for this spot, and I must leave off a couple of my favorites. Nevertheless, here we go.

Novel Allen has written a truly frightening tale, and it is absolutely worthy of the Winner's Circle. This reads like a campfire tale that leaves everyone in shivers.

Time is hanging around my neck...it ain't going to let go until I get my just comeuppance...although sometimes I don't think that I deserve to be punished...nobody knew my momma the way I did. If they did, they would not blame me for what happened.

Time and the Hangman's Noose (Novel Allen)

And just when you think the tale can get no darker . . . it does. Much darker! Don't turn the lights out for Novel's frightening tale.

". . . I didn't start out as a wicked child."

Chills! $5 headed your way!

This leaves some exceptionally good stories off the winner's line, and I feel like they are very deserving. Here is a very brief summary of each, listed in the order they were submitted. Please read them and support their efforts. On a different day, any of these might have been among the winners.

This is incredibly well written. Diane Foster captures a dreamlike state brilliantly.

Isobel understood, with the flat, unhorrified clarity dreams sometimes allow, that if she sat down on that riverbank, she would never get up again. That this was the country the old wives spoke of, and that her mother, or the very good likeness of her mother that grief and fever had built to greet her, was the door.

The Waking Hour (Diane Foster)

This truly was worthy of the Winner's Circle. A small tip is headed your way. Incredible story! 🥳

Chloe Gilholy packed so much into a brief Poem. Wow!

This was a quick read that marinates and lingers beyond. A small tip is headed your way, Chloe! 🥳

This is another hard-hitting entry. Anyone familiar with Mike Singleton's writing will not be surprised by that. Mike's description of a man's personal hell is haunting.

He once heard that Hell was just and endless queue, and when you got to the start, you ended up at the back of the queue.

This is what this felt like.

Permanently hungry, each sleep was a death and each morning an abusive resurrection, and feeling more alone than he had ever been.

On Any Street (Mike SIngleton)

Impressive work. A small tip is headed your way! 🥳

As always, masterful poetry by Kelli Sheckler-Amsden. I love that she captured the essence of this Challenge in a Poem. Brilliantly done, Kelli.

Kelli really packs a punch with the finale:

"One day my eyes / will close for good / Neath eerie skies / where truth is obscured"

Wow! I love it. A small tip is headed your way! 🥳

What a fascinating poem Rain Dayze has created. Just as you get pulled into a slasher tale, you realize what the Title meant. Something truly is off, and the twist doesn't come from the blade. Whew!

Oh dear God, he's found me. I thought I was safe and smart! / Now he's brandishing a knife, threatening to eat my heart!

. . .

Slash, slash, his weapon penetrates. / Oh God, the pain it generates! / Then suddenly, darkness. Nothing was around.

. . .

Confused, I stood up. Something's off . . . / The absurdity made me scoff.

Something's Off (Rain Dayze)

Read it in its entirety. It is a quick and very worthwhile read! A small tip is headed your way! 🥳

This brilliant story by Kendall Defoe is a must-read. The story is incredibly well conceived and written. We learn immediately that this is going to be an interesting tale:

The Institute of Psychological Media was glowing in the sun as [Dr. Ally Sherman] drove up and found her assigned spot. In her first week, they had explained what they were going to do with their grant money and support from other institutions and private companies. They were doing remarkable things with the human mind now, said Dr. Saleen. They can now project dreams during the REM state and we can actually use them to solve…

Test, Don't Test (Kendall Defoe)

Kendall's writing draws you into the dream sequence, and the dreams . . . well, I won't spoil it for you. Read it. Trust me! Incredible story, Kendall. A small tip is headed your way! 🥳