Menu
Prompts
Contests
Stories
Blog

Menu

✕
CONNECT
Editing Design Marketing Publicity Ghostwriting Websites
BLOG
Success Stories
APPS
TOOLS
Book Promotion Sites Book Review Blogs Booktube Channel Guide Book Title Generator Character Name Generator Independent Publishers Literary Agents Literary Magazines Pen Name Generator Plot Generator Publishers Directory Short Story Ideas Writing Contests Writing Exercises Writing Scholarships
ABOUT
About Reedsy Terms Privacy

CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

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

Posted in Character on Oct 28, 2022

Submissions are closed

Sorry, we are not accepting submissions for this prompt as it is not part of an active contest. Make sure you don't miss our next contest by creating your free Reedsy Prompts account.

Sign in with Google
Sign in with Facebook

Or create a new Reedsy account:

Why not check out our active contest?

✍️ 252 stories

“Lucky Ticket” by R Collins

Submitted to Contest #51

Nora looked at the tickets, piled in a corner of her living room. The pile would ebb and flow over time as she bought tickets and then threw the pile away simultaneously, a loser again. All of them had the same thing printed on them: 05-06-08-21-79, her lucky numbers. The digits that opened the lock to the life she had always wanted.Screaming in rage and frustration, Nora ran her hand over the table, showering the tickets across the floor — fallen stars, each one a prayer for a better future. She dropped down onto the ground and wept, the te...

7 comments 7
Read story

“I OVERCAME” by Rejoice Praise

Submitted to Contest #51

For seven (7) years, I lived in self-pity, bitterness, pains, and low self-esteem. If gold medals were to be awarded to ladies/beings who truly are fighters and have fought against their pasts, coming out stronger and better, I deserve to be awarded one, unbiased.For seven years, I had no voice, neither was there an ear that was ready and willing to lend me its attention and listen to my ordeal, nor a willingness from my side to yell it all out either.My nature and personality as a shy person, introverted and a victim of inferiority complex ...

0 comments 0
Read story

“When He Pulled Down His Pants” by Yennie Jun

Submitted to Contest #51

1989, Seoul I knock on his door and he appears immediately.            “Come in quickly,” he says. “Before anyone knows you’re here.”            The house is empty and he brings me to his room and locks the door. He shuts the windows and draws heavy curtains over the blinds. He stuffs towels into the cracks in the door and turns off the lights.            He faces me in the mu...

1 comment 1
Read story

“AND THEY WONDER WHY” by Audrey Mary Nyambura

Submitted to Contest #51

" The Lord never sleeps Victoria. The Lord never sleeps." Twenty fouryears, four months, two weeks and three days and her voice still lingers on in my mind. I should probably file a formal petition against the twenty seven psychiatrists, thirty two therapists and eight pharmacists who convinced me that these twelve different brands of drugs would ease my anxiety, get rid of my panic attacks, rewire my flawed brain circuitry and deliver me from my insomnia. If anything, I'd be willing to make a billion dollar donation to each and every compan...

4 comments 4
Read story

“Siri and I” by D J

Submitted to Contest #51

“You shouldn’t be eating that,” Siri said placidly. I frowned as I handed over the money to the ice-cream vendor.He smiled unbothered, filling a cone with sweet frozen chocolate milk. I heard Siri sigh as I grabbed the dessert from the man, immediately smashing it onto my tongue.“Seriously. You’re gonna have a huge breakout tomorrow,” she said, spreading her tiny fingers wide over her small, heart-shaped face.I shook my head as I turned to walk over to a bench under the trees. “Can’t I enjoy things in peace,” I muttered.We sat down in the sh...

6 comments 6
Read story

“Grandpa's Stories” by Anastazia Rudolph

Submitted to Contest #51

           Sergeant Oliver Crowe raced across the war-torn hillside. Barbed wire tore at his feet, threatening to pull him down into the mud. If only he could make it to the forest, then he might have a chance at hiding. He held his helmet tightly against his head, bullets whizzing past from every direction.            “Grandpa!”            Branches snapped under his boots with e...

0 comments 0
Read story

“Echoing Words” by Rawn A Lynn

Submitted to Contest #51

Yura slowly perused the store. Looking around diligently and determined. A couple of tasks at the forefront of her mind. Her list.Buy 5 different and new outfitsBuy new pairs of shoesBuy 3 new video games not on saleBuy a brand itemEat at an expensive restaurantLong-term Goal: Buy whatever I want without regrets.As she read over her list, her nerves refused to settle. She has never bought this much stuff. Her psychologist recommended she did it all in one day. Guilt shifted in her stomach. She had no more reason to feel guilty. She isn’t rel...

0 comments 0
Read story

“My past is my ....” by Sambulo Kunene

Submitted to Contest #51

By then I had become a professor at a small college for students who wanted exclusive attention from their school. I remember when I made the decision to become a professor that I was standing in my kitchen while I was washing dishes. My original plan was to dedicate my life to research after I obtained my PHD. When I was invited to defend my dissertation, I was elated. It was a panel of 4 men and 4 women. I was nervous as though I was an inmate waiting to answer questions which would either grant me a parole or life back to my home office w...

0 comments 0
Read story

“The Flight” by Katrina Lee

Submitted to Contest #51

The birds never landed outside our windows for long. Nor did they stay permanently, build a nest or two in the tiny space behind our electrical water heater. It was as though the instant they approach our red and beige walled apartment, paints peeling off with rust underneath, the birds knew it wouldn’t do for a home; a nest was to be built somewhere they can weather through the seasons with chicks to nurture. The robins, crows, finches, sparrows, what have you, as announcement of arrival, vigorously peck at the windowpanes, closed perennial...

0 comments 0
Read story

“Haunted” by Aanisah King

Submitted to Contest #51

I don't know whether it is the chill of the wind or the eerie silence of my house, but something is not right. I don't know why but I wake up feeling disoriented and lethargic right after my seven hour nap. Nap, because I might have been asleep with my body but my mind had been awake and conscious. Sitting up in bed, I look around my small quiet room. My eyes feel heavy and my eyelids are dropping. I rub my eyes with my hands and blame it on fatigue when I catch sight of the blur of a young woman in the mirror. It disappears almost as quickl...

2 comments 2
Read story

“An African Song: The Reality of Apartheid” by Mayukha Pillay

Submitted to Contest #51

CONTEXT South African Apartheid: Systemic racism flowed like bloody rivers and seeped into the souls of the South African people. A time where the Black, Indian, Mixed-Race and Asian majority were segregated and dehumanised because of the colour of their skin. For 50 years, people of colour fought, marched, rioted and died for their basic human rights and equality with their fair-skinned peers. 26 years later, besides racism not being the law, we are nowhere close to the equality and freedom that people like Mandela, Biko, Hani and so many...

0 comments 0
Read story

“Fires Are Never Silent ” by Daniela D.

Submitted to Contest #51

The room I was in was a scorching oven, one where I didn’t have enough power to kick down a door. Smoke and flames surrounded me as I desperately tried to find an exit. Hindsight, I should’ve paid more attention to the safety procedures during the “what to do when a fire breaks out” case scenario. I didn’t know what I was doing, I wanted to make sure everyone was out on the streets safely. I checked back to see if anyone was trapped but I ended up being the guilty party in that department. It was so hot, the flames were taller than me and it...

0 comments 0
Read story

“Punch” by Aishani Gupta

Submitted to Contest #51

It was some three years ago. I was a young man of 20 back then. I barely lived through twenty. Want to know why? Go on, read the rest, you'll find out. *** Hello, I'm Amar. And though my name means ' immortal ', I was hardly able to live through these last two years of my life. I just couldn't. The pain. The guilt. My troubled conscience. I was hardly able to survive. I hid from my own self in shame. When I went to sleep, the only thing I could see was that night, and my tiredness and sleep flew away. No sweet memories - only guilt-ridden on...

2 comments 2
Read story

“Accepting Fate” by DERRICK CHU

Submitted to Contest #51

It is like Callie is still here. Even though she is not. And it is my fault. All my fault. I haven’t gone out in months. My hair is messy, my clothes are dirty, and I stink of B.O. I don’t care. I haven’t moved any of Callie’s stuff. It hurts even to look at her things. Whenever I do, I start having flashbacks……. 3 months earlier My girlfriend and I were walking to the park. Her name is Callie, and in my opinion, she is the most beautiful girl I have ever seen. We were going to the lake with Jason and Carrie. Carrie is Callie’s twin. ...

0 comments 0
Read story

“Caught in the Narrative ” by Spencer Pinkus

Submitted to Contest #51

11.12.2008 Dear Editor,You know you’re getting old when you start to repeat the same old stories. It’s not because your memory is starting to fade. On the contrary, it’s because your memory is getting too good. You’ve told your stories so many times they’ve become ingrained in your memory.  You can relate to that, can’t you?Yours,A Subscriber12.12.2008Dear Editor,I was once selected to be the parliamentary candidate for St Ives. I was fresh out of university at the time and full of energy. I would have...

1 comment 1
Read story

🌟 Similar prompts

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

Middle School – 405 stories

Write about someone who has a superpower.

Kids – 148 stories

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.

Mystery – 206 stories

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

Character – 237 stories

Contest #51

Enter our weekly contest!

This week's theme: Two Hundred!

$50

Prize money

1248

Contest entries

0

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Jul 24, 2020 EST

A winner will be announced soon.

View details

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

We'll send you 5 prompts each week. Respond with your short story and you could win $250!

NEW VIDEO COURSE 🎉

How to Write a Novel

Join Tom Bromley for a writing master class and finish your first draft in 3 months. Learn more →

Explore more writing prompt ideas:

Adults Writing Prompts ⭢

Adventure Writing Prompts ⭢

Angst Writing Prompts ⭢

Character Writing Prompts ⭢

Christmas Writing Prompts ⭢

Dark Writing Prompts ⭢

Dialogue Writing Prompts ⭢

Dramatic Writing Prompts ⭢

Dystopian Writing Prompts ⭢

Fall Writing Prompts ⭢

Fantasy Writing Prompts ⭢

Fiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Fluff Writing Prompts ⭢

Funny Writing Prompts ⭢

Halloween Writing Prompts ⭢

High School Writing Prompts ⭢

Historical Fiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Holiday Writing Prompts ⭢

Horror Writing Prompts ⭢

Kids Writing Prompts ⭢

Middle School Writing Prompts ⭢

Mystery Writing Prompts ⭢

Narrative Writing Prompts ⭢

Nonfiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Novel Writing Prompts ⭢

Poetry Writing Prompts ⭢

Romance Writing Prompts ⭢

Sad Writing Prompts ⭢

Science Fiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Short Story Writing Prompts ⭢

Spring Writing Prompts ⭢

Summer Writing Prompts ⭢

Teens Writing Prompts ⭢

Thanksgiving Writing Prompts ⭢

Thriller and Suspense Writing Prompts ⭢

Valentine's Day Writing Prompts ⭢

Vampire Writing Prompts ⭢

Winter Writing Prompts ⭢