Use a personal memory to craft a ghost story.

Posted in Dramatic on Oct 25, 2024

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✍️ 72 stories

“Café Mystérieux” by Lynda Smith Hoggan

Submitted to Contest #274

When I got up this morning, there was a pot of fragrantly strong hot coffee already brewed. That’s all. End of story. Oh, except for the part about how I live alone. And I did not make that coffee. Oh, and one more thing? Wouldn’t you know – it’s Halloween. And just to up the ante, my house is literally The Last House on the Left on my dead-end street. Coincidence? I think not. I looked around nervously. Could there be someone hiding in the garage who had prepared the brew? And if so, did he make it for me...

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“Our First Home” by Becky Andzeski

Submitted to Contest #274

Julian and I began dating in March of 2019. We first met online and soon became infatuated with each other. We talked all day, everyday for a month before we decided to meet in person. We had both just gotten out of bad long-term relationships and wanted to take our time with the next person. As soon as our eyes met, I had stars in my eyes. He was tall, broad-shouldered and looked like a blonde superman. I thought I had won the jackpot because this man was not only intellectual and funny, but also incredibly gorgeous. It wasn’t l...

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“The Dream Teller” by Lizzy Shaw

Submitted to Contest #274

The dreams saturated her entire being, she could smell the dirt walls of the basement where two boys were kept bound together until the smaller one died of starvation. She could see the bright red fabric on the Chinese dragon twisting and twirling gracefully against the clear blue sky, like a ballet, as it carried explosives towards a boat full of people. She could hear a mother’s lament, wailing in despair, looking on the bodies of her eight dead children in the countryside, next to a babbling brook. All the dreams had one thing in common: ...

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“Only Child” by Jonah Buck

Submitted to Contest #274

ONLY CHILD (Note: This story involves themes of death, including children.) I was an only child. No siblings for me. Except for my sister, who lived in the drainage culvert behind the house where I grew up. The drainage culvert wasn’t much more than a giant, concrete-lined ditch at the base of the hill where my childhood home was built. Growing up in Southern California, the ground was so parched and dry that the first rain of the year didn’t do much more than run off the hard-packed dirt. Not that there was much dirt available to absorb wh...

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“The Dearly Departed” by Darlene Chaney

Submitted to Contest #274

Trigger warnings: Grief, death, murder? It’s the day before Halloween as 31-year-old, single, attractive Andrea Hawthorne, dressed all in black, drives along the Connecticut Interstate in route to Sherwood, a quaint town outside of Riverside. As the traffic comes to a screeching halt, Andrea is forced to slam on her brakes, disengaging the cruise control. Ear piercing sirens zoom past her. She inches forward, shielding her eyes from...

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“Susan the Ghost” by Oveta Jenkins

Submitted to Contest #274

“ If you live in the northeast, you will be experiencing a derecho… a quick-moving destructive wind storm similar to a tornado or hurricane that moves in a straight line,” explained Matt from the Weather Channel. “Derechos can be accompanied with heavy rains. If you are wondering about the word's origins, derecho is Spanish for straight ahead.” I became increasingly afraid as the wind began to whirl and whistle through the trees surrounding the house. “ Move the car to the road,” my mother frantically shouted. It's the derecho!” ...

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“A Late Night jog” by Moa Holmertz

Submitted to Contest #274

If you want a single reason to not go for a late night jog, this one's for you. There is a forest close to my house, which also happens to be my childhood home. When my grandparents passed away, me and my husband took over and have been living here since. The forest has several jogging tracks, and I use them more or less every day. If I couldn’t start my day with a good jog, I’d finish it with a run on one of the tracks. There has always been something freeing with feeling the wind in my hair while my feet carried me over logs and rocks. The...

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“AxeMan Avenger” by Doux Ancolie

Submitted to Contest #274

Looking at her friends gathered around the table, Jill begins to tell her great grandmother's story of her stay at a rural haunted house. The first time my great grandmother talked about the axe murders in St. Joseph, MO, I was on the front porch, with a train whistle echoing nearby. The rumors are the axe murderer passed right by her place here on 290 So. 5th street. She loved telling stories and on this Halloween night, this was one of her best.It is a cold and breezy night on October 31st, 1910. The twin sisters Sally and Melissa Baxter w...

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“Reduced For Quick Sale” by B D

Submitted to Contest #274

My phone chirped on a Sunday afternoon on 11 November 2007. That ticked me off immensely because I was immersed in the Giants vs. Cowboys match up. The two division rivals duked it out twice a year, and I didn’t welcome the intrusion. But I’d forgotten to mute my phone, so I had only myself to blame. But Caller ID said Celia 20thCentury. I had known her for over twenty years, and she was more like a friend than a realtor. Even so I picked up thinking, This had better be REALLY important! And as it so happ...

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“In Your Bones” by Rou Gibson

Submitted to Contest #274

The walk into the cemetery was short but pleasant for most that would walk through its gates. Many ordinary people meandered through its gardens and past the gravestones, the majority of the grounds were friendly and full of a light air. It was a normal scene to see a person walking their dog, or having a date sitting on the grass near the head of a stone in the spring or summer. Once fall arrived, fun abounded. Pumpkin contests, light shows, and the very looked forward to trick or treating near the end of October brought with it even more v...

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“Emoelle” by Anna Barry

Submitted to Contest #274

CW: This story contains themes or mentions of supernatural possession, emotional abuse, and trauma.My now adult-sized fingers still quiver and shake at the thought of this memory. We met her, well, technically, only I met her when I was six years old. I held my breath for four years after that until she finally left my life for good. This story is very difficult for me to write. I don’t know if what I am writing here will be included or not, but I need to be transparent for this story to be understood. In terms of what I have access to in my...

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“WINIFRED” by Barbara Arbogast

Submitted to Contest #274

“You’re blocking me.”Turning around, I saw the child-sized, wicker-backed chair had begun its slow, steady rock. The ancient oak didn’t creak on the dusty plank floorboards. For a moment, there were no sounds other than that of the little girl who pulled on my pants leg.The sudden movement startled me. It shouldn’t have. We were touring a haunted building in Virginia City. Almost all the buildings have a story to tell, a haunting to lure tourists in, or a ghost to appease.“Her name is Winifred,” said the tour guide. “She died here in the 180...

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Use a personal memory to craft a ghost story.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 72 stories

“Café Mystérieux” by Lynda Smith Hoggan

“Our First Home” by Becky Andzeski

“The Dream Teller” by Lizzy Shaw

“Only Child” by Jonah Buck

“The Dearly Departed” by Darlene Chaney

“Susan the Ghost” by Oveta Jenkins

“A Late Night jog” by Moa Holmertz

“AxeMan Avenger” by Doux Ancolie

“Reduced For Quick Sale” by B D

“In Your Bones” by Rou Gibson

“Emoelle” by Anna Barry

“WINIFRED” by Barbara Arbogast

🌟 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: