Colorado’s Scariest Stories In Just Six Words

Is it possible to condense your worst nightmare into six short words? I asked people in Colorado to "Write a scary story in six words."

Judging by your replies, it looks as though the Centennial State's biggest fears involve grocery shopping, politics, and our exes.

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Writing Your Horror Story

Stephen King said in his Top 20 Rules For Writers, "First write for yourself, and then worry about the audience."

Stephen King also advises people not to worry about making others happy through their writing. When it comes to one's concerns, he says, "The least of all should be polite society and what it expects. If you intend to write as truthfully as you can, your days as a member of polite society are numbered, anyway.”

With that, we have our list.

Our Biggest Fears

According to Youper, these are humankind's most common fears:

• Social phobia
• Fear of heights
• Fear of snakes, bugs, or spiders
• Fear of closed spaces
• Fear of flying
• Fear of the dark
• Fear of getting a disease
• Fear of blood
• Fear of violent weather
• Fear of death

Common Threads When It Comes to Colorado Nightmares

After a couple of years of devastating wildfires, and mudslides, it's interesting to note not a single reply involved anything having to do with natural disasters. Any reference to the recent pandemic also managed to slip by. As a matter of fact, not one reply to our engagement question including anything from the list above.

A major fear many of us seem to share would be being contacted by an ex. Not far behind that would be the dread of seeing one's grocery bill.

Following Instructions Is Fun!

The engagement post asked to share your scary story "...in six words." A couple of people went a bit long with their replies. That's okay. Their responses have been included in the gallery below.