Halloween Short Story Twitter Challenge

We asked you to Tweet us some spooky short stories. Here’s just the first batch from the massive response!

The challenge is still open – it closes on Halloween at 9am – so there’s still time to send us your attempt (remember to include the tag #sfxspooky ). But because we’ve had such a huge response already we thought we’d stick a few up now… if nothing else to encourage you to have a go.

First up is SFX ’s own effort (designed to give you an idea of what we were after) but from there on in, it’s all your work:

• Don’t read this! I'm possessed! Can’t help myself! The evil spreads its seed through the words hidden in words! Don’t read! SFX

• We watch TV together. I hold your hand. We laugh at the show. You ask, so I make us tea. Were we this happy before I killed you? tonypressley

As his last breath escaped him the irony didn’t; it was through the stab wound in his back that she ripped out his heart. iCoomber

• The phone beeped, Susan read the tweet DM – “I'm in the house, I'm going to kill you” – then the lights went out. linopolis

Steve Bruce to keep managers job until 2525. flintsteel

5 down, 86 followers to go. @IwasntInvited is mine. If she’d let me kill her we’d be together but now I have to kill all of you. Chantal

“I’m sorry, the Ghostbusters aren't available to take your call right now. Please leave a message after the beep.” kakapojayne

• My sweet girl changed once we married. Expected, natch. Now she regularly took my poison, the extra arms and legs grew strong... Cliff Chapman

• Saucer-eyed children, faces pale as milk, peer in the windows at night. They think to scare me into letting their friends out. damosays

Finding the notes under the carpet were the last straw: “We can see them!” “We can a scare them!” DanShentonLives

Falling, hollow echoes in the night. Cracks open revealing pasty meat. I poke it with a cattle prod to see it writhe. Gill Hawkes

• The wind howled with rage, rain hammered down on the roof. NO! They screamed… George Lucas is planning another Star Wars DVD. The_Hull_truth

Dark. Woods. Alone. Lost. Creak. Movement? Fear. Run. Root. Trip. Fall. Turn. Look. Eyes. Knife. Slash. End. DoctorMark68

• Still, unmoving not a breath released he grew colder still. She strokes her child's face uncaring as his eyes open. KnaveoG

There were no more tears. She no longer had eyes from which to cry them. Just empty sockets where the parasites had clawed in. Alan Smithee

• He could see the back of his head. Briefly. Until the creature pulled his optic nerve so tight it snapped. Charity-jane

Mor short stories on Monday

Have you tried our Halloween quiz?

Dave Golder
Freelance Writer

Dave is a TV and film journalist who specializes in the science fiction and fantasy genres. He's written books about film posters and post-apocalypses, alongside writing for SFX Magazine for many years.