MicroHorror

Wakey-wakey, fright fiends! Time to shake the grave dust off your bones and venture out into this fine October morning. And since it is October, that can only mean one thing: the 2012 Story Contest begins!

This year’s theme… is ART!

Art. What is it? People have been trying to answer that question for centuries, usually so they can exclude things they don’t like, and I certainly won’t be providing a definitive answer here (although, contra the esteemed critic Roger Ebert, I believe it’s hardly fair to disregard an entire medium simply because it’s digital and interactive). The term does cover an awful lot of ground, though, ranging from the static to the dynamic, and capable of catering to every human sense. Art can entertain us or challenge us, and an artist may choose to attract an audience or to repel them. Art may exist for its own sake–ars gratia artis–or it may be commercially motivated–ars gratia pecuniae. Art can be spawned solely from an artist’s inspiration, but it can also be commissioned by a patron with more resources than skill. Art can be as primitive as paintings on a cave wall, flickering in firelight, or it can take advantage of the most cutting-edge technologies.

One caveat: Art is a very rich subject for horror, and this has hardly escaped writers in the past. Originality will be the key to success in this contest. My co-judges and I expect to be surprised as well as scared.

There are no further restrictions this year, and you have the full 666 words to work with. Stay tuned for announcements about this year’s prizes and the secret identities of the judges. I promise you: you don’t want to miss out on this one!

The official contest rules and submission link are here. Good luck to you all!