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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

“Tell-Tale Light” by Marty B

Submitted to Contest #149

CW: discussion of suicide and mature themes I sensed the ghost before it tried to speak to me. Just sitting here in the living room, I felt the cold, the terror.  It has been a week now since the Procedure. I thought everything would go back to normal, but nothing will ever be the same again. The dining room chandelier seems to flicker, but only when I am near.  I know it is the ghost, and it is mad.  I don't know what the ghost wants with me.  It is not as if I had a choice.  Bam! A window slams shut.  M...

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“Time Brings out the Devil ” by Kendra Nash

Submitted to Contest #149

Note: this story contains foul language. The lights in the dorm room flickered over Ronald’s chemistry homework. The room was suddenly an entire shade darker on this chilly, New England evening in the middle of November. Ronald looked up to see the overhead lights were slowly fading until there was no light in the room, except for an ever brightening red he could see out of the corner of his light brown eyes. Ronald swiveled his head in the direction of the red light and let out a very high-pitched yell for a boy nearing twenty.   ...

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“Monster” by Jillian Puckett

Submitted to Contest #149

    The lights flickered as lightning lit up the old apartment building. It was always stormy nights when it happened. A tall dark figure would be seen in the hallway and someone would go missing. Only five tenants remain in the building. The rest had either moved away or gone missing. Cops had been informed but all they'd do is send some wimpy officer over to look around. They'd find no evidence and leave. All the apartments had been searched vigorously by the other tenants after the first few disappearances. Everyone ha...

1 comment 1
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“Heartless” by Ivy Hodges

Submitted to Contest #149

A small LED flickered on Aham’s dirty-white casing, signalling that she’d need servicing soon. It seemed that that light turned on more frequently these days.Aham ambled from the kitchen to the living room, where her family sat enjoying their Saturday morning. The female, healthy, in her late thirties, was curled up on the couch, reading on her tablet. The older male, the same age as the female, also healthy but for a slightly elevated blood pressure, sat in an armchair near her with his laptop. The young male, the child, lay on the ground o...

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“Awakening” by Arnesha Jackson

Submitted to Contest #149

The light flickers back and forth I curl in a ball and begin to cry. The light flickers again and a woman stands in front of me, looking at her reflection, with blood on her hands she yells her veins bulge in her neck and forehead. I close my eyes out of fear of my life. When I open them again another woman stands before me wearing an ankle length multi-color skirt with a long sleeve white button-down shirt. There’s a pool of black water in front of her she holds her hand out for me to follow her in. I shake my head no “Sorry I don’t know yo...

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“Muse-ic.” by Neil Dabb

Submitted to Contest #149

Andy had come here to clear his mind while he was searching for a solution to the problems at home. He struggled to get the tune that kept running through his head right as he whistled and walked through the foliage on this tiny deserted world. At least he assumed it was deserted. The sensors had picked up some large carnivores, but the tiny dragon that trotted by his side would be more than a match for them. Each time he got to a certain place in the tune things would fall apart, and he would be forced to try again.&nbsp...

1 comment 1
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“Importance of Music” by Peyton Bayne

Submitted to Contest #149

Tight headphones are secured onto my head, as music blasts through my ears. I hummed along to the melody, trying to forget what this day means and what this day has brought me.  Yet, it’s weird. Here I am blasting “Happiest Year” by Jaymes Young, but I’m wallowing in my own misery. I guess you could say it was unusual, but there’s a reason for everything, right?  One year ago today, my bestfriend had died. Her favorite thing was listening to music. I swear sometimes she’d rather listen to her music than listen to me.  Though, ...

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“The Devil Came Down to Indiana” by William Sattelmeyer

Submitted to Contest #149

Cara climbed up to her studio apartment between the gun shop and the chicken hatchery, along Indiana’s scenic Elkhart River. The door opened with the usual spine-chilling squeal, although the landlord had lubricated the hinges a half dozen times. “Hello, dear,” her mother’s ghost said. “How was school today?” “Don’t bother her, Dorothy,” her father said. “She’s clearly exhausted. Don’t mind your mother, Cara.” “Supper is almost done,” her mother said, slipping into the navy wool coat she’d died in. “Ten more minutes should do it. Don’t wo...

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“Recess” by Hannah Chateau

Submitted to Contest #149

My nose presses up against the dusty blinds as Peyton’s truck pulls into the driveway. Breath catches in the back of my throat and my heart leaps. I pinch my thigh. No.  I make my way to the front door, grabbing a wad of cash from the countertop on my way out. The sun beats down and I choke on hot dusty air. The exhaust of her truck only makes it harder to breathe. When I reach the truck, I open the door and rest my feet on the dashboard. The smell of cheap air freshener and sweat waft through the vehicle. My face is red from the heat...

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“Wretched Warnings ” by Kevin Alphatooni

Submitted to Contest #149

WRETCHED WARNINGS  BY ALPHA TOONI Set your story in a town that is teetering on the edge of something dark, literally or metaphorically.  In the cozy town of Plumesboro, nothing ever really happens. The weekdays are routine and the weekends were just as predictable. I too, would find myself blindly following a routine day to day, that is, of course, the day everything changed; the day I caught my first glimpse of the coming doom. It all started last Saturday. I woke up that morning feeling quite refreshed and went down the st...

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“The Truth About Witches” by Natasha Marshall

Submitted to Contest #149

Content Warning: some violence On the first day of summer, with the scent of honeysuckle in the air, I learned about the witch. My goal that day was convincing Mom to let me bike to my favorite candy shop in the next town over. When she looked at me, the concern in her eyes went much deeper than I expected. “You know, the neighbors are saying there’s a witch in town. You’re going to need to be extra careful this summer.” “A witch?” I asked. So what? The only witch I knew was Sabrina, and she didn’t seem like someone you needed to hid...

1 comment 1
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“Georgia” by Charly Woods

Submitted to Contest #149

Her name was Georgia, a beautiful girl with brown hair that touched her shoulders and a perfect smile. But I would’ve never been good enough for her. I was just that one person who spent too much time looking at pictures of her, wishing I was the same. She didn’t know I took pictures of her, even though my bedroom walls were plastered with her face. I followed Georgia around the halls of a school I didn’t even go to. She didn’t notice me because why would she? I was just a nobody. When it was summer break, I went by her house every day. It ...

2 comments 2
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“The Great Sinkhole of Anderstown” by WRL Battle

Submitted to Contest #149

Anderstown is home to the world’s largest sinkhole!On the fateful night of July 18th, 1909, the citizens of Anderstown were woken up by a loud bang and a blinding white light.To their astonishment, they found a fifteen-foot hole at the edge of town!Today that hole has tripled in size!But that’s not all!A storm rages within the hole.Dust clouds swirl within the hole at speeds clocking into fifty miles per hour, and lightning bolts flash every second! of two billionYou’ll have to see it to believe it!Come to Anderstown to see the hole that has...

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“Buddies” by Wayne Scheer

Submitted to Contest #149

Buddies Joey opened the front door of the neatly landscaped suburban house and motioned for Ron to enter. Ron hesitated. He had heard the sound of shattered glass when Joey went to the back of the house. "It's okay," Joey said. "She'll just put it on my bill." "We shouldn't be here." Ron looked behind him as if expecting a police car to pull up.  "Yeah, yeah. Come in. It'll just take a minute." Ron hesitated before entering, regretting it immediately as he watched Joey drop himself onto the white ...

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“A Little Night Terror on the Bus” by Ki Bu

Submitted to Contest #149

The door to the school bus closed and the bus driver, Ed, revved up the engine to embark on a two hour long trip back to Hawkins. Hawkins High School sent two fan buses to Indianapolis for the state basketball championship. This was the first time the Hawkins High School basketball team ever made it to state finals and everyone, including Faith, wanted to be there. Faith hardly cared about sports but this event seemed like a once in a lifetime experience. It was the very first basketball game she had ever attended. She could tell by the surp...

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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!

Prompts | Big Blue Hand | 2024-11

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Prompts | Big Blue Hand | 2024-11

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