We are excited to announce the winners of the 2024 Killer Shorts Horror Short Screenplay Competition. These exceptional short screenplays and short stories were selected from over 1,124 submissions. Congratulations!
Main Category
Overall Winner
This Is Not The End by Victor Ridaura
When a low income, immigrant couple spend their life-savings on a procedure to upload the cancer stricken wife’s consciousness into the AfterLife servers, things don’t turn out how they planned.
2nd Place Winner
There’s Something Off About Gertrude… by Jake Moses
Inexplicable occurrences begin to happen after a young nurse becomes the caretaker of a coma patient.
3rd Place Winner
Nosebleed by Kristen McNaule
When hackers take all the Taylor Swift tickets, Santa Claus goes on a bloody crusade to save Christmas for the children.
1-Page Category
Overall Winner
Don’t Blink by Kelly Asher
A Ouija board reveals a deadly warning that is impossible to heed.
2nd Place Winner
Fish Special by Travis Williams
The diners at a Michelin star restaurant are about to discover what’s squirming in the fish special.
3rd Place Winner
“Keep an Ear Out” by George Morris
A meet-cute at a train station between two strangers may not be as innocent as it seems…
Short Story (Prose) Category
Overall Winner
A Shade of Scarlett by Derek Ladd
A man’s obsession with a red dress takes a strange turn when the mannequin wearing it comes to life.
2nd Place Winner
The Kitchen Drawer by Jon Douglas Rainey
A farewell letter between brothers brings closure to the mystery of their mothers disappearance and exposes the horror of the supernatural threat that plagues their family.
3rd Place Winner
The Unconventional Tea Party by Azzurra Rowland
Stranded at the airport during a snowstorm, Celine takes up the offer of a stranger to drive her home for the holidays. This road trip will soon resurface a traumatic incident from her childhood that she thought she had put behind. Ghosts don’t always stay buried in the past.
We’d like to thank again our esteemed jury that included: literary managers John Zaozirny (Bellevue Productions), Scott Stoops (Good Fear), Matthew Dartnell (Writ Large) and Glenn Cockburn (Meridian Artists); senior programmers Sophie Carroll (ALTER) and Chelsea Lupkin (Short of the Week); horror filmmakers and producers Julian Terry, Gigi Saul Guerrero, Xavier Burgin, Jenn Wexler, Aaron B. Koontz and Jason Tamasco; plus legendary horror actors Barbara Crampton and Kane Hodder.
Congratulations to these winning writers, and thank you to our judges and to everyone who submitted projects. View the Quarterfinalists, Semifinalists, and Finalists here. You may now purchase our Short Script Coverage to prepare for Season 6. And if you’d like to receive a notification when we re-open for entries, subscribe for updates via Substack and Coverfly.
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