Center your story around someone who’s being haunted — by what or whom is up to you.

Posted in Dramatic on Nov 1, 2024

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✍️ 101 stories

“Inkwell” by Alora Wilson

Submitted to Contest #275

Kala, Samuel, Zia, Ben, and Noah moved into their new home. The place was tidy, with freshly painted walls. “Damn, the original owner really likes things clean,” Kala exclaimed. “Or they’re just trying to impress us,” Samuel muttered back without even glancing her way. “Shut it, Sammy,” Ben interjected. “How many times have I told you not to call me that?!” Samuel snapped back. The two of them started bickering, voices rising as Kala, Zia, and Noah exchanged glances, clearly unimpressed. As they unpacked, Zia pulled out an ink bottle she tho...

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“Who They Are” by Alison Rice

Submitted to Contest #275

Who They AreThe house sits atop a barren hill at the end of a cul de sac called Kepner Court. For trick-or-treaters, it’s the Halloween highlight. Every year, Kepner Court goes all out, the houses in fierce competition with one another for the most lurid, creepy décor. The seductive pull of eerie lights, gore, vampires, and realistic graveyards draws kids into the block until they are squeezed into the cul de sac like unwitting sardines. Their last stop is a creaky metal gate that says No Trespassing. Every year, a neighbor ignores the ...

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“Riders” by Shawna Burge

Submitted to Contest #275

This story has some strong language and a brief talk about death and blood. RIDERSAndy Pearson © 2023 James’ motorcycle whispered up the hill into the lot. The pounding muffler noise of a Harley Davidson didn’t work for him. He knew that for some, the rumbling noise of an engine drowned out other noises. For James, the volume amplified them, and so he rode a BMW. He turned the engine off in front of the walkway leading into the unexpected memorial. He slipped off his helmet and held it on the gas tank, listening to the leaves on the aspen t...

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“From Haunted To Healed” by Jethro Pili

Submitted to Contest #275

Maggie Montgomery had lived in the third-floor apartment for only a few months when she first noticed the shadows. San Francisco nights had their own ghostly feel to them, she thought—wind slipping down narrow alleys, fog blanketing the streets, and lights blinking through mist—but this was something different. Every night, without fail, seven shadow figures appeared in her apartment, filling the corners, hovering by the walls, or lurking just outside her view. At first, she tried to ignore them. She figured the city, or maybe just her mind,...

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“Echo” by Emma Carey

Submitted to Contest #275

Echo by Emma Carey "How do we turn this fucking thing off?" you yell above the blaring beep of the smoke alarm. I'm doubled over at the kitchen bench with laughter escaping my lips, set free after being locked in its depressing cage for too long. How did we even get here? What started as a humble approach to cooking a chorizo casserole turned into a chaotic culinary disaster. Charcoal smoke twists and turns, wafting through the kitchen, pulling me back to reality. "It's burnt", I cry, scraping the bottom of the pot with the spatula, trying ...

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“Ghost Girl ” by Gary Grissom

Submitted to Contest #275

Ghost GirlGary E. Grissom In the past, I had never thought too much about ghosts. Maybe they existed, and maybe they didn’t. But one afternoon while tuning my guitar and preparing to perform some folksongs in O’Hungry’s in Old Town, I noticed a little girl wearing old fashioned clothes standing near the small stage. As I smiled at her, she clapped her hands and said “Oh boy! I love to hear the guitar played.” “Well, in that case,” I said. “I’m going to sing a song called “Riding in My Car” just for you.” She had a puzzled look on her face a...

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“The Next Realm” by Priyanjali Bhattacharyya

Submitted to Contest #275

So many of us have lived a life, unafraid of each other, surrounded by loved ones who would pick each of our complaints and not rest till they have been resolved. So many of us were given, or in fact, handed out pleasures in this life that our ancestors worked so hard to get to begin with. I say this because I want to impress upon the fact that some of us – boy, we were born lucky. My grandma would get up early in the morning and give the pigeons and the sparrows some uncooked rice grains to eat. Only then would she prepare a meal large enou...

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“Lucy” by Elsa Gabriela Gallardo

Submitted to Contest #275

Lucy woke up suddenly in the middle of the night, it had been forever since the last time that happened to her. – I thought those nights were over!!! – She shouted almost like crying. She saw a flash of lightning through her window and 5 seconds later, she heard a huge thunder that scared all the pets in the neighborhood, she heard cats and dogs and who knows what, meowing and barking so loud as if they were in her room. But she was more tired than scared, she was an adult now, with responsibilities, and needed the sleep. So, she stood up, p...

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“Rent Controlled” by Nate Tesar

Submitted to Contest #275

“So how many horrific murders or gruesome deaths have happened here?” I asked casually as I looked around the old but well maintained kitchen with entirely new appliances.The landlord quickly suppressed a nervous expression that I might not have caught if I hadn't spent so much of my life relying on my ability to know exactly what everyone around me was feeling to survive.“N..none,” he answered before adding, “Well, okay, there was one, but it was a century and a half ago and the locks have been replaced twice since then. Much more sec...

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“The Ghosts of John Lennon and Paul McCartney still haunt Ringo Starr” by Empress Jester King

Submitted to Contest #275

1The ghost of John Lennon can no longer sing. He perches half in, half out of the wardrobe and wails all night about being dead or trapped in Ringo's apartment.Ringo wears earplugs, but this has no real effect.2Paul McCartney, also a ghost, lives in Ringo’s bath with remnants of the water which drowned him. ‘I’m like a yellow submarine now,’ he says, whenever Ringo gets into the shower.‘Can’t get out of the tub even if I tried,’ he says, whenever Ringo gets out of the shower.Sometimes Ringo plays the old records and Paul croons alo...

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“Echoes of the Past” by Sian Utton

Submitted to Contest #275

Shareena woke with a start. She took a moment to lie there, calming her racing heart. Sucking in a deep breath, she held it for one, two, three, then out. Once more - two, three - and out. And again. Her eyes adjusted to the darkness as she took stock of her surroundings, flicking over the dark shape of the woman on a bedroll beside her. The city was a beautiful place, easily in the top five ruined cities she had explored. Large houses and open halls, wide platforms and tunnels, had all been carefully carved out of the rock wall it...

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“Figure in the Field” by Fernando Sosa

Submitted to Contest #275

She called to me through my window. It seemed nice outside, peaceful. The rain came down softly and quietly, her voice cut easily through the sounds of droplets on puddles. I met her gaze and she called to me again. Though I didn't see her mouth move, I heard her voice. On nights like these, I sometimes wonder if she will show up. The first time I heard her call was some time ago, and I ignored it. I allowed the static in my head and the beating of my heart to drown her out, and slithered into bed to enjoy another sleepless night. On h...

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“Tis the Last Rose of Summer” by Peter Sides

Submitted to Contest #275

Theme – A Story of someone being haunted TIS THE LAST ROSE OF SUMMERThe sun was setting as Sally tripped across the bridge and up the hill to Brown’s Barn, swinging her basket, in joyous steps. To stop at the rise and listen, for in the quiet of the evenings when the wind was in her face she could hear the guns in France but tonight she heard just the birds, for at last the war to end all wars had ended and her heart was full to burst with happiness. Her inner joy was for the returning boys. She craved youthful...

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“Damned Rose of Mine” by Sara Rudel

Submitted to Contest #275

It left a rose today. A scarlet tone of bloody red dried and withering. Not dead, yet not quite alive either. It has been weeks, almost months since this soul-stirring presence of another being in my home has made itself known. I lift the rose into my hands, the thorns cut and gone as per usual. The petals feel worn out between my fingers, an eerie texture in and of itself, yet I relish the feeling it brings me. My mother's skin was the same; soft and delicate yet indicating signs of old age, a testimony of the death that would soon befall h...

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“Restless” by Brian Webb

Submitted to Contest #275

Emily Gray realized she had been staring at the wall calendar for way too long. She turned away and closed her eyes. November 8 – eyes open or closed, asleep, awake, alive or dead, it didn’t matter. She couldn’t have been more perpetually aware of the date if it were tattooed on her brain. Swiping at a tear, she picked up her phone and dialed her ex-husband, Carl. “Hey Em. How are you doing this morning?” “Okay, I guess. It’s been –“ “Two years today,” they said at the same ti...

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Center your story around someone who’s being haunted — by what or whom is up to you.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 101 stories

“Inkwell” by Alora Wilson

“Who They Are” by Alison Rice

“Riders” by Shawna Burge

“From Haunted To Healed” by Jethro Pili

“Echo” by Emma Carey

“Ghost Girl ” by Gary Grissom

“The Next Realm” by Priyanjali Bhattacharyya

“Lucy” by Elsa Gabriela Gallardo

“Rent Controlled” by Nate Tesar

“The Ghosts of John Lennon and Paul McCartney still haunt Ringo Starr” by Empress Jester King

“Echoes of the Past” by Sian Utton

“Figure in the Field” by Fernando Sosa

“Tis the Last Rose of Summer” by Peter Sides

“Damned Rose of Mine” by Sara Rudel

“Restless” by Brian Webb

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a story from the point of view of a witch, spirit, or corpse.

Start your story with a character being led somewhere by a black cat.

Write a story about someone who’s running out of time.

Write a story that includes the line “Better late than never.”

Contest #275

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

388

Contest entries

170

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: