600-Word Horror Stories and the Candyathon

Ari Oxford, staff writer

On Oct. 28, the Dickinson commons was taken over by five folding tables covered with paper to keep them clean, life-size cutouts of Edgar Allan Poe and Mary Shelley, and about 50 people. The tables had Day of the Dead (Día de los Muertos) themed murals made of candy and designed by Adjunct Instructor of Art Fenella Belle’s 2-D Design Class.

The murals were designed and put together by five teams, and they used candy in several creative ways, such as opening packages of colored sugar candy and spreading it on the table for a background of a scene. 

After 10 minutes of being on display and judged, the candy in the murals was eaten by creators and attendees. Though the candy murals were supposed to be part of a judged competition, the judges decided that all of the designs won. 

Once the murals had been decimated, people gathered in the audience in front of the cutouts of Poe and Shelley.

Professor of English and Writing Center Coordinator Jennifer Koster and the Creative Writing Club president introduced the authors of the winning stories and the honorable mentions (all of the winners and honorable mentions, as well as their story titles,  are listed at the end) of the annual 600-Word Horror Story contest. They presented the authors with custom painted clay medallions before they read their stories.

The event ended with Chris Cutshaw dramatically reading his winning story “The Home Invader.”

Winners:

First place: “The Home Invader” by Chris Cutshaw.

Second place: “Stuffed”  by Anthony Madison.

Third place: “Something’s Wrong with Amy” by Jess Amos 

Honorable Mentions:

“Pumpkin Eater” by Emily Karasz 

“Always Lock Your Car” by Natalie Murphy 

“Richie Baby” by John Powell