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

“The Echoes of Obsidian” by Joey Lliso

Submitted to Contest #263

I. The Fall from Grace In the sprawling, gray city, where the shadows grew long and the people walked with their heads down, there was a man named Victor Blackwood. He was once known as a brilliant scientist, a man who touched the very edges of what was possible. But brilliance is a fragile thing, and the world has a way of breaking even the brightest minds. Victor's life had been full of promise. He was engaged to Elena, a violinist whose music could silence the very heart of the city. She was his light, his reason to push the boundaries...

2 comments 2

Read story

“Ghostly Beginnings” by Timothy Gabriel

Submitted to Contest #263

The mere whisper of his name resonates with terror amongst the criminal underground. His nefarious reputation has earned him trepidatious respect combined with the feeling of absolute horror should you learn he’s coming for you. Ruthless, cunning, and rumored to have the coldest heart known to man. He is the Devil’s Ghost. He is Colonel Gregor Alexi Nikolanovic, former Spetznaz operative, dreaded mercenary and feared assassin. Some say he was born from a volcano in the northwestern edge of the Pacific “Ring of Fire” in...

0 comments 0

Read story

“The Cinema Butcher” by ER Castaneda

Submitted to Contest #263

Seventeen-year-old Steven Scott greeted the cinemagoers as they made their way out of the packed movie opening night. Holding the cinema door open and nodding his head as the last of the patrons made their way out, he grabbed his broom and dustpan, sucking in his breath as he made his way inside the movie theater. The sight that greeted him was one of horror, one that he had seen several times. Popcorn littered the floor, and it looked sticky. Hot dog containers, nacho cheese containers, and empty candy boxes—and candies—were also strewn acr...

0 comments 0

Read story

“Childhood Friends ” by Aahana Kumar

Submitted to Contest #263

And suddenly I’m on the floor, and the ripping metal screeches and shrieks as the train veers off the tracks, mingling in the air with screams, the smell of rust, the smell of blood, sweat, and dust. Lisa’s jolting sobs next to me, the grabbing, bloodied hands gripping at my sleeves and burning skin, and the splitting, searing pain in my side are all just more pieces in the puzzle of what’s going on. I have no idea what’s going on. From within this chorus of confusion, a single rhythm leaps out at me, and I latch onto it. That pounding...

1 comment 1

Read story

“A not so sunny day, some time after the 8th March 2024” by Tom Studd

Submitted to Contest #263

“It was just a dream. I promise.” Dad told Lily as he fumbled a dark, velvet scrunchy over her ponytail and held out his pinky finger for her. She caught me staring and mistook the void in my eyes for jealousy. The way that only your seven-year-old sister could interpret a vacant look. “Daddy and me share promises” she said triumphantly, climbing onto the chair at our breakfast bar. Just a box of Cheerios separated us. Her smile was so wide it almost seemed to stretch the gaps between her teeth. I smiled back. - - - - - We would tell peopl...

2 comments 2

Read story

“The Bird Child” by Aria Damari

Submitted to Contest #263

“Mama - "“Quiet, James!”“But Mama - "She sent me a look so angry I shut my mouth. Pursing my lips, I jiggled uncomfortably; my bladder needed to empty it’s contents. We had been here, at the Choosing, since early morning, and I hadn’t used the bathroom even once. I needed to go.“When will you pick already, Mama?” I asked her, keeping my voice quiet so she didn't get mad. When I talked loudly she got a headache, and then she would become mean. I didn’t like when Mama was mean. She would always scream at me and also sometimes throw me on the w...

3 comments 3

Read story

“Shadowheart” by Kaylee Ellison

Submitted to Contest #263

In the heart of the ancient kingdom of Aldoria, where magic flowed as freely as the rivers and the skies were painted with the hues of enchantment, there lived a young woman named Lysandra. Born to a humble family of herbalists, Lysandra was a beacon of innocence and potential, possessing an innate talent for magic that surpassed even the most skilled sorcerers of her time. Her emerald eyes sparkled with the promise of greatness, and her raven-black hair flowed like shadows. From a young age, Lysandra was drawn to the forbidden arts, the dar...

0 comments 0

Read story

“WOO” by Kip Plidchik

Submitted to Contest #263

A well-dressed man, his handsomeness elevated by affluence rather than genetics, sat alone at a table, encircled by other tables occupied by other artificially attractive patrons at a trendy sidewalk café. A half-eaten plate of exorbitantly priced morsels sat before him, growing cold. A waiter walked by. The well-dressed man rolled his eyes with exaggerated exasperation as he gestured for the man to come to his table. “Yes sir?” the waiter asked. The well-dressed man pushed his plate to the other side of the table in a demonstrative display ...

0 comments 0

Read story

“Bastard Noire” by Even Andrews

Submitted to Contest #263

Good and evil are all a matter of choice and perspective, one’s hero is another’s villain. Robin Hood, a classic example of this. Robin becomes a bandit to provide for the poor villagers. Morality would normally dictate that stealing would nominate you for villainhood, but in the case of Robin, he became the hero. On the other hand, the Sheriff of Nottingham should be considered a hero for enforcing the law upon all. Prince John should be seen as protecting the peasants from would-be invaders. Under normal circumstances, both should be viewe...

3 comments 3

Read story

“The Rainmaker” by Donna Hill

Submitted to Contest #263

The Rainmaker by Donna G. Hill It was one of the worst hurricanes ever. Some old-timers compared it to the Great Storm of 1900, the Galveston Hurricane. Record violent winds, torrential rain, spawned tornadoes, heavy flooding, storm surges engulfing homes, eroding the coastline. Hurricane Xavier cut a swath of destruction with its over 280 mile size, spreading the full wrath of its veracity in the wake of its path.Abigail stood on the porch of her Grandma Ruby's house. It was up a slight hill from her home...

2 comments 2

Read story

“The Birthday Killer” by Bryan Murphy

Submitted to Contest #263

“You don’t have to kill me.” “Everyone dies. No witnesses.” The serial killer the FBI has been warning everyone about has me tied to a post in an abandoned barn. The reports have said he used this approach before. After killing his victim, he sets the barn on fire to destroy evidence. His most common burn platform is a car doused in gasoline. I recognize this barn even though I’ve only seen the outside. This is the Philips family barn. It has been sitting unused for something like twenty years. They cleaned out everything worth money and lef...

1 comment 1

Read story

“I, Moriarty” by Josiah Authier

Submitted to Contest #263

“It is with great deliberation that I commit my tale to paper, for the edification of all who may chance upon it. I have deemed it prudent to confine my narrative to less than three thousand words, as I am given to understand that the average gentleman's faculty of concentration extends no further. It seems only fitting that at least half of the literate populace should be privy to my extraordinary account. And so we begin… In the year of our Lord 1859, I entered this world, born to a family of modest means in the ancient city of York. From ...

2 comments 2

Read story

“What For!” by Colin Munene

Submitted to Contest #263

As I stared at the lifeless body of my daughter Lily lying before me, my mind was racing with a maelstrom of emotions - grief, rage, and an overwhelming need for answers. Needing to be absolutely certain, I raised my trembling hands and pointed two fingers at a woman across the street, quietly whispering "bang."The woman crumpled to the ground, and in that moment, I knew my life had taken an irreversible turn. I was no longer the mild-mannered professor people knew me as - I had become something else, something darker. The death of my belove...

0 comments 0

Read story

“Bloodsucker” by Ever Eros

Submitted to Contest #263

Love brought me back to life. Under the constant clouds of a rainy city, in the middle of high school, during a science class I had repeated and aced for a century, love wormed its way inside my hollowed chest—inside of my hollowed existence. With love, comes fear. But my fear is not ordinary, for I am not an ordinary man. I lived for the last century in secret and shadows. I couldn’t feel emotions. I couldn’t accept my new reality. I was stuck between two worlds. I called it purgatory. My father, my creator, called it depression and stubbo...

0 comments 0

Read story

“A hero's fall” by James Little

Submitted to Contest #263

Daltrex was being pushed backwards for two whole days he had kept up this fight, holding the line at his feet lay a sea of corpses human and demon alike, In his hand the Holy Excalibur cleaving a path through the demon horde. And the horde was everlasting…Demons fell by the dozen with every swing. But just as the dawn began its ascension horns blew in the distance with a roar like thunder the forces of the coalition of five human kingdoms came to his aid and descended upon the demons like a tidal wave. As he walked through the peaceful capit...

0 comments 0

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 – 41 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

314

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

“The Echoes of Obsidian” by Joey Lliso

“Ghostly Beginnings” by Timothy Gabriel

“The Cinema Butcher” by ER Castaneda

“Childhood Friends ” by Aahana Kumar

“A not so sunny day, some time after the 8th March 2024” by Tom Studd

“The Bird Child” by Aria Damari

“Shadowheart” by Kaylee Ellison

“WOO” by Kip Plidchik

“Bastard Noire” by Even Andrews

“The Rainmaker” by Donna Hill

“The Birthday Killer” by Bryan Murphy

“I, Moriarty” by Josiah Authier

“What For!” by Colin Munene

“Bloodsucker” by Ever Eros

“A hero's fall” by James Little

🌟 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

314

Contest entries

109

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: