Update! Winners Announced! Teen Ghost Story Contest-Nancy Carson Library

Update! Winner Announced!

Congratulations to the winners of the Nancy Carson Library Teen Ghost Story Contest 2026!

1st Place: Julianna Cole
2nd Place: Laci Hurt
3rd Place: Jessie Hill
3rd Place: Lorelei Trierwiler

Although we did not have enough submissions to conduct the high school portion of the contest this time, we are very hopeful to have more story tellers joining us next year.

Thank you to all participants, to the teachers who made sure to spread the word amongst their students, and to the Friends of the Nancy Carson Library whose support makes this scary tradition come to life every year.

Save the date for September next year! We are looking forward to seeing more spine-chilling stories from next year’s contest.

It’s BAAAACCCCCKKKKK!!!
We are excited to bring back our Annual Teen Ghost Story Contest! 6th-12th graders are invited to bring their spookiest creations to life and share them with us.

Entry submissions begin Friday, August 21, and you may submit entries through Friday, September 25 at 6 p.m. (right before your Fall Break in Aiken County!). Entries must be typed, double-spaced, and less than 2,000 words.
We ask that entries be the student’s original work and have not been created or substantially assisted by artificial intelligence (AI) tools.

All entries must include:
Name
Age
School & Grade
Contact information
We have a Writing Pamphlet with some exercises to help budding writers that can be downloaded here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/15oDW6pWwJ7kO2DRv7CR3w09NthHs6_cN/view?usp=sharing

Entries will be read and winners will be selected in October, with the winners invited to our “Toast Among Ghosts” on Thursday, October 22.
Three winners will be selected in each age category:
6th-8th Grade
9th-12th Grade
Prizes:
1st Place: $50 Amazon gift card
2nd Place: $25 Amazon gift card
3rd Place: $15 Amazon gift card