The Winners of The Haunted Letter Challenge

We finally have the WINNERS of the Tales from Beyond: The Haunted Letter Challenge.

As we move out of the trick or treat month of October and into the reflective month of November I will shift my gears from Groovy Ghoul to Thankful Talker.

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Top of the list for this raconteur is to THANK the Judicious Judges that made this challenge happen.

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Lamar and I have partnered on a few challenges already and let me tell you this man is brilliant and totally down to earth. He comes up with many great ideas but is also open to the ideas of the others onboard. And his Scorched hot sauce is flaming great! Thank you, Lamar for being a community leader and for helping to catapult this challenge into a wonderful source of fun and entertainment for many.

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Marie Wilson is a super talented and super creative writer, actor, comedian, performer, creator, and all around spectacular person. It was such a pleasure working with Marie and getting to know her better. She brought to the table several great ideas and was the epitome of a great team player. If you haven’t read any of her stories here on Vocal I suggest you hop on over to her profile and check a few out - she is a great writer. Thank you Marie for bringing a creative angle to this challenge, we sure had an extraordinarily great time.

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Ray Taylor is a Vocal Media Superstar! He is well known for his phenomenal challenges. One of his best and the most interesting was the “Oh, Jeff... I love you, too... But” challenge. I participated in that one and I had a blast. Thank you, Ray for lending your expertise to this challenge it was a fun and engaging experience.

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Behind the Scenes

Each judge brought their ideas to the table for the challenge topic. Some of the proposed topics were: Witchy Story, Memorable Halloween, and Impossible Escape. Our four person judges panel voted on the proposed topics and The Haunted Letter won.

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The Criteria

The following are the guidelines the judges used to rate and review each story:

• Originality/Uniqueness/Creativity
• Well-Structured and Engaging Content
• Adherence to Theme/Prompt
• Proofreading/Grammar/Punctuation/Structure

We graded on a 1 to 10 scale in each category with one being the low score and ten being the high.

Each judge gave their favorite story an additional 3 points.

The maximum amount of points any story can receive from one judge is 43. With a cumulative maximum of 172 points.

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Bonus Points

Each judge gave their favorite story 3 extra points. Marie’s favorite was “Letters from the Front” by Matthew Fromm. Lamar split his three points between two stories: "Dear Ouija Enthusiasts” by Marilyn Glover and “What Remains" by Gabriel Huizenga. Ray Taylor’s favorite was “Haunted?” by Kendall Defoe. My favorite was “Old Hags and Lovely Witches” by Novel Allen.

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The Prizes

The winners in this challenge will each win one of the following prizes:

• First Prize = $70
• Second Prize = $40
• Third Prize = $30
• Five Runners Up = $5 Each

All prize winners will receive their prizes via Vocal tips from one or two of the judges of this challenge.

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The Runners Up

Originally we were going to honor four runners up. But due to a tie in the #4 runners up position we decided to honor five instead.

The Runners Up are:

“i ████ the messenger” by Mackenzie Davis 134.5 points

“Letters from the Front” by Matthew Fromm 134.5 points

“Haunted?” by Kendall Defoe 135 points

“Sleep My Dear” by JBaz 135 points

“Dear Susan” by Rachel Robbins 136 points

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The Winners

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Third Place

🥉“Old Hags and Lovely Witches” by Novel Allen

Novel got her point across with vivid images and a cutting vengeance. Based on historical events, this blood-curdling, nausea-inducing tale carries just a hint of humor that gives it depth and dimension. 141.5 points

PRIZE: $30

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🥈”What Remains” by Gabriel Huizenga

This hauntingly creative tale delivers a powerful warning to the living. Gabriel’s flawless writing draws you in with its rich sense of intrigue and mystery. 146 points

PRIZE: $40

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First Place

🥇”Ready for a Really Hot Time” by Dana Crandell

Dana gave his best as he wrote this supernatural freak show. A talented writer, he added different levels of intrigue to this story while keeping it all seemingly real. 147 points

PRIZE: $70

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That’s a wrap my friends! Another wonderful challenge completed! I want to give my heartfelt thanks to Lamar, Marie, and Ray for being such extraordinary judges in this challenge. I had a great time getting to know each of you a little bit better than I already knew you before. You brought a professionalism and charm to the table that made this a most enjoyable event. Thank you.

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Until the next Super-duper challenge Love always, RHC ❤️