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

Posted in Horror on Oct 25, 2022

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✍️ 187 stories

“A Cup of Joe with Sam and the Hand” by Craig Stokes

Submitted to Contest #96

A Cup of Joe with Sam and the Hand The sleepy bedroom community in northeastern Ohio, just across the border from Pennsylvania, resembles a ghost town without the tumbleweed strolling down an uninhabited Main Street on any nondescript Saturday at noon. The coke ovens have fallen into disrepair, the blast furnaces disappeared at the beginning of the Great Depression, and the Italian Club is the only reminder of the boomtown that it once was in the first decades of the twentieth...

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“Surprise Visit from Tuorafraf” by Mark Bell

Submitted to Contest #96

Walt was setting on his outdoors patio one weekday evening and was just starting his daily evening contemplation of his favor Bible verse from 1 Kings 19:11-12 (Then the LORD said, “Go outside and stand on the mountain before the LORD; the LORD will be passing by." A strong and heavy wind was rending the mountains and crushing rocks before the LORD – but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake – but the LORD was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake there was fire – but the LORD was not in the fire. After t...

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“The Hummingbird Cafe” by Amy Sutch

Submitted to Contest #96

On a hot Wednesday afternoon, with the heat rising off the pavement like fog, a huge RV lumbered into town making a clackety noise as it drove down main street and came to a rolling halt at the Methodist church across the street. Angie flipped her magazine shut and began wiping down the counter, as she watched a woman emerge. The woman had bright red hair piled onto her head, which had to be held in place b...

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“Brainmania!” by Bric Mitchell

Submitted to Contest #96

Possible trigger: sleezy behavior. A late-night summer storm brought more than much needed rain to the small country village of Broadstone. Just before dawn, while most of the villagers still slept, there was a loud boom that came from the town square. The townsfolk rushed out to see what had caused the noise and were shocked by what they saw. A stage had somehow been setup in the middle of the square. Red curtains with golden tassels draped across the stage. As a crowd formed around the mysterious structur...

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“The Town of Loppenheim” by Ash Loxley

Submitted to Contest #96

Mason was straightening the collar of his short-sleeved, black dress shirt in the passenger-side mirror outside of his green 1992 Ford Taurus when Stella finished locking up the pet care store she worked at. It was odd that Loppenheim has a pet care store because the town was only a population of three hundred sixty-five. They didn’t offer vet service, but foods and supplies for dogs, cats, hamsters, fish, rabbits, snakes and ferrets. There was a large rural community of a combination of livestock farmers and fishers that freq...

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“STRANGER” by Alternative Heathen

Submitted to Contest #96

Liz and Mark have officially moved into their 1842 Victorian home. Mark inherited the house from his grandfather, so they moved in around 3 weeks ago and just now finished fully moving in it was a nice little town most of the people all knew each other so Liz and mark were kind of outsiders but also trying to get to know the town and make some friends with the neighbors Liz however didn't really like the small town or the house that much she's from california, so she's used to the city and the beach But mark grew up in a pretty small town th...

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“The Visitor in Stathmore Town” by Keiko Canonita Ong

Submitted to Contest #96

The sound of footsteps reverberated in the air. Whispers echoed in the area as the villagers gossiped around. Who is he? What is that? Why did he come to our town? The stranger pays no heed to their stares. He continues walking, his golden eyes staring straight ahead as if he cannot see everyone else. He has a large scar cutting across his right eyebrow and down his cheek. A little bit of stubble is on his chin, making his old face look even older. The wind teases him, gently sweeping his blue hair out of place. The people gaze at the item...

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“Passing Through” by Sean Tarzy

Submitted to Contest #96

With stringy hair, a muddy face, and a panting breath, a young woman stumbles into “Greely Green’s.” Her shirt, once white, is a matching dirt brown. Her ripped jeans reveal scrapes and blood at nearly every hole.Lee the bartender wipes the counter as he notices the stranger plop down on the stool in front of him. He tries to meet her gaze, but she buries her face in her arms. He then observes her head bob up and down and hears a faint sniffle. She’s crying. The girl lifts her ...

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“DOCTOR WHITE” by Azaushubel Emmanuel

Submitted to Contest #96

“Bless our afterlife dear God, it seems this storm would go down with our ship” Those were the last words of Captain Jack, captain of the “PATH FINDER” an 1899 British navigation ship on which Tom Hallows was aboard, before the storms went down with him and the entire crew. Tom was a British man in his early thirties, tall and slender, he had curly hairs and an up-long face which held his bluish little eyes, wide lips and protruded nose. He was the crew doctor on board the ship which was on course the Atlantic Ocean approaching the West Afri...

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“The Vault of Faults” by Kevin Schenk

Submitted to Contest #96

The twin suns revolved in their eternal dance peacefully in the summer sky and bathed everything in a calming light. It was quite hot if you did not stay in the shade, but a cool wind would pick up every now and then and give you some solace. The street was filled with younglings playing in the streets as the wind carried their voices far and wide, their laughter and their screams intertwined and alternated just as the two suns above them. The main street of the town had it's storefronts but none was as popular as the one that sold cooled dr...

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“A place for the lost.” by Samyukta Menon

Submitted to Contest #96

He was exhausted. He had been walking under the sun for hours and now he was sure that he was lost. He had foolishly decided to stray from the tour guide’s group, convinced that he knew enough to explore by himself. Unfortunately, as he had just discovered his navigation skills were not the best. After taking a few rights and a couple of lefts he found himself standing in front of a sign which welcomed him to a town called “Kardisia-a place for the lost”. The wooden sign showed signs of age and abuse. It had graffiti all over it and it was d...

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“Fritz and Annie” by Daphne Pope

Submitted to Contest #96

Fritz was so close. He was inches from the mouse’s whiskers, waiting for the right opportunity to seize its tail. He made a sudden grab, but the mouse squeaked and began scurrying away through the corn plants in the wide fields of the town of Hitchcock. Fritz hastened after the rodent, crawling on his hands and knees. He couldn’t see it anywhere. He looked about in vain. “Are you Fritz Williams?” a voice from above startled him. He looked up. A small, blonde girl with freckles, blue eyes,...

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“The Weak Point of Reality” by Alex Miura

Submitted to Contest #96

1 Lil’ Romina sprang up from her slumber in an unknown room, where the wooden walls of the saloon muffled the cacophony of drunks and moaning whores. She woke up with a stinging pain on her head, but it wasn’t your standard headache. She saw that her pillow was lightly bloodied. Her last memory was stealing that horse from some beatdown ranch, trying to escape some awful men… “that’s it” she thought… remembering something. “That screamin’ rancher didn’t have a gun… he threw rocks at me, and landed one of ‘em on my head!” She was forc...

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“The lady” by Tarushi Parmar

Submitted to Contest #96

This story is based on the real life experience of my grandpa and his brother as kids in their village . It was a normal day in my village . I woke up at dawn,got my younger brother out of bed and headed to the river( which was around 7 miles away ) to fetch water. By the time we came back it was day and the food was ready .We finished our food and along with our sister headed to school. When we came back from school we had our lunch, studied a bit and then headed to the hills along with our cows,buffaloes , bulls and all of the girls and bo...

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“Someone Knew” by Sharon Marcus

Submitted to Contest #96

Sheriff Callen propped against the shady side of the building, smoking a cigar and watching the bus carrying his wife pull into the bay. A guy wearing a lightweight beige suit and white hat, his kind only seen in town during festival season, stepped off, turned and extended his hand. Slender fingers with red nail polish took it. Holding gently, she descended, her teeth showing. Callen spat. "Wilma!" She released her hand. "Honey, you made it on time." The man tipped his hat and walked into the station. "Who's he?" "I don't know." She start...

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

Submissions are closed

✍️ 187 stories

“A Cup of Joe with Sam and the Hand” by Craig Stokes

“Surprise Visit from Tuorafraf” by Mark Bell

“The Hummingbird Cafe” by Amy Sutch

“Brainmania!” by Bric Mitchell

“The Town of Loppenheim” by Ash Loxley

“STRANGER” by Alternative Heathen

“The Visitor in Stathmore Town” by Keiko Canonita Ong

“Passing Through” by Sean Tarzy

“DOCTOR WHITE” by Azaushubel Emmanuel

“The Vault of Faults” by Kevin Schenk

“A place for the lost.” by Samyukta Menon

“Fritz and Annie” by Daphne Pope

“The Weak Point of Reality” by Alex Miura

“The lady” by Tarushi Parmar

“Someone Knew” by Sharon Marcus

🌟 Similar prompts

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

Write about someone welcoming a stranger into their home.

Start your story in an empty guest room.

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 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: