ASYLUMFEST 2025 EVENTS
FEATURE FILM FRIDAY
SCARE CAMPAIGN
SCARE CAMPAIGN WAS FILMED IN BEECHWORTH ASYLUM!
Kick off the festival with Scare Campaign, an intense and chilling horror film where a group of people run a TV show where they set up locations to scare unsuspecting victims. But when the producer demands darker, more extreme content, their pranks take a horrifying turn into reality.
SPECIAL GUEST DALE BAMFORD
Dale has worked in the area of practical movie effects for over a decade, and in that time has created some truly amazing designs for film and TV. He worked on many areas of production for Scare Campaign.
Date & Time: Friday, October 25, 2024, at 7:00 PM
Location: The haunted Bijou Theatre at Mayday Hills
Tickets: $25 pre-booked; $30 at the door
MEET THE JUDGES
Amanda J Spedding
Amanda J Spedding is a professional editor, proofreader, and award-winning author and graphic novelist.
Kaaron Warren
Kaaron Warren is a multi-award-winning writer based in Canberra, Australia. She’s sold over 200 short stories to publications big and small around the world, including Ellen Datlow’s Year’s Best. She was Guest of Honour at World Fantasy, Stokercon and Genrecon.
Her latest novel, The Underhistory, from Viper Books, was described in the Guardian as ‘a beautifully constructed, suspenseful gothic tale’.
Her other novels are Slights, Mistification, Walking the Tree, The Grief Hole and Tide of Stone. She has seven short story collections. Her writing podcast Let the Cat In showcases ideas, objects, and inspirations.
Brent McGregor (Asylumfest 2024 winner)
Brent McGregor is an author of horror fiction and the winner of the 2024 Asylumfest Mayday Hills Ghost Story Competition. He is a member of the AHWA and lives in Sydney with his wife, daughter, and dogs. His works have appeared in places like Midnight Echo, and his short story series, Strange Murmurings. He likes to delve into the world of the terrifying by writing stories that combine both the weird and the uncanny.
Mayday Hills Ghost Story Competition
Competition
Unleash your love of horror stories with live ghost story performances, held in the very-haunted Bijou Theatre, with comfortable chairs and couches for the audience.
Date & Time: Saturday, October 25, 2025, at 7:00 PM
Location: Main Stage at AsylumFest
Audience Tickets: $10 pre-booked; $15 on the night
TO ENTER AS A PERFORMER
Eligibility: Open to Australian and New Zealand citizens or residents
Submission Deadline: September 19, 2025 (if you plan to attend either way, we suggest booking accommodation early. Beechworth is a big tourism area, and places in town book out fast).
Performance: Live reading of your original story (up to 15 minutes). Story MUST involve a ghost/spirit.
Judging Criteria: Story quality and delivery
Prizes: 1st Place – Trophy and $100; 2nd Place – Certificate and $50; 3rd Place – Certificate and $25
