Hey everypony! It's getting close to that half-year-from-Halloween point again, so it's time for another round of...

Nightmare Night in April - 2020 Edition!

The Horror Write-Off Where you can get your Halloween Fix!

As part of my annual "Halloween in April" festivities, I'm doing another "Nightmare Night in April" writing event. Last year's was so successful, with a pile of stories so great I couldn't pick a favorite, so here's hoping this years are even better!

NOTE: Seeing as it didn't work out well last year (I couldn't pick a winner), I won't be doing that this year. This is just for fun.

Rules...

Stories that you submit must meet the following criteria for contest-consideration...

• Must be written with This Writeoff in mind - If it's not written in April, and/or this writeoff isn't linked in the long-description, keep it out of the folders. If you split a story with another write-off, that's fine.
• Must be Horror - If it doesn't have the Horror tag, or SHOULDN'T have the horror tag, it doesn't belong here. Soft-horror, where the horror isn't in your face or the main focus, is fine.
• Under 15,000 words - These should be short-stories, readable in a single sitting. You don't have enough time to write an epic anyway.
• NOT part of an ongoing series - I want you to start a story from scratch, and I don't want to feel like I should read prequels for context. It's fine if you just mark it as a "spiritual sequel" or intend to do more later, but don't have something that relies on a previous fan work to make sense.
  --- NOTE: People have asked if they can do a story set in a pre-existing alternate universe. That's fine too, as long as you can explain the relevant information quickly at the beginning, and don't rely on reader-investment built from a previous story.
• Readable - Your Spelling, Grammar, and Organization need to be of the quality people can read.
• Submit your story HERE by the deadline of May 1 - Incomplete stories are fine as long as the horror plot is built up and you are nearing a conclusion.

What makes a good horror story?

Remember, Horror doesn't have to be scary, it just has to be morbid! A good Horror story has...

• Disturbing Premise - This is the meat of original horror is when you get something that seems awful to think about.
• Tension - Keeps the reader on the edge of their seat, in one way or another.
• Originality - The point is to create original horror stories. If you can't do something new, at least do a big enough twist on something old that it feels original.
• Believability - Obviously, most of these won't be realistic, but a good horror story makes you question... "could this actually happen?"
• Lingering Feels - A good Horror Story should leave you with that lingering sense of morbid curiosity, dread, or dark satisfaction.
• Philosophical Interest - This is important: good horror makes us ask uncomfortable questions about our world. That's the greatest value of horror.

How this Ends...

The deadline is the morning of May 1st. I will close the folder on that date.

Need Help?

Remember that I have a set of blogs with writing advice, and I'll try to update it a few more times this month. If you want advice, that's a good place to go. You can also ask in this thread.

What the Discord? Two separate Halloween in April contests by two different groups?

...

How fortunate that I've already started a third horror project for the month.

So if I submitted a story to the Halloween in April Horror writing contest are we allowed to submit it to this contest as well? It was written in April.

7192856 Which is the other group that holds a contest?

7203072
The Barcast just closed a contest today with the exact same premise.