Center your story around a childhood fear that – as much as you try to shake it – still resonates in adulthood.

Posted in Angst on Oct 25, 2024

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✍️ 92 stories

“Fumbling Towards Relaxation” by Dave Stanley

Submitted to Contest #274

A lost love envelops me, personified in a dark-haired beauty with almond shaped eyes. No complications or messy communication. Just pure love. Rapture. Joy. She takes my hand, but I’m hesitant. Something is calling me, something that has to be dealt with before I can give myself to bliss. It’s getting louder, and the sound more and more offensive. The siren slips out of my grasp, and I’m left confused, with only myself, disappointment, and a grating sound that refuses to pass. Fuck. It’s the alarm, and no, I’m not even clo...

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“Sick World” by Zahra Monib

Submitted to Contest #274

When Gabrio turned 8, his Lola gave him a money tree. "This is for good fortune" She had said, placing the plant in his thin arms, "be kind to it." He hugged it to his chest, smiling up at her through the vibrant green. The trunk twisted together in a neat braid, and the leaves sprouted in odd numbers from the top like little fountains. It was beautiful and whimsical, and it took him a second to decide it was his new favourite thing. Over the course of a month, Gabrio fussed over the plant. Making sure the soil never went dry, an...

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“An Irrational Fear?” by Chay Renae

Submitted to Contest #274

Thump, thump… thump… thump, thump. Its echo pulsates on the sound waves of the deafening silence cradling me. Darkness lurks in and around every nook. Blanketing the space within its clutch. Preventing any breech of light. With it brings an uneasy sense of every possible thing that resides in the depths of its confines. The chill that accompanies it penetrates my very core, turning my growing fear into shards of crystalline quartz that prod my every nerve ending. Hyper-aware and on-edge, I dare to reach out. For… what? I don’t know exac...

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“Chopped Off Strands” by RD Smith

Submitted to Contest #274

It was always just the two of us. No matter where we laid our heads, we were always within arm’s reach. I was too young to remember all the places we had slept, but I knew she was there. Until the day she left. We drove through our small hometown, and she parked the car on Main Street. She had told me it was Main Street once before. I remembered that by feeling our tiny car bounce like popcorn on the cobbled bricks. It was one block of shops and businesses that had the most traffic in our town—outside of a high school football game on an aut...

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“Shadows of Innocence” by Martina Hoch

Submitted to Contest #274

Martina Caswell always imagined herself fearless. With a heart that spoke in cadences of adventure, she was the girl who climbed trees higher than her friends dared, the one who chased boys down the street, laughing madly. And yet, despite her outward confidence, there was a shadow that loomed over her—a fear that twisted within, stubborn as a child’s grip on a beloved toy. It was the fear of the dark.As a child, Martina found solace in the sun’s warm embrace, in colors that bloomed and thrived. But dusk fell like a shroud over her world, st...

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“It's Only a Nightmare” by James Barrett

Submitted to Contest #274

This has happened before. This is just like the other times. I have no idea how or why I wind up here, but here I am again. Scared shitless. “It’s only a nightmare.” I keep telling myself. I’ve only been to Zion National Park in Utah once. It was twenty years ago when I was a twelve-year-old boy. I thought I knew everything and could do anything. I was arrogant and intolerant. In short, I was the classic definition of a snot-nosed kid.My Dad was an avid hiker. He talked Mom into the Zion vacation. She wanted to go to the Caribbean and relax ...

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“The Taste: A Frightening Childhood Experiene” by M H

Submitted to Contest #274

A Frightening Childhood Experience: All that I've been tasting The mini-bus came to a halt. This should have been a relief after five whole minutes of it jerking backward and forward beyond the driver’s control. Yet the ever-so-present darkness lingering outside intertwined with the sudden moment of silence did not make it any better. This very factor completely debunked the idea of walking home no matter how close it now was. The two men got out of the vehicle with the driver sliding underneath it as the conductor directed the torch for him...

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“The Grinning Thing” by Donna LaRue

Submitted to Contest #274

I saw a movie when I was a little kid that ruined my life. That may sound overly dramatic, but it's easy to make that judgment from a safe distance. You have the luxury to cluck and chuckle and roll your eyes, because odds are you've never seen the Grinning Thing. That's what I called him, my vocabulary at eight years old not having the color and depth that it does today as a thirty-something who's jus...

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“A Seeker of Dreams And His Journey ” by Alex Hawkins

Submitted to Contest #274

“Being a hearing person is what is expected,yet being deaf is what makes me different.” Starting on October 10th, 2024, in my silent world with shadows and my journey.“Being a hearing person is what is expected, yet being deaf is what makes me different. Why? Yes, I am asking you why. It is your world that I am living in. It is all about you and how you hear, period. You know I am right.”I have learned the hard way. I was forced to wear my hearing aids and FM system when I was a young boy. Even, I took speech classes, starting in prescho...

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“Incredible” by Jennifer Addison

Submitted to Contest #274

It only takes a minute to get separated from my mom in the grocery store. I had stopped to peruse the boxes of cereal she wouldn’t buy for us. All the colors and cartoon characters drew me in. The next thing I know, I become aware of an unwelcome presence in the Winn Dixie. I look up and down the aisle, but there is no one. Mom is gone, the other shoppers have left this aisle. It’s just me, standing alone in front of the cereal. And he’s coming. I feel the painfully slow footsteps pounding from a nearby aisle. The shelves rattle. He mu...

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“Memories” by James McCulloch

Submitted to Contest #274

Lucas shifted papers around on his desk, trying to look busy. It was late on a Friday, and he had just finished up work on one project and didn't want to start on the next this late before heading home. His watch said he had 15 minutes to go before he could take off. He needed the weekend break after the week he'd had. "Hey, Lucas," his boss said as he rounded the corner. "What's happenin'?" Lucas cringed at his boss' mannerisms. He controlled his features and kept his voice level as he said, "Not much, ready for the weekend. What about yo...

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“Come Back Now - Excerpt” by Hannah I

Submitted to Contest #274

I was lost – truly, I felt like the only option I had was to give up. I didn’t know my way in and I certainly don’t know my way out. I just ended up in one place and then another. I try to distinguish the patterns but there aren’t any. This place, like all the others was quiet, and it felt like I was the only one who and what was capable of creating any sound.The grass here is a vibrant green – not obnoxiously vibrant, but just so that it was able to evoke a feeling of belonging. A warm hug accompanied by the wind as it blew in my direction....

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“Under the Blanket” by Humble Sparrow

Submitted to Contest #274

Inspired by a recent nightmare.“Mommy? Where’s the train?”Before she could answer, Sonya heard the tell-tale swoosh of doors sealing shut. She spun around – too late – behind her was supposed to be two panes of glass, and before her, a concrete boarding platform, but now . . .She felt a squeeze on her hand. The first course of nausea rippling through her innards was pushed back by that first, most important reassurance – her daughter was still with her. Sonya squeezed back, her eyes scanning frantically across a low stone...

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“Night Terror” by Rosa Christian

Submitted to Contest #274

Misty tears drip, drip and slip down the pane. Wintry chill rimes the sill. The gnarled fingers of the giant, standing naked in the garden, scritch scratch at the window. Its many arms flail in terror of the spectres who stalk the night. A moan from the mountain goads it to thump the roof, demanding entry. Looking for me. The trunk’s open mouth screams, silently. No teeth. A black hole. Scientists talk of them sucking everything in. It’s drawing my soul forth. It will swallow me. In the deep night, I am alone, or might as well be. The house ...

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“Unrealized Fear” by D.C. Reed

Submitted to Contest #274

*This story explores the angst arising from political and social issues created in our current political climate.* “Let’s take another question from the audience. Yes, the young woman at the third microphone. Which candidate do you want to address?” “This question is for either. Hopefully, both will answer.” “That’s fine. That’s fine. Please go ahead.” “I would like to ask if either of you will stop using our plights as tools to get elected?” The bright white smile of the interchangeable news anchor fades. A hair comes out of pla...

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Center your story around a childhood fear that – as much as you try to shake it – still resonates in adulthood.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 92 stories

“Fumbling Towards Relaxation” by Dave Stanley

“Sick World” by Zahra Monib

“An Irrational Fear?” by Chay Renae

“Chopped Off Strands” by RD Smith

“Shadows of Innocence” by Martina Hoch

“It's Only a Nightmare” by James Barrett

“The Taste: A Frightening Childhood Experiene” by M H

“The Grinning Thing” by Donna LaRue

“A Seeker of Dreams And His Journey ” by Alex Hawkins

“Incredible” by Jennifer Addison

“Memories” by James McCulloch

“Come Back Now - Excerpt” by Hannah I

“Under the Blanket” by Humble Sparrow

“Night Terror” by Rosa Christian

“Unrealized Fear” by D.C. Reed

🌟 Similar prompts

Center your story on a character filled with love and fear in equal measure.

Write a story that includes the line “Fate is resourceful.”

Use a personal memory to craft a ghost story.

Write a story where a creature turns up in an unexpected way.

Contest #274

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

404

Contest entries

118

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

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