Set your story in a library, after hours.

Posted in Horror on Oct 25, 2022

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✍️ 254 stories

“Mrs White in the Library with the Lead Piping” by Katharine Widdows

Submitted to Contest #91

‘I rolled another six! That puts me in the library.’ Colonel Mustard laughed heartily through his bushy moustache. ‘You have that look about you, would you like to make an accusation?’ asked Miss Scarlett, fiddling with the hem of her striking red cocktail dress. ‘I would, I’ll write down my conclusions.’ Though the house was empty, other than the players and the staff, the rest of the group still felt the need to keep their voices down while playing in the actual library, especially after hours. ‘Is it true that the house is an...

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“The Thief - Raphael’s POV” by Nova Artino

Submitted to Contest #91

Gryff's POV - Written by Raven Achlys https://blog.reedsy.com/creative-writing-prompts/contests/91/submissions/64632/I quickly slide my feet into my sneakers and I make my way outside. My phone buzzes as the front door closes behind me and I answer the call.“Hello?” I say quietly as I make my way up the road.“Raphael? Is that you? I can’t hear you!” I pull the phone away from my ear as quickly as I can. “Oliver. What is wrong with you man!”“Sorry. I just wanted to check and see if everything was going as planned since I wasn’t able to m...

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“The Book of Ancient Magical Creatures” by Mystic Darling

Submitted to Contest #91

Usually, I have the Nox Caelo Public Library closed and locked up at 7:00 pm, but tonight is different. And I don’t just mean the unusual number of people who came in asking for the book “The Book of Ancient Magical Creatures” which the library has no record of. And I don’t mean the blood moon either. I mean the bookcase in the kid's section of the library where all of the books were not only taken off the shelves but hidden all around the library. I sigh and pull a copy of “Harry Potter and The Sorcerer’s Stone” out from underneath a bean-...

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“Library Nights ” by Christian Hinrichsen

Submitted to Contest #91

Library Nights Hidden Vaults of Library of Congress, Washington DC Deep in the lower levels of the library of congress about a mile from the Presidential railway that travels below Washington. The library of congress holds a hidden vault that was created by an alliance with the Grays in the early stages of the Library halls. A hidden level was developed to hold an assortment of books that hold a mystical aura that could ruin the world we live in. Professor Kurt Madsen a Caucasian man with glasses and two degrees in English and America...

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“THE LIBRARY THAT CHANGED MY LIFE” by Meera Anvar

Submitted to Contest #91

As we depart from this acquisitive world, we leave behind things that never belonged to us. We say bye to our money, home, friends and our close ones. But what lives even after the extinction of our bodies is the best of memories that had once made a little home in our hearts…… The story that I share today may sound exaggerating but not most of the deepest facts make sense to the world and still uttered now and then… In a library, after hours. I couldn't find a little bit presence of him. I usually spent time in the library more than in my...

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“After Hours In The Library” by Scarlet Scribe

Submitted to Contest #91

The Library had been closed for hours.The librarian left for the day as soon as she had replaced all the books in their proper sections and shelves. Sometimes she wished the patrons would put books back where they had found them. At other times she used the books to log what was being read the most so she knew what to order in the future. Now nothing moved or made a sound in the small country library. The sun had finished setting leaving the library in complete darkness. A pair of eyes shone as a car’s headlights briefly invaded the ...

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“Match-Making” by Rheo Graham

Submitted to Contest #91

There was an eagerness in the air and the shadows; a specific eagerness that hovered just near enough the doors as if to kindly usher out the last folk as the library closed.A sunny, summer twilight softened the sky and those very shadows near the doors deepened and shifted, taking a form that was good at seeming human and bore a happy, gleeful look. Leaola skipped forward with a squeak, flinging out her hands and arms to take in her surroundings. This w...

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“Blood Blossoms” by Paloma Sharma

Submitted to Contest #91

There was no talking allowed in the library. But even outside it, the silence of the night hung heavy with words left unsaid. It was unusually warm for late June. Purple-grey clouds swirled above the three-storey public building. The smell of salt rose from the mangroves nearby. The distant bustle of trains chugging through Mira Road Station was absent. As was the constant buzz of Friday evening shoppers, swarming stores and street-vendors alike on Poonam Sagar Road. Amidst strict night curfew, the lively satellite suburb with its bulging po...

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“Johnny in the Library” by Elisient Vernon

Submitted to Contest #91

Johnny flattened his nose against the windowpane as he stared at the rows and rows of books on the shelves within the room. "Wow, what a lot of books,” he exclaimed underneath his breath, "must be millions and billions of books.” He took his eye off the books to look at the children seated on low chairs around a long table. Some were reading sot1y, and others were looking at pictures, and there was sweet music coming from a big box in the corner. "Boy, they lucky, eh?" muttered Johnny to himself, "and they sure dress n...

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“Night librarian” by Valery Rubin

Submitted to Contest #91

- What have you got there? Show me your references, young man. I hope you're not a reader or a bibliophile. - I like to flip through a book before I go to sleep, but my friend doesn't pick up books at all. Here's my recommendation, if you'd like to see it. My name is Shimmie. I worked in the archives of the Academy of Sciences. I have a bachelor's degree — a philologist by training. - What do you mean, you have a degree, and you don't read books? - But I wouldn't say I like reading. I've read enough in my life. My head is swollen from books....

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“12:23” by Moonlight Sonatina

Submitted to Contest #91

12:23. My watch face blinks up at me in flashes of green that feel out of place amongst the golden lamplight around me. When had it gotten so late? Glancing up at the massive main clock, mounted on the far wall at the other end of the library, I was surprised to read that it displayed the same time. It ticked morosely. Leaning back in my chair, I stifled a sneeze - reluctant to disturb the titanic quiescence consuming the library - and removed my glasses to rub at my eyes. The thick Neuroscience encyclopedia on the desk in front of me that h...

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“The Portal Under The Library” by J.J. Warby

Submitted to Contest #91

The fae-folk had a decent pact with the old librarian. She allowed them to summon their portal and peruse through human knowledge after hours, until sunrise. In return, they’d procure oddities and trinkets from their world. These curious sprites dubbed her the Gatekeeper; a sentinel between worlds, guarding dusty tomes and tapes of VHS. These Earthly ventures had become bi-monthly privileges until one evening. A mysterious piece of paper had slid through the floorboards. It was both an apology and a warning. It mentioned that the library wou...

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“A Rose , a book and life .” by Fatima Zahra

Submitted to Contest #91

As Rose wandered in the alleys of knowledge as she called them, she felt at home, among her friends that truly loved and cared for her unconditionally .In the library halls she felt the most fulfilling sense of belonging .She could spend hours and hours reading to the point that everything loses meaning except for her existence and that of what she is reading .Funny enough, that made her encounter some troublesome situations at home and school .People nowadays are too narrowminded to appreciate how precious and enriching reading is .They pre...

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“Sweet Immersion ” by Marianna Mills

Submitted to Contest #91

The first hour of my shift is the best. I love the stillness, the dimmed lights glowing above the the shelves of books. I tie my hair back, pull out my cart to begin work, cleaning the library. I don't mind my job, it's a job and it pays the bills, I work hard. Stretching before pulling the vacuum, I am starting with the aisles, humming gospel while I work to distract myself. An hour has passed, one more before I get my break, I will have my tea in the lounge with the security guard, Jamail. Now there's a reason to work here. His beautiful d...

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“Be Careful What You Read After Dark” by Bob Faszczewski

Submitted to Contest #91

Words have meaning--but do they have life? Can they actually leap off a page to take you on adventures--even those which you don’t want to go on? Berlin, Md. historian John Simpson, a long-time friend of mine, called me one Friday and excitedly asked me to meet him at the back door of the Berlin Library at 4:15, right after closing. I couldn’t figure out why he wanted to meet at the library and why not during regular business hours in this public place where nobody...

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Set your story in a library, after hours.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 254 stories

“Mrs White in the Library with the Lead Piping” by Katharine Widdows

“The Thief - Raphael’s POV” by Nova Artino

“The Book of Ancient Magical Creatures” by Mystic Darling

“Library Nights ” by Christian Hinrichsen

“THE LIBRARY THAT CHANGED MY LIFE” by Meera Anvar

“After Hours In The Library” by Scarlet Scribe

“Match-Making” by Rheo Graham

“Blood Blossoms” by Paloma Sharma

“Johnny in the Library” by Elisient Vernon

“Night librarian” by Valery Rubin

“12:23” by Moonlight Sonatina

“The Portal Under The Library” by J.J. Warby

“A Rose , a book and life .” by Fatima Zahra

“Sweet Immersion ” by Marianna Mills

“Be Careful What You Read After Dark” by Bob Faszczewski

🌟 Similar prompts

Write about someone going to extreme lengths to return an overdue library book.

Start your story with a stern librarian scolding two characters for making noise in the library.

Write about a character who meticulously catalogs everything in their life, until something disrupts their system.

Write about a character stumbling upon a library book that changes the course of their life, for better or worse.

Contest #91

Enter our weekly contest!

$50

Prize money

770

Contest entries

0

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

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