Write about a family attempting to hide their secrets from someone new.

Posted in Dramatic on Jul 23, 2021

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✍️ 121 stories

“What Happens in the Basement of Number Seven” by Liza Anne

Submitted to Contest #64

Little Hallow is a very small town located just north of Nowhere and three hours west of Witch Haven. It’s so small that the houses are numbered without a road name. Very few come to Little Hallow and even fewer leave. It is a place full of witches and warlocks, owls and black cats, and all sorts of magical objects. The inhabitants of Little Hallow are not happy, per se, but they are content. In such a small town, everyone’s lives are so interconnected, and that is enough to keep them complacent for the moment.“Lilith! Lucy! Come quickly, no...

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“A Centuries-Old Facade” by Ariadne .

Submitted to Contest #64

Rhiannon“Mama, Mama!” the little girl says. Her dark curls pile over her chubby toddler cheeks, splaying over her mother’s chest. “Tell me Nana’s story, please?”“Rhi, I’ve told you that one so many times,” her mother replies wearily. “Don’t you want to hear something else?”“No, Mama,” the little girl insists, sticking out her bottom lip in a pout. “Nana’s story is the coolest! Please, Mama!”“Oh, alright,” comes the reply. “Let’s take you to bed first, mm-kay?”“Okay!” Rhi’s enthusiastic response is choreographed with hops, twirls, and spins u...

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“Freya” by B. W.

Submitted to Contest #64

"Freya! Freya, where are you going?" My older sister, Heaven called out as she chased after me. We were next to some very large bushes and once you went through them, you'd be in one of the human villages. It was the middle of the night when I was sneaking out to it, I thought that she was a heavy sleeper. Why was she even awake? Did I make some noises when I was getting up to leave earlier? "I'm...just going for a walk Heaven. Maybe you should just go back to sleep or something?" I suggested with a nervous smile. Maybe she would buy thi...

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“The Jazeldians” by Julia Boddie

Submitted to Contest #64

We come from the country Jazeldi. Our country rose to power by violence and it was the strongest of them all. Or at least we thought.~~~~~~~~~~"Bye, we'll miss you," our neighbors called to me.My family was moving. We were tired of the violence, but sometimes violence was necessary. That's what made us the strongest. Still, we were nervous to move. We didn't know if people would approve of us, since we had Jazeldian blood. It would take two days to get to our new house. We were traveling by plane, hoping it would get us there the fastes...

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“Familiar Faces: Part 1” by ✯𝐋𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐚 𝐋𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫✯

Submitted to Contest #64

Familiar Faces: Part 1 By: Haripriya That day, it was the first time I met them. It was a cold, dark, and rainy day. I don’t remember, but from all the stories I keep hearing about me, that’s what they all mentioned. They were kind enough to take care of me, to adopt me, when no one else was willing to. My mother and father already had a child before adopting me. Back then, when I was 2 years old, he was 6. Now, I am turning 9 and he is turning 13. Even after all these years, they still care about me and don’t t...

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“Don't Say Anything” by Emily Nghiem

Submitted to Contest #64

I could barely remember the last time Beverly and I celebrated Halloween. Between churches frowning on pagan traditions, and rumors of poisoned candy and razor blades, we started skipping the holiday over the years, and just focused on Thanksgiving instead. The last time I asked my wife about giving out candy for the kids, she refused, explaining she could never look at costumes of witches and devils after she heard horror stories of children kidnapped for ritual abuse. She was afraid of attracting evil spirits. I never asked again.The most ...

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“Who are you?” by Palak Shah

Submitted to Contest #64

Wind carried secrets far and wide; their merciful but menacing nature made it impossible to distinguish them between a friend or a foe. Gutters spat out water like secrets. Penetrating the ambiance, the hymn of matrimony rang in his ears. The white washed walls suffocated behind the cabinets and tables; whilst they panted for air. Sitting proudly in the middle of a destitute village; a fairly small cottage stood. However, everything was perfect; the flower pots were in arrays the.... “Thomas, Thomas. Does she know?” asked Mrs Smi...

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“Family Recipe” by Lina Oz

Submitted to Contest #64

Jack skipped happily from the bus stop to his home. He was very happy; today at school, he’d won a prize for writing a story about a boy who defeated a very scary monster. It was Halloween, after all.He jumped onto his lawn, grinning, running up the steps to share the exciting news with his parents.A cold breeze caused his hand to stop on the doorknob. Jack turned around.There, on the yard of the house that rested at the opposite side of the street, stood an old man. He was rather large, with bright white hair and a fluffy white beard. He wo...

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“Father of Mine” by Leviathan Four

Submitted to Contest #64

Caroline:“She just wants to get to know you all better,” our father said. “Now that Julia is your stepmum, I think you three should make an effort.”“Make an effort seems to be a catchphrase of yours,” Caroline spat back at her father, mimicking his voice. “Isn’t that what you told Mum all the time? Lorraine, I think you should make an effort and keep this house clean; make an effort and lose two stone; make an effort and wear something more becoming; make an effort and paint your face—she made every effort you asked of her, and did it help h...

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“Rebecca” by The-Burrowing-Owl- Author

Submitted to Contest #64

It was a beautiful day for disaster. The gleaming sunlight pooling around the fluffy white clouds promised a dry afternoon. Even the poorer folk in Philadelphia turned their heads upward in unspoken gratitude, drinking in the beams of heaven like the lush green blades of grass that forked through the cracks of the outer pavement. It was 1776.Rebecca Howe was in the middle of a performance, but nothing like the ones few could afford to watch. The widow smiled beautifully at the man on the other side of the counter as she slid him a lovely gla...

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“The Secret” by Meera Lakshmi

Submitted to Contest #64

I have a secret. Doesn’t everyone? Stop gawking at me! It’s just a secret. I thought readers weren’t supposed to judge me. But my secret is dangerous. Well, it's not MY secret. It's our secret. A family secret. But it could destroy everything if it got out. No, stop badgering me. I’m not telling you. Well, at least not now. It’s hard, you know. I have a little sister. And she’s 8. But she doesn’t know how to keep secrets. So my parents obviously didn’t tell her. But, she overheard my older sister telling me. So, now we are brainstorming how ...

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“Once they know” by Darnayes Pen

Submitted to Contest #64

The Kinlee family was a family of many mysteries and secrets. They marched to the beat of their own sick drum and no one has ever been able to enter the family circle without excepting the family and all their secrets! Chaise Kinlee was the only living child of the family. Carla died in the womb, It was a pregnancy that followed many fails before it. Angie and and John were married young but it wasn't because of love! They were forced together by their fathers and they never had a chance. They learned over time to tolerate each other and man...

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“Oh, Grandmamma......!” by Deborah Mercer

Submitted to Contest #64

I knew when I married Aidan (heck, I knew long before I did!) that his family, the Drinkwaters, were considered – well, a tad eccentric. Oh, there were no rumours about shallow graves in the garden that attracted the curiosity of the neighbourhood dogs or people locked in attics, or anything more suspect than somewhat foul smelling herbal tea being brewed. My mother, a practical and tolerant lady, for all she asked “Are you sure, love?” in a very strange kind of way, was of the official opinion t...

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“The Sixth” by Amy Utami

Submitted to Contest #64

“What are they looking for?”“Alien”“Why so far? We have one here.”“Do we?”“That strange jellyfish taken by the big ship and stranded here alone. Isn’t it alien too?”Look up and down, up and down, up and down “your brain must be eaten by aliens.”“Do I have a brain?”“Do we have a brain?”“Guys stop! They are looking for a new home.”“Why?”“They wrecked Earth down and forget how to fix it.”“Disassemble.”“What?”“’Wreck’ used when they know the consequences, but they were too stupid to know that. Remember when they found that oil from the ground? T...

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“Drowned in Black” by Molly Leasure

Submitted to Contest #64

In 1862, James sailed the James blue†. Aboard the CSS Jamestown, James Plumb and his crew voyaged with six others past the Union’s view. They captured three merchant vessels, turning the flags over with blatant heckles. They towed them to Norfolk, victory now built within the framework—a preemptive claim shared by the Confederate fame.At the end of April, James met his first peril. Men fought on the frontline and died line by line.In early May, James saw an awful display. He vowed to bring his brothers home to Richmond, but their deaths happ...

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Write about a family attempting to hide their secrets from someone new.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 121 stories

“What Happens in the Basement of Number Seven” by Liza Anne

“A Centuries-Old Facade” by Ariadne .

“Freya” by B. W.

“The Jazeldians” by Julia Boddie

“Familiar Faces: Part 1” by ✯𝐋𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐚 𝐋𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫✯

“Don't Say Anything” by Emily Nghiem

“Who are you?” by Palak Shah

“Family Recipe” by Lina Oz

“Father of Mine” by Leviathan Four

“Rebecca” by The-Burrowing-Owl- Author

“The Secret” by Meera Lakshmi

“Once they know” by Darnayes Pen

“Oh, Grandmamma......!” by Deborah Mercer

“The Sixth” by Amy Utami

“Drowned in Black” by Molly Leasure

🌟 Similar prompts

Set your story in a Gothic manor house.

Write a ghost story where there’s more going on than it first appears.

Write about someone who’s been sent to boarding school.

Write a romance that involves one partner saving the other from a fire.

Contest #64

Enter our weekly contest!

$50

Prize money

753

Contest entries

0

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: