"Hallowtide Files: The Gheeldyn" Request for Materials
Community writing event for Halloween 2025: Introduction, brief, how to submit
Discover the Gheeldyn on 10/31/25, 8am PST
The ghosts of the small town of Hallowtide stir with the approaching Autumn Equinox and something yearns to be set free. A sinister being only whispered about in tales passed down from family to family waits in the quiet recesses of the town's oldest, most isolated burial grounds waiting to reconnect the lore of the town and the secrets hidden in the hearts of its inhabitants.
Our unraveling begins with two college students who have found themselves ensnared by a local folklore legend, “The Gheeldyn”, after they set out to uncover the truth behind the rumors. What started as a project for their anthropology class has quickly become a haunting experience threatening to overtake their lives and make them pay for their secrets.
The idea is that everyone will be responding in character, as residents or visitors to Hallowtide. (In the case of short stories, it can be from any viewpoint.) We will be creating the fictional scientific/historical data/lore for this event!
Posted on the Hallowtide Community Message Board 8/28/25 2:18pm:
Hello there!
We’re Shauna and Melissa, students at Hallowtide University majoring in Cultural Anthropology. As part of our studies, we’re conducting an ethnographic research project and looking for participants willing to share their experiences.
If you live, or have lived in the Hallowtide area at any point in your life, your participation in this research would not only be appreciated, it is vital! You are the key to uncovering the truth beneath our local history, your story is a valuable piece of Hallowtide culture, your voice could be the one that reveals a link to broader cultures across the world.
Interested? Here’s the sort of Hallowtide specific insights we’re trying to learn more about:
Have you ever noticed how the shadows on solitary streets seem to creep toward you when you’re alone? While residing in Hallowtide, did you ever dream of clawed creatures? Are you familiar with local poetry, nursery rhymes, or folktales that hold slivers of past fears? Have you ever heard a familiar voice cry out from a place best left untread?
If so, please contact us. You just might be the key to unraveling everything.
Join us in creating the mythology, history, and chilling first-hand accounts surrounding an undiscovered folklore terror, "The Gheeldyn".
Together, we will create an entire case file on this new creature and its victims and set it loose upon Substack.
“Loose your poisoned tongues, Confess your traitorous sins, Release every last regret, Not to beckon Gheeldyn”
Deadline: 10/15/25
Final stories posted 10/31/25
➡️ Before submitting:
Create your materials as a draft in your publication
Link back to this post so everyone can join the party!
Schedule your post/s for 10/31 at 8am PST
Submit your draft link and the post link to us (“secret draft” link can be found under settings for your individual posts, post link can be obtained in the dashboard, under the three-dot menu next to your post title)
Message us if you need help!
You are welcome to submit more than once!
Materials Requested
Note: these items will all be works of fiction and in the true spirit of folklore/cryptids, can be as mysterious, jumbled, or incomplete as you see fit to add to the story
Audio/voiceovers for your written pieces are welcome!
Scientific data (sightings, years, brief accounts, observed behaviors, geography)
Historical data (legends, origins, time periods, cultural)
Found literature (religious texts, journal entries, newspaper articles, etc)
Radio/Podcast/Television transcripts
Interviews
First hand accounts (written by a Hallowtide resident directly addressing the two students requesting information)
Short stories
Poetry
Folk songs and nursery rhymes
🔴 Please do not submit any AI-written materials.
The Gheeldyn Brief
Concept: A paranormal being that feeds upon guilt, secrets, and shame
Name: The Gheeldyn (comes from old English “gieldan" for guilt). Might also go by "La Suegra" in Latin America.
Potential inspiration: There’s an obscure greek goddess named Oizys who is representative of misery/grief/anxiety
Physical characteristics: Feminine energy, Long fingers, sharp, talons, shifting/shadowy, shapeshift to show loved ones, large and fast, also voice mimicry
Origins: possible religious/occult/pagan origin — feeding on overheard pleas/sacrifices to gods, possible prehistoric origins, could be from any culture/go by many names
Keywords: looming, dark, deceitful, justice, psychological torment, judgement
Associations: lonely places, empty parks, isolated corners, vast fields, quiet trails through woods, confessional booths/churches, crime scenes, gravesites
Location: Fictional town, but with connections via folklore and literature worldwide
Summoning: Being in a vulnerable emotional state when in associated places. Feeling guilty, doubting yourself, questioning your choices, dwelling on the past, hiding the truth. Perhaps a ritual or chant summons her as well.
We look forward to seeing what we can all come up with as a community to haunt the stack this Halloween!
Remember, materials due by 10/15.
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Werk werk werk
A writing event put on by two of my favorite Stackers?! I’m so in!!