The Halloween 2022 Kaidan

The All Hallow's Eve clock ticks ever closer to midnight, and this year the gas station crew will be joining forces with the Snake's Paw to deliver an evening of bitesize spooks and scares (and maybe even a ghost).

If you're lost, that's okay. Let me explain.

When I was younger, some friends and I heard about a Japanese traditional parlour game called Hyakumonogatari Kaidankai (or Kaidan, for short). Roughly translated, it means "A gathering of 100 spooky tales." The goal of the game was to try and tell a hundred ghost stories in a single night, with the goal of summoning a real spirit. (Fun fact: legend has it that this Kaidan originated as a game played by Samurai as a test of courage. Don't believe me? Just ask Wikipedia.)

My friends and I have played our fair share of Kaidans. From the creepiest of locales to the most mundane. An old abandoned house in the middle of the woods. After hours in a shop on Magazine street in New Orleans (the most haunted of cities). Around a roaring bonfire. In classrooms. In cars... And yet, we've never actually seen a ghost. Perhaps, we just need a little help.

That's where you (yes, you, the specific person reading this right now and nobody else) come in!

We want your stories. Your creepy tales. Your impossible memories. Your glitches in the matrices. We want you to share a story of spooky, creepy, paranormal, hinky, or ooky subject matter, true or not-so-true, and submit it for this year's grand mega international Kaidan.

If you'd like to participate, all you have to do is record yourself telling your story. You don't need any fancy recording equipment. You can just use a cellphone or a laptop's built-in mic.

All stories should be close to or under two-minutes long (we've got to get through a lot of stories if we want to see this ghost).

You are more than welcome to submit multiple stories.

Send the audio recordings to us at TheSnakesPaw@Gmail.com. Include in the body of your email how you would like to be credited if your story is used.

We will be compiling these stories together for a Halloween release on the Snake's Paw's YouTube channel.

Sadly, we won't be able to use every story submitted. If your tale does not make it into the Kaidan this year, there will be more in the future!

(All submissions need to be in by October 29th. Please refrain from using any copyrighted material. Horror is subjective, so use your best judgment in the stories you share.)

Can't wait to hear your stories.

-Jack