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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#215: Monstrous

Monsters have haunted the human consciousness forever. Or, more specifically, for as long as we’ve had the ability to wonder what might be lurking in the darkness. They might have teeth, claws, and an insatiable thirst for blood. But not all monsters are made like this. Some of them look just like you and me, and that makes them all the more terrifying. 


So then, what makes a monster? Is it outward appearance or terrible deeds? Where’s the line between monster and human anyway? Because sometimes, the fanged beast might be less of a threat than the familiar.

This week's prompts

Write a story about someone trying to resist their darker impulses. Whether they succeed or fail is up to you.

Dark – 100 stories

Set your story in a haunted house.

Horror – 70 stories

Write a story about a monster trying to become more human. Or about a human trying to become more monstrous.

Thriller and Suspense – 60 stories

You confront the monster you’ve spent many long years hunting. Except they’re not exactly what you thought they’d be…

Adventure – 45 stories

Write a story about someone making a deal with the devil.

Dark – 112 stories

Stories

“The Grotesque” by Jonathan Page

Submitted to Contest #215

My scaly flesh is hard as stone. A natural armor. I have always had a tough exterior. But I fear I have reached the point where I will petrify completely and be arrested in an eternal prison of stone if I do not cast off my armor before it is too late. I feel my soul, like a firefly trapped in a jar, buzzing about, and smashing against my concrete ribs—encased in a dark stone prison. I feel my essence suffocating and gasping as I become solid.Evil words echo from the flying buttresses and stained glass. The dust...

5 comments 5
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“The Staked Plains Butcher and the Prairie Flower” by Carlton W. Gant III

Submitted to Contest #215

The day was April 15, 1867, in the Texas swath of the Llano Estacado running from Northern Mexico to Canada. For two years I’d been following a trail of slaughtered Comanche, engaging any demonic fiends that sought to feed on what was left. Every victim I’d found had been scalped and disfigured, unrecognizable as human. And sometimes that was before they’d been defiled by the teeth of unholy scavengers.…The last gunshot echoed across the moonlit valley of death that Abraham Strockland stood in the midst of, smoke curling from the large ebony...

20 comments 20
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“A Monster Of Apathy” by Sol Caine

Submitted to Contest #215

I am a monster of apathy. A creature of habit and a purveyor of fantasy. A born dreamer, I forged my own way of the maverick. Unconventional. Thinking outside of the box. Without siblings, without a father, and without proper guidance, I have waded through the shallow waters of life, creating my own path and re-writing life’s logic to fit my own. An outcast from the normal practices of family life, I have always struggled to understand what normal is. Don’t get me wrong. It’s not that I don’t care about things. I do. I care about good suc...

12 comments 12
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“A vampire tale” by Vanessa Zone

Submitted to Contest #215

When I was five years old, I witnessed my parents’ death.  The night of the attack I had awoken to the sound of breaking glass and my father yelling. The clock on my nightstand told me it was a little past 1:00 a.m. Cautiously, I climbed from my warm bed and made my way across the moonlit bedroom. My hands shook a little as I opened my door and stepped into the cold, dark hallway.  I can vividly recall how long the hallway seemed that night and how cold the hardwood floors felt on my bare feet. I remember wishi...

11 comments 11
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“For Kelly” by Holly Sadowski

Submitted to Contest #215

TW: sexual violence, physical violence, gore       I sit at my kitchen table trying to pull myself together as my coffee sits in front me getting cold. My skin feels too tight, suffocating and restraining me. The blackness at the edge of my vision is returning. It’s happening again. That all too familiar pull into the darkness.            Not now. Not today.            My chair screeches on the tile as...

2 comments 2
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“Hanging on God’s Pinkie” by Marina Pacheco

Submitted to Contest #215

‘Oh God, oh God, please save me!’ I pray while hanging on to Jesus’s pinkie.  Not the actual Jesus, obvs, but a massive concrete Christ the King on the south bank of the Tagus River, his arms stretched wide, blessing the city of Lisbon.  ‘Please, please, I’ll do anything, just get me out of this mess!’ I’m currently regretting all my life choices, especially the most recent. I’m a free climber, best in my group of fellow fanatics, so did I back down when I was given this challenge? Hell no! As far as I’m aware, nobody has climb...

3 comments 3
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“The Devil's Side of the Story” by Patricia Casey

Submitted to Contest #215

The Devil’s Side of the Story            If more humans knew the truth about me, they would discover I’ve been the victim since before time began. What no one understands is that this was all god’s plan. Well, sort of. I did agree, but god deceived me. And he deceives you, too. I expect you have heard the saying, “know your enemy.” That was my big mistake. I didn’t know. But here I am, and I have a window of opportunity to share my side of the story. So, listen; if I can’t finish, you’ll...

13 comments 13
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“Backstage Door.” by Ken Cartisano

Submitted to Contest #215

This was not my first stint as a stand-up comic, but it was shaping up to be my last. Mac, the Manager, had given me several consecutive dates months ago, and I never managed to fill even half the room, but Mac was desperate when he called me that morning.Hired to fill in for a more popular act, the crowd was a touch hostile. Most of them had come to see Abe Jordan. His name was on the marquee after all, and I was hoping he would show up for his last two sets because I was bombing big-time with the audience.I tossed my cigarette in the gutte...

4 comments 4
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“A Trip to South America” by Chris Miller

Submitted to Contest #215

The plane was coming back, it was definitely watching him. A small crucifix, dark against the blue sky, drawing and redrawing the same ellipse over the house. Honeypie watched it slip out of sight behind his tree. He loved his garden, and he loved his tree most of all. He loved it now for hiding the plane that was beginning to freak him out. He suspected it was trying to make him leave the garden, possibly force him to abandon his house altogether. The buzzing plane, the visitors who ignored him, the cat that he often felt staring at him fro...

15 comments 15
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“Elara's Web” by KG Green

Submitted to Contest #215

On a tempestuous weekend, four friends – two boys and two girls- found themselves in a remote holiday home far removed from the city's hustle and bustle. The house, nestled amidst a dense forest, was surrounded by towering trees and echoed with the wilderness's sounds. The home's main allure was Elara, a sophisticated artificial intelligence system controlling every home aspect. "Hi, welcome to your stay," Elara chimed in her synthetic yet charming voice that echoed throughout the house. "You'll never want to leave..." The friends shared a l...

1 comment 1
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“Haunted Bodies” by Zachariah Chamberlin

Submitted to Contest #215

Haunted Bodies by Zachariah Chamberlin Loneliness has a scent. That's what Richard Warren thought as he leaned against his black Cadillac in the ruins of the Salt Creek Elementary School parking lot. The smell was a stew of the uncut grass, dusty pebbles, and the recently departed rainclouds. Just how long would he have to wait? "Detective Warren?" called out a voice from within the shadows of the school entrance. The moon was full tonight and so very bright. A Hunter's Moon. Tonight was the closest and reddest it will be. It bathed everythi...

5 comments 5
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“Venom-dipped Memories” by M B

Submitted to Contest #215

I still remember that day: as crystal clear as the first time I saw it happen.  I was a lad of but fourteen, slowly growing into manhood. I lived alone in a cabin with my father on the edge of the wilds. He taught me all I knew: how to live in the wilds, cook for myself, forage for food, what berries were toxic and which were not.  He also taught me to read, how to shoot, and how to throw a hatchet... Useful skills. Many times he would disappear for months on end, leaving me in the care of a trusted friend till he decided I was...

6 comments 6
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“Dark Penance” by Cade Holter

Submitted to Contest #215

This story contains references to the sexual abuse of children. Reader discretion is advised.The Devil came to him in a desert. The sky was blank and bright, blinding blue, with a sun that shone harshly upon a pale ground spider webbed with large cracks. Before The Devil came he saw mountains surrounding him, him and the small, upturned boat that pressed against his naked back. A high ringing sound filled his ears, constant and grating, and he saw black smoke spiralling up in massive plumes that blocked the horizons view.“Thomas Haig.” Came ...

2 comments 2
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“Ghost FM” by Jed Cope

Submitted to Contest #215

Sometimes, it is said that there is no manual. The reference being to life. But this is disingenuous. In fact, this sort of thing is wilfully ignorant. One only has to look around at the world around us. Bees don’t have a manual either, yet they know exactly what it is that they must do with their lives. If they were to fail in the fulfilment of this purpose then the consequences would be felt right around the world. Bees do not make excuses, but people do. As the years have passed, I have attended to those things that I should always ha...

8 comments 8
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“Clarksdale Curse” by Steffen Lettau

Submitted to Contest #215

Author's note: All ideologies are welcome to enjoy this fictional work. You ever heard the joke about the atheist who made a deal with the Devil? Let's just say he had a hell of a time. All kidding aside, I fear retaliation for telling this story, but I need to warn you all to stay away from the crossroads at the U.S Routes 61 and 49. Yes, in Mississippi. Yes, the same place where Robert Johnson got famous. My name is Trevor Johnson. I happen to be a descendant of that famous musician, more on my mother's side, but please do not ask ...

4 comments 4
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$250

Prize money

387

Contest entries

135

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Sep 15, 2023 EST

Won by Danielle Barr 🏆

Title: What Kind of Mother

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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