Set your story at the boundary between two realms.

Posted in Halloween on Oct 25, 2022

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✍️ 69 stories

“New Born Spirit” by John K Adams

Submitted to Contest #117

“Here. Take some before it’s gone.” Don shoved the flask into Greg’s ribs. “I’m good.” He gently pushed the bottle away and continued walking along Bayshore Boulevard overlooking Hillsborough Bay. Don held the bottle up and announced, “Everclear… Highly recommended by nine out of ten Neanderthals…” He guffawed and took another swig. “This stuff kicks ass!” He shook the pint bottle in Bill’s face. The clear liquid danced in the light from street lamps lining the water front. Bill took little notice. He spent his energy staying upright, and ...

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“You're Not Wearing Makeup” by Michael Regan

Submitted to Contest #117

[Scientists tell us there could be an infinite number of universes, some almost the same as ours. Of course travelling between them is impossible. . . . Or is it?]John Smith, a boring name for a boring man, is hurrying to get dressed. His wife is dragging him to a lecture on travelling to another astral plane. ‘Just a load of crap’ As usual, he is late. His wife, Margret, is waiting at the bottom of the stairs.‘If we are late for the lecture I will be hearing about it for the next month.’ Margret Smith is a tall, slim woman. She had bee...

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“Beyond Yon Hedge” by Don Green

Submitted to Contest #117

I stood on the front porch next to my wife and swayed just a bit. It required only three stabs with my forefinger to actually trigger the doorbell. To be completely transparent, I'd already had a little too much to drink. "Pregaming," was what I called it. "Stupidity," was the term my wife used. In retrospect, she was right. There would be, after all, plenty of free alcohol at the party, and as someone who doesn't always understand his own limits, there'd likely be more than enough for me to exceed them. Still, we arrived at the pa...

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“A Morning Walk - To The Other Side ” by John Maes

Submitted to Contest #117

A glorious morning seemed at hand as I stepped out for a walk. A few thin cloud patches floated above but they did little to hide the brilliant blue of the sky. The sights and sounds of summer abounded. A hummingbird hovered near me. A small airplane droned lazily overhead. A mower engine sputtered in the distance, scenting the air with the aroma of newly-mowed lawn. I wanted badly to adopt the mood of the morning as my own but I just couldn’t. My nerves were completely raw from the stresses of the day befo...

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“The Fire Keepers” by Jacob Dueck

Submitted to Contest #117

A ripple appears before you shimmering in the moonlight illuminating the sidewalk in a cascade of unearthly colors. You're near the edge of town, the honks of horns and the shouts of children have long since faded. Staring into what you can feel is the precipice of something new, something uncharted, a sense of adventure washes over you almost forcing the next few steps through this tear in reality. As those fateful steps are taken the cold night air shifts into the warmth of a fire. Stepping carefully into this other world you observe your ...

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“A Halloween Conflagration” by Bruce Friedman

Submitted to Contest #117

Warning: story contains explicit details about violent death.I was making my usual weekly excursion to the local grocery store, WeShop, for some items when something catastrophic happened. It changed my life forever and I will never forget it. It was Halloween and that fact has also seared the event in my memory.On this particular day and whenever I stopped at WeShop, I tended to use one of the automated self-checkout lanes because the traffic moves faster and I also like the technology. I scanned four or five items on my way out and was abo...

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“I Remember...” by Mo Ferdause

Submitted to Contest #117

There are a lot of things I can’t remember. Things that anyone should be able to mutter out in a split second from a simple trigger in their brain would take me hours of recollection and piece together. Parts of my childhood that others remember clearly are still vague to me even after so many years. Bits and pieces of memory come to me when I think real hard, but that’s all they are -- memories.When I first arrived in this world, I was with a family that loved me from day one. I wa...

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“The Ghost Oak” by Deborah Drake

Submitted to Contest #117

The Ghost Oak by Deborah Drake – word count: approx 1514 inc title(prompt: Set your story at the boundary between two realms)The great Oak tree had been standing steadfast, in a clearing in the Southern Forest, near the village of Little Wychwold, for as long as anybody could remember. Certainly, the sheer size and scale of this giant, with its girth measuring a good nine metres or more, would indicate that the tree was, indeed, as ancient as local folklore would have you believe.It seemed to defy time. There were no visible signs ...

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“The Hubble Law” by Gianluca Angelucci

Submitted to Contest #117

[Disclaimer - rude language]They say that space smells like chicken. To him it smelled like a fucking Nobel price.Wearing the bio-suit was like bathing into a tub of slime, just warm enough to make you feel like sitting on a public toilet that had been used by a filthy stranger a few moments earlier.Nevertheless it was the most advanced piece of equipment to challenge the deadly stare of empty space, capable of supporting life in hostile environments for one hundred years or more.That the universe was expanding (faster than the speed of ligh...

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“Killing Time” by Ruth Zschoche

Submitted to Contest #117

TW: mentions of child and elder abuse, violence, minor sexual contentIt is low hanging fruit to talk about the dead. Look at where I work, girl. The dead are my friends. Temporary friends. Sudden Friends. Passing friends. These folks aren’t just clients to me. I care about them - like family. And in a way they are. My real brothers and sisters are always busy. No time for lowly little me, doomed to be the ultimate intermediary. The dead are never too busy.It’s a good thing that I find humor in their stories. I get little enough entertainment...

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“The In-Between” by Greg Gillis

Submitted to Contest #117

Desperate to provide for his teenage son, Jarvis pulls the black ski mask over his wrinkled brow, looks up-and-down the roadway, then swings the door open to Uncle Frankie’s One-Stop Shop, a local convenience store. Jarvis scans the store for shoppers or other staff members, then nervously approaches the counter. Reaching into his jacket pocket, he pulls out the handle of a pistol, showing the man behind the cou...

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“PR103 to MNL” by Nacho De Vera

Submitted to Contest #117

They have put you in this box with me. A casualty of commons. Death by our own tax money. They have put you in this box with me. Three walls of cement with one large glass pane so that we may watch the anthill world below us. I wanted you to see this place. This less than perfect side of me. My anthill. Where the rules are only as firm as your will and where your tribe is the real law. It is as dis/honest as it is un/flattering. You are here now. And this is the truth of it. We have given everything to come here. Our tidy little home...

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“The Bridge Door” by Annalisa D.

Submitted to Contest #117

CW: Sexual violence/abuse, suicide, swearing “You’re the absolute last person I want to call, but I’m really desperate here, Elliot.” Scarlett’s voice sounded shaky over the phone. Was it emotion or a bad connection? “What’s wrong? I’ll do anything to help.” “You’re the only one who answered.” I waited for her to continue. &nbs...

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“Astral Realm” by Robert Houston

Submitted to Contest #117

I never believed in the occult or the supernatural. Ghost, witches, vampires, demons...….. it was all malarkey. Just Hollywood propaganda to get you to splurge on bad movies and cheap Halloween props. At least that's what the three of us thought, until my friend, Mike, found that book. "Ok, so what the heck is it?" I asked."Come on, Jake..." said my friend Donnie, "...I know you have trouble reading, but I thought you'd at least be able to recognize a book when you see one." he joked."Shut up!" I shouted as I playfully shoved him....

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“Dance Macabre” by F.O. Morier

Submitted to Contest #117

Ever since I was a child, I had this fascination with graveyards. Cemeteries are like prisons; reservations designed to isolate, edge out, weigh down under granite and marble. They are an oasis of calm, respectful silence and often deserted. To me, they represent the will to preserve an abolition of memory; a memento mori: a declaration of the transient nature of life. The gravestones are like rows of books bearing the names of those who have been blotted from the pages of life, forgotten elsewhere, but remembered here. And of course, a warn...

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Set your story at the boundary between two realms.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 69 stories

“New Born Spirit” by John K Adams

“You're Not Wearing Makeup” by Michael Regan

“Beyond Yon Hedge” by Don Green

“A Morning Walk - To The Other Side ” by John Maes

“The Fire Keepers” by Jacob Dueck

“A Halloween Conflagration” by Bruce Friedman

“I Remember...” by Mo Ferdause

“The Ghost Oak” by Deborah Drake

“The Hubble Law” by Gianluca Angelucci

“Killing Time” by Ruth Zschoche

“The In-Between” by Greg Gillis

“PR103 to MNL” by Nacho De Vera

“The Bridge Door” by Annalisa D.

“Astral Realm” by Robert Houston

“Dance Macabre” by F.O. Morier

🌟 Similar prompts

Start your story with the words “Everything was ready for the ritual.”

Write about a character who uses a night where everyone’s in costume as cover for something sinister.

Write about a missing person nobody seems to know or remember.

Write about someone whose busiest night of the year is Halloween.

Contest #117

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

226

Contest entries

153

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: