There’s still time to terrify us with your stories and artwork – Press Telegram

It’s officially October and that means it’s time for students across Long Beach to scare us silly with their terrifying tales and  artwork — but time is already running out.

The Press-Telegram’s annual Scary Stories Contest is back, and we’re accepting submissions until 5 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 13. This chilling challenge asks students to explore the cadaverous caverns of their own imaginations, and deliver us with the most dreadful drawings and morbid myths they can conjure up.

The contest is open to all Long Beach area students and has become a beloved tradition for young creatives, who submit hundreds of stories and artworks to the paper each year.

As usual, the contest features three age divisions for stories and drawings: Elementary school (K-5), middle school (6-8) and high school. Students can submit a scary story, a drawing or both. The stories and artwork will be judged separately.

This artwork is the first in a two-part entry by Emily De La Rosa, a ninth-grader at St. Anthony High School in Long Beach. Her two-part submission won the high school division for artwork in the Press-Telegram’s Scary Stories Contest. (Photo courtesy of Emily De La Rosa.)

This untitled drawing by Olive Madison, a fourth-grader at Patrick Henry Elementary School, in Long Beach, won the elementary school division for art in the Press-Telegram’s Scary Stories Contest. (Photo courtesy of Olive Madison)

This untitled artwork by Eliana Hernandez, an eighth-grader at Stephens Middle School, won the middle school division for art in last year’s Press-Telegram’s Scary Stories Contest. (Photo courtesy of Eliana Hernandez)

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This artwork is the first in a two-part entry by Emily De La Rosa, a ninth-grader at St. Anthony High School in Long Beach. Her two-part submission won the high school division for artwork in the Press-Telegram’s Scary Stories Contest. (Photo courtesy of Emily De La Rosa.)

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And remember: We want your most macabre, spine-tingling and blood-curdling tales and images — the ones that may even keep us rotten readers awake at night. (Well, not TOO gooey, kids. Remember, we’re a family newspaper.)

The winning entries will appear in the Sunday, Oct. 26, edition of the Press-Telegram and online. And the top finishers for stories and artwork in each age group will also receive a $20 gift card to In-N-Out.

Here are the rules:

• The submission deadline is 5 p.m. Monday, Oct. 13.
• For story submissions, please fill out this online form, shorturl.at/gM4d9. No mail or in-person submissions will be accepted.
• All artwork entries must be emailed, with the subject line “Scary Stories,” to ptnews@presstelegram.com. Drawings should be submitted in JPEG format and be no larger than 5 megabytes in size. Entries must include the student’s name, age and school.
• Stories must be no longer than 650 words.
• Artwork must be original (no tracings).
• Do not use artificial intelligence programs to craft stories or create images. Entries must be the student’s own work.
• Entries will be judged based on imagination, creativity, theme and quality.

If you have any questions, contact city editor Chris Haire at chaire@scng.com.