Last week: horror as spam.
This week:
The country’s in EBOLA PANIC, going so far as to elect an Ebola Czar. (Did you know that vending machines kill 13 people a year? I look forward to our new Vending Machine Czar to address this grave concern.) Disease of course freaks people out. And next Friday? Halloween. The time of horror!
Which means it’s time for you to freak people out with disease.
Write 1000 words of flash fiction.
It should be horror.
It should feature disease as an axis of that horror.
That’s it. That’s the mission.
Write it at your blog or online space.
Link back here.
Due by Halloween, noon, EST.
Joe Turner says:
I’ve never trusted vending machines
October 24, 2014 — 1:02 AM
L. N. Holmes says:
^^ Haha
October 24, 2014 — 5:22 PM
addy95 says:
well i know what i am doing after work… or perhabs during….
October 24, 2014 — 3:27 AM
addy95 says:
Enjoyed playing with a few ideas for this one. In the end i went for a post war/during war wasteland in Glasgow!! Again i am new to the game so please critisis and offer advice if you wish. I would appreciate it!
http://adamskistoryblog.wordpress.com/flash-fiction-challenge-disease-horror/
October 27, 2014 — 7:13 AM
HelenJVix says:
Haha, great idea! I will try to finish by Halloween but I’ve got two exams, three papers and one essay to go (my uni life is a horror story) before 31st October, so…
October 24, 2014 — 3:33 AM
Pavowski says:
Hooray for plagues!
October 24, 2014 — 7:08 AM
Pavowski says:
I loved the idea at first but struggled to find a direction to take it in. Then it struck me that while bugs that travel through the air or the water or various bodily fluids are horrible enough in their own right, what about one that could travel even more insidiously — through the mind itself, or even just through eye contact?
The only thing I’m not really sure about is the ending. I’d love to hear some alternate thoughts, but I definitely wanted to convey that the disease doesn’t stop with the hero.
This initially came in way over the limit at about 1400 words, and I managed to trim the fat down to a very terse 999. I hope you enjoy it.
Here’s “Self-Inflicted”: http://wp.me/p4p1YR-i2
October 26, 2014 — 11:17 PM
colinjkeats says:
Very well done. I think your trimming might have elevated the pace so that the you feel the horror palpably! Good stuff.
October 31, 2014 — 9:09 PM
Pavowski says:
Thanks man 🙂
October 31, 2014 — 10:16 PM
Ashlee Jade says:
Hmmm, definitely want to try this one. Not been feeling the horror vibes lately so this will be a challenge to try and get back into it.
October 24, 2014 — 8:16 AM
Mozette says:
http://youcantgoback-andotherimpossibilities.blogspot.com.au/2014/10/the-colony.html
Creepy is as creepy does… and I don’t like diseases… even though I do have one:
Epilepsy… now that’s one disease I don’t ever wish on anyone.
October 24, 2014 — 9:02 AM
addy95 says:
ok i dont know whats scarier. the disease or the fact that someone was intentionally spreading it. i am beging to think something sinister was behind it.
October 27, 2014 — 7:35 AM
Mozette says:
When one of my friends, who used to work in a hospital, read it, his first response was, ‘But that disease isn’t around so much anymore!’ … um… but can you imagine somebody just showing up at a Halloween Party like that (or any costume party) and a week later, you start getting symptoms after you’ve been doing your normal routine? He thought about it, hesitated and then said that would really freak him out… after he re-read it again….
My Mum – who normally reads my flash fiction – has refused to read my stuff this year… 😀
She is so proud of me… but doesn’t like it that I’ve scared her into not turning out her reading lamp at night (which is the only time she gets to read my stuff). 😛
October 27, 2014 — 8:14 AM
Jemima Pett says:
I’ve been bitten by vending machines in the past… perhaps they gave me something contagious?
October 24, 2014 — 9:07 AM
Jon Stoffel says:
Do you have an unhealthy compulsion to collect coins and refuse dollar bills that are not pristine?
October 28, 2014 — 3:44 AM
Becki Crossley says:
Threw this together, trying to go for ‘sinister undertones’ as opposed to straight up horror. Hopefully it works!
http://www.literarypancakes.com/2014/10/terribleminds-challenge-diseased-horror.html
October 24, 2014 — 9:28 AM
Sara Crow says:
Doing this without re-hashing old tropes will be…difficult.
CHALLENGE ACCEPTED!
October 24, 2014 — 9:50 AM
Will Graham says:
More people have married Kim Kardashian than have died from Ebola….. think about it…..
October 24, 2014 — 9:53 AM
Mark Gardner says:
No one ELECTED a czar, a czar was appointed. Come on Chuck, words have meanings.
October 24, 2014 — 10:52 AM
R. Dale Guthrie says:
I elect you to be the czar election misconception correction task force. And by “elect,” I mean “point at.”
October 24, 2014 — 11:51 AM
Jon Stoffel says:
Hey, we secondhand elected the czar by electing the man who appointed him. I mean, yeah, we don’t directly vote for the President, but, uhh…
October 28, 2014 — 3:46 AM
Scary Baker (@cheribaker) says:
Thanks Chuck, this was a fun one!
http://www.cheribaker.com/flash-fiction-eleven-billion/
October 24, 2014 — 2:27 PM
Mark Gardner says:
I had to stop at 1000 words so I wouldn’t burn out: http://article94.wordpress.com/2014/10/24/the-afflicted-patient-zero/
October 24, 2014 — 3:54 PM
Allison Maruska says:
Nice story. Kept me guessing until the end.
October 29, 2014 — 12:42 AM
darkvirtue1974 says:
Here we go. I took this opportunity to finally tell a story that has been on my mind for nearly a decade. http://wp.me/s2DB77-136
October 24, 2014 — 6:22 PM
Ashlee Jade says:
http://adifferentkindofsanity.wordpress.com/2014/10/25/the-scratch/ It ran a little bit over the thousand words but not that much. Here’s hoping it’s good enough to make up for it.
October 24, 2014 — 9:27 PM
angelacavanaugh says:
It was so hard to keep this one short. But here it is, Occupied, about a virus on a plane. And, there’s a little video trailer at the beginning. (If you wanna watch. I just discovered animoto LOL)
http://angelacavanaugh.com/2014/10/25/flash-fiction-friday-occupied/
October 25, 2014 — 2:38 AM
Scott A. Bullard (@writingbull) says:
Truly creepy. Thanks for sharing.
October 25, 2014 — 1:29 PM
smkay70 says:
Yes, creepy! And, it threw me off a couple of times which is always nice! Thanks for sharing…and cool little video trailer. Going to have to find animoto and mess with it. Gives me another tool for procrastination!
October 25, 2014 — 6:16 PM
angelacavanaugh says:
Thanks, I’m glad that you liked it and found it to be successfully creepy 🙂
October 28, 2014 — 12:56 AM
colinjkeats says:
god work!
October 31, 2014 — 9:15 PM
Scott A. Bullard (@writingbull) says:
I just had to try one more challenge before NaNoWriMo arrived. Here’s mine: http://glipho.com/writingbull/disease-kingdom
October 25, 2014 — 1:23 PM
Sam Phillips says:
Loved it Scott!
October 26, 2014 — 2:54 PM
Scott A. Bullard (@writingbull) says:
Thank you very much.
October 26, 2014 — 2:58 PM
stephenseibert says:
Thanks for the great challenge this week!
http://stephenseibert.wordpress.com/2014/10/25/under-york/
October 25, 2014 — 6:06 PM
Allison Maruska says:
Wow, what a compelling premise! Is it worth staying alive if you can hold your loved ones? Great job!
October 29, 2014 — 12:51 AM
colinjkeats says:
The beginning of a masterpiece, this one!
October 31, 2014 — 9:21 PM
stephenseibert says:
Thanks guys!
October 31, 2014 — 10:04 PM
ajbauers says:
This was a tough one for me. But I wrote about a disease inspired by Fatal familial Insomnia (but not that disease specifically). Hope it turned out okay!
http://ajbauers.wordpress.com/2014/10/26/wide-awake/
October 26, 2014 — 4:11 AM
Kevin Wallace says:
This isn’t a real entry, in the true sense. I’m breaking rules here: one of Chuck’s, and one of my own.
It is about fear and disease, though. You’re My Bogeyman: http://kevjava.blogspot.com/2014/10/youre-my-bogeyman.html
October 26, 2014 — 1:06 PM
Ashlee Jade says:
Thank you. My mother suffers the same demon, and even though she stepped into the light a long time ago, there are still times when the shadows are too much for her. Thanks for writing this, it means a lot.
October 26, 2014 — 11:13 PM
Sam Phillips says:
So I began the Apples Flash Fiction Challenge a couple of weeks ago and didn’t get anywhere near finishing it. As penitence I’ve taken the 3 apples I was allotted by my RNG: Melrose, Jewett Red and Malinda and worked them into this week’s diseased horror FF. So here it goes… “Fall”
http://idreamofgypsies.blogspot.co.uk/2014/10/flash-fiction-challenge-diseased-horror.html
October 26, 2014 — 1:23 PM
Sam Phillips says:
…I of course meant as PENANCE..!
October 26, 2014 — 7:32 PM
denicide says:
This is great. I especially like this sentence:
“Breakin’ through the warning biohazard barriers and lurchin’ forward over the roots which fill the forested avenue, shuffling through the undergrowth with their strange jerky limbs.”
October 27, 2014 — 10:33 PM
Sam Phillips says:
Thanks denicide!
October 28, 2014 — 5:00 AM
Scott A. Bullard (@writingbull) says:
OK, just had to pen another response to this great challenge. http://scottabullard.tumblr.com/post/101014360814/first-death
October 26, 2014 — 2:57 PM
john freeter says:
I really hate people tapping away all day long on their fucking phones. Enjoy!
http://johnfreeter.wordpress.com/2014/10/26/viral/
October 27, 2014 — 1:44 AM
JP Juniper says:
Here’s mine. Sort of a commentary on my feelings about zombie stories.
http://www.jpjuniper.com/stories/2014/10/27/the-21-stages-of-kirkmans-paranoaic-thanatophoria
October 27, 2014 — 9:56 AM
smkay70 says:
Wow, I liked the format of your story. Creepy and suspenseful!
October 27, 2014 — 7:05 PM
denicide says:
This is a really unnerving story, beautifully told. Well done.
October 27, 2014 — 10:21 PM
ajbauers says:
Love the structure of your story. One of my favorite things to see in flash fiction is to see small narratives make up a large story in a short space. You accomplished this quite well. Great new viewpoint on the zombie apocalypse, thanks for sharing!
October 28, 2014 — 2:43 PM
colinjkeats says:
Great choice f format! Pure horror.
October 31, 2014 — 9:24 PM
Toni J says:
Got a short little story I’m calling “Panic”
http://tonij.net/2014/10/panic/
October 27, 2014 — 12:47 PM
Scott A. Bullard (@writingbull) says:
Nice story, and pretty close to how things are now. That’s what’s scary.
October 27, 2014 — 2:02 PM
john freeter says:
I’m reading Ivan’s war (great book BTW), so I imagined the story taking place in a soviet village and the red army swooping in. The mention of of the CDC and WHO shattered my fantasy :(. Great story though, I really liked it!
October 27, 2014 — 3:34 PM
Scott A. Bullard (@writingbull) says:
Nice story, and pretty close to how things are now. That’s what’s scary.
October 27, 2014 — 2:01 PM
Scott A. Bullard (@writingbull) says:
oopsy.
October 27, 2014 — 2:04 PM
denicide says:
Renovation & Rental Property, a title that’ll hopefully attract people expecting something completely different:
http://blogatonium.wordpress.com/2014/10/28/renovation-rental-property/
October 27, 2014 — 10:16 PM
AJ Bauers says:
Here’s my submission, with fatal insomina being the main feature.
http://ajbauers.wordpress.com/2014/10/26/wide-awake/
October 28, 2014 — 10:53 AM
Jonah says:
I shall be back on a less sleepy evening to read through some of the entries. Mine can be found here http://mostlyjonah.wordpress.com/2014/10/28/diseased-horror-the-complete-draft/
October 28, 2014 — 6:35 PM
Allison Maruska says:
What if your family hid in a bunker for ten years, hiding from a virus? What would it be like on the outside?http://allisonmaruska.com/2014/10/28/flash-fiction-the-door/
October 28, 2014 — 7:44 PM
smkay70 says:
I almost finished one story, scrapped it and started this one. I almost titled it “Running from the cure” but in the end it didn’t quite fit.
http://sabrakay.com/flash-fiction-friday-challenge/
October 28, 2014 — 11:07 PM
colinjkeats says:
Good job!
October 31, 2014 — 9:26 PM
coolerbs says:
I took a bit of artistic liberties with this one, as he never said the disease couldn’t be intelligent…..
http://coolerbs.com/2014/10/29/flash-fiction-click/
October 29, 2014 — 9:08 AM
smkay70 says:
Nice, I loved the interaction between the characters and the little details. The “click” really added to the suspense and the tension.
October 29, 2014 — 7:17 PM
coolerbs says:
Thanks! I’m not sure where the “click” idea came from actually, I just put it in on a whim, and it fit.
October 29, 2014 — 7:20 PM
fakedtales says:
I wasn’t sure what to do with this at first, then the idea of a disease which makes people fictional.
Here’s “Do Not Read”. http://fakedtales.com/short-stories/do-not-read/
October 29, 2014 — 6:07 PM
john freeter says:
What an amazing idea!
October 29, 2014 — 11:11 PM
colinjkeats says:
Great take!
October 31, 2014 — 9:28 PM
johnbensink says:
Here’s mine: http://johnbensink.wordpress.com/2014/10/30/they-bring-it-home-from-school/
October 30, 2014 — 12:10 PM
Rebecca Douglass says:
And here is my take on horrific diseases:
http://www.ninjalibrarian.com/2014/10/friday-flash-fiction-disease.html
October 30, 2014 — 6:16 PM
~ Sadie ~ says:
Had a great time with this one – different genre for me 🙂 Great prompt!!
http://windchimesanddreamcatchers.wordpress.com/2014/10/30/hurricane-containment-breach/
October 30, 2014 — 8:07 PM
Jemima Pett says:
Here is my offering – not particularly horrific, but I hope you enjoy your Halloween anyway.
The Revenge of the Greenfly – http://jemimapett.com/blog/2014/10/31/halloween-flash-fiction-revenge-of-the-greenfly/
October 30, 2014 — 8:21 PM
Alice says:
Let holiday shopping begin – Mmwaahaahaa mwaahaahaa mwaahaahaa
Walmart Xmas Ornament Kills
http://aliceekeyes.blogspot.com/p/walmart-xmas-ornament-kills.html
October 31, 2014 — 12:01 AM