A Feast of Fiction: The Second Indulgence

Dates: Sep 26, 2026 - Nov 7, 2026

Prompt drops: Every weekday at 12:00pm Eastern/US Time

All deadlines and scoring are based on America/New_York

Join us for a month-long horror writing challenge where every day brings a new prompt!

September 26, 2026

★ Where Are We, Anyway? (Bonus • 1.5x) — Sep 26

Sep 26, 2026

Word Limit: ∞

Lord Devereaux has invited you to a masquerade ball, but nobody thought to ask where he was holding it.

Where is the celebration? Who else received an invitation?

Bring anyone you want as your plus one. Set the scene. Introduce us to the venue and some of the other guests before the feast begins. Remember, this is a grand ball and feast, so cocktails and small bites are likely to be served.

This is a bonus prompt worth 1.5x points and will remain open until the end of the challenge in early November.

Responses

"Lord Devereaux Invites Me to His Masquerade Ball Just to Designate Me Staff. Kira Is My Plus One." — J.M. Gooding : Lord Devereaux is throwing a masquerade ball, and somehow I made the guest list. Naturally, Kira is my plus one. I have questions. She has concerns. And the evening hasn’t even started yet.

"The Guests at Blackburn Hall" — Sara da Encarnação : Judith Mercer accepts an invitation from a man she cannot remember meeting, to a house her oldest friend remembers rather differently. By supper, the evening has begun to disturb more than memory.

"Myriad" — Victoria "Moueska" Buritsch : In which we meet M. Sylvia, and have a passing glance at the string quartet.

"A Suitable Plus-One" — BentButTrue : Lord Devereaux’s masquerade hides inside an abandoned aircraft hangar. I bring Sheldon Cooper as my plus-one. The building is impossible. The company is stranger. Dinner hasn’t even begun.

"Ravenous Lexiconic Vore" — Johnathan Vance : You've never read anything like this before. Or, maybe you have?

"The Ball That Almost Wasn’t" — Gary L Taylor

"Devereaux’s Masquerade Pt1" — Verdant Butterfly : Flash Fiction - Part 1 of 4 Verdant and Sable attend The Second Indulgence Masquerade. Pre Party Shenanigans

"Where Are We Anyway" — Rebecca Watson (ReBe)

"All Perfectly In Hand Part 1" — Leeron Heywood : Featureless space hastily produced serviceable ground as a pointedly nondescript door appeared. Let the party preparations begin…

October 1, 2026

The Ritual's Portal — Oct 1

Oct 1, 2026

Word Limit: ∞

The ritual worked perfectly, just as you intended, but there's one small problem: you can't control what came through the portal. Write a story or poem about what happens next.

Recommended Word Count: 100-1.5K words

Responses

"The Man Inside The Portal" — Hazel Allen : What happens exactly, when you open a portal, and it summons the wrong person?

"Ritual" — Victoria "Moueska" Buritsch : The candles were lit, and prayers sent, but... (In which we meet Simon.)

"Opening" — Rebecca Watson (ReBe)

"Chapter 1: Chimera" — Alexander Aviles : Trenton Tanner summons an amalgamation of flesh to aid him in a children’s game.

"The Uninvited" — Gregory Blair : A man discovers opening portals to bring back the dead doesn't always go as planned.

"The Ancient Circle of the Occult" — J.M. Gooding : An ancient ritual opens a portal to something beyond comprehension. I followed the instructions exactly—or at least, I think I did.

"Eyes" — Gary L Taylor : Years of perfecting rituals and mastering the use of portals comes undone with devastating consequences in this story-poem.

"It Does Not Belong to Me" — BentButTrue : He performs a ritual to erase the worst memory of his life. It works perfectly. Then he hears someone breathing inside the circle—and realizes memories have to go somewhere.

"The Shack" — Mavyn B Wildes : My family. My home. My future. It’s all gone. Now I’m going to get my revenge. But this is not what I wanted. This is not what the ancient grimoire told me. Now, my life is forfeit.

"Chain Me, Master" — Every Root, Every Thorn : This wasn’t what he meant to summon. But she would love nothing more than to be bound by him.

"The First Smokesmith" — Richard Pack : A weapon of war reveals a dangerous new form of magic.

"Starter Pokémon" — Wilhelmina Owings : Ever want a Pokémon so badly you try a sketchy summon?

"Salt Tumor" — Beastly 𖤐 Being : She came back through time to warn Suzy about her husband

"A Window to Fate" — Terrifying Tales : Helena wishes to see her fate, but ends up with more than she bargained for.

"The Golden Sequence" — Johnathan Vance : The spirals are beautiful.

"Don’t Trust Every Ritual You Read On The Internet" — Leeron Heywood : Emily hugged her knees to her chin and stared at her laptop. She could recite the ritual by now, but she still couldn’t figure out what went wrong. “I didn’t mean to…”

"Moths to a Name" — Verdant Butterfly : Poem Folklore: The moths boiled round the fleeing love, a pale and frantic sea, one hand reached out across the veil, while frightened eyes begged, “Flee.”

"Mirror" — Fritz Fallen : He thought the ritual was going to connect him to his inner self—boy was he wrong.

"The Other Side of the Door" — Sara da Encarnação : Hester asks the dead for one answer. The door opens. Her husband is waiting on the other side. So is something he is afraid of.

"Hello Operator, Please Give me Death" — Bradley Ramsey : An audio experience centered around a 911 call made after a ritual goes terribly wrong.

"Ill-Fitted Rings" — Arlo Vell : A lack of self awareness is often a portal to suffering.

"The Ritual Hole" — Memphis King : I have been doing it since the tiny human learned to walk, and you can’t just stop doing a ritual because Mom says, “MEMPHIS! NOT THE ROSES!”

"#PlsFix" — Felix Thornfell : They just coming, and coming, and coming

"A Feast of Fiction: The Second Indulgence" — Mercedes de Santiago : A man sings a song from a book. He has some problems with the language, but ultimately, he succeeds. The fountain in the garden gives way to a hole in the garden from which spirits break free . . .

"Another Kind of Demon" — Daria : In which the unexpected ends in an engagement and a new alliance

October 2, 2026

Human Trials — Oct 2

Oct 2, 2026

Word Limit: ∞

You volunteer to test a new invention. The inventor won't tell you what it's supposed to do. You wake up the morning of the test and realize it's already in progress.

What is the invention, and what does it do to you?

Recommended Word Count: 100-1.5K words

Responses

"An Invention Gone... Russet?" — Hazel Allen : Low on cash? Come test our new product and we’ll pay you... starchingly.

"Upper Crust Misery" — Rebecca Watson (ReBe)

"Chapter 1: Sunny Springs" — Alexander Aviles : Wilson is the first volunteer to arrive at a testing facility to improve human work-life balance. It is called Sunny Springs.

"SOMETHING’S BUGGING ME" — Gregory Blair : A volunteer for a new procedure discovers an unexpected side effect.

"Practice Forgetting" — BentButTrue : Daniel volunteers to test an invention designed to recover inaccessible memories. When he wakes to find strangers scattered throughout his house, he discovers they are people his mind has discarded.

"Million Dollar Bros" — Every Root, Every Thorn : Two best friends wake up with the worst hangover of their lives. Then they realize last night’s bad decision isn’t over.

"Motor Control" — J.M. Gooding : A college student volunteers for a mysterious nanotechnology experiment with a generous payout. What could possibly go wrong? A 666-word flash fiction story.

"Free Lunch" — Victoria "Moueska" Buritsch : In which the author has a mostly true mocktail to tell

"Witness for me" — The Circus Dragon : How I ended up writing for Leira...

"Strange Concoction" — Gary L Taylor : A concoction purchased having watched a late night infomercial has interesting results.

"Human Trials" — Verdant Butterfly : Poem: I stopped and stared. The doctors grinned then spun another dial. “Continue with the verses, please. We’ll do another trial.”

"Looking Through Another Kidnapped Pair Of Eyes" — Leeron Heywood : In Arnold’s defence, it was perfectly reasonable to assume this person was affiliated with the university and the ‘research project’ had been properly vetted…

"Hope is a Funny Drug" — Arlo Vell : Do you know what happens to a rat when it loses hope?

"Help Wanted" — Mavyn B Wildes : I really need to get new hobbies. Following the latest horror movies, reading gothic horror novels, and sharing all the memes with friends has my mind going crazy. Or am I justified this time?

"Ironwood Valley" — Johnathan Vance : Is that ice blue plastic? I had one of those in the 90s!

"Anthropic Identity" — Felix Thornfell : How do you choose if there are real consequences?

"Selfless" — Richard Pack : He told the truth about one thing: I would save a lot of lives. CW: Body horror

"A Feast of Fiction: The Second Indulgence" — Mercedes de Santiago : A friend leaves a machine at home because someone wants to steal it from him...

"Days Always Twilight" — Tales of Pictavia : With perpetual war, killer heatwaves and pollution, why wouldn't the underlings of London want to take part in this extreamly well paying trial?

"Nap Interruptus" — Daria : It's hard to sleep when you're cold.

October 5, 2026

The Infection — Oct 5

Oct 5, 2026

Word Limit: ∞

An infection has been spreading across the globe. Details are hazy, but one thing is certain: if infected, you'll turn in 24 hours. You've just been infected.

Write a story or poem about what happens next.

Genre: Apocalyptic Horror

Recommended Word Count: 500-2K words

No approved submissions yet

October 6, 2026

Carry-On — Oct 6

Oct 6, 2026

Word Limit: ∞

One of your childhood friends grew up to be an astronaut. They just got back from a major interstellar mission, and they managed to smuggle something with them.

What it is exactly, you don't know, but they've asked you to keep it safe until they come back for it. You're happy to help, that is, until you hear a voice coming from the package...

Genre: Sci-Fi/Horror

Recommended Word Count: 500-2K words

No approved submissions yet

October 7, 2026

An Ex to Grind — Oct 7

Oct 7, 2026

Word Limit: ∞

You're a prolific serial killer, and you've identified your next target. Everything is in place for another perfect crime, that is, until another serial killer shows up the night you planned to kill your target.

The worst part? This other killer is one of your exes.

Genre: Comedy/Horror

Recommended Word Count: 500-2K words

No approved submissions yet

October 8, 2026

Level Up — Oct 8

Oct 8, 2026

Word Limit: ∞

After participating in an online ARG (Alternate reality game), you find out you're one of the winners. Turns out the entire event was a test, and you passed. You receive an invitation to learn more. Do you take it, or do you refuse?

Choose a path and write about what happens next.

Genre: Psychological Horror

Recommended Word Count: 500-2K words

No approved submissions yet