Set your story in a creepy mansion — except nothing horrifying takes place in it.

Posted in Horror on Sep 22, 2023

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✍️ 64 stories

“The Count” by Anthony Carello

Submitted to Contest #217

A loud knocking woke The Count from his deep slumber.The oversized stone slab made a grinding noise as it slid off the coffin. A sleepy and rather annoyed-looking vampire clambered out. On a small table beside the coffin sat a glass filled with a viscous red liquid—blood. In two gulps, The Count drank it and headed toward the front door of his manor.Shadows loomed in every corner of the mansion, as The Count saw no reason to waste candles on such a frivolous idea as light. He could see perfectly fine in the dark.When he reached his destinati...

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“GiGi Doesn't Live Here Anymore” by Myranda Marie

Submitted to Contest #217

“Let’s go! I want to be there before your aunt and cousin arrive. You know how she is, and frankly I have enough to contend with right now. I do not need her baseless judgements.” Thirteen-year-old Philip Martin continued to pack his overnight bag without acknowledging his mother’s vociferous command. He shook his head and thought to himself, “yelling like that isn’t going to motivate me to fold any faster; these things take time.” Philip wasn’t intentionally being difficult, and despite her best efforts to hurry his progress, his...

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“A Fixer Upper” by Lisa Lange

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #217

Am I a Jonah or a James Bartley, I wonder? It’s my own fault. Too much wine, some pot, an allergy tablet. I fell my way into this old Victorian–my friend Emily’s house–during our lady’s book club sleepover. I thought I was headed for the bathroom at 3 a.m., but I stepped off the widow’s walk. Emily and her family moved out. I don’t belong to anyone in this house. I shouldn’t belong to this house. But when you die in a house, it has a way of holding onto you, or rather, you let it hold onto you. You get complacent, you find your niche, you s...

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“Inheritance” by Marisa Billions

Submitted to Contest #217

“...And to my favorite person in the world, my granddaughter, Aster Lynne Browning, I bequeath my home and all of its contents…” The elderly lawyer in a brown suit with a blue bow tie reads. I’m staring at his white stubble in contrast to his leathery wrinkled skin letting the words sink in. The other family members in the room, donned in black, assembled here as vultures often do to pick over what is left, motivated by greed and gluttony, to see what more it is that they can get from our now dead matriarch, slowly either turn to loo...

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“Aggregation” by Martin Ross

Submitted to Contest #217

CAUTION: Language and grisly images and reality TVNothing had happened at the mansion seemingly in forever. Which kinda, sorta was the whole point.“I don’t give a fuck about manatees,” Mason growled. He then glanced anxiously down at the headset hanging about his neck with his $350 readers and the wood-gripped director’s lens finder that supposedly had belonged to John Ford. He’d hoped for a gig on Yellowstone or at least Yellowstone 1972, and after some flunkie for Taylor Sheridan told him who John Ford was, figured it might help give him s...

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“These Old Bones” by Francois Kosie

Submitted to Contest #217

Flowery carvings adorned the strangely shaped old furniture and caught Jacob’s eye. Happy cherubs were encrusted with dust, and on the walls, the springtime imagery of oil paintings was draped in cobwebs hanging like veils. The floorboards creaked, and the weight of dust and neglect hung everywhere, but still, Jacob couldn't help but explore and get lost in the place, looking for creepy old things and ghosts.At last, he made his way up to the attic, which was pierced here and there by shafts of dust-specked morning light shining through...

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“Buy new? In this economy!?” by Laura Ethington

Submitted to Contest #217

Joe was in between jobs. At least that's what he liked to say when the women he matched with on Bumble would ask what he did. He would also say he traveled a lot. All of these things were true. It was just with his line of work; only one person did the job at a time, and this was his off cycle. He had all his typical resources while not working, so he was not bored. He would be back working soon and taking advantage of this downtime, so why not make it fun with some cheeky dates and try out a few things he wanted to implement into his day jo...

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“North Anger, Abby” by Anne Shillingsburg

Submitted to Contest #217

Dr. Conway wore her hair like she expected the universe to speak to her. And it did. Her sister bought a dilapidated property in Salem, Massachusetts to remodel and flip just when we were reading The Crucible in her concept class on recreations and reimaginings of classic tales. Like the external structures of the ear amplifying regular sound waves, Dr. Conway’s center part and curtain of waves funneled straight to her soul the clarion call of fate beckoning our class on a field trip.Emma and Clueless, Taming of the Shrew and 10 Th...

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“FATHER KNOWS BEST” by Charles Corkery

Submitted to Contest #217

FATHER KNOWS BEST “Arthur, what on earth are you doing with the window hangings, dear? Come and sit down and have some tea”.Ignoring his mother, Arthur continued flapping away at the heavy, brocaded drapes, pulling them, first, one way, then, the other. His sister, Marie-Louise, stood watching, transfixed, as the sunlight invaded the vast drawing room each time Arthur pulled the curtains back, revealing the many trillions of dust motes floating in the air in front of them.“You see. That’s what you are breathing in. Not this”.As he spoke thes...

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“Living The Dream” by Hannah Lynn

Submitted to Contest #217

“Ya know, Joe’s been pressuring me.”Her mother stopped dead in her tracks and spun around. “Are you serious? What did I tell you about boys? He seemed like a nice kid.”“No, not like that. He is a nice kid. But he wants to come over. He says this isn’t normal and I agree.”“You can invite him over anytime you want. I have no problem with that. Just keep your door open.”“Mom. Get real. I can’t have him here and you know that.”“Well, I’m sorry, darling, but this is how it is. You only have a...

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“A mansion of Whispers” by Esmeralda M Kelly

Submitted to Contest #217

Once upon a time, in a small town nestled in the countryside, there stood a creepy mansion that had captured the imaginations of the locals. Its broken-down facade, overgrown gardens, and eerie history made it the perfect backdrop for tales of ghosts and haunting. Many believed the mansion was cursed, while others simply found it unsettling. Yet, despite its creepy appearance, nothing truly horrifying had ever taken place within its walls. One day, a young couple named Emily and James decided to move into the mysterious mansion. They were dr...

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“Life in a Cemetery” by Luna Newman

Submitted to Contest #217

This tale opens on a foggy October afternoon in the year 1921 inside of the massive Erie Manor. A monumental estate made of stone and situated upon the 125-acre grounds of the Erie Cemetery in the Village of Erie in upstate New York. Our players are Mabel and Herman Morgan a lovely young couple and caretakers for the Cemetery. Mabel is a pale faced freckled girl of 28 with auburn hair. Mabel peered out of the gothic shaped windows of the Erie Manor she called home. It was a gloomy autumnal day. Thick mist snaked th...

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“The Blackberry house” by Lynel Black

Submitted to Contest #217

Our home was on the edge of town when I was growing up. We lived in a new project home in a new development, but our backyard faced bushland. Our manicured garden was hemmed in by a six-foot pailing timber fence which marked the bleeding edge of the modern urban sprawl. Beyond was pristine bushland. My haven of mystery. This is where I would go to meet my friends and where we would get up to all sorts of adventures. One of our favourite places to go was the old Blackberry house. We coined this because of the tremendous blackberry vine whic...

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“Morticia Hill Mansion” by Jennifer Taylor

Submitted to Contest #217

Theo took his time ripping the skins off blanched tomato meat. It was his obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) that made him lay them in a perfect row at the top of his wooden cutting board. It looked like a cross-sectional view of intestines that he had seen earlier in the day, a single layer of columnar epithelial cells, which made him giggle to himself.The fleshy part of the skins pressed against the wood, where it dehydrated and stuck like a Band-Aid, making it harder for his wife, Abbey to clean later in the evening. The extra effort thi...

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“The Almost Haunted House ” by George Georgerfrost@gmail.com

Submitted to Contest #217

Cousin Irving has a reputation for being outlandish. His wife Dottie thinks it’s cute, but the rest of us aren’t always so sure. Well, let me start at the beginning since that seems what most people do. All of the cousins had gathered at Aunt Melissa’s house like we do every month. The conversation is lively with talk about this, that and the other. But I could see by the twinkle in his eye, Cousin Irv had something up his sleeve. Once the main course had circulated the table, Irv clanged his fork against...

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Set your story in a creepy mansion — except nothing horrifying takes place in it.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 64 stories

“The Count” by Anthony Carello

“GiGi Doesn't Live Here Anymore” by Myranda Marie

“A Fixer Upper” by Lisa Lange

“Inheritance” by Marisa Billions

“Aggregation” by Martin Ross

“These Old Bones” by Francois Kosie

“Buy new? In this economy!?” by Laura Ethington

“North Anger, Abby” by Anne Shillingsburg

“FATHER KNOWS BEST” by Charles Corkery

“Living The Dream” by Hannah Lynn

“A mansion of Whispers” by Esmeralda M Kelly

“Life in a Cemetery” by Luna Newman

“The Blackberry house” by Lynel Black

“Morticia Hill Mansion” by Jennifer Taylor

“The Almost Haunted House ” by George Georgerfrost@gmail.com

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a story about two characters who like each other but don’t get a happily-ever-after.

Write about a person who's been called to mentor someone in a special skill, but doesn't really want to.

Write about a sleuth who’s a little too keen, but not because they have a traumatic past they won’t talk about.

Write a story about a warrior who doesn’t want to kill the dragon.

Contest #217

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

283

Contest entries

130

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: