Write a story about someone who is haunted. Whether by a ghost or something else is up to you.

Posted in Halloween on Oct 20, 2023

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✍️ 138 stories

“The start of a good day” by Eddie McKenzie

Submitted to Contest #221

As a child, the scratching frightened Maxwell terribly. Steady desperate clawing at the windows, the floorboards, and once or twice he was sure the blankets that he had drawn up over his head as he tried to hide from the onslaught had been tugged at in such a way that made it alarmingly clear that whatever it was had gotten so much closer than he ever would have been comfortable with. Keeping him from falling into the much-desired embrace of slumber, instead spending long hours of the night jumping at shadows and any noise at all that he hap...

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“Diary of a Dead Girl” by Annabelle Soley

Submitted to Contest #221

My Dearest Sarah, June 7th It’s not my fault. My therapist used to tell me that I shouldn’t blame myself as much. She didn’t know me. She didn’t know what I could do. It is my fault. I did it. They can’t know that though. Good Bye Sarah, Daisy Dear Diary, June 2nd Today was quite the day. I lost my best friend. She’d tell me that it wasn’t my fault. She’d tell me to blame Ryan for eating my lunch and making me on edge for the rest of the day, but I’m going to blame myself regardless of what I know she’d ...

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“The Shadow in the Window” by Eric Ellison

Submitted to Contest #221

Jess finished unpacking the last box and sat on the edge of the bed to rest. The past few weeks had taken a toll on her physically and emotionally and she just wanted to rest, there was just too much to do and too little time.The breakup with Sara went well and they both felt the time had come to move on, but it still hurt. Things like this were never easy, but sometimes necessity drives the changes in our lives and this was one of those times. They were growing apart, either through their careers or in what they both wanted in life and it w...

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“The String” by K A Hamilton

Submitted to Contest #221

If there had been a presence in the house, born of otherworldly energies and bound only by the invisible thread of unfinished business, it would have watched from the second story bedroom window as the Peterson family arrived in a burgundy station wagon around 10PM on a windy Thursday night. It would have scoffed as they hauled in their two suitcases, three smartphones, a laptop, a work laptop, a tablet, a smart speaker, a mobile hotspot with no service, and one very tired little girl. Notably absent from the family treasures was a stuffed...

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“Whispers Across Time” by Owen Sinclair

Submitted to Contest #221

The estate meandered onto the leafy suburban street at a tender pace. Anticipation took control of Mark briefly, whispering for him to put his foot down. He fought it off with a momentary tightening of his hold on the wheel. The brakes squealed in objection to the slightly overzealous pressure Mark provided as they came to a halt. Sarah glanced out of her window. There it was. On the crest of the small hill sat a charming, if a little dated, Victorian house. Its arched sash windows had seen better days, and the small spots of grime beginni...

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“Remain” by Rose Esposito

Submitted to Contest #221

Loosely inspired by The Green Knight and the tale of St. Winifred, and for Domestic Violence Awareness Month (October). Content warning for references to emotional and physical abuse.-------------------------------Relief flooded over Jane when she saw the empty lot and knew that she had the lake to herself. The picnicking families had long since herded the kids back into the car and left, ready to wash off the grass stains and whatever was in those leaf piles; the early-evening joggers were at home with their glasses of wine and a cozy sense...

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“The Bottom of a Stack Doll” by White Buffalo

Submitted to Contest #221

It was blusteringly cold this November. It was sunny though, and birds and insects weren't buried somewhere out of flight or sight. Todd Wilkinson, still a highschool senior, was walking home with his friend Henry following an early dismissal. The neighborhood where they passed amazed them with their Fall color, short trees and bushes bejeweled with purple and black leaves. Pretty blue lady bugs searched for people to cling on to. Todd shook one off before passing a barricaded yard, fenced in by an oily black railing. A prepub...

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“One Night at Zelda's ” by Emily Switzer

Submitted to Contest #221

“One more there…” Ruth points, “….and that should do it!” She passes me the pen. I sign Samantha Hilliard with a feeling of triumph: after months of haggling, No. 53 Persimmon Street is mine. “I’ll email you a PDF of the signed copies for your records,” Ruth continues, “Do you want the keys now or later?” “Now, please,” I say, holding out my hand. &nbsp...

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“A Dead Woman Scorned” by Jeremy Stevens

Submitted to Contest #221

This story contains profanity, alleged pedophilia, and sexual insinuations.I see you, all snuggly; your legs in spoons, your forearm parting those breasts that caught your eye at the church’s Mardi Gras and reverse raffle, when your head nodded with each step that she bounced towards us —us, parents of two, ‘til death do we part— as we refilled our plastic party cups from the half-barrel keg on the muddied church lawn. Having smoked a joint in the parking lot, we were in full flight and everything was funny, especially when you’d renamed St....

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“Shattered gaze” by Ronan Darby

Submitted to Contest #221

The midday sun was heavy, even through the overcast clouds and the single pulled curtain on the other side of the room. A man lay in the bed, still as a rock. He had been awake for some time now but had no desire to leave his dishevelled king sized bed yet. Some time passed, with the only change being the man rolled onto his other side to regain some lost comfort. Only when his stomach began to growl loudly and his head pulsated beyond bearing from the hangover did he muster his wits and sit up in the bed. The room spun almost immediately an...

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“My Mother's House” by Jem Zargo

Submitted to Contest #221

My mother passed away at the beginning of 2019 after a long illness. We lived on opposite sides of the country. After the funeral I stayed alone in her house for a few days before returning home. It wasn't actually a house but a very large three bedroom apartment. Not wide but very long. I live in a small one bedroom flat so I was unused to living in such a large space. In a space where I couldn't actually see what was happening at the other end. Especially at night. At night it felt creepy. Not because mum had died there. Like most peo...

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“White Wolf” by Marion Baars

Submitted to Contest #221

As a toddler, Brendan spoke about a white wolf dog that nobody seemed able to see. No-one took notice of Brendan’s continued sightings of his imaginary friend. Had someone, they may have discovered a pattern which would’ve prepared them for their loss. Weeks or months passed before Brendan saw his white wolf, and often in weird places. When passing a house a few doors away, or in a busy road. Soon after seeing the dog, someone died at the location. Times of death varied from immediately after a sighting to days, weeks or even months later....

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“Dying to Escape” by Kim Reeser

Submitted to Contest #221

Samantha was bored. Her mother had always said she needed too much attention. That she should be more reserved and act like a lady, just like her older sister Edith. Her mother and her sister Edith had been dead now for over a hundred and fifty years, and Samantha did not miss them one teensy tiny bit. Even though she didn’t miss her family. She especially did not miss her sister Edith. Samantha had killed Edith on her nineteenth birthday. Samantha had been fourteen. She had thought about killing her perfect older sister since she was aroun...

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“The Bridge” by Laura Johnston

Submitted to Contest #221

We used to come here all the time. It’s where we fell in love, where we got engaged. This was our place, until it wasn’t. I step out of my car, immediately overcome by the powerful smell of the surrounding evergreen trees, their branches gently swaying in the breeze. The first rays of sun are warm on my skin as I cross the dirt parking lot, rocks crunching under my shoes. I pass the trailhead and walk along the densely wooded path in the cool morning mist, noticing dewdrops clinging to the delicate petals of a bright yellow flower. A hawk sc...

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“Extraction” by Syd Carpenter

Submitted to Contest #221

No matter how tightly I squeezed my eyes shut, the fluorescent glare penetrated my eyelids—a relentless reminder of the situation I was in. Frozen with terror, I could feel the drying trails of tears tightening the stretched skin on either cheek. I imagined the metacarpals in my girlfriend’s hands grinding against one another like drunks on a dance floor. I hoped I wasn’t hurting them, my own too numb to be sure. I felt a familiar pinch, hardly worse than grabbing a thumbtack from the wrong end. “There, the worst part is over!” the nurse of...

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Write a story about someone who is haunted. Whether by a ghost or something else is up to you.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 138 stories

“The start of a good day” by Eddie McKenzie

“Diary of a Dead Girl” by Annabelle Soley

“The Shadow in the Window” by Eric Ellison

“The String” by K A Hamilton

“Whispers Across Time” by Owen Sinclair

“Remain” by Rose Esposito

“The Bottom of a Stack Doll” by White Buffalo

“One Night at Zelda's ” by Emily Switzer

“A Dead Woman Scorned” by Jeremy Stevens

“Shattered gaze” by Ronan Darby

“My Mother's House” by Jem Zargo

“White Wolf” by Marion Baars

“Dying to Escape” by Kim Reeser

“The Bridge” by Laura Johnston

“Extraction” by Syd Carpenter

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a story from a ghost’s point of view.

Write a story about someone trying to raise the dead.

Write a story where ghosts and the living coexist.

Set your story in a world where contacting the dead is as easy as making a phone call.

Contest #221

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

426

Contest entries

148

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

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