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From Haunted Pamlico

Though social distancing continues for now, local nonprofits are making plans to help save Halloween.

Two of these groups will launch a new, horror-centered writing contest on May 1. Haunted Pamlico and the Pamlico Writers Group recently announced the first-ever Haunt Season Writing Competition.

The competition will honor the top poems, essays, short fiction or other works of prose dealing with the haunt season, which peaks in October. The judges will accept ghost stories, folklore or other relevant subjects comprised of 2,000 words or poems of unspecified length.

“Doing what scares you makes you stronger,” said Sherri Lupton Hollister, Pamlico Writers Group president. “No one knows that more than a writer. Writing horror stories is just another way of embracing our fear and facing it down.”

The entry period runs from May 1 to Aug. 1.

Writers should email entries, preferably in a Word document format, to hauntedpamlico1@gmail.com. All work must be original, with all publishing rights held by the author.

There is no fee to enter.

Judges have been drawn from the Writers Group and Haunted Pamlico.

Awards will be presented to a winner and two finalists during Carnival of Darkness: The Haunted Pamlico Film Festival on Oct. 10 at Raised in a Barn Farm in Chocowinity.

Honored entries – there will be a winner and two finalists — may be published in a Writers Group anthology.

Based in Beaufort County, the Pamlico Writers Group is a nonprofit focused on helping writers achieve their goals. Based in Washington, Haunted Pamlico is part of Alternative Stage, a pending nonprofit which produces films and live events.