Set your story in a house of mirrors and make the atmosphere increasingly eerie.

Posted in Horror on Nov 17, 2023

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✍️ 42 stories

“Gertrude Inn” by Hazel Ide

Submitted to Contest #225

The span of my childhood could be separated into two categories: Knowing and Not-knowing.In fact, everyone in my family, even the adults, could split similarly: those who knew and those who didn’t.Regardless of which category you fell into, everyone knew Grandma had certain… proclivities. It was an unspoken thing, yet you felt how heavily it threaded into every conversation and side-comment at family gatherings. No one really talked about it, not outright, but it was always there, lingering between the lines. The Not-knowing part of my ...

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“Galerie des Glaces” by Marty B

Submitted to Contest #225

**** themes of violence *****1681, Versaille, France.Maestro La Motta saw his dead father walking toward him through the arched alcove, and pure terror washed through him. Had his Father has come across the world to haunt him, to torment him for destroying his legacy? Workmen’s voices shouted in French and in German outside the open windows of the long hallway. When he heard the vibrant tones of his own language, Venetian, La Motta looked out to see his two apprentices, the only people he could still trust in this foreign city.&nbs...

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“Mirror Mirror” by Ralph Aldrich

Submitted to Contest #225

I stumble out of “Pete’s Blue Bird Bar and Grill,” where I’ve had my usual nightly meal along with two pitchers of beer. Swaying slightly on the sidewalk, I light a cigarette. A cool wind whips around me. I shiver and flip up my collar. I exhale a stream of smoke into a starless sky, for they are hidden behind a wall of rain clouds. “I think I’d better hurry home to my empty apartment before it rains on my empty life.” I chuckle. Raising my finger, I pronounce, “But first, to the package store for my favor...

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“Remake” by Steffen Lettau

Submitted to Contest #225

Chelsea Bonifade was a dirty-blonde, hazel-eyed, nervous wreck. There was no Shakespearian way to put it; a sneeze had the girl run for cover like a live grenade was tossed in her direction. She found solace in books, and yet she would see a library as too crowded for her comfort. If being an introvert could be mathematically cubed in real life, it would be her. A hall of mirrors stood before her, each one illuminated by a light inserted into the ceiling. At the behest of her date, promising that this would help with her anxiety and ne...

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“The Man in the Mirrors” by Nic Azad

Submitted to Contest #225

**Trigger warning: this story contains depictions of mental health and physical violence that some readers may find unsettling. Reader discretion is advised. Detective Harley spun around, right hand moving instinctively to his hip. He could have sworn the sound of footfalls had come from just over his shoulder. His 180 complete, the Detective's eyes alighted on nothing save for his reflection, which seemed to stretch on indefinitely down the three mirror-lined hallways. "Damnit, Franklin!" he screamed, "Where are you?" Steeling himself, ...

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“The World Inside” by Amanda Sessions

Submitted to Contest #225

Tink, tink, tink.The tin can Addy had just kicked skittered down the broken pavement in front of her. Broken, just like everything else in what was left of her hometown. As she walked toward the old fairgrounds, she passed houses in different stages of disrepair. They all had a common theme though; it looked as if whoever had lived there had left in a hurry. There were old drink cans tipped over on the front lawns, a garage door was left open with children's toys rusting in the elements, and a sweet Raggedy Ann doll slumped over in a pink ch...

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“Parallel” by Sophie Irish

Submitted to Contest #225

I awoke suddenly, jolting in the hard and creaky bed I had crashed the night before, in a wine fuelled haze, with a feeling like I had been plunged into darkness. I was unsure if my eyes were open or closed and my temple throbbed at last night’s poor decision to finish a bottle and a half. I fumbled for my phone under my pillow and groaned at the blinding brightness. It was only five in the morning but I had work to do, so rolled myself off the bed; agonisingly sluggish. I looked around with only one eye open, perched on the end of the bed, ...

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“The Edge of Reality” by Tyler Porter

Submitted to Contest #225

Leo’s footsteps echoed faintly as he approached the old carnival, the sounds mingling with distant laughter and the creaking of rusted rides swaying in the gentle night breeze. The place had an air of forgotten joy, like a melody from an era that had long since gone. It was the first weekend of October, and the carnival had sprung up on the outskirts of town, a temporary world of wonder in the midst of mundane life. As he wandered past the candy-striped booths and flickering lights, Leo's gaze was drawn to an attraction set awkwardly apart f...

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“Mirror Mirror on the Wall…” by Joan Of Arc

Submitted to Contest #225

They told me. I cannot say they did not tell me. But did I listen? No. Substances are not the only form of addiction. And addicted people never listen, why should I have?The daylight had slowly started to fade as the sun tucked in the horizon, hopping away in fear of the dark night that had just started to spread its veil across the sky. Contrary to most of the people I know, I have always had a special place for the night in my mind. Stillness and quiet give the perfect opportunity for reflection and thought, it is the only time when you ca...

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“Reflections of Motherhood” by Hannah Lynn

Submitted to Contest #225

“Happy Birthday, Mommy!” Startled out of a deep sleep, Julia woke to the twins jumping on the bed like two little monkeys. “Get over here.” She smiled, reaching out for the children. As they tumbled on top of her with their hugs and kisses, she had to laugh. It was a good way to start her birthday. “Are we going to the carnival, Mommy?” “Did you think about it? Can we go?” “Can we, Mommy, can we?” The questions came at her in rapid fire succession. She felt the exhaustion and slight headache lingering fr...

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“Glass House” by Jed Cope

Submitted to Contest #225

John’s mum used to say that you ended up with the house that was meant for you. When he was younger, he was uncharitable towards his mother’s sayings. He found them to be twee and ultimately irrelevant, but as he calmed down and relaxed into his life, he found merit in what she said understanding that she’d done a fair amount of living, mostly before he came along and changed her into a parent and mother. She’d been more like him than he had cared to admit. He still struggled with that admission. Finding and securing a house had been a pro...

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“The Chalet” by Trevor Wilson

Submitted to Contest #225

TW: Violence, Gore, Fear, Language“I’m approaching the residence now,” Detective Lance Brewster said through his radio. “There’s so much fuckin’ fog, how the hell am I gonna get back home in this?” The radio static hummed some more, the operator on the other end of the radio rendered inaudible and scrambled. Detective Brewster tossed the radio to the side, let out a deep sigh, and sped up along the mountain road to this night’s assignment. Towering evergreens lined the road’s edges and filled the vast forest surrounding Detective Brewst...

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“reflected.” by Lara Deppe

Submitted to Contest #225

Paisley screamed Alder’s name but it was drowned out by the whine of the ambulance as it rushed her down the mountainside. The EMT was trying to calm her but she was desperate to know what was happening to her husband. The last time she had seen him conscious was only a reflection behind a thick pane of glass. They should never have come here. She wished they had never taken this job.“No way!” Paisley exclaimed as she pulled the blanket off her legs where she was snuggled on the couch. The couch creaked with age as she stood in the darkening...

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“Reflections Unbound” by Jennifer Farina Stewart

Submitted to Contest #225

The wind howled through the twisted, gnarled branches of the ancient trees that encircled the abandoned mansion. As it blew, it whispered secrets of the past, casting eerie shadows on the crumbling facade of the once-grand estate. Alex, Maya, and Jake, united by their fascination with the macabre, stood before the mansion, their breaths visible in the chilly autumn air. They were drawn to the decaying mansion, rumored to be a place of unspeakable horror and secrets.With trepidation, the trio pushed the creaking front door open, which groaned...

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“The Art of Lost Keys” by Jarrel Jefferson

Submitted to Contest #225

I stare out the window at the overcast sky and the air looks like a prolonged orgasm. I haven’t left my apartment in thirty-seven hours, during which thoughts of me forgetting how to conversate with another human being fill me with a nameless dread. I need to break free from these walls. I reach for the car keys I sometimes leave on my writing desk, but my fingertips shuffle around medical bills, and I listen to some of the pages flip flop to the floor. My keys aren’t under my sombrero, either. I think about where else I would leave th...

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Set your story in a house of mirrors and make the atmosphere increasingly eerie.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 42 stories

“Gertrude Inn” by Hazel Ide

“Galerie des Glaces” by Marty B

“Mirror Mirror” by Ralph Aldrich

“Remake” by Steffen Lettau

“The Man in the Mirrors” by Nic Azad

“The World Inside” by Amanda Sessions

“Parallel” by Sophie Irish

“The Edge of Reality” by Tyler Porter

“Mirror Mirror on the Wall…” by Joan Of Arc

“Reflections of Motherhood” by Hannah Lynn

“Glass House” by Jed Cope

“The Chalet” by Trevor Wilson

“reflected.” by Lara Deppe

“Reflections Unbound” by Jennifer Farina Stewart

“The Art of Lost Keys” by Jarrel Jefferson

🌟 Similar prompts

Start your story with someone buying a cursed — or perhaps blessed —mirror from an antiques store.

Write a story about someone trying to paint (or otherwise create) a self-portrait.

Write a story about someone coming across their doppelganger.

Write a story about a character who one day notices that their reflection has taken on a life of its own.

Contest #225

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

280

Contest entries

106

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: