Set your story in a small town where everyone is suspicious of newcomers.

Posted in General on Sep 23, 2020

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✍️ 149 stories

“The Witch’s Daughter” by Louise Coley

The King sat on his throne, legs swinging in the afternoon sun. The wilderness spread out before him — a boy’s paradise of twisting dirt tracks webbed with ancient tree roots, full of shady hollows and secret hideaways. Behind him, the copse thinned until it met the road that would take you back to the village, but before him was the arena of countless battles, the base camp of every perilous expedition, a land of untold adventure. And

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“Walmart's Oatmeal Raisin Cookies” by Deidra Lovegren

It was Evie who wanted the kids, Orville remembers. Orville would have been content drinking coffee with his Evie in the mornings, looking out the window, watching the birds at the bird feeder, quietly listening to her go on about this and that. “When does the school bus come, Ollie?” Evie asks. “About 3:30,” Orville replies for the third time. “I want to make some cookies for the girls. How about oatmeal raisin?” Evie suggests, her eyes look hopeful, full of purpose. Orville ...

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“The Fire in Her Eyes” by Amany ⛅️

She looked down at her scuffed boots and smiled. A small smile, but it was there. Brand new neighbors. She got up slowly and brushed off her skirt. A boy her age. She walked to the window and pressed her forehead against the cool glass. Introduce him to everyone. The group was waiting, she knew that...

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“Werewolves, Vampires, Cannibals, Oh My! ” by Rhondalise Mitza

"Werewolves."She glared out the window, eyes on the moving van ahead of her."Vampires."Her friend was eating French fries from a KFC bucket, dark blue Converse resting up on the dashboard. They were playing the game where they guessed who the newcomers were."Cannibals." She laughed and smacked her friend in the shoulder. They knew better than to play the game. If the Mayor heard them, he would surely be upset. "Definitely not. That would be a stretch, even for us." She plucked a French fry from ...

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“Please Don't Feed the Strays” by Jonathan Blaauw

Warning: The following story contains scenes of violence that may be upsetting to a younger audience. Reader discretion is advised.“Dad, are we lost?”“No, sweetie. Of course not.”“Where are we then?”“In the car.” Tom chuckled as Abby rolled her eyes at him from the backseat in a perfect imitation of her mother. Alongside him, Susan was staring straight ahead, a tiny muscle working in her jaw – a clear sig...

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“Where the Devil Hides” by Lynn Penny

I could feel their eyes on me, all the eyes of the people we walked past. Our new neighbors were weird, just watching my Mama and me. No one back home would stare at us like this. I don't think that I'm that fun to look at. I asked Mama why so many people were staring at us, but she only told me to keep my voice down."I don't like it here, Mama, when are we going back home?" I pulled on her dress while she was doing something in the kitchen."This is our home, now go feed the chickens and let Mama do her...

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“From 8 to 2 Million” by Bibilo_ Phile

“I don’t want to move!”Noah Walker sighed and rubbed his forehead. As if he didn’t have enough to worry about. He looked down at his 14-year-old daughter. Her face was twisted and her hands were balled at her sides.“Morgan, we have to. We don’t have enough money for us to stay here. It’s too expensive!”“That’s what happens when you decide that being a journalist,” Morgan wrinkled her nose as if disgusted, dramatic as always. “Is a good career idea.”N...

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“The Stranger” by Leilani Osmundson

The guards had the stranger cuffed and on the ground before he could even say “hello.”“Check him!” barked Rosewell, the lead guard of Rockford, a town hidden deep in the mountains. Rosewell had dark hair that brushed the top of his shoulders and he always seemed to wear a frown.Matthews, Rosewell’s second-in-command, patted down the stranger as another guard grabbed the stranger’s backpack and peered into it. The guard—Bennett—smiled and showed the contents to Rosewell.“Huh,” said Rose...

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“Among the Mango Trees” by Kristin Neubauer

When Enrique Otero was five years old, a shriveled old mango seller in Caracas told him about the heat of the Venezuelan savanna."First, the rocks begin to smoke," he said to the little boy, knife flashing through the fruit. "Then your nose begins to burn and you know you've breathed in the hottest part of the sun. It moves through your throat and lungs like a thousand burning needles."Enrique swallowed, not bothering to wipe the mango juice dribbling down his chin.

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“So I Followed an Owl to a Suspicious Small Town... (Part 2)” by Cara Mccarthy

Author's note: This is a part 2 to "So I Met an Owl in an Elevator". If you want, maybe read that story first to avoid spoilers. If you don't want to, no worries, have a recap and a wonderful day!Recap: the unnamed narrator rushes to an elevator from a hotel bar while realizing a creep from the bar drugged her. She makes it to the elevator, passes out, and wakes up to find a power outage that stopped the elevator and a mysterious talking owl with muddy red feathers and dark green eyes. He introduces himself as Howl, her Guardia...

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“Yes, Really Great Fishing, Just Down The Road!” by P. Jean

(Set your story in a small town where everyone is suspicious of newcomers.)(This story is edited and additional content has been added)Ah yes, Monday! Monday’s are universally thought of with negative feelings as the weekend is over and a workweek begins. But here in Syndrig, everyday is a workday, if in fact you would define what we do as work.Here in my village I’m known as Pipsey, that is short for Pip Squeek which is what me old father, rest his soul, used to call me. I am shor...

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“Mad dog ” by Miles Gatling

"That dude's fucking crazy, dog…""I know, did you see the way he flipped that desk? I thought Jimmy was a goner. He shouldn't been talking shit… ""Haha, yeah, that motherfucker's strong as fuck. He works out at my gym.""No way… Teacher lifts, bro?""I'm telling you this guy's something else." He puffed, puffed then passed it. "One time, dude was working out minding his business when Rico, the ugliest meatbag you ever saw steps up to him and demands his weights. My man was eyeballing this cunt like it was nothing...

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“The Haunted House” by Utkarsh Sharma

Once upon a time, there was a boy named Tony, he was 29 years old. He was very brave and strong. He stays in a big house which has two floors and the name of the village was Kenta Nagar and some people from that village said that the house he was staying was haunted but he didn’t care about that. He thinks that the people are saying lies. He was preparing his home because his cousin’s brother was coming to his home f...

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“All in the Sword” by 🐬ᴬᴬᴹᴱᴺᴬ ᴷᴴᴬᴷᴵ🐬

“Go on, patrol the area.”“Now?!?!” Grayson exclaims.“Yes now! Come on, there's a reason that we made you the guard.”Grayson grumbles and stomps off, which is easy for him because of the bulky armor he has on."Remember your horse!"He goes to the stables, saddles up his horse, and trots past the restaurant. Hesees her. The same person Grayson sees every day. After he signals to her, she nods and runs off.Five minutes later, she’s beside him, on a horse.“So,” she says. “Today’s the day, huh?”...

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“Queensbrawl, Nevada” by Skyler Woods

All eyes were on Naomi and her husband, Jay. Naomi Rose and her husband had just moved into a small town in Nevada called Queensbrawl. There was an unrelenting desert heat in Queensbrawl. Tumbleweeds crossed the roads more than people. There never seemed to be a cloud in the sky and the temperature remained above 90 degrees, even at night. Naomi and her husband liked the town’s quiet atmosphere at first. Everyone seemed hospitable to the couple. But after a day, Naomi and Jay felt like a couple who didn’t...

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Ended on 23:59 - Sep 18, 2020 EST

Won by Louise Coley 🏆

Title: The Witch’s Daughter

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Set your story in a small town where everyone is suspicious of newcomers.

Submissions are closed!

✍️ 149 stories

“The Witch’s Daughter” by Louise Coley

“Walmart's Oatmeal Raisin Cookies” by Deidra Lovegren

“The Fire in Her Eyes” by Amany ⛅️

“Werewolves, Vampires, Cannibals, Oh My! ” by Rhondalise Mitza

“Please Don't Feed the Strays” by Jonathan Blaauw

“Where the Devil Hides” by Lynn Penny

“From 8 to 2 Million” by Bibilo_ Phile

“The Stranger” by Leilani Osmundson

“Among the Mango Trees” by Kristin Neubauer

“So I Followed an Owl to a Suspicious Small Town... (Part 2)” by Cara Mccarthy

“Yes, Really Great Fishing, Just Down The Road!” by P. Jean

“Mad dog ” by Miles Gatling

“The Haunted House” by Utkarsh Sharma

“All in the Sword” by 🐬ᴬᴬᴹᴱᴺᴬ ᴷᴴᴬᴷᴵ🐬

“Queensbrawl, Nevada” by Skyler Woods

🌟 Similar prompts

Write about a couple who have just moved to a place that one person loves, and the other hates.

Write about a character arriving in a place unlike anywhere they’ve ever been.

Set your story in a place with extreme weather, but don’t use any weather-related words to describe it.

Write a story that feels lonely, despite being set in a packed city.

Contest #59

Enter our weekly contest!

$50

Prize money

914

Submissions

Win $50 in our short story competition 🏆

reedsybookeditor

Tired of MS Word?

Explore more writing prompt ideas: