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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#225: Mirror, Mirror on the Wall

From Narcissus falling in love with his own reflection to the speaking mirror in Snow White, mirror images have always been a popular motif in literature, commonly used to introduce questions of identity or self-consciousness. But they can also be used to create a split between reality and illusion: is what we see really the truth, or are our eyes — or indeed minds — playing tricks on us? Taken one step further, one might even argue that texts themselves are a reflection of their author and the world they inhabit.


This week’s prompts invite you to reflect (pardon the pun) on topics of self-image, twisted realities, and outer appearance that may or may not capture what’s going on beneath the surface.

This week's prompts

Start your story with someone buying a cursed — or perhaps blessed —mirror from an antiques store.

Fantasy – 74 stories

Write a story about someone trying to paint (or otherwise create) a self-portrait.

Character – 66 stories

Write a story about someone coming across their doppelganger.

Mystery – 48 stories

Write a story about a character who one day notices that their reflection has taken on a life of its own.

Fantasy – 50 stories

Set your story in a house of mirrors and make the atmosphere increasingly eerie.

Horror – 42 stories

Stories

“Monster” by Kristi Sturgeon

Submitted to Contest #225

Monster Once upon a time, there was a girl named Sylvia Snyde. Sylvia was very beautiful. Every morning, she looked into the magic mirror that she had bought at a local antique shop. The mirror was enchanted. It could speak, and daily, it told her how beautiful she was. No one is your equal in beauty, it would say. So Sylvia knew she was beautiful, and that knowledge began to change her. At school, Sylvia and her entourage would sit on the tables near the front of the school, judging their classmates. No person was safe from their captious...

5 comments 5
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“The Chalet” by Trevor Wilson

Submitted to Contest #225

TW: Violence, Gore, Fear, Language“I’m approaching the residence now,” Detective Lance Brewster said through his radio. “There’s so much fuckin’ fog, how the hell am I gonna get back home in this?” The radio static hummed some more, the operator on the other end of the radio rendered inaudible and scrambled. Detective Brewster tossed the radio to the side, let out a deep sigh, and sped up along the mountain road to this night’s assignment. Towering evergreens lined the road’s edges and filled the vast forest surrounding Detective Brewst...

3 comments 3
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“Mirror of Seirots ” by Veronica Meadows

Submitted to Contest #225

There is something almost magical about a room full of things with so many stories to tell, if they only had a voice. If you're really still, maybe they'll whisper a few words to you. I closed my eyes as I entered the new antique store that had just opened. I thought it would be busier, but I guess not as many people love old junk as much as I do. (I say old junk with the utmost respect, I assure you.) I breathed in the scent of past days, and my heart settled a little. I smiled as I see some pyrex dishes and think of the Marvelous Mrs...

4 comments 4
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“Misty's Mirror” by Hollie T

Submitted to Contest #225

Misty was feeling just a smidge guilty. She had just purchased the most beautiful antique mirror she had ever seen. Even to her untrained eye, she knew it must be worth far more than what she had paid, likely at least two or three times the amount. But she also knew she definitely couldn’t afford more. That was why, when she had asked the pleasant elderly gentleman running the obscure shop about the mirror’s value, and in response he had shrugged and said, “I don’t know, what is it worth to you?”, she couldn’t help but name exactly what she...

4 comments 4
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“Keep the Memory Alive” by Jasmine A Taber

Submitted to Contest #225

The Beatles. Fleetwood Mac. Duran Duran. The Beatles again. Queen. The Cranberries. Chicago. The Beatles.I already own every Beatles album.I finish sifting through yet another box of vinyls and stand up to wipe the dust off of my knees. I love coming to the antique mall, but it’s so large and it’s sometimes hard to find the hidden gems. I’ve been collecting vinyls for years, it’s a hobby of mine. Cleaning the kitchen becomes a less mundane task when the turntable in the living room transports you like a time machine to any concert by any ban...

1 comment 1
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“The Old Clock” by Tom Campbell

Submitted to Contest #225

Antiques are my life. My passion for old things started when I was a child. I collected some of that Burger King and McDonald's crap and when I was a bit older my grandma told me stories about all the nice really old things she had in her house. I read catalogs and noticed things in shop windows and people's houses. It wasn't until many years later when my unemployed drunken husband died driving his car off a bridge that I had the time and freedom to go looking for bargains as well as some nice things for my cluttered little house. Seacaucus...

2 comments 2
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“Millennia of Mirrors” by Chrissy Cook

Submitted to Contest #225

It had been a long time since her old friend had visited her. Usually, it was Blessing that did the visiting. The emphysema had stopped that quick enough. These days, Blessing only saw Pleasant Drive from outside the curtain-framed window: its pedestrians on sunny days, usually hearses at least once a week. Still, life could be worse at Saint Cyprian’s Hospice; Thursdays meant Zuzanna’s shift, which inevitably lead to illicit cookies, and Sundays brought her weekly visits from Father Peter with his air-light voice and his treasured ukulele. ...

15 comments 15
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“Vanity” by John Jacob

Submitted to Contest #225

The house had been built a century ago, but renovated many times, making it look both old and new. Shadows spread across its face in the twilight, while the brass knocker and knob glinted furtively. I stood at the front door, caught between the obligation to go in and the impulse to leave; pinned like a mirror between reality and reflection.  I would give back her key and leave. We would be separate, whole; there would be closure. I stood at the door for several minutes. The key warmed in my fist. The last of the light slid down under ...

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“Angle of Incidence” by Sjan Evardsson

Submitted to Contest #225

The glass was scratched, the silvering was cloudy, and the gilded wood frame was so ornate as to be ridiculous and fragile. Acanthus leaves intertwined with vines and flowers in a style that fell somewhere between baroque and rococo. It was the perfect amount of kitsch to brighten up the hallway. While mostly useless as a mirror, it suited her purposes perfectly. She had to have it. Alyx turned the tag over. It was certain to be priced out of her range. She had a start as the price on the tag was only $20. This was an antique worth thousand...

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“Vanity Mirror” by Hannah Lynn

Submitted to Contest #225

“Good morning, Sunshine. Another day, another dollar. Are you ready for the insanity?” She leaned into the mirror studying her reflection. “Wow, you look exhausted,” she told herself.***“Hey!” MI Jane got defensive. No sooner did the words come out of her mouth than she felt the pressure of her supervisor’s hand on her shoulder. Just the slightest bit of a squeeze and then release. Enough to make the point. She was out of turn. Her job was Mirror Image Jane, nothing more, nothing less.***Jane...

2 comments 2
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“Lost Images ” by Valencia Reed

Submitted to Contest #225

I’d been in the house for a couple of weeks and needed to get out and get some fresh air. I decided to go for a walk. The brisk fall air would do me some good; hopefully improve this crappy mood I’d been in. I mean, I’d always kind of known we wouldn’t be together forever. Even though it wasn’t all bad, it’s not like we were the perfect couple. But now I’m lonely. I hate this feeling of longing; knowing there isn’t anything I can do about it; I miss us. Here I go, heading back down the rabbit hole. Anyway, it’s Saturday morning, and I’m goin...

2 comments 2
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“She/Her/You” by Aqsa Malik

Submitted to Contest #225

And they had been waiting for quite a while now. Even if you hadn’t been sporadically staring, you could tell by the way they interacted with the empty space between them. The man visibly huffs and sighs, shooting a mental tirade across the table with a showy gesture of crossed arms, and the woman makes an appearance, but only to you. Earlier, she had called the waiter over before the milieu turned even more sour, an attempt at understanding and placation, but it seemed to you that it would’ve made no difference. The situation would’ve pro...

2 comments 2
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“Mirror..mirror on the war, all I see is my robot staring at me… ” by Perla Horn

Submitted to Contest #225

Hmm….and I thought you said you love me.  I do but not the way you think I should - I said and rest my hand on his shoulder. I don’t understand.  Why are you even questioning my motives. I did everything I could to take you home with me, but I was told you had to stay in the lab.  You said, you will take me home, Ian cried and covered his face so I couldn’t see his dry eyes. I leaned closer and put my arms around him. Look, I promise to visit you everyday until it will be safe for you to leave this lab.&nbs...

1 comment 1
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“Who's the Ugliest of all” by Kay Reeves

Submitted to Contest #225

Who's the Ugliest of all? Rooting through the piles of junk on the shelves, a glint caught Maria's eye. The 'antique' shop had been a disappointment so far, little more than the kind of bric-a-brac more suited to a car boot sale. She reached past the mismatched china and lifted out a small mirror in a beautifully carved wooden frame. The mirror was being held by two stunning female figures, naked but with their modesty preserved by their long hair, which tumbled down almost to their knees. The base of the frame was a male figure,visibl...

2 comments 2
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“"Through the Cracks" by Nur AYAZ” by Gökçe Nur Ayaz

Submitted to Contest #225

The windows were stained, welcoming the fresh rain without having any second thoughts. With the company of every drop, he had been gazing at the mirror enough to make the hands of a clock exhausted. He wondered why he bought this haunting chamber, despite knowing at the bottom that he wouldn’t be able to spend a conscious minute before it.'I wouldn’t dare to do this'. His mumble faded, forming a fog on his reflection.The cheval glass had an antique oval shape. Worn-down stands that smelled like a voyage—perhaps from an antique store to an op...

2 comments 2
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$250

Prize money

280

Contest entries

106

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Nov 24, 2023 EST

Won by Olivier Breuleux 🏆

Title: The Day Alfred Googled Himself

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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