“The Cursed Department Store,” by Amelia Rosbach: October 2025 2nd Place

It started on Saturday. Halloween was days away, and Soleil needed a costume. Luckily, a sleek new department store had opened—right where the cursed KFC used to be. Locals whispered about hauntings, but Soleil rolled her eyes. “Any ghost haunting a KFC is wasting their afterlife,” she muttered.

Inside, the store gleamed with unnatural brightness. Costumes lined the walls—witches, werewolves, vampires—all eerily lifelike. Soleil chose a vampire ensemble. Tasteful. Easy. Possibly cursed.

Halloween in Silent Springs was always big. But this year? Unhinged. Kids roamed the streets, howling, cackling, casting spells. A boy in a werewolf outfit sprouted fur. A pirate commandeered the town pond, swinging from ropes that hadn’t been there yesterday.

Soleil’s stomach flipped. First from excitement. Then from dread. Was this normal?

She ran to the library. Empty—except for two zombie librarians gnawing on neurosurgery books. Panicked, she backed into a shelf. A dusty tome tumbled down: The Tale of the Cursed Department Store. She skimmed it. The legend spoke of a store built on haunted ground, selling costumes infused with ancient magic. Wearers became their characters. The curse fed on belief.

Soleil sprinted to the town square. “Your costumes are cursed!” she shouted. “Take them off!”

No one listened. She tried again. A few skeptical fairies removed their masks—and collapsed, unconscious but unharmed. One by one, monsters dropped.

Soleil hesitated, then tore off her own mask. Her fangs vanished. Her heartbeat slowed.

She sat on the curb, watching the town return to itself.

Next year, she decided, she’d go as herself. And maybe bring garlic.