Set your story in a haunted house.

Posted in Horror on Sep 8, 2023

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✍️ 70 stories

“Moonlight” by Claudia Parker

Submitted to Contest #215

Moonlight By C Jyl Parker The mirror showed a reflection that wasn’t mine. No one stood before me in the mirror, only shadows of a different room. How could that be? And where was my face, my yellow hair pulled back in bedtime braids, my nightshirt? How did I get here? Was I dreaming? I stood before a large, oval mirror, my hands gripping either side of its carved wooden frame. I wanted to step back, to release the death-grip of my hands, but I was frozen in place, as if another entity controlled my will. I thought back to the day’s event...

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“The Shades of the House” by Maria Zaragoza

Submitted to Contest #215

The old Montes house, situated on the town’s main street, looked quite pleasant during the day, in spite of years that had passed of total abandonment. The home was constructed by some long ago ancestor of the Montes family, which was noted by the red mansard roof, the grand chimney, and the high tower of the attic. The house was painted a white brick that somehow still looked clean in the light. The inside of the home was bare, except for a red velvet rug in the vestment, the cream curtains on every window, and a grand piano in the parlor r...

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“The Lone, Monarch Butterfly” by Nimeshika S

Submitted to Contest #215

I couldn't catch my breath. The quick, shallow breaths weren't helping. I reached my breaking point and my chest constricted. I abhorred running like the plague, but I'm stuck with it now. My entire body felt as though it were being torn apart. I pushed myself to jog even though my legs wanted to give up. I was certain that I couldn't continue after some time. As soon as I finally made a wise decision, cold sweat began to fall. I hurled my brown hoodie in the other direction after peeling it off. Was it too obvious? S...

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“DA HAWNTED HOWTH” by R. J. Garron

Submitted to Contest #215

“Are you sure this is the right address, Tiff?” Freddy asked as he pulled into the weather-worn driveway at the discretion of his wife. “I know Deborah's family recently moved, but I don't remember anything about remodeling an old house.” He gazed at the tattered edifice with a degree of consternation. It stood as black as night, casting its own shadow in a self-contained space. The groves surrounding it were in an equal state of neglect with overgrown trees and weeds sprouting through the cracks in the pavement. “We...

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“Thief” by Oliver Parsons

Submitted to Contest #215

ThiefAndrew Harrick was contemplating breaking the law on his walk home. It was late, summer’s heat still lingered in the London air. He had everything he needed in his bag and night’s dark cloak about his shoulders. His criminal career to date had been short lived. Sure, he’d swiped a few things from corner shops or grabbed a couple of delivery packages when he was a teenager but nothing major, nothing violent and he’d always kept his nose clean. As a kid he saw what could happen if you let that world grab a hold of you and he’d w...

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“The Birdhouse” by Levi Michael

Submitted to Contest #215

The ancient demon Mara is older than man. The Buddhists were the first to recognize him. The sounds that make up his primordial name were first recorded in Sanskrit. Sanskrit and all other languages are flawed in their representations of his name. The true symbol of his name cannot be expressed in any language. But it can be described. Four crosses, joined at the base, jutting in opposing directions. Northwest, northeast, southeast and southwest. I almost took the birdhouse down, and I should’ve. But I was so proud of it. The detail...

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“The Lost and Found Brigade” by Valerie Hewitt

Submitted to Contest #215

Footsteps pounded on old wooden floors. A loud thump resounded as a body slammed into a wall. It let out a muffled wince. Another body came flying down from a set of stairs. “C’mon, Tyler, the Red Lady is right behind me! Get up, get up, get up.” The two boys scrambled out the front door, leaving it open. Moonlight spilled into the house, illuminating a pile of garbage from Tyler’s pocket. A mint, an iPhone, some lint. Silence reigned briefly. Then, out of a dark corner, a pocket calendar peered out. Lucy and Charlie Brown played football...

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“Collapse” by Raquel Belury Rosenberg

Submitted to Contest #215

She wails in her sleep and wishes for the end. The ghosts try to comfort her, but they are bad company. Their ethereal murmurings are too hard to hear and she is so tired of asking what they mean. They are cruel to one another and to every living thing that comes near to them, feeding off of their terror and eventual deaths. They do not dust or tidy. They do not see that she is falling apart around them. If she’d a head, she would shake it at them. If she had a mouth, she would demand that they leave her worn body. If she had arms she ...

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“Nine Days” by Byron Jordan De Borja

Submitted to Contest #215

I’m drained, exhausted, utterly spent, empty. The flight from LA, the bus ride to the wharf, and the ferry trip to this remote island I once called home sapped the life out of my already capitalism-battered body. Air, land, and sea! I should be in dreamland right now, but my mind just won’t let me be… I sank my fatigued body into the aging mattress which had lost its once-soft cushioning, now resembling a lumpy, uneven terrain. Beyond the discomfort of my sleeping arrangement, lethargy had so far eluded me as my mind kept insisting that ...

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“A haunted house tastes bitter” by Katarina S

Submitted to Contest #215

"Are you sure?" A man asked a man this story and many others are about. "I have no choice," the man of the story replied. They were talking about a house in which a man can get lost even when he knows it like the palm of his own hand, a house that haunted with its desolation. He had no choice, he had to go back there and so he started walking, taking the path that took longer but layed on the side of the river. The house stands on the outskirts of the city where a budding forest kept it company. Pine trees of the surrounding woo...

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Set your story in a haunted house.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 70 stories

“Moonlight” by Claudia Parker

“The Shades of the House” by Maria Zaragoza

“The Lone, Monarch Butterfly” by Nimeshika S

“DA HAWNTED HOWTH” by R. J. Garron

“Thief” by Oliver Parsons

“The Birdhouse” by Levi Michael

“The Lost and Found Brigade” by Valerie Hewitt

“Collapse” by Raquel Belury Rosenberg

“Nine Days” by Byron Jordan De Borja

“A haunted house tastes bitter” by Katarina S

🌟 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: