Start your story with a home alarm system going off.

Posted in Dramatic on Jan 20, 2023

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✍️ 49 stories

“Instances of Pleasure” by Jonathan Carrillo

Submitted to Contest #182

There’s a loud ringing in my ears and I know that it’s the alarm but I don’t want to get out of bed yet, so I let it ring, ring, ring until its chirp is so loud that I can feel droplets of blood slipping down my earlobe. My eyes open slowly to a blank, grey room covered in unframed Basquiat and Lichtenstein paintings and motivational statements that I don’t identify with. A minute passes before I remember that it’s my bedroom. The sheets smell vaguely of piss and the door to the hall is cracked open and there’s a light, flickering down at th...

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“Winter Wonderland” by Foster Powell

Submitted to Contest #182

The night sky twinkled with the litter of a thousand stars. The stillness of winter had set upon the boxed houses with the silence of a library. Large snowflakes the size of golf balls drifted blissfully into gravity’s inescapable pull, fluttering and flopping in the thick air, until they hit the ground, lost in a blanket of white. The sidewalks were covered in a heaping sheet of fresh powder that crunched with each step. The silence of the outdoors soothed my soul as I walked, head filled with fleeting thoughts of the day’s experience...

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“Haunter of the Mansion” by Amber Prohaska

Submitted to Contest #182

Waaa! Waaa! Waaa! The dreams that we dream time and again bind us into our existing lives, in a weird, often overlooked way. We dream in nightmares and we see nightmares play out around us- shattered plans, large-scale disasters, kidnapped children, death, disaster, mayhem- and then we dream in nightmares. The circle goes round and round. Which causes which is a great mystery. Like skillful spiders, we weave our nightmares with our realities with such intricate details that soon, we can't tell one from the other. The beauty of childhood...

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“House For Sale” by David St.George

Submitted to Contest #182

The alarm system just woke us up . Please God, don’t let that thing follow us here! I never believed in spirits or ghosties or any of that stuff before. In fact, I was practically a card carrying atheist/materialist ever since my college days when I undertook the study of philosophy. Reading the works of the logical empiricists set me on a path of hard headed, scientific rationalism where science and logic defined what does and does not exist in the universe. I was proud of this heritage and would scoff at any Christian who prayed ...

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“Unwoven Threads” by Cajek Veilwinter

Submitted to Contest #182

Danny blinked awake to the red light blinking next to his bed on the table, next to a shot glass and an alarm clock - almost in sync with a lightning flash outside: Someone had tripped his DYI home alarm system. He didn’t own a gun for various reasons, so he quietly reached for the fighting baton he kept under his bed. Creeping out of his small room and into the hallway, he saw yellow light pouring out of his dining room. Either it was someone wanting to be noticed or a trap to distract him. Doing a dodge roll into the kitchenette, he ...

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“"Wendy, the home security alarm"” by Valerie Shand

Submitted to Contest #182

WENDY, THE HOME SECURITY ALARM The home alarm system went off. Again. That's it! She shook her head. She was going to get a dog. The alarm kept up its shrieking! Sheila didn't even bother wheeling around the house and checking the doors and windows this time because it sure to be another a false alarm. She'd come to hate it in the past few days even though it came with the property and promoted as a giant selling point to keep her safe. And it did. But the alarm panels were so much higher than the ADA's now-required 48 inches of...

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“Granny’s eyes” by Johnny Fist

Submitted to Contest #182

Alarm system shouted, like old teacher shouting on young student, who forgot to do his homework again. I opened my eyes and took my body from my bed. I don’t like to awake earlier, then 8 o’clock. I looked at my clock – 3:45. Too early for global incidents, but enough for local crisis. I put my pans on and run out of my room. I just opened the door and I saw my Granny on a wheelchair, who was standing in front of my door. Her eyes were dark, as she was looking deep inside black hole. - Granny, can yo...

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“Undetected ” by Chelsey B

Submitted to Contest #182

Cora and her parents had just moved into a small cabin at the edge of a forest known to some as the Pristine Pines. While her mom and dad were busy unpacking boxes and arranging furniture, Cora decided to explore the woods. She glanced out the window and saw that the sun was shining in a sky that was brilliantly blue. She knew that both the sky and the sun were deceiving, and the crisp air would sting her cheeks as soon as she stepped out. Cora ran to her room and tore through the moving boxes in search of her warm wool base layers. She ...

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“The Beginning of The End” by Ana Cecilia Galvan

Submitted to Contest #182

Working on a creation to save my people, my worst nightmare has come to be as sirens fill the air and blasts are heard from a distance. The Wither, a creature of mass destruction, has found our location and is now on a rampage to destroy everything we’ve built. I freeze in terror for a moment. My best friend, the person I hold the dearest was in the mines gathering materials that are needed to complete the project. He could be dead right now. As the initial shock passes, and adrenaline kicks in, I grab the nearest pickaxe to run into the...

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“The story of Kassidy Green” by Adelia Whistleton

Submitted to Contest #182

The constant beeping pulled me from my sleep, my room was pitch black, the moon hidden from view by the clouds. I reached to check my phone to see the security feed, but after feeling around my bedside table I remembered I left it charging in the kitchen. The earlier events of tonight were foggy, I remember having a few drinks with friends for a movie night we had planned. I must've forgotten to bring my phone upstairs with me after they left. I began to creep to my door, I listened for any sounds of an intruder, but it was deadly silent apa...

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“Karen” by Josh T

Submitted to Contest #182

Karen tried not to move. She had been dreaming of being swept off her feet by a handsome dark-haired man in a tuxedo, when the loud screeching of her home alarm tore him from her. That was the least of her worries now, for there was someone in her room! She could hear them talking, clear as day. “How did that not wake her?” asked a high-pitched voice. “That would have startled an elephant!” “You're right,” replied a slower gravelly voice, “that usually works like a charm.” The gravelly voice sounded older and oddly familiar, but Karen was to...

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“Pseudo-Mother” by L.J Sunwing

Submitted to Contest #182

An alarming buzz carries throughout the house, Thomas walks down the corridor to turn off the security system. Their house was modest but required some form of protection, still, this was often triggered by a slippery young adult. Alison’s nephew and their adoptive son had the habit of coming back in the early hours of the morning. Thomas grunted as he flipped off the alarm and heard a window slam shut in the house. “Is everything okay?” Alison makes her way down the steps, gathering her sense as to what happened. Thomas looks up to smile ...

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“Ernie’s Alarm” by David B Fraser

Submitted to Contest #182

The house’s home alarm system went off. Outdoor lights flashed on, even though it was the middle of the day. Ernie punched down on the van’s steering wheel in frustration. How far had the kid gotten into the house? Was he going to come out the front door, or back out through the basement window? Ernie wanted to go to house and call the kid out, but he knew better. He even thought of holding the passenger door open for the kid, but figured the neighbors might already be looking. He wasn’t directly in front of the ...

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“A Cause for Alarm” by John Steckley

Submitted to Contest #182

A young couple and their five-year old daughter are standing at the front of a house that that had just become their new home. It was a beautiful place with a big back yard graced by willows and maples. All three of them are smiling at each other, pleased by what they are looking at. Martha, the wife and mother then speaks:“I can’t believe the low price of this place. They were practically giving i...

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“Separate and scream” by Andrea Vermeer

Submitted to Contest #182

I heard the pinging of the alarm first in my dream, then suddenly I was up with the force of decades of adrenaline reacting to everything, small bangs on neighbouring walls, a dog’s bark behind me on a run, the two words—“let’s chat.” I paused at the bedroom door, hand hovering over the knob before deciding to be brave. I did have a cat, after all; he could need me now like I need him. I threw open the door and shouted, “hey, it’s me! I’m calling the cops!!” The thing is, I have a shitty alarm system. Some cheap thing I bought online. It ...

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Start your story with a home alarm system going off.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 49 stories

“Instances of Pleasure” by Jonathan Carrillo

“Winter Wonderland” by Foster Powell

“Haunter of the Mansion” by Amber Prohaska

“House For Sale” by David St.George

“Unwoven Threads” by Cajek Veilwinter

“"Wendy, the home security alarm"” by Valerie Shand

“Granny’s eyes” by Johnny Fist

“Undetected ” by Chelsey B

“The Beginning of The End” by Ana Cecilia Galvan

“The story of Kassidy Green” by Adelia Whistleton

“Karen” by Josh T

“Pseudo-Mother” by L.J Sunwing

“Ernie’s Alarm” by David B Fraser

“A Cause for Alarm” by John Steckley

“Separate and scream” by Andrea Vermeer

🌟 Similar prompts

Set your story in a society where everyone is constantly aware of unwanted surveillance.

Write a story where someone’s paranoia is justified.

Write about a character who wishes they could just disappear — and then they do.

Start your story with someone entering a taxi and saying ‘follow that car.’

Contest #182

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

237

Contest entries

154

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: