Three months ago we teamed up with Stephen King’s UK publisher to launch a short story competition inspired by his latest collection, The Bazaar of Bad Dreams. More than 800 stories later we have chosen the six that will be sent off to be judged by the master.  I have to admit that the prospect of ploughing through dozens of wannabe Carries and second-rate Shinings seemed like the roundabout route to Misery, even though – as one of the selectors who came in at the second stage, along with King’s editor Philippa Pride and independent judge Kate Lyall Grant– I only had to read a longlist of 20.  It turned out to be a far more interesting task than I had expected, demonstrating that there are plenty of talented storytellers out there, and giving some sort of glimpse into the legacy that King has left in the imaginations of his readers after nearly 40 years of storytelling.  Related: The Bazaar of Bad Dreams by Stephen King review – dark stories with moments of magic  Here are some of the tropes we noticed:  All 20 finalists had something going for them, but in the end we wrestled it down to the following six, which are winging their way to Stephen King as I write. The winning entry will be printed on Guardian books in February.  The Bear Trap by Neil Hudson  Eau de Eric by Manuela Saragosa  La Mort de l’Amant by Stuart Johnstone  The Spots by Paul Bassett Davies  The Unpicking by Michael Button  Wild Swimming by Elodie Harper  To find out more about the competition and Stephen King, click here.
After screaming and shuddering through more than 800 entries, we have settled on six finalists to put before the gothic grand master – and found some sinister patterns