🍍 The contest starts July 5th, 2026 and ends on August 5th, 2026 at 11:59 EST. Any entries received after will not be included in judging.

🍍 Stories must be specifically written for this contest.

🍍 Short story entries must be between 2.500 until 5.000 words.

🍍 We accept entries in English only.

🍍 AI-generated stories will be immediately disqualified. Please submit self-written human stories only.

🍍 Only one entry per user is accepted. We're sorry that we can't accept Co-Author this time.

🍍 The primary/main genre of the entries should be Mystery.

🍍 Your story must have the vibe of Vintage 1990-ish.

🍍 Please choose one prompt only that will be the based of the story.

🍍 Please choose only 1 curtain from Nightmare Theater Hall that you like to visit. 

🍍 Mature content is accepted as long as it adheres to Wattpad Content Guidelines.

🍍 Submit your entries via this FORM. →

🍍 You are welcome to share your entries in the comments. Please don't DM us your entries. Use the form when you're ready to submit.

🍍 Optional, you can tag your stories with #SW26 or #Summerween2026