This Giveaway is now closed. Thank you to all the participants for the spooktacular stories, poems and jokes!
HAPPY SPOOKTOBER!

It's Friday the 13th, in October ... sounds like a fateful day to start a Spooktober Just For Fun GA.
Hurry, passage through the Spookster's Dimension shall disappear at Midnight UTC, 21 October 2023.

Below you will find 13 Haunted GOGyard (+ some Steamy Cauldron) spooky, atmospheric or otherwise monstrous adventures ... some funny, some haunting, some may be harrowing. Your path to these spooktacular realms begins here, within your own imagination. Take heed of the Ghoul's Guide (Rules to enter); don't be Spooked by the Storyteller's Challenge, and maybe the Hand of Fate will bestow on you a Key to the door into one of these Spooktober gaming dimensions.

The Spooktober Realms (Games):
13 From the Haunted Gogyard (GOG keys):
- Batman: Arkham Asylum GOTY
- The Coma 2: Vicious Sisters - Deluxe Edition
- Darkwood
- Day of the Tentacle Remastered
* Dying Light: The Following – Enhanced Edition
- Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice
- INSIDE
- Little Nightmares
- Monster Prom 2: Monster Camp
* Monster Train + Monster Train - The Last Divinity
- Monstrum
- Pinstripe
* Strangeland

Fated 8 From the Steamy Cauldron (Steam keys):
- Among the Sleep - Enhanced Ed.
• Curse: The Eye of Isis + Nostradamus: The Last Prophecy
• Deadly 30 + Zombie Shooter
- The Mooseman
- Mordheim: City of the Damned
- Pathologic 2
- Song of Horror - Complete Edition
- Werewolf: The Apocalypse - Heart of the Forest

* Spooktacularly and ghoulishly donated by Doc0075. Thank you, Doc! :)
• Fatefully and ghostily given by 4thDown. Thank you! :)

The Ghoul's Guide -
1) You have haunted GOG since Midsummer. (GOG acct since June 2023)
2) Changlings, Dopplegangers and Poltergeists will be Banished.
(Listed scammers, impersonators and those banned from the current and last Community GA's do not qualify.)
3) You may seek the Keys to 10 Realms, but only 1 Key may be granted you.
(Choose up to 10 games in order of preference, but only 1 game per person will be awarded.)
4) The Hand of Fate will deal your destiny, but your Key will vanish on the eve of All Hallows.
(Winners will be chosen by Random.org. Keys must be claimed by the acct entering by October 31st.)
5) Passage through the Spookster's Dimension shall disappear at Midnight UTC, 21 October 2023.
(Giveaway will end at Midnight UTC, 21 October 2023. Keys will be sent by PM so please make sure your chat is set to public at the end of this GA.)

The Storyteller's Challenge -
To enter you must conjure your imagination to tell a Spooky tale or joke. It may be funny or tragic, short or long, a haunting poem, 'ghost story' or local legend from your childhood. You decide. Just tell us a spooky tale in celebration of Friday the 13th, or Spooktober.

Have a fiendishly fun time! :)

Update: several GOG titles now spooktacularly and generously donated by Doc0075!
New Steam Keys have been added again thanks to 4thDown!

Thanks for the GA :)

I'm in for:

Monster Train + Monster Train - The Last Divinity
INSIDE
Darkwood
Strangeland
Monstrum
Little Nightmares

Here in Poland is a well known local comical twitter account, which posts spooky jokes all the time while pretending to be a funeral home ;)

Example in the attachment.

Translation:
(Iga) I don't know exactly how to interpret it, but I feel honored.
(Notification) Funeral Home A.S. Bytom followed you.

Thank you!

Batman: Arkham Asylum GOTY
Mordheim: City of the Damned
Day of the Tentacle Remastered
Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice
Monster Train + Monster Train - The Last Divinity
The Mooseman

Why did the zombie go to sleep?

He was dead tired.

Thanks for the giveaway!
I'm in for:
INSIDE
Little Nightmares
Pinstripe
Monstrum

What the ghoul says watching Final Destination 2?
Roadside Picnic!

Why are demons and ghouls always together?
Because demons are a ghoul's best friend.

Thank you for generosity Admiral, Mighty is already part of your spooky tale.

It was the night of Friday the 13th, with a new moon riding high in the sky and a crisp autumn breeze blowing an eerie mist up from the moors. Sane folk were snug in their cottages, their children safe in their beds, but up from the foggy hollow came the crackling of a fire and the soft haunting sound of a voice rising and falling in a mesmerizing cadence. A traveling merchant, visiting the area, thought these must be fellow travelers and sought the fire out. What he saw when he got there was a single old man, telling stories to three pale, strange-eyed children. The old storyteller looked up at the merchant and nodded, but never stopped his tale. Instead he waved the new arrival to a seat by the fire while he continued the telling. Thankful for the invitation and the warmth, the traveling merchant gladly accepted, and listened while the old man continued a spooky tale involving local legends of changling children who wandered the moors and the spirits who beckoned unwary travelers to lead them through portals, trapping them in other worlds or dimensions. The merchant eventually yawned and began to nod off, wondering just how long this story could last and how these strange children who never seemed to blink could stay awake. Finally lying down and slipping into slumber, the merchant had a dream of fae creatures with strange dark eyes and sharp teeth watching him as ghostly will o'the wisp beings tugged at his soul ... but then the cadence of the storyteller's voice would intrude and the dream would retreat. Dawn was just touching the sky when something caused the merchant to open his eyes. It was silence that beckoned him from sleep, for the storyteller's voice had finally fallen quiet. Looking over, the merchant gasped in horror as he saw the dark eyed fae children with fearsome sharp teeth smile as they faded away with the coming of the light. He looked over at the old storyteller and pointed to the now empty space where the beings he had thought were children had been. The storyteller nodded with a sad smile. "If ye be out on a Friday the 13th in autumn and come ye across the moors and see children, then tell them a tale haunting and long," the storyteller said. "It distracts them ye see, and save yer life and yer soul maybe." Then the storyteller himself faded away. The merchant jerked awake at last, only to find he had been spending the night next to an unmarked grave. When he told his tale at the next village he came to, the villagers only nodded and murmured that he had been lucky for he had unwittingly spent the night at the grave of the old storyteller of the moors who had passed a century since.

-----
"demons are a ghoul's best friend" LOL! Some ghastly funny jokes here. :)

The skeleton walks into a bar. Asks for two beers and a mop. Thanks for the giveaway bjgamer, I would like to participate for:

* Dying Light: The Following – Enhanced Edition
- Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice
- Little Nightmares
- Pinstripe
- Darkwood
* Strangeland
- Day of the Tentacle Remastered
- INSIDE
- Batman: Arkham Asylum GOTY
- Monstrum

A spooky Halloween to everyone.

Update: Doc0075 has ghoulishly (generously) added 3 more games to the list, making 13 Spooky Haunted GOGyard Realms to choose from. Thanks for the Spooktacular donations, Doc! :)

Entrants may edit their selections until the end of this Giveaway.

What’s scarier than Friday the 13th?… these bad jokes)))

Friday the 13th is still better than Monday the whatever.

I'm in for Dying Light, thanks =)

Thank you for the giveaway!

I am entering for (in order of preference, edited due to the recent new additions):

1. Dying Light: The Following – Enhanced Edition
2. Strangeland
3. INSIDE
4. Monstrum
5. Monster Train + Monster Train - The Last Divinity
6. Day of the Tentacle Remastered
7. Song of Horror - Complete Edition
8. Pathologic 2
9. The Mooseman
10. Batman: Arkham Asylum GOTY


Here is my spooky tale, written for this very occasion - The Knight and the Promise

Once upon a time there was a brave knight, who was summoned by the king and queen to slay a dragon who had ravaged the villages and towns of the land, and had kidnapped and carried away the princess from the castle. The knight promised that he would not rest until he had slain the foul beast and rescued the princess, and so he rode off on his steed in search of the dragon.

It was harvest season, and as the knight rode through the lands he saw pumpkins all around, and it seemed to him some of the pumpkins seemed to turn towards him as he passed by. But the knight was in a hurry and pressed on. It was evening as he arrived at a great mound, ringed round by patches of pumpkins arranged in great rings, part rotted and with holes in them, and with fungi and strange flowers growing beside them. There were also several tunnels going into the mound, and he realized this must be the caverns where the dragon made its lair.

The knight was feeling very tired but he knew he had to push on. He dismounted and walked towards one of the entrances, and as the sun set behind him it seemed to him that its rays glinted from inside the holes in the pumpkins, like eyes lighting up. The wind rose as he walked in, and amidst its howl it seemed there were words - "you must stop-"... "the enemy is-"... "time has-", but he knew these were words of deceit and he paid them no heed, for the princess was in danger.

He sojourned through the tunnels, a fog of exhaustion descending on him, clouding his vision, confusing him, but he was strong in will and persevered, roaring his rage at the dragon he knew must be ahead, slashing with his sword at foes that ran at him, servants of the beast they must be. He heard the voices again - "stop" - "time" - "enemy" - but the words were drowned in the constant clamor he heard in his ears, like a beating of wings.

And it was getting darker, then brighter, then darker, then brighter again, and he thought it must be the sun shining through the tunnels. And he kept feeling cold, and then hot, in rapid succession, and he thought it must be the heat from blasts of dragonfire, so he swung his sword and shield to deflect it. And he smelled a fetid stench growing ever stronger, and he knew it must be the foul stench of the beast.

And it seemed to him he must sleep, but he would not. And it seemed to him he must wake, but he could not. And the beast sent foes against him, in greater numbers, and he swung his sword again and again. And there was nothing to see but fog, and nothing to hear but the beating of wings in his ears, and nothing to smell but the horrible fetid stench, and he had to go on, on, on, he must. He had made a promise. He had sworn.

Until there was a scream, a piercing scream that rose above the sound of the wings. "NO!" it cried. "YOU MUST STOP, PLEASE!" And for a moment, the knight's resolve faltered, and it seemed there was before him a child, a girl holding a lantern. "Who- who are you?" the knight asked. "Are you the princess? Have you escaped the dragon? You are in danger, there is a terrible enemy in these caverns."

The girl was sobbing, "Please, stop. I have been trying to tell you. The enemy is in your mind."

"Nonsense, girl, I have been searching for the dragon here for a long time, I am so close to finding it."

The girl replied sadly, "Yes, you have been here a long time. Longer than you know."

"You will not deter me from my task girl! I made a promise to the king and queen, to slay the dragon and rescue the princess!"

The girl shook her head, "They deceived you, knight. The king and queen knew of your bravery. They saw you as a rival to the throne, and so they sent you away. There never was a dragon, or a princess. Do you remember when you arrived here? Did you see the rings of mushrooms?"

"Mushrooms... no, I saw pumpkins, in rings on the hill, but... yes, mushrooms beside them."

The girl nodded. "Fairy rings they were knight, and in this hill time passes differently. They sent you here so that they could reign without your interference. You have been searching for the dragon for centuries..."

"No- no! You deceive me, girl! You are in league with the dragon! I am so close to finding it, I hear its thumping wings, I feel its fetid breath!"

"Sir knight - would you like to see yourself?" The girl said carefully, and held up a mirror that she took from her belt.

And the knight could not help but look in the mirror. And he saw. He saw the rusted and blackened armor, the clothing that had frayed and crumbled and turned to mush, the rotting flesh, the ears that had near fallen off, the eyes that were filmed over with mucus and dirt.

"No... no... this cannot be!" he shrieked.

The girl continued, relentless. "You promised never to stop. And so you never did. But you could not tell friend from foe anymore. Over the centuries you became a monster, stumbling out of the tunnels and attacking all that came near until the people could drive you back into the darkness. But it cost us too much, over time, too many of our finest fighters were lost. So this year they sent me instead. I am young enough that I can last for a time inside these tunnels, they hoped I could reach you in time."

"But... then it was all for nothing... my life, my quest meant nothing..." the knight cried out, his voice breaking.

"It is not so, sir knight. For we knew of your fate. The deceit of the king and queen was found out, and they were cast out. And forever after, even as we feared your ravages, we knew it was bravery that kept you going. You have been a symbol of endurance as well as fear to us."

"Then... how can I end this? How can I break the promise I made?"

The girl's voice was gentle. "Simply believe, sir knight. Believe that the dragon is slain, for the dragon was a lie, and a lie is slain by truth. Believe the princess is safe, for the only monster here was you, and you are no longer a monster."

The knight was silent, and then finally spoke in a hoarse whisper, "I... believe."

And the fog faded from his eyes, and the beating of wings stopped in his ears, and the clothes crumbled off his back, and the rusted sword and armor dropped to the ground and broke to pieces, and the rotting flesh sloughed and fell off, leaving only clean bones that collapsed slowly against the cavern wall, and the knight rested, and slept, and dreamed, forever.

And the girl gazed upon his fallen form, and knew that he had indeed been very brave, now bravest of all. And she left with him her mirror, which had helped him accept what was. And she held up her lantern and traveled through the passages until she reached the entrance of the hill, and she gazed upon the fields in the morning light. She knew that years had passed, but not too many - she knew her friends and family would still be there. And now that the danger was past, she would be ready to assume the throne. For she was indeed a princess, and the knight in his final act had rescued her from himself.

First of all, I'd like to thank you, bjgamer, for the Spooktober giveaway. Before the Spookster's Dimension disappears, I'd like to be in for the following games:


Dying Light: The Following - Enhanced Edition
Strangeland
Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice
Little Nightmares
Pinstripe

And here's the Spooky joke: why do vampires not want to become investment bankers? They hate stakeholders.


I wish the best of luck to all the participants and a happy Halloween!

I am in for Batman: Arkham Asylum GOTY.

---

Why did the vampire need mouthwash?

Because he had bat breath.

Thank you for the giveaway. I'm in for:

Monster Train + Monster Train - The Last Divinity
Little Nightmares
INSIDE
Strangeland
The Coma 2: Vicious Sisters - Deluxe Edition
Darkwood
Pinstripe


When it comes to spooky stories there is nothing wrong with the classics:

Who rides there so late through the night dark and drear?
The father it is, with his infant so dear;
He holdeth the boy tightly clasp'd in his arm,
He holdeth him safely, he keepeth him warm.

My son, wherefore seek'st thou thy face thus to hide?
Look, father, the Erl-King is close by our side!
Dost see not the Erl-King, with crown and with train?
My son, 'tis the mist rising over the plain.

"Oh, come, thou dear infant! oh come thou with me!
For many a game, I will play there with thee;
On my strand, lovely flowers their blossoms unfold,
My mother shall grace thee with garments of gold."

My father, my father, and dost thou not hear
The words that the Erl-King now breathes in mine ear?
Be calm, dearest child, 'tis thy fancy deceives;
'Tis the sad wind that sighs through the withering leaves.

"Wilt go, then, dear infant, wilt go with me there?
My daughters shall tend thee with sisterly care;
My daughters by night their glad festival keep,
They'll dance thee, and rock thee, and sing thee to sleep."

My father, my father, and dost thou not see,
How the Erl-King his daughters has brought here for me?
My darling, my darling, I see it aright,
'Tis the aged grey willows deceiving thy sight.

"I love thee, I'm charm'd by thy beauty, dear boy!
And if thou'rt unwilling, then force I'll employ."
My father, my father, he seizes me fast,
For sorely, the Erl-King has hurt me at last.

The father now gallops, with terror half wild,
He grasps in his arms the poor shuddering child;
He reaches his courtyard with toil and with dread,
The child in his arms finds he motionless, dead.


(The Erl-King, translated by Edgar Alfred Bowring, original in German language by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe)

I haven't joked for a while. Chuck Norris's favorite Halloween tricks are 3: to make onions cry, killing the dead again and suck the blood out of a vampire. And his treats: regular exercise, quality sleep and avoid bad habits like smoking and alcohol. I'd like to be in please for 6 lucky picks:

• Dying Light: The Following – Enhanced Edition
• Pinstripe
• Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice
• Little Nightmares
• Darkwood
• Day of the Tentacle Remastered

Thanks for the Spooktober dear Queen J! GL y'all!