It's time to put the "write" back in "fright". (That one probably only works out loud)
I don't know about you, but I love a good scary story. I struggle, however, with writing anything scary. What I can do is come up with ideas. If you're interested in writing something Fall or Halloween related, but you're stuck for what to write about, here are a few prompts to try.
1. If money, travel, and the pandemic were no longer an issue, how would you spend the perfect Fall day?
2. Create a new monster. How did it originate? What does it look like? Why is it scary? What are its weaknesses?
3. Create a Fall-themed superhero. What are their powers? What do they wear? Who do they fight or protect?
4. Two characters go on a Fall road trip. They visit pumpkin patches, go apple picking, have bonfires on the beach, do cider tastings, and stay at cute little B&Bs. One of the characters has a secret that they have to tell the other character by the end of the trip.
5. A vampire and a werewolf are getting married. Describe their wedding.
6. Two witches run out of money and decide to open a haunted house. They consider it low-integrity work, since they're just using their powers to trick people, but it turns out one of them actually really enjoys it, and tries to convince the other that they should keep it up permanently.
7. In different parts of the world, it is permanently different seasons – some places it is always Summer, some places it is always Winter, etc. A character from one of the other seasons is experiencing Fall for the first time.
8. It's Halloween, and you've got the perfect costume: an evil clown. Unfortunately, someone mistakes you for an actor in the performance they're putting on nearby, and before you know what's happening, you're onstage and you have to improvise an evil clown act.
9. You own a shop that sells scented candles. Lighting a specific candle will temporarily transport you to a place that smells like that candle – an apple-scented candle transports you to an orchard, a coffee-scented candle transports you to a cafe, etc. You get a new shipment of Fall candles.
10. Vampires, zombies, and other monsters all exist openly. There are various measures to keep citizens safe, including "full moon facilities", which provide a safe location for werewolves to go during the full moon. Most people have never been inside these facilities. You are a reporter going undercover as a werewolf to find out more about them.
11. You have been hired to photograph a small town during the Fall. While there, you realize that the inhabitants of the town are not who they seem, and they are determined not to let you publish those photographs.
12. You learn that ghosts exist, and that you have been chosen as a liaison between the living world and the afterlife. This means you will never age, and since you must keep your identity a secret from most people, you can never settle down.
13. You meet the human embodiment of Fall.
14. You have built a career writing and singing novelty Halloween songs. You're not uberfamous, but you make a decent living. When you die, you learn that monsters exist, and that they love your music.
15. You are a vampire, and you run a food truck that serves blood.
If you write anything based on these prompts, I would love to read them. Which ones are your favourite? Let me know in the comments below.