Start your story with a character encountering a black cat.

Posted in Horror on Oct 28, 2022

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✍️ 74 stories

“Before Us” by Andra Patterson

Submitted to Contest #169

It was the night of October 28th, 2016. I was walking home from work late that night around 11 o’clock or so when I saw her. After all these years, to think she was just a black cat following me along the sidewalk that night and I thought nothing of the sort. Just another neighborhood cat walking around, right? Oh, how I was so wrong, I never in a million years could have predicted the events of that night and so on, but first I must take you back to that dreadful night....

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“The One and Only” by Daniel Legare

Submitted to Contest #169

It’s 7:00pm. The sound of high heels clicking through the hall keeps time with each excited pump of blood in my veins. A young voice seeps through the old walls, a new realtor, desperate for the first sale. “You’ll really like this one, it’s very spacious and very low priced!” My claws dig into the carpet and anchor me down as a shadow at the center of the empty room. I am ready. The key slides the lock back with a satisfying click and the door opens with a loud creak. The silhouettes of an older co...

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“Meow ” by Stacey Iannazzo

Submitted to Contest #169

There was no moon to guide my steps as I shuffled down the city street well after midnight. The neighborhood was ruined, the street lights broken and busted years before. I shouldn’t have been in this part of town, at this time of night, and certainly not alone. My mother would have a stroke if she knew where I was. The party I’d been drinking at earlier had started out with music and laughter, but as usual a fight broke out. A few of the older guys had begun hitting each other, spitting and upturning furniture. I tried to avoid the ru...

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“Angel” by Aaron Tippit

Submitted to Contest #169

NOTE: This story contains content related to mental health, substance abuse, and self-harm. Everything is too loud. Everyone is too close. Why is he looking at me? Who’s behind me? I have to get out of here. Allen Swan walked through the parking lot of Wal-Mart, trying to get back to his car. He’d been out too long. He’d been around too many people running too many errands for everyone but himself. Now he had to get away from everyo...

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“Kitty, Kitty” by Ava Black

Submitted to Contest #169

Anna wiped her brow, calves burning as she rushed down the crowded Toronto street. She was late to a get-together, as she quite often was. Although it was the end of October, the weather remained persistently hot, and the tall skyscrapers blocked Lake Ontario’s breeze, insulating the heat. Thanks to the weird weather, Anna had spent far too much time struggling to pick out an appropriate outfit. Excuses aside, the fact remained that Anna was late. Again. Today was their friend Ahsan’s birthday, too. She walked a bit faster, urging her short...

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“Murphy Road” by Caroline Conner

Submitted to Contest #169

The ground crunched under Cassandra’s feet as she marched across the thick layer of frost spread over the grass, deeply settled from the hard freeze the night before. As she kneeled into its unforgiving chill, she hears it again. It is an ungodly sound, something she would imagine hearing while burning in the fires of hell. With everything in her, she wishes to ignore this sound; yet she cannot. A six-month-old little girl sleeps soundly inside, and she needs a protector. If not for her daughter, she could never be this brave. Turning on t...

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“My Grandfather's Story” by John McDonald

Submitted to Contest #169

“Have I ever told you about the time I was nearly killed by a panther?” My grandfather always asked me this whenever I came to visit him. He started when I was five and never stopped. I might have been a little kid who believed in the tooth fairy and Santa Claus, but I knew for sure my grandfather had never been to a place that had panthers. He had lived in the Midwest his entire life. He wasn’t fooling me. That is until I started my studies, and I came across something that triggered alarms in my head. I remembered I was just browsi...

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“Spring Break” by Lacey Hill

Submitted to Contest #169

There’s a black cat on the balcony next to me, and I stare at it, transfixed. It sits down and stares directly at me through the grills, it’s gaze menacing and unblinking. How very ominous for it being a beautiful day in April. “Babe, can you grab me a beer from the cooler,” Luca calls from the living room. I roll my eyes and grab a bookmark for the novel that I’m reading from the balcony. The salty air is humid and cool, and I was enjoying a break from the sounds of partying coming from the rooms. We’re all in a hotel suite that Gabby’s d...

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“Jackson” by Kathryn Minicozzi

Submitted to Contest #169

His name is Jackson, and he’s a cat – a black cat, to be exact. I named him after that guy on the cable show “My Cat From Hell.” There was no particular reason to name a black cat Jackson, but I like Jackson Galaxy, and I couldn’t think of a better tribute than to name a cat after him. I first met Jackson the cat during a thunderstorm on Halloween night two years ago. I was sitting in my favorite comfortable armchair, reading Stephen King’s “It” because it was Halloween, a fine time to read a good horror story during a thund...

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“The Generous Jester” by Kelly Steindler

Submitted to Contest #169

In honor of Halloween, my friend threw an orange & black themed potluck. There were cheese puffs, squid ink pasta, pumpkin cake rolls, and so much more. She even provided plastic containers so all the guests could take leftovers home with them. I took full advantage of this and looked forward to my next few meals. I hopped in the car, still adorned in my jester costume, and began my journey down the dirt road. My friend lived in a rural area, and her driveway was at least a mile long. Once I reached the r...

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“no one tells black cats” by Madison Barlow

Submitted to Contest #169

I'm walking down the street when I see a black cat. I'm walking slowly, gently, kicking my feet along, and there it is. A feline, with its shiny coat, small paws, and glistening yellow tinted eyes. I've promised myself I wouldn't go down this street. I have no where to be. No one is expecting me. It's getting colder as the autumn wind picks up, so I grab at my fur coat and huddle closer into my own body. I'm walking down the street as to ignore the thoughts that seem to strangle me when I'm sitting in my apartment, bored out of my skull. E...

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“Smoke and Miracle ” by Kimberly Walker

Submitted to Contest #169

Smoke and Miracle Miracle, the black vanishing cat with the orange tip on his tail. Number thirteen and the runt of the litter. He was the odd kitten of the bunch; all the others were calico or tabby. Smoke was female, number seven in the birth order, and mischievous. She was a giant kitten and got a full belly every feeding, whether her siblings were fed or not. Smoke was the other somewhat different kitten, although a grey and white Tabby with the infamous “M” outlining her eyebrows, she’s a beautiful light misty grey fading to white. The ...

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“The Silent Film” by Oliver Skywolf

Submitted to Contest #169

Heavy haze loomed on the town where Charlie Chaplin dwelled in a hundred years ago. I wandered in awe at this historic site. The street was lined with dusty antique stores hoisting flags that galloped with the wind. A hollow atmosphere lingered. I stopped as a black cat sauntered out of a shop, crossed through my legs and ran off in the deep dusk. Locals call this place the “First Hollywood,” a quaint locale where silent films were made in bunches during the early 1900s. The town still has businesses open, but to this day, you won’t find a...

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“The Origins of Dumpster the Cat” by Charlie Bright

Submitted to Contest #169

Kiyo was going to burn his workplace to the ground. The corner store where he works was stuck in the middle of the renovated part of the city. You’d think, with all the rich people around, they might act with some class; unfortunately, Kiyo had long since learned that standing between people and the snacks they were purchasing made assholes out of the kindest of souls. And being on the other side of the wrath could turn saints into murderers. For every purchase, Kiyo couldn’t help but calculate it in terms of hours he would have to work to p...

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“BOZO” by Malcolm Allred

Submitted to Contest #169

BOZO Ron Merritt carefully backed his Porsche into the dark garage while scanning the nearby neighbors’ houses to ascertain that he hadn’t been seen by anyone who might blab about his presence at Angie Jacobs’ house. After all, Angie lived only a block from his own home, thus the chances of discovery by nosy do-gooders were better than average. He had just left his wife at home with the lie that he had to work this Saturday. The Collins account, Betty, you know, remember? Inwardly, he congratulated himself for his undeniable brilliance. T...

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Start your story with a character encountering a black cat.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 74 stories

“Before Us” by Andra Patterson

“The One and Only” by Daniel Legare

“Meow ” by Stacey Iannazzo

“Angel” by Aaron Tippit

“Kitty, Kitty” by Ava Black

“Murphy Road” by Caroline Conner

“My Grandfather's Story” by John McDonald

“Spring Break” by Lacey Hill

“Jackson” by Kathryn Minicozzi

“The Generous Jester” by Kelly Steindler

“no one tells black cats” by Madison Barlow

“Smoke and Miracle ” by Kimberly Walker

“The Silent Film” by Oliver Skywolf

“The Origins of Dumpster the Cat” by Charlie Bright

“BOZO” by Malcolm Allred

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a story where someone sees the shadow of someone standing behind them.

Start your story with a blast of lightning casting a graveyard in a flash of brief, white light.

Write about someone finding a monster under their bed.

Write a murder story where the murder weapon is the knife used to carve a pumpkin.

Contest #169

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

253

Contest entries

109

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

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