by Christopher "Janus" Donnelly
Hello, and welcome to Home Questing: The 19th task. Halloween is tomorrow, so we asked you to write the most spine chilling story in two sentences or less. So let’s see what we received.
First, from Bart:
I'm not a monster because I must drink blood to survive... I'm a monster because I CHOOSE TO ENJOY IT FRESH.
Next from Cressida is:
Nightmares don’t care if you are young or old, charming or cunning, or if you have the strongest magic or quickest blade; Nightmares care only for the sweat trickling down your temple as you hear the voices of those who judge you for everything you are and are not. The hard truth is waking up and realizing the Nightmare is here and that sleep is the only true escape from it.
From Keras is this:
It was by the Stoneway we found them; fresh blood drained from their distorted bodies, flowing as a rill into the nearby river. The Dragonfly had returned for the final deal, trading dreams for nightmares.
The penultimate submission is DelHemar’s:
The old woman had said to follow his shadow home, but as the umbral hand moved on its own to open an unfamiliar black door, he realized he should have asked whose home he would be led to.
And finally, from Janus is this:
It was easy to ignore a child’s screams when you could contribute it to a fisher cat in the woods. But that comfort is gone now that you have moved to the city, and the screams still follow. ( IP)
So, I was thinking, who is one of the scariest people to be angry at me, so I asked Iawen Penn to help me out. Take it away, Iawen.
In first place (5 points) is DelHemar. OH SNAP. Super eyebrow raise! Nothing becomes Scary when one believes themselves to be solo, and, suddenly, supernaturally, are not. This one is my favorite.
In 2nd place (4 points) is Bart. HAHAHA, whoops. Settle down, Diskordia.
In 3rd place (3 points) is Janus. Nope nope nope. I actually find myself more angry than scared by this one. Parental nature. That said, Janus thinks I’m scary when angry, so invoking a strong emotion within also works.
In 4th place (2 points) is Keras. This reads more sad, defeated, or fated, as opposed to scary.
In 5th place (1 point) is Cressida. It reads more in the style of an adventurer’s report than a story.
Thank you so much Iawen. Now, for my series of judgements.
In first place (5 points) is DelHemar. I could imagine myself in this situation some day, and being able to transport myself there, definitely leaves a chill in my spine.
In second place (4 points) is Cressida. Many of us have done things that still haunt us to this day, so I’ll give this to the horror that is humanity.
In third place (3 points) is Bart. It’s amusing, but not quite what I see as leaving a chill in my spine.
In fourth place (2 points) is Keras. I am not familiar with the Dragonfly, so I feel I am missing a piece of the story.
And finally, disqualified is Janus. It isn’t spine chilling. It’s just what happened when I moved.
So, including the point for participation that brings the scores to:
DelHemar - 11
Bart - 8
Cressida - 6
Keras - 5
And finally, to add some levity after those scary stories, Cressida also dropped this off for us:
Q: Why did the ghost go into the Tavern?
.
.
.
.
.
A: For the Boos!
BOO THAT STAR! ...and yet I love puns. <3 (this comment was added in by Iawen when I wasn’t looking)