A Night of Horror is pleased to announce the winners and finalists of the festival’s 2024 short and feature length screenplay competitions.

A Night of Horror Feature Screenplay Competition

WINNERS

Winner: MORBIDLY (written by Don Stroud)

A young physical therapist slowly loses his grip on reality as he succumbs to the seductiveness of his only patient, a morbidly obese woman with a grisly secret.

1st Runner-up: A CHINESE VAMPIRE STORY (written by Mark Steensland)

An elderly shop owner in San Francisco’s Chinatown sacrifices himself to become a goeng-si—a Chinese hopping vampire—so that he can get revenge against the gangsters terrorizing his neighborhood.

2nd Runner-up: UNSPEAKABLE: BEYOND THE WALL OF SLEEP (written by Chad Ferrin, based on the works of Howard Phillips Lovecraft)

A sequel to Chad Ferrin's “Unspeakable” combined with H. P. Lovecraft's “Beyond the Wall of Sleep”.

FINALISTS (ALPHABETICAL ORDER)

KUMIHO: LEGEND OF THE GLADES (written by Gary A Porpora)

An unstable private detective investigates an ancient Korean legend who carries out vigilante justice in modern day L.A..

THE LAST RIDE OF THE BLOOD BROTHERS (written by Johnny Galvan)

After being recruited by one of the Devil’s sons, a ragged and troubled leader of a motorcycle club struggles to keep his friends alive and win an epic battle against a rival club for the survival of the human race.

THE PRODIGAL (written by Thomas O'Malley)

Receiving news of his father's death, Dermot Conneely, travels from Brooklyn with his pregnant wife to the remote island of Inis Manaanán off the coast of Ireland. But as a pagan festival marking the darkest part of the year approaches Dermot begins to suspect that the Islanders may have a horrific reason for wanting them to stay.

SQUEAL (written by Cameron Ryan Soedi)

WHITE BONE (written by Richard B. Pierre)

In an isolated town where a terrifying monster targets Black people, one troubled young woman must find a way to stop the creature before it's too late.

DOGGY’S KILLER IS THE MURDERER (written by Alessandra Coury)

On their way to a yearly horror movie convention, a group of friends, along with their intrepid dog, become the unwitting stars of their own horror movie, when they are attacked by a mysterious killer at a secluded house during a raging storm.

CARNEVIL FREAKSHOW (written by Steve Ross)

A revenge thriller about three innocent people in the town of Summersville who fall prey to vile, shameless acts of physical violence, rape and greed. Unknowingly to the assailants, their actions unlock a sequence of events that awaken the wrath and fury of Hell’s executioner and his evil horde of carnival freaks who seek justice on the accused by dragging their souls to Hell.

IMMORAL IMMORTAL (written by Mark Donnell)

An older man/younger woman would not be unusual unless she is demonically possessed - then it’s a whole new level of insanity. As this ancient Egyptian deity embraces the 21st century and discovers the carnal pleasures of greed and lust, she sets out to destroy him or anyone else that bores her or gets in the way.

WISE OLD OWL (written by Jacob Louis Hayek)

A middle-aged man is living in seclusion following a sad and failed life. He begins experiencing strange and horrifying occurrences; all of which are related to the choices of his life...

SPIRIT OF DARKNESS (written by Richard D Gann)

As her family becomes the epicenter of paranormal activity garnering worldwide attention, a young mother strives to uncover the origin of the multigenerational nightmare and the means to end it, no matter the cost.

AT THE MERCY OF FAITH (written by Samuel Lee Taylor)

A chilling tale of the internal struggles between the forces of good and evil within oneself, and the invisible universe that surrounds us all. Marvin Tailor, a disciple of God, falls from grace after the traumatic event he experienced as a teenager, and grows up to be a bitter man, who is constantly being tested by forces, only his eyes can behold, battling to claim his soul.

TAKE 7 (written by Vishal Rajput, Scott Parisien)

Mr. Mastermind is the head honcho behind the opera themes of horror. He wears a deranged iron mask to remain hidden from the world. He runs the gauntlet of death, putting the students in utter misery so he can produce his snuff horror films to make a profit on the dark web.

 A Night of Horror Short Screenplay Competition

WINNERS

Winner: R.I.P. JENNY LEE (written by Jason Rice)

After disturbing a makeshift roadside memorial, a young girl becomes trapped in an SUV with a vengeful ghost.

1st Runner-up: HIDDEN (written by Taiyen Stevenson)

John Earl Mathews, an escaped convict picks up a female hitchhiker who harbors a dark secret.

2nd Runner-up: TEDDY CUDDLES (written by Christopher Eric Outridge)

When Jacob, an avid toy collector, purchases a rare 1985 original assembly line Teddy Cuddles Teddy Bear, he, his girlfriend and their roommates suffer the deadly consequences of the wise cracking, murderous Teddy Bear.

FINALISTS (ALPHABETICAL ORDER)

BUG OUT (written by Franck Zuanic)

How often does one ask oneself “Am I a human guineapig? Are pharmaceutical corporations geared to erasing every last vestige of my existence… or my identity?” Mr Roach just happens to be one of those willing and unthinking guineapigs.

BUGGED (written by Metin Bulent)

Cyclor witnesses the death of his loved one by a heartbroken Zara and seeks vengeance.

DEEP SLUMBER (written by G. Sewell)

Deep beneath the waters of the South Pacific something ancient is sleeping. Soon it will awake. Based on the writings of H. P. Lovecraft.

THE EXORCISM OF FATHER GABRIEL (written by Pierre Langenegger)

While performing an exorcism on a young girl, a priest recognizes the voices of the demons speaking through her, from his past, and now he is desperate to escape.

GASP (written by Steph France)

A group of friends get together at their friend Layla's house for some bonding time. One of them, Greer, has severe OCD. And one of her fears is fires. Already frightened because the previous owners of Layla's new house died via fire, she's on edge.

TORN (written by Teresa Baranowski & Scott Kenyon Barker )

Two residents of the Ravenwood Psychiatric Center escape on a mysterious mission, only to discover that each of them is hiding a dark secret.

THE WARDEN (written by Korea Black & Gianna Rose)

During a lunar expedition, a wormhole was discovered near the dark side of the moon. This wormhole was later named “The Looking Glass” and is connected to an Earth-like planet called Naraka.