This year we've been on a mythical cycle, with unicorn, fairy and werething themes so far. We're at the darker end of the year now and the chill is stalking close behind us, a shiver up the spine, an icy breath on our necks... and to round out the cycle our new theme is: Ghosts.
It could be the flickering spirits caught in an eternal dance at the heart of a new power station. The pale figure passing through the walls of a deep space listening post, a man inexplicably dressed in the uniform of a World War I U-boat captain. The spectres that haunt a lifeless planet of glittering ice, assumed to be a trick of the light until a young boy discovers the vast catacombs beneath. The Victorian detective, forever haunted by the one man whose murder he failed to solve. The old king, his tattered soul caught forever on the witch assassin's blade. Or the guardian spirit of the elephant graveyard, poachers' bullets passing through her ethereal body while her tusks tear into reality and flesh alike.
A traditional ghost story is absolutely fine, if it gives us those deep deep chills, or darker horror, but we publish a spectrum of genres and we'd love to see something with a sci-fi, fantasy or even crime edge too (which isn't to say it couldn't fall into several of those categories).
This will be our December issue so feel free to add some sort of winter or even Christmas flavour, but that is in no way essential. The key thing is to wow us with the writing, to surprise, scare or entertain us with the story.
The usual broad rules apply - the story must be exactly one hundred words long, the title exactly one word. The title cannot be Ghost or any variation thereof. Full guidelines and submissions details are here.
Imagine.
Create.
Have fun!
Email not going through, so I'm leaving my submission here.
ReplyDeleteFire
Reiko, ‘in Japan, they say the smoke of burning incense attracts the spirits of the ancestors during Obon.’ ‘I know what kind of smoke would attract me,’ Daimyo laughs. Reiko, ‘even if you were dead?’ Daimyo, ‘especially if I were dead!’ Reiko, ‘I can see you getting the munchies, and mooching off of spiritual energy from the food and drinks left on other people’s altars.’ Daimyo snickers, ‘if you hook me up during Obon, I won’t have to.’ Reiko, ‘it’s just a bunch of silly make-believe that still results in decapitation.’ Daimyo grins, ‘who have you been talking to then?’
Hi Virginia, we're receiving other submissions so shouldn't be a problem with the email address. Please try again, making sure to remove spaces and replace the [at] with an @.
Delete