Start your story with a blast of lightning casting a graveyard in a flash of brief, white light.

Posted in Dramatic on Oct 21, 2022

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✍️ 36 stories

“The Wisdom of Jacob Malone” by Eileen Burke

Submitted to Contest #169

Thunder rolled in the distance, and I found its long, low purr an odd comfort on this cold, lonely night. A white flash of lightning soon followed, illuminating my path, and I was glad for a respite from the darkness. Permitted only a dim lantern, I reconciled a sleepless evening before me with no blankets or umbrella. Another flash lit up this stretch of Maple Grove Cemetery and, for a moment, revealed my destination, the Sweeney Mausoleum. Dared to withstand the night amongst tombs and headstones was not a desirable task, certainly, es...

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“A Wish Come True” by Tyler Hurst

Submitted to Contest #169

Braxton stared longingly out his bedside window at the Bracewell Cemetery. It was raining and Braxton loved the rain. His mother had told him earlier in the day before she left to stay inside tonight because a potential flood was heading their way, and the young boy filled with excitement. There was something about the pitter patter on the windows and the trees swaying in the wind that brought him a calmness that he felt all too rarely. Braxton had found himself looking out at the cemetery more and more lately. It ran adjacent to the backsid...

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“Redemption” by Samantha James

Submitted to Contest #169

A brilliant white flash cut across the dark sky, briefly lighting up the graveyard. The gravestones stood resolute against the downpour; some having weathered the storms for centuries. Sheets of rain pelted down, suffocating the grass as it drowned in a river of water. A rhythm of sopping thuds echoed through the cemetery in between the cracks of thunder. In the corner, a lone, dark figure scooped mud from the pit and tossed it out. The pile of dirt slowly grew beside the hole. Shovel crunching again...

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“The costume.” by Jack Sink

Submitted to Contest #169

Lighting struck the dark sky. The white light ripped through the air crashing down against the graveyard's dirt as a bellowing roar howled across the night. The air rattled as bones shivered in their once-lifeless coffins. A zombie's hand rose out from the dirt, clawing at the earth around it desperate to grab hold of something living to chew and tear in its repulsive maw. "These old movies are all so cliché, I don't know why you like them so much," Holly said, her voice cutting through the tension being emitted by the TV. "I don't know ...

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“A Short-Lived Miracle” by Marie White

Submitted to Contest #169

Lightning struck, momentarily illuminating the graveyard before them, but, just as quickly, darkness swallowed it again. Rain pattered on Annabelle’s raincoat and mingled with the sweat on her palms. In one, she held two shovels; in the other, a flashlight that provided only a narrow strip of amber haze about three yards long. Did she really want to do this? she asked herself. She could not excuse what her brother had done, and she had always thought that, if it came to this, ...

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“Second Chance” by Bella Fox

Submitted to Contest #169

A flash of lightning awoke me from my slumber, so bright that my eyes felt seared even behind my eyelids. A crack of thunder immediately followed it, so loud it hurt my eardrums. I jolted upwards, my neck aching terribly. How I had managed to fall asleep against a gravestone was beyond me, but I did. Rubbing my neck, I turned to the gravestone I had fallen asleep against. “Sorry, grandma, I didn’t mean to fall asleep.” The words on the gravestone weren’t visible in the darkness, so I ran my hand across the top of the gravestone rather than ...

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Start your story with a blast of lightning casting a graveyard in a flash of brief, white light.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 36 stories

“The Wisdom of Jacob Malone” by Eileen Burke

“A Wish Come True” by Tyler Hurst

“Redemption” by Samantha James

“The costume.” by Jack Sink

“A Short-Lived Miracle” by Marie White

“Second Chance” by Bella Fox

🌟 Similar prompts

Start your story with a character encountering a black cat.

Write a story where someone sees the shadow of someone standing behind them.

Write about someone finding a monster under their bed.

Write a murder story where the murder weapon is the knife used to carve a pumpkin.

Contest #169

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

253

Contest entries

109

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: