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

Posted in Dark on Sep 8, 2023

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✍️ 100 stories

“Dear Molly” by Moni Jasnow

Submitted to Contest #215

It was riveting. Like nothing I've ever experienced before. Your words echoed in my brain. Do you know how beautiful you are? I looked up to see you staring at me with lustful eyes. Hypnotized, I shook my head no. You then leaned in and whispered let me show you. I swallowed thickly, quietly answering yes. We danced for hours amongst the crowded room of blurry faces, my heart beating through my chest, feeling pure ecstasy as adrenaline coursed through my veins. Tell me again I mumbled, wishing this feeling would last forever. You came...

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“The most beautiful monster in the world” by Lynel Black

Submitted to Contest #215

The Pacific coast of Mexican is stunning beyond belief. A carpet of tropical jungle covers the mountainous terrain. A verde rug of fertility, meeting the jagged azure waters of the Pacific. The entire landscape hummed with life. Ants and spiders, jaguars and toucans, and of course the people with their vibrant and energetic Mariachi music leaking like Tequila from every hovel and hotel. Fred had crossed from Cabo San Lucas, where he left the dry arid desert of Baja, and dove into the steam bath of Tropical mainland Mexico. The change thr...

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“Quiet Finality” by Raquel Belury Rosenberg

Submitted to Contest #215

Finality. The search for solitude and quiet drives me to the bridge. The water looks choppy and angry. At me? Do I disappoint even the water? Of course, I do. I’m a constant disappointment. I hesitate now. Should I dive in? Fall feet first? What will lead to the least painful death? Perhaps I should have just taken pills, but I didn’t want my husband to have to find me. Or worse, one of the kids. Head first, I decide, my neck will hopefully snap and it will be over soon. I’ve just decided when I hear a scuffle of ...

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“The Cookie Monster” by Jessie B Taylor

Submitted to Contest #215

The Cookie Monster By: Jessica B Taylor “Beware that, when fighting monsters, you yourself do not become a monster…for when you gaze long into the abyss. The abyss gazes also into you.” ~ Friedrich W. Nietzsche …Ring… I listened to the third ring as I took in a quick breath, waiting and ready to unleash the tirade I had rehearsed in my mind. “h…hu…Hello.” Jody, my friend of eight years answered the call, and sounded a bit shaken. Why? Was something going on I hadn’...

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“THE CHASE” by Glenna Agnew

Submitted to Contest #215

THE CHASE Nolen stood in the doorway of the drycleaning shop. The light above the door had burnt out months earlier and had never been replaced. The darkness didn’t bother Nolen, he thrived in the gloom, did his best work in an inky atmosphere, and had always felt that the darkness mimicked the colour of his soul. He checked his watch, 1:45 pm. It was Last Call but the exodus from Grimball’s Bar had already started. Several customers had already begun staggering out the door and waving down the taxis that lined up waiting like duck...

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“The Tunnel” by Kay Valentine

Submitted to Contest #215

Her scuffed-up skater shoes tapped delicately through the streets of her neighborhood. Tulips and orchids, pink and orange lined the yards of the quaint houses. She walked from Maple Street to Smith Avenue, then crossed the main road to reach the lake at the center of her community. She liked to stop and take a breath, feel the wind on her skin, and hear the sounds of the birds calling and the water washing over the rocks. She’d pick one up, make a wish and throw it as far as she could, which was not very far. She thought, when she’d return ...

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“An Eye For An Eye” by Lok Tin Wong

Submitted to Contest #215

“Boss, come quick,” an urgent voice said through the car’s speakers. It was Marcel, the nightclub’s head of security.Connor was the owner of Omega, a legitimate nightclub situated in Epsilon Island. He deliberately chose a discrete location because of the frequent gang activities in the city. Criminals would do anything to disrupt his business and steal his exquisite bottles of wine. Epsilon Island, a peninsula connected to the very south of the metropolis, was isolated and humble in its own way. Supplied with high-quality alcohol, trendy mu...

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“The Blitz” by Len Rely

Submitted to Contest #215

Let me tell you what it means to be fashionable. Everybody who is anybody is doing something fun and exciting at this precise second, and whatever you are doing is not nearly as hip, provocative or sexy. They're out there living the high life, getting greased, lighting up, making with each other. People who know what to say at exactly the right moment, not any pearls of wisdom, just whatever flips the previous statement on its ear to keep the enjoyment moving. It might be a joke about t...

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“The Right to Bear” by Danyelle Mustafa

Submitted to Contest #215

“… it’s a horrible, horrible situation. And we’re not going to fix it.” Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) “Babe, are you sure we can afford Kaynes Steakhouse and the Catbird Seat? We can cheap out on dinner one night if we need to.” Lorelai, 7 months pregnant, sweeps into the living room working a calculator, holding a notebook, walking, and talking all at once. “I’m looking forward to this trip but I’m not looking forward to it breaking us right before we have this baby.” “Honey,” Dean stands from the sofa to greet his wife's belly wit...

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“Justifying Death ” by Amy Dear

Submitted to Contest #215

My fingers instinctively tighten into fists as I watch a middle aged man berating the teenage barista behind the counter. He's wearing a starched three piece suit and his arrogance is far more smothering than the liberally applied aftershave that's permeating the air of the tiny café. The barista cowers with every jab of his index finger, her eyes brimming with tears from his raised voice and needless belittlement. Once he has a complimentary coffee in his hand from the apologetic manager, he's exiting the building with a smug grin. I glance...

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“The Hunger” by Douglas Chaffee

Submitted to Contest #215

“Oh no! it is happening again!” Aaron thought as he bolted awake from his restless slumber. As the somewhat cool, humid air blew through the open window hitting his sweat drenched skin, Aaron shivered. It wasn’t because of the drop of the night’s temperature or a nightmare he was having; it was because he realized that his attempts to control his hunger were failing him fast and he was scared. He had first started to feel the hunger shortly after his inhe...

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“Becoming Imuego” by Nikki Lynn Patterson

Submitted to Contest #215

Look at them sitting there, struggling with their tests and their mundane worries about what to wear to this year’s Halloween Ball. None of them truly aware of what an actual struggle is even if it crawled up and bit them in the behind. For so long I tried to hide it, hide myself. “Play nice and just pretend to be a human.” I was told, but every year its only gotten worse and worse and I’m starting to wonder how much more of this can I take? This year’s ball theme is ‘The Beauty in Monsters and Ghouls.” What a joke, there is no beauty in bei...

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“The Jumbee Queen” by Margie Wood

Submitted to Contest #215

The Jumbee Queen The bayou steams and drips. Twisted vines and sucking mud line the banks of a muddy creek. Clancy, 10, fishes in the fetid stream. He watches his line, pulled downstream by the current, unaware of a form, sleek and slithery, sliding through the water straight towards him. Suddenly an arm reaches out of the darkness beneath the bridge and jerks him out of the stream. He starts to yelp but a creaky old voice hushes him. “Cottonmouth, boy.” He sees the hea...

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“No More Sleepless Nights” by Arpad Nagy

Submitted to Contest #215

He was an enormous beast, and as the thin fingers of her dainty hand disappeared into his silver-tipped black hair, Kali shook his shoulders and then dropped to the floor. "There-there, darling," said Circe, his Mistress, "Why you're not a nasty creature at all, and don't you listen to those wretched ravens caw. You're beautiful and divine. Those rotten birds are jealous of you." Circe went on lovingly stroking her companion's thick, shimmering hair. Her fingertips curled and turned slow circles between Kali's ears. "They know I love you a...

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“Daemon” by Kyle Meeder

Submitted to Contest #215

06/24/2020 - 6:30 AM Look at you, trying to live without me. You believe that you are better now, capable now. Don’t try to hide the truth. You kept me here in my small prison locked away when all you had to do was toss me out. I watch you as you prepare for another big day. Look at you trying to be healthy, the room is filled with the smell of spinach, a dash of cheese, spices and eggs. You know just as well as I, what would go good with that. You failed to reach your goals yesterday, but hey, you tried right, you attempted and now you ha...

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

Submissions are closed

✍️ 100 stories

“Dear Molly” by Moni Jasnow

“The most beautiful monster in the world” by Lynel Black

“Quiet Finality” by Raquel Belury Rosenberg

“The Cookie Monster” by Jessie B Taylor

“THE CHASE” by Glenna Agnew

“The Tunnel” by Kay Valentine

“An Eye For An Eye” by Lok Tin Wong

“The Blitz” by Len Rely

“The Right to Bear” by Danyelle Mustafa

“Justifying Death ” by Amy Dear

“The Hunger” by Douglas Chaffee

“Becoming Imuego” by Nikki Lynn Patterson

“The Jumbee Queen” by Margie Wood

“No More Sleepless Nights” by Arpad Nagy

“Daemon” by Kyle Meeder

🌟 Similar prompts

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…

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

Contest #215

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

388

Contest entries

135

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: