Listen up, you ink-stained ghouls and caffeine-fueled nightmare weavers—Killer Shorts is back for Season 7, and if you’re not already sharpening your quills (or switchblades), you’re about to miss the last life raft on the sinking ship of horror contests.
While the industry’s been collapsing faster than a zombie’s jawline (RIP WeScreenplay, ScreenCraft, and the rest of the ghosted platforms), Killer Shorts isn’t just surviving—it’s thriving. Like a Final Girl who just won’t die, this contest has outlasted the purge, and now it’s returning with more blood, more prizes, and more reasons to submit before the axe falls.
Why This Year’s Killer Shorts Is the Only Contest That Matters
1. The Jury: A Murderer’s Row of Horror Royalty
This isn’t some rinky-dink panel of bored interns—Killer Shorts has assembled a jury that could make Stephen King sweat. Leading the charge this year is Tananarive Due, the goddamn queen of Black horror (The Twilight Zone, The Reformatory), joining forces with her horror-sister-in-arms Melody Cooper (Two Sentence Horror Stories).
But wait—it gets better. They’re judging alongside:
- Gregory f*cking Nicotero (Creepshow, The Walking Dead)
- Gigi Saul Guerrero (Culture Shock, *V/H/S/85*)—because if anyone knows how to make horror hurt, it’s her.
- Barbara Crampton (Re-Animator, Jakob’s Wife)—horror’s eternal scream queen.
- Julian Terry (Don’t Peek, The Spider Within)—the short-film maestro who’s been crushing it on YouTube.
If your script doesn’t at least try to impress these people, what are you even doing with your life?
2. The Theme: Folk Horror (Because the Woods Are Watching)
This year’s tagline? “Submit or Be Summoned.”
That’s not a suggestion—it’s a threat. Killer Shorts wants your most unsettling, folkloric nightmares. Think:
- Creepy rural cults (bonus points if there’s a maypole involved).
- Ancient curses (the older, the better).
- Isolated villages where the locals definitely eat people.
- That one weird tradition your hometown had that you’re still not allowed to talk about.
If your story could soundtrack a Wicker Man reboot directed by Ari Aster, you’re on the right track.
3. The Prizes: More Than Just Bragging Rights
Winning Killer Shorts isn’t just a shiny line on your Coverfly—it’s a career launcher. Past winners have:
- Landed managers & agents (because Hollywood does still read horror).
- Sold scripts (cold hard cash, baby).
- Got staffed in writers’ rooms (yes, they do let horror writers make TV).
Oh, and did we mention the Skull Typewriter Trophy? Hand-sculpted by Face Off’s Tyler Green, this thing is the horror equivalent of an Oscar—if Oscars were made of bones and looked way cooler on your shelf.
4. The Format: Screenplays AND Short Stories (Because IP Is King)
Killer Shorts gets it—horror isn’t just for the screen anymore. With studios hungry for fresh IP, they’re accepting:
- Short horror screenplays (5-15 pages of pure terror).
- Short horror fiction (because sometimes prose just hits different).
Whether you’re a screenwriter, a novelist, or just someone who scribbles nightmares on bar napkins, there’s a category for you.
The Deadlines (Choose Your Own Horror Movie)
🌕 Early Deadline – August 1, 2025 (“The First Script is the Purest”)
🔥 Regular Deadline – October 3, 2025 (“The Fire Grows Hungry”)
🌒 Late Deadline – December 5, 2025 (“The Script Demands Blood”)
🌑 Extended Deadline – December 31, 2025 (“Past the Threshold, the Price Increases”)
Translation: Submit early, save money, and avoid the last-minute panic of a slasher victim.
Justin’s Final Verdict: Why You Need to Enter
Look, I don’t do cheerleading unless there’s blood involved, but Killer Shorts is the real deal. In a landscape where most contests are either scams or ghost towns, this one actually gets writers noticed.
⭐️ For Screenwriters: This is your shot to get your work in front of producers who matter.
⭐️ For Prose Writers: Your creepy short story could be the next Hereditary or The VVitch.
⭐️ For Everyone Else: Even if you don’t win, the discipline of writing to a deadline is worth it.
Bottom line? If you’re serious about horror, you can’t afford to sit this one out.
How to Submit
📜 Screenplays & Short Stories: KillerShorts.com
🎬 FilmFreeway & Network ISA: Also accepted (because they’re not monsters).
🔪 Follow @KillerShorts on X, Bluesky, Facebook, Discord, and Instagram for updates, horror memes, and the occasional existential scream.
#SubmitOrBeSummoned—or risk becoming just another forgotten victim in the horror writing graveyard. Your move.
