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

Posted in Dramatic on Nov 1, 2024

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✍️ 70 stories

“Mountain Cat Meets the Ship Destiny's Dreams ” by Kristi Gott

Submitted to Contest #275

In the 1800s off the northwest coast of South America a dark, cat-like shadow padded up the steps from below deck on a sailing schooner.The head of the animal tilted and the eyes glowed in the dark. It watched a man on the wooden deck of the boat, who was looking upward at the star constellations. The animal peered at the two legged creature and sniffed the air. She was young, and she was new to experiencing the world on her own after living with her mother.Curiosity and intelligence showed in her expressions. She slinked along with eye...

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“THE GRUMPY HITCHHIKER” by Darvico Ulmeli

Submitted to Contest #275

I hate cats. There, I said it. They're furry, lazy, and think they're too good for the rest of us. And you know what? They get away with it because people think they're cute. I, however, am not so easily fooled. Cats are little emperors, rulers with invisible crowns who seem to think the world revolves around them. I can't stand them. So why, you ask, was I following one? Why did I skitter behind this black ball of arrogance, kicking up dust and muttering under my breath? Well, better late than never, right? Let me tell you how I ended up...

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“Neptune the Psychopomp” by John Rutherford

Submitted to Contest #275

Was it a coincidence it happened on All Souls’ Night? No. The old lady always had perfect timing, panache and style. Maybe the scene was a prophecy from the famous Yeats poem of the same name, or conversely; was the scene an inspiration for his beautiful poem. Life has a habit of deceiving order, like the debate over the sequencing of the chicken or the egg. Neptune’s role was the spirit handler leading the old lady’s spirit to the next realm. While others would be putting the old lady’s body to her final resting place, the candle lit a...

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“The Infinite Library of Lost Souls” by Jim LaFleur

Submitted to Contest #275

The chill of rigor mortis crept through my limbs as I followed the black cat's darting figure, its eyes glinting like yellow lanterns in the dim light. My fingers, once accustomed to the fluid dance over typewriter keys, were now awkward, wooden appendages. I glanced back, expecting nothing but the manuscript's ghostly outline on my desk, and felt an unwelcome sense of dread coil around my thoughts. The chair lay toppled, testament to my end. Moments, hours, perhaps days later, the cat had appeared, capricious and indifferent, a shadow made ...

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“Sanctuary” by W. H. Goodwater

Submitted to Contest #275

Penelope Now surrounded by strangers and completely alone, she muttered to herself, "Once again, I find that the darkness clings to me. I spent so long reaching for the light, but now it's gone out. I feel a chill deep in my bones no fire could banish." Penelope needed help. Xanthos, her eldest son, had gone to his new room to rest up for his next shift, a thought that made her shudder. Kicked out of the inn for giving birth too loudly, she was left wandering the streets. As she ambled, her mind became lost in questions. Will I have to...

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“F#ck Off, Cat!” by Thomas Wetzel

Submitted to Contest #275

I was a dog person, not a cat person.I had always been a dog guy my whole life, so I was a little disjointed when the feral black cat sauntered out of the alley by my apartment building that morning and just glanced at me with a saucy look on her face and then began leading me towards the entrance to the downtown 6 train. I knew where I was going. I grew up here, for fuck sake. What am I, some God damned tourist? I don’t need your help. Fuck off, Cat! You’re lucky if I don’t kick you out into traffic. I know how to get to the fuckin’ subway....

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“This Hallowed Night” by Myranda Marie

Submitted to Contest #275

She made not a sound; still I immediately became acutely aware of her presence. The moonlight reflected in the chartreuse of her eyes, cast an illumination worthy of the candle lit Jack O’Lanterns adorning the front porch steps. All Hallows Eve; the veil continues to thin, having me believe she sauntered straight through without incident to be by my side. She tilts her head and sharply swishes her tail signaling for my undivided attention as she beckons me to the window, still silent, but with obvious intention. My instinct is to hold h...

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“Shadow Leads” by James Scott

Submitted to Contest #275

He led, I followed. It had ever been the way of things. The tiny slip of a feline slinked across the leaf-littered dirt. He wound his way beneath the tree cover, tracing a line along the hidden forest path without looking back. So confident was he that I would always trail behind. Golden leaves crunched under my feet, rocks shifted and wet mud slid, my clumsy advance spoiling his silent grace. The jet black, sleekness of his form moved with less impact than the light breeze that pressed itself to my skin. A musky smell of earthly life hung i...

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“Sabastian” by Evangelist Wright

Submitted to Contest #275

I remember the day that changed my life forever. It was the day my cat led me to the truth. One I never expected to find in a million years. Sabastian was a black cat with green eyes and a no-nonsense attitude. He was what folks called an ally cat and most of them believed -BLACK CATS- were bad luck. But not me after all Sabastian was my furry baby boy. My husband found him in a discarded box near our trash can when he was 6-week-old. Sabastian was a helpless little thing that could barely open his eyes. He was so small that he fit in the pa...

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“The Reckoning” by Kate Simkins

Submitted to Contest #275

As I followed down the street, the road wet beneath my feet,I crossed my heart and on the street I spat,For to follow behind a cat, A black one, at that,Was crazy, but then she looked at me and sat. I met her eyes and they were green, the strangest I’d ever seen,She looked at me, right into my soul,And I knew that I must follow, That my pride, I must swallow,And face my past if I was to be whole. She lead to the garden of graves, and I knew that I must be brave,And face the demons that I held within,And so as she began to pur...

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“Snowfall” by Tempest Phoenix Smith

Submitted to Contest #275

Though my sensors continually monitored the environment around us, that was an automatic process, so, treading onward, I focused most of my attention on following the big black cat and his smaller tawny brown sister as they dashed around like kittens in the snow, their paws sinking into the cold white stuff. Snowflakes adorned the long whiskers of the black cat. He paused and shook himself to dislodge some snow from his dark flank then ran after his playfellow, lumbering where she danced.I consistently monitored their energy expenditure...

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“Listening to nothing.” by Jen Boyle

Submitted to Contest #275

** This story contains references to road traffic accident***She sits uncomfortably perched on the wall at the top of the long garden of the Victorian semi. Beside her is the cat basket, and a tin of tuna fish, a spoon, a small cat dish and her book.Mostly, she just sits quietly, scanning the roof tops and bushes nearby for the little black cat. Periodically she tries to read a page of her book, unable to follow the story and rereading passages without understanding,but trying anyway.Sometimes she spoons a little tuna onto the dish, and gen...

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“Following a Black Cat” by John Steckley

Submitted to Contest #275

Here I am sitting in what once was my grandfather’s chair in the backyard, drinking coffee, eating a doughnut, but being totally alone, not even a single squirrel in sight. It’s been a long time now that I have been alone. No wife – she died in a car crash five years ago. No son – he moved to Australia ten years ago, and won’t answer my calls. No brother, he is in ‘the home’ for the aged, and never speaks when I visit him. No pets in my life either, our last dog was in the car with my wife in the car crash.&nbs...

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“Blackwood's Tomcat” by Bryce Kirkham

Submitted to Contest #275

I'm sure all of you are familiar with that old superstition of black cats crossing your path being bad luck. For the majority of my lifetime, I would've dismissed that as complete and utter nonsense. An old wive's tale or something passed down from generations just to keep mundane people scared of mundane things. I ended up changing my mind on a still and lonely night while walking down a winding street bordered by a skeletal woodland in late October. Going for walks late at night had become a must for me at this point and about the only tim...

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“Fire Hill Farm and the Farmerette” by Jacqueline Monty

Submitted to Contest #275

The witching hour is every minute for that worrisome rabbit. Upon dusk he worries about the carrots being stolen out of their beds , even if he is the primary culprit. The eggs from Miss Lily’s henhouse tend to disappear when Crow stops over with the pair of raccoons as they sit idle until after sunset. The farm dogs are consistently in heat nightly at all the wrong times of the hour and seasons. They are so stupid.Crow laughs. He is only seeking the friendship of his friend Warren, a brownish grey fluff of cuteness wolf pup. He really doesn...

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

Submissions are closed

✍️ 70 stories

“Mountain Cat Meets the Ship Destiny's Dreams ” by Kristi Gott

“THE GRUMPY HITCHHIKER” by Darvico Ulmeli

“Neptune the Psychopomp” by John Rutherford

“The Infinite Library of Lost Souls” by Jim LaFleur

“Sanctuary” by W. H. Goodwater

“F#ck Off, Cat!” by Thomas Wetzel

“This Hallowed Night” by Myranda Marie

“Shadow Leads” by James Scott

“Sabastian” by Evangelist Wright

“The Reckoning” by Kate Simkins

“Snowfall” by Tempest Phoenix Smith

“Listening to nothing.” by Jen Boyle

“Following a Black Cat” by John Steckley

“Blackwood's Tomcat” by Bryce Kirkham

“Fire Hill Farm and the Farmerette” by Jacqueline Monty

🌟 Similar prompts

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

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

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

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

Contest #275

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

391

Contest entries

171

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: