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

“In an Unseen Lens” by Tiana J. Raini

Submitted to Contest #217

“Hey, is this thing on?” Michael tested his lavalier near the zip of his hoodie, casting a glance at the analog camera pointed at him. “Yeah, you’re good to go, Mike.” His camera guy, Cameron, chimed from the seat beside him. “Yeah? Okay, sweet.” Micheal rubbed his hands together looking up expectantly at the camera and waited. “Um, it’s recording–” “What’s up, guys?” Michael sprang up. “It’s your boy, Michael, and welcome back to CitySeekersTV! So, my girlfriend, Lily, is driving us to this creepy forest, and… it’s actually 6:00 P...

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“The Mansion and the Visitor” by Charlotte Suarez

Submitted to Contest #217

Sarah had been walking through shrubbery for a short while. There is a mansion at the end of her trail, one that she intends to explore. A mansion that is part of an abandoned of town that was now overgrown with wildlife. Where the bodies of buildings once were, now only skeletons remain, the rest of now crumbled on the floor into a mixture of soil, drywall, and concrete. But the old mansion still stood, its body still stands in one piece, though not without a few scratches. It stands there, waiting for someone to give it energy and life aga...

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“Abode” by Kathryn Kahn

Submitted to Contest #217

It wasn’t fully dark, but the light was fading. I stood on the porch at my grandfather’s front door, heart pounding and hands damp. Grandpa’s car wasn’t in the driveway, but it might be in the barn where he sometimes kept it. I wasn’t going to walk back there in the growing darkness to find out. No lights shone in the house. I rang the doorbell anyway. Nothing. I tried the door. Locked. I knocked, loudly. “Grandpa?” I called. “It’s Lisa! Are you there?” Everything was perfectly silent. I pressed my ear against the door, trying to detect an...

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“Agatha Christie--Not!” by Bob Faszczewski

Submitted to Contest #217

The decrepit door on the rundown building creaked as he opened it, almost falling off its hinges. The eerie light in the cobweb-covered interior revealed a long, dark corridor illuminated on each side only by a series of book lights, one every few feet. John’s girlfriend Jane had texted him a half hour before and told him to drive to an abandoned mansion on what had deteriorated into the seedier side of their small rural town. She had forwarded directions, one message at a time, separated by agonizing intervals of five minutes. Her voice so...

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“Sister Till Death Do Us Part” by Peter Stone

Submitted to Contest #217

“Hazel where did you put the money for this big man,” asked Ethel. The big man was Jason Watts a fourteen-year-old Mexican boy that had been adopted by the Watts family at birth. His dark skin was glowing from the sunscreen his mom had applied before he left the house. He had just mowed the Greystone Mansion’s lawn and reluctantly entered into the parlor to collect his pay.“Jason, do you have to drip sweat all over my nice clean floor? Asked Ethel as she pushed her walker closer to him. Jason had heard so many horror stories at the local sch...

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“Our home is our Castle and our Mansion” by Rose Lind

Submitted to Contest #217

Sensitive data for Australian Aborigines.Suicide.Phenomena **************************************Australia does not have castles, nor have I ever been in a castle. The official date of European occupation occurred on the 26th of January, 1777. The dark history of colonisation started the terror forever placed in the ancestrial genetic memory of all Aboriginal people continuing today.On January 1st, 1901, a group of hairy, long bearded, glim men sweltered under canvas shelters established the Commonwealth of Australia for Whites to govern in ...

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“Risky Business” by Stephanie Rapo

Submitted to Contest #217

The word mansion comes from the Latin root mansionem, "a staying or a remaining," from the stem manere, "to stay." Definitions of mansion include: a large and imposing house. synonyms: an intimidating residence One foot in front of the other, we rambled our way over loose stones and strong roots, following the worn path. Our feet stepped in the same spots as those before us, where time had allowed primitive stairs to form in the large, soft boulders. The forest smelled sweet and piney, and our breath was becoming labored. &nb...

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“The Eerie Haunting” by Jane Sefc

Submitted to Contest #217

Dylan walked down the street, his school bag weighing him down with the inevitable homework. He went over the list in his head, wondering if he’d have time to watch a film tonight. He wanted to go home and flunk the bag in the corner without doing anything, but he was trying to get into a good college in two years, and not doing his homework wasn’t an option. His nine-year-old brother Brett skipped along beside him, whistling tunelessly. Nothing rattled or worried Brett. The world was his playground; his life was one big game, and if homewo...

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“The Lady In Waiting” by Luca King Greek

Submitted to Contest #217

Thaddeus Blue, dressed in his white and teal-striped pajamas, closed the secret panel and waited for his eyes to adjust to the dark. Small pockmarks of light illuminated concealed passageways and hidden stairs owing to tiny peep holes and fissures in the fabric of the old house. From these vantage points a voyeur might observe the affairs of Cricklewood Hall, but Blue’s intent, aligned with that of the fabulous Mrs. Peacock, went beyond observation. Attuned to the gloom, he made his way toward the rear of the great house, to w...

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“White House Haunts” by Anna Maeve

Submitted to Contest #217

Andie had always been captivated by the fantastic supernatural tales surrounding the White House. The countless stories of spectral apparitions, eerie whispers, and poltergeistlian forces had bewitched her imagination for years. As a writer of macabre tales that dwelled in the darkest corners of the human psyche, she found herself irresistibly drawn to the heart of American power and history, hoping to catch but a glimpse of the other side. With invitation clutched in her trembling hand, she ventured into the ghoulish heart of the nation's c...

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“The Forgotten Masterpiece” by 3i Writer

Submitted to Contest #217

Very late in the night, the old mansion was making those weird noises again. Roy had already been stationed outside, beginning to investigate such strange occurrence. He climbed up the cold iron gate. Once he reached the top, he leaped and made a soft landing in the mansion's compound. Roy chose such a difficult way as the gates were locked and fastened with numerous rusty chains. Roy did not intend to make unnecessary noise with a saw. He had to tread past numerous tombstones before he could reach the building....

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“The House of the Early Departed” by K. Lynn

Submitted to Contest #217

The air in the mansion was heavy and soiled from not moving, no different from the thickness and stillness of the heavy ornate curtains that lined the parlor windows, blocking out all external air and light. The inhabitants barely brought a stir as they moved about, and the shadowy casts of faint light created giants in places where there were none. The pale faded wallpaper was torn away and stained, but over time these things seemed less like a sign of death and age, and more like a testament to lives lived. The rooms that filled the house...

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“Molly's Last Chance” by Rudy Senecal

Submitted to Contest #217

I arrived at a Victorian style mansion that had certainly seen better days. Multiple winters, storms, and even some vandalizers hadn’t done the place any wonders. The majority of the windows were smashed out. Broken glass riddled the roundabout driveway almost as thick as the fall leaves. As well the lion statues that had once sat parallel on the steps up were pulled over. One was even smashed to bits by what looked like a rock hammer. It was a sad and broken sight to me. Such a beautiful home that was clearly now just an outlet for destruct...

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“The Girl on the Porch” by Joel Everett Harding

Submitted to Contest #217

The Girl on the Porch The eerie quiet of seldom visited tombs surrounded her before she finished locking the bedroom door. After it clicked, she turned around and faced the dimly lit hallway, feeling the silence that pervaded the turn-of-the-century seaside mansion. The only sound she heard came from her pants rustling softly as she stepped along the carpeted hallway toward the staircase. Two books lay tucked under her arm, and she carried a little snack container of raw vegetables and creamy dip in her hand. The dark undercuts of the...

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“A Toothsome Tale” by Note Book

Submitted to Contest #217

Open your mouth widely and show me your teeth. The final part of the bracing was complete. This was her third session, and Silvia grabbed the seat as the pain was unbearable. She was expecting a triumphant word of encouragement from the doctor for her patience, but the doctor was impassive. The doctor was thin, but her hair was thinner; only a few wisps of gray hair covered her almost bald head. Her fingers were long and slender; she almost looked uncanny, with big eyes and furrows showing up on her face. A deathly silence prevailed. The r...

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

Submissions are closed

✍️ 64 stories

“In an Unseen Lens” by Tiana J. Raini

“The Mansion and the Visitor” by Charlotte Suarez

“Abode” by Kathryn Kahn

“Agatha Christie--Not!” by Bob Faszczewski

“Sister Till Death Do Us Part” by Peter Stone

“Our home is our Castle and our Mansion” by Rose Lind

“Risky Business” by Stephanie Rapo

“The Eerie Haunting” by Jane Sefc

“The Lady In Waiting” by Luca King Greek

“White House Haunts” by Anna Maeve

“The Forgotten Masterpiece” by 3i Writer

“The House of the Early Departed” by K. Lynn

“Molly's Last Chance” by Rudy Senecal

“The Girl on the Porch” by Joel Everett Harding

“A Toothsome Tale” by Note Book

🌟 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 🏆

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