Start your story with a character encountering a black cat.

Posted in Horror on Oct 28, 2022

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✍️ 74 stories

“Cat and Mouse, Except the Mouse is Me” by Simon Severson

Submitted to Contest #169

September 6th For the record, I don’t like cats. I mean, they’re okay, but dogs are far superior. My proof? This one cat is obsessed with me. It won’t leave me alone. And it’s black. So just my luck. I have a bad omen following me around wherever I go. When I do the dishes, it’s on the windowsill, curled up and bathing in the evening light. When I go to sleep, it snuggles up right next to me, and I push it off the bed. Yet, in the morning, it’s there, using my stomach as a headrest. When I’m driving in the car, it rides in the passenge...

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“Ebony” by NP Wiggins

Submitted to Contest #169

Ebony only stayed for a week. Jim Wilson opened his front door one autumnal Sunday morning to find her sitting on his doorstep as if she owned it. Her sleek black fur lay slick against her body and her tail flicked from side to side as if waving to a silent melody. ‘What do you want then?’ he muttered, shielding his weary gaze from the spitting rain. The cat blinked her intelligent eyes and as if in answer, strutted past him, making herself at home on his shaggy hearth rug. Steadying his weight against the mantlepiece, Jim lowered himself ...

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“Tell the truth ” by Luna VanOs

Submitted to Contest #169

Every Halloween this happens. Some of the family believe it’s a gift and leaves treats for it, although others think it’s a bad omen or a curse. I’m the last of this family generation to get their “gift”. None of my family knows about Her. I don’t want them to, but I can’t even blame the stupid Black Cat because it had never shown up for me. Anyway, my mom hurried me out the door so I wouldn’t be late for school. My mom’s ability was one that people called a blessing, she can change the color of anyth...

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“Trick or Treat” by Barb Brown

Submitted to Contest #169

Gazing out my kitchen window while I'm warming my hands around a steaming cup of Earl Grey tea, the reality of the change of season is here. The vibrant coloured leaves on the trees, some of them whipping around in circles in the sky from chilly wind, autumn is upon us; brilliant reds, oranges, and yellows, all the colours of fall. The date on the calendar too tells me it's here; it's the final season before the tentacles of Old Man Winter grip us.It's my favourite time of year but once my teen years approached and I reluctantly ha...

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“wiping lights, flashing windshield” by Javier Hanson

Submitted to Contest #169

(TRIGGER WARNING - VULGAR LANGUAGE) "Come on, DRIVE!" yelled the passenger. Lawrence had never been one for superstitions. It wasn't like he was uneducated in the Gospel, he grew up in the church and was known by his peers to quote memory verses weekly for minuscule amounts of candy. But come college, Lawrence didn't see the point for many of those verses. Come to think of it, not only had he fallen out of religion, but also any sort of self-care. As a boy, he tightened his tie, brushed his teeth, and combed his hair before ser...

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“The old gymnasium” by Lunny Muffin

Submitted to Contest #169

A black cat crossed the road as the two boys crossed the second block. It was the last Saturday of the full moon and the boys were ready to execute the plan. They had collected enough evidence over the past couple of days and Trey had come up with a genius plan. He was always the brain of the operation and Jonathan was supposed to be the muscle. “This Saturday” he said. “We will finally solve the mystery of the old gymnasium.” When Saturday came the day was gloom and the sun was shy to appear. They rode their bikes with Trey in the lead....

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“It's Not A Cat” by T. S. Memory

Submitted to Contest #169

Sheriff Thompson trained his rifle at his target, it had been a while since he shot at anything but years of experience as a former army sniper was not something you forget completely. It was noisier than he expected this late at night in the forest, but the cool forest breeze made the last hour or so more tolerable. He peered into the scope and lined the middle of the crosshairs on the target, a black, Bombay house cat. Perched on a fallen log, its sleek black coat glistened in the moonlight, it was obviously well maintained which was no...

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“It was a subtle” by Nontsikelelo Tshingilane

Submitted to Contest #169

" Oh so cute" she said slowly walking towards a male black cat , it was her first time seeing a black coloured cat and she was happy to see it . When she was about to embrace it , it ran across the , she was sad and instead of going where she was headed , she decide to go home and there she didn't speak nor talk to anyone , she went to her room and started drawing a fluffy black tail, she liked it, for that she wanted to see the to see the cat again . She then went to the mirror to check her face and she just saw a horrible person with no ...

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“The Mexican Omen” by Annie (Peterson) Mendoza

Submitted to Contest #169

Carefully pinning the final piece of wet, dark-crimson clothing to the thin, withering rope, held in place by only a single nail and rusted wire, I felt a sharp cold wind blow through me. The sun seemed to set earlier that day on the terraza, ushering in an ominous chill. Recoiling at the awful sensation, I tripped head-first over the basket of laundry, landing my badly bruised arm directly on the cold, unforgiving concrete floor. I opened my eyes, only to meet the shrewd gaze of a menacing black cat with crafty, piercing green eyes, leering...

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“The Familiar” by Louise W

Submitted to Contest #169

Amid the haze of exhaust-tinged fog and the mechanical hum of traffic, a cat pads across rain-slicked pavement. She ducks into an alley lined with overflowing garbage cans, picking her way around puddles. Although few people are up and about this late – a line cook smoking a cigarette after his shift; a homeless woman slumped against a bus shelter – the cat sticks to the shadows. She darts down Broad Avenue to where it intersects with Charleston Street, then banks left toward the river. Overhead, storefronts and townhouses loom, their window...

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“Cat Eyes” by Shannon Ethel

Submitted to Contest #169

“Leave him alone!”Ellie barreled after her older brother, lungs stinging as they sucked in cold air and boots slapping heavily against the wet ground. Ahead of her, autumn twilight revealed Jake’s back, caked with mud all the way down to his legs. He moved quickly, arms swinging in a snapping motion as he sprinted down the leaf littered road. Suddenly, his whole body twisted, turning and disappearing into a field. Ellie let out a scream of frustration, skidding to a halt before darting after him. Long, wet grass beat against her shins a...

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“Bad luck ” by FabWritesStuff -

Submitted to Contest #169

Tessa walked down the street with her arms full of grocery bags. Normally she and her boyfriend, Brandon, would drive down to the market for their weekly shopping trips but she had decided to walk today. Brandon had gone out to have lunch with his mother and he had taken the car that they shared. Luckily for her, the market was only a ten minute walk away. As Tessa walked, she looked up at the sky. The sun was out, but the sky seemed just a tad colorless. There were a couple of clouds that looked dark. “I hope it doesn’t rain soon.” ...

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“The Mute Cause” by Marie White

Submitted to Contest #169

A black cat scurried across Paige’s path. Paige groaned; the last thing she needed now was more bad luck. As the feline pranced toward the backyard, she stared at the house, a Victorian in which she would, at the very least, find her efforts futile. Most likely, she would end up also incurring the wrath of a woman who terrified the brave just as thoroughly as she did the cowardly. Paige could not hear Twila’s na...

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“Marley, the Angel of Death ” by Tanya Humphreys

Submitted to Contest #169

Warning: some people die.The two nurses on night duty stood in the doorway of the children’s ward as still as snowmen, and just as cold. The older one was taller, thin as a rail, and stooped in the shoulders from a lifetime of bending to the gossip of the other nurses in St. Nivelles Memorial, the other was a plump young brunette with a dimpled face more suited to giggling than fretting.With mouth barely moving, the young nurse, Evangeline, whispered, “That one’s a goner. Sad…so young he is.”“Aye. The prime of his life. But Marley ...

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Start your story with a character encountering a black cat.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 74 stories

“Cat and Mouse, Except the Mouse is Me” by Simon Severson

“Ebony” by NP Wiggins

“Tell the truth ” by Luna VanOs

“Trick or Treat” by Barb Brown

“wiping lights, flashing windshield” by Javier Hanson

“The old gymnasium” by Lunny Muffin

“It's Not A Cat” by T. S. Memory

“It was a subtle” by Nontsikelelo Tshingilane

“The Mexican Omen” by Annie (Peterson) Mendoza

“The Familiar” by Louise W

“Cat Eyes” by Shannon Ethel

“Bad luck ” by FabWritesStuff -

“The Mute Cause” by Marie White

“Marley, the Angel of Death ” by Tanya Humphreys

🌟 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 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: