Mom, author, nurse, teacher . . . reading the world around me

Tag: Halloweensie

Children of the Bog

I’ve come to love holiday writing contests. This is my entry to Susanna Leonard Hill’s wonderful Halloweensie writing contest.

The rules require you to write a Halloween story with kid appeal with a max of 100 words–including some variation of the words treat, slither, and scare.

Children of the Bog

(100 words)

Halloween night,

adults of Reaper’s Bog

beseech their children

to stay close for trick-or-treating.

For every Hallows-Eve, a lone child

is swallowed up by the bog,

and the terrifying creatures within.

Do they slither, scamper, or snatch?

Growl, grimace, or gnaw?

No child’s ever returned to tell.

Betsy Braveheart isn’t scared.

Stuffing her princess costume

behind a tree, she pulls a slingshot

from her pocket,

creeps to swamp’s edge…

and waits.

At dawn, only her costume’s recovered.

She’s joined the bog children.

Sadly…

Betsy’s scribbled note,

roughly jammed into a gnarled tree’s hole,

goes unnoticed.

“They were human once too!”

Other Halloweensie Contenders

I’ve already posted my entry for Susanna Hill’s annual Halloweensie kid lit contest this year. But, I had so much fun writing stories of 100 words or less using the words goodiesglow-in-the-dark, and goosebumps that I thought I’d create a post for the runner ups that I wrote. I could have entered multiple times, but I decided to just pick my favorite–which you can read here.

Below are the 2 other stories I wrote using the contest guidelines. Both of these come in at exactly 100 words. I hope you enjoy them!

Truth or Scare

On Johnson’s Farm, Jack-O-Lanterns flickered, dimmed, and finally darkened.

Goody wrappers littered fields.

Dried leaves became tumbleweeds.

Inside the barn, Gary Goose, Sam Sheep and Penelope Pig huddled in an empty stall for their annual “Scaredown”—repeating gossip overheard from humans.

“Junior wants a glow-in-the-dark wool hoodie,” whispered Penelope.

Sam shuddered, imagining the buzzing sheers.

“Grandma wants a new down pillow,” she added.

Gary shivered, remembering those awful goosebumps after plucking.

“What’ve you two got?” asked Penelope.

Gary and Sam gulped, and exchanged glances.

“You win.”

They simply couldn’t tell her about the weekend’s breakfast menu…

Sausage biscuits with gravy.

The Best Costume Ever

“Is my costume ready?” Lilly called.

Her mom made the best costumes. Last year Lilly was a glow-in-the-dark robot from outer space. The year before she was a ghastly ghoul that gave everyone some serious goosebumps!

This year, Mom had a new baby—and a whole lot less time.

Lilly tried to understand. Mom was tired and busy. But sometimes Lilly missed having her to herself.

“Ready!” call Mom.

When they set out for trick-or-treating, Mom’s hands were free for taking pictures, and holding collected goodies.

Lilly’s costume was the best ever.

A kangaroo…with her baby brother in her pouch.

And that’s a wrap for Halloweensie 2021! Thanks for stopping by and reading.

Impossible Assignment?

I decided to write two completely different stories for Susanna Leonard Hill’s tenth annual Halloweensie Writing Contest this year. So, here’s the second one. It’s kind of an inside joke for all of us who first looked at the contest rules and thought we couldn’t do it! I hope you enjoy it!

Photo by August de Richelieu on Pexels.com

The Impossible Assignment

97 words

“What’s wrong?” Henry’s sister Rachel asked.

“This assignment’s impossible. It’s bad enough having school on Halloween.”

She scanned his computer. “It’s definitely possible.”

“I can’t write a story in only 100 words using these three exact words.”

“Sure you can!”

“But how?” he wailed. Henry couldn’t trick-or-treat until he finished.

“Hmmm,” Rachel said. “I’ll be right back.”

At the sound of footsteps, Henry looked up.

“Why are you wearing my creepy skeleton mask?”

“There’s your story!” she said. “Write it down, and keep it short!”

“You’re the best!” Henry said with a grin as he started typing.

Sammy Skeleton’s Sticky Situation

I wrote this little story for Susanna Leonard Hill’s tenth annual Halloweensie Writing Contest. It’s a fun and challenging task to write a Halloween story in only 100 words. To make it even more challenging, some form of these words has to be included in the story: Skeleton, creep and mask. I hope you enjoy it!

Image used with permission by its creator, DazzlinggirlDIYShop

Sammy Skeleton’s Sticky Situation

99 words

Halloween was Sammy Skeleton’s favorite!
But, before he’d gotten far…
Squish.
“What creep threw gum on the sidewalk?”
His metatarsals were icky.
His cuboid bone was sticky.
“I’m a mess!”
Tears filled his Sugar Skull mask.
Before Sammy’s candy bucket was half-full, grass and leaves clung to his foot.
Gretchen Ghoul laughed.
Tommy Troll pointed with his club.
But, Wendy Witch said, “Let me brew some Go-away Goo.”
Clank. Clatter. His foot plunged into her cauldron.
Sizzle. Frizzle. Then…
“The gum’s gone!” Sammy shouted. “Thanks!”
“Let’s finish trick-or-treating,” said Wendy.
“Great,” agreed Sammy. “But, first I’ll get my shoes!”

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Thanks for reading! And if you love the gorgeous mask in the picture as much as I do, purchase link is in the caption. 🙂

Just One Child

Happy Halloween Everyone. I wrote this 100 word story for the 9th annual Halloweensie contest on Susanna Leonard Hill’s website. Click the link to check out contest rules. 🙂 Enjoy!

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Creak. Her rocking chair broke the eerie silence.

“Just one child,” she thought.

She adjusted her pointy black hat, and rubbed her gnarled hands together greedily. “Just one.”

Yet, none came.

Her eyes scanned fake cobwebs and tattered scarecrows with disgust.

At long last, she rose to go inside—heart heavy, lonely.

Then, a chorus of voices behind her.

Trick or treat!”

A potion for her soul! She turned. Not just one child. Her great-grandchildren!

“Sorry we’re so late. It’s a long drive, but we wanted to visit on your first “nursing home Halloween”.

A full heart. A smile. Happy.

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