Happy Halloween! Spooky Story Winners and Some Scary Good Linkage

Happy Halloween, AC family! Are you ready to get scared? After a week of reading scary stories, we've picked out our very favorite and two runners-up. Turn out all the lights, dip into the candy you're giving out to all the little boys and ghouls later tonight, and read on.

(Photo credit: Nvadim of Sxc.hu)

Without further ado, the winner of our Halloween Flash Fiction contest and the $100 prize is... David Donch, for the creepy and witty vignette, "Parts!" After you read it, you may never break into a junkyard on a dark and stormy night again. Then again, maybe you already had enough common sense not to break into a junkyard on a dark and stormy night!

Since we received so many great submissions, we're announcing two runners-up as well. Each will receive a $25 open assignment to write about the topic of their choice.

Our first runner-up is The Thirteenth Scarecrow, by Mark Perretta. This spooky story is creepy without being graphic. Go ahead and read it to your older kids to give them a scare!

Our second runner-up is There's Something Out There Digging, by John Robertson. What will happen to the young narrator when her mother invites a mysterious creature to breakfast with the family?

Which of the hundreds of spooky entries was your favorite? Post it in the comments section!

Meanwhile, back at AC, there's some fun news to share: For the past few days, some of the best Halloween articles on Associatedcontent.com have been linked to directly from Yahoo! Events, on a special Halloween page. Check out the box in the lower right corner of the page.

Thanks to The Body Shop for The Link

The Body Shop's official blog linked to Content Producer Tracey Pawlukovich's article "Skin Care Tips for Halloween Make-up and Appliances" today. Congrats, Tracey.

According to Tracey, things you should keep in mind while preparing for Halloween festivities include "use a primer on your skin before applying make-up or latex appliances" and "if your costume includes latex foam make-up appliances, use spirit gum for your adhesive."

People who find themselves in need of this type of advice are probably wearing awesome costumes and should consider posting pictures of themselves in a Halloween slide show on Associated Content. We have a nifty new Slide Show Library that will make sharing those pictures easy. If you do post one, send me a link and I'll put it up here on the AC Blog for your fellow CPs to admire your costuming creativity.

Friday's Featured Content: A Scary Halloween Story

Today we announced the winner of Associated Content's 2008 Halloween Scary Story Contest.

There were so many good (and by good, I mean eerie and disturbing) entries, but the creepiest and most classically Halloween-feeling of them all was The Visitor, by Eloah James.

The judges felt that The Visitor was everything a scary Halloween story should be. Best told in a dark room or around a campfire, you'll have fun scaring your friends and family on Halloween night with this creepy and suspenseful tale.

If you're still in the mood for fright, check out the winner of an Honorable Mention, Anti-redemption by Theresa Scheiderer. You can practically see the film adaptation as you read along.

Check out all of the entries in the contest here, if you dare. And have a great weekend!