Set your story in a haunted house.

Posted in Horror on Sep 8, 2023

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✍️ 70 stories

“6 Living Inside” by John Steckley

Submitted to Contest #215

6 Lives Inside The whole strange affair started one Sunday, when we were driving north a long way on the highway (well over an hour) to have a hamburger, fries and a chocolate milkshake at our favourite summer take out place: Weber’s. It was always well worth the drive and the lineup. Nearing our destination we saw an old abandoned house we had seen many times before. It was one of the sights we looked forward to viewing along the way, like a lake or a river. Was it always abandoned when we saw it? We couldn’t say. It w...

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“The Mind Plays Tricks” by CJ Erb

Submitted to Contest #215

Myka rummaged through his bag, trying to find his keychain within the chaos of items he kept in it. It was too dark outside to see into the bag, so he had to feel around until he found them. There was no way to get into his apartment building without his key fob. And because it was 3 A.M., there probably wouldn’t be many other residents trying to enter at this time of night. Usually, a security guard sat at the desk in the lobby, but the desk was empty. Myka assumed that the man must have gone to the bathroom or was off doing something ...

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“Burying Ghosts.” by Lara Deppe

Submitted to Contest #215

Kanna drew an impossibly deep breath as she drove down the winding drive through the overgrown brush and trees that were scratching their names in her airport rent-a-car. She could already hear the neglected engine of her father’s rotting chevy choking its way down the long-abandoned road in her memory. She exhaled a painful breath as she approached her destination. The driveway before her was cracked and beveled like an abandoned eggshell. She pulled closer to the garage door. The paint that was peeling from aged wood was piling like leaves...

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“The Thaumatrope” by K. Espinola

Submitted to Contest #215

Lenore Whitten had lived in this house for one hundred and fifty years. Or, at least, that’s what she would claim if anyone ever asked her. But, in reality, there was little left here from her time. All the furniture had gone when her parents sold the home in 1888. At the end of the century, the porch had been replaced when the owners’ little terrier fell through rotting boards. In the twenties, the plumbing had been redone. Then, a young couple had moved in and arranged for the wall between the kitchen and parlor to be removed. It opens thi...

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“Don’t” by Vincent Paiement Désilets

Submitted to Contest #215

I’m writing this with two remaining fingers, one dead friend, and three decades of regrets, loathing, and pain. You’ll never read it—there’s no such thing as time travel—but consider this a therapeutic exercise. A hopeless shot at inner peace, at settling the past. I’ve tried many times to write this. Must be my fiftieth attempt. I’d burst into tears, I’d shake for hours, I’d get lost in a confusing mist of memories, bite my cheeks until they bled. One night, I slit my wrists and soaked my sheet with blood. You’re young, healthy—you feel ...

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“The Great Serpent's Manor” by Nusaiba Hossain

Submitted to Contest #215

No matter who you are or what you are, if you enter this manor you will not make it out… How scary could it be? I questioned myself laying on my bed submerged in my unusual but nearly useless thoughts. Turning to my side I saw the huge manor situated at the top of a hill. Far away from the neighborhood, yet people still think each full moon, it releases bad omens upon the village. My parents were ghostbusters, they travelled from country to country to hunt down ghosts but never dared to even talk about the ‘Great Serpent’s Manor’, ...

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“A Good Old Fashioned Ghost Story” by Cade Holter

Submitted to Contest #215

The House on Bascom Avenue didn’t look haunted. Not by any stretch of the term. It was just another cookie cutter suburban home among its ilk, a drab and uninspiring two story home that was one of many built to dam the flood of people that had been moving to Noxbridge in the past few years. When we stared at the thing during the day, it was just a modern gray townhouse, built for maximizing space at the cost of being nestled into the centre of other homes. You couldn’t pick the thing out if you had wanted too. We weren’t there during the day...

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“I Bleed Dust” by Joshua Copus - Oxland

Submitted to Contest #215

Wheels roll and furniture scrapes across my surface. The stomps of steel toed boots vibrate through each and every floorboard of mine. The shouts and laughter of removal men and the blaring of hard rock music reverberate on my walls for hours. They are always so violent. Once they are gone, three little pairs of shoes, one pair of brogues, and one pair of heels enter my home. A new family has moved in. It fills me with the promise of humans eating breakfast, lunch and dinner, making memories, watching television, reading books, and adding ne...

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“The Wisps on Copacetic Lane” by Georgette Sandoval

Submitted to Contest #215

Veronica-Amber had no recollection of her first encounter with the Wisps. They came as inconspicuous and unexpected like flurries of indoor dust that float and fly when bathed by a sheen of sunlight. At the beginning of their residence at 315 Copacetic Lane, just before their street transitioned into the main road in town, her home knew a time when it was vacant of the Wisps and the only specters filling the inside were the projections from the old films that her father would display on the dark velvet walls of the house. The walls of t...

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“Dear Diary . . . Help” by Barbara Nosek

Submitted to Contest #215

Day 1 – Sooooo, excited. We’re now settled in at the haunted house, more of mansion really, an anniversary present from my brother Joe and his wife Tricia. And thanks to its fully stocked fridge and pantry we just finished a nice lunch of tomato soup and grilled cheese and bacon sandwiches with chips and beer. Beer! But what the heck, we’re on vacation. And now Tony and I are ready to explore the entire house A little scared. Back soon, Diary – I hope!Made it back safe and sound, nothing scary yet. Actually this place is quite elegant. Are h...

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“Below The Surface” by Peter Stone

Submitted to Contest #215

By Peter Stone "Jennifer, why exactly did we move here again," asked Dennis who for the third time that morning had to close the basement door. The Hobbs were a young couple that just wanted a change from the hustle and bustle of the life they experienced in New York. They both had tried to have children with the past partners but we’re never successful. The thought of going through life without a child was turning Jennifer into a nightmare for Dennis. There wasn’t a day go by that she didn’t look up fertility clinics on the internet. “Jen...

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“House of Mirrors” by Mark Gagnon

Submitted to Contest #215

House of Mirrors The mirror showed a reflection that wasn’t my own. That didn’t surprise me because I maintain this Fun House. They designed the mirrors in here to distort people’s images and create confusion as the patrons moved along a dimly lit path. People laughed at their elongated or squatty reflections. They tease their friends about how big or small they look in a particular mirror. It’s all done for a laugh, at least that is what I thought. The Fun House is one of multiple exhibits featured in a traveling carnival that arrived in to...

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“The house in the Park” by Gisela Woldenga

Submitted to Contest #215

isela Woldenga 752 Runnymede Ave. Coquitlam BC, V3J2V1 email: gwnovels@gmail.com Tel.: 604-939-5357 THE HOUSE IN THE PARK Emily stopped and pointed. “Look at that house, Claire. It’s like a left-over from another time. And those colors.” Claire focused her camera. “Yeah, who has skinny, pink houses with yellow shutters nowadays.” Emily felt a small shiver going down her spine. “Not shutters. The windows are boarded up. They look like dead eyes.” Claire giggled. “How dramatic. Maybe we can find out what it’s still doing her...

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“Pulling Back the Shroud” by Bob Faszczewski

Submitted to Contest #215

A full night’s sleep had become virtually impossible for Jeremy Stuart since he moved into the apartment above the Barcom & Sons Mortuary three months ago. Of course, one would expect trouble resting in a building housing the remains of the dead, and possibly their spirits. Jeremy’s sleeplessness, it seemed, stemmed from much more than b...

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“MISDIRECTION IN A HAUNTED HOTEL” by Andrew Hixson

Submitted to Contest #215

I don’t know why I stayed at this hotel. On the first night, I was the only guest. But when I retired to my room, I felt a presence. Despite the humid temperature, I felt cold and snuggled under the duvet to keep myself warm. I heard creaking sounds and footsteps outside my door. I tried to ignore it, thinking it was just the old building settling. But the feeling of being watched never left me. Unable to sleep, I explored the hotel. I walked down the corridor and came across a slightly ajar door. Curiosity got the better of me, and I push...

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Set your story in a haunted house.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 70 stories

“6 Living Inside” by John Steckley

“The Mind Plays Tricks” by CJ Erb

“Burying Ghosts.” by Lara Deppe

“The Thaumatrope” by K. Espinola

“Don’t” by Vincent Paiement Désilets

“The Great Serpent's Manor” by Nusaiba Hossain

“A Good Old Fashioned Ghost Story” by Cade Holter

“I Bleed Dust” by Joshua Copus - Oxland

“The Wisps on Copacetic Lane” by Georgette Sandoval

“Dear Diary . . . Help” by Barbara Nosek

“Below The Surface” by Peter Stone

“House of Mirrors” by Mark Gagnon

“The house in the Park” by Gisela Woldenga

“Pulling Back the Shroud” by Bob Faszczewski

“MISDIRECTION IN A HAUNTED HOTEL” by Andrew Hixson

🌟 Similar prompts

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

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

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

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

Contest #215

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

387

Contest entries

135

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: