At midnight the first challenge of David Wellington’s Fear Project was posted to the site. It’s been a long wait for this moment and I’m relieved that it’s finally here. Now that it is, it’s time to get to work.

CHALLENGE: There may be no more important aspect in writing horror fiction than defining an atmosphere of dread. Of all the elements of writing, SETTING can be the most effective at this.

In 250 words or less, please describe a spooky, terrifying, or simply disgusting place that would make your spine tingle. An old haunted house? A graveyard at midnight? Perhaps a perfectly ordinary house, on a perfectly ordinary street, where something… awful is about to happen.