Menu

Menu
Prompts
Contests
Stories
Blog
Directory
Contests
Magazine
FAQ

Set your story in a haunted house.

Posted in Horror on Sep 8, 2023

Submissions are closed

Make sure you don't miss our next contest by creating your free Reedsy account.

Sign in with Google
Sign in with Facebook

Or use an email address:

Why not check out our active contest?

✍️ 68 stories

AM I LIVING IN A HAUNTED HOUSE?

Submitted to Contest #215

I lay in bed reading a horror book when I see movement from the corner of my eye coming from the other side of the closed curtain. I slowly lower my book, my mind screaming at me not to. There is a shadow floating on the right side of my window. At first, I thought it was the shadow of the flag, flapping in the wind, but quickly realized this is no flag. I stare at the shadow as it moves up, then to the left, then down, then to the right before repeating the cycle again.       “What the heck is it?” I mutter. &n...

42 likes 32 comments 32
Read story

Three Knocks

Submitted to Contest #215

CW-phobias to be triggered include-Claustrophobia, Thalassophobia, Pyrophobia, Kalampokiphobia, Apotemnophobia. Enjoy…Three knocks come to the door-all in a row-with a gentle, but adamant rhythm. Open your eyes, I think to myself. And I think they open? I am stumbling from my bedroom down the stairs-not even noticing that my husband isn’t by my side.What time is it?I can’t have slept that much. Last night was long. Yesterday was longer. I had willed myself to bed by 10pm with the images of rejection letters dancing in my head-How am I so exh...

30 likes 8 comments 8
Read story

Gardenia

Submitted to Contest #215

The family left Gardenia around five in the morning. They quietly packed their things and left, stopping only to clean the fridge, because they felt strongly that a dirty fridge would speak poorly of them and their abrupt departure. When they left, the fridge was clean, and there was still blood all over the walls. The blood did not belong to anyone in the family. It had started pouring down from the ceiling, and the family decided that was the final straw. It was one thing when specters appeared at the top of the stairs with two heads and...

29 likes 17 comments 17
Read story

The Court House

Submitted to Contest #215

Almost 8:30 AM, it was just before court would begin when his dead client, Mr. Black showed up to talk.Benny knew the consequences for being late, so was short with him.“Why are you here now?” He spoke in a hushed tone to the apparition in front of him, glancing around as the Alameda County Court room began to fill up. It would ruin his reputation as the best Public Defender in the County if people thought he spoke to ghosts.  Mr. Black’s gray suit, the one he used to always wear, appeared now to fit him well, his cuffs were no lon...

27 likes 18 comments 18
Read story

Haunted (A companion story to Ghosted)

Submitted to Contest #215

It was easy to disconnect from life up here, which was the reason Janice had loved this place. So far away, she’d said, like you were a bird hovering above everyone else. Janice was like that, looking for a silver lining. Me, I just saw the stairs that you’d need to take if the elevator broke down.I stood by the window and stared down at the traffic that ebbed and flowed on the street below. The apartment felt empty. It wasn’t. It was stuffed full of bits and pieces that Janice had collected, a random assortment of eclectic objects that clut...

25 likes 15 comments 15
Read story

Death for Dinner and Screams for Dessert

Submitted to Contest #215

**Warning: Contains a house with a violent past, Hollywood passion, loose morals, and death**Arthur Macon wanted an authentic haunted house for his next movie. A place with a history of suicides, murders, and ghostly sightings.The house he chose was built in 1894 on the outskirts of Milwaukee, a ten-bedroom Victorian with deep porches and myriads of gables and chimneys. Three people died during its construction. Johann Buxley, the original owner, hung himself in an attic room in 1910. His oldest daughter, only sixteen at the time of his deat...

23 likes 14 comments 14
Read story

Haunted Bodies

Submitted to Contest #215

Haunted Bodies by Zachariah Chamberlin Loneliness has a scent. That's what Richard Warren thought as he leaned against his black Cadillac in the ruins of the Salt Creek Elementary School parking lot. The smell was a stew of the uncut grass, dusty pebbles, and the recently departed rainclouds. Just how long would he have to wait? "Detective Warren?" called out a voice from within the shadows of the school entrance. The moon was full tonight and so very bright. A Hunter's Moon. Tonight was the closest and reddest it will be. It bathed everythi...

18 likes 5 comments 5
Read story

A Trip to South America

Submitted to Contest #215

The plane was coming back, it was definitely watching him. A small crucifix, dark against the blue sky, drawing and redrawing the same ellipse over the house. Honeypie watched it slip out of sight behind his tree. He loved his garden, and he loved his tree most of all. He loved it now for hiding the plane that was beginning to freak him out. He suspected it was trying to make him leave the garden, possibly force him to abandon his house altogether. The buzzing plane, the visitors who ignored him, the cat that he often felt staring at him fro...

18 likes 15 comments 15
Read story

Elara's Web

Submitted to Contest #215

On a tempestuous weekend, four friends – two boys and two girls- found themselves in a remote holiday home far removed from the city's hustle and bustle. The house, nestled amidst a dense forest, was surrounded by towering trees and echoed with the wilderness's sounds. The home's main allure was Elara, a sophisticated artificial intelligence system controlling every home aspect. "Hi, welcome to your stay," Elara chimed in her synthetic yet charming voice that echoed throughout the house. "You'll never want to leave..." The friends shared a l...

18 likes 1 comment 1
Read story

Ghost FM

Submitted to Contest #215

Sometimes, it is said that there is no manual. The reference being to life. But this is disingenuous. In fact, this sort of thing is wilfully ignorant. One only has to look around at the world around us. Bees don’t have a manual either, yet they know exactly what it is that they must do with their lives. If they were to fail in the fulfilment of this purpose then the consequences would be felt right around the world. Bees do not make excuses, but people do. As the years have passed, I have attended to those things that I should always ha...

17 likes 8 comments 8
Read story

Screams In The House

Submitted to Contest #215

“They say screaming is actually good for you.” “I’ve never heard that one before.” “It’s true. There’s something new called Scream Therapy. Supposedly screaming helps to release endorphins.” “Really?” “Yeah,” she continued, optimistic that he seemed interested. “In fact, there’s a theory that screaming can help those who have experienced trauma in their lives, even in childhood.” “Well, thankfully we don’t have to worry about that.” He grabbed her hand smiling at her. “Come on, let’s get on line. Hopef...

16 likes 7 comments 7
Read story

The Wraiths of Via Riviera

Submitted to Contest #215

The Riviera family has many skeletons in their closet, both literally and figuratively. Their abandoned mansion, the Via Riviera, is avoided by everyone in town. Even snakes and black cats avoid crossing its path for fear of bad luck. The only things lurking in the halls are the ghosts trapped inside its rundown walls.  The night is young. The moon glows blue, but you can hardly see it behind the clouds. A lone girl, 17, maybe, stands on the beaten gravel driveway. Something about the presence of darkness makes the eerie seem much mo...

16 likes 4 comments 4
Read story

Haunted

Submitted to Contest #215

They had her kneel on the bare floor. Allie pulled the hood off her head and looked around. Three shadowy figures stood before her in the dimly lit room.Jason said, “Boo!”“Of course, Jason. I knew you had to be part of it. Where’s your goalie mask?”Diego pointed at him. “He forgot!”The three boys standing over her burst into laughter.Allie said, “Not wearing it doesn’t help you. Don’t leave home without it.”She and Jason dated briefly in their junior year. But his insecurity and immaturity formed a toxic gumbo.When they first led her in she ...

16 likes 11 comments 11
Read story

Haunting of an obliterated enigma

Submitted to Contest #215

In a quaint town, there stood an abandoned mansion famously known as RoyManse. It stood majestically, even in its state of dishevelment. Roys were known to be a huge family. The oldest living matriarch had seven kids. Each of those seven kids went on to marry and produce heirs for the family. For a long time, Roy mansion was managed and looked after by the matriarch, Radha. All her kids and grandkids were settled in various parts of the country, trying to make their mark in the world. Radha had instilled a sense of loyalty and duty in her fa...

15 likes 7 comments 7
Read story

One Million

Submitted to Contest #215

I entered the competition on a whim. Wasn’t expecting to win, but I did. One million dollars. I just had to spend one night in the house. But not just any house—the Baker house, which was haunted. Sitting in the back of the limousine, I clutched onto my overnight bag. My mother’s words blasting against my eardrum–stay away from the Baker house. It’s haunted. That was never proven. But speculation was enough to keep everyone away. Of course, a few strays desired to test the waters. Some came out unscathed. Not everyone was lucky, though. ...

15 likes 2 comments 2
Read story

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a story about someone trying to resist their darker impulses. Whether they succeed or fail is up to you.

Dark – 100 stories

Write a story about a monster trying to become more human. Or about a human trying to become more monstrous.

Thriller and Suspense – 60 stories

You confront the monster you’ve spent many long years hunting. Except they’re not exactly what you thought they’d be…

Adventure – 45 stories

Write a story about someone making a deal with the devil.

Dark – 111 stories

How to Write a Novel

Join Tom Bromley for a writing master class and finish your first draft in 3 months. Learn more →

How to Write a Novel