Tracey Carvill

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Jul, 2020

Stories (11)

11 Stories

273 karma pts

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“The Event” by Tracey Carvill

Submitted to Contest #80

One day, all over the world, a strange phenomenon was reported by the press. Children were all drawing the same strange, unsettling image, over and over again - a smiling face, done all in black scribbles that suggested a gleaming smile and bright eyes in a face made of shadow. The pictures were unsettling, not just because of what they portrayed, but because all over the world, in every country and culture, children who...

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“Mother” by Tracey Carvill

Submitted to Contest #79

I was nine years old when I lost my mother. It was the 70s, and we lived in a big industrial town. Jobs were hard to come by, and my father had been out of the picture since before I was born. Mum worked odd jobs where she could to make ends meet. Sometimes she had to leave me on my own at the weekends once I was old enough to look after myself. I didn’t mind too much – I became quite self-suffic...

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“The Commissioner’s House” by Tracey Carvill

Submitted to Contest #70

He looked down at the steaming mug in his hands and frowned. He didn’t recognise the mug, but it was unmistakeably coffee. He didn’t drink coffee often, but he was grateful for it now. He felt disconnected, somehow … unreal. He couldn’t remember why he’d come into the room. The woman crouched down before him watched him take a sip of the coffee and smiled. “Feeling any better?” He forced a...

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“Class of 2022” by Tracey Carvill

Submitted to Contest #68

CW: This is based on current events and might be a bit 'too soon' for some. It was supposed to be the happiest day of their lives – one of them, anyway: watching your child graduate from university. And in surroundings like these, it should have been; hundreds of smiling, black-robed young people, milling around in the square in front of Westminster Cathedral, with the modern, shining buildings o...

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“Tiberius is a Problem” by Tracey Carvill

Submitted to Contest #67

Tiberius is a problem, Zaryndra thought to herself as she pondered her cup of ale, in more ways than one. A problem she would need to resolve if she were to keep her professional reputation intact.It wasn’t a problem she was used to encountering. Normally, in her line of work, when you killed someone, they stayed dead. Two years ago, when she’d accepted the contract on the Pirate King, Morzan Pelagius, she’d had no concerns about him coming back. She’d had concerns about how to assassinate a pirate king when he rarely ca...

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“A Crack in the Window” by Tracey Carvill

Submitted to Contest #67

The scream was deafening, and the few employees left in the office all shot to their feet to see who was making the noise. A moment later and it came again – high pitched, wavering but strong – definitely female. Josie found herself moving before she could think, running toward the sound, instinctively ready to help, her adrenaline pumping. A few others, spurred on by her movement, trailed after her; the others lagged be...

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“A Place of Honour” by Tracey Carvill

Submitted to Contest #65

Sally looked at her reflection in the mirror and smiled. She had spent a long time on this costume, and it had – in her humble opinion – all paid off. She turned to and fro to admire the movement of her dress. Multiple layers of delicate white fabric almost floated in the air, ragged yet still elegant. Her blond hair fell in loose curls over her shoulders, and her pale skin was powdered to be even paler. The only bit o...

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“Shattered Glass” by Tracey Carvill

Submitted to Contest #64

Julie shivered and pulled her jacket closer around her. It was a warm summer night, but it wasn't warm in here. She wondered again why she had ever let Grant talk her into coming here. A ghost hunt in an abandoned asylum? Great. Grant elbowed her, knocking her out of her reverie. "Cheer up," he said, his voice bright but with a familiar dark undertone. "Isn't this cool?" Julie looked up an...

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“Suffer the Children” by Tracey Carvill

Submitted to Contest #58

The graveyard was empty except for the woman in the veil. She let the tears run down her cheeks behind it, not bothering to wipe them away. What did it matter? No one else was here to see. Clasping her rosary in tight fingers, she read the freshly carved words on the headstone once more. Such a short epitaph for her darling boy. 'Albert Caldwell, born 1879, died 1885, drowned in Rotterdam Harbour'. It...

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“Deep Blue” by Tracey Carvill

Submitted to Contest #52

Tink browsed the shelves in front of her, squinting through the shadows at the faded labels on the tins. It was important to pick the right ones. You wanted ring-pull cans ideally, otherwise opening the damn things would be another thing to deal with. Then you had to choose the right ones. You don’t want to sit down on a cold night with your fire blazing and your pot full of water only to discover you’ve got a tin of can...

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“The Nineteenth Day in May” by Tracey Carvill

Submitted to Contest #50

She stood behind the heavy wooden door, trembling. Even through the thickness of the wood she could hear the crowd outside, shouting, chanting, calling her name. Hundreds of people, it sounded like. All there to see her on the stage. She ran her shaking hands over her skirts again. She had chosen her dress carefully; it had to be just right. Bright crimson underskirts beneath a gently gleaming silver broc...

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Author bio

She/her. Writing horror fantasy fiction, short stories and novels. My favourite authors include Stephen King, Anne Rice, Edgar Allan Poe and H P Lovecraft. These are all a huge inspiration on my own writing, so if you like them, you'll probably like (at least some of) my stuff! I'm also a huge fan of Bram Stoker's Dracula and vampire mythos in general; Vampire: the Masquerade is a huge influence in my life. I love horror movies too, especially supernatural horror. Make it weird and creepy with subtle effects and a good twist and I'll probably love it - but then again, I'm not averse to a decent slasher flick either! Finally, I love the old faerietales and folklore of the British isles, and they're a big influence on my stories too. I've been writing since I was about nine, but I've only recently started putting it out there despite always wanting to be a professional writer. So any feedback and support will be very gratefully received! Happy to chat books, movies, vampires and folklore. https://www.wattpad.com/user/TraceyMary7 https://ko-fi.com/traceymary7