It's Halloween 2016 at Halloween-HQ!

Velcome!

This is the official kickoff journal for Halloween 2016. Do you dare to join us?

You are sitting at your IKEA desk at work, rolling a pencil back and forth over your knuckles in abject boredom. Suddenly, your best friend bursts into your office, panting with excitement. You stop twirling your pencil and sit up, eager to hear the news.

Apparently, he says, the souls of all artists have been ripped violently from their bodies. If someone doesn't find the stolen souls, the loss will be permanent. You stare at him in silence for a moment, feeling the blood rush out of your body. What the hell . . . ?

"Anyway," your friend says, turning on his heel to leave, "I just thought you'd want to know."

You stare at his back as he disappears down the long hallway, your mind working at lightning speed to process what you've just been told. You decide in that moment that you will step up and take full responsibility for reuniting the artists with their souls.

In that instant, a magical compass materializes before your eyes, and you are held transfixed by its glow. Suddenly, a wave of excruciating pain unlike anything you've ever experienced races through your body from your head to your feet. You feel queasy, lightheaded . . . and suddenly you care for nothing and no one. Your mind is racing to understand what this feeling is about, and it finally occurs to you:

Your own soul has been torn from your body and ripped into many pieces.

Now it's personal.

How do I play?

Remember that artists come from all backgrounds and create work in all media.

Below are the names of three artists with whom you can start. Pick any one to begin; you can always come back to get the other two later.

BlueFire-Phoenix - Literature
SingingFlames - Traditional art
SavageFrog - Architecture

Go to the artist's page. Somewhere on that page, a link is hidden. That link leads to a sta.sh document that contains a clue, riddle, puzzle, etc. for you to solve. This puzzle is related to famous piece of art, classical or contemporary.

CRITICAL: DO NOT, under ANY circumstance, comment on any Sta.sh document. Doing so will result in IMMEDIATE disqualification.

Solve the problem, and note the solution to the artist.

IMPORTANT: ONLY CONTACT EACH ARTIST ONE TIME. You only get one shot at it, so do your best. This is also a good time to point out that CREATIVITY COUNTS.

Allow the artist 24 hours to respond to your note. When they respond, they will tell you where to go next. Keep working in this manner until you reach the end of your path.

You will get points for every answer you give. You do not need to keep track of them; we will keep track for you. The number of points you have at the end will determine who wins the game. If there are ties, we will go by who finishes first.

You may find some puzzles that are too difficult to solve. We recommend that you at least try. But, if you come across a puzzle that you do not want to answer or cannot guess, it is okay to tell the character that you want to skip their puzzle.

Other Rules

1.    READ THIS JOURNAL CAREFULLY before you begin.

2.    Work by yourself. Do not share answers. Do not give others your answers, and do not accept answers from other people. Do not put answers on other sites or problem-solve together. You'd be surprised by how much we know.

3.    Only contact each artist one time. Do not ask clarifying questions. If you think something is wrong with a puzzle, note Halloween-HQ.

4.    It should go without saying: Be nice. People put a lot of time and energy into making this contest awesome, so please be respectful to the characters. 

5.    You have until November 6th at 11:59PM PT to visit all characters and get to the end.  You don't need to do anything at that point; we are keeping track!

The Prizes

The prizes are as follows:


First place: 4,000 points, courtesy of Aeirmid
Second place: 3,000 points, courtesy of communityrelations & moonbeam13 
Third place: 2,000 points, courtesy of communityrelations & moonbeam13 


What are you waiting for? Those souls aren't going to save themselves!

Good luck!