Write a story about someone who's haunted by their past.

Posted in Character on Oct 28, 2022

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✍️ 252 stories

“The DiffiCULT Child” by Shreya Chadal

Submitted to Contest #51

Lalitha sits in the dark on her wooden armchair in front of a running television. Her spine is parallel to that of the chair’s, her elbow resting on its arm and her fingers joined as if holding a pen. Her right leg is crossed over the other, lifting up her saree to her ankle, drawing to light the toe rings that ornamented her feet since her wedding. On the floor is an unfolded letter, its contents hidden by her shadow. She looks like the school principal she is during the day and not a loving mother she’s always tried to be after she got bac...

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“Benign Lives ” by Melissa Keeping

Submitted to Contest #51

I had been bugging my parents for a pet for a really long time. What I really wanted was a dog- a little guy to follow me up to the soccer field and sleep in the tent with me when my buddies had camp outs. My mom always said that it wasn’t fair to leave a dog home alone all day while she and my dad worked and I went to school. What my parents brought home instead was this huge, scruffy cat. He had ragged ears and ginormous paws and long, black fur. Right through his black fur was a long, white scar just above his left eye. It made it l...

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“You Were the Only Thing Worth Crying Over” by Madeline Rossi

Submitted to Contest #51

With the sun beginning to rise, I laid down in the tall grass, barefoot and emotionally exhausted. It had been some time that I had spent running away - 7 years 4 months and 3 days to be exact. The funny thing is, when I started running I thought I was running towards a brighter future. I didn't realize that I was also running away from a tormented past, bound to follow me no matter how quickly I moved. I was 14 when it happened. I spent the next 4 years counting down to the day when I could finally leave, and begin to forget everything. S...

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“A Sister’s Love” by Katie Devlin

Submitted to Contest #51

1 A sudden shriek and I am awake. I sit up in my bed startled, but not alarmed. Once I catch my breath, I check the clock. I don't know exactly why I check the clock; I already know what time it is. Its 1:42 in the morning. It is almost pitch black due to the rain clouds passing through on their way to Wichita. The clock emits a dull red glow which is just enough for me to see my sister. Janie is standing in the corner wearing those trashy old clothes with that insidious grin. Don’t get me wrong, I love my sister, but she looks exactly the...

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“Why?, Part II” by A.J. Brown

Submitted to Contest #51

(This is a sequel to my previous story – “Why?”) The music was loud and it sounded great on the warm evening. Every table was filled. They had a great view of the water from where they were sitting. He looked across the table at his date. Brooke was exactly the kind of girl that Matt wanted to be on a date with. She had blond, straight hair and a pretty face, was petite, and she was well-dressed. She was quite tan, most likely she got it in a tanning bed and not naturally in the sun, but that was fine with him...

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“The Ghost of Red” by Ame Tan

Submitted to Contest #51

He wiped away the blood from his cheek and a slow clap came from the shadows. “Good job,” the voice chuckled, “you did well.” Out of the darkness, a figure stepped out, dressed in all black which resembled the night sky outside. “As expected of our top assassin.” Giorgio turned to the figure with contempt. “What do you want?” “Oh my,” the laugh came out muffled through the mask, “I’m just making sure you’re okay.” With a swift motion, Giorgio had pulled out a knife and dashed at the figure, stopping just before the blade tore the flesh. ...

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“Only Everything” by Alaina Kubiak

Submitted to Contest #51

“Anne,” says my mother. I was half hoping that I did not wake up, but if I had to maybe my little sister would wake me up. I know that that will not happen. I pull myself out of bed, just to make sure, I look back to the bed next to me, but the once pink blanket has been changed to a black one and it on longer holds my little sister. A flashback starts, I am there again on that fateful day. I see my beautiful little sister. She is too close to the road. I tried to tell her that she was too close, but...

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“Blood on Your Hands” by Suzan Aslanoglu

Submitted to Contest #51

“Let us go!” A young girl shouts at the men holding the two girl’s captive by the edge of the waterfall. An older woman approaches, heels clicking against the stone floor, holding a knife “I raised you as if you were my own, trained you, I had such high hopes for you Blade but you betrayed me” The woman said bitterly towards the young girl “you kidnapped us and forced us to be in your cult, Heidi. Let her go. If you think if I really betrayed, kill me. Leave Bo out of this” Blade said looking at Bo who was crying heavily. Heidi sig...

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“Just Another Summer” by A. L. Myers

Submitted to Contest #51

The waves crashed against the pier as Leah walked along. It had been a long time since she’d met any of her friends on the beach. She wasn’t sure she’d gone at all since the incident last year, at least, not alone. She looked up, feeling eyes on her. Some of the younger fishermen were standing in front of the docks, leering at her. She hugged her shirt around herself, thinking her father had been right to suggest bringing the dog along, but it was too late now. She wasn’t going back in front of those old shacks.She glanced around when she st...

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“A Scent of Gray” by Alystair White

Submitted to Contest #51

I'm in a small room. It is old, and it’s dingy, and there is an odor to it, something subtle, a scent of... gray. I look around, trying to get my bearings. It’s like I’ve been here before, but not quite here. It’s disorienting. The first thing that comes into focus is a bedspread, dull and drab brown, like that dreadful coffee you get from a convenience store. Then I see the wallpaper, which is a dark, depressing version of red, muted and faded, like dried blood. There are off-white stripes running down it from ceiling to floor, like t...

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“Ghost of a Forgotten Life” by Connor Andrei

Submitted to Contest #51

Robert sat on the edge of his bed. The room was dark, almost entirely, except for a sliver of warm amber light coming from the old green banker’s lamp on his desk. His hands were folded together in his lap. His head hung forward and his shoulders drooped down. He breathed slow and shallow. Robert had given up. “I’m sorry,” he breathed, his voice cracking and barely audible over the ever present hum of the furnace in his apartment. “Why?” asked a voice behind him. He turned suddenly to see a small boy, maybe ten years old, perched on the p...

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“The Beast” by Vinci Lam

Submitted to Contest #51

After 14 years of avoidance, 6 years of denial, 2 years of self-encouragement, and 2 months of preparation, I am here now, standing in front of a 15 by 30 feet demon. A monstrous eight hundred and fifty five square feet of trauma ready to swallow me whole. I pull at the taut costume I’m wearing, feeling like a female warrior in action movies wearing impractical armour for the sake of sexual appeal, but more so the impracticality than the sexual appeal. I crouch down, half a feet away from the beast, and touch it. Cold! I look at my options...

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“A memory from beyond - Till Death do us part. ” by Abhishek Todmal

Submitted to Contest #51

I used to be a healer in the British infantry during the course of the Second World War. The horror's I'd seen in the trenches had scarred my soul irreparably but none more so, than an afternoon I'd spent with a wounded German soldier, who had been brought back to our healing tents, by Captain Williams, who laid down the weak, wounded man onto my bed, and had left signaling to me that I should do everything in my power to nurse this enemy back to health. The purpose of this noble deed wasn't as altruistic as it may sound. They needed him nur...

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“Guilt” by Becca Peyton

Submitted to Contest #51

My hands gripped the steering wheel as I watched the light, waiting for it to become green. This intersection haunted me more than I'd ever admit to someone. To make matters worse, the only person I'd tell about it is dead. I'm the reason he's dead, and it happened at this intersection. An abrupt honk interrupted my thoughts, as the car behind me grew impatient. The light had turned green while I was thinking. Sighing, I drove, the car behind me silencing itself. Through the next few minutes to my house, I tried not to cry, like ever...

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“The Search for Inner Peace” by Jazz Minnelli

Submitted to Contest #51

I packed up all my things getting ready to go back home for the weekend. My eyes fell on a small drawing of a man, woman and a young boy and girl, taped onto the clinic wall. I do not know what happened to them, although it was I that drew them from my memory. I just know that I wish I had more time.I pushed back my chair like I always do at the end of the day. I wasn’t tired. I liked knowing that I was helping sick people and trying to give them hope even when I knew they wouldn’t make it through the night. The hope of survival matters more...

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Write a story about someone who's haunted by their past.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 252 stories

“The DiffiCULT Child” by Shreya Chadal

“Benign Lives ” by Melissa Keeping

“You Were the Only Thing Worth Crying Over” by Madeline Rossi

“A Sister’s Love” by Katie Devlin

“Why?, Part II” by A.J. Brown

“The Ghost of Red” by Ame Tan

“Only Everything” by Alaina Kubiak

“Blood on Your Hands” by Suzan Aslanoglu

“Just Another Summer” by A. L. Myers

“A Scent of Gray” by Alystair White

“Ghost of a Forgotten Life” by Connor Andrei

“The Beast” by Vinci Lam

“A memory from beyond - Till Death do us part. ” by Abhishek Todmal

“Guilt” by Becca Peyton

“The Search for Inner Peace” by Jazz Minnelli

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a story that begins and ends with someone looking up at the stars.

Write about someone who has a superpower.

Write a story that involves a mystery — it doesn't need to be crime-related, it should just include something that remains unexplained until the end.

Write about someone who returns as an adult to a place they last visited as a child.

Contest #51

Enter our weekly contest!

$50

Prize money

1248

Contest entries

0

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: