Darlings!

I have written a little song for you! You can sing it to your werepuppies and witchlings! It is my gift to you for so patiently awaiting the announcement of the Halloweensie Contest Finalists!

Eensie weensie Werewolf
AAAROOOOOOHED into the night.
All within earshot
Shriveled up in fright!
“Just superstition!”
Said Witch, “Those tales aren’t true!”
Now the eensie weensie WereWitch
abracadabraROOOOOOOOOOOOS!

It’s quite lovely, isn’t it? 🤣🤣🤣

But now, you have waited long enough, so I will not keep you in suspense a moment longer!

Ok. Maybe one moment longer 😊

It goes without saying that there were SO MANY fabulous entries, and we found something to love in all of them. You are all so talented and creative. You blow us away every time. Having to choose only 12 is always excruciating! The ones we picked were, in our estimation, the best all around in story, kid-friendliness, Halloweenieness, language, meter (for the rhyming ones), and mechanics (punctuation, capitalization, proofreading etc.), and of course, included all the required words (surprisingly, not all the entries did – several did not included ANY of them!) and were 100 words or fewer.

If you didn’t make the finalist list, I don’t want you to feel bad! It doesn’t mean you didn’t write a good story! It’s VERY hard to tell a great story in 100 words. There is a LOT of competition. Only 12 make the finals, so if you didn’t you are in excellent company. And don’t lose heart. A lot of you will be on the Honorable Mention Lists in a few days. The judging is always the part I hate 😊 There are always so many more I want to choose… But a contest is a contest, and so we have to try, to the best of our ability, to select the cream of the crop. I’m sure, despite our best efforts, there may be some we didn’t choose that you think we should have, and some we did choose you think we shouldn’t have. But we really tried to make good choices. We looked for originality and that little extra something that makes a story stand out.

And for those who didn’t make the cut, you still practiced your craft, wrote good stories, met writing requirements, wrote to a deadline, and increased your writing experience. You produced good work that you were brave enough to share in public. And you hopefully have a strong basis to build on that may allow you to expand and polish your story into a magazine piece or a picture book when you’re not constrained by the contest parameters. So bravo, and congratulations to everyone!

The 12 oh-my-goodness-did-we-agonize-over-these! 13th Annual Pretty Much World Famous Halloweensie Contest Finalists are listed below!

Please read them all, choose your favorite, and vote for it in the poll below by Friday November 17th at 5PM Eastern.

Please feel free to share the link to this post on social media – the more readers and voters the better! Every one of these entries deserves to be read by as many people as possible. But I ask that you please not troll for votes! The contest is supposed to be based on merit, not a popularity contest based on who has the most followers or can talk more people into voting for their story. If you are a finalist, please do not say you’re a finalist or mention your entry by name or number. Encourage people to come read and vote, and let them make their own decisions. As judges, we make our selections blind. The names are all removed so we make our choices based solely on the story so we can remain unbiased. In fact, as of this writing, I still don’t know who wrote the stories on this list. You can bet I’m going to go look right after I post!

So read, enjoy, vote! 😊

1 – Werewolf Yummies

The moon is full,
I feel its pull
and creep off on my mission.

With werewolf’s paws
and dagger-claws
I’m real, not superstition.

I don’t like things
like chicken wings
and lamb chops for my tummy,

On Halloween
I’m very keen
for prey that’s much more yummy.

I stalk the park,
charge from the dark,
my growls and howls are frightful.

Cute, plump, and sweet,
kids trick-or-treat—
they run, it’s quite delightful.

They scream and shriek—
“EE-YOW!”—“YIKES!”—“EEKK!”
as I chase who is handy.

I gnash, slash, bite—
it’s such delight,
to munch their bags of candy!

TRICK-OR-TREAT!

2 – The Great Halloween Race

The excitement’s high at the Great Halloween Race.
Who will win this year’s Golden Pumpkin?
Werewolf waves his Lucky Bat Wing.
Will the superstitious favorite win again?
They’re at the starting line. And they’re off!
Werewolf takes the lead.
Frankenstein hot on his tail.
Mummy stomps up the rear.
Ghost nowhere to be seen.
Skeleton clatters up the inside.
It’s Werewolf and Skeleton neck and neck and bones
They’re coming to the finish line.
Werewolf leading by a nose…wait!
Ghost has reappeared! She flies over the finish line.
A frightful upset for Werewolf.
And a boo-tiful play by Ghost!

3 – Spell Check

Double, double, toil and trouble…
Flipping frogwarts! There’s no bubble!
Fix it sisters, time is fleeting,
‘Tis the night for trick-or-treating!

Eye of newt
Two pixie wings
A werewolf tail
Four cobweb strings
One juicy slug
A wizard’s nose
Some goblin spit
Three pickled toes

Bumbling broomsticks! That says ‘wizard’
(In our haste we used a lizard).
Rush another! Yes – it boils!
Nervous knockers knock for spoils.

Serve the brew to soothe suspicions,
Dousing frightful superstitions.
Opened eyes see we’re not scary,
Just three sisters, old and merry.

Share the night in laughing stitches,
Freshly brewed by charming witches.

4 – Fur Moon

Moon beckons, “Come child, don’t be frightened.”

But Ingrid doesn’t want to change.

Moon gleams and Ingrid’s betraying eyes glow in return.

Her bones stretch…tearing her t-shirt. Hairy toes burst through her shoes.

“I’m not ready!”

“Release your resistance,” croons Moon.

Fur prickles Ingrid’s neck, chest…nose.

“It tickles!” she says.

“Just a phase,” says Moon.

Sharp teeth poke against Ingrid’s tongue.

“I don’t want to bite anyone,” she argues.

“Silly superstitions,” chides Moon. “Al-most-FULL!”

She beams with pride and light…and Ingrid howls into the night.

“Aaaa-woooo!”

“There’s my little werewolf,” says Moon. “Happy Halloween.”

5 – Trick Treat or Treat. Smell My Feet.

Zombie walking,
moaning cries.

Limbs akimbo.
Vacant eyes.

Werewolf follows,
fangs glow white.

Toothy smile.
Click, clack, bite.

Friend now joins them.
Fall in line.

“Like your bolts,
Frankenstein.”

“Something slinking!”
What a fright!

Just a cat,
black as night

“Superstitious.”
“No…I’m not!”

“Saw you jump.”
“Oh, go rot.”

“Fix your costume.”
Mask askew.

Ring the bell.
One, two…Boo!

Nervous Laughter,
“Trick or treat!”

Shrieks and gasps,
“Smell my feet.”

Twix or Reese’s,
pick just one.

Candy bars!
This is fun.

Evening ending.
Heavy bags.

Tired monsters,
eyelids sag

Too much candy
Frankie’s green.

Can’t beat this.
Halloween!

6 – BRIGHT WHITE MOONLIGHT      

Max wasn’t at all superstitious.

(Bright White Moonlight.)

But Max loved Halloween.

(Fright Night! Eyes Bright!)

Every year, he went to a different competition.

(Searchlight! Stage Fright?)

And every year, he won “best costume”.

(Quite Right. Delight!)

People would pat his head and call him cute.

(Sit Tight. Polite.)

But when it came to Trick or Treat, Max definitely preferred…

TRICK!

(Fright, Fight, Big Bite!)

Oh yes, Max loved Halloween.

(Bright White Moonlight.)

When else can a werewolf hide in plain sight?

(Night, Night. Sleep Tight?)

7 – Halloween Night

On Halloween, Angelica
was scared to trick-or-treat.
For she was superstitious and
saw danger on the street.

Even on non-holidays,
she didn’t step on cracks.
Any ladder in her path
would stop her in her tracks.

Halloween was extra-hard;
it gave her such a fright—
werewolves, ghosts, and skeletons
might lurk around at night!

But then she heard a soft “Meow”—
a lost (and jet black!) kitten.
“Oh no!” she cried, a wee-bit scared.
Soon, though, she was smitten!

Angelica then grabbed her broom
and crinkly pointy hat.
“Happy Halloween!” she said,
and flew off with her cat!

8 – Hilly’s Not-So-Superstitious Halloweeen

On Halloween, Hilly, who isn’t a bit superstitious, wakes to a werewolf howl.
“Woohoo!” Hilly cheers.

At breakfast, Hilly spills some salt.
“Whoops!” She doesn’t toss any over her shoulder.

As she strings spiderwebs, Hilly trips into the hall mirror.
Crack, clatter, shatter!
“Gads!” She cackles.

At the pumpkin patch, a black cat crosses Hilly’s path.
“Hi, pretty kitty!” she coos.

While sipping cider, she ducks under a ladder.
“Oopsie!” Hilly giggles.

Later, Hilly carves frightfully fun jack-o’-lanterns.

When trick-or-treaters trek up her sidewalk, Hilly calls…
“Don’t step on the cracks!”

The children gasp.

“Just kidding!” Hilly grins.

“Happy Halloween!”

9 – Black Cat Saves the Night

Werewolf had his tonsils out
October thirty-first.
His throat was raw and scratchy.
Halloween was cursed.

“Eat soft foods and whisper.
Soon you’ll be just fine.
You can’t go trick-or-treating, though,”
said Dr. Frankenstein.

Home alone on Halloween!
This was worse than any fright;
but with kindness and a blender,
Black Cat would save the night.

Ignoring superstition,
she crossed his path and knocked.
Since no guest was expected,
Werewolf was quite shocked.

She brought ice cream and her candy.
What a difference one friend makes!
Stirring, whirring (all while purring),
she made Halloween milkshakes!

10 – A SUPERSTITIOUS WISH

On Halloween at twilight,
we head to Blackley Lake.
We always toss our coins in,
for superstition’s sake.

But when we reach the water,
I shiver. Something’s wrong.
The forest fills with howling—
a dreadful, wailing song.

“Protect us from the monsters!”
I stammer out my wish.
My penny catches moonlight,
then splashes like a fish.

We scramble up the footpath,
long shadows at our backs.
But glowing eyes in darkness
stop us in our tracks.

They lunge! I scream and cower
before the furry frights…
but they slobber us with kisses
‘cause werewolf cubs don’t bite!

11 – How to Conjure a Cat      

*Eye of newt, wing of gnat.
A tablespoon of dragon fat.
Swirl clockwise, just like that,
Transform this broom into a cat!*

POOF! *squeak-squeak*

“That’s the eleventh rat tonight!” Wilma groaned. Superstition said it was unlucky to cast a spell thirteen times on Halloween.

“Last try.” She glanced at the closet. “Plus, I’m almost out of brooms.”

*Wizard’s beard, werewolf scat,
A frightened trick-or-treater’s hat,
Swirl clockwise, just like that.
Transform this broom into a cat!*

POOF! *squeak-squeak*

“ACK! Curse this holid-”

*meow!*

“Sweet spirits, come inside! There’s milk, a cozy fire…

… and all the rats you can eat.”

12 – Bit By A Werewolf

I saw while trick or treating
Some shaking in a tree.
Out jumped something furry
And sank its teeth in me!

You say it was a werewolf?
Nah, I’m not superstitious.
But weird things are occurring.
My friends now look delicious!

My sense of smell increases.
I’m faster and much stronger.
I hate the sight of silver.
My hair is growing longer!

The next full moon is rising.
My claws would cause a fright.
Oh no, did I just howl?
That WAS a werewolf bite!

PHEW! So there you have it! Good luck choosing just one of those amazing stories!

Please vote for your favorite in the poll below by 5PM Eastern Friday November 17!

The Winners and Honorable Mentions will be posted on Saturday November 18 (assuming my internet is really and truly back up and running!)

I can’t wait to see who you all choose as your winners!

Tune in Saturday!!! 🎃🧙‍♀️👻🎃