Horror Writing Contest 2023

My mother-in-law lives alone. One day, her house suddenly catches on fire. It's a life-threatening situation. I call my firefighter husband several times before he answers impatiently. "I don't care why you're calling—can't it wait? I'm fixing Sophie's pipes!" I tell him about his mother being trapped in a fire, but he merely sneers. "How dare you curse my mother just to make me go home? You're insane!" He hangs up without another word. I'm left helpless. All I can do is wait for his colleagues to arrive, but they only come half an hour later. Their expressions shift to horror when they see the blazing fire. "Didn't Captain Scott say his wife was lying?" My mother-in-law dies due to the delay. My husband even misses the funeral because of his first love. I give up on him and ask for a divorce. However, he rips the divorce agreement to shreds and shatters the urn that contains his mother's ashes. "Drop the act—I would definitely go through with the divorce if not for my mother!" I laugh. He doesn't even know his mother is already dead.

Liam being a popular detective with zero crime reports in the past when he joined as a newbie at the German general TM corporation detective hide. Being the team leader with excellent career and an hour billionaire claimed himself lucky as of his bad luck was that he can't just sleep with those horrible nightmares. Loosing everything was his least thought on his list of life but the horror of his dirty little nightmare was what he was more afraid of. As his first love, Rose being the representative and a perfectionist of designing world class diamonds which has a special SPC Sponsor Profit on behalf of the top seven countries including Germany was being loved by her own and left by her father. Soon to start a family that she dreamt of but the dream was just a dream. At a point she lost everything love to trust as her beloved detective goes to coma for literally six months without giving Rose a hunch of his secret nightmares that he suffered. The fact that he had nightmares which showed the only face of Rose's father and his own mother was a huge shock to take it with the days were counted when Liam took birth as a wild venomous root that grew into a tree and his actions were the very chapter which started with loosing everything when he killed the one he never thought off.

Larissa has always lived in the shadow of her stunning, graceful, and brilliant sister, Brittany. The one destined to become the future Luna of the Starlight Pack. But everything changed the day Brittany tragically died. The entire pack, including their once-loving family and the Alpha, turned their backs on Larissa, blaming her for the tragedy she never meant to cause. Even the Moon Goddess seemed to curse her, choosing her to take Brittany’s place as the Alpha’s mate. Larissa thought her fate might finally change, but she was wrong. The Alpha agreed to marry her not out of love, but to make her life a living hell. Larissa was treated more like a prisoner than his wife—unmarked and unloved. Still, she clung to hope. She swallowed her pride, devoted herself to him, and tried to become the Luna her pack expected. But that fragile hope was shattered when the Alpha returned from a trip with the woman he truly loved, his chosen Luna. To Larissa’s horror, it was Brittany. Alive. Staggered by betrayal and humiliation, Larissa gathered the last of her strength and revealed the truth: she was carrying the Alpha’s child. His response was merciless. He cast her out of the pack, declared her a rogue, and left her to fend for herself in a cruel and dangerous world. Just when death seemed her only escape, a mysterious man appeared.

After I dropped out of school, my parents didn't pressure me to do anything. But Nicole Hicks kept calling nonstop. She was my boyfriend's childhood friend who had established a reputation as a genius. I was too busy helping out in the fields, growing vegetables, and splashing around in the creek, living my best carefree life. Writing code wasn't even on my mind. In my past life, she had turned in a project just one day before I did. Her codes were exactly the same as mine. Everyone called me a fraud and said I had stolen it. I tried to explain, but no one believed me. Later, she even did a livestream, accusing me online of being a school bully. People went wild. They didn't just come for me—they went after my whole family. Some obsessed troll chased my parents in a car, and they died in a crash. I couldn't take it anymore. I jumped off a high-rise, my eyes still wide open, refusing to accept the way it all ended. Even in my last moment, I couldn't figure it out. That code was mine. My hard work. So how did she manage to post it before me? When I opened my eyes again, I was back, right before everything fell apart.

New York’s youngest bestselling author at just 19, India Seethal has taken the literary world by storm. Now 26, with countless awards and a spot among the highest-paid writers on top storytelling platforms, it seems like she has it all. But behind the fame and fierce heroines she pens, lies a woman too shy to chase her own happy ending. She writes steamy, swoon-worthy romances but has never lived one. She crafts perfect, flowing conversations for her characters but stumbles awkwardly through her own. She creates bold women who fight for what they want yet she’s never had the courage to do the same. Until she met him. One wild night. One reckless choice. In the backseat of a stranger’s car, India lets go for the first time in her life. Roman Alkali is danger wrapped in desire. He’s her undoing. The man determined to tear down her walls and awaken the fire she's buried for years. Her mind says stay away. Her body? It craves him. Now, India is caught between the rules she’s always lived by and the temptation of a man who makes her want to rewrite her story. She finds herself being drawn to him like a moth to a flame and fate manages to make them cross paths again. Will she follow her heart or let fear keep writing her life’s script?

⚠️ Contains emotionally intense and mature themes. (R 18+) "Look at me, Hazel." Diego approached, his breath burning Hazel's ear. "I only ask for one thing... beg me." Hazel shook her head, her knees trembling. "No... you can't—" Diego smiled faintly, darkly, full of triumph. "If you beg... I will never let you go." Hazel Anne Quinn, 24 years old — a small-time journalist who no one takes seriously. Living a mediocre life, abandoned since birth, and writing erotica as a ghostwriter at night to survive. No one ever wanted Hazel... until Diego Ronan Blake appeared. A senior actor and tycoon at 34, a man who makes the world bow down and causes women to fight to be his. But Diego becomes obsessed with the one woman who avoids him — Hazel's grayish-green eyes, filled with fear yet a hint of defiance, make Diego lose control. For Diego, Hazel isn't a fantasy — she is a necessity. He wants Hazel as his, body and soul, and this obsession drives him to tear down the walls that have protected Hazel, only to rebuild them with himself at the center. Hazel can be afraid, can hate, can resist... but as long as she doesn't beg, Diego will never stop. Because once Hazel gives in — even just once — Diego will never let her go.

Modern romance novels are a very familiar and popular genre among young people today. But coming to: Becoming the beloved wife of a tyrannical billionaire, that familiar genre has been turned into a completely new direction, from the writing style to the way the plot is built, it gives us a unique experience. Invisible charm, unique qualities, unique only in "Becoming the cruel wife of a tyrannical billionaire." The details are described meticulously, every action, gesture to the heart of the character is clearly present as if the character is standing in front of us. In terms of content, as the name suggests, the couple Violet - Ernesta are equally "evil"! Because of that, dramatic dramas, half crying and laughing were created continuously throughout the work. Violet, the second lady of the Mesia family, is talented and exceptionally arrogant, she is an excellent student of the Security Intelligence Academy. But what about excellence? Violet Mesia herself came here just to pursue the male god Kelsey – the lover in her heart. To put it another way, "evil", is to steal her husband from Fiona - Kelsey's fiancée. “Who do you think this Violet Messia is? That Fiona was destined to be robbed by this Violet Messiah!” It all started on that fateful day, the day when Violet Mesia she heard that Kelsey and Fiona's wedding took place. For someone who likes to play villains like Violet Mesia, how can she let her crush become another girl's husband so easily? So that wild female ghost immediately made a bold decision: "replace the bride".

"I love you, Nate." My head was bent and I was staring at my feet, nervous like a child who had done something wrong and was waiting to be scolded. The man in my embrace froze. He broke the embrace and took three steps backwards. "We are ending this relationship." I finally heard him say after a few minutes of awkward silence. "Huh,why? I thought I still have a month left?" "Why? you breached the contract, that's why." *********************** Aviva Alexander who has just turned twenty-three crossed paths with the arrogant, dominant CEO of Dove's enterprises, Nathan Lewis. Love at first sight? That's what you may call it in Ava's case. Determined, she chases the hot Nathan Lewis and Nathan who had developed feelings for her gives her the privilege of being his contracted girlfriend after she had seen him break up with Camille that night in the garage. “ I knew you were the one when I saw you at the garage” They're writing their love story but will there ever be an happy ever after when Caryn Jones is hellbent on getting her one-time lover, Nathan? “ I love you Ava, I really do. Everything about you drives me insane... Allow me love you, please. Let me love you tonight, princess.” ” There can be no happy ever after... or maybe there is. ” - Ava & Nate

Syanja eventually made a choice regarding her life after attempting numerous jobs and different careers. She waited for a chance while writing novels. One day, she received an email from a sizable business located distant from her hometown. She quickly accepted their offer and signed the contract with them without any hesitation. She joined that organisation mostly because she wanted to advance her profession and it is the top corporation in the world for authors. Jeong Jung-Hoon, the CEO's younger son, noticed her assisting someone one day. Jung-Hoon was awestruck by her acts and beauty, and his affections for her gradually grew. He was supported in pursuing her by his siblings and friends. They get close and fall in love after a few dates, but Syanja's ex Hyung-Shi returns to her life. He visited her and made an effort to reunite them. Due to their respective occupations, Jung-Hoon was likewise quite busy at work and barely found time to spend with her. They took a step back. Rumors started to circulate. They began to lose faith in one another, went their separate ways, and concentrated on their occupations, but neither of them knew what fate desired. Their love wasn't over after that. They encountered each other again, this time with stronger souls and no love but anger. They had transformed and strengthened their character. They made each other regret everything they had done for one another this time. They made every effort to bring each other down, but it just brought them closer.

Bestselling romance novelist Emma Chen has built her career writing about passion she's never truly experienced until her new editor turns her perfectly ordered world upside down. Jake Morrison is everything Emma tries to avoid: cocky, unpredictable, and dangerously attractive. When he's assigned to edit her latest manuscript, their professional relationship quickly becomes a battlefield of creative differences and undeniable chemistry.As they clash over every steamy scene Emma has written, Jake challenges her to dig deeper, to write what she really knows about desire. But Emma's carefully constructed walls exist for a reason she's never recovered from a betrayal that left her heart and career in shambles three years ago. When Jake pushes her to experience the passion she writes about, Emma must decide if she's brave enough to let someone past her defenses, or if some risks are too dangerous to take.With a manuscript deadline looming and their attraction reaching a boiling point, Emma and Jake must navigat it the thin line between professional collaboration and personal desire. But when Emma's past threatens to destroy everything she's built, including her growing feelings for Jake, she'll have to choose between the safety of her solitary life and the terrifying possibility of real love.