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Killer Shorts Names 2026 Contest Winners
The Cockatrice by Taylor Shofner has been named the Overall Winner from among more than 2,000 submissions to the 2026 Killer Shorts Screenplay Competition. The 1-page and Short Story (prose) Category winners have also been announced.
We are excited to announce the winners of the 2026 Killer Shorts Horror Short Screenplay Competition. These exceptional short screenplays and short stories were selected from over 1,000 submissions. Congratulations!
Main Category
Overall Winner
THE COCKATRICE by Taylor Shofner
A cocky salesman attempts to scam a lonely woman in her strange suburban home, but his routine pitch is derailed when he hears a terrible sound coming from the back of her house.
2nd Place Winner
ANSWER MAN by Lucy Foster
Maisie thinks the Answer Man is just a silly slumber party game, but when a mysterious man appears on the other end of her phone, she begins to worry that it is actually something much, much more…
3rd Place Winner
WHAT REMAINS by Sam Das
After mercy-killing her terminally ill husband, a grieving woman seduces an old flame—only to ensnare him in a deadly ritual where desire fuels resurrection.
1-Page Category
Overall Winner
GUESS AGAIN by Liam Fitzpatrick
A simple game of cups between a boy and his cruel grandfather takes a deadly turn.
2nd Place Winner
WEAKNESS LEAVING THE BODY by TJ Berry
When a man’s smart home refuses to let him leave until he achieves his “ideal” body, his pursuit of perfection spirals into a nightmarish struggle between flesh, willpower, and programming.
3rd Place Winner
NOTHING YET by Colby Helton
A relentless ghost hunter goes to extreme lengths to prove there is life after death.
Short Story (Prose) Category
Overall Winner
DOGGY IN THE WINDOW by Akuorkor Allotey
Dogs love unconditionally. Buddy is no exception, though his murderous owner leaves much to be desired.
2nd Place Winner
TEXAS TEA by Brooke Solomon
An oil man’s prodigal daughter visits home, unprepared for the toll her family’s lineage wishes to extract from her young son.
3rd Place Winner
RENDERED SPEECHLESS by Shannon Weston
A wife’s devotion turns sinister when she learns of her husband’s indiscretion.
Updated: 04/27/2026
Additional Contest Info: The Killer Shorts Horror Short Screenplay Competition
ScriptLinks
Post Your Script Here!e-DEAD
After a near-death experience, a woman discovers her dating app matches are ghosting her because they really are ghosts leaving her clues in order to solve their murders.
A LITTLE FAVOR
A former fighter pilot is asked, by the colonel who blackballed him, to do a little favor: use his quick reflexes to fly to the Sun, reach in and pluck out 2 off-course, discarded doomsday bombs before next Wednesday evening when they’ll explode, nudging the Sun, causing major global warming.
La Hacienda
An inter-racial Latino/White couple arrive in Mexico, during the Day of the Dead, to renovate a hacienda just purchased by her rich, white parents, they soon discover its haunted by the former residents who lived during the Mexican Revolution; they must figure out how to transform their crippling grief over losing a baby girl, so they aren't doomed to repeat the spirits' murderous past.
Lab Rats
An anonymous organization uses an ***AI Bot*** to moderate a Focus Group on the topic of ***Fake***.
She Curses Like a Sailor
A thought-provoking view of women and cursing is entertained at this art opening in New York.
Lady Diogenes of the Shadow
Three retired ladies candidly discuss their bizarre neighbor over morning coffee.
Perfect Beau
A Brainiac Plain Jane clones her ideal boyfriend out of her gorgeous girlfriends' boyfriends' DNA for her university's senior class science project.
Cold Pepper
A law-abiding, church-going court stenographer becomes a one-woman vigilante 'offing' violent domestic abusers (and other pathetic souls) after their third offense.
Psychotic USA
A dramedy. A razor-sharp satiric view of the laughable state of modern psychiatric treatment as seen through the lens of four patients in an asylum.
Psycho-Hearts
A world-class heart transplant surgeon is an absolute magician at finding compatible hearts for wealthy clients.
