One of Everything2's longest running and most popular traditions is the annual scary story quest. We've had one every October since 2001.
What makes scary story quests so popular on E2? Are we blessed with an unusually large collection of noders who are talented horror writers? Well, yes. But that's not the whole reason.
The simple fact is that Halloween is the only holiday that is strongly associated with a genre of fiction. No one wants to write science fiction on Christmas, or crime fiction on St. George's Day, or Westerns on Easter. But as Halloween approaches, everyone's thoughts turn to horror. People who love movies start thinking about their favorite horror movies. People who enjoy arts and crafts start looking for spooky craft projects they can make. And those of us who enjoy writing start thinking about writing scary stories.
So let's have it. Write an original scary story. Node a story that is in the public domain. Write a factual writeup that is about horror or scary stuff. Create a review of a horror film or story. It can be any length and any topic -- as long as it's scary.
And don't neglect Simulacron3's special Nested Quest, The Poet and The Worm, which is running concurrently and as a part of this Quest.
Your reward? Lucy-S is co-sponsoring this Quest, and she'll hand out treats of 25 XPs for every writeup you submit for the Quest, along with an additional 100 XPs for every ching. And at the end of the Quest, you'll receive two XPs for every point of positive Reputation your writeup has.
What's the runtime for the Quest? The entire month of October, plus November 1, server time. Halloween is too awesome to limit to just one day a year.
If you need inspiration, or if you just want to see some more of the scary stories that Everythingians have produced, check out our previous horror quests: I can make you howl. And vice versa. Let's get down to business., Everything Quests: Scary Stories, The Blood is the Life: A Frightful Halloween Quest, They Hunger For Nodes: An e2 Halloween Scary Story Quest, I Will Show You Fear in a Handful of Text: The 2005 Halloween Horrorquest, and It's the Season for Graves Cracking: The 2006 Quest for Fear.
When you write a story for the Quest, just /msg me with the node title and softlink your writeup to this node. I'll include a list of all the Quest participants below.
Let's get going, children. The lights are dim, the wind howls at the window. Let's scare each other.
Fiction:
'Til Death by grayfox
What's He Building? by borgo
October 1, 2007 by sam512
Digital Hell by Endperform
The Basement by Atsuko
The abyss gazes also: Flight by Evil Catullus
Two escapes by kanoodle
I just prune the branches by TanisNikana
Listen, we ended up ruined. I find my answers where I can. by Danneeness
Off the catwalk, into the dark by Dimview
All of what I almost remember by The Debutante
Give Her To The Monsters by prole
The Vending Machine Murders by sam512
The Cave by Venkman
The Biggy Hat Show by artman2003
There was a Man Dwelt by a Churchyard by The Custodian
Locked Up and Locked Out by Unitedite
The abyss gazes also: Detour by Evil Catullus
The Devil Went Down To Tesco by XWiz
The Monster in the Cupboard by DonJaime
When you whisper to a dog, sometimes it whispers back by Rai Tai
dead weight by XWiz
Inspiration; itching like a scab beneath my fingertips by Apollyon
Encroachment by Lord Brawl
Salem House of Horrors by Deer Slayer
bone whistle by mordel
Couch Potato by kanoodle
The battle is within by Ysardo
Dead calm by kanoodle
The Poet and the Worm by bj747
Last Night on Earth by TanisNikana
She Came and Went Like Wind (A Selkie Story) by pfenix
Killall Lusers by endperform
Fact:
The Apparition in the Changing Rooms by Andara
More than we bargained for by kanoodle
Refrigerium by hapax
David McGreavy by aneurin
How to kill a vampire by aneurin
Hara Castle by Augustine
Reviews:
The Strickland Demon by Timeshredder
Ordinary Horror by Jet-Poop
Installing Linux on a Dead Badger (And Other Oddities) by greth
Mark of the Vampire by Timeshredder
The Car by Timeshredder
Poetry:
The Poet and the Worm by borgo
The Poet and the Worm by Apollyon
The Ballad of One Tooth by Apollyon
The Poet and the Worm by Lord Brawl
Riding the cycle we're given by kanoodle
Doctor Patient Privilege by borgo
A Death in the Family by Andrew Aguecheek
The Quest is now at an end! Thanks to everyone who participated! | 
