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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#220: Out of Place

The air’s beginning to chill and goosebumps are rising on your skin like mushrooms on a log. With Halloween not far off, everything’s beginning to feel a little… strange. It’s got me thinking about all things odd, and one of the most unsettling sensations of all — noticing something that’s out of place.

From things that shouldn’t be where they are, to protagonists far from home, this week’s prompts explore the bizarre, and the uncanny feeling of things being where they don’t belong.

This week's prompts

Start your story with a character walking through a desert landscape, when they stumble across something unexpected. “That shouldn’t be there,” they muse.

Dialogue – 50 stories

You arrive at a destination you promised an old friend you’d visit after they passed, only to find them there too.

Mystery – 65 stories

As a child you’re helping your grandparent bake. When you’re sent to the pantry to fetch an ingredient, you discover something odd.

Mystery – 41 stories

Begin your story with a protagonist taking shelter under a bridge during a thunderstorm. An animal scurries past which shouldn’t exist. Against their better judgment, they decide to follow it out.

Fantasy – 50 stories

You’re awakened from your nap by someone asking, “Are you hungry?”. You fell asleep somewhere else entirely.

Mystery – 45 stories

Stories

“Back to the Beach” by David Knickmeyer

Submitted to Contest #220

The sun was hot, and the walk was a lot longer than I remembered. I finally made it to the cliff edge and found the winding path that led down. It was much as I remembered it except even more overgrown. Tropical foliage pressed on both sides as I made my way down. At my age the decent was a bit treacherous but at last I made it to the edge of the ocean. Now it was just a long walk at the base of the cliff, a sharp turn and I would be at my destination. The beach. Seth and I had done the whole 'final road trip' thing...

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“Picture me this” by Sara Pothmann Cullen

Submitted to Contest #220

Dad held her hand tight through the whole funeral, like he was afraid she might disappear, and she supposed she could, not that dad knew that. It hurt a bit, but he was shaking and crying so much, she thought it better not to say. There was a lot of people there. Mum had been popular, more so than she knew or understood, Mum was always very friendly, that must’ve been it. Each person was as distraught as the last, you couldn’t tell the pretenders from the real ones. A woman who was already half keeled over, pushed herself forw...

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“Her Last Request” by Elizabeth Williamson

Submitted to Contest #220

Her Last Request It was odd how someone’s perspective could be changed entirely by a single event. Before, the grand oak ensconced in the middle of the park would have seemed awesome and beautiful. Its preeminent height and mass setting it apart and cascading cool shadows across the park lawn. The warm coat of orange and reds painting its leaves paired with the cool autumn sunlight would have seemed pristine and wonderful. But now, it seemed so different. &nb...

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“What The Hell” by Howard Seeley

Submitted to Contest #220

When you think of New York State, it first thing that comes to mind is the city named after it. With its unique skyline and the home of the Statue of Liberty, it’s easy to understand why. But in truth, New York City is only a fragment of the state. Upstate, you may say, consists of Albany, Syracuse and even Buffalo. You would still be far off the mark. In fact, most of New York is either a giant field of small towns slowly withering away, farms, or forests. But all was not lost. Hidden within the green desert near the foothills of the Adiron...

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“The Cabin In The Woods” by Miriam Esessien

Submitted to Contest #220

Soledad, pretty and young, stood by her window with a glass of wine. The morning rain clouded her windows and she couldn't see at all. Even if she could, it would all be grey, but somehow she knew she would be fine. There was a nagging that ate away at her soul for weeks, even months. It grew even stronger by the hour that she felt she must go, in order to be focused enough to finish her fifteenth book. So when the rain died, she jumped on a train first thing. Before she got locked in by another round of hail and storm. To fulfill a promis...

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“It's Only Death” by Madeline Honig

Submitted to Contest #220

As I stepped out of my electric blue Nikes and removed my ankle socks, I felt the grass was cold beneath my feet but it felt good and refreshing like a stick of spearmint gum for my feet. I moved my feet around, feeling the blades between my toes and the wet mud underfoot. I could hear the ocean waves crashing on the sharp rocks beyond the cliff. I stood close to the drastic edge, maybe too close, and I looked up into the blue sky. Why did it seem more blue here than any other place on earth? “I’ll miss ...

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“The Red Light” by Nora C

Submitted to Contest #220

The sun shone through the window as I woke up with the sweet smell of peonies and fresh linen hanging just outside my window. Streams of sunlight faded in and out of my room as clouds passed in front. I stretched lightly and heard pans banging and rattling in the kitchen. Slowly getting up from my small bed with tattered linens and my grandmother’s home made quilt, I walked across the cold wooden floor towards the door. The kitchen was full of dishes and my grandmother was pulling more from her cupboards. My grandfather was sitting in h...

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“Made With Love” by K R

Submitted to Contest #220

(TW: body horror, description of a panic attack, death) Nana always called it baking, but it didn’t feel like baking to Caleb. To him, it felt sort of like alchemy, or maybe even magic. It was a secret they held together, creation for the sole purpose of creation. It was the construction of something wretched, something wrong, and it was damnation and blasphemy. Cruelty and morbidity. But Nana just called it baking. “It goes in the oven,” she would tell him when he mentioned it, “so it must be baking.” From where he...

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“Baking with Nanna” by Darrian Lynx

Submitted to Contest #220

One of my fondest memories from childhood was baking cookies with my grandmother. Of course, life gets in the way as you grow older and at 19 years old, I hadn't baked with Nanna in a very long time. Then my mother died. It wasn't an accident or a murder or anything like that. No, it was good old cancer... ...... I was 14 and it was bedtime for my sister and I. My sister had jumped into bed with my mom, begging her to allow her to sleep there rather than her own bed. My mom had surprisingly relented. At around 3am I woke from a d...

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“Family secrets” by Christian Melot

Submitted to Contest #220

It's Saturday. It's one of those autumn weekends when Mum drops me off at Grandma and Grandpa's house. When the weather's nice, we play in the garden. What's more, at the beginning of the summer, Grandpa put a swing in there for me. Perfect for July, very average in October. Everything gets wet and the dead leaves stick to the seat. Besides, it's too cold for Grandpa to push me. As soon as the temperature drops, he can't stop complaining about his knee. I gather it's from a war injury. I asked what war was like and Grandpa showed me his rifl...

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“Night's Creatures” by Glen Loveland

Submitted to Contest #220

The night was darker than sin and colder than a banker's heart when I took shelter under the bridge. The thunderstorm raged overhead, torrents of rain coming down in icy sheets blown sideways by the howling wind. I was soaked clear through to the bone and shivering something fierce. Still, the bridge provided a respite from the worst of the storm's fury, and I hunkered down, hoping it would pass quickly. That's when I saw it, quick as a flash against the dim shadows—a sleek shape darting past, quiet as a whisper. At first, I thought it mus...

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“Tail of the Raiju” by Meghan Brooks

Submitted to Contest #220

Trigger warning: violence and gruesome death. Astraphobia: defined as the extreme fear of thunder and lightning. It is also known as brontophobia and keraunophobia. Corin Downing went out for a walk on a Sunday morning, stopping by the book shop in downtown Naperville. She looked at some books on Japanese folklore, looking into myths related to the yokai. She was interested in this research after realizing through a blood test that she had Japanese ancestry. She was hoping to connect with her family's roots. She spent so much time, engr...

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“The Last Day” by Dan Ward

Submitted to Contest #220

What a sorrowful man meeting such a sorrowful end as I. To lament now would seem to be frivolous, for around me the world is meeting such a sorrowful end, our fates enshrined for the first time since inception. The last day, the final hour of all, brought upon us by gods too cruel or too else occupied to give any such notions as pity or leverage.It began only days ago, with proclamations from the priests, all in unison describing their prophetic dreams of finality and despair. The gods, they said, had deemed our world forfeit, and as such ha...

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“A Night to Remember ” by Patrissha Booker

Submitted to Contest #220

Note: attempted sexual violence, a no means no situation A Night to Remember Sienna hums and smiles at herself in the mirror as she gets ready for her third date with Damon who embodies everything she envisioned in a man. He is handsome, articulate, charming, and amusing, but most importantly he is a gentleman. Their shared passions include art and jazz music, so when they arrive at the dimly lit restaurant and dine on the finest cuisine, they effortlessly engage in conversation about their shared interests…so far it had been a wonderful ...

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“A Dark, Seething Underworld” by Cade Holter

Submitted to Contest #220

The sirens in the distance were growing louder as Malachi hurdled through the dense woods. The downpour spilling off of the canopy of autumn leaves above him was like ice spikes jabbing through his thick jacket. More than that, it moistened the dirt under his heavy boots into slick mud that, in his mad dash to freedom, had him sliding on almost every step he took. He could only keep himself upright by leaning against nearby trees, as his hands were full; a handgun in his right, a grocery bag of cash in his left. The bag gave Malachi all of t...

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$250

Prize money

251

Contest entries

129

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Oct 20, 2023 EST

Won by D. Grimes 🏆

Title: Fae Touched

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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