After a period of reflection and repair in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, the judges have reached their decision on our 2012 Scary Dairy Contest.

First prize goes to Erin Thorne's gooey tale of cheese voodoo

Dave Goudsward:

Erin Thorne's story "I'm Melting" starts strong, establishes characterization right off the bad and ends with the perfect blend of horror and dairy. The cheese is integral to the plot without being obvious.

Amanda Affrunti:

Erin Thorne, with her tale of scorned love and Voodoo dolls of cheddar, wins first place. Her original idea and clever execution (of the words and of the antagonist) made the perfect Scary Dairy tale.

Kristi Petersen Schoonover:

What is Scary Dairy? It's the rasp of a grater wielded by a mad monger, a ghostly image imprinted on the face of the pizza, the cold panic of losing your bread in the burbling depths of the fondue.

Scary Dairy is our annual Halloween short story contest.

The rules are simple: spin a spooky cheese-centric tale of terror in the comment thread below, ~500 words or less. The best story will win a bag of cheesy Halloween tricks and treats. We will pick a winner November 1st.

Hey Guys! Happy Halloween. Now I’m sure if you are reading this, you are always looking for a way to add a little cheese into your life. Well, if you are still looking for a Halloween costume for your child, I have a cheesy (literally and figuratively) idea to throw your way. Behold, the Mac N’ Cheese costume. You can't tell me that this kid is not going to collect the most candy.

I wish I was still young enough to go trick-or-treating. Also, how overrated is candy? I'd much rather have my pillowcase filled with an assortment of delicious cheeses. Can we figure out how to start this please?

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Good Evening! It's time again for culture's annual Scary Dairy contest.

The rules are simple: spin a spooky cheese-centric tale of terror in the comment thread below. 500 words or less, please. The best tale will win a bag of cheesy Halloween tricks & treats. We will pick a winner Nov. 4.

Need inspiration? Check out last year's blood curdling tales of ghostly milk murders, evil sheep, dairy zombies, and of course, the horrifying Stuff-like cheese of last year's winning entry: here, here, here, and here, and then post your own below!

There's nothing more I look forward to every year than the sweet cornea and creamy sclera on the eyeballs served on Halloween. Throw that eyeball on a cracker and you should be good to go. Maybe even pass them out to the zombies that come to your doorstep on the night of Halloween. As the new intern here at Culture Magazine, I thought it may be best to share one of my favorite holiday treats.

Click here for the recipes on some succulent eyeballs! (Via squiddo.com)

This is my tale, strange but true, of a hideous secret buried in bucolic hills.

So, my favorite holiday hits this weekend, and I was curious: is anyone going to risk a full-house egging and TP drape and just give away actual Babybels at the door? Delightful as these salty little snacks are, they are clearly only one short rung above toothbrushes in the Halloween hierarchy, when only sweet will do.