Menu
Prompts
Contests
Stories
Blog

Menu

✕
CONNECT
Editing Design Marketing Publicity Ghostwriting Websites
BLOG
Success Stories
APPS
TOOLS
Book Promotion Sites Book Review Blogs Booktube Channel Guide Book Title Generator Character Name Generator Independent Publishers Literary Agents Literary Magazines Pen Name Generator Plot Generator Publishers Directory Short Story Ideas Writing Contests Writing Exercises Writing Scholarships
ABOUT
About Reedsy Terms Privacy

CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

Write a story where a character finds out the truth about something they thought they’d known their whole life.

Posted in Horror on Oct 26, 2022

Submissions are closed

Sorry, we are not accepting submissions for this prompt as it is not part of an active contest. Make sure you don't miss our next contest by creating your free Reedsy Prompts account.

Sign in with Google
Sign in with Facebook

Or create a new Reedsy account:

Why not check out our active contest?

✍️ 30 stories

“The Abyss Gazes Back” by Deidra Whitt Lovegren

Of course he was late. I’d been warned. When he finally arrived, he sauntered in, wearing an Italian double breasted deconstructed blazer in flecked wool. It looked luxurious, silk and cashmere with patch pockets. He could have paired the jacket with anything. He chose basketball shorts. The kind you find on the floor at Ross Dress for Less. “Are you Dr. Friedrich?” he asked, pronouncing my name in a German accent. His tone indicated neither an apology nor any amount of curiosity. <...

40 comments 40
Read story

“The Devil's Birthmark” by Amir Sher

The forceful knock on the door woke me up from my daydreams. The business was slow nowadays, to put it mildly. It seems no one needed old-school private detectives anymore, not with those hotshots, young cyberpunks around. They could solve any case by hacking into phones and social media accounts, without ever leaving their stylized modern office, with their twenty-year-old Instagram model secretary and cappuccino machi...

8 comments 8
Read story

“Walter” by Francis Daisy

“He pissed in his cup!” Emma says to me as she is tying off the kayak on the trailer. “I just got that line! It’s not Piston Cup! When Mater and Lightning McQueen discover all of Doc Hudson’s championship trophies, Mater says that Doc did “What in his cup?”"Pass me that rope. We need to tie the kayaks to the rack. Not to each other like we did the last time...when they fell off on our first turn," I am on the other side of the trailer tying knots. Already the sun is high in the sky and my shirt is soaked with ...

17 comments 17
Read story

“The Basement Has Mold” by K.M. Kinley

[TW for body horror] The basement has mold. The first time she hears those words, Alice is five years old. Her hand rests on the old brass doorknob of the basement’s gritty oaken frame and she pouts when twisting her wrist does not budge the lock that holds it in place. Her father’s hand rests on her shoulder in a grip much tighter than one holding a five-year-old should use and ...

7 comments 7
Read story

“Uncle Ken's Visit” by George Georgerfrost@gmail.com

He came to visit me when I was living in Gilbert, Arizona.  We had been in our house for almost six years with my son and daughter.  Attending Arizona State, I had gotten my teaching certificate and was working as a substitute teacher in three local school districts.  Earlier that year, he sent me a letter to say he was going to pay us a visit.  According to his letter, he would be coming in August. He had set t...

10 comments 10
Read story

“Ain't Genealogy Great!” by Matt Ward

Ain’t Genealogy Great! (Based on a true story) Walter Hanson was from East Tennessee. He was a proud southern gentleman. Maybe not so proud of the south’s slavery history, but still loyal to the memory of his ancestors. Proud that his great-great-grandfather had fought in the Civil War...

1 comment 1
Read story

“The Box” by Paige Ishii

The Box  What was in the box?  There have always been glimpses of that box.       Dad would take that box out and hold it close. We were never to touch it. Dad would let us try to open it, but it was no use. We didn’t have the key.  The beautiful, intricate box was a puzzle. Only he knew the key to open it.       But now that Dad was gone, here was the box. Again.       A few months b...

4 comments 4
Read story

“Ghost” by Sorcha Wilde

Content warning: suicide Ghost.You made me into a fucking ghost, didn’t you?Shameless. You ungrateful fuck, after everything I gave you, all those hours, all my love, all my attention and affection and sincerity, I gave you my body and mind, and worst of all, my fucking heart, yet on a whim you so glibly chose to ...

1 comment 1
Read story

“The Evolution of Butch's Views” by Pako Dunwhile

The changing world made increasingly less sense to Butch. His Caucasian complexion had become more of a liability. He recognized that not so long ago its display would all but guarantee him what the kids were calling “privilege.” Having the upper hand in society had been something that the 56 year old enjoyed. As a straight, White, Christian male, he believed himself to be a living representation of everything correct w...

4 comments 4
Read story

“Grandpa's Clarity” by Dhruv Srivastava

Sunlight streamed through the orange and red forest canopy, dappling the ground with warm light while a brisk wind rustled through the forest. Waves and drifts of leaves moved around like an ocean - the graveyard of autumn’s past. Henry Wallman walked through these woods in a good fitting pair of dark blue jeans, a faded orange shirt, and a black bomber jacket. On his wrist he wore a watch worth more than the phone in h...

0 comments 0
Read story

“Divine Bloodline Chapter 2” by Shannon McGill

Chapter 2 Antonia woke up feeling like a new woman. The absence of physical or emotional pain combined with the realization of her own sobriety meant only one thing: Mama was right. She sank into the soft ground with her eyes closed and took a deep breath. This wasn’t where she fell asleep, and that was fine. Perfect, even. If she could wake anywhere, Home is the obvious c...

2 comments 2
Read story

“The Man I call 'Daddy'” by Tanya Smith

The Man I Call ‘Daddy’ By: Ireland Lorelei I was still in so much shock. How could he be here one day and then gone the next? I had just given him a hug and a kiss on his cheek as he left for work and I left for school this morning. My dad would never see me dressed up for my senio...

0 comments 0
Read story

“Manhandled ” by Lemon Lime

“You know, eating tofu doesn’t make you a good person,” Carla banged the cherry bowl down on the table and looked disdainfully at Arthur.  “Sure it does. I’m going healthier than meat and protecting the environment.” He stuck his fork in his mouth again. “Phytates will reduce the absorption of crucial minerals!”  “Honey, I think it’s high time you dropped the nutrit...

1 comment 1
Read story

“Delusions” by Abigail Bulger

Jude          When asked about his hallucination by professionals, he doesn’t know what to tell them. The visions of wrong were always there. His senile great grandmother -Mama Goldie- says he “has the sight.” Mother says Mama Goldie is batty, and that medicine will make the visions of wrong go away. He takes them, eager for the visions to disappear. But they don’t. He sti...

0 comments 0
Read story

“Another Piece of Family ” by Aoife Blu

TW - mentions of suicide. Theresa looks me up and down, an unreadable expression on her face, but that's understandable considering she only met me two hours ago. I know she's unsure of what to think about me - most people are. I give her a moment to form the question I'm anticipating she'll ask - everyone asks it. Her gaze parts from mine momentarily, flickerin...

2 comments 2
Read story

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a story about a white lie which spirals out of control.

Angst – 27 stories

Write about a character pretending to be someone they’re not.

Angst – 44 stories

Write about a game of ‘truth or dare’ that goes horribly wrong.

Fluff – 21 stories

Write about a character who tells a lie which turns out to be true - or a truth which turns out to be a lie.

Dark – 31 stories

Contest #107

Enter our weekly contest!

This week's theme: Liar, Liar

$250

Prize money

153

Contest entries

207

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Aug 20, 2021 EST

Won by K. Antonio 🏆

Title: The Intrusive Demon

View details

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

We'll send you 5 prompts each week. Respond with your short story and you could win $250!

NEW VIDEO COURSE 🎉

How to Write a Novel

Join Tom Bromley for a writing master class and finish your first draft in 3 months. Learn more →

Explore more writing prompt ideas:

Adults Writing Prompts ⭢

Adventure Writing Prompts ⭢

Angst Writing Prompts ⭢

Character Writing Prompts ⭢

Christmas Writing Prompts ⭢

Dark Writing Prompts ⭢

Dialogue Writing Prompts ⭢

Dramatic Writing Prompts ⭢

Dystopian Writing Prompts ⭢

Fall Writing Prompts ⭢

Fantasy Writing Prompts ⭢

Fiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Fluff Writing Prompts ⭢

Funny Writing Prompts ⭢

Halloween Writing Prompts ⭢

High School Writing Prompts ⭢

Historical Fiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Holiday Writing Prompts ⭢

Horror Writing Prompts ⭢

Kids Writing Prompts ⭢

Middle School Writing Prompts ⭢

Mystery Writing Prompts ⭢

Narrative Writing Prompts ⭢

Nonfiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Novel Writing Prompts ⭢

Poetry Writing Prompts ⭢

Romance Writing Prompts ⭢

Sad Writing Prompts ⭢

Science Fiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Short Story Writing Prompts ⭢

Spring Writing Prompts ⭢

Summer Writing Prompts ⭢

Teens Writing Prompts ⭢

Thanksgiving Writing Prompts ⭢

Thriller and Suspense Writing Prompts ⭢

Valentine's Day Writing Prompts ⭢

Vampire Writing Prompts ⭢

Winter Writing Prompts ⭢