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

Posted in Dark on Sep 8, 2023

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✍️ 112 stories

“Under a Dying Sun” by Aeris Walker

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #215

Smoke rose from the crackling fire and dissipated into the night sky. Stars dotted the black expanse, innumerable as the grains of sand in the Mojave desert where Connor McClain lay on his back, head cradled in his arms, thinking of Saralee. I’m finally coming home, he willed his words across the dusty earth, through the mountain pass, and down the stretch of trail that would carry him back to the little wooden cabin by the creek—back to his brown-eyed, long-legged girl. Beside him, Thunder stamped his hooves and huffed softly,...

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“Behind Closed Doors” by Kevin Logue

Submitted to Contest #215

TW: Language, sexual violence, child suffering, suicide, all things horrific.“Have you seen this boy?” The woman behind the chained door shook her head at the creased photograph.“He’s six here," Anna urged, "but he's closer to eight now.”“Ain't seen him. Sorry. Truly I am,” The woman hung her head closing the door.Anna had almost gotten used to it, the slamming doors, the constant barrage of no’s, dejected looks momentarily sharing her horror, then straight back to daily life with the squeak of a hinge and the click of a lock. That's just wh...

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“Curdled” by Scott Christenson

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #215

Robert dipped his finger into the milk and felt its warmth. The digital thermometer displayed a temperature of 103 F. He added a cup of dry starter culture, spreading it evenly over the milk, and a spoonful of yeast, and gave the vat a stir. The air was heavy with the smell of aging cheese.He set a timer for 30 minutes and busied himself flipping over yesterday’s molds. The cheese needed to be rotated daily to drain the whey, the process that has been followed for thousands of years in the Rhone-Alpes. Saint Felicien is one of the softest ty...

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“Three Easy Steps to Devil Summoning” by Brenna Herzog

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #215

It was a particularly dreadful night. Lightning split the sky in two, causing young Ruthie Thomas to jump. She stared out at the night sky for a moment before turning back to the task at hand. Squinting, she pushed her glasses up her nose as she surveyed the mess on her bedroom floor. She'd have to remember to pick it all up before morning, or else she'd be fried faster than an egg. Raising a smoking stick high in the air, Ruthie waved it about. Trails of smoke filled the room, and while it didn't smell of incense as the directions had inst...

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“Velvet Ash” by Greydon Blight

Submitted to Contest #215

After a long day of driving, Brea and Ridley had at last made it free of the city. A winding road now guided them west, and with each turn they found themselves swathed in a fleeting moment of orange silk. The lazy sun had drawn the horizon’s blanket up to its chin like a drowsy giant. Ridley’s main focus was the road—an anxious driver who feared the sentinel oaks that flanked him on both sides. Tall and imposing, they cast a verdant dark canopy that turned the blue day overcast with leaf-green clouds. Beside him a sweet voice bro...

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“Cool” by Murray Burns

Submitted to Contest #215

CoolHigh school. The land of the haves and the have-nots. The cool kids and the outcasts who gather at the nerd table in the lunchroom. The quarterback and the 3rd trombone in the school band. The Petrie dish for the natural evolution of separations within a species long before sociologists wrote about tribes and caste systems. Calvin knew where he was, and he knew he didn’t belong there.He fit in, but he hated where he fit in. His “friends” were companions. He concealed his disdain for them but never felt comfortable in their midst. It is a...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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 ...

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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 ...

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“The Blood of the Forgotten” by Jasper Woods

Submitted to Contest #215

He was forced onto his knees, face pressed deeply into the dirt making it hard to breathe. Rocks and gravel cut into his skin as they pushed. He screamed out, his skull feeling like it was about to burst. They lifted their boot off his head and with a scoff kicked him in his side sending his full body into the earth. The boy, no more than fourteen years old, face bloody and bruised, spied his assailants. They were three in total, all donned head to toe in heavy cloaks and masks. Trying to force in some breaths of air despite the pain, the sm...

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“The Devil and I” by Kang Lee

Submitted to Contest #215

Torrential rain screamed down upon the beach. Lightning flashed, briefly illuminating the black clouds before flickering off again. Sharp blows of wind blasted by, swirling into massive sandstorms above the inky-black water. Crows flew around, which I could barely make out from the dark sky. “Are you sure this is the right place?” the frenzied taxi driver asked, trying his best to maneuver the car on the disintegrating mud track. Just half an hour ago, a strong gust of wind had blasted the taxi into a ditch, and it had taken twenty min...

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“Devil Came Down to Georgia” by Emma Hedrick

Submitted to Contest #215

She’s got a good head on her shoulders. That's what Gran said. Daddy and Uncle Hector said it too. She’s got a good head on her shoulders. So even though the brimstone in the air is making her eyes water, even though the scalding ground is making the rubber soles of her shoes soft, and he’s looking at her with fire in his eyes, she's come too far to back out now. This deal is too important to lose her head now. “It’s the standard contract,” the devil says. The pinstripes on his suit aren’t black like she’d first thought. They’re red ...

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“Garita Del Diablo ” by Jonathan Page

Submitted to Contest #215

Methoughts I saw a thousand fearful wrecks;Ten thousand men that fishes gnaw’d upon;Wedges of gold, great anchors, heaps of pearl,Inestimable stones, unvalu’d jewels,All scatter’d in the bottom of the sea.Some lay in dead men’s skulls, and in the holesWhere eyes did once inhibit, there were crept –As ‘twere in scorn of eyes – reflecting gems,That woo’d the slimy bottom of the deep,And mock’d the dead bones that lay scatter’d by. Richard III, Act 1 Scene 4On San Clement’s Day, my lagoon front building project encounters an unexpected and...

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

Submissions are closed

✍️ 112 stories

“Under a Dying Sun” by Aeris Walker

“Behind Closed Doors” by Kevin Logue

“Curdled” by Scott Christenson

“Three Easy Steps to Devil Summoning” by Brenna Herzog

“Velvet Ash” by Greydon Blight

“Cool” by Murray Burns

“Hanging on God’s Pinkie” by Marina Pacheco

“Backstage Door.” by Ken Cartisano

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

“Dark Penance” by Cade Holter

“Clarksdale Curse” by Steffen Lettau

“The Blood of the Forgotten” by Jasper Woods

“The Devil and I” by Kang Lee

“Devil Came Down to Georgia” by Emma Hedrick

“Garita Del Diablo ” by Jonathan Page

🌟 Similar prompts

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

Set your story in a haunted house.

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

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

Contest #215

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

387

Contest entries

135

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: