Set your story in a town that’s teetering on the edge of something dark, literally or metaphorically.

Posted in Dystopian on Oct 31, 2022

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✍️ 50 stories

“The Man In Blue” by Ian Crombie

Submitted to Contest #149

The town was snuggled peacefully between two small mountains. It contained one road with one stoplight at the center of town with charming brick houses south of the light and to the north, a single gas station and a few essential businesses. The 122 residents lived simple lives, going to their nine-to-five jobs and spending time with their families and neighbors. Nothing happened in this town. It was quiet, with few visitors and even less crime. The people of the town knew each other well and had for generations. Everybody loved the s...

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“Sinkhole in Centralia” by Zach Martz

Submitted to Contest #149

Note: The following story is based on real events. Because what’s scarier than something that’s actually happened?The government van cruised down the state parkway past the sign marking the city limits. It continued past a large field of browning crabgrass and sparse trees, and made a turn at an empty intersection marked only by an abandoned and decaying gas station. The van made its way into the town center, or what was left of it, and was unfettered by traffic as it passed the empty buildings and sidewalks that lined the pockmarked and bum...

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“All Wrapped Up In Physics” by LC Moran

Submitted to Contest #149

“Whelp,” he sighed hard, sitting down even harder in his neighbor’s lawn chair. “Ain’t that somethin.” “It’s always somethin,” the neighbor’s wife said, wiping her hands on a dirty apron before accepting the beer her husband held out. “Ain’t it always somethin,” his neighbor summarized, cracking his own beer open. “How many’s that been now, three? Five?” “Well, it’s two this month already.” The neighbor’s wife spoke again. He always had a hard time remembering her name. He had a hard time remembering his neighbor’s name. Hell...

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“In Town for the Weekend” by Sabrina Smith

Submitted to Contest #149

Cerulea has always been a town that is known for how friendly and kind the people are. Always willing to help a neighbor or give directions to a stranger. Usually once you start a conversation with someone new you end up realizing you have a mutual friend, or a friend of a friend, or you know their cousin's girlfriend's hairdresser, etc. You live near downtown which is always bustling with business people, college students, families, etc. It’s comforting knowing if you need anything you just have to ask. Until the weekend hits. Your ...

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“The Perfect Curse” by Christina Farella

Submitted to Contest #149

Kensington Park was the kind of place that was photographed for newsletters, where every pearly white shuttered home had grass of no more than a height of one inch. The small, close knit town rallied around their local high school, and everyone knew everyone. In a town full of bake sales, coffee shops, and football games, no one could have suspected the darkness that would soon consume this perfect little town. Rainden high school housed every walk of life you could imagine, the jocks, the school nerds, the band geeks, the goths, the cheerle...

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“Stories: Dark and Evil” by Heather Johnsen-Gisi

Submitted to Contest #149

October 4th, 2008 The house had peeling paint, rotting shingles, and an overgrown yard. Vines climbed the front, stretching over the boarded windows. It looked like the door had been scrubbed but faded spray paint remained. “It’s perfect, I’ll take it.” The realtor looked at the house then back at me. “You’re serious?” &n...

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“The Ravine” by Lee Disco

Submitted to Contest #149

It was a cloudy day— the duvet of stratus clouds was so dark and so low that it was like a beast gliding, slow as molasses, over a little town in Iowa. There was a ravine at the edge of it. It stretched and twisted as if groaning with its endless silence, pulling taut whenever a wanderer pulled close enough to see the bottom. And each time, they stumbled back, as if they had seen something beyond ordinary life, beyond the reaches of God. There were no wanderers today. If there were, they might have seen something different than wretched, l...

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“The Sleepy Stream” by Troy Chavez

Submitted to Contest #149

Mark Twain despised weather, but weather must have rained on him like a blitzkrieg of fire and hell and fury. Even a storm brings cleansing peace after the clouds dissipate. Weather is weather… and on this night it poured like it usually did on this time of year. The water filled the stream’s veins, and they flowed like a rushing army into battle. The troupe of three, daughter, father, and son mushed over the muddy bank. The water dropped from the trees above and tapped onto the father’s hat. “Papa… do you think we’ll find Sherpa?”“Not ...

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“Playback Recording: The Corpses of San Pedro” by BOFT V

Submitted to Contest #149

[physical violence, gore, mentions of abuse; suicide] *click* … You already know why I’m here, the fuck is the point of saying it again? So my mental health gets wrecked even further? That it? Quack therapy, that’s what I think this is. … I’m angry? Yeah, no shit Sherlock, thanks for catching that. … I lost everything, Doc, how do you think that makes me feel? … I’m just as clueless as you are. Aside from whatever that black substance was, there was zero indication for what was going to happen. San Pedro is a town on the side of a moun...

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“Uninvited Guests” by Katelyn Bullock

Submitted to Contest #149

Uninvited Guests by Katelyn Bullock It was a conventional summer day. It was bright and the sun was shining like it had just swallowed a bunch of light bulbs.Tim and his two parents were helping the movers clear out the big, white truck and place down the furniture.“ Why don’t you go explore Tim? It will be a good opportunity to get used to the new house.” Said Tim’s mom.Tim wasn’t going to pass up the opportunity to get out of working. “Fine I guess.” Said Tim, rolling his eyes. He sludged up the staircase and caught himself...

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“The Dark” by Chesley Richards

Submitted to Contest #149

When the Dark came, the small, thriving farm town of Cemetery Ridge, way out in the flatlands with the best mushrooms around, could not understand what it meant. The town was a small collection of two-story old red brick buildings with a Main Street and charming houses all going back a few blocks. Two churches, one school with all the grades. An organic grocery store toward the edge of town. And a couple of places to get your hair cut. One for women, one for men. The mushrooms grew everywhere, all year round. Oysters and Shitake, Maitake and...

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“Hungry, Hungry Gremlins” by Howard Seeley

Submitted to Contest #149

“I still don’t understand why our father insisted we camp out tonight, Joel,” muttered Rob. “It doesn’t make sense.” Joel wasn’t about to let his younger brother spoil the fun. “Whenever something good falls in your lap and you always complain about it. Relax dude and enjoy the moment. It’ll probably the last time we’ll be camping out this year.” Being late October, Rob couldn’t argue that fact. Joel is right, he thought. In reply to Joel’s accusation, Rob stoked the coals of the campfire, stabbed a marshmallow with a stick, and slowly rot...

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“Teeth” by Catrina Bowles

Submitted to Contest #149

It had been a conversation with her old supervisor over coffee that had gotten Detective Petra Langley back in the field. It wasn’t a desire to visit Drumheller, Alberta, of all places. The tackiness made her nauseous as she drove past the ‘World’s Largest Dinosaur’ to her motel. Everybody around her was also visiting from out of town, so fitting in wasn’t going to be a challenge, loath as she was to do so. She doesn’t sleep her first night there, the conversation from that morning rattling around in her head. “This might be your guy,...

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“Retraining” by VJ Hamilton

Submitted to Contest #149

The coal-fired power plant is closing, ready to turn off the lights forever in its industrial complex, and Petra shudders before the winds of change. She gamely attends the half-day retraining sessions, preparing to “deploy her skills in other sectors of the economy.” Late at night she seethes with the question Why me? but in daylight she obeys the poster plastered everywhere: Stay Calm and Carry On. She slows down as she rounds the curve of the highway, mindful of the bald tires that need replacing. An intermittent chirp reminds her that th...

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“The phonograph” by F.O. Morier

Submitted to Contest #149

- “Nobody loves me." Jerry whined to the bartender, a story the man had heard countless times throughout his career. -"How about another drink?" the experienced bartender winked. Jerry pulled his wallet out of his pocket and looked at the scant contents, shrugged, and said, "Why not?" -"Sure friend." the bartender said. -"You can call me friend, even if you don't mean it. I am nobody's friend. Nobody loves me." Jerry was a handsome young man, with a rather hazy look in his blue eyes. He raised the glass to his lips as if to test the drink. -...

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Set your story in a town that’s teetering on the edge of something dark, literally or metaphorically.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 50 stories

“The Man In Blue” by Ian Crombie

“Sinkhole in Centralia” by Zach Martz

“All Wrapped Up In Physics” by LC Moran

“In Town for the Weekend” by Sabrina Smith

“The Perfect Curse” by Christina Farella

“Stories: Dark and Evil” by Heather Johnsen-Gisi

“The Ravine” by Lee Disco

“The Sleepy Stream” by Troy Chavez

“Playback Recording: The Corpses of San Pedro” by BOFT V

“Uninvited Guests” by Katelyn Bullock

“The Dark” by Chesley Richards

“Hungry, Hungry Gremlins” by Howard Seeley

“Teeth” by Catrina Bowles

“Retraining” by VJ Hamilton

“The phonograph” by F.O. Morier

🌟 Similar prompts

Write about a character who is trying to convince others to play a game.

Start your story with the flickering of a light.

Write about two people who form a bond with each other through music.

Write a story about an unlikely group (or pair) of friends.

Contest #149

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

256

Contest entries

123

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

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