Spooktober 2022

Well, I cant guaruntee that It will all be spooky, but 31 more prompts, and Sunday Streams with Moro! So i guess tis time for more creativity. 2 sentance horor, Midjourney art, actual articles, who knows where we will end up. That is part of the excitement.
On further consideration, I have finally decided on a format for Spooktober. I will come up with a 2 sentence horror story (or story at least) for the prompts I am doing, then feed that into Midjourney and pick one of the images it spits out. Then there will probably be amplifying words to get to the 66 per prompt requirement.
In case I forget to mention is elsewhere, all the art was made by Midjourney, which is awesome and such a huge boost to art-challenged people like me.

1. Portrait - "The Artist finished cleaning his brushes and set them down, stepping back to admire his work. Who would have thought that all he needed to truly capture the soul of his subject was to use the the subject to make his paints?"
The Artist is perhaps one of the worlds most prolific serial killer (or killers). There is some debate as to whether there is one perosn or many, however, their subjects/victims are always easy to Identify. After all, the "life-like" portrait found with the body contains a soul, and so far nothing short of the intervention of several gods has been able to free said soul from the artwork that has imprisoned it.

2. Vanish - As Isolde looked down through her semi-transparent arm she realized she had heard the dwarfs correctly. The result of the sentencing had indeed been vanish, not banish as she had originally thought.
As clan is so important to dwarves it is often written that banishment is the worst punishment, cutting someone off from clan and family, but what if there was something worse. What if you simply vinished as if you never were.

3. Abandoned - "Don't worry," the demon said, looming over the youth. "It isn't your fault, you didnt get lost, you were abandoned"
Oh man, stretching this out to 66 words might be hard. Obviously there is a child that a demon is abducting/killing/posessing. Perhaps the demon is trying to corrupt them and turn them against society, telling them that it is the fault of adults that they ended up in this situation. Still, I think Mj did another gread job here.

4. Enchant - It is a strange thing, realizing that for nearly two thousand years the elves of the Feywillow Forest had no idea the reputation they had gained for killing "trespassers" in their wood. The elves would throw a celebration, the celebration would attract scavengers, the scavengers would attract predators, and the predators (being fae in nature) would enchant helpless wanderers attracted by the noise of the revelry.

5. Misfortune- As the gate began to rise, revealing the sands of the arena and the black flag signaling a death match Ogrumbu's lips twitched in an orcish smirk. Raising his sword in salute, the crowd held its breath as he turned to his oponent and in a flat voice rumbled out "Misfortune has blessed you this day...."

His opponent was a sorry sight as he knelt on the sands: both hands cut off, left leg hamstrung, and a vicious wound to his stomach oozing blood. As Ogrumbu brought up his sword in preperation for the final blow he muttered "I'm sorry, friend, but there was nothing you could do, misfortune blessed you this day."
OOOOOoooo, an undefeated gladiator with a slogan that he uses at the start and end of each of his matches. But it is fun because it can be interpreted as misfortune or Miss Fortune, depending on whether it is a death match or an exhibition match where killing or crippling an opponent could result in punishment.

6. Chasm - Xaggalan and Xakallen looked down and smiled at their work. What had started as a small crack between worlds was now a gaping chasm leading straight to the hells.

7. Thorn - As she looked down at the wimpering poachers, watching as they leaked vital nourishment into her garden from the wounds the thorns had caused, the druid let out a satisfied chuckle. It had taken much trial and error, breeding her guard plants to leave the animals of the wood alone, but if was finally starting to pay off.
And you thought druids were nice? Honestly, I think druids in some cultures would definitely be viewed similar to the stereo type of witches or warlocks. Animating plants, strengthening animals and defending the deep old regions of forests, seems like a setup for a horror story to me.

8. Howl -The worst part wasn't the howls, as many thought. It was watching as, silent as an owl, a nightmare swooped down taking horse and rider alike as it vanished into the bridge he knew was made of solid ruby.
I will say that this piece of art did not come from the 2 sentence story. Rather, it is art that midjourney generated for the Jaccast. As a pack hunter inspired by the monsters of Pitch Black I felt okay stealing this. Also, i dont think I have added it to that article yet. They only exist in the vicinity of The Ruby Bridge.

9. Mirror - "He grinned, looking at 'himself' in the mirror, and gave his hat a slight adjustment. He was far from a perfect copy, but that would change as the digestion of his victim progressed."
There exists a subspecies of mimics that are more devious, and more dangerous, that any I have previously studied. The Mirror Mimic not only mimics the object that gives it its name, but traps its victims in an extra-dimensional space to be slowly digested, while creating a copy of them that it uses to lure in more victims.

10. Broken
11. Escape - "You were so close to making your escape," the voice said from behind her. "It was your misfortune that you managed to find the one unlocked door here...."
ha, I did a joint prompt, and snuck it in right at the end. This was a little to help GhostWolf over on the discord brainstorm some ideas. After all, we need to feed the badge-goblin in all of us. And this community is awesome.
But why didn't the person fleeing escape through the unlocked door? What was on the other side that kept them from going through?
Where are they trying to escape from? Who is this mysterious voice?

12. Slime - Jerry, of course, had no idea why people were unnerved by his appearance, as usual he was just trying to help. Most other creatures seemed to have bones, and so did he. Sure, you couldnt see the bones of most things, but he couldnt help how he was made. Besides, he was rather good at cleaning up, well, just about anything truth be told.
Jerry, here, of course, refers to Jerry the Jello. A slime that has been awakened and uses the bones of a previous victim to give himself more form than he may have had in the past.... or a spirit of a forgotten warrior who posessed the slime that killed him.

13. Haunt - "Why must everyone assume that those spirits that haunt a place have ill intentions," the spectre asked the quivering child. "This is a place of sanctuary for those such as yourself who are lost and alone, of course it would provide company for any who make their way here."
See, haunting can be a good thing. A nice friendly ghost or remnant to keep you company and ward off the terrors of being alone. Partially inspired by Neil Gaiman's "The Graveyard Book."
Now that isn't to say that these spirits wont react violently to those that would try to harm their charge. After all, as the spirit said, it is a sanctuary, and sanctuaries are defended or they arent worth the name.

14. Ruin - The ruin stood, a crumbling sanctuary from a bygone time. Yet deep magics lingered still, as any who would do violence upon this hallowed ground would find out.
"With Sweat and Stone this home was build,
With Blood and Bone defended,"
here the inscription is scratched out and damaged for several lines before ending "your violent path is ended."
The start of the poem above has been rattling around in my head for a while now and this seems like as good a place as any to use it. The idea is paired with what i wrote above for Haunt in a haunted ruin that provides sanctuary for those that seek shelter there.

15. Mist -
16. Whisper -
17. Shadow - He shivered, knowing with certainty that he was not alone. As the hunter peered into the shadows surrounding his camp, he couldn't shake the feeling that the shadows were staring back.
It would behoove one to not go hunting alone in the Ghostspider forest. While the most famous, the eponymous species is hadly the only dangerous thing there. The whole place is connected to the fringes of the ethereal plane, and the effect that this had had on both the local flora and fauna will likely keep scientists facinated for centuries.

18. Spirit - The shifting form of the spirit followed its prey patiently across the desert. While the full moons provided ample light sooner or later the rider's headlong rush through these wastes would result in a mistake, and then he would once again feast not just on the flesh of the living, but on the memories of a soul.
Oh look, another terror to add to the already real enough terrors of the muder desert. Sorry, Myrdhor Desert. Yup, even supernatural beings there have been twisted and want to kill you. Probably something to do with the City of Sleeping Skulls rumored to be hidden by the sands.

19. Relic
20. Unquiet
21. Shatter - With a single word and a point of his finger, the sorcerer caused the dam to shatter. A wall of water, mud, and debris rushed through the valley paying little mind as the village known Verti was washed from history.
haHA! A bonus drowning of Verti, I bet you weren't expecting that were you. This time it is a city named Verti washed away without a trace. Why did the sorcerer shatter the dam. Was it spite? Would a non-drowned Verti become to powerful for a world to handle? Did he even know the village was there?
Sadly, as it was "washed from history" we may never know the answers, as with many of the mysteries involving Verti, the Many Drowned.

22. Lock - As he frantically looked for a place to hide from the demon, Lezhar cursed his luck at being taken in by druids convinced he was an orphan of war. He had tried to warn them, the problem of living in a place with no doors is that there is nothing you can lock to keep the evil out.
A story where the problem comes from the absense of the prompt word, rather than its presence. If the magics of their grove failed, how would druids guard against an attack. Is a druids grove considered hallowed ground by demons, devils and the like or not?

23. Door - "You were so close to making your escape," the voice said from behind him. "It was your misfortune that you managed to find the one unlocked door here...
ha, I did a joint prompt, and snuck it in right at the end. This was a little to help GhostWolf over on the discord brainstorm some ideas. After all, we need to feed the badge-goblin in all of us. And this community is awesome.

24. Curse - It wasn't even much of a curse on first inspection. However, as the years passed Fredrick grew to resent the beggar's words, as much as he could anyway, "may you always be happy..."
How innocuous some curses may seem. This was somewhat inspired by the myth behind Beauty and the Beast and many other tales, where not showing kindness to a beggar or other societal outcast backfires. A curse to always be happy (not seem happy, but actually be happy) is interesting to thinkn about dealing with. Would you go live as a hermit, or live as a new outcast, someone who only has 1 emotional response to anything?

25. Posses
26. Abyss
27. Echo

28. Darkness - As tendrils of shadow and darkness pulled him away from the firelight the sentry knew his entire caravan was doomed. Fire provided a false sense of security, the flickering shadows giving their stalkers more places to hide.
And just like that, another caravan belonging to the The Graceful Blossom Trading Company vanished. The cat-sìth licked its paw and gave its tail a flick. These self-styled creatures of the night had no idea the advantage darkness and shadow gave to a true hunter.

29. Hunt
30. Tear

31. Drown - As Verti looked upwards to the distant rays of sunlight he was suddenly filled with a sense of calm. "Well," he thought, breathing in the surrounding waters and relishing the darkness that was eclipsing his vision "at least I wont have to feel the sea urchins eating me this time."
Who this multi-dimensional being known as Verti is, we may never know. What is even more confusing is somehow, some way, they always end up drowning. Has their soul been cursed? Is it a conscoius decision? Is this mearly a coincidence of names and fates that are entirely unlinked?
Rumor has it one version of this poor being spawned as a merfolk, only to be the first ever to suffer from an unfortunate molasses accident.