Use a personal memory to craft a ghost story.

Posted in Dramatic on Oct 25, 2024

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✍️ 72 stories

“The Ghost of Old Jeb Brown” by Ty Warmbrodt

Submitted to Contest #274

Childhood memories of walking home from school on Halloween Day; cool breezes under overcast skies, the scratching of dried leaves on the pavement as the wind pushed them by. They crunched under my feet and made a swoosh, swoosh sound as I walked through them. When I got home, I raked them up into mounds and cannonballed into them with a splash like crunchy water. My old labrador retriever with his grey face would find the energy to join in the fun, pouncing on top of me with a vivaciously wagging tail.The neighborhood was always decorated f...

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“The Hollow Tide” by Story Time

Submitted to Contest #274

She should have bought a third pumpkin. Growing up, her mother had always said that you buy three pumpkins for carving. One for mistakes, one for precision, and one for pleasure. Naomi could only carry two pumpkins into the house, so two is the number she bought. Plus, she picked up a bag of apples. The plan would be to bake a pie, but plans were often discarded now that October featured eighty degree days. She deposited the pumpkins on the dining room table, and the apples on the small breakfast table in the kitchen. Today would be a beach ...

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“The Painter” by Chris Winters

Submitted to Contest #274

THE PAINTER1. Seth Walker loaded his ladder onto the roof racks of the van. The ladder was long and awkward, but he was able to manage by himself. The painting job that he was preparing for was approximately 4500 hundred square feet. Normally for a job of that size, he would bring on one of his employees; however, it was a simple contract, so he figured he would go at it alone and save some money on labor. When Seth quoted the job, Mike - the property manager - didn’t give him a lot of details about the house; he didn’t even haggle on...

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“The Lady in the Lake” by Melissa Taylor

Submitted to Contest #274

We used to call her Uncle Pam. She smelled like cigarettes and looked capable of being a one-woman biker gang. My cousin Audrey described her as "road hard". It was her rough party days that made her look so much older than her 50 years.We'd go every Summer to Rancho Seco with our big, loud, hillbilly family. The place was my favorite as a kid, but in hindsight it's not somewhere I'd choose out of all the other campgrounds. It's a recreational area located by an old nuclear power plant.At night, seeing the outline of the power plant's two la...

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“This Is For Audrey” by Thomas Wetzel

Submitted to Contest #274

I saw my cousin Audrey five times after she died.The first time was at the wake. I remember looking down into her child-sized coffin and thinking that her head looked just fine. Her skin was really pale but otherwise she basically looked like she always did, her curly blonde locks flowing down her shoulders. I stood there for a minute or so, feeling awkward, and then I went and took a seat next to my mother. She was praying silently with her palms pressed together in her lap and her eyes closed, so I did the same.I mentally recited The Lord’...

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“Footsteps and Faces at the Prescott House” by Martin Maynard

Submitted to Contest #274

The Footsteps at Prescott HouseIt’s funny how you can go your whole life not believing in something—until you experience it yourself. I never thought much about ghosts or demons. To me, they were just the kind of stories people told to get a rise out of others, or maybe to scare themselves for fun. I used to roll my eyes at that stuff. But one night, in an old abandoned house out in the Midwest, that all changed. It started like any other weekend adventure. My friend Josh and I had been to Prescott House once before. We’d heard all the rumor...

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“Charlie’s Tooth, established in 1902” by Lily Finch

Submitted to Contest #274

[Deals with a very simplistic view of First Nation's people using the term "Indian" but not in a derogatory manner but as the term was used in historical reference.] "Come on, Mr. Charlie Craig. The last of your teeth will be pulled tomorrow at Dr. Scootman's office. How are you feeling okay about it?" Charlie's nurse, Rachel, said. "What? Tomorrow? What do you mean? Dr. Scootman hasn't had to pull a tooth from me in years. I was a child the last time that happened to me, and I'll tell you, I didn't know the likes of you then." "Oh, so y...

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“Lady of the Lake” by Kim Olson

Submitted to Contest #274

On a day when the calendar slipped from late summer to early fall, I went to an art exhibit in my hometown. The exhibit was held in a grand mansion which was converted to an Arts Center. The historic old house, bequeathed to the city by a generous benefactor for cultural purposes, had floor to ceiling vaulted windows overlooking the rolling, immense waters of Lake Michigan. It was very windy that day, and the waves crashed into the rocks dotting the shoreline, sending a spray of water into the air. The turbulence in the air changed the water...

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“The House That Summons Storms” by Vera N

Submitted to Contest #274

The house on Carver Hill loomed at the edge of town, set apart from the safety of light and sound. It stood where the cracked road met the twisted trees, and those trees bent inward, almost protectively, casting the house in a shadow so dark that even the bravest souls hesitated to approach. The house seemed alive, pulsing with an eerie energy, and over time, townsfolk learned to steer clear of it. When they did talk about it, they did so in whispers, lowering their voices as if the house itself might be listening. Strangest of all, the hous...

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“The Thirteenth Step” by Todd Beller

Submitted to Contest #274

My grandmother haunts the church basement on Tuesday nights. I've seen her there between the metal folding chairs and ancient coffee urns, her silhouette flickering under fluorescent lights that buzz like dying insects. She wears the same powder blue cardigan she was buried in, the one with mother-of-pearl buttons that catch the light like tiny moons. The others can't see her, of course. They just feel a sudden chill when they walk through the spot where she stands, or catch the phantom scent of her Shalimar perfume mixing with the burnt cof...

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“There is Magic in This City” by Sophie Goldstein

Submitted to Contest #274

Everyone thinks that Los Angeles is a city without seasons. Any Angeleno will tell you that this is grossly false. Our city is so widespread that sometimes it’s hard to tell. But if you pay attention, you can see how the leaves change color, how the temperature drops as the sun goes down, causing shivers up and down the spine. If you know anything about Los Angeles, you know that our landscape is full of variety. The mountains, the woods, the concrete sprawl, the ocean. The woods in the middle of a city. The secret stairways leading you to ...

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“Aunty Broomsticks.” by Julie Grenness

Submitted to Contest #274

It was definitely good flying weather. Aunty Broomsticks was still at that certain age, floating aloft whenever she wanted to, usurping NASA. Long ago and far away, she and her sorority were the beloved daughters of Ambrose the Amiable. As a father and all round good guy, he was still regarded as the best of kindly, capable wizards. Unfortunately, his bride and their mother, had been known as old Ma Broomline. Age did not improve her or endear her to anyone, she just got nastier, pickled in her own toxic slime. But Old Ma Broomline had also ...

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“Lullaby and Goodnight” by Claudia Lebel

Submitted to Contest #274

Lullaby and GoodnightClaudia LebelIt was an oppressively hot and humid late summer afternoon in August. Our third-floor apartment was over 100 degrees. I sat in my underwear, a sleeveless undershirt and flowered panties. My hair was pulled up in a ponytail. Sweat dripped from my brow line down the sides of my face and the back of my neck. I was uncomfortable because of the heat, but more so because my mother was sitting in her underwear too. Her Playtex Living Bra was more than a ten-year-old wanted to see. The air was stagnant, no...

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“How was I to know, A Peaceful Haunting” by Yvonne Garza

Submitted to Contest #274

Being an only child, when I was young I spent a lot of time with my grandparents. My grandmother made a point of always telling me “I’ll always be with you, you’ll know I’m around if you find a stray nickel.” As a kid I just blew it off, yea yea Grandma and went about my day. How was I to know she actually meant it? I was 24 years old when my grandmother passed away. I had still talked to her almost everyday, and went to see her at least twice a week. I knew her time was coming, she was out of reality more than in, and talking to my gr...

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“Matilda” by Just Some Random Person

Submitted to Contest #274

“Ooh, spooky!” I exclaimed as Brea brought the box with the Ouija board up from downstairs, tape cracking and peeling from the corners. It was a chilly Saturday on Hallow’s Eve, and the windows were barely cracked open behind us, the smell of freshly fallen leaves and sweet apple pie wafting in on the wind. The two of us clambered onto her twin-size bed, sitting cross-legged atop black and orange unmade blankets patterned with tiny skulls and pumpkins. A clear bucket of miscellaneous candy we’d bought at Price Chopper earlier that day lay be...

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Use a personal memory to craft a ghost story.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 72 stories

“The Ghost of Old Jeb Brown” by Ty Warmbrodt

“The Hollow Tide” by Story Time

“The Painter” by Chris Winters

“The Lady in the Lake” by Melissa Taylor

“This Is For Audrey” by Thomas Wetzel

“Footsteps and Faces at the Prescott House” by Martin Maynard

“Charlie’s Tooth, established in 1902” by Lily Finch

“Lady of the Lake” by Kim Olson

“The House That Summons Storms” by Vera N

“The Thirteenth Step” by Todd Beller

“There is Magic in This City” by Sophie Goldstein

“Aunty Broomsticks.” by Julie Grenness

“Lullaby and Goodnight” by Claudia Lebel

“How was I to know, A Peaceful Haunting” by Yvonne Garza

“Matilda” by Just Some Random Person

🌟 Similar prompts

Center your story on a character filled with love and fear in equal measure.

Write a story that includes the line “Fate is resourceful.”

Write a story where a creature turns up in an unexpected way.

Center your story around a childhood fear that – as much as you try to shake it – still resonates in adulthood.

Contest #274

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

406

Contest entries

120

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: