Sorry if this is long winded, but you did ask for an explanation accompanying our vote :p These were all really fun to read, but I have to vote for @dirge. I love horror movies and video games but I have always shied away from horror when told in a short story or novel form. Predominantly because it's almost too effective, and I'm a huge wimp. But Dirge's work was so beautifully manipulative in pacing that even though I knew I was going to be thoroughly freaked by the end of it, I couldn't stop reading.

And I was, in fact, thoroughly freaked. To put it in perspective, my reaction to every gruesome representation of Fenrir I have ever encountered has been "Puppy! <3 <3 <3" My fear receptors when it comes to anything canine are so far past busted, and yet somehow Dirge still managed to leave me feeling extremely uneasy... using puppies. It was very well done!