Scary Story Contest Official Rules

SCARY STORY CONTEST
OFFICIAL RULES
NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN

1. Eligibility. The Scary Story Contest (“Contest”) is open only to legal residents of the 50 United States and the District of Columbia, 18 years or older at the time of entry. Employees, officers, directors and representatives of The Thought & Expression Company LLC (“Sponsor”) and each of its affiliates, and immediate family members (spouse, parents, siblings and children, and each of their respective spouses, parents, siblings and children) and persons living in the same households of each of the above (whether related or not) are ineligible to enter or win a prize. Void outside of the 50 United States and the District of Columbia, and where prohibited by law. All federal, state and local laws, rules and regulations apply.

2. How to enter. No purchase necessary to enter or win. A purchase will not improve your opportunity to win. The Contest entry period begins at 12:01 AM Eastern Time (“ET”) on 10/12/14 and ends at 5:00 PM ET on 10/27/14. Sponsor’s clock shall be the official timekeeper for the Contest. To enter, send an email to afterdark@thoughtcatalog.com containing your horror fiction piece or detailed account of a true “scary” experience (“Story”) and the following contact information: full name, mailing address, email address and phone number. All of the submitted materials and information is, collectively, your “entry” in the Contest. All entries must be received by Sponsor by 5:00 PM ET on 10/27/14.

Limit one (1) entries per person. Each entry must be submitted separately. In the event of a dispute as to the identity of a winner, such winner will be deemed to be the person in whose name the email account associated with the provided email address is opened at the time of entry (unless Sponsor determines that there was fraud or other deceptive or unfair practices or actions taken by entrant in submitting an entry in which case the entry may be disqualified). Limit one (1) person per e-mail address. Photocopies, mechanically reproduced or computer generated entries are ineligible and will be disqualified. Sponsor is not responsible for lost, illegible, late, misdirected, incomplete, damaged, destroyed, forged, tampered with, mutilated or stolen entries, or any other unsuccessful attempts at entering; printing errors within these Official Rules, in any Contest-related advertisements or other materials; or other errors of any kind whether mechanical, human, electronic or otherwise. Entries that are late, illegible, incomplete, unreadable, damaged, destroyed, delayed, lost, tampered with, forged, mutilated, misdirected, inaccurate, unintelligible, incomprehensible or otherwise not in compliance with these Official Rules will be disqualified and ineligible for the Contest (collectively “Disqualified Entries”). Releasees (as defined in Section 6 below) are not responsible for Disqualified Entries, all of which will be void and ineligible for the Contest. All entries generated by a script, macro or other automated/repetitive electronic means will be disqualified and ineligible for the Contest. All required information on/within an entry must be provided in English to be eligible. All entries become the property of Sponsor and will not be acknowledged or returned.

3. Entry Details and Property Rights. Entrant may only submit an entry to which he/she owns all the legal rights and, to the extent applicable, has acquired all necessary rights from third parties prior to submission as set forth herein and as required by applicable law. An entry must be the original work of the entrant submitting such entry created solely for participating in the Contest, and may not have been previously published, and must not infringe, in whole or in part, upon the copyrights, trademarks, rights of privacy, publicity or other intellectual property or other rights of any person or entity, and that publication of any element of the entry via various media including on Sponsor’s web site and other promotional materials, will not infringe on the rights of any third party. Entrant acknowledges and agrees that the Sponsor does not have, nor shall it have in the future, any duty or liability, direct or indirect, vicarious, contributory, or otherwise, with respect to the infringement or protection of any copyright or any other intellectual property right in and to entrant’s entry.

Entries must not (i) feature trademarks, logos or trade dress of any third party; (ii) contain text or other content that is inappropriate, indecent, obscene, hateful, tortuous, defamatory, slanderous or libelous; (iii) contain text or other content that promotes bigotry, racism, hatred or harm against any group or individual or promotes discrimination based on race, gender, religion, nationality, disability, sexual orientation or age; and (iv) contain material that is unlawful, or in violation of or contrary to applicable laws or regulations.

By submitting your entry, you agree that you and your entry conform to the entry requirements set forth in these Official Rules and Sponsor’s general submission requirements set forth at www.thoughtcatalog.com/submissions (“TEC General Submission Requirements”) and that Sponsor, in its sole discretion, may disqualify you from the Contest if it believes, in its sole discretion, that you or your entry fails to conform to or comply with the entry requirement set forth in these Official Rules or the TEC General Submission Requirements. In the event of an inconsistency between the TEC General Submission Requirements and these Official Rules, these Official Rules shall supersede the TEC General Submission Requirements. Sponsor reserves the right to waive the Contest entry requirements set forth herein in its sole discretion.

Submitting an entry constitutes entrant’s agreement to irrevocably grant Sponsor, including Sponsor’s assignees and licensees, a royalty-free, irrevocable, perpetual, non-exclusive worldwide license to use, reproduce, modify, post, publish, create derivative works from, and publicly display such entry in whole or in part, and to incorporate such entry into other works, in any form, media or technology now known or later developed, including for inclusion on Sponsor’s web site and for promotional or marketing purposes. If requested, entrant will sign any documentation that may be required (as determined solely by Sponsor) for Sponsor or its designee(s) to make use of and/or confirm the non-exclusive rights entrant is granting to Sponsor to use the entry. Each entrant accepts and acknowledges that Sponsor shall not be obligated to use his/her entry as set forth above, and that Sponsor (in its sole discretion) shall have the right to refrain from using such entry. Sponsor shall not incur any liability whatsoever to the extent Sponsor chooses to exercise (or refrain from exercising) any exploitation of its rights hereunder. Each entrant will indemnify Sponsor, Releasees and any licensee of Sponsor against all claims, damages, liabilities, and expenses (including reasonable counsel fees and legal expenses) arising out of any breach of these terms.

4. Prizes. Three (3) Prizes. Three (3) Prize Winners will each receive a copy of “The Last Stair Into Darkness” by Cliff Barlow. The approximate retail value of each Prize is $6.00. Total ARV of all offered prizes is $18.00. All costs and expenses not expressly provided for in these Official Rules are not included and are the sole responsibility of winner. Limit one (1) prize per person. No transfer or substitution of prize permitted by winner. Sponsor may substitute a prize with one of equal or greater retail value if a prize is unavailable or cannot be awarded for any reason. Reporting and payment of any applicable federal, state and/or local taxes are the sole responsibility of winner. In the unlikely event that an insufficient number of eligible entries are received, not all prizes may be awarded.

Acceptance of any prize shall constitute and signify winner’s further agreement and consent that Sponsor and its designees may use the winner’s name, city, state, likeness, entry (in whole or in part) and/or prize information in connection with the Contest for promotional, advertising or other purposes, worldwide, in any and all media now known or hereafter devised, including the Internet, without limitation and without further payment, notification, permission or other consideration, except where prohibited by law. Each winner accepts and acknowledges that Sponsor shall not be obligated to use his/her entry and that Sponsor in its sole discretion shall have the right to refrain from using such entry. Sponsor shall not incur any liability whatsoever to the extent Sponsor chooses to exercise (or refrain from exercising) any exploitation of its rights hereunder. Each winner will indemnify Sponsor, Releasees and any licensee of Sponsor against all claims, damages, liabilities, and expenses (including reasonable counsel fees and legal expenses) arising out of any breach of these terms.

5. Selection of Winners. On or about 10/29/14, three (3) winners will be selected by Sponsor’s writers on staff from among all eligible entries received based on the following criteria: (i) adherence to theme (25%), (ii) creativity (25%), and (iii) scare factor (50%). The three (3) entrants with the highest scores (based on this criteria) will be designated as the winners. Odds of winning a prize depend on the quality of your entry pursuant to the above criteria. Selected potential winners will be notified by e-mail on or about the winner selection date referenced above. Each selected winner may, in Sponsor’s sole discretion, be required to complete, execute and send back to Sponsor an affidavit of eligibility and a publicity/liability release (as directed by Sponsor). If sent, failure to return such document as directed may result in forfeiture of prize and selection of an alternate winner in accordance with these Official Rules.

Upon receipt of a fully executed affidavit/release (if sent to selected winner), Sponsor will promptly award and send prize to selected winner. Sponsor shall have no liability for any winner notification or prize shipment that is lost, intercepted or not received by a potential winner for any reason. In Sponsor’s sole discretion, a selected potential winner may be disqualified and required to forfeit his/her prize and an alternate potential winner may be selected in accordance with these Official Rules from among the remaining eligible entries if such selected potential winner (i) is unreachable or winner notification is returned as undeliverable; (ii) declines or cannot accept, receive or use a prize for any reason; or (iii) fails to comply with these Official Rules including return of fully executed affidavit/releases. Forfeited prize may not be awarded. Sponsor reserves the right to modify the notification procedures in connection with the selection of alternate winner(s), if any.

6. General Conditions. By participating in this Contest, each entrant agrees to be bound by these Official Rules and the decisions of the Sponsor, which are final and binding in all respects and cannot be appealed. By entering, each entrant agrees and acknowledges that Sponsor and each of its affiliates and each of their respective employees, officers, shareholders, directors, representatives and agents (collectively, “Releasees”) are not responsible for and shall not be liable for: (i) late, lost, stolen, delayed, misdirected, postage due, mutilated, incomplete, unreadable, inaccurate, garbled or unintelligible entries, notices or prize shipments; (ii) telephone system, technical or computer malfunctions, lost connections or transmissions, disconnections or other errors of any kind whether mechanical, human, electronic or otherwise relating to or in connection with the Contest, including, without limitation, errors which may occur in connection with the administration of the Contest or the processing of entries; (iii) data corruption, theft, destruction, unauthorized access to or alteration of entry or other materials; (iv) any injuries, losses, costs, expenses or damages to person or property of any kind caused in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, by the prize or resulting from redemption, acceptance, possession, loss or use or misuse of any prize or from participating in the Contest, or inability to participate in the Contest; or (v) any printing, typographical, human, administrative or technological errors in or involving any material associated with the Contest. In the event more winner notifications are issued, or more winning prize claims are received, than the number of prizes set forth in these Official Rules due to computer, printing, human or other error or problem, only the three (3) entrants with the highest score (pursuant to and subject to these Official Rules) will be awarded the prize. No more than the number of prizes stated in these Official Rules will be awarded. Releasees have not made and/or are not responsible for any misrepresentation or guaranty, express or implied, in fact or in law, relative to the prizes.

Sponsor disclaims any liability for damage to any computer system related to or resulting from participating in, or accessing, uploading or downloading information in connection with the Contest. Sponsor reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to modify, cancel or suspend this Contest (or any portion of the Contest) should an error or a virus, bug, computer problem or other cause or problem corrupt or inhibit the administration, security or proper operation of the Contest and, in such situation, to select the winners from among the remaining eligible, non-suspect entries received prior to and/or after the action taken or in such manner as deemed fair and appropriate by Sponsor in its sole discretion. Sponsor may prohibit participant from participating in the Contest or winning a prize if, in its sole discretion, it determines participant is attempting to undermine the legitimate operation of the Contest by cheating, hacking, deception, or other unfair practices or intending to annoy, abuse, threaten or harass any other participants or Sponsor’s representatives.

By entering the Contest, each entrant agrees that: (1) any and all disputes, claims, and causes of action arising out of or connected with the Contest, or any prizes awarded, shall be resolved individually, without resort to any form of class action; (2) any and all claims, judgments and awards shall be limited to actual out‑of‑pocket costs incurred, including costs associated with entering the Contest, but in no event will attorneys’ fees be awarded or recoverable; and (3) under no circumstances will any entrant be permitted to obtain any award for, and entrant hereby knowingly and expressly waives all rights to seek, punitive, incidental or consequential damages and/or any other damages, other than actual out‑of‑pocket expenses, and/or any and all rights to have damages multiplied or otherwise increased. The interpretation of these Official Rules shall be governed by the laws of the United States and the State of New York exclusively and solely by and within the courts of that state without regard to choice of law principles.

7. Sponsor: The Thought & Expression Company LLC, 6841 Elm Street #J, McLean, VA 22101.

8. Winner List/Official Rules. For the name of the prize winner, available after 11/15/14, or a copy of these Official Rules, send a self-addressed, stamped envelope (Vermont residents need not affix return postage on requests for the Official Rules) to: The Thought & Expression Company LLC, Scary Story Contest, 6841 Elm Street #J, McLean, VA 22101. Please specify “Official Rules” or “Winner List.” Requests must be received by 4/30/15.