“More Howls for Halloween” unofficial challenge winners!

Hello friends!

Last month I hosted an unofficial writing challenge, prompting fellow writers to craft a werewolf horror story before Halloween :)

Here's the original announcement: Unofficial Challenge: More Howls for Halloween

I had hoped for some fresh takes on one of my favorite classic monsters, and those who accepted the challenge did not disappoint! At one point I thought I'd have the winners announcement published a few weeks in advance of the deadline I gave myself, but here I am typing in the final hour after re-reading my faves.

It's actually my fault for mismanaging my time, but if you insist on blaming somebody else for my delay, I think we should point our collective fingers at the brilliant authors who entered this unofficial contest!

They did not make the judging easy! How am I supposed to select three winners, from a collection of such worthy stories? Shame on all of you authors for putting too many good works in front of me! Next time, to make my job easier I'd prefer if three authors would write beautifully, and the rest please submit the clumsiest word salad you can! That way I'll be up to the task of selecting the winners....

Speaking of winners, I'll announce those soon.

But first, a few rambling words on WHY I sought out horror in this unofficial challenge:

(If you'd like to skip my holiday rant and jump straight into the final tally for the entries just scroll down until you see the heading creatively titled "The Entries".... Or just scroll till you see an image, that's the link to the first entry.)

For those who celebrated Thanksgiving I hope you had a good time with your loved ones. If you chose not to celebrate, I hope you had a great week.

In any case I hope you’re all doing well!

And more than anything, I hope everybody is finding ways to be mindful and intentional throughout the holidays.

We’re in the thick of the most materialistic, spend-happy time of the year— where we are flooded with advertisements that prey upon and inflate our insecurities alongside our entitlements, all to get us a little more addicted to the comfort of spending. Where we buy and gift or accumulate “stuff” that nobody really needs and most people don’t even truly want. Where we flock to national chains and shopping centers in rabid, frenzied mobs. And where unethical, multi-billion dollar corporations rake in record profits which are never, ever passed down to the laborers.

This stretch of time— from Halloween through Christmas— is truly a testament to our collective willingness to overlook system wide abuses against our environment and our people. We'll buy from companies which we know are evil, all to pad our living spaces with a little more excess.

Halloween through Christmas. These days are cluttered with costumes and decorations used once and then discarded. These days are buried in neatly wrapped trinkets soon to be forgotten.

We don’t need to look to the realm of fiction to brush up against horror, we can see it all around is in our shared real-world dystopia. If you want a social existential crisis, all you have to do is read about Nestle aggressively marketing infant formula to communities that lack access to suitably clean mixing water. And then you can read about Nestle giving out free samples of infant formula to impoverished mothers to interfere with mothers' natural lactation, thereby creating a reliance on formula! (Seriously) And then, while your blood boils, you can watch families in the first world give nestle hundreds of millions of dollars each year-- to buy Halloween candy, sourced in part through child labor and actual fucking slavery on chocolate plantations. (SERIOUSLY)

If that's not enough real world horror for you can read about Microsoft giving the Israeli military a tech boost to help facilitate their war crimes and violence against children in Gaza (Seriously) and you can read about Amazon doing the same (Yes, seriously)…. Then you can watch excited mothers and fathers in “peaceful” countries buy their children microsoft game systems off Amazon for Christmas— indirectly and unwittingly funding the murder of Palestinian children, by supporting two genocide-complicit corporations when all these hard-working parents wanted to do was give their own children some innocent fun for the holidays!

Yes, the horror is all around us, it’s in every store we step foot in and it’s in every market we browse online: human rights abuses and crimes against nature, all in the name of profit. Products built on evil, but wrapped up in clean presentation, so they can be marketed to us, the Blind Consumers.

There is no such thing as an example of entirely ethical consumption under capitalism, every purchase causes some harm, somewhere along the supply chain. We are living in a system that denies and rejects the inherent worth of humanity, all in pursuit of a contrived, counterfeit sense of worth: the dollar sign! There's no intrinsic value in that bottom line. Capitalism is quite literally incentivized greed. It makes money an idol, unto which no sacrifice will ever be too much… or even enough.

And isn't it a grand irony, how we, the working class, are the producers of our own poison? We labor in order to produce and we consume what we produce, and the elite profit.

Looking anywhere beyond an uncorrupted wilderness will yield a glimpse of the perversions of capitalism: smog, pollution, corruption, and violence.

Nestle and Amazon (and so many others): guilty of crimes against infants and mothers-- and indeed against the humanity in all of us.

And here we are, at the start of December. These are the days where many celebrate. We cling to the joys in our lives and honor our loved ones by... buying plastic crap and then wrapping it up pretty.

Yes, the holidays.

My first wish for all of us this season is that we might cherish things of actual worth: our earth and its creatures, our own humanity, and the humanity of others.

My second wish for all of us this season is that we might reject and even spurn things of counterfeit worth.

I will not shame or condemn anyone for buying into the materialism of the holiday stretch, after all, we as a people have been lead here— indoctrinated— by the insidious influence of ad-based media.

But I will gently urge each and every reader to do what you can to deny consumerism and materialism any place in your heart.

Honest introspection is highly underrated. It might be uncomfortable, but it will be so freeing.

Do what you can to resist corporate rule!

Even a small impact is better than no impact.

If you can skip the purchase of some mass produced, environmentally harmful junk, that’s great!

If you can cancel your subscription to the vile, festering corporations that feed us the junk, that’s even better!

Every dollar out of their pockets is a dollar we can divest from the destruction of our green earth and of innocent lives.

And to add to the horror of it all is the fact that companies which we might individually or collectively resist will still receive bailouts and support— rather than accountability— from our governments, because the whole system is being propped up on the shoulders of tax payers-- to the wildly undeserved benefit of the elite.

Wealth disparity has never been this extreme, in all of human history. Capitalism has not solved the problem of absolute poverty, but it has created a surplus of billionaires (one would be too much) and we're on track to see a trillionaire soon.

Meanwhile: many children starve, many sick folks ration their medicines, and many veterans remain homeless.

It's a horror! But it's not entirely hopeless. The money we pull away from the drooling, piggish snouts of multi-national corporations can be redirected! If you feel you must spend during this holiday season, I hope you can find ways to put that impulse towards the support of your local community. I understand this isn’t always possible, let alone practical. But any time you can afford to buy locally produced food instead of factory farmed food, that’s a win. Anytime you can manage to buy hand made art instead of branded and merchandised, mass-produced junk, that’s a win!

Of course… Capitalism is by design, utterly wretched and corrupt. Most of us lack the physical freedom to entirely opt out. When you buy essentials— food, transportation, health, hygiene— there may be ways for you to atleast buy local and buy green.

It might seem like you’ll get more bang for your buck buying from national chains, but if you consider buying local as a form of active resistance and activism, you’ll realize your local dollars will have far more positive impact and far less negative impact than your national ones. One is closer to a net gain, while the other is always a net loss.

But why did I ask folks to write up some horror stories last go around? I'm getting there. I promise.

It’s a rotten world we’re living in. A thoroughly fucked world, and maybe that’s the reason I’m so drawn to the philosophy of absurdism.

Anytime I look out my window I am gripped by so much revulsion and fear.

How can I reconcile the innocence and peace I see in my own children with the violence I know is flung against other children just as good and just as innocent as my own? How can I reconcile the beauty I see in the natural world with the ugliness I see in our landfills? How can I reconcile the beauty I see in a poor human’s honest smile against the ugliness I see in a rich human’s sociopathic grin?

How can I reconcile the fact that I am alive with the fact that I am powerless?

I can’t.

These things cannot be reconciled— there is not, nor can there ever be any proof of meaning, which really just means that all of this may be meaningless.

So what?

That doesn’t mean it has to be for nothing.

I guess, for me, the lack of meaning has never been entirely damning. And neither have the insurmountable— even unassailable— evils in the world. Yes, our world is full of senseless greed and profit-driven crimes against innocents and against innocence.

But we’re here.

We’re alive in this corrupt world, and while we can’t snap our fingers and fix global problems with wishful thinking, we can try to live as best we can while we’re here.

To me that means finding things to appreciate and enjoy, and it means finding ways to resist the things I wish I could change. And it means, when I am able, supporting my fellows— the working class and creatives.

I don’t know what each of the writers who entered my unofficial contest do for a living. But I doubt many of us on vocal are secret billionaires or the CEOs of crooked-ass companies. So I imagine at least a few of these authors are working class, some may even be laborers like me.

And one thing's for certain: regardless of career and income, these authors are creatives and human and therefore my fellows, whom I am honored to read and support.

I’m not rich.

But I'm putting some money where my mouth is.

Three 5 dollar tips to the werewolf horror stories I liked best :)

I know that's not a ton of money, but for me it's significant. I don't have much disposable income, but I have placed in a few contests here on vocal, and won a little money which I’d like to reinvest in the creativity of others, as a show of my solidarity with fellow creatives and with those who are not billionaires.

But why did I ask for horror?

I'm finally getting to my point here! Thank you for bearing with me: I'm scared as fuck all the time, on an existential level. The world is terrifyingly broken, to the point where hope feels foolish or daring. But, like I said, I'm here and I might as well try to live right. Horror fiction helps me spend some of that "scared shitless" energy, so that I can go back to the world atleast somewhat less paralyzed and somewhat more functional.

Horror fiction helps me cope with horror reality.

When horror fiction fails to scare, atleast it's still fun. When it successfully scares, it's a brilliant catharsis. And sometimes, horror fiction helps me explore and better understand my own fears, so I can tolerate or manage them better.

So I asked for horror fiction, to help me cope with the frenzied conflicts of the holidays.

And I asked for werewolf horror specifically, because to me the werewolf's ravenous hunger is symbolic of extreme, sociopathic greed.

Is that strange?

I don't really care if it is.

For me, it works.

Anyway, without further ado, I'd like to thank those who participated in the challenge. In order of submission, here are all...

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The Entries:

1. It Will Come Back

by Kelli Sheckler-Amsden

Kelli led strong with a thrilling surprise: a werewolf horror poem. I hadn't expected anybody to tell their story in poetic form, so I was very pleased to see Kelli tackle this challenge with verse! Her use of rhyme and rhythm gives her story a sense of rushing doom-- and at around a 1 minute read, it's a short but powerful impact. And her poetic word choice elevate the themes of hunger and doom, to a satisfying (if revolting!) sense of palpability. There are some real, golden lines here. But I don't want to spoil them for you. Give her story a read!

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2. Hunger

by Sara Wilson

WOW! This was an excellent take on the challenge, very satisfying! There's a lot I want to say about what I loved about this entry, but I CAN'T because I don't want to spoil the read for others. Sara's story will take you about 6 minutes to read, definitely worth your time! Considering this is her first ever effort to write about werewolves, I'm definitely impressed.

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3. T-r-a-n-s-W

by Mike Singleton 💜 Mikeydred

Another short but hard-hitting entry, clocking in at around 3 minutes-- Mike painted a disturbingly plausible narrative with his words here. His premise is very well rooted, such that suspension of disbelief is alarmingly smooth. And there's plenty of emotional depth here. Also, Mike does a fantastic job of portraying the depth of change that accompanies the archetypical transformation of the werewolf, from person to beast.

Oh, and true to form, Mike delivers some rad tunes on the theme :)

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4. The Night Hunter

by John Cox

OKAY! Right off the bat, John earned some bonus points with his cover art, which he made himself. Not only does his art help set a brooding tone, it also meets and exceeds one of the rules I listed in the challenge announcement-- I asked people to make ZERO use of AI art in their stories. I expected everybody to use public domain images or services like Unsplash to put some color and visuals in their writing. But John went and made his own art for the cause! I really respect that-- as someone who is often troubled by the alarming proliferation of AI art in online writing, I admire anyone who takes the time to create their own visuals.

But don't let me get too distracted here-- John's story is also top notch! John put great thought into his lore-- and I loved the setting he chose for his story. There were moments where his writing transported me to that frigid mountain campground! Starkly beautiful at times, but not shy on the action and gore.

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5. Werewolves Can't be Soldiers

by K.B. Silver

Oof! This entry really jived with me. Aside from horror, my favorite genre to read and write is absurdism. For those not in the know, absurdism does NOT mean "absurd comedy". Absurdism, in fiction, deals with the philosophy of absurdism (go figure.) In other words, absurdist stories confront the reader with the question of "What's the point of all this?" Absurdist stories draw contrast between the search for meaning and the stark realization that life proves no sense of purpose-- and that the universe may be devoid of meaning after-all... I love stories that appeal to the absurd. K.B.'s story scratched that itch for me. And this tale captured the attention of the vocal community too, winning Top Story :) Congrats K.B.!

Also, I would be doing YOU readers a massive disservice if I did not draw attention to K.B.'s werewolf themed poem: The She Wolf in the Sky. I think this was the first time I have ever read the concept of a "cosmic werewolf". Totally original-- and told in K.B.'s masterful command of poetic voice. While this was not submitted as an entry into the challenge it is absolutely worth your time. Read it! You will not be disappointed.

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6. The Smoke of their Torment

by Sandor Szabo

Stunning. This is not the first time I've been in absolute awe of Sandor's writing ability. When it comes to weaving a story, he has put out some masterful work. And this is one of my favorites of his. Only a three minute read, but it feels so emotional that you'll scarcely believe so much content could fit in so few words.

Another Top Story earner, you'll be missing out if you don't read this entry.

There were multiple lines in Sandor's story that actually gave me chills. And by the way, he's another who had never written a werewolf story before participating in this challenge. What a strong way to break into the genre!

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7. The Madness and the Moon

by KA Stefana

Another Top Story earner! And what a satisfying take on the challenge. If you like deeply psychological narratives, this story is for you! If you like gothic horror, this story is for you. A great sense of atmosphere here and compelling use of dread-- there's a deeply unpleasant sense of anticipation and doom here!

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8. Bloodred Metamorphosis

by Paul Stewart

Last-- but certainly not least-- I think of all the author's who submitted to this unofficial challenge, Paul commiserated with my feelings about (against) paranormal werewolf romance the most. His piece absolutely works as a gritty and gory and repulsive horror story-- but it also works as a darkly humorous, satirical commentary about a genre that can appear to be all too fluffy.

And if you're a fan of brutal, agonizing transformation scenes you cannot go wrong with Paul's entry!

Also, let it be said for those not in the know: Paul has a couple other werewolf pieces available to read on vocal :)

I'm ashamed to admit they are still in my saved list, I haven't caught up on my reading yet! But if you're a fan of Paul's (you SHOULD be) and a fan of werewolves (you shouldn't be, but I get it) check these out: Weegie Wolf and Weegie Wolf Chapter 2

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NOW, the Winners

Big thank yous to each and every author who entered this contest. Like I said at the beginning it was really hard for me to narrow this down to three winners, in my mind you all killed it.

To put it another way, I was not disappointed by a single entry here! In fact, your entries provided one of my favorite reading experiences on Vocal.

But after much deliberation and even more second guessing, I have narrowed down the entries to the three which stuck with me the most, in chronological order, with a blurb about what clinched the win for each author. (spoilers to follow, so go back up and read these entries before you read my blurbs).

Hunger, by Sara Wilson

Sara really suberted expectations with her story and (spoilers) what sealed the deal for me was the twist. I'm a sucker for a good "clinical lycanthropy" story, and the reveal that the werewolf was a wannabe, about to get gutted by the real deal was just an immensely gratifying ending to her story.

The Smoke of their Torment, by Sandor Szabo

Holy shit, I'm still in awe. I think it's Sandor's use of sound that did it for me. His lines about the sounds (during the attack in church) made the whole thing feel so real and visceral. And his character's voice was so weighted by guilt-- deeply psychological story telling. I also really dug the religious elements. Of all the stories entered into the contest, this is the one that scared me the most.

Bloodred Metamorphosis by Paul Stewart

It's the blend of dark humor and horror for me. Most of the time, I like my horror to have a villain who feels remorse, or a lack of control. I like there to be a bit of sympathy. But sometimes it's also great to have a downright vicious, remorseless villain take the lead. All the more so, when that villain is sarcastic as hell, and issuing meta commentary about an adjacent genre to the one he's in.

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To the three winners, great work! Keep an eye out for the 5 dollar tips which will be heading your way hopefully later today, well earned!

To everybody else....

Great entries all around, thank you again to everybody who put their time and effort into these stories! Each story was stand out in it's own way and I really can't say enough about how much I enjoyed reading each person's take on this challenge!

Ya'll are some bad-asses when it comes to writing.

AND

To those who indicated they'd like to claim the bonus award of UNFILTERED feedback-- that'll be coming soon! Hopefully over the next week.

What I'll be doing is rereading your entry and giving you line by line feedback-- unless your story is on the longer side, in which case I'll probably give you paragraph by paragraph feedback. My goal in providing unfiltered feedback isn't just to encourage you in your craft, it's also to give you an honest look at how your words landed with an average reader. Remember though, I'm just one guy so don't take my recommendations or criticisms to heart, if they don't align with your own vision, of course.

Feedback will be presented as a new comment under your story.

AND lastly, if any of the other entrants in this unofficial challenge who did not originally opt in to the unfiltered feedback would like to do so, you are more than welcome. If you would like to make use of this offer of indepth critique, let me know in the comments, as always no pressure :)

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Thanks for reading! If you have read every entry listed above and are STILL in the mood for more werewolf fiction, here are a couple that I wrote on the theme. The first one is dark and serious. The second one is much shorter and just for fun :)

BUT you're not allowed to read either of these unless you've taken a look at each of the stories entered into the challenge! I'm serious. If there are any author's you're not yet following on this list, you might find a new fave!