Competition » The Halloween in April Horror Contest · 4:12pm Mar 21st, 2020
It’s coming up on April, and the world is a very scary place right now. What better way to distract ourselves than to frighten everyone around us with horror stories?! Fimfiction doesn’t feature as many good, scary horror stories as ‘Slice of Life’ or ‘Comedy,’ and we here at the Barcast think it's time to change all that!
Announcing: The Halloween in April Horror Contest!
That’s right, we want YOU to write a genuinely scary horror story or two to help spooky up this difficult time. You can have your story featured prominently by the Barcast, and win fabulous prizes!
What you’ll be judged on:
-Is it error-free?
How’s the grammar? Is it clean from punctuation and spelling errors? Are there tense-change problems? One or two issues isn’t so bad, but if you have errors every sentence, you’re going to get dinged.
-How is the flow and style of the story?
Is there good tension? Rising and falling action? Are the characters engaging? Is the plot well-paced and immersive? This can’t just be scary, it has to be a good story.
-Is it horror?
Is this really horror, or is it a comedy? Is it a drama? Is it a mystery? Themes from other genres are great, but it has to mostly be a horror story.
-Is it scary?
Scary varies from person to person. Even if it didn’t frighten the pants off me, I can still judge if it was, as a concept and in execution, a ‘scary’ story to the average person.
Comments, upvote/downvote ratio, and who wrote the story will not factor in. I will be judging alone, and I will not give favor if I accidentally see a name of someone I’m fond of. Being in the feature box will also not play into judging.
Each of these categories will be judged out of 5, that being the highest possible. Each category will be weighted the same, then averaged into a master score. The highest master score wins. In case of a tie, I will tap other Barcasters to read the stories and judge who should win. If you want to know your final score after the contest has ended, as well as any comments I might have, please send me a PM. Rest assured, I will not post scores/comments for the stories publicly so as to protect the feelings of the writers. The top 3 and one honorable mention will be listed and touted in a post here. All submitted stories will be prominently featured with links as well.
So, what can you win? Check out these spooky prizes!
* 1st. Place: $30, a reading of your story by me and other Barcasters, 5 full size pony horror art prints by Rainb0wdashie
** 2nd Place: $15, 3 random full size pony horror prints by Rainb0wdashie
*** 3rd Place: $5, 2 random full size pony horror prints by Rainb0wdashie
There aren’t many rules, but you MUST follow them if you want to do well in this contest. People who break these rules will be disqualified from judging.
RULES:
1. The story must be under 5,000 words! It can be merely 1,000 words too. It must be a complete story, not a chapter to begin a longer work.
2. Two entries maximum per person.
3. It must be HORROR. It can be spooky, psychological, paranormal, thrilling, any genre of horror at all. Just make sure it rightfully has that “Horror” tag! Stories may be ‘Mature.’
4. It must be a NEW story. Only stories written and published between 3/23/2020 and 4/23/2020 will be considered.
5. Your story must mention in the description that it is for the Halloween in April Horror Contest with the Barcast, AND link to the group or this contest post.
6. The story must be placed in the “Halloween in April Horror Contest” folder in this group to be considered.
7. Hosts of the Barcast show may enter stories if they wish, but are disqualified from winning or placing.
8. You must follow all Fimfic site rules entirely. No stories listed off-site will be considered.
THIS CONTEST WILL END ON APRIL 23rd AT 11:59PM PST! Winners will be announced APRIL 30th!
Horror is an incredibly subjective thing, especially when it comes to being scary. I assure you that I will be doing my best to judge objectively as possible, not on whether it scares ME, but on whether others/people in general would find it scary. (If you were trying to just scare ME, this would be a rather specific and difficult contest…) BUT, as far as how to be scary for this specific contest, I’ve included some tips in a post below to help you along and give you more clear expectations.
That’s all there is to it, gang. I look forward to all your thrills, chills, and this spooky good time! Good luck everyone, feel free to ask any questions below. For all sorts of Writing tips and more, be sure to check our Group Forum for details! And happy (April) Halloween!
-anonpencil and the Barcast
That image... I regret checking the feed just before going to bed.
Why that one? Every time I close my eyes, i can see it.
I don’t even read horror for the same reason.
If Fluttershy says unplanned guests are scary, does that count as horror?
My body is ready.
Now there's a pony who failed her SAN check...
Fucking HELL, that picture. My screen froze for a sec just as that image came up.
The reason people don't read good horror stories is not because there isn't a good supply of them.
Its because no one reads them and it leads to diminishing returns.
All in all, if people read more horror stories, it wouldn't be that bad.
That pic sure is creepy as hell.
is there a way I can mute posts like this?
5225161 Yes! Let me quote Naiad:
5225163
Bless you and may we never meet again unless I were to stumble upon a story made by you where Twilight Kicks ass and takes names in an action packed way.
5225157
Same here
Yep I'm gonna have nightmares tonight and checking for her face in my room
5225177 That is oddly specific, but if I do, you'll know!
Thank you for posting this to the site! :) I look forward to reading people's spooky entries.
So how do you link to a post exactly?
Is that the Never Tardy image with eyes edited in? Honestly not sure if that makes it more or less creepy.
5225194 Keep an eye on the comments to make sure you answer any questions
5225200
I'll do my best! I get notifications if people ask questions in The Barcast forum, so I'll be watching there too.
Question does the stories require canon characters or can OCS enter as well and what happens of a story finishes just over 5k words is there a limit how much over or is it 5k exactly?
5225195
You are at a post right now. If you look up at the top of your screen, you should see a URL. Copy that. Add it as a link in the description of your story. There is a little image above the text box in a bar that looks like chain links, or even a tiny pair of glasses (I mean, they kinda do look like that). Click that to add a link. Hope that helps.
5225202
5k is the limit. Please do not go above that. If it's like 10 words over or something, I'm not going to pitch a fit. But please try to keep it UNDER that amount.
OCs are welcome. As long as it can be posted on this site, is horror, and is scary, you're good.
5225204
Thanks for the clarification there now I need to figure out how to turn a guy that's bound to demon's into a horror fic 1shot should he be scary or be scared lol
Is the art based on Russian Sleep Experiment?
Screw Smile Dog, this is my nightmare fuel.
Ah, proof that ponies have the 1040 Form to fill out. Looks like Twilight finished her income tax.
Hm. I've got dibs on the EqG title "Cannibalism is not the FIRST option!"
"So..." Rainbow Dash dug an elbow into Rarity, who was filing her nails. "Who would you eat first? Pinkie Pie?"
"Pinkie?" Rarity raised one immaculate eyebrow. "Please. No. She's far too chubby."
"Hey!" Pinkie Pie pulled up her shirt and stuck her round tummy out. "That's marbling, I'll have you know. And insulation on long, cold winter nights, as well as a reserve calorie supply. I won't have to eat any of you for months."
it's a little annoying to open my feed and get jump scared because there's nothing new to displace it yet. wouldn't be so bad if the picture wasn't so big.
Twilight time!
*See the image*
Me: "Alright... that's scary!"
Hmmm... I'm gonna need to listen to some spoopy tunes to get inspired. Any ideas?
Great, I think I just sealed my death a week from now just by looking at that image.
Good news, everyone! There are incredibly powerful beings who make sure curses do not and cannot exist in this universe!
5225152
Most of those franchises could easily work for horror. I'm not convinced Evangelion could work for anything else.
Yes. I do enjoy seeing nightmare fuel when I pull up my stream...😑
5225323
me too, it’s the absolute best, -.-
5225334
Sarcasm my friend. Sarcasm.
5225198
Personally, I think the unedited eyeless version is more frightening.
cdn-img.fimfiction.net/story/y9w2-1432426823-17548-medium
5225340
I also like the one where the eyes move. :)
5225340
Did you notice it has never tardy written in the eye holes?
Jesus christ i was just scrolling down through the feed and saw the eyes first. Bad twilight
5225314
Because this made me want to take a look at some favorites...
5225361
Ooh, thank you.
Seriously haunting.
5225357
*Upon closer and brave inspection*
No, I guess I hadn't until now.
5225363
My very real pleasure. Might want to refresh; thought of and added a few more.
God dammit do I hate that picture D:
I might have to do this. Would be a good excuse to get something finished for once.
pbs.twimg.com/media/ERwpEaNVAAACxB8.jpg
AAAAAAAAAAAA! That picture right at the top of my feed!
5225357
It actually says Never Tardy. Never in left, tardy in right
5225127
Me too 😭. That's picture is horrific
5225116
Me too 😭. That's picture is horrible