Let's start off spooky season with a round about the unexplained. Invent a cryptid or write a tale about bigfoot hunters or whatever the hell that thing is in the picture. It's important that the creatures (or aliens, or Atlanteans or whatevs) be real, and it's not MKUltra or anything with a mundane if insane explanation. I watched a thing where a guy got caught in the slipstream of a UFO and bounced through time, so that kind of story is cool too.

I used to thank all the critters every week for putting in the effort, and I forgot to verbalize that in thread the last couple rounds. So thank you everyone who crits any story. I try to read all of them, even when I am on writing hiatus. So if the ghosts and goblins world isn't to your taste, you can also write about a critic of some sort. Movies, TV, books, art, plays, restaurants--or something that's outside the normal media realm, that could be neat. For this though, I expect that an asshole critic will have a comeuppance, or be so acerbically dry that it's basically a standup routine.

Deadline: October 15, 11:59PM Eastern Time US

Here's the calculator to the best of my meager ability. But don't trust my work, double check,
https://time.is/compare/1159PM_15_Oct_2023_in_ET/SGT/PT/Wellington/Melbourne/London

There is no sign up deadline, just the submission deadline. If you post in time, you're in. If you want an incentive, anyone who signs up by Friday 11:59PM ET gets an extra 200 words.

Word limit: 1500
1700 if you sign up early.

I tend to give long and detailed crits, so if you are considering entry and are new, I treat stories like alpha reads. You'll get honest feedback. I have the soul of a poet but not the skill, so if you want to see how something you release into the wild will be taken in by the masses, this is a good week to do it.