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

“Bobby Trap” by Kennedy Karanja

Submitted to Contest #96

Sinarta is my hometown. It is a small town on a hill that overlooks the Grange Valley on one side and Lake Naples on the other. On the shores of the lake are flower plantations. Sometimes a cool morning breeze carries the scent of myriad flowers to the inhabitants of Sinarta.It has often been said that the day Bobby came to town, a jasmine-scented breeze was blowing from the lakeside. It was a cold day in February. Most people were indoors, watching Netflix and drinking hot fluids. Anyone who had business to do outdoors was heavily clad in j...

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“The Summer of Forgotten Lore” by Ryan Faura

Submitted to Contest #96

Those days, the ones I called the summer of reckoning, seeing things have become something of a chore. It was not a top priority, and there was not much to look at, to be honest. It’s not like our town is a hotbed of scantily-clad women by the poolside. We have beaches, alright, but you’ll be hardpressed to find them with women in various stages of undress. Nobody dared to skinny-dip even if the water was warm and inviting. Heck, nobody even dared to dress differently. We are a town of certain traditions and mores and whoever disobeyed will ...

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“First Impressions” by Kira Krieger

Submitted to Contest #96

Sirens blared as Steven pulled off to the side of the road. He kept his hands tight on the wheel, waiting for the officer to approach. "Goodmorning," the officer said. "Hello," Steve said, looking at his uniform, "Captain." "And you must be Steven Ross. Sorry for the theatrics, but you're a hard man to track down." "You've been looking for me?" "I make it my business to know everyone who comes to Angel's Heaven. I make no exception, especially those that I need to falsely pull over to meet." “Yeah, I've been trying to...

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“Farmhouse” by Aritra Chakraborty

Submitted to Contest #96

Ron was used to his sleepy little New England fishing town. Nestled against the Atlantic Ocean, it was nice enough, but he really didn’t have anything to compare it to. Back in high school, his future looked so bright. His excellent academics and extracurriculars gave him admission to a prestigious university in New York, but after his mother fell ill, he had no choice but to remain in town running their small family home repair business and caring for his kid sister Blythe. Despite his circumstances, Ron was a generally nice young ma...

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“Red and yellow. Black and white.” by RuthAnn Barnett

Submitted to Contest #96

She stood in front of the open door while the teacher and the school secretary spoke in the corridor. "I got the last new student; this is an imposition!" "It's only for two weeks." She shifted her book bag from one side to the other. Her eyes never left the floor. The leather on the top of her shoes had a crack. The stitching was coming apart at the toe, but they shined with fresh polish. Backstitch embroidery accented with an occasional flower covered the line from the let-down hem. &nbsp...

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“Emerald beauty” by S. Asad

Submitted to Contest #96

The icy breeze flowed with the hints of sharp icicles in it. Lydia tightly clutched the documents, which Professor Millar handed to her in school. The dark branches eyeballed Lydia, Nora and Levi out of curiosity. Lydia knew that Nora and Levi would be as perplexed as she was to find out the peculiar location of the upcoming school event. All of them exchanged confused glances as at night the place didn't look any less than a mysterious piece of art.The basil-coloured colossal trees surrounded them, like parents surrounding their kids in unk...

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“Stranger In Town” by Daniel Norton

Submitted to Contest #96

So who is this Stranger In Town? In the quaint small town of Lorry, when a stranger walks down Main Street, everyone notices. That's the way it was twenty or so years ago on a warm August afternoon as the folks of town were preparing for the weekend. Mister Weeks was preparing the little league field for the evening game with rivals from Wallace. He was the first to spot the stranger who passed the ball field in a flashy new sedan. Mister Weeks knew nobody in town with a vehicle like that and wondered why the stranger might ...

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“Next-Door Neighbor” by AddieD ❤️❤️

Submitted to Contest #96

Disclaimer: I really don’t know much about the non-binary/LGBTQ+ community, so I’m sorry if this isn’t correct. I got two requests for characters and felt like they belonged together, so this story was made! Thank you Akshara Parankusham and an anonymous user for creating these wonderful characters! (If you want to make some yourself, the link is in my bio!) Mikayla was opening her apartment door when she heard voices from the stairwell. She stepped out of her room to see Mrs. Lambert, the apartment owner, leading someone she hadn’t...

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“Rippling Retribution...” by Lennox Ducksworth

Submitted to Contest #96

It was mid-May in the town of Stoagtown, and that meant the spring festival was upon the small town of just nine thousand residents, proud men, women, and children who would celebrate their country’s day when they won the war and the whole of the earth changed. Kids were already painting their faces the classic red and black colors day's in advance and even parents started to hang up their stark flags and play oldies on their cassette tapes as the days went by further into a blur. Until that day. Elderly farmer Martin Hagen was the first to...

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“Days of Terror” by Kieran Aire

Submitted to Contest #96

“Hey, Paddy!” Whisper-yelled James, my friend from school, from outside my window. Summer air trickled in slowly, as sweat bounced onto my forehead. Ma had given me a hand held fan. “What do you want, James?” I called back. James lingered outside the window, most likely standing on Pa’s prized petunias, like he always did. “Paddy, someone came to town!” he exclaimed. I sat right up, suddenly interested. In the small town of Woodhollow no one came, unless they were lost, but even then they steered clear of the town, as if they wou...

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“The Peacemaker ” by Onyxx Moon

Submitted to Contest #96

“I’ll ask again,” The Deputy continued, shifting his weight nervously from one foot to the other, “What’s your business here?” Deputy Abel James already knew the answer, but wanted the old man to play along, since there were many patrons present in the tavern. Some of those same patrons had made complaints about the strange old man, who seemed to be asking a lot of penetrating questions of the people. To them this stranger was just nosing around too much and the small, close community of dairy and produce farmers found him unsettling. &...

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“Tangible” by Hannia Kempen

Submitted to Contest #96

He came in the morning. We were down by the river, its muck watching us, making sure we didn't drown. The outskirts of our town were marked by a crescent moon of white waste bent and twisted around the few houses that had been built after the ones in town. Someone sniggered when he passed us, and his gaze flicked to her instantly, irritably, exact. She cowered underneath it. We were told of his arrival the day before. He was from the university in the city, a professor, perhaps. The teachers recommended we be on our best behaviour. L...

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“The Unknown” by KRT Family Farm

Submitted to Contest #96

His essence filled the room with mystery as he walked in the door. He was so handsome, but some part of me told me to keep my distance. His black hair was slicked back so neat which made him stick out in my town like a sore thumb. The hairs stood up on my arms as he glimpsed into my eyes, it felt so empowering. Who is this man? I lived in a small town in Texas where new people didn't really come around. It was a quiet old town that flourished with the local crops. Things were peaceful, sweet...

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“Making Amends” by Angus Moore

Submitted to Contest #96

The town was quiet, most of the young people were away at school or University. The stranger walked to the park in the centre of town and sat down at one of the benches. Usually, the thing to do was sit down in a bar and cause a scene without saying a thing. He didn’t plan that this time though, not that he ever really wanted to make a scene, it just came with the territory. He had a lot of regrets in his life. He knew in part his actions were to blame for the state of this town. He had made many wrong decisions in his youth. Yet through eve...

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“Guest At The Homestead” by Lorenzo Yabut

Submitted to Contest #96

Guest at the homestead By L.P Yabut It was raining bullets in the cold night; the steaming train gave one loud honk as its wells scratched over the tracks when it reached the station of Redfield’s Station in a small town of Redfield. Summer was dying and spring was being conceived. A tall man with black hair wearing a big black coat, holding a cane in one hand and a bag in the other emerged from the smoke and peered around and saw passengers like him make their way out of the station. He stepped casually and looked around aloofly at th...

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

Submissions are closed

✍️ 187 stories

“Bobby Trap” by Kennedy Karanja

“The Summer of Forgotten Lore” by Ryan Faura

“First Impressions” by Kira Krieger

“Farmhouse” by Aritra Chakraborty

“Red and yellow. Black and white.” by RuthAnn Barnett

“Emerald beauty” by S. Asad

“Stranger In Town” by Daniel Norton

“Next-Door Neighbor” by AddieD ❤️❤️

“Rippling Retribution...” by Lennox Ducksworth

“Days of Terror” by Kieran Aire

“The Peacemaker ” by Onyxx Moon

“Tangible” by Hannia Kempen

“The Unknown” by KRT Family Farm

“Making Amends” by Angus Moore

“Guest At The Homestead” by Lorenzo Yabut

🌟 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: