There will be money involved. Bet you’re reading NOW, huh?

This will be the seventh Halloween Creep-tacular Special.

And boy to I have a story for you guys.

When I was younger and living on Long Island, there was this place. A scary-as-shit place we all knew about, and few dared to tread.

Call it Pilgrim State Hospital, or the Pilgrim State Psychiatric Center. We called it creepy as f%^k.

It’s hey-day was in the 50’s, but through the decades, many of the buildings were abandoned. Land has since been sold off, but there are still a few of the old crumbling structures left.

Despite the fact that a much smaller psychiatric center is on the site and it is well guarded, you still can explore the grounds and the remaining dilapidated campus without too much hassle.

If you dare.

So for this, the #WordCountPodcast‘s SEVENTH Halloween Special, I want you to cook up a story about the insane, the abandoned, or the haunted.

Make it scary.

We have a Facebook Page that we have a goal of reaching a thousand likes this year. So give it a like or share it with your friends. The more listeners and contributors we have, the better the shows will be.

There are  over 400 original stories at this point—all free for your listening pleasure, all we ask is for people to help get the word out. Click the link:

The Word Count Podcast Facebook Page

If you want to listen to past (free) shows, the links below will take you to them:

LIBSYN

or

iTUNES

There are seventy shows available right now!

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

THE WORD COUNT PODCAST – EPISODE 71 “Insane, Abandoned,  Haunted.”

GENRE: Any.

DEADLINE: I must receive your submission by Friday 20 October 2017 by MIDNIGHT Eastern time.

THE DETAILS: The work must be an original story based on the picture above and Halloween.

Do NOT exceed SEVEN minutes.

As this is a podcast, I need to receive a file of YOU, a friend or multiple friends reading (singing or otherwise performing) your work. MP3 FORMAT ONLY, and please attach your MP3 file to an e-mail or contact me for a Dropbox link.

Your submission MUST also contain the following:

• Your pen name
• Your latest bio (DO NOT ASSUME I HAVE YOUR LATEST)
• Links to your website(s) – Include your personal site, Facebook Fanpage etc.
• Your Twitter handle (if you have one)
• A photo of you I can use for the show notes
• At the end of your recording, please add “This is author of and you’re listening to The Word Count Podcast.”
• Permission to use your recording in the podcast.
• PLEASE Make sure you have included ALL ARTIFACTS I have asked for. Do not assume I can “Get your picture from the internet” or can “Pull your bio from your web page.”

Send your file to me@rbwood.com (or via the dropbox link I can provide) by 20 October 2017. You can also e-mail me with questions beforehand. I do reserve the right NOT to post your submission, but will communicate that to you should it be the case. I add the ‘Explicit’ tag to the ‘cast, so if your story uses adult themes or language that’s ok—but it should be necessary for the story.

NOW THE MONEY PART.

I will pay $25.00 USD via PayPal for each accepted story up to TEN original stories in total.

One Submission per person. NO Reprints and NO multiple submissions. It MUST be an original story you have written and have rights to. If you DO NOT follow the guidelines, your story will be rejected out of hand. Acceptance criteria is up to me, and I’ve had strokes, so it might change day to day. You must have a PayPal account.

Payment will be made upon e-mail acceptance of your story and the offer of payment is only valid until 25 October, 2017.

***NOTE: I will NOT accept stories that are discriminatory in ANY WAY (whether it be by race, sexual orientation, gender, religion, etc.) or that include rape. ***

Peace