Write about someone facing their greatest fear.

Posted in Dramatic on Sep 16, 2024

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✍️ 109 stories

“The Eelinad Princess” by A Inge

Submitted to Contest #206

The Eelinad girl clapped her hands as she twirled, delighted with herself. A mane of light, sometimes silver and others gold, spun with her. “I am clever!” Pinching her lips in disapproval, her mother lowered the velvet spined volume and raised a brow. “Cleverness ceases to impress when it is not governed by self-control.” Clear as crystal and shaped like diamonds, two youthful eyes fastened on her mother in protest. “But I don’t want to impress anyone. I just wanted to beat the riddle.” This time, her mother couldn’t hide her smile. “Ese...

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“The Destroyer” by RD Smith

Submitted to Contest #206

The sedan carrying the double date eased into the parking spot. It might be the gentlest part of Grant’s day. His nerves were palpable. Adrenaline coursed through his body like ants slowly gnawing away at his stomach before making their way to his heart and throat. They hadn’t even entered the park yet. The torrid mixture of his anxiety and the August sun beating on the concrete beneath his feet was already causing beads of sweat to run from Grant’s scalp through his gray T-shirt – an admittedly stupid wardrobe choice in retrospect. Lucy...

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“The Numbers” by Tamarin Butcher

Submitted to Contest #206

Carol shut her eyes to block out the ten glowing numbers, laid in front of her in exactly the right sequence for the dreaded ritual, but she knew that they were still there. For months, her excuse had been that she didn't know the numbers, couldn't find them, they were hidden, but now they had been revealed to her and she couldn't put it off any longer. Do it now, do it now, DO IT NOW. That was Anxiety, screaming that the world would end if she didn't get her act together and do what needed to be done. "It won't," Carol whispered to hers...

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“Stella is not afraid of the dark” by Ellie Radant

Submitted to Contest #206

Branches scrape against the window casting long shadows across the dimly lit room. A stark contrast to the yellowing bunny night light that resides in the corner. But any warmth that might have come from the familiar object is swiftly blown away by the winds’ chill that seeps in through every wall. Far more terrifying to Stella than branches and wind is the complete darkness that blankets the world around her. Everything is louder in the dark- the ticking of the grandfather clock, the rustle of blankets, and the creaking ceiling above her be...

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“Spectre” by Amanda Atkinson

Submitted to Contest #206

It chose me one frostbitten winter, in the dead of night. The monster groaning in the shadows of the forest outside the window, fogging up the glass with its muggy breath. I can sense it pressed against the window behind the cigarette-stained curtains, trying to feel for cracks or crevices it can squeeze and ooze through. — What if your lungs give out and your heart gives up? — That’s the kind of thing it whispers. Its voice is barely there but it snakes through the air like smoke and burrows into my ears to soak my brain in its fumes. My...

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“A Good Death” by Lily Autumn West

Submitted to Contest #206

A Good Death Trigger Warning: Assisted Suicide, corporate assassination If you are what you do, then Nova was death. Or at least death’s delivery girl. She worked for a multinational firm that offered complete deathcare solutions to wealthy clients. For an exorbitant fee (with a suite of legacy upsells that included pet-rehoming and manuscript publication), the company took care of a client’s dying wishes. They promised certainty about death and legacy. Everything was taken care of. This included guaranteed inheritance to the chosen heir...

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“THE NOBLE ART” by Terry Patterson

Submitted to Contest #206

THE NOBLE ART Walking slowly through the huge crowd of screaming people Danny Wellard made his way towards the ring. His mind was flooded with things from his past. Would he be able to go through with it? Or would he cower away like he’d done in the past? He felt the urge to run and needed to use the toilet again, but it was too late to turn back. Closer and closer he got to the ring led by his coach Joe Myers, and his second Eric Clarke who kept on giving him encouragement and a comforting rub of his shoulders. When they reached the rin...

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“Reflections” by Vanessa Zone

Submitted to Contest #206

Eisoptrophobia is the name of the fear that dominated every aspect of twenty-three-year-old Miley’s life. Eisoptrophobia is defined as the fear of mirrors. More specifically, the fear of seeing your own reflection in a mirror. Miley went to great lengths to avoid seeing her own reflection. She worked from home. She could not drive a car safely because it required the use of mirrors. Because of this she always had groceries and other necessities delivered to her doorstep. There were absolutely no mirrors in her ...

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“Fragments of Life: Loss and the Supernatural” by Sofia Albertini

Submitted to Contest #206

February the 8th is the date carved on the tombstone before me - the date when my best friend died, the date when it all turned to shit and my life tilted into the bizarre. It started as a slow transition, a direct response to my friend’s death. I’m sure of it. Heavy with grief, I slump onto the nearest bench, rain plops on my skin. For a few moments, it’s just me and those drops - a thread hooking me back to life. But the thread is brittle, ready to snap and leave me disintegrating into nothingness. I grip my hollow stomach, feeling how loo...

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“To Be Seen” by Maria Parperis

Submitted to Contest #206

The air feels thinner every minute with the weight of expectation in the room. Smiles are present but not in their eyes, only in words in hushed tones spoken away from the listening ears does the chest breathe easier - even if only for a moment. And then the second passes. Conversation flows, drinks are shared, laughter is heard. In these instances, the dinners are almost manageable. Shoulders ease against the onslaught of questions, attention directed elsewhere. Cut, chew, swallow. Repeated cycles to protect from the urge to run – or s...

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“Anatidaephobia” by Christopher Abel

Submitted to Contest #206

I remember the moment I told the world about it- my secret, mortifying fear. I remember it like it was yesterday, because once it came out, once manifested, my life was never the same. I’ve been haunted by the memory, nearly as much as the fear itself. If just one kid had told me the truth about that afternoon, if just one person had been brave enough to tell the social pariah what had actually happened, then perhaps it wouldn’t have come to this. It was fifth grade, Mrs. Trott’s class, show and tell. The idea was that every child bri...

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“Getting Over It” by Kade Baker

Submitted to Contest #206

Jolting claps of flame, thunder on the brain. Sinewed synapses writhing, electric tentacles in the dark. Pulsing jellyfish to a tube worm’s feather, a consuming mycelium on a decaying carcass. That sudden realisation of the mess you’re in, you know the sort. A twisting, wrenching, churning sinkhole inside that could swallow life itself. You can’t leave here, you know that. Act natural. Are you sitting upright? Do you look your best today? I hope no one’s watching. Judging you for not having a significant other, a house, a car. Because th...

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“From Shadows to Words” by Madison Stodghill

Submitted to Contest #206

Several centuries ago, there was a little girl named Emily who lived in a small town called Willowbrook. It is in her nature to spend time in the quiet corners of nature, dreaming and creating beautiful stories in her mind that it is that she was a kind-hearted and imaginative girl who loved nothing more than spending time in the quiet corners of nature. Throughout her life, Emily poured her heart and soul into writing, and it was evident from the style of her writing that she loved writing. In spite of this, Emily had suffered from a vari...

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“Married to a Drug Addict” by Stephen Aycock

Submitted to Contest #206

Married to a drug addict, by Stephen Aycock: The woman stood facing her husband, though they were separated by only a few feet it might as well have been miles. It was the same battle ground they had been on for years. She stared at him from a distance, barely able to focus on him, seeing him but not seeing him. The air seemed stale to her, there was no energy, she felt like she was knee deep in mud trudging through a stagnant swamp. All of these years it had been her misguided but well-intentioned belief that someh...

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“Peanut Butter” by Dempsey Hyatt

Submitted to Contest #206

Muffled pleasantries from outside the Therapist's closed office doors let her know the next appointment had arrived. The Therapist recognized the patient's voice exchanging niceties with the secretary on the other side of the doors. "Tsk," said the Therapist, quietly reprimanding herself for using the term patient rather than client. The Therapist did not need to look at her calendar to remember who the next client was or her notes concerning the details of the previous appointments. She couldn't forget such an intriguing case. "Are yo...

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Write about someone facing their greatest fear.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 109 stories

“The Eelinad Princess” by A Inge

“The Destroyer” by RD Smith

“The Numbers” by Tamarin Butcher

“Stella is not afraid of the dark” by Ellie Radant

“Spectre” by Amanda Atkinson

“A Good Death” by Lily Autumn West

“THE NOBLE ART” by Terry Patterson

“Reflections” by Vanessa Zone

“Fragments of Life: Loss and the Supernatural” by Sofia Albertini

“To Be Seen” by Maria Parperis

“Anatidaephobia” by Christopher Abel

“Getting Over It” by Kade Baker

“From Shadows to Words” by Madison Stodghill

“Married to a Drug Addict” by Stephen Aycock

“Peanut Butter” by Dempsey Hyatt

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a story that contains a flashback of a nightmare.

Start your story with a character seeing something terrifying.

Write about a character in a situation where they have to be brave for someone else’s sake.

Set your story in an eerie, surreal setting.

Contest #206

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

373

Contest entries

130

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

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