Menu

Prompts

Contests

Stories

Blog

Menu

✕

CONNECT

Editing Design Marketing Publicity Ghostwriting Websites

BLOG

Success Stories

APPS

TOOLS

Book Promotion Sites Book Review Blogs Booktube Channel Guide Book Title Generator Character Name Generator Independent Publishers Literary Agents Literary Magazines Pen Name Generator Plot Generator Publishers Directory Short Story Ideas Writing Contests Writing Exercises Writing Scholarships

ABOUT

About Reedsy Terms Privacy

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 – 134 stories

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

Halloween – 138 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 Visitor” by Susan Eaton

Submitted to Contest #221

The Visitor I hope you’re all made of stern stuff as I’ve no wish to scare you, but I want to tell you what happened to me the other night. It was like this. It was very late, and I was in bed, settling down to sleep but still awake, if you know what I mean. I was at that point where I was warm and comfortable, although still conscious of the traffic noises outside. But if I heard something out of the ordinary, say, someone by my gate or footsteps on the drive I’d probably say, ‘Bu – blow it’ and turn over. I was that close to sleep. But I ...

Read story

“The Art of Perfecting Ghost Skills” by Lindsay Flo

Submitted to Contest #221

For years, the house had had a secret room, and Justine was the only one who knew it existed anymore. It was maddening, to say the least. A century (had it been more?) yet no one had discovered it. Or her. Justine’s father added the room in the 1920s, a few years before the big crash when everything went south. Her mother, Claire, was a nervous type and the room was meant to be a haven, a quiet sanctuary that would allow Claire to set her jumpy tendencies aside, as if they were a hat she could take on and off. They had all loved the roo...

Read story

“Why My Girlfriend Killed Me” by Maddy Grace

Submitted to Contest #221

CW: gore, violence, blood, bones, death, murder There’s a sharp crack as my skull smacks the concrete. My teeth rack together and the taste of metal fills my mouth. Warm liquid oozes from the back of my head. My ex-boss stands above me, grinning wickedly as I wipe blood out of my eye from the gash above my right eyebrow. And all I can think is, where the hell is Jess? “I’m sorry Cora. I really liked you, but you chose this for yourself,” Barty seethed, his words cutting through the thick fog settling over my brain, “Maybe if you could ...

Read story

“L’histoire d’un fantôme.” by John Rutherford

Submitted to Contest #221

I watched as she applied a purply-red coloured lipstick, puckering her lips in a provocative style, that dissolved any feelings of indifference, or resistance in me. She was reaching out for some kind of acceptance of my endless longing and blind love – but now I was being tortured daily by the unresponsiveness. It had weakened my resolve, any residual feelings of resistance and sulking, any lingering feelings of angst, feelings of self-denial; all disappeared, evaporated as I looked at the puckered lips, and wanted those soft petal lips on ...

Read story

“DEAR OLD DEAD EXCERPT” by Penelope Stephens

Submitted to Contest #221

The voices, or rather the voice, my father's voice, started shortly after he died. We hadn’t spoken since I came out as transgender, and as far as I was concerned, he was already dead. If there was any sense of guilt at not having been reconciled with him, it was quickly dismissed as his fault, not mine. So when he spoke to me, it was quite unexpected, and not entirely welcome. “Surely you're not going out dressed like that?” I heard him say one morning as I was leaving for work. “What’s wrong with a skirt and a T-shirt?” I found my...

Read story

“Say My Name” by Joy Allen

Submitted to Contest #221

My name is Phineas Birch and I am ghost. This place in which I linger is where I was born and died. My mother gave birth to me in the attic of the kitchen house in 1771. I died in the basement of the big house at the hands of my father in 1787. My life as flesh and blood was cut short, you see. Sixteen years did not afford me enough time to leave a mark on the world. That is one of the reasons I remain on this earthly plain in the shadows. Nowadays a women’s organization owns this house. Half a century ago, they restored it to its original ...

Read story

“Brushstrokes from Beyond” by E.L. Lallak

Submitted to Contest #221

In the echoing canyons of the Rocky Mountains, within the shadowy confines of the once-thriving coal mining town of Ravenwood, lived the enigmatic artist Aria Winters. With long, flowing charcoal-black hair and emerald eyes that seemed to hold the secrets of the rugged gorge, she captivated the townsfolk. Whispers and speculations about her abounded, suggesting she possessed an otherworldly talent: the ability to capture on canvas the tales whispered to her by the departed. Ravenwood clung tenaciously to the edge of the abyss as if it were...

Read story

“The Pit” by S.E. Tomlin

Submitted to Contest #221

I sat on the weathered brick wall above the town tunnel, looking down at the occasional car or truck that passed through. It was late and traffic was light. I’d arrived in town an hour or two ago and had been sitting on that wall all the while, motionless, thinking. A mile ahead, illuminated by pale moonlight, I glimpsed the open pit copper mine—the place where all of our troubles began. I was already on my second pack of Marlboro Reds by the time my phone alarm rang. Thirty minutes to midnight. With a sigh, I puffed on the cigarette again...

Read story

“Change” by Luc Vos

Submitted to Contest #221

For the longest time, my life was not fun anymore. God knows I tried, and believe me, I did ask Him. In return, He confirmed that I had given life all I could, but still, I lost almost all relevance I once had in this world. For a very long time, I lived in that kind of house that every mortal soul would try to avoid. You know the type, broken windows, squeaking doors, an old tree in front of it with huge sweeping branches. The wind howling through the cracks in the walls as if the yeti himself was living there. Whether it was winter or summ...

Read story

“The Misogynist Ghost” by Bob Leask

Submitted to Contest #221

This is a true story.Nick, Judy and Rob (that's me) were three nerdy strangers studying Computer Science at Curtin university during the 1990s. Living in my family home was not ideal. With two brothers and two sisters it was not only overcrowded but noisy, making study very difficult. So, when Nick advertised for a couple of students to share his rental accommodation I jumped at the chance. Judy was in a similar situation, and after a "get to know you coffee" at the university cafeteria we decided to move in together.It was an old weatherboa...

Read story

“Blood and Blight” by Rachel Kenley Fry

Submitted to Contest #221

CW: miscarriage and graphic imageryThe most vivid memory, but not the first, is of blood. I was told to expect blood, so much blood. I was told that if there was so much blood that, within an hour, it filled a maxi pad and ran down my legs and soaked through my socks, then I should go to the ER, but if it was less than that it was okay. I remember that, because the vision of blood-soaked socks made me queasy—although, to be fair, queasiness was something I experienced regularly then.I was sliding out of my frenetic dream when I had the hazy ...

Read story

“The Game” by Christina Boufis

Submitted to Contest #221

Cookie considered herself a connoisseur of mice. She preferred adult mice of a certain age, nice and plump. She liked females better than males. And she preferred the darker to the lighter-colored gray mouse. Also, paws down, Cookie far preferred mice over birds when it came to playing the game. Mice were better at it. Cookie would wait at the back-garden wall every evening around dusk for the game to begin. Her tail would twitch with anticipation as Cookie spotted the first stirring of the ivy, signaling the mice were making their wa...

Read story

“The End of Layla Ackerman” by Effy Fairchild

Submitted to Contest #221

Layla Ackerman, the lowly puddle of sobs, sat shaking on the floor of her dingy bedroom. The sterling silver hairbrush lay at her side. The once beloved heirloom had rusted over in a matter of minutes, covered by the same substance splotched over the girl's bibbed night dress. Her hysterics were not new. Her illness was not new, either. But the consequences of Layla's condition have never been as contagious as they are now. Layla and Cecilia Ackerman are close, as is expected from two girls who share a birthday and have the same appea...

Read story

“Inseparable” by Maria Sardi

Submitted to Contest #221

Mum and Dad were a happy couple, always chatting, giggling, and enjoying each other's company. They had married in their twenties and had lived together for thirty years until death pulled them apart. Dad had a heart condition, and he used to joke about dying of a heart attack while playing his favorite sport. “One last round before I go,” he used to tease Mum.“Paul,” Mum would say rolling her eyes.He died while teeing off on the 18th hole at the Country Club we belonged to. It was a sunny Saturday afternoon, we were playing together wi...

Read story

“Oscar and Dolores” by Ralph Aldrich

Submitted to Contest #221

The fall air is crisp, and the sky is crystal clear. Dolores ambles up her front walkway, still unable to understand how the world can be so cheerful after what has happened to her. Having returned from Oscar’s funeral, she stops before her doorway and sighs. The funeral was held with just her son, Bill, and herself because she knew Oscar wouldn’t want it any other way. That’s just the way he was. Turning the key in the lock, Dolores bites her lower lip, takes a deep breath, and steps inside. She freezes ...

Read story

Load more stories

$250

Prize money

425

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!

Explore more writing prompt ideas:

Adults Writing Prompts ⭢

Adventure Writing Prompts ⭢

Angst Writing Prompts ⭢

Character Writing Prompts ⭢

Christmas Writing Prompts ⭢

Dark Writing Prompts ⭢

Dialogue Writing Prompts ⭢

Dramatic Writing Prompts ⭢

Dystopian Writing Prompts ⭢

Fall Writing Prompts ⭢

Fantasy Writing Prompts ⭢

Fiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Fluff Writing Prompts ⭢

Funny Writing Prompts ⭢

Halloween Writing Prompts ⭢

High School Writing Prompts ⭢

Historical Fiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Holiday Writing Prompts ⭢

Horror Writing Prompts ⭢

Kids Writing Prompts ⭢

Middle School Writing Prompts ⭢

Mystery Writing Prompts ⭢

Narrative Writing Prompts ⭢

Nonfiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Novel Writing Prompts ⭢

Poetry Writing Prompts ⭢

Romance Writing Prompts ⭢

Sad Writing Prompts ⭢

Science Fiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Short Story Writing Prompts ⭢

Spring Writing Prompts ⭢

Summer Writing Prompts ⭢

Teens Writing Prompts ⭢

Thanksgiving Writing Prompts ⭢

Thriller and Suspense Writing Prompts ⭢

Valentine's Day Writing Prompts ⭢

Vampire Writing Prompts ⭢

Winter Writing Prompts ⭢