Hosted by Jonathan Wojcik





It's hard to believe this is our fourth year of scary stories; almost half an entire decade. With over 200 entries this year, it's our biggest since year one, and our total archived entries have now exceeded one thousand stories. One thousand stories, and you still don't seem to have run out of ideas or surprises. The overall quality this year even felt tighter and more consistent than ever before, as if you all started bringing your A+ game for round five. No joke, picking winners is STILL getting reliably more difficult every single time, with a majority of you having at least been considered for it this time around, and those who weren't can still boast stories I loved to pieces all the same.









IMPORTANT STUFF:

- If you don't see your entry, it's an ERROR! I never exclude one without contacting the author about it first! I have to do a lot of copy/pasting, typing and editing to assemble the archive, so mistakes are inevitable, but can be fixed if you contact me by email!

- If you were working on a story and didn't finish it in time, I want to see it anyway! I will even add some late entries, if you're really just now finishing them up!

- If you need your story to be changed or removed, just ask! Like I said, some errors are inevitable! Authors have also been known to remove stories from the public archive so they can be published in a real book!

- "Creepypasta" does not necessarily mean "public domain." All of these stories are copyright their respective creators and may not be published (including youtube reads) for any kind of profit without their author's consent, so please get in touch with their respective owners if possible! Reposting these stories to a blog or forum is acceptable so long as you retain the correct author credit; everyone deserves recognition for their work!

- If you don't agree with the winners, that's fine! I aim to reward a diverse selection that can appeal to varying tastes and interests. Have a favorite story that didn't make the finalists, semifinalists or other special mention? I do too! Feel free to share your picks in the comments.

- "Anonymous" entries this year are REALLY Anonymous! Previously, I accepted entries only by e-mail, which meant that I still had a route to contact anonymous authors. This year, we used a form that required no working e-mail address, so for better or for worse, anonymous authors are now impossible to contact unless they choose to come forward. I'm sorry for any inconvenience this may present, but I believe it may be the reason we saw a higher number of entries, and made entering more accessible in general.

- PLEASE LEAVE COMMENTS ON STORIES YOU READ! Authors love to hear what stood out to you about their work!

- DON'T BE RUDE! If you don't like a story, that's why there are plenty more for you to check out. If you don't like something specific about a story that truly feels important to discuss, please be respectful, constructive, and remember that all of this is for fun.







- THESE ARE HORROR STORIES! What gives one person an entertaining sense of dread can be more viscerally, personally disturbing and even entirely unfun for another; tread carefully if you're sensitive to certain topics, but don't feel bad, and don't shame or belittle anyone else for their limits. All us humans have them!







- NEW: I HAVE LIFTED MY POLICY ON REPEAT WINNERS. I've given special consideration to writers who haven't won before, but the same author winning two or more years in a row is no longer going to be off the table. We broke this at least once before, anyway.

















CONTEST WINNERS:

If your name is here, e-mail me for a shirt of your choice from the store! If you know of any other art I've made that you want on a shirt, I can make it available!



I realize the list looks a bit cluttered this year, but we can just owe that to how productive these writers have been. It's impossible to narrow some of their submissions down to only one per person!







SEMIFINALISTS:

RETURNING CHAMPIONS

ALL STORIES:

- By Luke Jones - In some other writer's hands, this UFO-inspired story might not have especially stood out, but the scene setting, the pacing, the detail and characterization are- it's an entry that yanked us into nearly nail-biting narration from beginning to end. It's my own last-minute idea to include an optional little audio bonus at the very end, which should only play if you click. It just seemed right.- Brendan was a semifinalist last year, but really upped the game this time with a wide selection of amazing entries. The bizarre "All of This is Happening Right Now" trilogy includes Hand Museum Performance , and A Lovely Lion Unwanted Signs features an imaginatively unexpected threat to a small town, and our favorite, They Don't Have Tentacles , is a darkly funny tear-down of Lovecraft's legacy.- By Ariel Jay - The fact that us humans can so easily see faces in just about anything ... : ) ... is a pretty interesting psychological phenomenon, andtakes it as inspiration for something much weirder andmore threatening.- By Miranda Johansson - the author of last year's winningpresents one of the most unique and bizarre interpretations of a "haunting" I've possibly ever read. She also submitted the epic post-apocalyptic Undermoss, the outrageous Halloween Special, and finally Wheel-of-Five-Spokes , a nautical yarn featuring mermaids!- Hisham has been submitting some our best stories since year one, and it was pretty unanimous that he deserved another spot. Greater Striped Tanzanite subjects our own kind to a very real horror of the insect world, Disaster Park plays hilariously with how little we can know about extinct animals, Surgery Bot Log is about as terrifying as its title could ever entail, Nepenthes Chimaera is one of Hasan's now-classic botanical monster stories, and The Corner Sitter is a fun little bonus entry consisting of a single sketch. THE HARRISON APE, however, is the biggest reason Hisham is here again. This one never quite descends into explicit horror territory, yet my wife and I agreed it was one of the most chilling things we've read in ages.- Stroud submitted three extremely different stories this year, and, on their own merits, were immediately considered surefire winners. Fannie Huber's Angel Book is a darkly sweet exploration of truly abstract entities, Louisa Francesca finds horror in handwriting with a slow, dreadful build and The Last Collection finds an even more outrageous monstrosity (or two) in the world of fashion.- By Cassie Heath -, this storytelling poem includes both graphic body horror and sexual violence orchestrated by the titular fairy folk...but the prose, atmosphere, and feel of an authentic fairy tale - as dark as they once came centuries ago - is executed with all too dreadful talent. Cassie Heath also submitted The Little Old Man From Number 22! - By Rahkshasarani - Our first returning winner, Rahkshasarani always submits something interesting, and I personally thought this simple but highly original story was one of the scariest of the year. Rahkshasarani also submitted What the Sea Leaves , which I previewed a few weeks ago, Homo Parkinsoni about a rather unusual fossil, and a good old fashioned killer bug piece, Grasshopper Glacier! - By Jared Ludy - I loved this one right away, and it was also one of my wife's favorites, though it's difficult to describe it without spoiling everything that makes it engaging. Ludy also submitted two wildly different and highly entertaining dream-inspired tales, Jamie and Apotheosis! - By Nelke - Last year, Nelke won for the positively harrowingmaking this only our second-ever case of an author winning two years consecutively.is a little more strange and humorous than last year's winner, but still quite grim with an incredibly inventive premise that also feels more than a little timely. Nelke also submitted A Place in Heaven, the beautiful and surreal story of one woman's dream wanderings.- Kaivo doesn't quite win for any one entry in particular, but submitted a mix of poems and stories with a remarkable range of themes and consistently solid quality, so enjoy The Dead Village The Night Light , and our personal favorite, Let Cake Eat Them - By Eliot Lefebvre - A slightly different perspective on the old "spacecraft computer gone rogue."- By Bloodworx - I previewed this one not long ago, and it still creeps the hell out of me.- By James B. Davis - A short, seemingly straightforward monster story is turned completely and outlandishly on its head by its very last line.- By Nausicaa Harris - We loved this original folk tale by 2015 winner Nausicaa Harris, but don't miss the author's other entries either; To Raise a Family is a fresh take on a familiar (to Bogleech readers) organism, and Assembly Line is a horrific interpretation of something fairly popular right now. Popular, and ridiculous.- By Kirby Mongerr - Another one whose source of horror is just wholly original.- By Enderlord99 - One of our favorite short comedy entries of the year.- By Keetah Spacecat - Swine-based farming-town horror that hits pretty close to home for us. Keetah also submitted the awesome science fiction piece, From the Stars! - By Erika Bachman - Difficult to summarize, but creative and exciting!- By Xionahri - A short, sweet story about whatare really up to.- By Tristan Tanner - (PDF Download) our first entry in the format of a playable Dungeons & Dragons module, and a pretty killer one!- By Streicher Hennessy - Another in the "tragic artificial intelligence" subgenre and another by a 2015 finalist. It doesn't take long to figure out where this one's headed, but it still does an incredible job of it. And seriously,- By Brittanny Handiboe - A short glimpse into the paranatural via a beautiful little comic!- By ZippyWharrgarbl - A brave noble follows a talking bird to a fair maiden and it goes exactly how you and I wanted it to go. Don't lie now.- By Jacob Roberts - This peculiar, funny and tragic tale of old skin cells and body fluids is our favorite of Jacob Robert's stories, but it was a pretty tough call. He also submitted the fascinating Pastermole about the nature of simulated realities, the ghastly Rose Hollow he has said was loosely inspired by real events, and the uniquely formatted, more down to earth Landscaping - By Friendlytroll - One of our very rare video entries - and I'm always a big fan of object monsters!- By Doctor Wither - a lighthearted and fun one with myriad cameo appearances by genuine, real-world mythological bogeymen!- By Anonymous - A highly original monster that could have just as easily been played for truly disturbing horror...but our author went a lighter route with it, and I think it was a good choice.- By Carpcave - A fun romp through employee notes exchanged around an anomalous medical facility.- By Austin Brooks - This is one with some explicit sexual content and a modern take on aof "succubus," but it doesn't quite go to the dark places it could have, taking a decidedly more whimsical turn by the end.- By Luna - Very strange....and in the end, very, very sweet.- By Anonymous - The only thing worse than getting killed is getting killed because someone - or some- is a complete and utter buffoon.- By Dave Lerner - Short, funny, and frightening.- By Kira M. - a little explicit, but not viscerally so.offers betentacled cosmic horror from a very different angle than usual. Kira M. also submitted Zero A Portrait in Flesh , and Pyramid Lake , differing madly in theme and content!New stories, sequels and continuations by more of our past winners!- By Emma G. - From the author of the popular selfie.jpg from last year! This one reminds me of a certain sort of folkloric entity...one that usually only resembles a flitting, dancing light in the forest...- By Joseph Bashaw -is a short, eerie and interesting poem. The Beast in the Dome is another!- By Brian Shadensack - The humorous account of an unconventional lycanthrope. Shadensack also submitted a revision, or sequel of sorts, to last year's Zombie Guide. - a continuation ofseries includes Bootleg , which is indeed aboutthe body-swapping Cabinet , and NEIGHSAYERS , which features the triumphant return of H O R S E! Miller also submitted Creepy Pasta , which feels like a story we should have gotten a long time ago.- this year, Hartman wraps up(?) thesaga and also presents the dreadful Prison Game and Shadow on the Wall - By Izzy Winchester - Another creative short by one of our first-year winners, squeezing some supernatural horror out of- By C. Lonnquist - A single entry from Lonnquist this year, set in an office building with a very abnormal stairwell.- By Huw Saunders - A sort of anti-homage to H.P. Lovecraft, building to a pretty big kick in his teeth. Saunders also submitted Clock Struck One about an eerily familiar rodent problem, and Nocebo , about an eerily talented deejay.are an exponentially expanding universe of absurd monsters tying in to over a dozen entries this year, and they still aren't the only thing Jacob submitted. Hiscomplete stories are a few too many to link and explain here, but you'll find them throughout the archive! (Or you can do the old ctrl+F!)- By Elliot Avery - Elliot was previously the first author to win two years in a row, and continues his demonstration of sheer writing skill with. Be, this black,story of religious indoctrination and domestic abuse has proven particularly harrowing to get through, and its finale may not offer all readers relief from its sometimes sadistic darkness.- By Echo Lavender -- By Anonymous -- By Joseph Romero -- By Brendan Cleary -- By Brendan Cleary -- By Brendan Cleary -- By Thomas Wisdom -- By Lokal -- By Sygg - (explicit content: sexual themes, humorous)- By Lokal -- By Fluffy the Doombringer -- By Anonymous -- By Nelke -- By Kira M. -- By Jared Ludy -- By Nausicaa Harris -- By Ron MacGillivray -- By Streicher Hennessy -- By Kobester T. Jester -- By Joseph Bashaw -- By Albatoonoe -- By Jackson Hinkle -- By Anonymous -- By Sabedile -- By Retro -- By Erika Bachman -- By O. Hybridity -- By Sam Miller -- By Sam Miller -- By Sam Miller -- By TangleF23 -- By Acyde -- By Fluffy the Doombringer -- By Promestein -- By Kira M. - (explicit content: sexual themes, general)- By Jacobguy -- By Daren H -- By Anonymous -- By Hisham H. -- By Fluffy the Doombringer -- By Cassie Heath - (explicit content: disturbing sexual horror)- By Luna Raydue -- By Luna Raydue -- By Luna Raydue -- By Luna Raydue -- By Huw Saunders - (explicit content: reproductive body horror)- By Mr Stickman -- By James B. Davis -- By Jacobguy -- By Thomas Nelson Gunderloy -- By River Langham -- By Sam Miller -- By Lady de Selby -- By Rahkshasarani -- By Jenne Kaivo -- By Toldentops -- By TheRedRage -- By TheRedRage -- By James B. Davis -- By Erin Drinnon -- By Huw Saunders -- By Daniel Hale -- By Marcus Hardges -- By Hisham Hasan -- By MeeptheCreep -- By Anonymous -- By Jenne Kaivo -- By Neon Minerva -- By Thomas Gunderloy -- By Bloodworx -- By James B. Davis -- By J. D. Stroud -- By Gwendolynn Anathema Macglower -- By Thomas Nelson Gunderloy -- By Xionahri -- By Carpcave -- By Keetah Spacecat -- By robertdye -- By James B. Davis -- By Anonymous -- By Nick Noir -- By James B. Davis -- By Rahkshasarani -- By Hisham H. -- By James B. Davis -- By Luna -- By Paracosmos -- By Hisham Hasan -- By Gareth Barsby -- By Jacobguy -- By Jacobguy -- By Jacobguy -- By Jacobguy -- By Jacobguy -- By Jacobguy -- By Jacobguy -- By Jacobguy -- By Jacobguy -- By Jacobguy -- By Jacobguy -- By Sabedile -- By Miranda Johansson -- By Tyler Spicknell -- By Sabedile -- By Anonymous -- By Charred Newt -- By R. Pickman -- By Rahkshasarani -- By Jacobguy -- By Anonymous -- By Elliot Avery - (explicit content: themes of physical and sexual domestic abuse, abusive religious indoctrination)- By Jacobguy -- By Zombard -- By Chamjari -- By Sigil -- By Paracosmos -- By Jacobguy -- By Jared Ludy -- By Florence Whateley -- By Jacobguy -- By Paracosmos -- By Axe Burner -- By Jenne Kaivo -- By J. D. Stroud -- By Jacob Roberts -- By Nelke -- By Emergence -- By HareTrinity -- By Jenne Kaivo -- By Tyler Spicknell -- By J.D. Stroud -- By Cassie Heath -- By Xionahri -- By Daren H -- By Eliot Lefebvre -- By ZippyWharrgarbl -- By Tristan Tanner - (PDF Download - a playable D&D adventure!)- By Anonymous -- By Brian Shadensack -- By Daniel Hale -- By Anonymous -- By Paracosmos -- By Jenne Kaivo -- By Hisham H. -- By Anonymous -- By Huw Saunders -- By Luke Jones -- By Kirbymongerr -- By Jenne Kaivo -- By Jacob Roberts -- By Doctor Wither -- By Alcy W. -- By Dandelion Steph - (content warning)- By Brendan Cleary -- By Thomas Gunderloy -- By Joseph Hartman -- By Devon Palmer -- By Ariel Jay -- By Jacob Roberts -- By Retro -- By Anonymous -- By Dandelion Steph -- By Austin Brooks -- By Anonymous -- By Anonymous -- By James B. Davis -- By Kira M. -- By Mr. Stickman -- By Emma G. -- By Brittanny Handiboe -- By Lokal -- By Eli -- By Kirbymongerr -- By Erin Drinnon -- By Brian Shadensack -- By Jacob Roberts -- By Gwendolynn Anathema Macglower -- By Nausicaa Harris -- By Benjamin Lupine -- By Ben L Wolf -- By Luna -- By Anonymous -- By Daniel Hale -- By Anonymous -- By Ron Macgillivray -- By Garetch Barsby -- By Joe Cool -- By Joseph Hartman -- By Miranda Johansson -- By Izzy Winchester -- By Dave Lerner -- By Carson Albrecht -- By C. Lonnquist -- By Gray -- By Anonymous -- By Keetah Spacecat -- By Hisham H. -- By Jenne Kaivo -- By Erin Drinnon -- By Keebored -- By Joseph Bashaw -- By Retro -- By Luna -- By Brendan Cleary -- By Enderlord99 -- By Enderlord99 -- By Daren H -- By Nausicaa Harris -- By Nelke -- By Jared Ludy -- By Miranda Johansson -- By Brendan Cleary -- By Friendlytroll -- By Luis -- By Nuclearxpotato -- By SIGIL -- By HareTrinity -- By HareTrinity -- By The Six Verses -- By Millien -- By Anonymous -- By creepy pasťák -- By Dandelion Steph -- By Joseph Hartman -- By rahkshasarani -- By Miranda Johansson -- By Devon Palmer -- By Austin Brooks -- By Joseph Bashaw -- By Joseph Bashaw -- By Kirby Mongerr -- By Hannah -you.- By Tyler Spicknell -- By Kira M. -- By Anonymous -