OUR FLASH CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED
Flash Fiction contest – FOLK Myth & Fairytales
Unexplained noises from the house at the end of your street. Bizarre cryptids and forgotten places. Symbols that ward off evil. Places you dare not go. Words you dare not say.
This year’s Tales to Terrify flash fiction contest takes us from the dawn of the spoken word to the darkest depths of modern day, with whispered tales of the terrors that have followed us down through the ages. Do your worst.
Contest Rules
- The story must have horror elements and relate to the theme of Folk Myth and Fairytales. How you choose to interpret that theme is up to you, but it must be central to the story.
- The image included on this page is for interest purposes only and not intended as a prompt.
- Deadline to submit is March 1, 2025 (11:59pm CST)
- It must be previously unpublished.
- Submissions must be in English, but authors from anywhere in the world are welcome to submit.
- A minimum of ONE winner will be announced on or before May 1, 2025. The top flash piece will be produced for audio narration on Tales to Terrify and receive $50 (USD). Up to four runners up may also be considered for production.
- Authors retain the rights to their submitted stories.
Submission Format
- up to 1,000 words
- Microsoft Word or Rich Text Format
- Double spaced
- 12 pt. Courier New or Times New Roman font
Please include author, title and word count on first page.
Stories pasted into the body of an email will be rejected without being read.
For further details on submission criteria and what styles/topics of horror fiction we look for, please check out our standard Submissions page.
MEET OUR GUEST JUDGES | Spirits Podcast
Julia Schifini
Julia is a historian, voice actor, sound designer, and lover of all fancy foods. She is a co-host of Spirits, a co-host of Join the Party, and the Community Manager at Multitude. She loves world-building, professional wrestling, fancy cheese, and all things creepy and cool.
Amanda McLoughlin
Amanda is the creator and CEO of Multitude, an independent podcast collective and production studio based in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. She is a co-host of Spirits, Join the Party, and Attach Your Résumé. Before starting Multitude in 2018, she was a YouTuber and small business advisor; in 2020, she was named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 Media list. She and Julia grew up on Long Island reading fantasy books and learning technical theater. She now lives in Brooklyn, New York with her husband Eric Silver and dozens of plants.