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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#205: Ritualistic

Since time immemorial, humans have developed rituals to deal with change, and all manner of life situations. From birthdays to funerals, to holidays and weddings, to personal habits and rites of passage, these ceremonies often help us find solace, meaning, and belonging in an otherwise chaotic existence.

Rituals exist across all ages and cultures, and take all kinds of shapes and forms 一 from dancing, to praying, to performing 一 and while some have existed for centuries, new ones are created every day. In this week’s prompts, we explore this universal aspect of human culture.

Plus, in case you missed it...📚

The second issue of PROMPTED, our literary magazine, is officially out now! You can download your free copy right here.

This week's prompts

Start your story during a full moon night.

Mystery – 81 stories

Make your protagonist go through a rite of passage.

Character – 54 stories

Write about a character who develops a special ritual to cope with something.

Angst – 89 stories

Make a character perform a ceremony to set something or someone free.

Dramatic – 55 stories

Write about a character who breaks free from a tradition to create a new one.

Character – 26 stories

Stories

“The Rite of Rebellion” by Quinn Micheals

Submitted to Contest #205

Tala stood by my side, proud, unwavering, and with a fierceness in her eyes that burned through every elder that tried to intimidate me. Her normally onyx eyes shone with a fiery glow that I realized wasn’t reflected from the ominous reverent bonfire that burned in front of us, but rather the full corn moon that ignited the night sky in an amber ambience. “Easy Tala,” I whispered, trying to reassure her that the situation wasn’t cause for vigilance, though I wasn’t so sure myself. She looked up at me with a weary gaze that said, ‘...

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“The Call of the Full Moon” by Melody Watson

Submitted to Contest #205

The Call of the Full Moon “I've been thinking”, Dad said as he stuffed a fork full of roast and gravy into his mouth. Everyone glanced up from their home cooked roast beef dinners, seeing his mouth was too full to continue, all went back to their own meals. “This is juicy, Nadine. Very good,” Dad smiled in my direction. “As I was saying, I've been thinking.” he paused as he drank some milk. A collective sigh surrounded the table. Chuckling, Dad wiped his milk moustache with a worn linen napkin. “I might be able to hold all of your attentio...

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“Embrace” by Merin Prince

Submitted to Contest #205

I could not bring myself to ring the doorbell. I could hear the laughter from behind the door and wondered if I was better off staying at my apartment this year. I could share this sweet potato casserole with my girlfriend this thanksgiving. I could even go for a little painting with a twist session or a pumpkin carving class with her… No. I need to face them. I need to give them the benefit of the doubt and convince them. A heavy set of footsteps followed the doorbell’s shriller-than-usual tone. I could recognize those footsteps anywhere. I...

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“Maev and the Broken Oath ” by Daniel Rosas

Submitted to Contest #205

“You ask for direction. A specific line upon which to follow. This, I cannot give,” the Oracle began her voice thin and light. “Circumstances can make fate feel like a certainty. An inevitable destination regardless of one’s own desires. For Erylis, the Bringer of Death, and Princess of Vestroya she finds herself in the rather vexing confines of a familiar location in her home world of Haut-Rhin. A place she should n’er have returned and yet,” the Oracle paused holding up a taloned hand. “Now she will face the very destiny she wished to avoi...

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“My Fear of a Full Moon. ” by Julian Black

Submitted to Contest #205

I was a very complicated teenager as most teenagers are when they are coming of Age but I over complicated my life something which stayed with me well into my adult hood. I was and still very much am a huge fan of the Horror Genre and I just loved being scared watching a horror movie but little did I think it would have traumatic consequences for me in my teenage years. I guess it all started when I was going through puberty and I had no idea what was happening to my body and the changes I was going through. For some unknown reason which I w...

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“The Mystic Stream of Virility” by Charles Frederick

Submitted to Contest #205

The Mystic Stream of Virility Nobody knows how long “Odinga,” a ghostly sculptured human skull with a complete set of bloody teeth and what looks like a watery eyeball has been sitting in the king’s fire mantle. Both King Jaja11, 95, and Malua Okenga, the greatest storyteller in the community and 115 years old have vowed that this half-dead, half-alive skull has been there before they were born. Folklore has it that their great, great grandfathers used to sacrifice human beings periodically to the gods through Odinga as a means. of app...

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“The Lost Princess of Migdon” by Sabrina McClain

Submitted to Contest #205

The full moon had always been Stacy’s favorite night. When she was little, she used to love learning about the history of the moon, the science of it, as much as a 6-year-old girl with a limited attention span loved learning about everything. She would keep track of the different phases in her notebook, and get mad when someone said that it was a full moon when it was technically one night before or one night afterward, even though you couldn’t tell. She wanted to be careful, precise. And the night of the full moon, if it wasn’t cloudy or ...

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“The Rebel and The Disc Jockey in: The Human Gathering of Cerberus” by Skott's Ghost

Submitted to Contest #205

[this is a sequel to a previous entry that can be found on my profile, also called "The Rebel and The Disc Jockey".] The sight of her parents' mutilated bodies lingered in her mind like a haunting nightmare—a relentless reminder of the cruelty they had endured. Alone amidst this desolate night, Vivi's gaze darted through the shadows as she clutched onto that radio speaker for dear life. Her heart pounded in her chest like a symphony of anguish and rage, a rhythm driving both determination and despair. Whispering into the darkness surroundi...

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“Legend of the Elements” by Cindy Thornberg

Submitted to Contest #205

Something scurried. Heart racing, Fenna Achterberg turned, looking back from where she’d come, straining to see in the moonlit environment. The spiral staircase behind her led down to a whole world of ancient books and centuries of dust. The bookcases, so tall they had made her dizzy to look up at, were all neatly organized in endless rows, creating a labyrinth of a library. Tall and narrow windows in proportion to the rest of the majestic structure, let in the moonlight, casting a silver glow. The earthy scent of old pages was thick and s...

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“The Lims” by Luna Reeds

Submitted to Contest #205

The first thing I noticed, was the cool breeze that engulfed my body suddenly. I could smell pine and taste the coolness of the air in my mouth. Then, the brightness of the large full moon in the sky shone on me. It shone on us all. We were here once more. I took a deep breath, enjoying all the aromas and feelings of my surroundings. It has been a while since I stretched my legs. I squatted briefly to stretch my hamstrings and quads.“Ladies and Gents,” began a familiar voice, “Satan has sent us here once more, awaiting another human sac...

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“With a Sparkle and Glow” by Zoe Z

Submitted to Contest #205

CHAPTER 1 “That dress looks stunning on you,” I whispered to myself. The moonlight shimmered as it reflected across the wide hill, illuminating the few wanderers below on a hot, windless, night. The perfect night. She easily caught my eye as she sparkled like a second moon, her radiant energy felt even as I sat on this hill, carrying out my nightly routines. It had been typical that I went on a stroll atop the hill near my house, through the woods where the songbirds sang, the lightly traversed grassy path providing me an odd sourc...

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“The Beginning” by Tiffaney Day

Submitted to Contest #205

“Come on, Aine! We’re gonna be late! Mother won’t be pleased!” The wind carries Maeve’s admonishment through the trees, where I follow just a few paces behind. Ignoring the comment, I continue through the forest, focused on reaching the clearing some ways ahead. Just enough moonlight filters through the canopy of leaves above to enable our journey. We are indeed running a little late. Considering this is supposed to be the most important night of my life thus far, I may have spent just a little too much time getting ready and put us a littl...

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“Blood Moon” by Nick Patterson

Submitted to Contest #205

If you had told Jacob a week ago and that he would be wielding a shotgun against his former coworkers, while running for his life from unearthly monstrosities, he would have told you to stop smoking crack. Now, as he sat braced against a door, shotgun in hand, bloodied and beaten, he wishes someone would have. The sad truth is no one had any idea any of this was coming, and even if they had, there is a very slim chance anyone would have been able to stop it. His introspection is broken as a clawed hand, caked in dried blood, slipped through ...

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“Foretold” by Echo Anon

Submitted to Contest #205

“…and the first will bring the Light, and the second the Strength. Then Darkness will fall upon the crest of day and there will be a third and she will be the Foretold.”He spoke her name in whispers even inside his head, in the night which was her namesake. He heard it in the rolling waves of the sea beyond his window as if she murmured it to him across the water.I’m here.Don’t forget me.How could he? She came to him in dreams, in quiet moments. He felt her in the power which thrummed between his palms. They said it was she who held him back...

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“Neck Bones & Chicken Blood” by Denese Wright

Submitted to Contest #205

The following is an excerpt from the upcoming novel ‘Illegally Legal’. Based on true events, it follows Rachel Brown’s journey. The setting is on a farm in a thriving rural township on the island of Jamaica. Rachel is of a middle class family, and they have fallen on hard times watching their patriarch suffer in physical and mental decline. Desperate to find a breakthrough in medicine to reverse the symptoms of his disease or even cure it, Rachel’s mother is introduced to a presumably wealthy businessman from the United States. He promises t...

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$250

Prize money

305

Contest entries

129

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Jul 07, 2023 EST

Won by Lindsay Flo 🏆

Title: The Walk

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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