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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

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

Submissions are closed

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✍️ 138 stories

“The Ghostly Harbinger ” by Joshua Nielsen

Submitted to Contest #221

“Mom, why did we have to move again? I hate packing and unpacking.” Sebastian whines. “Well, we would not have to, if you did not get into trouble in every town we have been to.” Declares Katie. “Ugh, it is just a little marijuana with my friends.” Sebastian turns away shaking his head. He was always getting into trouble with the new friends he made after each move. Drinking, smoking marijuana, and staying out late. This was their seventh move in ten years, and with his junior year of high school approaching in two weeks, Katie hoped it was ...

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“Answers From Beyond the Veil” by Josephine Martinez

Submitted to Contest #221

There is a stretch of road on the Pacific Coast Highway where the veil between worlds grows thin. That barrier, typically a heavy, ever present velvet, is like tulle instead, sheer and pliant. There, it almost seems that you could reach out and touch the other side… Almost. Nothing about this part of PCH is predictable other than how it rarely appears between the same crossroads twice. That and the timing. Because this stretch of road is just like any other until that unwavering darkness that settles after the moon has gone down but before ...

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“The Long Goodbye” by Grace Cooley

Submitted to Contest #221

Maybe I should have cooked only organic food, she thought for the millionth time. Maybe I could have insisted on a vegan diet. Maybe I should have suggested that fancy, expensive protein powder that got so famous for its incredible results. What if I had pitched a low-fat diet – or even a no-fat diet? One expert said the problem was a high fat diet along with heavy metals. He said what was needed was a specific, daily smoothie to remove the metals. Another expert wrote a book about how a high-fat, keto diet had healed a large percentage of t...

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“Home Is Where The Haunt Is” by Olivia Faye Scott

Submitted to Contest #221

A scream rips through the night.  A stout woman bursts onto the dead front lawn. She pounds through the wrought iron gates and races to the sidewalk- she trips- the screaming pauses- she pitches forward, windmilling her arms- the screaming resumes as she catches her balance and makes a break for the sedan across the street. I watch her from the shattered window, despair at her leaving and awe at her lung capacity growing in equal measure with every frantic step she takes. “Hey!” I bellow, climbing onto the fire escape. Breath escapes ...

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“Welcome Your Guest” by Andrew Coy

Submitted to Contest #221

Blood and shards of glass litter the floor around me. My fists still hung in the air where my mirror once stood, something I used to take pride in. Now, I have to throw away every piece of it as well.  When did everything start? How did it get this far? “You know that won’t get rid of me. I’m your guest.” Even now, I can see the smirk on that damn reflection. “Like hell you are. You’ve been ruining my life!” I stomp my foot down, piercing skin onto the miniature blades. The bastard only clicks his tongue. “Don’t you know that breaking a...

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“Walking” by Jenna Lothian

Submitted to Contest #221

There’s something wrong with the house. It was fine at first. The roof tiling cracked. We had it repaired, but it still leaks whenever the weather is bad. There’s mold growing near the front door that nobody ever uses. The floor creaks and shifts and the paint is peeling from the walls, from the roof. The carpet has been torn off the floor in my childhood bedroom and you can still see the sticky residue from where my old artwork was stuck on the walls. When I lay in bed at night, I can hear the faint drip-drip-drip of the taps. My room is r...

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“October and the Ghost” by Nadi Abdi

Submitted to Contest #221

October entered her apartment and paused. She stood in her doorway, dropped her bags, and sighed. Before her stood a tall, pale, skeleton of a man. He wore a white, long-sleeve gown down to his shins that was way too big for his emaciated frame. He was barefoot. His eyes and cheeks were sunken. Everything about him looked like he’d never tasted food. Which would explain the look of anger and vengeance glued to his face. She’d be mad too if she’d never tasted spices.But what annoyed her at present wasn’t him, but what he’d done.In yet another...

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“Warmth in a Cold Conclusion” by Dayton Idoni

Submitted to Contest #221

Mansfield Town, England, 2022. The town centre was obscured by morning darkness. Icy wind blew through the streets, hindering the stride of a lone, thin figure. The old man shrank into his overcoat against the gale’s bitter assault. “Come on, Chief,” mumbled Randall. “Not far to sanctuary.” En route to the library, he passed a small, family-run electronics shop. Across the window was a huge banner advertising a ‘Going out of Business Sale’.  “Time for a new owner, Bunty?” he asked. He fondly placed his hand on the glass, staring i...

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“The Letter” by Misti Silvers

Submitted to Contest #221

Maverick closed his robe on the way to the mailbox. Never enthusiastic about the bills, he dreaded making the walk. He always hated the bad news that the mail carrier delivered. Stretching in the freshness of the sun made him feel exhilarated. Taking a deep breath, made him appreciate nature more since he had fewer opportunities to visit. An avid outdoors person, he was distraught when he had to move closer to the city to find work. The company he worked for multiple years had filed for bankruptcy. He knew eventually it would happen. The bus...

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“Vocally Haunted” by Keila Aartila

Submitted to Contest #221

The woman/wife/mother had hiked a good distance on her own to breathe in the healing power of nature and listen to the wisdom bubbling up on the bank of the winding creek, replaying the final scene she’d had with her son, prompting this isolated trip. “Go to your room!” she screamed as he walked through the front door. “You’re grounded!” She pointed a shaky finger firmly toward the hallway leading to his room. She knew it was irrational, but she was just so angry. He looked at her in wide-eyed confusion before continuing silently to his ro...

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“A Knock at the Door” by Michael Dea

Submitted to Contest #221

The day was a chill winter one, with snow coming down in the steady way that covers a city street in a thick comforter of childhood memory. There were few people outside, with most shoveling or running some errand that couldn’t wait for the storm to clear. I, like most sensible people, preferred to stay inside.  There’s something about the cold that always made me happy as a child; it might have been the holidays or the way the cold air allowed a person to swaddle themselves like a baby. I used to think it made one feel more alive, an...

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“Boy in the Window” by Amelia Masterson

Submitted to Contest #221

Boy in the Window Written by: Amelia Masterson I couldn’t tell if she was serious or not. I couldn’t tell if she was making fun of me. “You did not hear a ghost in the attic, Gen.” Gennie, my older sister by three years, stood half bent looking into a mirror applying what seemed like the tenth thin layer of lip gloss. She turned and faced me, her lips wet like two red slugs one on top of the other. “I’m telling you I heard it,” she said. “What did you hear?” I asked accusingly like a detective questioning his suspect.  She turned back...

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“To Ghost Or Not To Ghost” by Doreen M Atkinson

Submitted to Contest #221

 To Ghost Or Not To Ghost Now Ghastly was a ghost. Trouble is, he didn’t know it. But then, he never was much of a scholar. So, anyway, that’s how this mess all began. It was a perfect night for Halloween. We had the biggest moon you ever saw. Didn’t need any lights at all. Just that big old moon shinin’ down making it look like daylight. Yup, it sure was a perfect night. I was sitting on the bench in the park when I first noticed that the party was underway. Folks all coming out of their houses r...

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“Dylan’s Body” by Amanda Cedeno

Submitted to Contest #221

“So you think you’re dead, and you decided to haunt me?” I recapped the story he just told me. I am Nerina the Apprentice Witch, and I wasn’t amused. My outfit was the magic school’s uniform which was for witches; a dark robe, dark hat, and brown boots. My skin is a light shade of blue, and my hair and eyes change color with my mood, which at that time was red with anger. We were near my locker, I had my backpack on, and I really wanted to go home on time. “We…lllllll, I remember eating lunch, but after that, my mind is blank.” The appariti...

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“Myriad Abstraction” by 姐 姐

Submitted to Contest #221

'Hello, clouds.' I thought to myself. It was another yesterday. Something in my chest was aching. It was as if my heart was breaking. I have lived this day a hundred times before; no matter where I go, it seems as though fragments of what is now a memory follow me in whichever direction I take. As the thunder continued its loud heartbeats, After my long stroll, a small group of three people were waiting at the end of the path, next to a lamp post. The light was flickering, and crickets began chirping. As I got closer, the light flickered m...

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Contest #221

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