Foreword

Halloween is awesome! It’s the one time of year you can revel in everything creepy and morbid and dress up in cardboard boxes and tinfoil without looking like a complete weirdo. (What? You don’t DIY it?! ) So to celebrate one of my favourite holidays, I thought I’d host a little creepy contest

Introduction

Each contestant must choose at least two prompts (any two) from the table below, each from a different column. Contestants should design a Halloween themed picture using their chosen prompts as inspiration. Bonus points will be available to those who manage three prompts (one from each column) and/or those who play the username game.
This is a single round contest that will stay open for two weeks from the date the contest is approved. One winner will be determined at the end of the two week period by a panel of 3 judges. There will be no individual extensions.

All entries due by Oct 29th

Rules

1. Contest forum and site rules apply.
2. Sims 2, 3 and 4 allowed.
3. One entry is allowed per person. Entries are final, please do not edit your post once it has been added to the contestants table. If you absolutely must, please ask me first. This is so judges can score as they go if they wish.
4. No reservation posts, these will be ignored.
5. All CC is allowed.
6. Photo editing is allowed* but please remember this is a sims contest so it must still be obvious that your base image is an in-game shot.
7. No recycled or “borrowed” images please. All entries must be original and new. If you’re found to be in violation of this rule you will be disqualified.
8. The preferred dimensions for images are around 1280x1060pixels but as long as you follow MTS guidelines you’ll be ok.

*Photo editing is permitted during this contest but not required. I know some of you that aren’t so handy with photoshop feel like they’re at a disadvantage with contests like these but imo, you’re just as likely to create a great looking image using good composition, lighting and carefully chosen props as you are to ruin a good image with iffy photoshopping. So please don’t let it put you off! This old contest entry by Misanthropy springs to mind as a nice example of a pic that still manages to convey a certain mood and style without resorting to photoshop trickery.

How to Enter

1. Choose your prompts from the table. You must specify a minimum of two and a maximum of 3 from different categories to be judged on. You can also interpret the prompt words however you wish but it’s in your interest that the judges understand what you’re trying to do so feel free to explain if you’re doing something abstract. Just because the overall theme is Halloween, your image doesn’t have to be dark and scary. If you want to put a more light-hearted twist on it, go ahead! Most prompts will require some kind of sim in the pic but if you think you can set the scene better without a sim, you're welcome to do so.
2. Create a photo/art work/poster or whatever you want to present it as using your chosen prompts as your inspiration.
3. Upload one image only along with the following information:

• Chosen prompts –
• Played the username game? – Yes/No
• Description (optional) –

For bonus points:

• choose one prompt from each column so you have three altogether.
  And/or
• Leave it up to fate and play the username game. The total number of letters and numbers (not including spaces, dashes, underscores etc) in your username is your “what”.
  The first letter of your username is your “who”. The third letter of your username is your “where”. Some may be better matches than others, it’s up to you to make them work You don’t have to use all three prompts from the username game, you can still use just two (any two) if you prefer and still get one bonus point for it.

E.g. missroxor = Moonlit zombie in a bedroom.

Prizes

Participants can earn achievement stickers for their profile page if they don’t already have them and the winner will receive a blue ribbon under their username (you can have more than one blue ribbon!). There will be one winner overall, not one winner per game used.



If you’re interested in judging, please PM me or post on this thread. Previous experience in judging or participating in contests or experience in staging creative imagery is preferred. Judges will be asked to score one image only per contestant to an absolute maximum of 50 contestants. Judges feedback/comments are welcome but not mandatory.




Creativity - 20 points overall
• Concept
• Originality
• Presentation
Representation of chosen prompts - 20 points overall
• Are the chosen prompts evident in the image?
• Did the contestant combine the prompts in a way that works well or do they seem (unintentionally) jarring and at odds with each other?
Bonus Points - 2 points overall
• 1 point - Used three prompts, one from each column.
• 1 point - Played the username game. (Point awarded whether two or three prompt words were used).

With this only being a one round contest and there being no need for contestants to try to improve in subsequent rounds, I won’t be asking judges to give constructive criticism on all entries. The Judging parameters are fairly simple and self-explanatory anyway so there shouldn’t really be any confusion over a judge’s intent either but judges are more than welcome to leave comments if they wish.

Contest Approved

• Do not post replies and/or contest applications before the contest host has checked in on this thread, or your post will be deleted.
• DO NOT WRITE USELESS POSTS like "Hey cool contest, I think I might join." Reserve type posts and useless posts about coming back with an application will be deleted.

Checking in. Let the spookfest commence!

This is fun! :D



Chosen prompts – Creepy doll around a bonfire
Played the username game? – No
Description (optional) – Not only witches dance around bonfires. In the night of Halloween, your porcelain dolls leave your bedroom to go and dance IN a bonfire. Yeah, they had that creepy face when they were on your shelf too...

Prompts - Glamorous / Cheerleader / Hospital
Username Game? - No
Description -
"Dear diary,
Today was a real b####! First, Tiffany was assigned cheer captain (totes lame),
then my beautiful exboyfriend was caught making out with the quarterback (not again!!!),
And now, zombies! UGH!!! Why can't I have a normal Thursday for once?!!!!

Lots of love,
Bambi xx"

Prompts - creepy / Vampire and Zombie / Graveyard
Username Game? - No
Description -
I decided to got to the local graveyard to celebrate Halloween
i went last year and it was great but this year i received the shook of my life

I arrived at the graveyard with my boy friend, we were having a great time
until the clock stuck 12 o'clock at night. Zombies started coming out of the graves, me and my boy friend had to run like hell out of the grave hard but as we were running a vampire appeared out of no where and took my boy friend i wanted to save him but he told me to go because he didn't want me to die, as i was running out of the graveyard i took a quick photo on my phone and left crying my eyes out not knowing what will happen to him.

when i got up the next morning i tuned on the news channel and started to cry because they were talking about the incident on the news
they said that the garbage man found my boyfriend dead on the floor covered in blood.

i will never forget the day when my boyfriend died, i am going to his funeral in two days.
R.I.P my lovely boyfriend

Chosen Prompts: Crazed/Demon/Around a Bonfire
Played the Username Game? No. (Rotting child in a bedroom is not the nicest thing to recreate in the Sims).
Description:
(In a sinister British accent, if you please) "We are worshippers of the Dark Lord, here in Midnight Hollow, we believe in all manner of impossible things. Two heads? We've got them. Broomsticks? Why not. Hell, while we're at it, let's throw in a few gravestones, a couple of bubbling cauldrons, and the odd virgin sacrifice. It's All Hallows' Eve, after all. Lest we not forget, 'tis a night of absolute terror, don't you agree? Now come - come on, come all - to the blessed summoning of our Dark Lord. Bring her forth from the fires of Hell, give her the sacrifice she demands! Chant with us, chant with us now - or you may find yourself on the very end of the sacrificial knife!"
(In a divine Latin accent, if you will)
"Spiritus, santus, viortum, avek maer,
Spiritus, santus, viortum, avek maer,
Spiritus, santus, viortum, avek maer!"

Hey everyone, here's my contribution!

Chosen prompts – Moonlit Spirit Graveyard
Played the username game? – No
Description –
Emmeline was only a toddler when she lost her mother to a mysterious illness on All Hallow's Eve four years ago. Since then, Emmeline and her father have made it a tradition to visit her mother's grave every Halloween night.
And although Emmeline's father calls her foolish, Emmeline is convinced that the soul of her dead mother is still on this earth, watching over her, for each time she feels like she can hold on no longer, she feels her mother's arms around her, protecting her even in death.

Wow! Glad to see so many entries already, you guys are awesome! I'm just checking in on my phone at the minute but will add you all to the contestants table when I get on the computer later so if anyone needs to do any little edits, now's your chance!

Er...yeah, I really don't blame you.

For the username game bonus point you technically only need to choose two of your three prompts so you could've still played but dropped either "rotting" or "child". And if you wanted to also get the bonus point for using three prompts, you can use two prompts from your username game results and substitute the third out for a prompt of your choice. Does that make sense?

@missroxor
Do you mean edits to the text or edits to the photo?

I know it's not the most literal interpretation of my prompts, but I think it works.

Chosen prompts – Villainous Monster in an Abandoned Building
Played the username game? – Yes
Description – The rude mascot has been imprisoned by his nemesis, the evil llama mascot! Will he escape and rally his fellow rude fuzzy friends for a fight, or is he doomed to be an expensive rug?

Here's my entry! First contest I've done on this site, and it seemed interesting so I figured I'd give it a shot.



Chosen prompts – Sinister/Demon/Bedroom
Played the username game? – Yes
Description (optional) – As young Jeanette sleeps, she is unaware of the evil lurking in her room. A reaper of young souls has come to claim hers in the night. He is relentless in satiating his eternal hunger.

Chosen prompts – Moonlit - Spirit - Creepy Old House
Played the username game? – Yes
Description (optional) – My username gave me something I would have picked anyways! lol

@coolsim22 I meant any edits you want to do. There should be no editing after I've posted to say that your entry has been added to the table. If you messed something up and absolutely need to fix something, please ask me first. This is just to discourage people submitting placeholder entries while they work on their "real" entry since spaces are limited. It also means judges can start judging as they go if they want to.

First eight entries are added to the contestants list! No more editing for you guys please.

Unnerving; Werewolf; Tim Burton Movie. Those were my results after playing the name game. That's why I present you with two Sims from a future version of my Warwickshire Challenge Neighborhood "Castellum".

The composition is called "Francis and the Wolf".
Brother Francis knew it was a mistake do a search for the body right away, of course the tales of the wolf-like Lord of Marienwald could not be true, and he wasn't afraid of the weather either. It was just that the fact werewolves are fairy tales didn't necessarily mean there wasn't some horrible bandit lord who butchered his victims amidst the ancient trees. As he follows the curious bloody trail of what must have been a deer, he suddenly realizes he does not hear his brothers anymore. All he hears, are some shuffling noises and breaking twigs in the pitch black darkness of the woods. "What's that over by those turnips", he thinks to himself...

I hope the judges are content with the way I tried to include Tim Burton in all this, haha it was quite the challenge but I chose a subtle approach.

And of course! Good luck to all the other contestants and great images so far

Wups, I've added you to the contestants table.

I've also added the lovely justJones to the panel of judges. justJones creates for TS2 and TS4, is a veteran of contest hosting and judging and is a blue ribbon winner so she's more than qualified for the job!

Finally, I had a question via PM today about adding things to the list of prompts. That's not going to happen because I can't also add letters to the English alphabet so that my table still works with the game I just wanted to remind you though that you're free to get creative with your interpretation of the prompts. E.g. a dementor isn't just a scary skeleton thing from Harry Potter, the dictionary definition is "an evil and fearsome creature". Death doesn't have to be the grim reaper, maybe it's patient zero of an extinction level outbreak? I'm not sure how you would illustrate that but you get my point. I may be a stickler for the rules but I'm not gonna stop anyone from thinking outside the box! The only thing I will say is if you are gonna use your own interpretation, you probably should explain it so the judges have a clue what you're on about

Okay lets go:
chosen prompts: irate; fairy; creepy old house
Played the user game? yes, I would never have chosen this, but accepted the challenge All three prompts
Description: The blue fairy Alinaa was sent by the fairy queen to the distant land of Gladimoneer to sort out some unruly pixies and satires. On her return to her homeland she discovered only a huge big mess at the castle of her queen, HUMANS had invaded! She got very cross, so cross, that she almost turned blue. In her fury she almost destroyed the property and then she turned the house into a ruin and changed the trees and everything. Now it's really creepy.



My first entry here,

Prompts: Sinister / Superhero / Tim Burton Movie
Name Game: Yes (all three)
Description: Alice was surprised when she wandered into a corner of Wonderland and came face to face with Mister Sinister conspiring with the Queen of Hearts while the Mad Hatter cowered on the ground (which she wasn't too surprised at). With the White Queen by her side, Alice finally became the superhero she was destined to become.

Prompts: Spooky Zombie Fairground
Name Game: Yes for all
Info: Beware of zombie coming out at night and eating your brains OUT! :p
P.S. This is my first contest! :D

Last three are now added to the Contestants table

Note to Judges:
adsypan has permission to edit his post.

Chosen prompts – Blood-Thirsty Vampire Creepy old house
Played the username game? – No
Description (optional) – Dracula played by Bela Lugosi,
I love movie classical so I think everyone will love this, beside he's out for a bite to eat.

Gimbitmen, you’re added to the table

I’ve also added a new judge. Moocow1117 has a keen interest in photography, including stop motion movie making, and is looking to gain experience as a contest judge. So welcome aboard!

Judges note: adsypan has finished editing so you’re free to judge his entry if you’re doing them as we go. Thanks for letting me know adsypan

Prompts: Villainous clown in a bar
Name Game: No (maybe when a city neighborhood is included)
Description: Harley is using an abandoned jazz club to come up with a new explosive recipe. This is my first complete costume recolor, i hope you like it. Thanks a lot Simista for the amazing hairstyle.

I had so much fun doing this contest and have been looking for one to join. Thanks so much for posting!
PROMPT: Blood-thirsty ballerina in a frozen landscape.
USERNAME GAME: No
DESCRIPTION: Isabella craves for revenge after she was poisoned by the man she loves on the night of her recital.