Write the origin story of a notorious villain.

Posted in Character on Aug 9, 2024

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.

Or create a new Reedsy account:

Why not check out our active contest?

✍️ 89 stories

“Petrified” by Eliza Entwistle

🏆 Winner of Contest #263

You would never have noticed it if you weren’t looking for it. That was precisely the point.The instructions given in my embroidery group had been clear enough: After nightfall, take a stroll on the second lane past the bakery, look for the unlit lamppost and turn down that dark alley, they said in hushed voices, as the pianist began playing in sudden loud fervor, by coincidence. Then you will see a mossy stone staircase, which you will descend, and at the end of it there is a dim hallway. She lives through the set of green doors on the left...

98 comments 98

Read story

“A Craving For Toxic Waste” by Daniel Rogers

Submitted to Contest #263

Where can I find some toxic waste? This stupid city has to have some somewhere. I’ll show them! But first, I need an incredible superpower. Wait a minute! The old plastic factory. It’s bound to have some lying around. Perhaps it will give me the ability to stretch. No, not that. It could make me a super powerful plastic surgeon. That would be so much better. I drove to the abandoned factory. It looked like a mangy old dog that needed to be put out of its misery: windows broken, doors removed from hinges, and car-sized holes in the roof. Deco...

38 comments 38

Read story

“The Whole World Smiles” by Jed Cope

Submitted to Contest #263

It wasn’t me. It really wasn’t me. I never wanted this. He made me do it. He made me… This city wakes up to its own darkness. During the day it lays dormant and brooding. It’s pulse is barely audible as it crumples into a waking coma. The day-walkers spill in on the trains and the underground, acting like this is real. They do their jobs, they buy their lunches and then they flee from the awakening of this dark titan. Oh, some stay for dinner and drinks. A little walk on the wild side to provide them some excitement. A brief escape fro...

18 comments 18

Read story

“The Jew in the Brambles (based on the tale of the same name by the Brothers Grimm)” by Tamar Shapiro-Tamir

Submitted to Contest #263

Content warnings: physical violence, anti-Semitism Long ago, when my grandfather’s grandfather was a boy, in a shtetl in Lithuania there lived a merchant named Eliezer. He was a kind man and a hard worker, and if he was proud of the money he made and his ability to support his family, why should he not be? Plenty of people have liked the taste of money for worse reasons. One day, Eliezer was going to make a trip to sell his wares at the great market in the next town over. As he kissed his three daughters goodbye, he said to them, “My g...

11 comments 11

Read story

“Guess who? ” by Chiro Roussette

Submitted to Contest #263

Guess who I am if you dare? I am famous, famous for how efficiently I managed to bar the entrance to a coveted historical place. I am, in other words, The Bouncer of Greek mythology. No, I am not Cerberus… Cerberus, bless his brawny shoulders, wasn’t really a bouncer… Cerberus stood by Hades’ side, he growled and looked scary, and helped his master herd unruly souls into hell. Cerberus was a glorified sheep dog who unlike me never had any brains… just muscle. He obeyed orders efficiently and swiftly, but he never thought any strate...

3 comments 3

Read story

“Please Welcome My Next Guest, Satan” by Timothy Crehan

Submitted to Contest #263

Megiddo Valley Community College Podcast with Terrence Zanick2024-08-09 [Begin transcript 00:00:06] [Theme music]Zanick: My guest today has been called the Great Dragon, Mr. Scratch, and perhaps most enigmatically, the Morning Star. But do we really know this infernal entity? Fortunately for us, the Dark Lord has just released a new book–Satan on Satan–and the author is in studio with me now. Welcome. Satan: Thanks for having me.Zanick: As a formality, I have to ask if it’s okay with you that I’m recording our conversation.Satan: Y...

10 comments 10

Read story

“Killer Cute” by John K Adams

Submitted to Contest #263

The common criminal, Curtis Felone, entered the public eye during his three trials for one bank robbery. Each of them ended with a hung jury. It was during these trials he became known by his nickname, ‘Babyface Felone.’ Before that he’d been a small-time crook known only to law enforcement. He had no practical skills beyond those which led to his arrest. Three unsuccessful prosecutions for the same charge attracted massive media attention. Felone became the celebrity known as the ‘cute gangster,’ or ‘Babyface.’ Sociologist, Ignacio Ersatz, ...

11 comments 11

Read story

“MALACHOR, THE WISHING SORCERER: THE ORIGIN OF A LEGEND” by Darvico Ulmeli

Submitted to Contest #263

1. The Birth of Power In the shadowed corners of the ancient world, long before kingdoms rose and fell, there existed a land untouched by time, where magic flowed as freely as rivers. This was the realm of Arcadis, a place where the very fabric of reality could be bent by those with the knowledge and power to do so. Among the most powerful of these sorcerers was Malachor, whose mastery over the arcane arts was unparalleled. 2. Early Life "Malachor," his mother whispered, cradling him close the night he was born, the blood moon casting an ee...

11 comments 11

Read story

“Angel” by James Scott

Submitted to Contest #263

Boring. So very boring…Angel soared over the cityscape looking straight down at the swarming sea of coloured specks that thought themselves important. His vast, feathered wingspan held firm upon the changing winds and created a stark white beacon against the uninterrupted blue sky, signaling his presence to the insignificant ants going about their lives below. Who knew that being the most powerful being on Earth would be so…dull.He drifted above the buildings, monitoring the streets. Every now and then he might tuck in his wings to dive betw...

13 comments 13

Read story

“Tick, Tick, Boom” by Lyra Antoine

Submitted to Contest #263

TRIGGER WARNING: This story mentions physical violence, mild substance abuse, and profanity. Watching the time pass by keeps me sane. It helps me cope. It keeps the days, and thankfully the nights silent. I remember when my mother used to use her time to see other men, who only saw her as a sex object. Tip toeing past my door, in an attempt to sneak into her room as if they were stealing food from the fridge late at night. Noises of pleasure beating the wall until it bleeds white powder from its foundation. Waking the world, my world, fr...

6 comments 6

Read story

“The sun can rain too” by Raelyn White

Submitted to Contest #263

‘Wait, you’re telling me this beautiful love story is the origin story of a notorious villain?’ Maria, the golden beauty I had met just an hour ago asked from my bed.I tucked a strand behind her ear, smiling down at her. ‘Oh yes, my love. The origin of an obsessive, sadistic murderer indeed.’ I tilted my head at her familiar beauty. ‘You’ll see. Once I tell you the end of it.’September, 14th..…He swallowed nervously when her soft lips touched the wine glass. Heat rushed through his veins down to his groin. Nicklaus should’ve ignored how she ...

10 comments 10

Read story

“Dearg-Due” by Ralph Aldrich

Submitted to Contest #263

The Dearg-Due legend began in a small village in Waterford, Ireland when arranged marriages were commonplace. A red-haired beauty with green eyes resided there with her father. She was in love with a handsome peasant boy from town, and they had made plans to get married. Her father, a greedy man, had other plans. Her beauty could make him a fortune, and he cared not about his daughter’s feelings. Her conniving father knew of a local chieftain well known for his wealth as well as his brutish ways. The...

4 comments 4

Read story

“Shades of Gray” by Joshua Petty

Submitted to Contest #263

A standard roll of 35 mm black and white film holds 36 shots. He twists the lens, defining the repetitive strings of chilies marching along the tent's edge from the minutiae of the crowds milling through the Hero’s Day festival behind them. Click. “Property of Aaron Corvide” printed in stark, black, all-capital typeface on the glossy white label facing the crowd on his left. Someone tripped, tried desperately to avoid falling, and failed. Click. Aaron suppressed his grin. He saw a preppy teenager palm some jewelry at another booth. Click. Th...

1 comment 1

Read story

“Friday Night Chat with a Supervillain.” by Rozmarin Ideas

Submitted to Contest #263

Friday nights are supposed to be relaxing. Linda Brown would usually spend them watching a movie, or having a couple of drinks with her mates at the pub. Dangling from barbed wire was decidedly not the best way to start the weekend. She managed to wriggle out of her jacket, somehow avoiding the countless shredding razorblades, and faced her next problem: a ten foot drop. This, at least, solved itself.Linda was no acrobat, as the concrete was all too happy to remind her. “Oof,” went the air that left her lungs.Her bag had cushioned her fall. ...

9 comments 9

Read story

“New Discoveries on the History of Dracula ” by Lena Solomon

Submitted to Contest #263

The scientific tale of the origin of the worst villain of Transylvania, Count Dracula The search for Count Dracula’s precise place of birth, his actual birth, and his preconception records, led the story tellers to pursue historical and archeological explorations on these subjects. For millennia, efforts were invested in going back in time, researching antique findings and producing interesting scientific-fiction (or better called fictional-science) about this villain’s mysterious origins and past. The quali...

6 comments 6

Read story

Load more stories

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a story from the antagonist’s point of view.

Character – 84 stories

Start or end your story with a hero losing their powers.

Character – 42 stories

Write about two mortal enemies who must work together.

Character – 29 stories

Center your story around someone facing their biggest fear or enemy.

Character – 71 stories

Contest #263

Enter our weekly contest!

This week's theme: Heroes and Villains

$250

Prize money

315

Contest entries

109

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Aug 16, 2024 EST

Won by Eliza Entwistle 🏆

Title: Petrified

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!

Menu

CONNECT

BLOG

APPS

TOOLS

ABOUT

Write the origin story of a notorious villain.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 89 stories

“Petrified” by Eliza Entwistle

“A Craving For Toxic Waste” by Daniel Rogers

“The Whole World Smiles” by Jed Cope

“The Jew in the Brambles (based on the tale of the same name by the Brothers Grimm)” by Tamar Shapiro-Tamir

“Guess who? ” by Chiro Roussette

“Please Welcome My Next Guest, Satan” by Timothy Crehan

“Killer Cute” by John K Adams

“MALACHOR, THE WISHING SORCERER: THE ORIGIN OF A LEGEND” by Darvico Ulmeli

“Angel” by James Scott

“Tick, Tick, Boom” by Lyra Antoine

“The sun can rain too” by Raelyn White

“Dearg-Due” by Ralph Aldrich

“Shades of Gray” by Joshua Petty

“Friday Night Chat with a Supervillain.” by Rozmarin Ideas

“New Discoveries on the History of Dracula ” by Lena Solomon

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a story from the antagonist’s point of view.

Start or end your story with a hero losing their powers.

Write about two mortal enemies who must work together.

Center your story around someone facing their biggest fear or enemy.

Contest #263

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

315

Contest entries

109

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: