Start your story in an empty guest room.

Posted in Horror on Oct 25, 2022

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✍️ 150 stories

“JOSH” by Aman Fatima

Submitted to Contest #96

Aaron walks behind his real estate agent as he shows him the whole house. The house is two spacious floors, 24 hours water and electricity and has a beautiful lawn. As Aaron walks through the house he thinks the rent is affordable and the place is amazing. At the end of the tour Aaron’s agent brings him to one final room at the far end of the house on the ground floor. “Why is this room empty?” Aaron asks curiously. “Well, you see, since you are on a limited budget and you requested to find a spacious house, and you have already rejected 12 ...

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“‘It’s you.’ ‘It’s me.’” by Zahra Naazir

Submitted to Contest #96

Content warning: Mental illness.How did we get here? We were married, inseparable, and then it all ended. Now I was seeing you again in our empty guest room after one long, stretched out year. The sheets were clean and crisp, but it was the floral patterned, yellow duvet that dressed up the bed the way I had. Lively daisies sat in that glazed-ceramic, chic vase. The room was just how I liked it. It was a preservation of whom I once was. When you looked at me, I grasped the reel of images that ran through your mind. The still captures from yo...

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“Dinner Party” by Emily Lawson

Submitted to Contest #96

Vases filled with flowers graced the center of each table in the great hall. The view of the bright green stems were distorted through the faceted glass. A few delicate petals, looking like colorful teardrops, dotted the glossy surface of the table where the maid was setting the last of the dinner plates. As she picked up the fallen petals, I wondered how I was going to get through the evening. I nodded to the maid as she waited silently for approval. She left the room to help the cook finish the selected meal. Roast beef, glazed carrots...

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“A Room of Our Own” by Kathleen March

Submitted to Contest #96

The room was empty now. I had been a guest there for quite a few days. More like a month. More than a single room, it had been like a suite or a small apartment. It had been almost like home, except it wasn't. None of my friends or family had been given the address, although nobody writes letters any more, so just say I didn't have an address where junk mail and bills could be delivered. It was still like home. There was a reason for that, but it might be hard to understand. None of that mattered, because I was no longer there. My tim...

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“Finding Peace ” by Marianna Mills

Submitted to Contest #96

Rebecca entered the guest house finally, the long drive that brought her here filled with deep thoughts, an emotional cape cowering around her. She needed escape. The car radio blared out her favorite country classic songs, the window of her old battered Toyota pouring in fresh warm summer air as she pulled into the laneway. Her new digs for a month. Strange surroundings, no one knew her here. A grateful embrace after what she'd been through back home. The radio song of heartache and love shut off as she pulled her keys out and got her suitc...

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“Your Room Is Ready . . .” by Lauren McLaughlin

Submitted to Contest #96

Your Room Is Ready . . . Janis was arriving on a plane at 4:00, and she needed a safe spot in which to recover. So Meredith woke up with just one clear thought in her mind that morning, I’ve run out of time and I’ve run out of excuses. I have to clean the guest room – NOW! She got out of bed, slipped into her Mom jeans and a tee shirt, and went right to the guestroom. She stripped the sheets off the bed and put them in the washer. Then she went to the kitchen and made a pot of coffee. Carrying her coffee mug back to the guest room, sh...

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“The Queen's Lament” by R. B. Leyland

Submitted to Contest #96

Dust motes spiralled through the air, illuminated by the dim light that easily broke through the netted curtains that hung, moth eaten. The tip tapping of tiny feet was the only thing that broke the silence, barely disturbing the dominating quiet that reverberated throughout the inn room. It had been paid up for the entire year, the inn keep asking no questions but also asking a thousand in his head. Who has the money to pay for a year? What do they want? Do I really want to be involved? Those were the thoughts of the middle-aged man who ran...

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“.. / .-.. --- ...- . / -.-- --- ..-” by Ari Masters

Submitted to Contest #96

I could tell it was going to be a guest room night as soon as I got home. I might have even known instinctively when I’d woken up next to you this morning, drenched in your sweat from all the way across the bed; maybe that’s why I left work early. My boss is almost begging me to take time off, “all the time you need,” he says, but I know you’d rather I go. It’s a small cage, our house. Not enough room for both of us to be trapped inside. You were on the ...

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“The Guest Room” by Heather Duckett

Submitted to Contest #96

The room was cold and kind of musty. There were cob webs from floor to ceiling. The curtains were torn and hung like ghosts in the windows. There was a tall wardrobe that stood in one corner. It was covered in dust and cob webs. There was a dresser. The mirror looked smoky and cob webs hung all over. Under the dresser had dust and cob webs hanging down. The bed curtains were hanging in shreds and covered in cob webs. The bed still had a blanket and it was really dirty. Something caught my eye under the dresser. ...

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“Sitting at Cafe Shi...” by Clinton Siegle

Submitted to Contest #96

I was seated at the entrance of Cafe Shi. A room outside the cafe. Why? Well, Cafe Shi is a rather above normal tea room. To get in sometimes you have to be on a guest list for sometime. And or know someone. Myself? I had gotten invited to Cafe Shi by mistake several years ago. I had been walking along and well. Long story short went in because I thought they have sweet and sour shrimp.What made Cafe Shi so special? The people? Yes. You never knew who would be there. The tea? Goodness yes. Some of the guest teas served I had to search Chines...

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“HAIL FELLOW WELL MET” by Sivaram Govindaraj

Submitted to Contest #96

Our guest room was mostly empty as we had very few guests coming to our place or even this town. The room would be swept only once a week and I would check its facilities once in a while. The ceiling fan regulator had to be changed and I got it done. The room’s AC was in order. The bathroom fittings were all in good working condition. My wife said “Why are you so bothered about that room? We’ve no guests.” Of course she knew my habit of keeping every facility in the house in good working condition. I would go for a walk in the early morning ...

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“Letting the Magic Happen” by Charlene 🧙‍♀️✨ Boyce

Submitted to Contest #96

It was the cleanest and most soulless room in the house. An old single bed made up with a plain blue blanket, a small nightstand, a built-in bookshelf where a closet might be. A single off-size window, too narrow for egress. Luckily, no building inspector had spent the night in here. Janet claimed, to all and sundry, that no one had. It was a tiny room, barely wide enough for the bed and nightstand. The walls were plain white. There was no art. The bookshelf held a set of encyclopedias that had been a good investment in 1952, and now served ...

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“Mint Green” by Nunga Dorcas Mirande Amalia

Submitted to Contest #96

once upon a time these creamy white walls were mint green because we couldn’t wait to know if it would be a boy or a girl, green did sound good, mint green was neutral a good decision. Yes, what was once a baby nursery became a guest room creamy brown, king-sized bed with fresh clean towels. Changing the paint was easier than forgetting the hope built in this room, the hours we spent here talking, laughing and building up stories for our future him or her. I felt something coming to life inside me every day, it was real it was finally here. ...

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“It's Alright” by William Richards

Submitted to Contest #96

When I saw the mouse in the guest room, I shrieked louder than I cried today. The shriek startled us both. The mouse bolted, jumped high in the air and then scurried away someplace. I don't know where, because I scurried away someplace too. It's been the worst day of my life but all I can think about is how big his ears were and how high it jumped for such a little thing. It seemed impossible. I'm pouring myself a sherry in the kitchen. I know you'd disapprove. It’s only four o’clock in the afternoon. But my nerves are shot. Truly. What a ...

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“Forsake Not the Entertainment of Strangers” by Matt Ward

Submitted to Contest #96

Forsake Not the Entertainment of Strangers (A True Story) The year was 1981. My wife, Pat, and I had just checked out the vacant one-bedroom apartment on the back of our house, making sure that it was clean and ready to advertise for the next tenant. Little did we know that it was about to become a guest room with kitchen and bath. Before we got around to putting an advertisement in the paper as to its availability, an article in the paper caught our eye. A local lady who worked in a homeless shelter had been contacted by some Romanian e...

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Start your story in an empty guest room.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 150 stories

“JOSH” by Aman Fatima

“‘It’s you.’ ‘It’s me.’” by Zahra Naazir

“Dinner Party” by Emily Lawson

“A Room of Our Own” by Kathleen March

“Finding Peace ” by Marianna Mills

“Your Room Is Ready . . .” by Lauren McLaughlin

“The Queen's Lament” by R. B. Leyland

“.. / .-.. --- ...- . / -.-- --- ..-” by Ari Masters

“The Guest Room” by Heather Duckett

“Sitting at Cafe Shi...” by Clinton Siegle

“HAIL FELLOW WELL MET” by Sivaram Govindaraj

“Letting the Magic Happen” by Charlene 🧙‍♀️✨ Boyce

“Mint Green” by Nunga Dorcas Mirande Amalia

“It's Alright” by William Richards

“Forsake Not the Entertainment of Strangers” by Matt Ward

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a story about strangers becoming friends, or friends becoming strangers.

Start your story with the arrival of a strange visitor in a small town.

Write about someone welcoming a stranger into their home.

Write about a character who has to rely on the hospitality of strangers.

Contest #96

Enter our weekly contest!

$50

Prize money

858

Contest entries

0

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

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