Remember that Time you Almost Died...? Win up to $50 in EP's Halloween Writing Contest!

This contest is now closed. See below for the winners- and thanks for participating!

There were so many great entries, but in the end, we could only choose three. Here they are, the winners for the 2006 Halloween Writing Contest:

The Cold Steel of the Revolver Press Deeply Into My Midriff by Kayrah
Winner: $50 Barnes & Noble Gift Certificate
I Hit a Wall at 30 Miles Per Hour by aprenot
$15 iTunes Certificate
Fear on the Cape Fear River
$5 iTunes Certificate by clearh20warrior

Congratulations! Here are our honorable mentions:

We run fun, easy and interesting writing contests all the time-- please register now to stay informed!

Boo! It's almost Halloween, and in honor of the morbid, the Experience Project is running a Halloween Contest calling for stories about the closest you ever came to dying. Think about a car accident, a slip, a fight, a plane malfunction, or whatever else. We've all been there before. It was scary times, but we made it, so let's commemorate!

As for the treats, we'll be handing out a $50 Barnes & Noble Online Gift Certificate to the best entry, $15 in iTunes(R) to second place, and $5 in iTunes to third.

OK here's the deal...

Login or Register-- if you haven't joined us yet, it's free, anonymous, takes 20 seconds and we don't spam.
Then go to the "I had a Near Death Experience" Group and click "Me Too" in the upper right hand corner to join the gang
Now, just share your story about the closest you ever came to being 'dearly departed.' You can enter as many times as you like.

That's it! Easy, quick, fun-- and you'll end up remembering things long forgotten, and perhaps even discovering other people just like you. Welcome to the Experience Project.

Criteria for winners includes length (longer is better), descriptiveness, and the ability to capture the thoughts and feelings of your near death experience. This was an exciting moment in anyone's life, make sure to convey that in your story. The full contest rules are below.

Easy, yah? Yah, we know. Then get started now.

The Experience Project is a community of people sharing their personal thoughts and experiences without revealing their real life identities. It's a supportive and fun environment to get to know yourself and others just like you. The more experiences you share, the better we are able to match you up with other people that have same background as you and understand where you're coming from. Think about it as connecting with people based on who you are, not who you know. Take a look at some of the experiences, personal stories, dreams, and confessions people are talking about. Click here to learn more about the site

Promotion Rules

Entry must be on the topic of "I had a Near Death Experience" and submitted within that Experience Group
Contest is open to existing and new members of The Experience Project
The promotion begins October 4th @ 12PM PDT and ends October 29th @ 10AM PDT. Entries before or after that timeframe will not be considered for the promotion.
Prizes, and all communications, will be delivered via the e-mail address registered with the account. We are not responsible if we cannot deliver the prize to you because you entered your e-mail address incorrectly.
The Experience Project does not endorse, sanction, encourage, or condone any of the experiences on the site.
Employees, officers, directors, agents, representatives and their immediate families or members of Experience Project are ineligible to participate.
Limit one prize per user for this promotion.
The first place winner will receive a $50 (ARV $50 USD) Barnes & Nobles Online Gift Certificate, the 2nd place winner $15 in iTunes download certificates (ARV $14.85), and the third place winner $5 (ARV $4.95).
iTunes (R) certificates will expire on November 30th, 2006 and must be redeemed before then. Replacements will not be provided if the winners do not redeem them in time.
No substitutions or exchanges or cash equivalents for the prizes will be allowed
Judging will be performed exclusively by the Experience Project staff
All decisions are final and explanations will not be provided to entrants that did not receive a prize
Basic elements required of an entry for promotion eligibility: a true, personal story with a beginning, middle and end, and significant length (approximately half a typed page, single spaced).
Judging criteria includes quality of entry in terms of effectively expressing the thoughts, feelings and full experience of your near death story. The most useful entries are those where a reader is provided context and insight into the mind of the author at the time of the experience, and the wisdom gained through the experience
Entries may be edited for grammar and spelling by Experience Project staff, with every effort-- but no guarantee written or implied-- made to avoid unintentionally altering the original author's intent
Entrants will recieve priority notification of future promotions (they can choose to opt-out of this at any time)
Winners will be chosen on or about October 31st, 2006
Winners agree that their Experience Project username (but not their real name or e-mail address) can be used promotionally at the Experience Project website.
Winners will be posted on the Experience Project website (http://www.experienceproject.com) within 2 weeks after the end of the promotion.
Author certifies that the entry relates a true story that is theirs.
It is unlawful (and rude!) to submit copyrighted content that is not yours.
All questions or comments should be submitted to promotions@experienceproject.com
All entries become the property of the Experience Project
The Experience Project accepts no responsibility for errors in submission caused by network, site, or other malfunctions or any other damages that may arise from your participation in this promotion.
General terms for participation at the Experience Project can be found here
The Experience Project, its parent company, subsidiaries, affiliates or agencies shall have no liability whatsoever, for any injuries or damage incurred in whole or part from participation in this promotion.
Void where prohibited, restricted, or limited
iTunes (R) is a registered trademark of Apple Corporation. Apple does not sponsor nor endorse this contest.

This is a Halloween story writing contest where you submit stories of times in your life where you almost died (had a near-death experience). The prizes include iTunes and Barnes & Nobles gift certificates. Share stories of car accidents, near-misses, plane malfunctions, slips and falls, hiking mishaps, and so on to remember them, feel better about them, and meet other people in the community who understand you. We run essay contests all the time, so be sure to register to be informed of the latest contest before the crowds.

Anonymous & Free

Explore first-person stories about any experience, including your own! Connect anonymously with people who understand.