Set your story in a Gothic manor house.

Posted in Horror on Nov 1, 2022

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✍️ 133 stories

“Strawberry” by Joey Nobleman

Submitted to Contest #64

Strawberry by Joey Nobleman Esteemed, but monastic, Professor of Astronomy Egaeus Borg wouldn’t normally be caught dead at a common celebration; however Halloween’s eccentricity oddly mirrored his own, and served as the exception. The anonymity afforded by costuming preserved his sense of privacy while socializing with others who, mercifully, were busy with being not-themselves; themselves being normally tiresome. Thus, tonight, the yearly ritual of careful adornment was undertaken with deliberate care, paced only by the promised arrival o...

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“Messages in an Old Manor House” by John Steckley

Submitted to Contest #64

I am the founder and leader of a group of writers. There is a steady membership of 10 of us. Every other Monday we have a meeting in which people read and hand out copies of short stories they have written since the previous meeting. One of the pleasures of being part of this writers group is the different approaches and styles that each of us takes: the beginning of one romance after another, supernatural stories with plenty of portals and contacts with the dead, comedic tales, semi-autobiographical/heroic, and the continuing...

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“Henry” by J P Briden

Submitted to Contest #64

Looking back, I should have known that something was not quite right. The family seemed pleasant enough, warm, and full of life, but there was something about the way they looked at me, which made me uneasy. The grandmother, in particular, with her faded green eyes, gazed upon me with an odd mixture of tenderness and sadness. It was the kind of sadness that only the elderly can summon, a sadness decades in the making. My arrival at the manor house was as much a surprise to me as it was to them. I had been sleeping soundly when awoken by a gr...

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“The Blackwoods” by Megan Faith

Submitted to Contest #64

Henrietta was the youngest daughter of the Lovett’s, born the 7th child on the 7th day of the 7th month of the year. She was the only daughter to survive past her teen years. Her older sisters succumbed to many methods of death: one was beaten by her drunken husband, one had died from hypothermia in a row house, one had died from a factory accident. Henrietta survived despite all odds, a curse seemed to linger on the Lovett women. She was born with an intelligent mind, a love of animals and nature, and she was lovely. Whether she was ...

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“black and blue” by Aimie Ishidaa

Submitted to Contest #64

As the light shine to the different part of the place cause of the large stained glass window, morning came and woke the family up. Their house was inspired from the 12th century gothic manors but was built around the 19th century, passed down to generation yet still beautiful as ever. Outside the manor you'll see a unique structural support called flying buttresses which reconstruct the weight of the roof. Looking above you'll see quite a splendid view of the ornate decorations as the pointed arch inside makes it look like a castle.A manor ...

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“A New Muse” by Harlow Jones

Submitted to Contest #64

As a phantom, it is rather hard to find satisfying ways to waste one’s days. I spent the entirety of the 60s and 70s learning to dance. Jazz, tap, disco, Irish, rumba, cha cha, foxtrot, waltz, polka, swing. You can tell how desperate I was insisting on learning all those partner dances despite not finding a fellow ghost I would’ve been willing to partner with. As the 80s were consumed by crochet, the 90s were exhausted by my fleeting love for bird watching. God, the 90s were wretched. What a waste of a decade! Now, however many years later,...

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“A death trap” by Marishka Queen

Submitted to Contest #64

The moment she saw the great abandoned manor, known to be cursed, Haley was drowning in regret punching herself “why… when…when…will you stop gambling”. It really looked cursed, though, great big walls touching the Sky . Algae following the height, loads of windows giving the view of a monster with several eyes and a giant main gate. “the owner wanted to invite a colossal Titan”, said Caitlin frowning at the main gate. There was nobody insight except for a bunch of guards. Hailey’s gaze followed the yard stretching to several mile...

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“Fire In Her Eyes” by Gabriela Skidmore

Submitted to Contest #64

Buxby Manor was enchanted, the legends said. That was not wholly true, but for young Isabella Wright, it was certainly an enchanting prison, with ivy growing up its exterior and it being surrounded by pine forests. There was a wooden swing behind the manor but still inside the gates, and Isabella spent hours sitting, swinging, reading, and doing a variety of other things on that swing. It was her escape within her prison. Because Isabella was no average child. She was the Queen of Switzerland. Her father had died when she was just a yea...

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“Country Interlude” by Sam Newsome

Submitted to Contest #64

A Country Interlude James was enjoying the day. Odd circumstances had brought him to the Scottish border town, but the day was cloudless with a mixture of the scent of peat and new-mown hay wafting from the moors. His rented Mini-Cooper ate up the narrow country lanes like a hungry beast. He could not help but wonder at the circumstances that brought him to the United Kingdom. Only yesterday he was commuting to work in Manhattan along the choked highways of New Jersey. Then he received ...

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“Willow's Whistling” by KENNEDY PLANT

Submitted to Contest #64

I walk up the creeky old stairs. It seems like forever since I have been here, and I'm not sure I want to go back. Murder. The word haunts me in my sleep. Of course, they are here to interview me again. Just when I was getting away from the past. The wind hollers out my name like a lost boy searching for his mother. The thing that I always feel when I come here is back. It's dark. And cold. The statues of angles don't even look close to friendly. Nothing here does."Back already?" I hear her call. She's in my dreams every night, and I shiver ...

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“this town doesn’t grow on you; it grows in you” by Linlou 999

Submitted to Contest #64

I. He hurried up the street, trying to catch up to the elderly lady. “Ma’am? Excuse me, but could I trouble you for directions?” She stopped walking, turning to face him. “Where to?” He took one breath of air, flattening his vest, before answering: “Rochair Manor.” She turned on her heel, wagging a finger at him. “What business have you got there?” He straightened. “It was my father’s property, ma’am. I’m here to sell it.” “Up the hill there.” She pointed to ...

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“Return to Garrison Manor” by Sue Marsh

Submitted to Contest #64

Return to Garrison Manor Suzanne Marsh The old wrought iron gate creaked open as I entered. It had been ten years since I last set foot in Garrison Manor. I still had a mile to walk before I arrived at the carved mahogany door. I walked slowly, I was in no hurry to arrive at the main house. I had been summoned home by my brother Mac, why? I have no idea. I trudged on. I took a deep breath, as I faced the two welcoming gargoyles. The main house was built in 1866 by my great Grandfather. It had fallen into disrepair since my Father took over. ...

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“I Shall Be a Duchess” by Jane DiGiovanni

Submitted to Contest #64

With a tear in my eye I look back at the estate wondering how my dear father could have let this happen. I shall miss him and this place I have loved so. I am no longer to be a lady of the ton. I shall never again dance a waltz at Almacks. I shall never be a Duchess or Marchioness. I am to be a spinster governess the remainder of my days. A flood of tears pour from my eyes, wretched sobs escape my lips as the carriage passes through the gate.My despair of losing my beloved father was more than I could bear or so I had thought, but not it has...

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“The girl who fed by her curiosity” by Northern Star

Submitted to Contest #64

Lightning followed by heavy rain. Only the light of the torches served as a guide for young Elle as she travel the long secret hallway she had discovered when she accidentally dropped the books from the bookshelf on their library. She did not know why she was doing this,she just knew she had to answer the questions that bothered her every night. She remembered her life back then, Ever since the death of her grandfather, who was her remaining guardian, elle has learned to stand on her own feet. One day he received a letter from a man ...

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“ Hidden Under the Floorboards” by Dan Willmot

Submitted to Contest #64

“The art of investigation is a fickle one. Many think of themselves as one of those marvellously witty detectives you see on tv. But few ever put their energy into the mysteries that matter. The legends of ghosts lurking in the dark and monsters out of sight. The cases that get you labelled as the craziest nut in town. Those are the ones worth taking. I may not be a detective by day, but every fibre of my being knows that it's what I’m meant to do. The moment when the last pieces of the puzzle click together, that rush of adrenaline coursing...

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Set your story in a Gothic manor house.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 133 stories

“Strawberry” by Joey Nobleman

“Messages in an Old Manor House” by John Steckley

“Henry” by J P Briden

“The Blackwoods” by Megan Faith

“black and blue” by Aimie Ishidaa

“A New Muse” by Harlow Jones

“A death trap” by Marishka Queen

“Fire In Her Eyes” by Gabriela Skidmore

“Country Interlude” by Sam Newsome

“Willow's Whistling” by KENNEDY PLANT

“this town doesn’t grow on you; it grows in you” by Linlou 999

“Return to Garrison Manor” by Sue Marsh

“I Shall Be a Duchess” by Jane DiGiovanni

“The girl who fed by her curiosity” by Northern Star

“ Hidden Under the Floorboards” by Dan Willmot

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a ghost story where there’s more going on than it first appears.

Write about someone who’s been sent to boarding school.

Write about a family attempting to hide their secrets from someone new.

Write a romance that involves one partner saving the other from a fire.

Contest #64

Enter our weekly contest!

$50

Prize money

753

Contest entries

0

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: