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

Posted in Character on Oct 28, 2022

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✍️ 252 stories

“Unfinished Business” by Shawnalynn Cromwell

Submitted to Contest #51

It is raining, and Marty decides to walk home from work, anyway. It is a warm summer's day, he thinks to himself, "I won't melt lol!" Marty lucked out with his work location and the closeness of it, to his apartment building. He is still amazed at how it all worked out. As he takes the elevator to his floor, the doors open, he sees his neighbour from apartment 45C as he puts his key in the door to his apartment. "Hi, Susan!" His neighbour swings around Marty waves back to her and says, "Hey, how's it going, hope you...

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“He Always Pays His Debts” by Rebecca Thompson

Submitted to Contest #51

John Cleary let out a quiet groan as he reached the end of the corridor and turned into his office suite. Nothing was easy today. He glanced at his watch, noting that the trip from the board room had taken an extra seven minutes. It’s the damn cane, he thought looking down at the cane supporting his left knee, wrapped in an ace bandage that strained against the pant leg of his suit. He briefly considered taking off the bandage and casting the cane aside, but he’d promised his wife he’d follow the doctor’s orders. ...

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“A Last Chance for Confession” by Brian Sweeney

Submitted to Contest #51

“Please! Please!” The man wailed. His voice carried through the silent, stone cathedral halls. “Please--you don’t understand! You are wrong! Why have you taken me?” The men who carried him didn’t care. They’d heard the cries before, though never this loud. It sounded as if the knights were dragging a boar they’d struck with the ends of their swords through their cathedral. The great wooden doors slammed shut behind them, echoing a giant’s howl down the halls. They dragged him over the dark colored carpet, now tattered and stained red with ...

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“My House” by Steph O

Submitted to Contest #51

“I shouldn’t be here...” I thought to myself as I gathered the folded moving boxes from my trunk. It was a promise I had made myself when I left seven years ago. I wouldn’t be back. Standing in front of the grand house I grew up in, I cursed myself for being in this place. My grandfather died recently, leaving the house and the rest of his garbage to me, the last living relative in his family. He hated that almost as much as he hated me. My mother had passed a few years earlier after a sudden sickness during a trip...

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“The Solar Eclipse of the Heart” by Wynne Poole

Submitted to Contest #51

Snuggled under a sea of blankets, I stare at the moon peeking out from atop his mop of hair. He snores ever so softly, his face had never looked so peaceful. I love him so impossibly much. Never in a million years would I have dreamed that I would have someone like him, it seems too good to be true. Like at any moment I’m going to wake up from all this and I’ll be back where I always knew I would be, alone, miserable and terrified. The glint of my ring somehow sparkles in the darkness, almost like it knows I ne...

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“Broken Souls.” by Robert Cheng

Submitted to Contest #51

Philenes ran through the streets panting. A Legate. He had finally made it as a Legate! He had never thought it possible, with his posting as merely a garrison soldier during the Great War. But they chose him, and now he had to gather up men. It was duty. Always duty. The bells pounded distantly behind him. Sentries had spotted them; a raiding force. No doubt a vanguard of the greater army of Chaos that was quickly approaching the Empire’s borders. Roona was one of the more isolated castles in the North East. It had a strong garrison and a...

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“EVOCATION” by Ellen Blickman

Submitted to Contest #51

The return address on the yellow manila envelope was very familiar, although the name was not.Inside a note was folded over a regular envelope. It read: Hi!We don't know each other. This came in my mail last week. Looks like it's years past forwarding! Looked up your address on line. Hopefully you're the right Rachel. The envelope was faded and dirty. A note was scrawled on the back:Found stuck between kitchen drawers while renovating. I flipped the envelope over. It was addressed to me at the place I lived during my '20's.The ret...

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“The View from the Eating Disorders Unit” by Kieri Zink

Submitted to Contest #51

The majority of the windows faced the parking garage. The garage where my pretty blue car lay in wait. Part of me wanted to claim it. To secure my keys and run, fast as a hummingbird flicks its wings, down one flight of steps, down the hallway, through the open lobby, and up four flights of stairs to where my car waited for me. My fingers curled on the ledge in front of one window. I could leave anytime I wanted. Scrawl my name on yet another dotted line and wait the requisite time, the ward quiet enough t...

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“Lighthouse Keeper” by S Kaeth

Submitted to Contest #51

It was the first day of Dream Season, and the village of Solander braced for the onslaught. Solander had all four seasons, of course: Growth, Harvest, Sleep, and Dream. Estella hated Dream Season. Growth was amazing. The kids would shoot up like weeds, and the adults would explore all those hobbies they’d longed to get to but hadn’t yet had time to work on. Last Growth Season, Estella’s mom had learned to play the piano, and now music drifted out of the house every night. Harvest Season was also enjoyable. Not only were feasts regular, bu...

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“Black Memories” by Destinee Christopher

Submitted to Contest #51

The morning and it’s weather was perfect. Everything was the complete opposite of my mood. I stared at the mirror in my bathroom, my hands placed on the sides of the sink. I detested what I saw. Another trick my mind had conjured up to make me feel sick in the stomach. I saw blond hair, blue eyes and a pretty smile staring at me in the reflection. Nausea clawed at my throat and I quickly went and bent over the toilet bowl. I lurched forward as my stomach violently contracted and a gagging sound erupted from my mouth. Nothing came up,...

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“Haunted From Another City” by Essy Dean

Submitted to Contest #51

Lauren leaned against a tree. The forest was a little scrubby and she could feel the blood from where her brother Jason had cut her with the kitchen knife. She felt the tree bark prickling the back of her head and she knew she was going to have to keep running. She glanced over her shoulder and got the feeling someone was following her. It prickled under her hairline and burrowed into her brain, not letting her go. She ran into the forest. This wasn't the first time she had run into the forest out of fear. It wasn't the first time Jason had...

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“A Fresh Start” by Rashmi Raj

Submitted to Contest #51

Prompt: A story about someone who’s haunted by their past A Fresh Start The light was too bright. At 2 am, as the world slept soundly, oblivious to everything going on with him, the one thing Rahul noticed was the light. It was stark. White. The same as last time. The circumstances were same too. The place was different, of course. But not all that different. Just, different enough. He’d decided never to go back there, since. So, this time, he had chosen different. And he hoped that it would lead to a different outcom...

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“Hide and Seek” by Alysha Irvine

Submitted to Contest #51

“Ready or not… here I come!” Amanda uncovered her eyes and playfully whipped around to face the living room, absent of the child who had finally picked up that it wasn’t best to hide in the same place that the seeker was in. Regardless, Amanda checked just in case, knowing Jack loved to try tricking her. “Hmm… not behind the couch,” Amanda noted aloud, listening for soft giggles that were sure to come. Sure enough! There they were, echoing from down the hall. Amanda sighed and shook her head fondly. Jack was only seven, but it was too ea...

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“The Rain” by Lydia Sayers

Submitted to Contest #51

It hadn’t rained like this in a while. Mary would know. Water thundered against the roof above Mary’s head like the deafening noise of hooves on hard-packed dirt paths. Her grainy apartment window created a small source of light, struggling to survive in her darkened apartment. After her dusty lamp fizzled out, Mary made no move to light a candle. She thought it unnecessary, preferring the faint yellow glow of the street lamps and the red and white lights travelling down the roads below. The murky sight of the city through the haze of pour...

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“Ika” by Alex Bishop

Submitted to Contest #51

Chef Kai demands we do whatever it takes to keep the customer satisfied. Our clientele have many exorbitant expectations, but one is easily the least bearable. The upper crust of the Pacific Northwest expect to accompany their sushi with a blaring rendition of Seattle’s most obnoxious children’s channel. Every half hour, a cartoon alien sings her favorite song. “Our troubles will all sink away, and our friends will all be here to stay! Today is out-of-this-world day!” If only, I think. If only. A painful memory bubbles up with each pulsati...

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

Submissions are closed

✍️ 252 stories

“Unfinished Business” by Shawnalynn Cromwell

“He Always Pays His Debts” by Rebecca Thompson

“A Last Chance for Confession” by Brian Sweeney

“My House” by Steph O

“The Solar Eclipse of the Heart” by Wynne Poole

“Broken Souls.” by Robert Cheng

“EVOCATION” by Ellen Blickman

“The View from the Eating Disorders Unit” by Kieri Zink

“Lighthouse Keeper” by S Kaeth

“Black Memories” by Destinee Christopher

“Haunted From Another City” by Essy Dean

“A Fresh Start” by Rashmi Raj

“Hide and Seek” by Alysha Irvine

“The Rain” by Lydia Sayers

“Ika” by Alex Bishop

🌟 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: