The end of October is nearly upon us, which means only one thing here at Jezebel: Our scary story contest is coming to a close, and we’re publishing the winning tales below. We were delighted—and terrified, frankly—to read everyone’s entries; this was a good year, and no I’m not just saying that to flatter you. Our winning stories are a mix of the supernatural, the unexplainable, and perhaps the scariest of all: the very human. We’ve edited these for legibility and length, and they’re attributed to the names your fellow readers posted them under.