As the copy of the poster to the left indicates, Saugus.net is now accepting Halloween stories that are FAXed to 781-231-4719, or dropped off in our drop slot in the Saugus Town Hall (if you can't get it to us by any of these methods, give us a phone call at 781-231-2621 and we'll figure out something else -- if all else fails there's always U.S. Mail) for our forth annual Ghost Story writing contest.

Our judges will pick out the stories they feel are best (based on scariness, originality, entertainment value, and writing quality) for four different categories including: Adult, High School, Middle School, and Elementary School. "Does spelling count" you ask? Yes, somewhat, but not as much as the creepiness and entertainment value of the story. In any case, all of the chosen stories will be posted online here by Halloween night, Sunday, October 31, 1999. Don't forget to tell us in which category you belong and provide some means for us getting back in touch with you. Let us know your town, and if you go to school (even college) let us know which one; if you win, we'll mention both.

If your story gets posted, you'll win a Saugus.net T-shirt (different from last year's model; see below -- these feature a glow-in-the-dark logo on a black background) to be handed out in early November 1999.

Entries must be received no later than October 29th. The earlier the better, though; keep in mind that if we receive dozens of stories on the 29th we'll have to rush through them to get everything ready for Halloween, and thus a story submitted early probably has a slight advantage because it can be read more leisurely.

Please try and keep them fairly clean -- lots of people of all ages will be reading them. Favor the suggestive over the explicit, and keep in mind that needless obscenities aren't apt to help your chances any but are likely to cost you points in the "writing quality" department.

The ideal length is a few typewritten pages, but both longer and shorter are welcomed. The upper limit (not hard & fast) is around two dozen typewritten pages -- there is no lower limit. The preferred format for is regular text, although we'll also accept both HTML and PDF.

Although Saugus.net reserves the rights to print and potentially reprint all entries received (giving proper credit on each printing, of course), we aren't claiming them as our own property -- that means that you retain the copyrights to your work and are free to reprint it and/or publish it elsewhere, too, without getting any further permission from us (although a little blurb like "first appeared online on Saugus.net" would be appreciated in any future publications). Of course, even though it need not be mentioned, entries must respect existing copyrights and may not be based on copyrighted material without the written consent of any applicable copyright holders, and material should not have been published prior to the contest deadline.

Halloween is a fun time of year and we're likewise holding this contest completely in a spirit of fun. The results will hopefully be entertaining to all. Send us your entry (or even entries, if you'd like) today, and good luck.

Also, on a different note, if you'd like your own personal copy of the Ghost Story poster, it can be downloaded as a PDF file and printed. You have our permission to repost it.