Start or end your story with someone receiving a strange — and possibly sinister — gift.

Posted in Dramatic on Dec 13, 2024

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✍️ 54 stories

“The Fright Before Christmas” by Elizabeth Hoban

Submitted to Contest #281

The Fright Before Christmas ‘Twas the night before Christmas, and all through her housenot a present was wrapped, who cared about the mousePanicking all alone, she had no chance of escapeThe stores were all closed, and she’d run out of tape. Stockings needed hanging; the tree needed trimBut without decent toys to wrap, Christmas seemed grimA widowed mom with two children was certainly tragicBut somehow, someway, she needed to create Christmas magic. With such little to go around, she made each item countEverything her boys got...

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“Christmas Visitors” by Barry Brown

Submitted to Contest #281

Clomp, clomp, clomping boots on boards got louder, then stopped. They scraped and clomped in time with each other, and then out, and then back in again suggesting multiple stompers. Inside, the groggy sleeper expected the next sound to be three dull thuds on the dense door to his low sod building. He expected some nonsense that could wait until morning. He had already been rousted once this frigid night by a visitor seeking stalls, hay, and a warmish loft in the simple stables behind the soddy. His eyes jerked open when the expect...

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“The House That Watched Back” by K. Klein

Submitted to Contest #281

Content Warning: This story contains depictions of fire, family conflict, and themes of voodoo/black magic. It also touches on themes of grief and loss and features a character implied to have mental health struggles. Reader discretion is advised. The doorbell wouldn't shut up, its ring cutting through Mariah Carey's voice blasting from our ancient stereo – the one with the broken volume button that only plays at full blast or dead silence. I felt it before I even touched the brass doorknob, its cold surface sending goosebumps up my arm – yo...

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“Christmas Craving” by Beetle Bopjun

Submitted to Contest #281

TW: Physical violence, gore, drugs, self-harm, adult themes, sexual situationsDetective Harding arrived at Sam Bristletons house three weeks after Christmas. He got a call from Sam’s ex-wife, Dawn, that she hasn’t seen Sam in weeks and that she isn’t answering her phone calls, and Dawn is a mess.Being Dawn’s friend for years, Harding agreed to check in on Sam for her. He knew tye problems they had, Sam's drinking, so checking on her felt like the least he could do for them.Harding had to bash the door in with his foot. When he stepped inside...

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“Earl's Christmas” by Marc Rothstein

Submitted to Contest #281

Slouched in my ragged, uneasy chair, I gazed out the picture window at the falling snow, wondering how I'd become such a miserable prick. The stroke was just my latest excuse. I was no charmer before that. I was lucky to get away with a numb left side and a slur that sounds like the Novocain hasn't worn off. That ended my construction career, so I felt less than useless long before this virus lockdown.The TV blasted my favorite news channel, pissing me off at the many ways this country was now less American. And this Covid-19 crap... it's ju...

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“The Journal” by Clara Zhou

Submitted to Contest #281

“A journal?” I said. “I thought you said I had too many notebooks already.” My roommate, Kat, shrugged. “You do. But I thought you’d like it, so I picked it up," Kat said. She handed the journal over to me. It was leather bound, slightly stained, and worn, like it had gone through a lot of use. What an odd thing to find at a thrift store. Curious as to how much use the journal had actually gone through, I flipped through it. The pages were completely filled with fancy handwriting, so it wouldn't be much use as an actual jou...

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“Sleep Well, Baby Boy” by S.E. Tomlin

Submitted to Contest #281

[Contains strong language] Jamie Gray didn’t like surprises, and the mysterious box had come as a surprise, arriving in front of his car after work one night, one week before Christmas. It was marked with nothing but his name and address, and there was no return address in the top left corner. He’d opened it and found two things. The first was a teddy bear, its left arm torn completely off and its head half-decapitated, exposing clouds of coarse fluff that jutted out like stringy wires; on its midsection were splatters of some dark substance...

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“Dance of Death” by Andrea Jamilette

Submitted to Contest #281

A gust of wind rushes into the room, and I sit up, shivering. The velvet curtains twine themselves, dancing among each other as the wind howls. The old wooden windows creak, a reminder of how this hacienda holds on to its last breath. The old, lumpy mattress groans as I move, and my feet curl at the coldness of the floor. The moonlight bathes the room in a blue glow as I search for my slippers, but they are nowhere to be found. Barefoot, I tiptoe across the room to the window, holding the curtains in my hands. I reach for the doors; a sharp...

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“The Wanderers” by Africa Rodriguez

Submitted to Contest #281

The boy was squatting next to the creek, he had his hand in the water and was moving the water slowly. His mother called him, she screamed his name, but he seemed to be hypnotized by the water. She was running as fast as she could but the distance seemed to get bigger with every step. When she finally was in front of him, across the creek; she screamed his name again, he moved his ears as an animal would, one to one side, the other in the other direction.He slowly looked up, his eyes were two hollow circles, unnaturally round and with no ey...

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“I'll Be Home For Christmas” by Matthew Foster

Submitted to Contest #281

Christmas with the family. John was not mentally prepared for the litany of questions and disagreements that always accompanied a family gathering. He blew out a cloud of smoke and checked himself in the car mirror. His blue eyes were bloodshot, his black hair more than a little oily. Oh well, who was he trying to impress? John opened the door, smoke spilling out of it. He took some eye drops and squirted them into his eyes and then sprayed some cheap cologne to hide the smell. Inside, the house smelled of cooking food and Chr...

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“The Sun Warrior Reborn” by Gregg Punger

Submitted to Contest #281

“He came! He came!” yelled Alice.Steve smiled as he walked into their living room that was awash in Christmas and saw Alice already pulling the first present out of her stocking.Steve said, “Wait for the rest of us sweet girl.”Alice rolled her bright blue eyes and said, “Come on guys! You got presents too.”“We’re coming,” said Annika as she shuffled, sleepily into the living room. “You know we’re not as fast as you.”After Annika settled next to Steve on the couch their large frames making it look more like a love seat, Alice said, “Where’s G...

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“The Vial Wished For” by E.M. O'Hair

Submitted to Contest #281

“It’s exactly what you wished for.” He hands me the gift. Wrapped in red and white striped paper, finished with green satin bow. My heart skips a beat at his words. Exactly what I wished for? How did he manage that? I will my hands to steady as I pull the cool, smooth strands of green, untying the bow. The paper falls away to reveal a wooden box ordained with intricate geometric carvings. I pause, taking in the craftsmanship. Other worldly. “Go on, open the box,” Trew says. He smiles, but his eyes glisten with sadness. I unlatch the ti...

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“Am I crazy?” by L Humpherys

Submitted to Contest #281

“I have a gift for you!”“A gift??” I answered as I turned around to look at her, already suspicious!“Yes. A gift!” She smirked excitedly. She could barely keep her words from overflowing out as she handed over a paper with a written down phone number. “…Before you say no, He’s really nice! …and cute!! Just try it out. Don’t shoot me down!” Katie was a good friend, but a wild one. She is married now, but oh boy had her stories before marriage scared me half to death. She had been pushing me to talk to this “friend” of hers. ...

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“The Lancet Pen” by Cyan Villanueva

Submitted to Contest #281

It’s December, and I am stuck in a constant state of irritation and perpetual wincing at the mere mention of jolly ol’ Nick, the happy festivities and the hope of a snow filled Christmas. And who can forget about the biting cold?But there is nothing happy, at least not for me, I am not a holiday person. Don’t call me Scrooge or the Grinch, they at least got some heart to them at the end of those stories.This is not such a story. I work a monotonous job, hour after hour spent hunched over a desk, day after day. And at the end of tho...

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“Terms and Conditions” by Sam Everard

Submitted to Contest #281

“You can’t give it to anyone. I can’t stress that enough. There will be consequences.” That had been the last thing that the man had said to George before getting in his car, scraping his shoes on the pavement edge to avoid tracking any snow in. He had been driving an unassuming beat-up old Honda, but the shoes had been immaculate, sparkling – expensive. George didn’t know much about footwear, but they looked like the kind that cost more than he’d make in a month. Shivering there in his booth, he hoped the man would be back soon. ...

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Start or end your story with someone receiving a strange — and possibly sinister — gift.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 54 stories

“The Fright Before Christmas” by Elizabeth Hoban

“Christmas Visitors” by Barry Brown

“The House That Watched Back” by K. Klein

“Christmas Craving” by Beetle Bopjun

“Earl's Christmas” by Marc Rothstein

“The Journal” by Clara Zhou

“Sleep Well, Baby Boy” by S.E. Tomlin

“Dance of Death” by Andrea Jamilette

“The Wanderers” by Africa Rodriguez

“I'll Be Home For Christmas” by Matthew Foster

“The Sun Warrior Reborn” by Gregg Punger

“The Vial Wished For” by E.M. O'Hair

“Am I crazy?” by L Humpherys

“The Lancet Pen” by Cyan Villanueva

“Terms and Conditions” by Sam Everard

🌟 Similar prompts

Write about a mysterious guest who arrives at a party — but no one knows who they are.

Write a story from the POV of a non-human character.

Set your story during the coldest day of the year.

Write a story that includes the line “Be careful what you wish for.”

Contest #281

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

309

Contest entries

154

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: