Trials of Astania

👑 October 2023 Winners: House of Ever Growing Horrors and The Ritual

Thanks to everyone that participated in last month's Trials of Astania! We were thrilled to see so many fantastic entries, and the judging process was extremely difficult. Thank you to the MelloniaCommunity for collaborating with us on this contest!

Please congratulate our newest Champions of Astania: MilaForLife with her short story "House of Ever Growing Horrors," and ClaraElisibeth with their graphic entry "The Ritual"!

A special shout-out to thescarystars with the graphic entry "Scary Mate" for scoring second place! It was an extremely close race, and out of 120 points possible, there was only half a point difference between first and second!

Please see the winning entries below!

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: .☽ . :☆ﾟ. ───

An excerpt from "House of Ever Growing Horrors" by MilaForLife

Prompts:
- A group of friends enter a supposedly haunted house, but quickly become bored when nothing happens. When they're about to leave, the door they entered through is no longer there.
- This will be you and your partner's first Halloween together. As the holiday nears, they begin to act strangely. Eventually, you learn they're not as human as you assumed.

Suddenly, I noticed that something was amiss amongst the teddy bears and dolls that were lined up against the wall. I couldn't quite figure it out, but I felt the hairs on my neck stand up. I walked up to one of the teddy bears whose button eyes looked at me. Like it was watching me, which would explain the sudden sensation of weirdness.

"Haley? Did you find something?" Chloe asked me as she joined me and directed her gaze at the dolls as well.

"I don't know... I—"

"Come on guys! It's not playing with stupid dolls time! We need to be looking for that–"

He didn't finish his sentence as the entire house became eerily quiet.

"David?" Jamie asked as she shone her flashlight towards where David had previously stood, but he was nowhere to be seen.

"David?!" she asked, this time loud enough that the sound of her voice bounced off the walls.

A clattering sound ensued from our right side, about 30 feet away. Both Jamie and Chloe squealed like two pigs at slaughter while I froze and intently looked into the dark. Shining my flashlight towards the noises that sounded like they were from the kitchen based on the all too familiar clattering of pots and pans, I started to walk in that direction.

"Where are you going?" Jared asked as I felt him grab me by the elbow.

"I'm going to go find David," I hissed, shaking off his grip.

"It's too dangerous," he insisted, but I felt his hold on me loosen a little.

I glared at him, unsure if he could even see my scowl but he must have, since he released my arm.

"Maybe David is just playing with us?" Chloe meekly asked, even though her voice suggested otherwise, "He has spent the past hour complaining about how boring and unscary Halloween has been so far."

"If that's the case, then he is doing one hell of a job," Jamie whispered as she rubbed her arms and trembled slightly.

"Look, I'm going there, so if either of you idiots want to join me, you're more than welcome to," I snapped, causing them both to jump.

"I'll be right behind you." Jared said.

What a coward, I thought.

I had no idea if Chloe and Jamie were following me and Jared as we started heading in the direction where we had heard the now-silent sounds. After about 30 feet, I entered into a room that looked like the kitchen. I walked up towards the rotting corner that contained decomposing meat and other foods, as if the vomit-inducing smell didn't indicate that. Suddenly, I heard coming from my right side what sounded like a spoon or knife clattering to the floor, making me whirl around towards the noise. I shone my flashlight all around me, but there was nothing... and nobody out of the ordinary.

"What the hell?" I heard Jared say about 2 feet in front of me.

"What is it?" I asked as I approached him.

He gestured with his flashlight towards the ground, and I caught sight of some dark liquid that looked like cherry Jell-O. I leaned down a little and saw that it was something entirely different.

It was blood. A trail of splattered dark red blood that led around the kitchen counter. I followed the trail until I heard a wheezing sound suddenly appear in front of me. I froze, slowly pointing my flashlight towards the noise until it shone upon the grisliest sight I've ever seen in my life.

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"The Ritual" by ClaraElisibeth

Prompt:
A faraway village has a ritual of cannibalism once a year. The ritual needs a newborn to be sacrificed but a mother hides her newborn to save from the ritual by escaping the village. The child develops a taste for blood immediately after the ritual fails. (From the MelloniaCommunity)

Congratulations to MilaForLife and ClaraElisibeth! Thank you to everyone for participating, and for the MelloniaCommunity for their exciting prompts, along with their assistance with the judging. Winners, if you would like to claim your free cover from their graphic shop, please message them!

We hope to see everyone's entries in the next Trials of Astania!