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.

Or create a new Reedsy account:

Why not check out our active contest?

✍️ 30 stories

“Mystery Child” by Patricia Mae Zimmerman

Submitted to Contest #107

It is the year 1967. My name is Betsy, and I will be telling my story. I sit alone in a hallway, in a day seat. I am by the stairs in a row home. I am three months of age. I have red hair and hazel eyes. I hear people shouting. Two of these persons are my mother and father. I do not know who the other two voices belong to. I had only heard their voices way back then! I am about seven. I just finished reading a hundred and some page book, and I am very excited about it! I had a hard time learning to read when I was young, so when I did le...

2 comments 2

Read story

“The Ones We Lose” by Inti Amberyn

Submitted to Contest #107

“Welcome Ladies and Gentlemen, to our annual Winter Figure Skating Contest, where youthful young teens come up here to show what they’re made of, to prove that their dedication, skill and techniques can land them in the Olympics!” The classic booming voice of the announcer echoed in the humongous skating ring, followed by rapturous cheers from the crowd made of mothers, friends, trainers and so on. Women alike, of grace and skill, prepared themselves for what would be one of the biggest moments in their entire lives. In 1983, Clarissa ...

1 comment 1

Read story

“In These Walls ” by Emily Schiemann

Submitted to Contest #107

Alice was born on a Tuesday, at 3:13 in the morning. Her mother, Mona, screamed and pushed and did all of the usual things, and Alice appeared outside of her body and into the bathtub three seconds after the minute hand clicked into place around the clock that hung in the next room over. Her father, Paul, would tell her the story that way. He had tried to be there in the bathroom for the birth of his first daughter, but had been sent away by Mona and her nurse after nearly cracking his skull on the toilet seat in a fainting spell. He sequest...

0 comments 0

Read story

“Elavera” by Rebecca Holmes

Submitted to Contest #107

I stared outside the bus window, as our driver took a particularly sharp corner and screeched to a halt in front of Elgy Lane bus stop (#2304). People rushed around outside, heading into and out of shops, as the sun hopscotched through the clouds. A young boy accidentally dropped his phone and quickly picked it up, stuffing it back in his pocket as he looked around in embarrassment. An older lady shuffled along past him, not noticing or caring about that little incident, her equally aged and unconcerned cocker spaniel setting a state...

3 comments 3

Read story

“Falling Leaves” by Aimee Cardenas

Submitted to Contest #107

Now, Zen, and a Little Bit of ThenIncense of white sage intertwined with the ambient vibrations of Tibetan singing bowls. Stillness bathed the room in soft blue light. Here, now, thoughts were as clear and crisp as a crystal bell. A Dengze bowl sang three times, drawing Daphne gently out of her deep meditation. She opened her eyes softly and took a deep breath. Today was yet another new and beautiful day full of opportunities and wonder to be cherished mindfully and with gratitude.Things were so different now than they use to be. It was like...

0 comments 0

Read story

“Time to Confess” by Jonathan Braunstein

Submitted to Contest #107

We tended to stay up late, my wife and I, but the decision we had to face was important enough to make sure that our son, Hunter, was asleep when we had our discussion. He being at the age of six, that was no easy task, especially during the summer. We sought to give him the best day ever, and engaged in all sorts of activities we knew he would love. We spent the day at to the beach, visited the vintage arcade on the boardwalk, and ate cherry-flavored snow cones as the sun began to set. After wrangling him into his bed clothes, he ...

3 comments 3

Read story

“The Killer Beneath Me” by Marcia H.

Submitted to Contest #107

Steve stood over the body with the bloody knife in his right hand. The blade of the knife and his hand were covered in blood. He felt like he was frozen in time. He threw the knife on the floor and bent over the body. He rolled up the rug the body was lying on and rolled the body in the rug. He had to get the body and himself out of that apartment without being seen. Mary checked the clock on her phone for the hundredth time. Where was her husband? He should have been home hours ago. Tonight was their anniversary and they had special...

0 comments 0

Read story

“SOLITUDE” by Joan Wright

Submitted to Contest #107

The coolness of the water revived her tired body. Four days of hundred plus temperatures had pushed Marianne over the edge. Dinner had been a disaster! Roger had turned his nose up at the fish, Becca had proclaimed she was a vegetarian, and her husband, Bob had eaten a late lunch and said he wasn't very hungry. "You expect me to cook dinner in a kitchen that's as hot as an oven, and then you complain about it?" Marianne had screamed. She stormed from the table went to the guest room, slammed the door and locked it. Her family was ...

0 comments 0

Read story

“Truth Come to Shadows” by Lucy Gray

Submitted to Contest #107

The sidewalk before me was busy enough to distract from the discomfort of the metal bench I sat on. So far, I had seen two incidents from over the top of my phone.When a girl in a pink coat cursed, I was alerted of a third incident. She had stumbled, dropping her cup of coffee in the process, and the expletive came out as involuntarily as a cough. She stepped into the liquid and right back out with the tiniest of splashes. Her white shoelaces still dragged through the puddle, soaking up the light brown. They had caused her trip--at least tha...

0 comments 0

Read story

“And The Truth Shall Set You Free” by Nate T

Submitted to Contest #107

Contracture scarring, the surgeon said. It causes the muscles and tendons to tighten, limiting movement. Quite common in severe burn victims, he said.In a dark corner obscured in its shadow, George Finch sat alone. His eyes scanned the room watching for any unwelcome stares, but no one did. Instead, the oblivious faces seemed mesmerized by the young couple on the dance floor. Accompanied by slow music, they swayed intimately across the room, their bodies pressed close. "That'll be five dollars," a voice interrupted. The red-headed waitress p...

7 comments 7

Read story

“I'll see you in my dreams” by Sue Brown

Submitted to Contest #107

I could have been looking in a mirror. They say that we all have a doppelganger out there somewhere. If that's the case, I had found mine. Yes, he had ginger hair and I had brown. I spoke with an Australian accent, he was Welsh. But the likeness was eerie. We looked at each other and never said a word. Not for a moment anyway. What do you say in a situation like this? He spoke first. “Hi, I'm Evan Jones”. My name was Jones too, Michael Jones. But hey, we were in Wales, almost every second p...

4 comments 4

Read story

“Destiny Forged” by Scott McKay

Submitted to Contest #107

I hold the sword in my hands. Moonlight glints off its shimmering blade. A blood red ruby gleams in the golden cross-guard. The length of the fuller glows with ethereal light and is ice cold to the touch; cold as the hand of Death itself. I can hear the voices within. Souls, hundreds of them, vanquished and enslaved by the blade. The wind howls on this blustery night, but I can still hear his footsteps approach from behind. He stops a couple yards before reaching me, sees the soul-eating weapon in my hands. A deep, mournful sigh brushes pa...

1 comment 1

Read story

“Lies Hurt So Many” by Valerie Preston

Submitted to Contest #107

We moved to this town when I was only two years old. My father was killed in a car accident, not that I knew anything about what actually happened but that’s all I was told. I had asked my mother a few times why she chose this place to come to – I mean it is a great place to live but I won’t be staying here when I’m old enough to leave. I want to see things, go places, meet people, and this place is not where I will do that! She told me that it was far enough away that she could forget about how life used to be and start again. I was curious...

0 comments 0

Read story

“Paper Dolls” by Coltrane Rogers

Submitted to Contest #107

Content warning: explicit language, violence. “You tell your brother to stop selling in Archway. You tell him to get all his men and move.” Wexley Tones, the man subject to a five-minute harangue was bound by ropes from arm to ankle, covered in bruises from Christmas to Easter. “You listen to what I say, Wexley, any funny business and I find that Connor is still selling in Arch – I promise you won’t be walking straight no more.” The words left the man who was losing whatever marg...

0 comments 0

Read story

“Father, Father” by Anastasia Marchese

Submitted to Contest #107

You would think that after so many deceptions, that I would cease to be surprised by them. But I still am. Every time. It is unsettling how these things come to the surface and pockmark the face of my life and it always happens in those few moments when I feel normal and whole, then the harshness of the unknown rises to the surface and leaves a scar. It marred the face of yesterday which was my son’s 9th birthday, another pearl on the string of his life. The family was there, aunts and uncles, cousins and grandparents, people who love us and...

0 comments 0

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 – 43 stories

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

Fluff – 20 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 – 30 stories

Contest #107

Enter our weekly contest!

This week's theme: Liar, Liar

$250

Prize money

150

Contest entries

204

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!

Menu

CONNECT

BLOG

APPS

TOOLS

ABOUT

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

Submissions are closed

✍️ 30 stories

“Mystery Child” by Patricia Mae Zimmerman

“The Ones We Lose” by Inti Amberyn

“In These Walls ” by Emily Schiemann

“Elavera” by Rebecca Holmes

“Falling Leaves” by Aimee Cardenas

“Time to Confess” by Jonathan Braunstein

“The Killer Beneath Me” by Marcia H.

“SOLITUDE” by Joan Wright

“Truth Come to Shadows” by Lucy Gray

“And The Truth Shall Set You Free” by Nate T

“I'll see you in my dreams” by Sue Brown

“Destiny Forged” by Scott McKay

“Lies Hurt So Many” by Valerie Preston

“Paper Dolls” by Coltrane Rogers

“Father, Father” by Anastasia Marchese

🌟 Similar prompts

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

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

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

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

Contest #107

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

150

Contest entries

204

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: