Write a story that contains a flashback of a nightmare.

Posted in Horror on Jul 7, 2023

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✍️ 65 stories

“The trap” by Lily Be

I tried to have my breakfast peacefully, nibbling on yummy homemade scones but my heart was still distraught by what I had lived in the last nightmare I made. As far as I remember, I was with a friend named Sylvia. We were looking for Andrew, a nurse’s kid who had been missing in the neighborhood for a while and which was known to be...

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“Family History” by Kelsey H

1.Here’s my grandparents’ house with all of us standing outside. My father is missing; he must have been taking the photo.My great-grandfather built the house himself, with the help of his two eldest sons. Their photo was on the wall inside, nailed to the Rimu planks they’d laid with their own hands. My great-grandfather is in the middle of his six children, no wife beside him. She had died from appendicitis, the way people did back then. My grandad is on the far left, the rest are just solemn black and...

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“Painted Blue” by Steffen Lettau

He was back on patrol, and he was anticipating Hunters. Since his fight alongside Lindia against the last group, he was more cautious and had packed more supplies with a few more knives and medical supplies; his transformation could aid him better, but he didn't want to call more attention, so he decided to keep it as a last resort. He chose a different outfit, this time with a hood, and went out. Thi...

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“Falling” by Christie McMahon

She was falling in her dream, tumbling down and down and down. It was like weightlessness, and it went on and on. The ground, hard and implacable, was in the distance somewhere. She would hit it, she knew, but for now, she just kept falling, falling, falling. Irma woke up with a start, jolting upright in bed. It was pitch black–blacker than pitch, blacker than the devil. Where’s the nightli...

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“The Lighthouse Keeper” by George Georgerfrost@gmail.com

Jan Gorshhiemmer was the lighthouse keeper at Kreigh's Landing near Aillik, Newfoundland. The small jut of rock where the lighthouse sat was one of the bleakest places on God's good earth, but Jan had signed the contract and he was good to his word unlike previous keepers had been. Those that knew him, however, sensed that there was another angle on his self imposed exile at the lighthouse. Burt Dec...

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“THE PRIVILEGE OF RANK” by Charles Corkery

THE PRIVILEGE OF RANK The four sat around the fireplace in the impressive old library enjoying talking about old times; the closest of friends. Outside, the wintry rain was lashing down furiously, trees swaying noisily back and forth in the fierce North Yorkshire gale and it felt good to be a part of this quartet, inside, warm and cosy. The house had been in Freddie’s family for ...

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“Cheddar” by Michael Jefferson

The last person Nelson Donovan expected to see at the airport was Carol Austin. Carol still has her dimpled smile, freckled features, and hourglass figure. The girl holding her hand is her mini-carbon copy. Carol sighs with regret. Ten years have passed, but Nelson still has his striking good looks and athletic body. “What brings you here?” Nelson asks. “Gary Banks. I’ve been dreaming abo...

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“My Friend the Broccoli ” by Phoenix Goldman

“Come on, Kevin! It’s only a piece of goddamn broccoli!” the middle school cafeteria lady screams. I nod and let out a deep sigh. “Are you crying?” She asks. My head violently shakes as I fight to hold back tears. “Come on, move it!” a classmate shouts from father back in the line. I can barely spot the impatient individual out of th...

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“Nightmare in Depth” by Michael Pollock

It all began when I went in for float therapy. For those of you who don't know what that is allow me to summarize. I was advised by my psychiatrist to try it. It was formerly known as sensory deprivation, but I think people had a negative connotation being "deprived" of something, so they went to float therapy, even though it's the same idea. You get into your birthday suit and get into a pod filled partway with saltwat...

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“Day Turned Black” by Sara Sampson

Day Turned Black The best part of Izzy's day was admiring the sun as it burst over the mountains. It would be better if she woke up refreshed enough not to doze under the streaks of purple and red stretching out over the sky. Night terrors ruined those moments for Izzy more often than she wanted to admit. The same nightmare she’d had for months left her breathless and her bones buzzing every morning.

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“Bus Ride to Humiliation” by Gloria Dawn

Bus Trip to Humiliation (a true story) When I was nineteen, I lived in Winnipeg and worked in an office out near the Winnipeg Airport, on the outskirts of the city. I took the city bus to work and back each day. My stop was the very last one on the bus route before the airport. At five o'clock when I got off work, I caught th...

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“Recurrence” by Angie Ashton

Jackie automatically reached a hand toward her face to push her glasses back up the bridge of her nose, sure as anything that they had inched down like they always did. Except now, her hand was met by only the beads of sweat rolling down her face. She hadn’t worn glasses since her sophomore year of high school, when the combination of the coke-bottle thick, plastic rimmed eye wear and the metal gleam off her braces had ...

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“A Lost Friend” by David D'EttoreUser

A LOST FRIEND The last time I saw Marise was in Paris during the spring of 1971. Something happened then that is still not clear in my mind, or at least what I have left of my mind. Something that, to this day, I cannot forget. Winter stayed long that year, reaching well into May, leaving mounds of d...

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“Echoed Voices” by Trish Collard

In the quiet town of Willowbrook, there lived a young woman named Amelia. She had a bright smile and a zest for life, but there was something that haunted her—the vivid nightmares that plagued her sleep. From a young age, Amelia had experienced unsettling dreams that left her shaken and anxious. The nightmares were like unwelcome visitors that infiltrated her mind during the night, leaving her feeling ...

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“Chips Ahoy” by Timothy Rennels

CHIPS AHOY “Is not!” hissed six-year-old Hannah to her eight-year-old brother. “There is too! I read it on the internet. We’re camping right on the Ice Age Trail and look here.” Ethan held his tablet up for his sister to see. “Ice Age Trail Bigfoot Sightings” read the title of the YouTube video. Uncertainty clouded Hannah’s face. “There’s even one video that shows how Big...

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Write a story that contains a flashback of a nightmare.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 65 stories

“The trap” by Lily Be

“Family History” by Kelsey H

“Painted Blue” by Steffen Lettau

“Falling” by Christie McMahon

“The Lighthouse Keeper” by George Georgerfrost@gmail.com

“THE PRIVILEGE OF RANK” by Charles Corkery

“Cheddar” by Michael Jefferson

“My Friend the Broccoli ” by Phoenix Goldman

“Nightmare in Depth” by Michael Pollock

“Day Turned Black” by Sara Sampson

“Bus Ride to Humiliation” by Gloria Dawn

“Recurrence” by Angie Ashton

“A Lost Friend” by David D'EttoreUser

“Echoed Voices” by Trish Collard

“Chips Ahoy” by Timothy Rennels

🌟 Similar prompts

Write about someone facing their greatest fear.

Start your story with a character seeing something terrifying.

Write about a character in a situation where they have to be brave for someone else’s sake.

Set your story in an eerie, surreal setting.

Contest #206

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

390

Contest entries

134

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: