URGENT: Missing Writer (File #KS-2020)

LAST KNOWN LOCATION: Killer Shorts 2020 (3rd Place)

CURRENT STATUS: Missing in Development

THE INCIDENT: Chris Hicks first surfaced at Killer Shorts in 2020, where his horror short screenplay “The Butter Street Hitchhiker” placed 3rd overall.

After Killer Shorts, Chris’s career accelerated.

His horror stories went on to reach millions of readers on Reddit’s NoSleep, earning a place among the community’s most popular stories of all time. He signed with a literary manager at Story Driven, landed on The Blood List, and ultimately made a record-breaking short story sale to Netflix.

That story, I Am Not Alone, is now in development with Jessica Chastain attached to star and produce, alongside writer/director Misha Green.

Then...

Nothing.

People stopped seeing his name in writing groups. No more contest placements. No more new stories. Just whispers of option agreements, development meetings, and ‘endless rewrites.’

By all accounts, Chris Hicks had vanished into the industry.

Despite disappearing from the amateur horror scene, Chris occasionally resurfaces on his personal Substack (Chris Hicks).

This season, we’ve managed to lure him back to Killer Shorts.

Listen to this cryptic voicemail we recovered from Chris on February 2, 2026:

Chilling stuff.

Chris returns as a Season 8 Short Story Mentor, where he’ll personally review and mentor this year’s winning fiction writers before inevitably disappearing into development once again.

WANT TO RISK DISAPPEARING?

Some writers don't disappear. They just get too busy making movies. Submit your horror short script, feature or story to Killer Shorts before the EarlyBird Deadline on August 7th. Win, and you might vanish into the industry next.

Take the Risk

PS: If you’d like to read “The Butter Street Hitchhiker”, it is available by request in our Killer Shorts Script Directory. Just don’t expect an immediate response from Chris.

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