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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#221: Ghostly

With Halloween fast approaching, I find myself thinking about the different kinds of spooky stories we like to tell each other. Year after year, there’s one particular topic I gravitate towards when in search of a thrill: ghosts. Whether they’re friendly or vengeful, these haunting spectors represent more than just our fears and anxieties around our own mortality. They’re also symbols of the collision between the past and present, and the ways what has been can tangibly affect what will be. It’s no wonder, with the universality of these themes, that ghosts feature in folklore from all around the world.

This week, as the veil between worlds continues to thin, let’s dive into that liminal space between life and death, and see what it has to offer us.

This week's prompts

Write a story from a ghost’s point of view.

Halloween – 133 stories

Write a story about someone who is haunted. Whether by a ghost or something else is up to you.

Halloween – 137 stories

Write a story about someone trying to raise the dead.

Halloween – 49 stories

Write a story where ghosts and the living coexist.

Halloween – 69 stories

Set your story in a world where contacting the dead is as easy as making a phone call.

Halloween – 35 stories

Stories

“The Last Ride of Cole Cody” by Roger Skrypczak

Submitted to Contest #221

Cole Cody had been on the rodeo circuit for nearly ten years with very little success. He was barely able to make enough prize money to cover his expenses. But he loved the challenge and being associated with other cowboys and the women who followed them around. Cole wasn’t famous enough to have his pick of women like some of the other more successful bull and bronco riders. Although it didn’t mean he had to sleep alone every night. His body had taken a beating and he was considering retirement when he started winning...

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“The Man with the Black Bow Tie” by Kimberly Seyboldt

Submitted to Contest #221

Grandma was sixteen years old. Born in 1892, with curly dark hair and a welcoming smile, she would grow up to be a real beauty. Having an abundance of suitors was a boon however, for she was not allowed to go courting until her father his gave permission, and on that matter, he was dragging his feet. One day as Grandma was visiting with friends in her high school's courtyard, she noticed a man standing back a distance from the fence leaning against a tree. He wore a striking suit with a white shirt and a black bow tie. He stood too far...

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“The Halloween Haunting of Flight 317” by Julie Squires

Submitted to Contest #221

The wind howls and the bitter cold bites hard. Slivers of ice stab my cheeks as I make my way to the back of the taxi to gather our luggage from the trunk. Inside the airport I hold tight to my ten-year old brother’s hand as we wait to board our flight. Squinting to see the snow flying beyond the darkened airport windows, I’m obsessed with Mother Nature’s merciless wrath on this wild moonless October night. Once on board the Boeing 737-500, I try to unchain myself from endless months of stress; all that non-stop rushing around, ...

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“The Lady in Red” by Jasmine Trivett

Submitted to Contest #221

The ominous clacking of heels on pavement was the first indication of trouble. The second came moments later, when their owner's red dress and matching grin prowled forward from the shadows and into the pale moonlight. Jagged fear pierced through Wyles body like a dagger at the sudden attention. A cornered mouse in the direct eye line of a tiger. Her face was a pretty round shape that reminded him of Roman beauty. Her long brown hair trickled down towards her elbows with a delicate curl at the end. She looked harmless enough, except for thos...

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“Felicity” by Anne J. Hill

Submitted to Contest #221

A little girl sat alone at the kitchen counter. She doodled on a white paper, crayons gripped in her fist. Pages she’d already scribbled on lay in a chaotic pile beside her. Her right forearm was tightly bandaged with fresh gauze. The moon had risen hours ago, yet no one had come to take Felicity to bed. In a room upstairs, her father paced while her mother watched him from the edge of their bed. “We can’t seriously be considering this, Joe…” He winced and rubbed his face. “Do you have any better ideas? It won’t be long before she starts c...

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“Mona” by Brooklyn Reynolds

Submitted to Contest #221

The night is brisk. Some nights I try not to sleep. Tonight. Tonight I'm trying not to sleep. I can't sleep. She will get me. She will do to me what she did to everyone else. She picks them out. One. By. One. I know I'm next. I must be careful. I must watch every movement I make, every breath I take. For if she catches me, I will no longer be moving. I will no longer be breathing. She will have me in control. So I must be careful. I can't let Nana down. She always protected me from her. Everyone protected me from her. That's why everyone is ...

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“Alone” by Debra Walsh

Submitted to Contest #221

Mental health, death.Her husband, Jim, lie dying in his hospital bed. He slowly took his wife’s hand in his and smiled. “Maria, it will be all right. You’re strong, you will get through this.” He closed his eyes again. He didn’t have much strength left in him and his breathing was shallow.“No Jim, I can’t get through this, not without you. We always said we can get through anything together…not alone! Please Jim, don’t leave me.”Tears streamed down her face. The thought of bei...

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“Haunted by my memories of you” by Eline Pols

Submitted to Contest #221

Mateo's husband got shot during an undercover mission, which is why he's sitting in the waiting room of a hospital, haunted by all the memories of him.He's absolutely restless and wishes there was more that he could do for Henry.Mateo may have gone undercover as a surgeon at one point but, he is in fact not a doctor. So there isn't anything else he can do for his husband other than lose his mind in this waiting room and make sure he's there to hold his hand when he wakes up.If he wakes up.Nope.No.He is not going to do this to himself.He's no...

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“Being haunted by demons” by GRACE TIBBETTS

Submitted to Contest #221

Being haunted As my husband Ben lay on the couch, I was filled with only bitterness and anger towards him. I had watched as he fell further and further into depression. At first, I had been sympathetic, but as time went on, it got worse and worse. As far as I was concerned, he was busy ruining my life too in the process. He lay on the couch, sleeping, sad and miserable. He stopped being a husband and a father. He said things like, “Why can’t I just die?”...

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“Shattered Reflections of Holloway Manor” by Brenda Wilson

Submitted to Contest #221

Death is a cruel mistress and became incarnate at Holloway Manor exactly 100 years ago. On October 13, 1923, James Holloway murdered his wife and two daughters. Emily Claire stopped typing and closed her laptop with a sigh. The future of her career, at The News Room, hinged on this article’s success. “Struggling?” Dorian asked beside her. Outside rain drummed against the hotel window and the wind howled at the trees. “I don’t understand his motive.” Emily pushed aside the laptop and scooted closer to her fiancé for comfort...

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“Ghost of Halloween” by M.R. Simon

Submitted to Contest #221

I'm Jennifer, my friends call me J'en, a thirty-three yealr old single woman. No education, Working in a bowling Alley. No kids, no serious boyfriend. I'm not able to find myself a husband material guy. Since I lost my baby five years ago, my boyfriend left me. I've been single since. This time of year is the hardest part of the year for a single lady, that doesn't even have a cat. What I called the kill zone, you get killed, or kill yourself. I used to walk at night through the cemetery after my evening shift, but not today, not on Hallow...

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“The Visitor in an Age of Innocence” by Rae Wren

Submitted to Contest #221

Ofelia A sweet brush with life, unobtainable, never-ending but equally as brief. The sound of laughter high above, shrill, and ever so sweet. Pretty pink bows, chocolate curls, soft folds of tatted lace: bold blue orbits, a glance, mirth and understanding so innocent, peeping through the verdant foliage. Juliet could neither escape the feelings of the moment glance peering over the cold marble banister, nor the fear of the insipid smile that graced her Romeo's lips. Look away and sigh as the apparition vanishes without a trace. Small littl...

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“Anama, Anamam!” by Arvin Tavakkoli

Submitted to Contest #221

I was car-sick. That's why I asked my dad to stop the car so I could get some fresh air. It was so bad that I had started to hate everything and anything, the smells, the book I was trying to read and myself. I did not know what time it was. The silver and orange colour of the twilight gave news of a drowsy and dreadful dawn. The shadows were deep and menacing. The air was brisk and cold and felt like thin, yet heavy paper on my skin. I walked away from the car, the desert land was inviting. The pebbles crunched under my shoes. The...

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“Leave the Haunted Books Alone” by Lizee Newt

Submitted to Contest #221

There is mention of a dead body in this story, as well as one of the characters slicing her palm with a letter opener. Reader's discretion is advised. Lauryn watches her older sister as she scrambles around the living room, preparing for a long night of junk food and horror movies. She’s a blur of black and pink, her bonnet flapping in the breeze as she zooms by. It’s almost cringey to see her so excited to watch B-rated movies they’ve already seen way too many times. Kris turns off the lights and uses her phone to guid...

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“Her Hauntingly, Heavenly Heart” by Marceline Snyder

Submitted to Contest #221

Memories exist in people’s heads like ghosts exist in graveyards. Faint, familiar reminiscence haunts the mind like poltergeist plague unsuspecting victims. However, just like ghosts, memories are only reminders of past failures and unfinished business. They can’t hurt you, not when they’ve already come to pass. That’s what I told myself anyway. I wouldn’t let my past preside over my mind anymore. So then why do I still see her face? I started going to therapy, since her accident. My therapist told me everyone grieves differently, that my ap...

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$250

Prize money

423

Contest entries

148

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Oct 27, 2023 EST

Won by Bay Colt 🏆

Title: Clearance Aisle Libations

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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