contest Spooktober in Tarkov - Written horror story contest!

October 9

October days in Norvinsk means frosty cold autumn mornings and yellow, red and brown leaves fluttering like butterflies in strong cool northern winds. Tarkov in the distance rises with its skyscraper pillars. Terragroup is not dormant, beneath it all the conflict still boils with hot steam as PMCs breathe heavily, trying to find a way to get out of the hostile city.

We want YOU to write a horror story for this setting! The stage is set, you bring the actors, the dark spooktober atmosphere and the narrative.

This competition is divided into two parts - the first one is the qualifying stage. One qualifier will be chosen from each region in the community. The winners in each region will then compete in the second stage against one another!

HOW TO PARTICIPATE:

Write a short horror story (2-5 pages) that takes place somewhere around Tarkov
Use the locations you know about from the game
Feel free to use your own creativity with it!
Attach your contribution (in written English) in a post to this thread (either write it as a post, or link to a separate document)
A qualifying winner for your region (English) will be selected by a jury (stage 1)
Winning novels from each Escape From Tarkov-regions will then be translated & compete against one another in a grand finale (stage 2)
There will be three prizes!
Stage 1 deadline: 31:st of October at 08:00 CEST

NOTE! This competition will also accept stories from other languages (please look for a translated version of this thread in your community forums!) A separate competition will be held (and judged) in each language. The winners in each language will be picked by emissaries from said region. And then there will be a “grand finale” here where a top 3 will be picked by the community as a whole (through voting).

PRIZES:

First prize:

Escape From Tarkov - Edge of Darkness edition
EFT T-shirt

Second prize:

Escape From Tarkov - Prepare for Escape edition
EFT T-shirt

Third prize:

Escape From Tarkov - Standard edition
EFT T-shirt

TRANSLATIONS (find the competition in YOUR language below):

German translation can be found here thanks to Emissary & Community Representative @Hummz21
Spanish translation can be found here thanks to Moderator & Emissary @NoisyCosmos
Portuguese translation can be found here thanks to Sherpa & Emissary @Alexandre_5
Italian translation can be found here thanks to Emissary @ZioEnzo
French translation can be found here thanks to Emissary @titi4600
Swedish translation can be found here posted by @tobiassolem
Turkish translation can be found here thanks to Emissary @SolidMemo
Farsi translation can be found here thanks to Emissary @Gascon
Arabic translation can be found here thanks to Moderator & Emissary @d3voo
Hungarian translation can be found here thanks to Emissary @zobaktron

October 9

page 1: went to labs

page 2: waited 10 sek

page 3: hear shots on other side of map

page 4: head/eyes by player 01238301298301928301283

page 5: not going labs again

spooky

October 9

Hello, my story will be written in French, do I still have to post my google doc link here?

October 9

43 minutes ago, AdriiZx said:

Hello, my story will be written in French, do I still have to post my google doc link here?

Put it into your region's translation of the above post (that is due to be put up later today).

October 9

43 minutes ago, AdriiZx said:

Hello, my story will be written in French, do I still have to post my google doc link here?

There will be a French translation of this announcement in the French section of the forum. There, you'll be able to post your story in French.

October 9

¡Looking foward to read the spooktober stories! 🎃

October 9

Soon soon soon™

October 9

deployed into customs
i went in at expansion
i saw sniper scav
i got shot in the head but got saved by my helmet
then i rushed to the tower
fought the sniper to death
at the end we fell off the tower together
and died

spooke

October 9

What exactly is a "page"? Is it simply a page of whatever program you chose to use, or is there a set guideline?

October 9

7 minutes ago, EmberSnake said:

What exactly is a "page"? Is it simply a page of whatever program you chose to use, or is there a set guideline?

A page in this case refers to one sheet of paper in your favourite word processor. For example Google Docs utilizes a page system, where (for example) you can use A4 as a standard paper size. The story should be between 1500-2500 words (in written English). Other countries have other standards (and different spacing, etc.) so something in 3-5 pages might end up being 8 pages of Korean (just an example). The limit is set to get an idea of approximately how much is expected.

October 9

20 minutes ago, tobiassolem said:

A page in this case refers to one sheet of paper in your favourite word processor. For example Google Docs utilizes a page system, where (for example) you can use A4 as a standard paper size. The story should be between 1500-2500 words (in written English). Other countries have other standards (and different spacing, etc.) so something in 3-5 pages might end up being 8 pages of Korean (just an example). The limit is set to get an idea of approximately how much is expected.

Thank you.

October 9

First time posting for one of these.. Hope I did it right..

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1y7yIBOb4PAEldS1uaBUS8qZNw8YqomxhgFv6CZcP_yE/edit?usp=sharing

October 9

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1qbaHwzxMViK8NylWXfYFDEEUn8mHHsjnYdqXgS5ByWI/edit?usp=sharing

good luck have fun all I want to read what other people have to write!

October 11

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1otJf21R9ZPoWh7TCLsCII9OaO37O4MbRpZ4sRW3RUQU/edit?usp=sharing

This is my first story I've ever written that I've entered into a competition! I love EFT and its atmosphere/scene, so I had a lot of fun writing this! Good luck to you all and I am looking forward to reading everyone else's stories!

Edited October 11 by Valkadyn
Clarification

October 11

I hope everyone is having fun writing their stories! I sure enjoyed this! I hope this works!

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1p_FJMi1juylKs9s6_r5qMwS4o0bhfl6-rKN3CUTLDIU/edit?usp=sharing

October 12

Please make sure to share your documents with everyone!

Some contributions have had the access to their documents disabled!

Thank you.

October 13

@tobiassolem
Hi, is it a problem when the Short-Story reaches 8 pages?

In Word the story reached 5 Pages. After formatting and correcting the material it reached 7 pages.

In Google Docs it had 8 Pages before and after formatting and correcting.

And btw. the German translated original post is wrong. It states that you need to submit for English Region. Thats why i consider to translate my story into english before sharing after all.

Regards.

Edited October 13 by MKev

October 13

vor 1 Stunde schrieb MKev:

.....

And btw. the German translated original post is wrong. It states that you need to submit for English Region. Thats why i consider to translate my story into english before sharing after all.

Regards.

Saw it and fixed it..thanks for that.

October 17

Unfortunately there was no answer to my question if it is bad if you reach more than 5 pages due to formatting.
So I chose a different font and reduced the text to the 10 point size. Hope you still have fun reading.

English is not my native language. I understand well and speak well but writing in english is another story. So I tried to do my best in translating my short story from german into english for you guys.

You can find the short story here:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Ze2vNzFQmwZIk1e7dDLRygxXHGOoOq07UaI2OQq3Tuc/edit?usp=sharing

The German original version can be found here:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1q9xSzpvui3pQepL4fdgW3c8YGey5ICVT5Pkjgxws_hA/edit?usp=sharing
this version is also posted in the German Sub-Forum regarding spooktober in Tarkov.

Happy reading. Kind regards,

MKev

Edited October 17 by MKev

October 18

I tried submitting this like twice now and it doesn't look like it worked so here it goes

The Facility

by

Harley Hanthorn (Nomad_Actual)

Prologue
2100 Hours
Location: Classified Terra Group Laboratory in the Norvinsk region.

*Tha-thump tha-thump tha-thump* Cameron “Stretch” Allard could feel his heart rapidly pumping blood through his veins *Tha-thump tha-thump tha-thump* slowly he tried reloading his Colt M4A1, something he had done countless times throughout his career with United Securities, this time was different, this time he wasn’t fighting for someone else, he was fighting to survive...

Blood flowed down his forearm, covering his hand and fingers, making the fresh magazine wet and sticky, his right arm looked as if it had been mauled by a bear. Gripping the magazine in his hand sent sharp pains through his arm, the pain was so violent his body shuddered and he felt like he would pass out or throw up but he knew he had to push through it.

*Click* finally he slapped the mag into the gun and clicked the bolt release. He winced as he struggled to raise the barrel towards his target. The target was a door on the other side of the room “the door’s locked they can’t get in” he whispered to himself shakily, staring at the keypads red screen that still read *locked*.

As far as he knew he was the last member of his fire team left alive, in the event his team doesn’t make contact at 0600 a backup fire team would be sent in, that meant help would not be coming for hours and he was almost out of ammunition. He glanced over to the left side of the room where a weapon rack with an assortment of guns and presumably full magazines stared back at him through a red cage, taunting him. His team was only given the keycard to the main elevator, which they had given to the backup fire team before entry. The door to the cage had a handwritten note in English, a little bit of humour from one of the security staff, the note read “In case of Emergencies” well this was indeed an emergency.

He looked back towards the door, staring at the keypad’s screen as if taking his eyes away meant certain death, slowly and agonizingly he slid himself backwards, moving deeper into the small security station that had become his bastion, his last stronghold.

He could hear them outside wandering the corridor, scratching, sniffing, searching as if they were blind, In the distance, he could hear screaming, the kind of screaming that would chill any hardened soldier to the bone, what made things worse was Cameron recognised the voice, it was his friend Grant Holmes, one of the best fighters in his squad, listening to his friend being brutally murdered made Cameron angry.

"I'm sorry, Grant" he whispered to himself as he fought with every fibre of his being, he knew going outside the confines of this small room was certain death and that even if he got to Grant he didn't have the supplies necessary to save him.

None of his military experience had trained him for such a scenario "If only I hadn't dropped my radio" he thought, as his team were being ripped apart limb by limb he ran, "what the duck are Terra Group doing down here?" he said out loud to himself.

The blood drained from his face as the screen he had been staring at, his only guarantee of safety turned green. The door slid open with a hiss.

Hot bullet casings bounced off the wall and showered Cameron as he fired into the doorway, his shots echoing from the room until *click click click* his gun ran dry, he was out of ammo. Cameron stared into the empty doorway, the darkness cut by the red emergency lights running across the floor.

Suddenly light broke around a silhouette in the doorway. Cameron had no time to react, his blood-curdling screams echoed throughout the facility.

A few hours later the elevator doors opened up and five men stepped out, unaware of the horrors Terra Group had been cooking up down there.

October 18

here is my story (clears throat) opens backpack to reveal that you have already finished your Kvass earlier but you forgot AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

October 20

We have got some really nice submissions so far. Stage 1 of the competition is still open!

Write your horror story here, and win some cool prizes!

October 26

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1624I_wzeaj-Mz7QvS_Pb28Xi5u8XWw1ke17fFwpFKWg/edit?usp=sharing

Not my best work, but figured why not show it. I hope it's at least enjoyable to others.

October 26

Hello everyone! This is the last week on this competition!

Please get your contributions in, and we'll see who makes it to stage 2!

Good luck!

October 27

I wake up in a certain place On the night of the half moon !!

I woke up after opening my eyes !! I'm in bed in a small room There is a mirror blocking me I don't know where I am.
I was tired, my throat was dry, my body thirsty. Almost no energy
I tried to pull myself out of this small bed. I fell to the ground I felt hurt, I looked around, the door was open.
that!! I can see the water I want it, ah !! The water gave me a little more strength.
But where is this place? What am i doing here How i come I don't remember anything.
There are glass tubes, syringes, various medical equipment. The hospital?
Oops !! Damn it, what's going on here? Red liquid
It's full of walls and floors, what's going on? Well, no good posture, I have to get out of here as quickly as possible.

This outside is so lonely Where is it exactly? Constructions seem like a center of something.
There are signs like a home decoration store. I remember, I remember it, but I couldn't speak. So, I wouldn't waste time walking around now. Survive here
I saw a light in front of me There's a house over there, too? So lucky it's a gas station. Better stop asking for help.
No, here too? What exactly happened Why is there no one who has survived? Everyone was breathless. Who's doing this crazy thing?
I have to get out of this place.

The silence was still shrouded in this time, and I could hear voices coming from afar. Coming from on the hill near this
Should I go see a little, or I shouldn't care?
But now I have a few defensive weapons. From the past through the old gas station Horror-looking
I followed the sound of a building that looked like a palace or a school I didn't know.
"Do I really want to go in there?" The thoughts suddenly argue with each other. It contradicts Both brave and afraid
With a full moon atmosphere And rain clouds are forming It looks so creepy.
With intuition I decided to go in Follow the sound Someone might need help.
Lecture inside the building This made it look even more desirable. Tables, beds, chairs, collapsed, and the drawers were raided.
Scattered but I still go Until arriving in a room Has a candle lit in front of the room is bright, or someone has survived?
The door opened, so I walked in. Ready to shout
Oh my God !!!! What the hell is it again? The image that you see in front of you It is the head of a kind animal. That we brought up Or as food
But now I feel like I can't tell. I am beyond tolerable Better get out of here

Damn it, fear gives me the strength to run, not really thinking of life. Running until I don't know where I am Without even a light
I'm in the dense forest Somewhere it was very dark because the clouds completely obscured the moon's light.
From the dark I wander about something.
I rub my eyes to slightly adjust my vision. You can notice that I fizzle with the burning candle stones and ????
Like a letter I can't read it. There is a circle and ..... this is like a symbol. Of worship
Who exactly did it? Do it for anything, oh my god
Distrustful in this dangerous place Better get out of here.
That in the mountains round like a black moon I should go up there and look around, maybe I'll see a city where people live.

Play it. I'm tired too. I'm starting to lose my energy, the water is running low, I'm hungry, I'm hungry
Above is high enough to see the surrounding cities. There is a train station There is still electricity I should go down and explore

Hooray, there is a train still running But where all the people went in Chanchala, they couldn't see a station master, a train officer's bed.
Hello !! Is anyone here? ....... Quiet, no sound. But there is a light in one room
Again, a room with light and silence ... Before I walk in What made in the palace I saw someone
The face was full of dry red liquid, the face was languishing, the clothes were dirty red, the hands were full of wounds.
That .... it .... we .... do?
What I see in front of me is me. No, what's going on? I'm taken aback. Come out of that room And walked in a room that was lit
The picture I see is a room. There were many dirty appliances scattered.
On the table there was a picture. I slowly reach my hand Grab it up
No no no no no .................