Center your story around someone trying to resist their darker impulses — and they’ll either succeed or fail.

Posted in Angst on Oct 11, 2024

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✍️ 63 stories

“Face thief” by Hanna Brauncajs

Submitted to Contest #272

Allegedly people get put off by the idea of tearing off somebody’s face. But then, which ultimately makes me wonder, why so?Has society succeeded in depriving itself of curiosity? Are we no longer capable of engaging in anything, of not being completely absorbed by the very performance itself? Do we no longer have impulses, does nothing emerge from our darkest, most primal nature? Have we managed to tame those instincts? Have we over-humanized ourselves? Are we legitimized even to call ourselves humans? Or are we already someone – somet...

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“Dark Ice” by Ariel Golia

Submitted to Contest #272

"Hello, nice to meet you."I suppress a laugh. No, if he knew whose hand he was shaking, he would not be happy to meet me.He winces as I shake the offered hand, probably the cold. He quickly embraces his warm cup of coffee, sipping it before turning back toward me. "So, what do you do?"I shrug. "Travel. I have some business to attend to here.""Nice. I'm a social worker for the family line."Oh I know. I know everything. Too bad for all the families that are on his waiting list. He's going to be leaving behind his own distraught family himself....

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“Scars” by Hannelore VdC

Submitted to Contest #272

Trigger warning note: Depression, self-harm, dissociation She could hear screaming. Lots of it. Sometimes one voice, sometimes many, but non-stop, never-ending, constant screaming. Like the background noise of a radio you couldn’t quite hear anymore but couldn’t entirely ignore either. There were words and sentences strewn among the meaningless sounds, yet she could never understand them. Always out of reach. Never to be fully heard. But she knew their meaning, if she cared to listen. Tumbled, knotted, complicated strings of pain, all exclai...

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“These Thoughts Are Mine Alone” by Sophie Goldstein

Submitted to Contest #272

TRIGGER WARNING: This story centers around a character who wants to hurt a child I get up at 4am. I brush my teeth. I get dressed. I go for a run. I run for at least an hour. Hard. I run as fast as I can, until my heart feels like it’s going to explode from my chest. This is important. This keeps me steady. After I run, I shower. I shower for a long time, in hot, scalding water. I make myself burn. This is important. This keeps me steady. On good days, on days when I can feel the calm in my body, I let myself go out into the world for a shor...

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“Little Drummer Boy” by Adam Sifre

Submitted to Contest #272

“I hate her!” Jesse whispered to the empty room. "I f-f-fucking hate her. Shame and excitement roiled through his eleven-year-old body, "I fucking hate her," he repeated, not wanting to let go of this feeling. His face felt hot, as if he'd been standing in front of the basement furnace. It was a familiar feeling. The anger and the heat. Tears escaping like steam. If he'd stop to think about it, Jesse would be hard-pressed to remember a week when she hadn't done some petty, cruel act that set him off. It was a ritual ...

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“Alone in a World Full of Monsters” by Kelsey Fish

Submitted to Contest #272

I sat on the edge of my desk as the next to last student, Cheri, turned in her exam and walked out. “Thanks!” She chirped, her airy voice cutting through the thick, drippy silence that hung in the air. I gave her a small smile, holding her essay in my hand. I could feel his eyes on me, waiting, hungry. “How do you think you did?” I asked, my nerves standing on end. If Cheri noticed, she didn’t let on. “Well, it was difficult,” she started, “but I think I did alright!” She smiled, warm and bright, sunshine breaking through after a l...

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“A Home” by Hashim AlHamar

Submitted to Contest #272

A man was looking for a home. A nice home. One he could see himself living in, comfortable and at peace. Not that where he was living now was all that bad. It wasn’t. But it wasn’t a home, per se. Just a place where he slept, shat and ate. And the rent was monumental. No. He needed someplace cheaper and nicer. And from there, a search. He felt like a reverse Goldilocks. The first place he went to see, after scouring all the ads and listings, was almost perfect. Cozy one-bedroom, top-floor apartment with a grand view of the riverside. Comfy f...

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“A Taste of Desire” by Ellie Mae

Submitted to Contest #272

The night air in Washington, D.C. carried a chill that crept under William’s skin despite his centuries of resilience. The city bustled with life, even at this hour, as it always did. Neon lights flickered in the distance, casting shadows across the National Mall, where tourists wandered with tired feet and waning excitement. William lingered near the Smithsonian museums, blending in effortlessly with the passing crowds. To them, he was just another night owl exploring the capital’s history under the cover of darkness. But for William, tonig...

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“In Defence of Shadows.” by Scoop Rittersblock

Submitted to Contest #272

*The following is a translation by a Shadow Whisperer who is cataloguing the life and times of the cities “Light Negative Entities.” She is an intuitive skilled in the art of Shadow Communication.Good evening dear human. I believe your custom of greeting is such and so I honour it. It is my pleasure to talk with you today - a first of its kind, I am told - and made possible by the unique talents and abilities of the Shadow Whisperer.My thanks and eternal gratitude go out to her.For starters, can I say that we as a collective find your ways o...

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“Urges: The Darker Shade” by Traci Tokarczyk

Submitted to Contest #272

Urges: The Dark ShadeIt's been a month since my last visit to the mall where she works. I am trying to keep my urges at bay. My court appointed psychiatrist said when the urges feel like they are taking over my mind, I should try to focus on something else besides her.“Go to the library, read a book, watch a movie, go bowling, focus on your artwork, your paintings,” she would tell me. I nod my head as she talks, but I am not listening to the words she is saying. The ...

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“The Voice in My Head” by Pete Gautchier

Submitted to Contest #272

Prompt: Center your story around someone trying to resist their darker impulses-and they’ll either succeed or fail.The Voice in My HeadThere is an incessant voice chatting inside my head. No matter how I try to block it out it keeps bantering falsehoods and urging me to do things I do not want to do. The more I try to ignore it, the louder and nastier it gets. I try to keep myself preoccupied focusing on the task at hand. It actually helps, but the effort depletes me of most of my energy. I am ...

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“Two-Legged Vermin” by Alex Holdren

Submitted to Contest #272

Two-Legged Vermin October 12, 2018. Six years ago today. I’m not claiming any kind of special ability to remember every moment. Every hunter remembers their first kill. That was the day of my first kill. Unlike most hunters though, my prey was what my father would’ve called, “two-legged vermin”. I had grown up curious about hunting. But you’ll have that, when everyone you grow up around is a hunter. I grew up blaming it on my dad for not being around to teach me, but the truth is, I put more effort into blaming him, than I did in trying to l...

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“The Hunger & Despair” by César Enoc Villanueva Contreras

Submitted to Contest #272

White. Everything I could see was identical. An immense sea of what seemed to be mattresses stretched before me, a white so immaculate that it made me anxious. Fear and anxiety coursed through every fiber of my body. The adrenaline surged to its peak, and my body screamed to run and flee from this place driving me crazier than I already was. But then… a figure! A person appeared amidst that sea of madness, so immaculately white. That mysterious entity didn’t seem hostile and made a request? It wanted to know my story, how I got here, and who...

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“I Know What I Am” by Denese Wright

Submitted to Contest #272

Walls of the mineshaft, on the verge of crumbling, tremble in a final warning to all miners. Foreman Jeffrey McDermott yells to his men who are all still inside. His voice echoes down throughout the dusty shaft, “Hurry up lads, the walls are buckling, leave the picks and hammers, and be careful with the charges!”“One last look,” whispers the man furthest behind, his name is Reginald.His last minute search for anything simmering in the rock ends in a find not of the kind he'd hoped for. At the foot of a heap of rubble lies a thick bundle of p...

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“The Five Acts” by Megan Spencer

Submitted to Contest #272

The ImpulseThe flower tattoo is the first glimpse of my impulse. Standing behind her in line, my eyes draw down the black ink starting from the back of her ear, down her neck. It’s dainty and delicate…somehow that symbolizes her. I unlock my phone and research the bell shaped flowers and find they're called lily of the valley. They symbolize purity, humility, sweetness and joy. It says the flowers have a sweet fragrance to them…as does she. I can smell her even though I’m a few steps behind. I take a step closer, small enough that she doesn’...

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Center your story around someone trying to resist their darker impulses — and they’ll either succeed or fail.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 63 stories

“Face thief” by Hanna Brauncajs

“Dark Ice” by Ariel Golia

“Scars” by Hannelore VdC

“These Thoughts Are Mine Alone” by Sophie Goldstein

“Little Drummer Boy” by Adam Sifre

“Alone in a World Full of Monsters” by Kelsey Fish

“A Home” by Hashim AlHamar

“A Taste of Desire” by Ellie Mae

“In Defence of Shadows.” by Scoop Rittersblock

“Urges: The Darker Shade” by Traci Tokarczyk

“The Voice in My Head” by Pete Gautchier

“Two-Legged Vermin” by Alex Holdren

“The Hunger & Despair” by César Enoc Villanueva Contreras

“I Know What I Am” by Denese Wright

“The Five Acts” by Megan Spencer

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a story with the aim of scaring your reader.

Start or end your story with someone running away from something, literally or metaphorically.

Write a story from the point of view of a ghost, vampire, or werewolf.

Write a story in which the narrator or a character says "Did you hear that?"

Contest #272

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

488

Contest entries

176

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: