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EDIT: The majority of the rules have remained the same. The changes mostly come in the sections about Promotional Links in the Comment Section and Links Within The story Itself.
500 Word Limit
All stories must be 500 words or less. A story that is 501 words (or two sentences or less, to distinguish us from r/twosentencehorror) will be removed. The go-to source that mods use to check stories is www.wordcounter.net. Be aware that formatting can artificially increase the word count without your knowledge; any discrepancy between what your document says and what the mod sees on wordcounter.net will be resolved in favor of wordcounter.net. In the same vein, all of the story must be in the post itself, and not be carried on in the title of the story or in the comment section.
No Links Within the story Itself
Stories cannot have links in them. This is meant to reduce distractions. Any story with a link in it will be removed.
Promotional Links in the Comment Section
Self-Promotion can only be done in the comment section of the story. Authors may only link to personal subreddits, other subreddits, and YouTube narrations of the work currently posted. Links to sales sites such as Amazon or posts with the intent of generating sales are strictly forbidden. We no longer allow links to outsides websites like blogs, author websites, or anything else.
No Tags in the Title
Tags are reserved for Contests or Challenges and SSS posts disguised as posts from other subreddits. Otherwise, there is no need to add tags to a post. Stories with tags will be removed and re-submissions will be required. We do not require trigger warnings here as other rules cover subject matters which may be harmful to readers. Additionally, emojis and other non-text items are not allowed in the title.
Non-story Text Within the story
Just post the story. That’s all we want. We don’t need commentary about it being your first story, what inspired you, disclaimers telling the audience this is a true story, “THE END” at the end, repeating the title, the author name. Anything supplemental can be posted in the comment section.
Stand Alone Stories Only
No multi-part stories, no sequels, prequels, interquels, alternative viewpoint stories, links to previous stories for reference, or anything that builds off of or depends on some other story you’ve written. Fan fiction is not allowed, this includes using characters from other works of fiction under copyright. The story begins and ends within the 500 words or less you are allotted.
All Stories Must Be horror and/or Thriller Themed
We ask that authors focus on creating stories within horror and thriller stories. You may borrow from other genres, but the main focus of the story MUST be to horrify, scare, or unsettle. Stories with jokey punchline will be removed. We shouldn’t be laughing at the end of the story. Stories dealing with depression, suicide, mental illness, medical ailments, and other assorted topics belong over on r/ShortSadStories. However, this doesn’t mean you cannot use these topics in your stories. There’s a delicate balance between something horrifying and sad. If we can interpret the story as being scary, we will do so.
Please note that badly written stories, don’t necessarily fall under this category. The story can be terrible, but still be focused on horror.
No Plagiarism
All stories must be an original work. If someone can find your story somewhere else, it will be removed. This rule also applies to famous or common stories that you’ve merely reworded slightly. This does not apply to famous stories you’ve reworked considerably, such as a fresh take on a fairytale or urban legend. The rule of thumb is that the more you alter the text to make the story your own, the more lenient we’ll be.
Rape/Pedophilia/Bestiality/Torture Porn/Gore Porn are Off-Limit Topics
The intent of this ban is to prevent bad actors from exploiting this sub as a delivery system for their fantasies, which would bring the tone down, and alienate the reader base who don’t want to be exposed to such material. We acknowledge that this ban throws out the baby with the bath water, as well-made stories that merely happen to have such themes will get removed as well. But if we let in the decent stories with such content, those bad actors can point at them and demand to know why those stories get to stay and not theirs. Better by far to head the issue off entirely with a hard ban and stick to it.
24 Hour Rule
Authors must wait 24 hours between submissions. This is intended to prevent prolific writers from crowding out others from the front page by spamming the sub. It is likely if you mistime it, you’ll be able to copy/paste and resubmit your story once the 24 hours has passed.
Exceptionally Poor Quality Stories May Be Removed
We reserve the right to remove any story that fails to use proper grammar, has frequent typos, or is in general just a poorly composed story. This is relative, and we will use that right as sparingly as possible.
No Obnoxious Commentary
This includes, but is not limited to: bigotry/hate speech, personal insults, exceptionally low quality feedback, antagonistic behavior, use of slurs, etc. Use your best judgement. Mod response will take the form of a spectrum ranging from a mild warning to a permaban, depending on the context. Incidentally, the lowest response we have to mod abuse is banning, because we quite literally don’t need to put up with it.
We reserve the right to lock any thread that veers off topic into some controversial subject, such as politics or social commentary. This is simply not the venue for it.
A few additional notes:
If you have an issue that you need to address or a question for us, please contact us over modmail. That said, mod decisions are final; badgering or spamming us with messages over and over about the same subject will not change our minds, but it can easily get you banned.
If you see a story or comment that breaks these rules, please hit the report button. This will help us maintain a tightly focused and enjoyable sub for everyone.
Meta commentary and questions about the sub can be made at r/ShortScaryStoriesOOC
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