As they did in 2014, The Nursery Files and Bump in the Night are again teaming up to present you a joint Halloween challenge. The Third requirement will determine which site your story will be hosted on (though if you pick c, it will be cross-posted at both).

This year's challenge will be to take a given first paragraph and then make the story your own. We've left it vague enough for the setting to be anywhere from a haunted house (or church, or hospital or...) that's being investigated to the character's own home. Let's see what you do with the prompt!

Requirement #1

This is the opening paragraph to your story, though it's somewhat incomplete.

Remove the brackets and replace them with the word/s or character that fits best for your story

Note: if you'd like to write a first-person story, feel free to change the [character] blanks to I, me, and my

Requirement #2

The setting of your story should begin on night of October 31, of any year. You may continue the story into November if you wish, but please begin it on Halloween.

Requirement #3

You can take this one of three directions:

a. Continue the story and make a child (age 0-19) a significant character in your story. He or she need not be the main character, but they need to merit more than a brief mention.

Note II: the crying baby mentioned in the opening paragraph can be this child character if you'd like

b. Continue the story and include at least one of the following supernatural beings in your story (must actually be the entity, not a decoration or person in costume)

Note III: the crying baby mentioned in the opening paragraph can be this supernatural entity if you'd like

c. Continue the story, including a child as a significant character and one of the supernatural beings listed in option b.

When you submit your story, please let us know if you chose a, b, or c

As always, you are welcome to write a casefile and/or crossover story

Requirement #4

Mention the challenge somewhere in the notes of your story, and remember to let us know about it!

Please submit stories by midnight on October 30^th. If you post at A03, fanfic.net, on a website or blog/tumbler you own, you may submit a link to a work in progress.
Otherwise, please e-mail completed fics only to nurseryfiles@mulderscreek.com or xfbumpinnight@mulderscreek.com

Challenge Fics

Over the River and Through the Woods by Faerax

The Eternal Bonds Between Mother and Child - a Halloween Tale by Neoxphile

All past Halloween challenges on both Bump In The Night and The Nursery Files reopen every fall. If this year's challenge doesn't grab you, consider penning a fic for one or more of the past challenges linked below.

This Halloween Challenge

You may foreshadow your expectations for the reboot or keep silent on them, but you will be writing a story that is set now, this Halloween. Reboot spoilers okay if you note that in your story's headers

Requirements:

• Set your story on October 31, 2015

• Send any X-Files character to a place that creeps them out

• Before or after they leave, have your character encounter a: zombie, werewolf, witch, demon, ghost, vampire or any other type of monster/mythical creature

As always, you are welcome to write a casefile and/or crossover

send completed fics to xfbumpinnight@mulderscreek.com

Haunt This Place Challenge

Maybe this story happened when a character was young. Maybe it won't happen until this month. The when is less important than the what.

Requirements:

Deliberately, or accidentally, your X-Files character has found themselves somewhere haunted by the spirits of the uneasy dead.

• Where does the haunting take place? Is it a lonely cabin? A mansion? A castle? A graveyard or church? A ship, train, or plane? A factory? A TV or radio station? A theater? The woods? A beach, lighthouse, or an island? A hotel, motel, or inn? A school or dorm? A hospital? Any haunted place will do, but let us know where.
• And most importantly, let us know what happens.

As always, you are welcome to write a casefile and/or crossover

send completed fics to xfbumpinnight@mulderscreek.com

Challenge Requirements:
Select one of the titles below and use it to write a fic that fits one of the categories of this archive.

Any word count, any genre as long as the fic is about Halloween or one of the creatures on this site.

Challenge Requirements:
Write a fic with a ghost who invites itself to a Halloween party (or one of those legendary FBI balls). What happens at the party is entirely up to you...

Since your archivist posted this later than desired, you have until December 15th, 2013 to submit your fic for either or both challenges. Don't forget to let us know what which one was your inspiration!

Braaaiiiiins Challenge Are you the sort of person who is eagerly awaiting the next installments of The Walking Dead, The Forest of Hands and Teeth, Resident Evil, [time of day] of The Dead, or World War Z? We have a task for you... Challenge Requirements: * Zombies are rampaging in at least your character's immediate area. Why? What happened? How is the character coping? How extensive is the problem: local? state? country? worldwide? * Choose one of the following people as your focal character, and chose carefully since you may only use the one you pick: Mulder Scully Skinner Doggett Reyes Krycek Marita Gibson William (presumably older than infancy) * This fic will be one person's account of events, though they can of course discuss things at length with other characters. So... Write your story in either first person (the character tells the story through the use of "I" and "me/my") or close third person (use "s/he" but the character is in every scene and the only thoughts/feelings readers are told directly are this character's; all other characters' thoughts/feelings are conveyed via the focal character's interpretations of them. A well-known example of close third person is all but the ministry of magic scenes in the Harry Potter series.) * You may write this story as a crossover if you wish. Please send your complete story to xfbumpinnight@mulderscreek.com Scared Stiff Challenge The fact that fear and sexual arousal are similar is a common claim. Write a story that co-mingles the two. Challenge Requirements: * Send two characters into a scary situation (either on an official case or their own time) and make sure over the course of the story that: a. your characters encounter something of a supernatural (i.e. one of the many creatures types featured here) nature that really frightens them. b. ...and then they had sex. R or NC-17, please. as always, you may write a crossover if you wish. send completed fics to xfbumpinnight@mulderscreek.com challenge fics: Die Bug Die by Andrea Find still more challenges, of a non-scary nature, here and here

Supernatural Beings Crossover Challenge Challenge: Write a crossover fic between The X-Files and a TV show/movie/book that contains a werewolf, vampire, witch/wizard, demon, ghost, fae, or other supernatural being as a main character, and have an X-Files case (official or otherwise) on any October 31st be the reason that the X-Files character(s) and that non-human character from the other source interact. * Please name the other half of the crossover in your headers or as an end note if you'd like to keep it a surprise. Arouse or Amuse Challenge Challenge: You will write a story meant to be funny or sexy. Either way, please include the following things in your story: - boxers (any definition ) - chocolate - a knock at the door - the words "trick" or "treat" in a line of dialogue (one or the other, that is) Challenge fics: Cheap Trick by Romantique send completed fics to xfbumpinnight@mulderscreek.com Kidfics or Photo Manipulation more up your alley? Then check out the Halloween Challenges at our sister site, The Nursery Files. TNF Halloween 2010 challenges.