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 Monster Under Her Bed” by Ivy Butterfly

Submitted to Contest #217

Dedicated to my new little sister, we may not be related by blood but we are related in spirit. We live in the mansion up the winding road. Yes, that mansion. The one with the bats perched precariously on the windowsills and spiderwebs littering every corner and strange screams from time to time. It’s just my little sister and I, and I promise we’re not scary. Everyone says we’re scary people with a scary house, but I prefer to think of us as quirky recluses with an eccentric living style. Our story takes place around two...

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“Her very own horror.” by Amirkhan Ideluly

Submitted to Contest #217

Kristineth wasn’t your average girl, or at least she wanted to think so. She was a goth, a dedicated one. That meant you’d never see her wear anything but corsets, chokers, and cardigans—all in black. No matter the time or place, she could only ever be seen in this gothic attire and engaging in “true” gothic activities: reading cursed books from the Internet, studying cases of occultist murder, and learning Latin, of course. Though, sometimes it could be Arabic. But she wasn’t a… quirky goth… the one that everyone feels attracted to because...

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“A Bad Stink” by Viktor Klimczyk

Submitted to Contest #217

The old witch must have died in her garden. The smell of pungent decay was snaking out from behind her house and resting bodily in the southern heat. The humidity did nothing to attenuate the issue. The stench had come suddenly at dawn and reached everybody in town simultaneously. Nobody was enthusiastic about the prospect of collecting the corpse. Outsiders deemed the townsfolk superstitious. The townsfolk deemed themselves sensibly cautious. They traipsed around the issue for hours until the stench got so bad, the men putting up the telegr...

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“The Seemingly Magic Mansion” by Tracie Johansen

Submitted to Contest #217

Upon first glance, the mansion on the hill appeared to be run down, practically in ruins, on the brink of collapse. The house was gloomy and had been neglected for what appeared to be decades. Suddenly, as if by magic, it burst into a magnificent display of pristine beauty. It had undergone a dramatic transformation and was now coated in a radiant shade of white accentuated by a sleek black trim. The windows, doors, and shutters are all stunning. Beautiful light fixtures illuminated the house, and there was a splendid array of flower...

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

Submissions are closed

✍️ 64 stories

“The Monster Under Her Bed” by Ivy Butterfly

“Her very own horror.” by Amirkhan Ideluly

“A Bad Stink” by Viktor Klimczyk

“The Seemingly Magic Mansion” by Tracie Johansen

🌟 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: