All Hallow's Tales - RESULTS!

October 31, 2012 - Time to put the chainsaws back in the shed, hang the skin-suits up in the closet and announce the WINNERS of this year's All Hallow's Tales Contest! Competition this year may have been less crowded than in previous years, but no less fierce!  Please help me congratulate this year's winners:

FIRST PLACE:

Harvest Time     "Oh, come on. There's got to be service around here somewhere." Maria stretched her arm high over her head, hoping that the extra height would help her cell phone find enough bars to call for a tow truck. When that did no good, she climbed up on the roof of her station wagon.
     "Don't you ever try something like this, Lucy. It's dangerous. Mommy's only doing it because it's an emergency."
     "Okay, Mommy." Lucy was playing in the grass by the car, and even though nobody was around, Maria couldn't help but worry.
     "Stay close to the car, okay? You don't want to get lost out here." Maria didn't want to even be here. If the GPS hadn't failed, she probably wouldn't have ended up on this godforsaken road in the middle of the night, watching the trees for psychos and looking for headlights in case someone else was crazy enough to come this way.
     "Don'
Harvest Time by Tobaeus

First Prize
1,000 points courtesy of Points Pool donors.
$20 Amazon Gift Card from Memnalar
Dripping Blood Bookmark from Memnalar
dA Print of winner's choice from CRLiterature
6-month premium membership from CRLiterature
3-month premium membership from Memnalar
£50 worth of tokens in TheSkaBoss' browser game Lyrania.*
Free copy of Applianceocalypse by Tobaeus**
Feature in "Friday Night Features" from dreamsinstatic
Journal feature from Penfury
Journal feature from SadisticIceCream
Journal feature from pullingcandy
Journal feature from HugQueen
Journal feature from Writers-Workshop



SECOND PLACE:

OzymandiasJuly 3, 1928
The excavation commenced this morning. Max claims we'll have this temple untucked before next October, but I know he's being excessively optimistic for Arthur's sake. Still, who'd suppose we could even manage this far without bumbling ourselves into a cataract? I rode on a camel for the first time only a month ago, and the beast didn't even bite me. I'd say that's success already.
July  4
Bloody hot. Why'd we go in summer again?
July 6
We've got some sort of corner showing through. Can't determine yet whether it's from the point of a pyramid-like object, or the corner of a more rectangular sort. Odd angle. I suppose centuries of sand will do that to you.
It'll be an awful lot more interesting when we get to the proper haul, though I imagine most of that's inside. Until then it's picks and more picks and sweating little snail trails on the sand. Makes it very clear how much of man is liquid.
July 9
Arthur's had that twitchy look about him all day
Ozymandias by orphicfiddler

Second Prize
800 points courtesy of Points Pool donors.
Dripping Blood Bookmark from Memnalar
3-month premium membership from CRLiterature
3-month premium membership from Memnalar
£20 worth of tokens in TheSkaBoss' browser game Lyrania.*
Free copy of Applianceocalypse by Tobaeus**
Feature in "Friday Night Features" from dreamsinstatic
Journal feature from Penfury
Journal feature from SadisticIceCream
Journal feature from pullingcandy
Journal feature from HugQueen
Journal feature from Writers-Workshop



THIRD PLACE:

Ghost of a ChanceI flicked through radio stations, trying to find one that had decent reception out here.  The classic country station had petered out about fifteen miles down the two-lane county road, and the beat-up Chevy that held all our gear didn't have a CD player.  Static, static, and more static, then a burst of faint Hispanic-sounding music, but even the ranchera station was more white noise than melody.
"Forget it, Jules," Elliot sighed from the back seat.  "It's only twenty more minutes."
"Yeah, assuming we don't run into a dirt road with a tree across it."  Ally, our pugnacious resident skeptic, glared at the asphalt ahead of us.
"Don't jinx us, Ally."  I ran a nervous finger over my rosary.  "We lost cell phone signal when we turned off the main road."
"Don't sweat it.  We'll be fine."  Elliot's voice of reason made me feel better, even if it didn't entirely quell my lurking fears.  "Go left at this n
Ghost of a Chance by Aranov

Third Prize
500 points courtesy of Points Pool donors.
3-month premium membership from CRLiterature
1-month premium membership from Memnalar
£10 worth of tokens in TheSkaBoss' browser game Lyrania.*
Free copy of Applianceocalypse by Tobaeus**
Feature in "Friday Night Features" from dreamsinstatic
Journal feature from Penfury
Journal feature from SadisticIceCream
Journal feature from pullingcandy
Journal feature from HugQueen
Journal feature from Writers-Workshop

*TheSkaBoss describes Lyrania as "a grindy text-based browser
rpg that's great for keeping you entertained at work (or otherwise
procrastinating on your writing!)." So check it out.
** Tobaeus describes Applianceocalypse
as "the story of a toaster that steals parts from other appliances in
order to become the family's favorite. But competition lurks in the
cabinets,  and mechanical upgrades might not be enough to win this
fight." The story comes in e-book format.


JUDGE'S PICKS:

But wait! There's MORE! Each judge was asked to provide a Judge's Pick, or an entry that stood out in their eyes outside of pesky points totals. Here they are:

writerism: Harvest Time by Tobaeus tobaeus.deviantart.com/art/Har… - Holy crap, is it possible for me to score higher just for sheer scary points? I was so impressed by the way ~Tobaeus used the usual suspects of no cell phone signal, broken down car, old stranger in the middle of no where, and then took all of that in a direction I was not expecting. I like stories that take a simple plot and make it their own without trying hard at all, and this one tickled my Halloween fancy. The stuff of nightmares, right here. My nightmares, to be exact. My hat is tipped off to you!

angeljunkie: The Fish Men of Nuptus County by NamelessShe fav.me/d5i2jfl - It was kind of nostalgic in a way, going back to horror stories that were more about monsters than broken down cars and serial killers in cabins. I appreciated that, and it was pretty well written. Loved the quirky tone.

Memnalar: Schillick Fun Sized by BarbecuedIguana fav.me/d5hku5f - JD has a knack for not merely thinking outside the box, but cutting the box apart and making a trombone out of it. Kudos for coming up with the best Halloween story inspired by late-nite informercials.

BeccaJS wasn't able to provide a Judge's Pick, on account of babby. She is forgiven. 

Each Judge's Pick receives 300 Points, courtesy of Points Pool donors.


Speaking of Points Pool Donors, here's the list of those wonderful people:

Points Pool Donors: (These points will be used for contest prizes, judge appreciation and other such.)
Tobaeus 320 points
neurotype-on-discord 200 points
thorns 1,600 points
Lucy-Merriman 200 points
LiliWrites 100 points
orphicfiddler 100 points
Penfury 50 points
ThornyEnglishRose 50 points
BespectacledSloth 150 points
Anonymous: 30 points
Anonymous: 200 points
TheSkaBoss 700 points
BarbecuedIguana 800 points
Anonymous: 100 points
ilyilaice 30 points
Anonymous: 5 points
Foreststone 50 points
Anonymous: 50 points

JUDGING:

Each entry was judged on a point system encompassing four factors: Creativity, Technique, Use of Theme and "The Halloween Factor."

JUDGES
The following brave souls read and scored the entries. Each will receive 500 points for their hard work, courtesy of Points Pool donors.
BeccaJS
writerism
angeljunkie

EPITAPH:

Thanks to all the entrants, judges, sponsors and prize donors for making this another successful contest. Halloween is VERY important to me for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is it gives us a reason to relax, have fun, and face our fears in the spirit of imagination and play.

Monsters are real. Don't let 'em get you. Happy Halloween!

Stock art used in journal header: fav.me/d1fwrkp fav.me/d2o3afw www.thinkstockphotos.com/image…