You confront the monster you’ve spent many long years hunting. Except they’re not exactly what you thought they’d be…

Posted in Adventure on Sep 8, 2023

Submissions are closed

Sorry, we are not accepting submissions for this prompt as it is not part of an active contest. Make sure you don't miss our next contest by creating your free Reedsy Prompts account.

Or create a new Reedsy account:

Why not check out our active contest?

✍️ 45 stories

“Dream War ” by Hayley Chau

Submitted to Contest #215

In my dreams, they were hideous. They had sharp fangs and piercing eyes, dripping with blood all the time. Except I was not able to dream. I’m an AI, helping humans destroy the aliens that invaded Earth. Humans told stories about what the aliens were like in their dreams. The ones that were able to see what they looked like and live to tell about it. The war was unlike any other war in history. The aliens attacked while humans dream. It was a bit disturbing to watch the humans die one by one in their sleep. A few were able to wake up as i...

2 comments 2

Read story

“The Taker's End” by Davern Frazier

Submitted to Contest #215

The beast stood tall unmoved by my burning hatred. I waited patiently for it to make a move a twitch, something. All it did was stand amongst it's dying garden completely emotionless. I was armed with nearly 19 years' worth of experience in magic, trained by some of the greatest enchanters my country had to offer. Fueled by my hatred at what this abomination had taken from me, from my people. Nothing was standing in my way from taking vengeance and delivering my people from these dark times. The opportunity was golden. A lifetime's worth of ...

0 comments 0

Read story

“Warrior by Way of Night” by Angie Blackledge

Submitted to Contest #215

TW: Mental illness, religion, gore, war, PTSD, CSA, violence I've always known I was different. There was just something I couldn’t quite put my finger on as a child. As I got older, I felt no closeness to any of my family members; I didn’t fit in with other kids; things seemed foreign. It was almost as though I was an alien. I knew that was ridiculous, of course. But I was weary. I was anxious. I felt strongly that I was years older than they all told me I was. Even my parents would laugh to their friends during dinner parties about “wha...

0 comments 0

Read story

“Cryptid” by Austin Wright

Submitted to Contest #215

“There are no monsters lurking in the woods or under the sea. There are only beasts and the gnawing pulse of life, the eternal cycle of eating and being eaten in the sharp teeth of the hungry and the gentle hearts of the weak.” -Dr. Jim Dunham The summer sun beat down on the blacktop of a single-lane road winding into the Arkansas hills, radiating in waves of shiny vapor and washing everything in white heat that made Jim Dunham squint. There were no street signs, no landmarks, and no service. The land dipped and climbed in indistinguisha...

2 comments 2

Read story

“Upon Reflection” by David Newcombe

Submitted to Contest #215

Liz squinted through the bright sunshine that belied her mood. Last night they had argued, again. Today she was going shopping and tonight she would prepare Saul’s favourite meal. Liz’s mother was coming to visit in only a few weeks and she would need every reserve of her husband’s understanding to cope. Saul, selflessly gave her his love, time, sympathy, and, most of all, patience, but for how long? A bright shaft of glaring light suddenly shattered these sombre thoughts. It came from an antique shop across the road. In the front window ...

0 comments 0

Read story

“Monster Within” by Fryashti Mishra

Submitted to Contest #215

Corey Bailey Friday, October 6th “Breaking News! The Pennsylvania Beast has claimed two more victims this morning. Clarissa Johnson, 42, and her 12-year-old daughter, Gigi Johnson, had gone for their daily walk and father Daniel Johnson claims they didn’t come back. Less than a week ago, four friends coming back from their high school had gone missing. Detectives are trying their best to find the monster before more people go missing.” The news reports of The Pennsylvania B...

0 comments 0

Read story

“I Found You” by Nicolas Roberge

Submitted to Contest #215

I couldn’t believe my eyes. The thing that killed my wife, a supposedly 7 feet tall and half as large monster. I searched for it for so long and it was finally here before me. And it was just a little girl. She was hiding behind a table in the corner of the room, shaking and looking at me like I was the Monster. But I knew what she was. She couldn’t fool me. A black rag hung from her thin shoulders down to her knees. Nothing else. She looked like she slept outside in the streets, dirty as she was. Her hair was black, but I couldn’t tell if i...

0 comments 0

Read story

“Playing Human” by Selina Yasin

Submitted to Contest #215

Playing Human Short Story by Selina Yasin PART ONE Ever since I got here I’ve been called devilishly handsome. I assumed the humans were astute, and my guise of being one of them was simply failing. However, I soon came to realize that they were the complete opposite. The stares I saw all around me weren’t out of fear, malice, or hatred - they were out of adoration, admiration, and more often than not, jealousy. Jealousy I could understand. A hellish beast with powers that were beyond their world or their comprehension, I too would be je...

0 comments 0

Read story

“Obsidian ” by Meli Mangos

Submitted to Contest #215

Story contains mild adult language. The subtle sounds of water flowing down a gentle incline masked the zip of my backpack’s pockets as I loaded up my insignificant camp. All of last night’s camp consisted of was a wool blanket and can of beans warmed by a lighter. Too risky to start a fire, not when I was this close. I buried the empty bean can with my latrine and washed the dirt off my hands in the stream. The moon still had a few more hours amongst the stars before passing the sky off to the sun. I had grown to be a light sleeper, es...

0 comments 0

Read story

“The Gharzul” by John Weyermuller

Submitted to Contest #215

The sun was setting over the forest, and the city nestled beyond it in the folds of the river valley. I had picked up the trail of the Gharzul again. The scabbard at my side holds my wide-bladed falchion, and I grip the green warding stone tightly in my gloved fist, as the determination to find and kill my murderous quarry builds up inside me. My neck is stiff, my muscles sore, I feel as if I'd been stretched on the rack the night before, but all I had done was ride at my usual clip. I had been here before; more than once, I had found myself...

0 comments 0

Read story

“The Monstrous Dragon” by Andrea Wright

Submitted to Contest #215

The dead forest was consumed by a thick blanket of ash. Princess Josephine shook at its stillness. Only the clopping horse and the squeaky tottering of the tumbleweed wagon could be heard in the dusk. The air, which smelled of dew and smoke, nearly suffocated her. “Are you certain you must go alone?” Conrad, the knight captain, asked. Josephine thought for a moment. “I-I must. This is the best way.” She pursed her lips. “It’s quite wrong to leave a princess to her death.” Her face contorted as she hissed. “Watch your tongue! I shall not ...

0 comments 0

Read story

“He Was Called Seven” by Sarah Guy

Submitted to Contest #215

The cold was biting. Winter holds no snow in these parts, not this far South, but it still bites at my skin. A Northern trapper had bellowed a laugh at my shivers one season, but he had died after two months in the South’s heat. I raised the thick collar of my mantle and pulled the hood farther over my face as the thoughts of the trapper fled from my mind. Where? It had been three days since I had seen a sign of it. No tracks. No traces of its course fur either. In the past, I had caught glimpses of the beast. He had grown...

0 comments 0

Read story

“The Hunter's Curse” by Stephanie Leon

Submitted to Contest #215

Some monsters frighten us, some make us laugh, but some monsters are human inside. Some monsters only exist at night under the full moon, and some simply wait. They wait for the teenage girl holding a boy’s hand at 15 because they know the girl will begin to hunt.I was 15 when I started hunting, but every time I confronted the monster, it placed a finger on its hand, whispering, “Shhhh…I’m trying to sleep.”“Too late!” I said, “I have found you and will pray you away, and you’ll never wake up.”The monster looked up at me, a wicked grin o...

0 comments 0

Read story

“Unfamiliarity Breeds Contempt” by Elain Sho-Avei

Submitted to Contest #215

I’ve finally found him. After 5 years of extensive training and 2 years of searching, I’ve finally found him. Vinnie Pace. The target I’ve been meant to kill ever since I was born. Mom said he was going to be evil. She tried to kill him at his birth, but my traitorous dad took him before she had infused the dagger with a spell to ensure that he died. I’m currently sitting at a small table in a cafe. Vinnie is not what I expected though. He looks nerdy-thick bottlecap glasses, big doe eyes, and a kind smile. He types away at a computer, ...

0 comments 0

Read story

“The Return of My Hero” by Cody Martin

Submitted to Contest #215

“So go ahead and tell me about this monster that you hunted, Gary. Who was he? Or...what was he?” Gary’s therapist, Doctor Edwards asked the question and adjusted in his seat, listening intently as Gary’s mother Saundra sat nearby listening quietly. The boy spoke, his voice a strange blend of youth and age. “Ah yes, the beast! I know not what type it was or even if it had a face. All I know is that it is up to me, Garret Forswording, the great Hero of Orinea, to slay the horrible thing and thus keep my mother the Queen and all her real...

0 comments 0

Read story

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a story about someone trying to resist their darker impulses. Whether they succeed or fail is up to you.

Dark – 100 stories

Set your story in a haunted house.

Horror – 70 stories

Write a story about a monster trying to become more human. Or about a human trying to become more monstrous.

Thriller and Suspense – 60 stories

Write a story about someone making a deal with the devil.

Dark – 112 stories

Contest #215

Enter our weekly contest!

This week's theme: Monstrous

$250

Prize money

387

Contest entries

135

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Sep 15, 2023 EST

Won by Danielle Barr 🏆

Title: What Kind of Mother

View details

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

We'll send you 5 prompts each week. Respond with your short story and you could win $250!

Menu

CONNECT

BLOG

APPS

TOOLS

ABOUT

You confront the monster you’ve spent many long years hunting. Except they’re not exactly what you thought they’d be…

Submissions are closed

✍️ 45 stories

“Dream War ” by Hayley Chau

“The Taker's End” by Davern Frazier

“Warrior by Way of Night” by Angie Blackledge

“Cryptid” by Austin Wright

“Upon Reflection” by David Newcombe

“Monster Within” by Fryashti Mishra

“I Found You” by Nicolas Roberge

“Playing Human” by Selina Yasin

“Obsidian ” by Meli Mangos

“The Gharzul” by John Weyermuller

“The Monstrous Dragon” by Andrea Wright

“He Was Called Seven” by Sarah Guy

“The Hunter's Curse” by Stephanie Leon

“Unfamiliarity Breeds Contempt” by Elain Sho-Avei

“The Return of My Hero” by Cody Martin

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a story about someone trying to resist their darker impulses. Whether they succeed or fail is up to you.

Set your story in a haunted house.

Write a story about a monster trying to become more human. Or about a human trying to become more monstrous.

Write a story about someone making a deal with the devil.

Contest #215

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

387

Contest entries

135

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: