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

“With Much Anticipation” by Ron Wyatt

Submitted to Contest #217

I cannot recall the exact date, not even the week, but it has stayed with me. My small town, Midwest upbringing was taxed to the limit. It was a bit of a surprise when I announced at the breakfast table, in between passing the butter, and asking for milk, that the small college out east would be where my career preparation would begin. My dad, second generation owner of the Wylie Hardware Store, sat silent. Lorene, his wife, my mother, uttered her oft used “why on earth”?! I was prepared and went down the laundry list st...

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“The List” by Ty Murphy

Submitted to Contest #217

The List "So this is the place, huh," said Clair. Daniel nodded. "Yep. This is it." They stood in the large entranceway of the manor. Cobwebs hung wherever there was a right angle; along wall sconces, from decorative furniture, between bulbs on the chandelier. The smell of stale air and damp, rotting wood was as undeniable as the footprints through the middle of the dust covered floor. The lobby had a ceiling that would have been three stories high in a modern home but was split into two very tall floors. Long corridors extended east and...

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“DIE LAUGHING” by Mark Hordyszynski

Submitted to Contest #217

The trees lining the borders of the property leaned in and hung over—thick and dense— forming a barrier against the outside world and light. One would feel trapped between the imposing and intimidating structure and the wall of towering trees. Dead leaves, piled up over countless autumns and winters, were raspy like old newspaper, dry and brittle. A landscaper or maintenance crew had not stepped foot onto the premises since man stepped foot on the moon; every bush and shrub were overgrown, each ornamental tree was gnarled and arthritic, limb...

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“The Property” by Aaron Schmidt

Submitted to Contest #217

I sat in a dark and quiet slumber for so long until late. Many, many seasons ago it had been since a handful of men nailed boards to my doors and windows, bringing quiet and darkness to my halls for the first time since I came to be. For a while it was just lonely but slowly the paper began to degrade and peel from my walls, scattering prints of flowers all throughout my floors. A lonesome pain. The branches of trees around me started to push against my siding, scraping the paint away. Cold air would come and my wood contracted from every na...

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“The Nightbringer” by Melody Charles

Submitted to Contest #217

Elias tried to make out the blotted words as he held the small piece of torn paper, and put his hand on his face in confusion. Whomever wrote this letter, did he rush? When did he leave? And why did the letter rip? There must be the complete letter, somewhere. The ink had smudged, leaving a few fingerprints that appeared monstrously thick, like they belonged to a hand not human. You have until midnight the chunk of paper warned. He slammed the antique drawer back in place and crumpled the paper up and stowed it away in his le...

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“Terrarium” by Alex Kramer

Submitted to Contest #217

It stared into the instruments floating like wind chimes. It was lying face-up on a medical examination table deep in the cellars. It noted, like so many times before, the rust dulling what dangled above. What fluids had hardened into this sickly burnt orange? Blood and iron. Saliva and silver. Corrosion in action. It would keep tabs on the progress within an infinite memory. Or it would forget. And that would be just the same. Nothing so banal really mattered anymore. This was about feeling, not science. It flung its legs over the...

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“A Disembodied Voice” by Zachary Lombardo

Submitted to Contest #217

The buildings at the University were scattered like used textbooks with facades of wood, masonry, and concrete for covers. In their radical inconsistency the buildings showed the decades of disagreement and the independence of the faculty as well as the ebb and flow of “new ideas”. There were Greco-Roman columns, gothic buttresses, and brutalist masses of concrete, sometimes all in one building. Not all the buildings were in use, of course. Grant funding is a fickle mistress. A program could be killed by a simple change of focus leav...

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“The House” by Pebble K

Submitted to Contest #217

The house was haunted. It was a stately affair, the kind of mansion that had fallen into disrepair after its family decided to leave. On sunny days, one could hardly think that the dead would haunt the place. But on darker nights, there was something strange about it, perhaps even the reason why the family decided to move in the first place. There was no way to truly pin it down, just a shifting in the air and the way the ground seemed to swallow every whisper. The boy wished he could go back in time to when things were kinder, but of course...

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“Yellow” by Gina Nelson

Submitted to Contest #217

The double gate creeks as I push through the cold, black iron fencing. The sections groan inward toward the yard as I put my shoulder into them. The road I came from is mostly dirt now with crumbly blacktop mingled with tall, flowering weeds. Yellow. The color of Judy’s sheets when she was on her deathbed. I shake it off. The flowers are pretty, for weeds. I force the gate doors closed behind me to keep out the dread. It’s been two months now, and I am still not comfortable with being alone in this huge place. It’s oversized, and I keep ge...

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“McMansion ” by Nicole Ortiz

Submitted to Contest #217

Small forest amphibians struggled for air in the thick mucus-like bubbles coming up from acres of a dreadful mire. When these bubbles popped, they released an earthly stench so disturbing, that even those creatures which had somehow made it to the shore of some solid surface, perished at the first inhale of such a wretched release. The lives of these many mangled innocent were gnawed on slowly and sadly by birds with heavy beaks and black, greasy feathers. The sheen of their dark coats shone a dark blue where it was greasiest, and reflected ...

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“Ghostly Inheritance” by Bettina Karpathian

Submitted to Contest #217

Mary was grateful for the cold, white light of the full moon as the car lurched down the potholed driveway. Branches and briars from the overgrown hedges scraped the car like nails on a blackboard. The skeletal black shapes of bare trees swayed in the gusty wind, sending grotesque shadows dancing across her line of vision. She pulled up in front of the mansion, slumping in her seat with relief. Parking in front of an impressive set of stone steps which led up to the front door, she sat for a moment, eyes closed, taking deep breaths.A knock o...

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“The Spirit Seer” by Sedonia Beverly

Submitted to Contest #217

I'm sure you've heard of many stories where a child lost both of her parents through some accident. You have also heard how she was forced to live with an abusive, unloving aunt and uncle. Well, my new parents, that aunt and uncle, do not like me. So that part is true. But my parents did not die. It wasn't a car accident either. I saw it! They were kidnapped! That creature or thing kidnapped them while we were driving. I guess that thing didn’t want others to know they disappeared. So, it replaced my parents with transfigured beings that wer...

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“A Set of Steak Knives” by Rich Kopacz

Submitted to Contest #217

A Set of Steak Knives By Rich Kopacz “You have my fullest assurance,” Caleb Weatherby drawled smoothly as he held open the door to the infamous Murder Mansion of Hickory Creek, South Carolina, “that there is no danger here whatsoever.” Miss Elle Higgins nodded appreciatively, but her hands clutched her Gucci purse tightly as she carefully placed on black-heeled foot across the threshold. &nbs...

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“Home” by William Campaign

Submitted to Contest #217

Home Mathew Leach peddled along the familiar dirt road gliding past the dirty old sign for Rodman’s Pass. He pressed farther up the broken path that would soon turn to gravel. While his friends wouldn’t be caught dead taking it, it was a path he’d come to know well taking it dozen trips up to the peak. As his bike careened down a small dip in the road he gave the peddling a rest and let his thoughts drift to the inevitable conversation he was about to have. It was one Matt had been dreading for some time and he was plagued with the ...

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“If you think about it, you will see it” by Shridhar Shivam

Submitted to Contest #217

“We are finally here” Mom was so excited, I guess she was the only person thrilled about us moving into a new house. Although it was temporary, I still didn’t like the idea. My elder brother had not given any special reaction about shifting, I guess he just didn’t care. The new house is bigger than our previous house, a two-floor standalone building made mostly of wood. The first floor has the master bedroom on the left, after entering the house, and a kitchen on the right with a dining table in front of it. The staircase went to t...

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

Submissions are closed

✍️ 64 stories

“With Much Anticipation” by Ron Wyatt

“The List” by Ty Murphy

“DIE LAUGHING” by Mark Hordyszynski

“The Property” by Aaron Schmidt

“The Nightbringer” by Melody Charles

“Terrarium” by Alex Kramer

“A Disembodied Voice” by Zachary Lombardo

“The House” by Pebble K

“Yellow” by Gina Nelson

“McMansion ” by Nicole Ortiz

“Ghostly Inheritance” by Bettina Karpathian

“The Spirit Seer” by Sedonia Beverly

“A Set of Steak Knives” by Rich Kopacz

“Home” by William Campaign

“If you think about it, you will see it” by Shridhar Shivam

🌟 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: