The Human Animal :An Unofficial Spooktober Challenge

I want you to make me uncomfortable; really gross me out and make my stomach churn...

No, really, I'm serious; that's the point of this unofficial Vocal challenge. I want to see how horrifying you wonderful monsters can be. Give me your gross, your gory, and your grim stories - why?

Because it's my birthday in October and I want to share the love (or fear as the case may be) with everyone. So here it goes;

The Brief

"The ultimate horror is exemplified by the acceptance of the transformation... highlighting that the most terrifying aspect is not what one becomes, but how badly one desires it." - Info Giraffe, The Most Terrifying Cosmic Horror Transformations

Transformation is a theme in every genre, I think, but I'm most interested in the horrifying aspects and possibilities of this theme. Don't worry, I'm not going to ask you for a cosmic transformation horror specifically; I want any transformation you can think of as long as its creepy, scary, or downright gross.

I'm asking you to let out your inner animal to give me a short story that brings out the bestial, the gory, and the brutal possibilities of transformation and I'm keeping the brief simple. I'm looking for stories that:

• Have transformation or mutation as a key aspect of the plot

• Show the psychological aspects of said transformation alongside the physical aspects

• are no less than 500 and no more than 4,000 words long

Bonus points if your story is a real body horror experience (don't judge me I love gross out horror).

I will consider all stories submitted before midnight (GMT) on October 31st 2026 and will announce my chosen winners on November 7th 2026.

The Prizes

I'd love to give away big prizes, but that's not super feasible, so I've settled on a self-referential $33 in prizes (because I'll be hitting double threes on my birthday). So here's what that looks like

1st place - $10 tip

2nd place - $6 tip

3rd place - $5 tip

4 runners up - $3 tip

If there turn out to be less than seven entrants I'll simply split the prize pot between the three winners.

How to Enter

It's pretty straightforward; just write a story that follows the brief above and adheres to the word count, mention that its for this competition and link this post either at the top or bottom of your story (so that other people can find the competition).

Once you've published your entry, link your story in a comment on this post (so that I can find your stories).

Simple... spookily so, some might say.