Whispers from the void - A Confession App

Inspiration

Halloween's supernatural mystique combined with the human need for anonymous confession. We wanted to create something that makes sharing secrets feel like communicating with spirits through a Ouija board.

What it does

Whispers from the Void lets users anonymously share confessions by spelling them out on an interactive Ouija board. Messages appear in real-time for all users, creating a shared haunted experience with atmospheric music, visual effects, and ghostly animations.

How we built it

Built entirely with Kiro AI IDE using all its features: Specs for structured development, Steering docs for horror design system, Agent Hooks for automated workflows, and MCP integration. Tech stack includes Node.js/Express backend with Server-Sent Events for real-time updates, vanilla JavaScript frontend, and extensive CSS animations for horror effects.

Challenges we ran into

Creating genuinely scary UI while maintaining usability was tough. The profanity filter initially filtered "HELLO" as "****O" because it contained "HELL" - fixed by implementing word boundary regex. Balancing 15+ simultaneous animations for 60fps performance required optimization. Making the Ouija board work with both mouse and keyboard input took careful event handling.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

The atmosphere is genuinely unsettling - layered animations, particle effects, blood moon, flickering candles, and atmospheric audio create real tension. Real-time confession feed works flawlessly with SSE. The app is fully mobile responsive and accessible. Successfully integrated all Kiro features (Specs, Steering, Hooks, MCP) into the development workflow.

What we learned

Horror UX design requires balancing fear with functionality. Kiro's AI-assisted development dramatically accelerated building complex features. Steering docs helped maintain consistent design language. Agent hooks automated repetitive tasks. Performance optimization is critical when layering multiple effects.

What's next for Whispers from the void - A Confession App

Add user reactions (👻 haunts ). Implement confession categories (secrets, fears, regrets). Create themed events (full moon confessions). Expand horror effects library. Build moderation dashboard for community safety.

Built With

• animation
• backend
• css
• events
• javascript
• node.js/express
• real-time
• server-sent
• vanilla