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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#149: Of Stranger Things

After its much-awaited release last week, the fourth season of Stranger Things has taken the world by storm. First aired in 2016, this television show stars a group of D&D-loving kids and unlikely heroes in a topsy-turvy world. Its creators took inspiration from many classic thrillers, and the show has in turn been influencing writers to write Stranger Things books.

Whether you’ve been swept up by this sensational show or not, I hope my Stranger Things-inspired prompts can propel you into a story of your own this week:

This week's prompts

Write about a character who is trying to convince others to play a game.

Kids – 20 stories

Start your story with the flickering of a light.

Kids – 98 stories

Write about two people who form a bond with each other through music.

Middle School – 46 stories

Set your story in a town that’s teetering on the edge of something dark, literally or metaphorically.

Dystopian – 50 stories

Write a story about an unlikely group (or pair) of friends.

Middle School – 43 stories

Stories

“Thank You For The Music” by Rama Shaar

Submitted to Contest #149

"That's so tacky!" “Hmm?” I was jolted from my daily trance.“Your songs!” she mumbled, looking out the window. “They’re so tacky.”“Oh,” I reached for the CD player while keeping my eyes on the road, “I’ll stop...”“NO!” she interrupted sharply.Startled, I pulled back my hand, “OK!”“I mean... it’s fine!” she crossed her arms over her seatbelt.“OK.”That was the first conversation I’d ever had with Joy despite having driven her to and from school for the past ten days.Seventeen years ago, when George had introduced me to her, she nodded and...

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“Spread your wings and take to the sky” by Isobel Tynan

Submitted to Contest #149

The night the Inspector yanked me aside was the hottest that summer. I was already late and my boss, her eyes a dark warning, had enunciated in her accented English: “YOU MUST NOT BE LATE AGAIN.” I always intended to go to bed, to rest, to recover after the graveyard-shift. Mostly, I didn’t. Somewhere, along the train ride home my eyes, heavy with sleep, would flutter closed, my head loll against the window. Then I’d be jerked awake by the sudden stop at Les Halles. The temptation to explore the city in the gentle morning heat wou...

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“Darkness Comes to Obscurum ” by George Georgerfrost@gmail.com

Submitted to Contest #149

The horror arrived a few weeks ago turning the town into complete darkness. Established on the eastside of Oregon Territory before statehood by Jedidiah Hatch, a Bible thumping preacher who used the Latin name for darkness when he named this place in 1844. His luck ran out when some of the native tribes took exception to his extensive land claim and tortured and killed his family as they were gathered around the hearth praying. The land was believed to be cursed by both native and settlers until 1889 when a traveling snake...

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“Dead Bodies May Not Tell All the Tales” by Bob Faszczewski

Submitted to Contest #149

A December-like chill overtook me soon after I entered an uncharted area of the Pokomoke State Forest on Maryland’s Delmarva Peninsula. I didn’t know exactly what sinister force had captured me and driven me here, but it had me in its power and it was impossible to resist. The sudden burst of arctic cold knocked me off my feet, almost into an abandoned well. I almost fell into the middle of its darkened abyss. The cold in particular startled me because it this took place in the middle of June, not th...

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“Hungry, Hungry Gremlins” by Howard Seeley

Submitted to Contest #149

“I still don’t understand why our father insisted we camp out tonight, Joel,” muttered Rob. “It doesn’t make sense.” Joel wasn’t about to let his younger brother spoil the fun. “Whenever something good falls in your lap and you always complain about it. Relax dude and enjoy the moment. It’ll probably the last time we’ll be camping out this year.” Being late October, Rob couldn’t argue that fact. Joel is right, he thought. In reply to Joel’s accusation, Rob stoked the coals of the campfire, stabbed a marshmallow with a stick, and slowly rot...

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“The phonograph” by F.O. Morier

Submitted to Contest #149

- “Nobody loves me." Jerry whined to the bartender, a story the man had heard countless times throughout his career. -"How about another drink?" the experienced bartender winked. Jerry pulled his wallet out of his pocket and looked at the scant contents, shrugged, and said, "Why not?" -"Sure friend." the bartender said. -"You can call me friend, even if you don't mean it. I am nobody's friend. Nobody loves me." Jerry was a handsome young man, with a rather hazy look in his blue eyes. He raised the glass to his lips as if to test the drink. -...

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“Living on the Edge of the World” by Samantha J. Kise

Submitted to Contest #149

People sometimes ask me why I choose to live at the edge of the world - but most people wouldn’t understand my answer. Three years ago, I was working a day job at a newspaper printing press. Not the most exciting job in the world, but it was something. The pay was good, the benefits were alright, and I didn’t have to work before eleven in the morning, so it was fine by me. One Friday morning, as I was throwing the first paper through the press, I got a phone call from a friend from college, Adam. Adam was frantic, and honestly ...

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“There Must Be Something in that Hot Dog” by Becca Yurok

Submitted to Contest #149

The frankfurter monument in all of its colossal, veiny glory looked perverse at certain angles. It was built to bring tourism to the small community…or so they said, Monica reflected. The truth was, most of the surrounding towns had resorted to boasting “The Biggest” fill-in-the-blank, in a desperate attempt to resuscitate the economy. For what it was worth, that was what the town was known for: The hot dog plant and frankfurter, well, everything. Even the Mayor was a big wig on the factory’s board of directors.Since most...

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“Small Talk ” by Gwen H

Submitted to Contest #149

“Oh, and whose fault do you think that is Paul?” “You know what Sharon-?” “What, Paul?” Sharon fired back, rising from her chair to meet him. “Will you two cut it out and calm down!” Kenneth shouted into the fray. “Yeah, cause you are the paragon of calm and rational thought aren’t you just Kenneth,” Cameron Blankers, not to be confused with Cameron Chester who just couldn't make Monday meetings because his favorite tv drama was on, said with hitherto unsee ire. His face growing red. “This would never have happened when Tyler was in charge,”...

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“The Black Cross” by Callum McGee

Submitted to Contest #149

You feel it, don't you? The tingling. A soft warmness sprouts in your heart at the thought of giving in. Though you lock it deep in your subconscious, you want it. The shadow gnaws rusting iron bars, eyeing its slit pupils at your school bullies down the street. Do what you must, help meowing kittens from trees, guide that old lady across the street. Whatever makes you feel like a good person. But you see it. The real you, your sharp nails rake into your cheeks, your teeth grind in frustration. Scan the mirror and tell yourself you're not a ...

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“The Dark” by Chesley Richards

Submitted to Contest #149

When the Dark came, the small, thriving farm town of Cemetery Ridge, way out in the flatlands with the best mushrooms around, could not understand what it meant. The town was a small collection of two-story old red brick buildings with a Main Street and charming houses all going back a few blocks. Two churches, one school with all the grades. An organic grocery store toward the edge of town. And a couple of places to get your hair cut. One for women, one for men. The mushrooms grew everywhere, all year round. Oysters and Shitake, Maitake and...

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“Teeth” by Catrina Bowles

Submitted to Contest #149

It had been a conversation with her old supervisor over coffee that had gotten Detective Petra Langley back in the field. It wasn’t a desire to visit Drumheller, Alberta, of all places. The tackiness made her nauseous as she drove past the ‘World’s Largest Dinosaur’ to her motel. Everybody around her was also visiting from out of town, so fitting in wasn’t going to be a challenge, loath as she was to do so. She doesn’t sleep her first night there, the conversation from that morning rattling around in her head. “This might be your guy,...

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“Retraining” by VJ Hamilton

Submitted to Contest #149

The coal-fired power plant is closing, ready to turn off the lights forever in its industrial complex, and Petra shudders before the winds of change. She gamely attends the half-day retraining sessions, preparing to “deploy her skills in other sectors of the economy.” Late at night she seethes with the question Why me? but in daylight she obeys the poster plastered everywhere: Stay Calm and Carry On. She slows down as she rounds the curve of the highway, mindful of the bald tires that need replacing. An intermittent chirp reminds her that th...

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“When Harry Met Ginny” by Jeannie Labelle -Potvin

Submitted to Contest #149

There were two males in Ginny’s life who did their best to hold a mirror of truth before her eyes. They each loved her in ways that fed her soul and filled many of the spaces that had left her empty and depleted for so many years.The first and perhaps most important of these men, was her maternal grandfather. Ginny was his first born grandchild, born to his only child. His wife, Elizabeth Jean, had died 2 months before Ginny was born. As the child grew and began maneuvering her surroundings, her uncanny resemblance to the dead woman was som...

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“Unlikely” by Nicole Evert

Submitted to Contest #149

Sarah and Tamara were a strange pair; no one knew how they got along, nor how they decided what to do together. They were living on two completely different wavelenths - they were like day and night. Sarah was nothing short of bubbly, enthusiastic, loud, and - well – rosey. Her wardrobe was to the taste of that compared to a five year old girl: pastel, cute and mostly pink. She referred to it as ‘kawaii’ or ‘e-girl’ style. Her appearance made to look purposefully innocent and soft, younger even, with blushing cheeks and doe-eyes sparkling. S...

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$250

Prize money

256

Contest entries

123

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Jun 10, 2022 EST

Won by Katy B 🏆

Title: How to Win a Game of Chess Without Really Trying

Submissions must be between 1,000 - 3,000 words and will be approved and published on Reedsy Prompts within 7 days of the contest closing.

Read the full terms & conditions or check out the FAQ if you have any questions!

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