Below are the Quarterfinalists of the 2026 Killer Shorts Horror Short Screenplay Competition. These exceptional screenplays and short stories were selected from over 1,000 submissions and represent some of the strongest emerging voices in horror storytelling today.
Congratulations to the writers who have advanced, and sincere thanks to every creator who trusted Killer Shorts with their work.
Further announcements will follow over the coming weeks as we move toward semifinalist and finalist selections. Subscribe to our Substack newsletter for official updates.
† The Scream List — Reader Recommended
Scripts marked with † received a Recommend rating from Killer Shorts coverage readers.
Here are the Main Category Quarterfinalists:
| WRITER/S | TITLE |
| TINO GARCIA GROSS | (Wash) Cycle of Violence |
| MICHELLE CAMPBELL | Amarillo |
| LUCY FOSTER | ANSWER MAN |
| MATTHEW LAYDEN | Back Piece |
| LYNDA HILLIKER | BE MY BABY |
| OLIVIA LOCCISANO | Be Not Afraid |
| SHAINA AIDAN | Behind Closed Doors |
| HELOISE CHUNG & BRANDY CARIE | Bibi |
| ANDREW GIBBS | Black Candy |
| BENJAMIN LUK | Buttons † |
| ELAINE FROST | By Yourself |
| JEAN FERNANDEZ | CAIN |
| PHILLIP MCSWEEN | Can I Borrow Your Demon? |
| MATILDA SZYDAGIS | CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW |
| NOLAN LAMPSON | CAPTURE |
| MELISSA PEREZ GELT | Changing † |
| PIERRE DEMERY | Closing Time † |
| MARCO RODRIGUEZ | Collector |
| KES NAVE | Crisis |
| SEAN KENEALY | Cut |
| MATTHEW HILL | CUT! |
| ERIC GORODETSKY | Dead Air |
| LEON MASTERS | DEAD DAUGHTER |
| EISLINN GRACEN | Deerest Darling |
| CLAUDIA BARCENAS | DEI Murders |
| SEBASTIAN WAVERLY | DORMANT |
| JOSE CRUZ | Dress Up |
| VILDE ØKSNES | Drive Safe |
| CALEB GEORGE | Eat Me Alive |
| MARY ROBERGE | Elevator Jack |
| TODD JONES | Emancipation |
| JUAN GOMEZ JR & DANIELLE OMELAS | Enmity |
| ROSS LOVELL | Feeding The Foxes † |
| RICHARD GARRY | Food Chain |
| ED O’GOWER | Gnomey Gnutkins Is Out Of Copyright |
| ADAM WARD | GONE FISHIN’ † |
| ANTHEA JONES | Good Child † |
| MARISA MARTINEZ | Got Milk? |
| RYAN CURTIS | GRAVEN |
| JOSHUA DAVID MATTHEWS | Grim |
| KARELINE CASTOR | Hangtown Fry |
| STEPHEN TRAMONTANA | Hidden Treasure |
| MARK ROCHON | High Stakes at Sundown |
| SAPPHIRE SANDALO | How Was Your Day? † |
| PAUL STARKEY | Hyde and Seek |
| KYLE HARRIS | In Recline |
| KATIE WALKER-COOK | In Sheep’s Clothing |
| CHRIS WILTZ | In the Freezer |
| CARA MARSHALL | In With the Storm † |
| JENNIFER LYNN WARREN | Jimmy |
| SHERICE GRIFFITHS | Jinx |
| MIKE MURPHY | JOEY SALAMI’S HALLOWEEN |
| STEVEN LEE | Kathy and Jeb |
| JOHAN SPIROLAZZI | Keep Digging |
| MICHAEL SHEETZ | Keepsake |
| CATHERINE CASEY | KILLJOY |
| MATTHEW YONGUE | Limbo |
| CHRISTOPHER GUERRERO & RYAN GILMOUR | LOCUST GROVE |
| COLE MCCABE | Lovebirds |
| LEE BACON | Lure |
| MONICA CROWELL | Lure |
| MICHAEL CLIFTON | Lyla’s Last Dance |
| MICHAEL MORRA | Mercy |
| STEPHEN GRAVES | Mister Mittens |
| ARRAN CRAWLEY | Mother Wound |
| SANCHEZ TAYLOR | My Other Half |
| MICHAEL PISATURO | No Faces |
| SEBASTIAN WATSON | No Fishing |
| KERMET MERL KEY | Nyarlathotep |
| SETH KELMAN | Only You † |
| TOPE OGUNDARE | Orchid Thieves |
| CARLOS TKACZ | Outside |
| IAN BAASKE | Polaroid |
| CONOR KILLMURRAY | Puppy Love |
| JASON RICE | QuickBites |
| MICHELLE IANNANTUONO | Recycled |
| RICK ARGIRO & KOLE HICKS | Reverie |
| SALVATORE LIUZZI | Riding with the King |
| VIKTOR HERRMANN | RockABilly |
| ROSE VATEL | Saint Arnold † |
| TEX GRESHAM | Sara |
| KEN TEUTSCH | Second Honeymoon |
| MATT FINLAY | SEVERED |
| MITCHELL ALAN BANKS | Shredded |
| FRANCESCA PAZNIOKAS | Super Absolutely |
| KEV DOOLEY | Terms & Conditions |
| DAKOTA LASKY | That’s Not Mason Gladwell |
| ARI DONNELLY | The Ballad of B9-G |
| DARREN BAILEY | The Bellows |
| SCOTT A. WEISS | THE BIG DARK |
| SEAN REIDY | The Boy in the Orchard |
| JEREMY FEIGHT | The Buggerer |
| TAYLOR SHOFNER | The Cockatrice |
| LIAM FITZPATRICK | The Frame |
| CHERISE KEOWN | The Hind Woman |
| GREG KACZYNSKI | The House of Man |
| PATRICK KOEPKE | The Lantern Man |
| MIKE UNDERWOOD | The Last Dance of Victor Hall |
| CHERELLE ANN SARAH HIGGINS | The Little Black Boy |
| MICHAEL HAAS | The Monster Within |
| JULIA DIDDY | The Offering |
| RENUKA SINGH | The Offering |
| RACHEL YELDING | The Stopping House |
| JACK CAMPION | The Toadman Cometh |
| EDWARD ROWETT | The Village Witch |
| JESSICA MCLAUGHLIN | The Widow’s Itch |
| LEE COTMAN | There Were Signs |
| JOAN MAO | THEY STILL REMEMBER |
| JOHN BURDEAUX | This Vehicle Has Been Checked for Sleeping Children |
| SARAH RICHARDSON | Toe to Toe |
| BRIANNE NORD-STEWART | Tricky Me |
| MARISA GREEN | TRUNK |
| RACHEL RICHARDS | Tulpa |
| CHRIS VANDERHORST | TV-MA |
| CHRIS LEE | Wagashi |
| ANDREW MARON | We’ll Be In Touch |
| SHANE THOMPSON | Welcome to Our Cabin |
| SAM DAS | What Remains |
| BIANCA BINA | Who’s there? |
| WALKER MACDONALD | Wookalark |
Here are the 1 Page Quarterfinalists:
| WRITER/S | TITLE |
| KIMBERLY DIVAD | A Paralysis |
| P.M. RAYMOND | A Pretty Smile |
| ROSS LOVELL | Always |
| ANDREW DUNSTAN | Amma |
| SANCHEZ TAYLOR | Appeal |
| WILLIAM DREW | Arke Takes the Stairs |
| GIOVANNA UMPIERREZ | Backbone |
| CASS COOPER | Beaming |
| JOSE CRUZ | Bed and Board |
| GIOVANNA UMPIERREZ | Blackberry |
| KELLY ASHER | Canvas |
| MICHAEL BRENNAN | Carla’s New Suit |
| EVAN BAUGHFMAN | Constant December |
| TANNER CALL | Dead Line |
| IAN DELEÓN | Donna’s Summer: An Abduction Story |
| ANNIE WILDER | Fallen Man |
| JASON TURER | Glug Glug |
| LIAM FITZPATRICK | Guess Again |
| JOEY MILLER | Hunger |
| SHAUN BALAND | Hush, Little Baby |
| SEAN REIDY | I Hate Camping |
| TOM SCHRACK | Instructions |
| DEREK MCHUGH | Jukebox |
| AVI HEIKKINEN | Laundry Day |
| PAUL STARKEY | Loose Lips |
| TARYN CRANKSHAW | NO FEELINGS WERE HURT IN THE MAKING OF THIS FILM |
| COLBY HELTON | Nothing Yet |
| JAMES ALLEN | PARTY BLOB |
| JUSTIN BURFORD | Peeping Tom |
| OLIVIA LOCCISANO | ProtoTyke |
| EMMA HUANG | Ritual |
| ARTHUR MOLLENHOFF | Rubber Duckie |
| ROSE VATEL | School Shopping |
| OTIS HAMMER | Sensory Deprivation |
| HUGO DABAS | Shadowboxing |
| CHRISTOPHER WHITE | SKINNY |
| CALEB DILLON | TALKBOY |
| ZACHARY LENTZ | The Cookout |
| DAVID HO | The Daughter and the Doll |
| INÊS REIS | The Homebody |
| MAUREEN TRINH | The License Plate Game |
| CYLE BROOKS | The Merging |
| RICK J. LUCAS | The Rending |
| JOSE CRUZ | The Shaft † |
| DEVIN GARDNER | Think Tank |
| ILIAN MANDEV | Time’s Up |
| RICK ARGIRO | Tools |
| TJ BERRY | Weakness Leaving the Body † |
| STEPHEN CHEN | What Big Muscles You Have! |
| DARREN HINCHY | WOKE |
Here are the Short Story (Prose) Quarterfinalists:
| WRITER/S | TITLE |
| RACHEL MCCAULLEY | A Massive Catastrophe of Epic Moral Proportions |
| NICHOLAS THOMAS | A.Eye |
| ARIC HARRISON | Alligator Boy |
| AUSTIN LANGLEY | Apple Tree |
| ROBERT CREEKMORE | Bristles |
| ANDREW NEWALL | Broken Image |
| NICHOLAS PALILUNAS | Creature In The Black Night |
| C.T. ROEMER | Death Socks |
| AKUORKOR ALLOTEY | Doggy in the Window |
| P.M. RAYMOND | Don’t Drink the Water |
| TIYAN NEWMAN | Eden |
| MARK RENSHAW | Fungi |
| TOM BROWNGARDT | Gravestone Concussion |
| MILLIE PRICE | Harold aka Fed by Pain |
| MIKE AD | Hulled Out |
| SAINT LAZARE | La Jambe Rouge (The Red Leg) |
| NICK BUCHHEIT | WAKE. LOOK. DREAD. |
| AARON STURGEON | Mama Ruth’s Drawer |
| ROSEMARY MINUCOS | No Takesies Backsies |
| MARTIN DELANEY | Nothing Is Scary Any More |
| CHARLES WILCHER | Only When It Rains |
| ROB ULITSKI | PSA |
| SHANNON WESTON | Rendered Speechless |
| P.M. RAYMOND | Rent Party |
| SCOTT PIERANGELO | Room 08051212 |
| JULIE ANN SLABY | Ruby Writes Her Name Across the Sky |
| JORDAN ANDREW | Runaway |
| TRAVIS WILLIAMS | Shattered |
| DANIEL BODDICKER | Shucked, or The Gay Corn Demon Story |
| RUARIDH CURRIE | Swifty Brown |
| MARY KURYLA | Taunt |
| BROOKE SOLOMON | Texas Tea |
| K FERNANDEZ | The Hallway Hallucination |
| TRAVIS WILLIAMS | The Lamb |
| MARK RYAN & HARLEY ADAMS | THE LAST SHEAF |
| ALEC KLUSZA | The Photographer |
| TJ BERRY | Things That Came Through with the Baby |
| GABRIEL COFIELD | To Reach New Horizons |
| NOA SARACEN | Withering in the Wasteland |
| C LENZ | Yesforatu |
What’s Next
Quarterfinalists will advance to the next stage of evaluation as we move toward semifinalist and finalist announcements later this season.
Partners & Sponsors
Big thanks to our sponsors Shudder, Final Draft, Rue Morgue, Stan Winston School of Character Arts, Horror Pack, QWERKYTOYS, Seed & Spark, We Make Movies, Stage 32, Robert McKee’s Horror Webinar Series, Ghoulish Gary, The Script Butcher, Filmfreeway, Script Hive, ISA, Script Hop, Script Revolution, Scrivener and Fright Rags.
Thanks also to our festival partners SimplyScripts, MovieBytes, Christopher Fielden, Duotrope, and the following Womxn & BIPOC organizations: The Write or Die Chicks, Women Make Movies, Ladima Foundation, NYWIFT, African American Women in Cinema, The Light Leaks, Hedgebrook, Rianne Pictures, Alliance of Women Directors, LIFTT, Black Screenwriters, and Indigenous Australian Filmmakers.
