Write a story about someone trying to track down the source of a rumor.

Posted in Adults on May 26, 2023

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✍️ 38 stories

“The Haunting of 555 Maple Avenue” by Michał Przywara

Eloise Fish pulled back her drapes a hand’s breadth, took a sip of wine, and watched the circus unfolding down the street. Night was settling on Maple Avenue, but the old house four-doors down was bathed in the lights of half a dozen full-sized vans, each honking at the others. The crew of the National Ghost Hunters had been embroiled with the cast of Paranormal Sightings Unlimited, and just now the whole production team for Spectre Collective rolled up, with their tour bus in tow.When Snuffles – her pet tarantula – shimmi...

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“A Babel Fish of Lies” by Chris Campbell

“Good evening,” greeted the tubular dark figure hovering at Emily Whitticombe’s front door. “I am Constable RMR-1132813, and my supervisor on this visit is Detective Inspector Dorothy Garland of the Droid Yard.” Emily Whitticombe studied the shadowy figures intensely, before switching her porch light on to illuminate them. “What do you want?” She demanded to know from the hovering android. “We would like you to help us with our enquiries, Ma’em,” the droid replied with phonetic difficulty. “Regarding what?” Th...

16 comments 16

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“Rumour Has It” by Helen A Smith

OAKWOOD FOREST, 1350.Like any right-minded boy of nine and a half, Tom had always dismissed the rumours as unbelievable. Too good to be true.“Stuff and nonsense,” his mother said. “You are to ignore them.”“But what if they are true?” he asked her.“They are not.” She shook her fist to emphasise the point. “You must stop your foolish chattering. There have been no sightings and even if there were, the king has forbidden such talk. Haven’t we enough troubles, without adding to them, Tom?&nbsp...

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“A Rumor of Oilheads” by Mark VanTassel

A Rumor of Oilheads A Legend from the Strength of Old By Mark VanTassel Erde Date: 960 (Earth 1940) Breach hung head down, face to the darkness. His heart thudded, and between beats he listened. It was quiet tonight, and moonlight filtered down in streaks. He saw a fish hurry past, then a great tailfish followed. He wondered which would get w...

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“Category Six” by Kevin Logue

"Can you believe this? On today of all days too." Agents Mills shook his head and narrowed his dark eyes at me through the rearview mirror. To him I was little more than a nuisance, and I knew it. Just another rookie brought over to experience the human world before making my decision. "What?" The question sprayed from Agent Worth's overstuffed mouth, crumbs sprinkling the dashboard to Mills’ disgust.

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“From the Fourth to Bastille Day” by Anne Shillingsburg

Leo’s grandmother’s is as French a garden as ever existed in backwater Kansas. Leo will go to southern France in the coming year; his grandmother will likely never go to her ancestral home, but that has not stopped her from putting on Bastille Day in force every year. When he was little, the annual vacation was a family reunion that spanned Fourth of July and Bastille day. Streamers of red, white, and blue flew instead of flags for the Fourth so they could serve dual purpose ten days later, when hot dogs were traded out for croque monsieu...

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“BOUSHEE’S BROWNSTONE” by Eugene Barnes

Inclining his head toward the ornate door and accentuating the action with his gun hand, the masked intruder demanded an explanation. A twinkle surfaced in his eyes that gave new meaning to his rudeness of the evening. He had not seen the door before. “You, in the plaid suit, come over here. Come on, move it”! Bellowed the intruder. “What’s behind the door”? Unable to suggest an answer, the man received the butt o...

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“Quantum banana breaks internet” by Robert Egan

The video that broke the internet was about bananas. It blindsided everyone. The doomscrollers would later say they saw it coming, and the trolls would claim they did it. But on the day that the internet fell they were all just watching videos like everyone else: videos that offered simple fixes, tips and tricks; videos of bloopers, body shots, traffic stops, dance-offs, and staged candid ...

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“Alina J. Michaels, Sr. Technician, 12 years tenure” by Gianluca Angelucci

Everything needs to be impeccable. She stands, adjusting the blazer in front of her reflection on the opaque glass walls of the office, straightening the folds on her suit with firm pulls. Getting back to her chair she checks her makeup on an round hand-mirror, perfect. The computer screen displays the employee page for Alina J. Michaels, Sr. Technician, 12 years tenure. The picture...

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“AND YOU THOUGHT ONLY HUMANS GOSSIPED!” by Charles Corkery

AND YOU THOUGHT ONLY HUMANS GOSSIPED “Look, there’s no point in beating around the bush, Gloria. You didn’t get it. I’m so awfully sorry but the board voted unanimously for Rex and he will be the new Off-Planet CEO”. “But, I thought…with your backing…” “I know, I know. It’s as much a shock to me as it is to you. I had pinned all m...

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“What seems reality is not reality ” by Stephen Lake

Raymon Diggins was found lying dead in the middle of a busy road in his hometown of the state of Washington. Nobody knew what happened, except for Raymond was exiting his apartment with his poodle to walk on their daily routine. Only a civilian saw Raymond stop in the middle of the road and stare at something in front of him when there was nothing in sight. The civilian noticed that Raymond reached out his right arm to what appeared he was grabbing a shoulder. ...

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“The Senator's Wife” by S. W. Vaughn

“Did you hear about Senator Wickam’s wife?” I turn toward the voice to find a woman I don’t know who’s apparently talking to me. Though I have no clue who she is, I know something about her because she’s wearing a red tube dress at a charity gala. Which tells me she’s not especially charitable. She’s only here to show off her gym-toned body and the breasts her husband is probably still paying for. ...

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“Whisper on the Wind” by Henry Mauser

A breath of wind ghosted through the open office window, rattling the skeletal array of printed papers taped and tacked to the opposite wall. For a moment, the paper bones cracked with life, animated by the cigarette-and-saxophone city air, but presently the wind withdrew to whisper elsewhere, and the pages slumped stiff and lifeless back against the wall. A few more bones and an arrest to give flesh, and this skeleton ...

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“Healing Through the Grapevine” by Ian James

"Look, I'm not crazy," Adrian kept saying. He'd lost count how many times he'd echoed those words, and they hung in the air, heavy with his plea for understanding. His gaze landed on the man across from him - an emissary of worry and empathy. Adrian had figured out, right off the bat, that this guy wasn't here to buy an electric guitar. There was something about the weariness in his eyes, the lines of concern etched on his forehead, the sparse hair clinging to his scalp."Who put you up to this?" Adrian asked him. ...

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“Whispered Fate” by Topher Winters

In the cold and unforgiving cityscape of London, Gabriel Stone, a private investigator hardened by both the city streets and the unseen dark corners of the paranormal, sat quietly in a seedy pub tucked away in a narrow alley. It was a sanctuary for the downtrodden, forgotten by the world and drenched in shadows. Here, Stone knew, lay a trail that could lead him to an entity as insidious as it was...

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Write a story about someone trying to track down the source of a rumor.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 38 stories

“The Haunting of 555 Maple Avenue” by Michał Przywara

“A Babel Fish of Lies” by Chris Campbell

“Rumour Has It” by Helen A Smith

“A Rumor of Oilheads” by Mark VanTassel

“Category Six” by Kevin Logue

“From the Fourth to Bastille Day” by Anne Shillingsburg

“BOUSHEE’S BROWNSTONE” by Eugene Barnes

“Quantum banana breaks internet” by Robert Egan

“Alina J. Michaels, Sr. Technician, 12 years tenure” by Gianluca Angelucci

“AND YOU THOUGHT ONLY HUMANS GOSSIPED!” by Charles Corkery

“What seems reality is not reality ” by Stephen Lake

“The Senator's Wife” by S. W. Vaughn

“Whisper on the Wind” by Henry Mauser

“Healing Through the Grapevine” by Ian James

“Whispered Fate” by Topher Winters

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a story that includes the line “my lips are sealed.”

Write a story about a piece of gossip that becomes more and more distorted as it passes from person to person.

Your character is known as the town gossip. One day, it comes back to bite them.

Your main character has a secret superpower; the gossip they spread always comes true.

Contest #200

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

218

Contest entries

118

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Tired of MS Word?

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