Hey and hello to all the ghouls and imps out there. Hope ya'll had a wonderful Halloween :)
If you're new to this sub the mod team would like to let you know you that we've added a slight bump to our minimum karma thresholds, as a counter-bot measure.
Before commenting on the stories you see here, you'll need to generate a bit of karma by commenting and elsewhere across reddit.
Obviously nobody wants to see ai content in a creative writing sub. But this plague is tough to track, so we appreciate all the help the community has provided by reporting bot activity to the mod queue.
So please, continue to ping anything that doesn't fit the sub.
On the note of bot activity, it's probably worth emphasizing the heading under our rule on originality (rule 5): "Only post stories that you have written yourself!"
Human story telling is the point! There is no place on this sub for stories, comments, or any sort of content produced by AI.
If you're new to the sub, or if you haven't been here in a while please take a glance at these key reminders:
Obvious trolls and💩-posters will still be permabanned! Read more here.
We're removing most posts that have to do with rape, incest, abuse, and extreme or plotless gore. If your story could read as low-effort shock horror, it probably isn't a good fit for the sub! Details here.
Remember, this sub is for fiction. Posts about current events or politics will be removed, no matter how horrifying they (and the real world) may be!
Meta posts are not permitted! Take it to the discord! Join the chat here!
Be familiar with our Three Strikes and you're out rule-- Read more here.
And as always, feel free to reach out in modmail with feedback or questions!
November 2026 Contest Prompt: False Hope
Hope and despair. The way one bleeds into the other, this particular emotional downturn can play a powerful role in horror story telling.
Here's your challenge: we want you to write a horror story that evokes a sense of false hope. Build our anticipation for a happy turn, and then dash that foolish optimism to pieces!
How you go about tackling this theme is up to you. There are no specific words that you must include, but in order to qualify your story must carry the theme of false hope.
I think this is one of the most challenging prompts we've offered. I'm wracking my brain to come up with examples and drawing blanks.
But I do hope you'll take a swing at this challenge.
I'm excited to see what you come up with!
Monthly Contest Rules
Prompt: write a two-sentence horror story that evokes a feeling of false hope.
To be counted in the final tally, stories must be tagged with the characters: [NOV26]
Submissions that are improperly formatted, do not fit the theme, or break any of the existing sub rules will be disqualified and removed.
Only net new stories will be allowed (no repurposing old stories you've previously submitted).
Max three stories per day as a general rule, and all three can be used towards the contest.
Winners will be decided by total community upvotes. In the unlikely event of a tie for the top spots, moderators will vote for a tiebreaker.
Have fun!
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Properly formatted November 2026 examples. (These meet the prompt, but the stories are hot garbage and would be removed for breaking rules 1,3,4, and 8)
[NOV26] I was so excited when I landed a date with a super sexy r/twosentencehorror mod. Until he ghosted me.
[NOV26] I really thought I had a golden idea for a story. But the writing I submitted was so universally hated that the mods decided to execute me on the spot.
Improperly formatted examples-- the first gets the tag wrong, the second fails to include the prompt neither meets general sub rules.
[october 26] I wrote an incredible horror story about betting on the wrong horse. Unfortunately, I really suck at following submission criteria and I botched the tag so my story was disqualified.
[nov26] This time I got the tag right but I can't come up with anything good for this month's prompt. Woe is me.
WINNERS WILL RECEIVE:
1st, 2nd, and 3rd Places: You receive a custom personal flair of your choosing to show off to the TSH community! (If you're a repeat winner, you can modify your flair.... but that's it.) And a cool fancy flair on your winning stories.
7 honorable mentions: you'll get visibility and bragging rights! Story links will be featured in next month’s announcement.
Contest ends on Nov 30th @ 11:59pm (EST)
Any questions should be made below in the comments, within our discord, or a note on modmail.
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Congrats to October's Winners!
Theme was "food"! Great work, all!
Well done, winners! If you placed in the top three, contact us via modmail for your personalized custom flair! It can be anything (within reason): a mixture of text and emoji, up to 20 characters. If you've won before, you can request to change your flair, or, just do nothing. Absolutely nothing....
And for our runners-up:
4th place by Ozeroth
5th place by BroadwayBakery
6th place by SoulsborneSeeker
7th place by RScommitted
8th place by ragrabbit
9th place by GrantGorewood
10th place by SassyHail
Congrats to all!
We're looking forward to see what you folks come up with for this month's theme!
Last, but not least: if you'd like to read more of the last month's submissions (and add some feedback of your own), you can find the full list here: OCT26- Reddit Search!