Celebrate National Medical Librarians Month with our Spooky Story Competition
October is National Medical Librarians Month, but COVID-19 has changed how we normally celebrate – this year, we’re holding an online spooky story contest set in the library with prizes in each entry category!
You may not have been able to visit the Medical Library in person much this year, but we invite you to virtually explore the library by entering a spooky story responding to any of the following story prompts. You can write as much or as little as you want but we request that it be a “short” story, not a novel! All entries except those in the book spine poetry category should be in response to the following story prompts and set in the medical library. Photos of the areas described in each prompt will be posted to our Twitter account at https://twitter.com/QCOMLIB
Categories and image prompts for short spooky stories:
- The door to nowhere: Look up at the second floor skylight, and you’ll see a door. How do people get up on the glass landing to get in that door? There is no glass. Nobody who works in the library has ever been where the door leads, so who or what has?
- “Premature burial” in the history of medicine collection: In a back corner of the second floor resides the history of medicine collection. Tucked away among hundreds of historical texts lies the book “Premature Burial.” Oh, the subtitle says “and how it may be prevented,” but the book sits snuggled up to another text called “Foods and Their Adulteration.” Are these for prevention or could they be how-to manuals? One thing is for sure: the librarians know the “premature burial” book must never be removed…
- The ghost chair room: Did the library team really pile all these chairs up as part of COVID-19 response, like the library director claims? Or have they always been there? What happened to cause dozens of heavy wooden chairs to be piled haphazardly in this dark corner of the basement?
- The cage: If you’ve ever swiped into the library basement, you might have felt a cold chill and turned to see a padlocked cage behind you. Inside the cage is a rusty metal door – if you ever catch the door hanging open you’ll only see darkness inside, but perhaps you should swipe into the library quickly…
- Building 4: The library’s current home was built soon after Mountain Home’s 1903 founding, and served as a domiciliary for volunteer veterans of the Union Army from the Civil War. Some people think it’s the nearby morgue and cemetery that give the building a spooky feel, but what if it’s something in the library itself?
The questions alongside each prompt above are just to get you thinking, but feel free to take your spooky story in another direction.
- Book spine poetry: The final entry category is book spine poetry, and entries don’t have to be spooky…although we appreciate that as well. To enter, select at least 3 books, stack them up with the spine wording visible to make some type of narrative or commentary, and take a photo to submit!
Entries will be judged by a team of panelists from the library. One prize ($15 Starbucks gift card) will be award to the best overall entry in each of the six categories above. One prize each will also be awarded for best overall student, faculty, and staff entries ($25 ETSU bookstore gift card) regardless of category.
To submit your spooky short story or book spine poetry, complete this REDCap form with your contact information and entry: https://redcap.link/a2cuehi4
Entries must be received by 11:59 pm on Saturday, October 31.