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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#206: Phobias

Have you ever had that nightmare where someone is chasing you, but you can’t scream or run away? It’s a pretty common (and terrifying) bad dream, and it always makes me wonder how I’d respond in a scary moment of crisis.

Fight, flight, or freeze? You never really know what you’re going to get until you’re in that moment, staring down the object of your fear — whether that’s losing someone you love, getting stuck in an enclosed space, being surrounded by a massive crowd, or just finding a cockroach in your bathroom.

Fear is a powerful feeling to capture in writing, so this week, join me to study this lightning-bolt emotion as it illuminates the actions of your characters.

This week's prompts

Write about someone facing their greatest fear.

Dramatic – 109 stories

Write a story that contains a flashback of a nightmare.

Horror – 63 stories

Start your story with a character seeing something terrifying.

Horror – 53 stories

Write about a character in a situation where they have to be brave for someone else’s sake.

Character – 61 stories

Set your story in an eerie, surreal setting.

Dark – 87 stories

Stories

“The County Fair” by Sarah Harper

Submitted to Contest #206

It’s a scorching hot day in Pascagoula Mississippi and this weekend is the Jackson County Fair. As a tradition, everyone from around town will be there enjoying it all weekend long. I had promised my daughter we would go together when she saw the first advertisement weeks ago on a billboard off the highway and she has asked every day since then. Normally I would avoid it but she makes it incredibly hard to say no to her. Don’t get me wrong, I love a powdered funnel cake and fair lemonade as much as anybody but tradition or not, I still don’t...

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“Life is so unpredictable.” by Tracy Brown

Submitted to Contest #206

I woke up at midnight (12:00 a.m.)To use the bathroom, hoping my insomnia won't return. I heard my cell phone vibrating. It was my stepmother, Sundia Brownson. She called to tell me that Papa had been rushed to the Downtown hospital. " He's dead, child." She said. Her voice sounded pitiful. I honestly didn't know how to respond. I stayed quiet on the phone, trying to make sense of what was said. I wasn't prepared for such news. No one is ever prepared to hear about their loved ones in such sorrowful and helpless conditions. " He is on the 2n...

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“And So, He Stood” by Brandon Tucker

Submitted to Contest #206

*Warning! There are themes of child neglect, abuse, and death. This is a grim story, viewer beware.* There was no feeling more potent than betrayal. A boy’s safety should become an extension of himself. His sister’s safety should also become an extension of his. How powerless, than, must he have felt when he could not find that extension. Sister had a way with words, a way of getting under everyone’s skin. She knew she was well protected and gained a great sense of joy from that knowledge. Brother did everything he could to keep her safe, co...

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“Watching” by Andrew Thomas

Submitted to Contest #206

“I’ll be right back,” I say to my sister as I leave her room. Mom left for the store twenty minutes ago and Dad’s at work. Jana is almost seven but I’m ten and a half so I’m in charge. That makes me feel pretty cool and old. As I reach the top of the stairs, I hesitate. I’m still sort of nervous about being home alone so I don’t really like all the glass windows and doors downstairs. There aren’t other houses in sight and our yard is wide open along a busy country road. Walking through the first floor of our house can feel like being on a s...

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“Harvest Moon, Wishes, and You” by Holly Gilbert

Submitted to Contest #206

Be careful what you wish for. That was the warning that Duska had gotten from Grandma Meekam. The harvest moon sat in the sky, emanating a golden color. The moon around the canoe glistened with stars. Duska wrapped her blue cloak tightly around her yellow dress, shivering. The men around her didn’t say anything. They paddled towards the edge of the cave off of the time-frozen island. Olim. She shuddered. She had heard of frightening things about this island. The men carefully lifted her up and placed her on the rock. The leader gave Duska a ...

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“The Hunter Within” by Jordan Lowery

Submitted to Contest #206

I stand paralyzed on the ominous threshold of the House of Mirrors. The cacophony of whirring rides and blood-curdling screams slices through the air, their chilling echoes seeping into the marrow of my bones, leaving them quivering.Or perhaps it’s not just the external forces that cause my bones to tremble, but the primal surge of anxiety and terror clawing its way through my veins as I muster the courage to finally face him."You don't have to do this, you know," Ryan reasons.He's right, and deep down, I don't want to. But it's been a painf...

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“Quantum's Toll” by A. L. V.

Submitted to Contest #206

The superstitious people of Jitter Hills blame the unexplained disappearances on a local myth known as Quantum’s Toll. Of the sixty thousand people to have ever lived here, over a thousand have gone missing. Every year in school, at least one student cannot be accounted for and it’s the buzz of the semester. Freshman year, it was Juno Smith, our class vice president. Sophomore year, it was Diana Brown from the Archery Team. Junior year, it was Vesta Schwarz who shared a home with three foster kids. I've wondered who the unlucky duck would ...

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“The Empress's Passage” by Rudy Senecal

Submitted to Contest #206

I took off running at the sound of the screams. I knew it was a small child just by the pitch of it. It came from a fallen building. The scream echoed out of a horizontal window with an edge of broken glass that was dark as night. A gateway to hell beckoning me forward, the screams of the damned within. A royal must know the pain of the loyal, lest they forget what service costs. I kicked the edge of the window and squeezed through, another ...

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“The Karma Pit” by M W

Submitted to Contest #206

Janey woke up on the ground. She slowly got up. She wasn't wearing anything, and her skin looked very pale. She felt neither warm nor cold - she felt very little of anything actually. She could smell sulfur in the air. The ground looked like a mixture of dirt and sand. The lighting was the most unusual thing. She could only see about 30 feet or so and it became darkness past that. As she walked around the light followed her almost like a spotlight was shining straight down on her....

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“The Convergence Factor” by CJ Shutt

Submitted to Contest #206

The dials lit up as the keystrokes sounded like raindrops landing softly on the roof. The digital display was covered in dials, gauges and other monitors, taking into account many different data samples. He stood at the desk furiously typing looking for that one breakthrough that could propel him into the answer he so desperately sought. The levels and displays whirled and changed as he entered different factors and computations. The gauge he was most interested in was one with three lines, blue, red, and green. As he changed his inputs and ...

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“Realities” by Nibras Mirza

Submitted to Contest #206

Guide to Urdu/Kashmiri terms used in the text:· Angrez ki aulaad (Urdu): An Englishman’s child (used to indicate that someone is acting entitled to be treated with privilege)· Phupho (Urdu): Paternal aunt· Noon-chai (Kashmiri): Translates to salted tea; a traditional pink hued, salted tea from the valley of Kashmir.“Nabeela? Nabeela? Nabeela?!”“WHAT?! WHAT?! WHAT?!”Nabeela finally threw the bed covers aside with violence matching that of ...

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“The Sleepover” by Marc R. Micciola

Submitted to Contest #206

The walkway was covered in fallen leaves from the giant trees on either side. Pale, dirty stone fences bordered it, leading all the way to the front porch. Statues of large cats sat on stone pillars at the beginning of the staircase that led up to the flagrant archway held up by four slim columns. The archway was covered in old vines and leaves, much like the rest of the towering mansion. From the roof of the first floor to the peaked rooftops of the third floor, dirt, grime, and dying vegetation covered the dark blue of the mansion. In betw...

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“Carriage 3-8-1” by Blake Tori

Submitted to Contest #206

The train carriage rattled as it entered the narrow tunnel, darkening the windows and forcing the flickering urine-coloured lights to fend off the encroaching gloom. The window frames shook as the old carriage swayed across ancient rails, buffeted from side to side by the tumultuous vortices swirling around the darkness. Tunnel lights lit up the windows at steady intervals, breaking up the gloom and casting feeble hues along the ancient, mouldy brickwork as the train sped past. Inside, tarnished-yellow intercom speakers hung from dis...

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“Guilty” by Tamara Bock

Submitted to Contest #206

Barbara didn’t know how she had ended up here, kneeling on a cold cement floor in a shadowy factory with a ceiling obscured by metal fans that moved in large, languid circles, casting blades of darkness over her. And why was she dressed this way, in rags with her hair matted and sweaty? She was supposed to be suited up for court, in her daily armor. Perhaps she was in some sort of trouble. She looked up. A man in a close-fitting blue business suit approached her. What a beautiful pink tie, she thought. He was middle aged, slim and wel...

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“Hello, Old Friend” by Beatrice Gomes

Submitted to Contest #206

You know how it feels when someone is watching you? They’re just out of sight or maybe hiding in your peripherals, but you know they’re there. It feels like I’m being watched…but I feel this all around me. It feels like a million eyes staring at me from all angles. I can’t see them, but somehow I just know they can see me… and they know what I’m thinking, too. I shiver and this awful feeling courses through me. I look down to find that I’m covered in goosebumps while beads of sweat drip down my forehead. My hands feel impossibly cold...

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$250

Prize money

373

Contest entries

130

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Jul 14, 2023 EST

Won by Parul Shah 🏆

Title: Shameless

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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