Scriptorum
Halls of Pandemonium

Halls of Pandemonium

In May 2026, Lord Devereaux and his distant cousin, Viscount Valegrave, invite you to step through the gates of a realm defined by chaos and inspiration. Enter a challenge where every day brings a new prompt and new possibilities across genres. Join multiple scoring brackets and compete with similar-sized publications as you navigate The Halls of Pandemonium, where anything can happen...

Dates: May 1, 2026 - Jun 6, 2026
Prompt drops: Daily at Noon, Eastern/US time.
All deadlines and scoring are based on America/New_York

Join us in May for a daily prompt event hosted by Lord Devereaux and his distant cousin, Viscount Valegrave.

The event is now closed.

Event Objectives

Finishing Out Strong

May 31 - Jul 7
Engagement is the answer
17660/17000
Complete
Finishing Out Strong
May 31 - Jul 7
Engagement is the answer

Weekly Objectives

The Viscount's Appetite

May 1 - May 8
The Viscount is hungry
142/150
Failed
The Viscount's Appetite
May 1 - May 8
The Viscount is hungry
Each new story and poem serves for further satiate the Viscount's hunger. If the community reaches the goal, a new prompt will be unlocked worth 1.5x points.

The Viscount's Voyage

May 8 - May 15
Gather your friends for the coming trial!
4256/3000
Complete
The Viscount's Voyage
May 8 - May 15
Gather your friends for the coming trial!
Viscount Valegrave has volunteered to step through the gateway first. They will report back to us on what they see and hear in Pandemonium. They will need 3,000 likes, comments, and restacks to ensure they can navigate the chaos of the realm.
May 8, 2026

The App Sampler β€” May 8

May 8, 2026
Word Limit: 3000
Responses
"Dim Sum" β€” J.M. Gooding : Two monsters demand a sampler of stories: love, resentment, and investigation. A couple’s night unravels across three perspectives.
"The Sampler" β€” BentButTrue : A hidden diner beneath ordinary life serves people willing to surrender memories in portions just to survive carrying them.
"Three Songs Before Dawn" β€” Verdant Butterfly : Fairy Poem fantasy, folklore, folk horror: Along the green hills bordering Loch Lomond, beneath a dusk where the rowan trees bend in the wind, three songs are stirring at once.
"You Can't Plan Everything" β€” Terrifying Tales : We continue James's story from Day 6 where he found himself trapped in a labyrinth with his vision gone. The story covers the genres of Psychological Horror, Fantasy, and Coming of Age fiction.
"Attention Economy" β€” Muirae D Kenney : In a future where attention is currency, a silent girl sitting before a camera is slowly transformed into prophet, prisoner, myth, and monster.
"I see you" β€” Nimita Kaul : A blend of Verse Epistle + Riidle/ Epigram + Psychological Thriller as a sampler for Lord D and Viscount V :D
"The Grief Buffet" β€” Rebecca Watson (ReBe) : Beneath a dying casino called The Green Swan, the dead gather every Thursday to feast on bottled heartbreak, roasted shame, and memories carved fresh from the living.
"Remember the Women" β€” Daria : Part poem, part essay, part folklore. If you're a woman, none of what I say will surprise you. If you're a man, well, this might be a big pill to swallow.
"Tearing and Error" β€” Daniel Coates : The Creature teaches Katie to open portals, tears in reality, to jump between dimensions as they search for the person the Creature claims will help them get their bodies back.
May 9, 2026

Broken Signal β€” May 9

May 9, 2026
Word Limit: 3000
Responses
"Pandemonium: The Carnival" β€” J.M. Gooding : A man investigates a strange hole beneath his basement and finds himself drawn into a quiet, decaying carnival where nothing moves yet everything seems aware of him.
"A Jesterly Welcome" β€” Leeron Heywood : I always scoffed at stories which start with people stranded in the middle of nowhere without shelter or phone signal. Guess the joke’s on me…
"Broken Signal" β€” BentButTrue : A broken television. A forgotten carnival. A man already running from his life. Somewhere beneath Rotwood, the phones are ringing.
"Carnival of Rust" β€” Verdant Butterfly : Fiction Fantasy: The novel wasn’t working she hadn’t written anything in months, her editor was about to give up hope on her and this trip home was the only thing she could think of.
"Passing in Jest" β€” Nimita Kaul : How a town got its own Carnival - the elderly got company to share their stories, and the kids got an audience for their jokes :D
May 10, 2026

A Message from Earth β€” May 10

May 10, 2026
Word Limit: 3000
Responses
"Object 247912-655" β€” J.M. Gooding : An ancient probe enters a controlled system. Its message is decoded and classified, then treated as routine debris and removed without significance.
"Transmission Received" β€” Sarah Tinney : Aliens arrive at the Olympic Opening Ceremony searching for more of the music humanity once sent into space. One forgotten record changes Earth forever once again.
May 11, 2026

A Catchy Tune β€” May 11

May 11, 2026
Word Limit: 3000
Responses
"Waiting on Nothing" β€” Lila Cave-Park : Swallowed up in memories while revisiting my lost first love's old posts, I gave extra attention to the songs he quoted in his captions and listened to them again, hoping to feel closer.
"Underneath the Stars" β€” J.M. Gooding : Two people remain on a failing ship, watching strange waves distort the stars as systems collapse. With no escape, they stay together, holding on as reality bends and the end draws near.
"Via Con Me" β€” Nimita Kaul : Via Con Me (Come Away With Me) - an Italian song with some English lyrics composed and performed by Paolo Conte, was the inspiration for this poem.
"Before They Did" β€” Wendy Russell : After a stadium show, two musicians crash back into a hotel suite already halfway through a fight. Fame is changing Zack faster than Jasmine can hold onto him.
"Curio" β€” Verdant Butterfly : Poem: He tore through the canvas in rage, white gloves ripped open and bleeding, Rainwater poured through the age stained cloth, torrents endlessly feeding,
"Parenting Earworms" β€” Sarah Tinney : Catchy kids songs become playful short stories filled with dancing dogs, adventurous sticks, chaotic kittens, and legendary burger thieves in this fun parenting-inspired collection.
"Melody Beneath Concrete" β€” Eira Linden : A late night radio transmission carries more than music through the sleeping city. Something inside the melody begins loosening memory, grief, and the strange fingerprints people leave behind
"Echoes of Hurt" β€” Daniel Coates : A recording was taken off a phone found during a strange case. This is the transcript of the last video taken on the phone.
May 12, 2026

There's Gold in Them Hills β€” May 12

May 12, 2026
Word Limit: 3000
Responses
"Shimmer" β€” J.M. Gooding : Deep beneath an abandoned mining sector, a survey crew uncovers something buried in the stone that listens more closely than it should.
"Dig Down to the Core" β€” Sarah Tinney : A mining town digs deep in search of gold and awakens something ancient beneath the earth. A dark folk horror ballad of greed, monsters, and doom.
"The Black Seam" β€” Wendy Russell : A dark folk horror ballad inspired by Johnny Cash, Appalachian mining songs, and the terrible things men will awaken in the pursuit of gold.
"The Planet’s Curse." β€” Hazel : A mining gig gone wrong. Ty must grapple with the disappearance of his crew, and the revelation of something much more... unsettling.
May 13, 2026

A Muse, Assigned β€” May 13

May 13, 2026
Word Limit: 3000
Responses
"The Muses" β€” Hazel : A poem about the voices in your head, and figuring out what they represent before its too late, and your inspiration fades entirely.
"Hag" β€” Wendy Russell : A woman meets her muse at last: ancient, exhausted, and deeply unimpressed by the performance of modern femininity.
"Me Times Three" β€” Daria : My muses and I are chatting about a new story idea. And yes. More pictures of me. As if you weren't sick of me already.
"When the Sparks Fly" β€” Sarah Tinney : A reflective piece about creativity, writing prompts, and the unpredictable nature of inspiration, as my muse appears to guide stories, ideas, and everyday sparks of imagination.
May 14, 2026

Limited Bandwidth β€” May 14

May 14, 2026
Word Limit: 100
Responses
"Still Here" β€” Wendy Russell : A tiny fragment from the Midnight Ashes years. Featuring the particular kind of damage caused by loving someone who reaches for you automatically while breaking your heart in real time.
"If You Are Receiving This" β€” BentButTrue : A motel television turns on at 3:17 AM. Static. Rain. Then a voice Daniel never stopped listening for. Tonight’s transmission from the Halls arrives damaged.