Write about a mysterious figure in one’s neighborhood.

Posted in Horror on Oct 26, 2022

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✍️ 205 stories

“Grape Soda” by Annalisa D.

Submitted to Contest #102

Annette looked like an angel sitting in a windowsill on the third floor of her sprawling gothic mansion. Her pale sickly skin, long golden hair, and glacier eyes gave her a porcelain doll appearance. I could and did watch her for hours from my hiding spot behind the pink rose bushes that fenced in her lush green yard. Often, she stared out the window in a dreamy way. Sometimes her eyes would fall in my direction and my breath would catch in my throat forming a hard lump that I could barely manage to swallo...

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“Betrayed due to selfishness” by Melody Frost

Submitted to Contest #102

TW: murder Every human in this selfish world has varied perspectives and expresses distinct emotions. Anger which is a salience member of it is one of the commonly manifested emotions. ** Rumors in the neighborhood began spreading like wildfire about Blake Romero, who remained as an enigma. Soon, the media started to flood at Winsle Falls. A corpse found inside a 3-feet barrel that was not far apart from Winsle Falls remained a mystery. It has been nearly a month since the death of Stephen Walton, a man in his thirties. His heav...

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“The Radley Place” by Katharine Widdows

Submitted to Contest #102

TRIGGER WARNING: injury detail, arson, suicide, murder. ‘The sign’s down at the Radley place.’ Lucy picked up the spoon the waitress had brought and dug into her tropical sundae.‘Really? Is that why your aura is so muddy? Disappointed?’ Helen followed suit, attacking her banana split in its creamy middle.‘I’d do anything for my parents to buy that place. But that For Sale sign is down. The timing couldn’t be worse. They were going to put in an offer tomorrow, the price has finally dropped low enough. We could have moved out of The Dump once ...

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“Dad's Gone” by Colin Devonshire

Submitted to Contest #102

“Oh, mum, can’t I watch TikToc a little longer?” asked Patsy. “You’ve got school tomorrow. After this long break, aren’t you excited to see your friends? I want you asleep before I leave for work.” “You’re leaving me alone tonight?” “Darling, you know I must go back to work. You are a teenager now, not a baby,” said Hathai Chantawan, Patsy’s mother. Chantawan was not her legal name. Fifteen years ago she had married a foreigner, taking his name, Peters. It was thought better in her job to use her maiden name. “But mum?” “Don’t but me. I’m ne...

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“Newcomer on 4th Street” by Ruth Smith

Submitted to Contest #102

No one knew anything about him, that man that showed up last Spring. He had purchased the Mainsfield house, which had been vacant for at least 10 years. Most people in town didn't even know his name, they referred to him as “that newcomer on 4th Street.”Jack, from the Hardware Store, knew him a little better than most. Mr. Cromwell was a regular at the Store, buying various supplies and tools a person would get when fixing up a house. One week it would be paint and paintbrushes, along with a drop cloth and some painter's tape. The next week ...

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“the cursed lady” by Aisa M

Submitted to Contest #102

That afternoon she asked him, ‘Do you remember the cursed lady?’ It was the type of question she asked him randomly. An idea or memory that suddenly came in passing, probably triggered by something or someone. Her voice was animated. The one she unconsciously used when she was excited about something.The two were sitting opposite each other at a table in a coffee shop. Apart from the acoustic music in the background and the occasional grind of the coffee machine, the place was pretty quiet. It was a Monday afternoon. Quite a strange day and ...

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“The Witch of Bayberry Avenue” by M.A. Williams

Submitted to Contest #102

She was known as Old Lady Dodson, or sometimes The Witch to the kids around the neighborhood. Nobody actually knew if her last name was Dodson though. That was just the name that was on her mailbox. No one had ever been brave enough to find out. She lived alone in the old run-down house at the end of the cul-de-sac on Bayberry Avenue. Timmy Harris claimed that shortly after she moved into the neighborhood, he had seen her burying a body and that she had razor-sharp claws and vampire teeth. Most of the neig...

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“My first muse” by Scott Skinner

Submitted to Contest #102

Of the thirty-four summers of my life, that one was the most revealing and the one that comes back to me most often, because it was then that I realized that the subject is more important than the picture. I am a photographer. My job is to capture moments worth remembering. The older I get, the more I think about this Diane Arbus quote, "Lately, I've been struck with how I really love what you can't see in a photograph." I have the pictures I took of Mr. Gorey that summer hidden in a folder within a folder within a folder on my des...

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“The Lost Alpha” by Athena Ember Antigone

Submitted to Contest #102

"Anna hurry up, we're going to be late!" Sall yells. "I'm coming, geez," I yell back. "I don't like that tone, Missie," she says as I run down the stairs. She's already at the door holding it open. Her black veil is blowing in the cold autumn breeze, matching the pace of her dark dress. Not exactly the dress I'd choose to wear to my husband's funeral. With lase more for decoration than coverage. But what do I care, it's not like she does. Out the door, I see the strange-looking figure that has been following me my whole life. Once he s...

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“The Man Across the Street” by Phoebe DeNeve

Submitted to Contest #102

"Why does that man look sad?" I've been asking that question to my friends and family since the man moved to the neighborhood when I was 12. The answer for the question was always the same: "Some people are just sad, Amy." However, no matter how many times I was told that, the answer wasn't enough for me, so I kept asking. I would sit on the book-nook, and peer out the window, trying to catch a glimpse of our neighbor as he walked down the side-walk. The only thing I knew about him was that his name was Mr. Parker. No one else knew much abou...

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“Commander Fletcher” by Jj Gomez

Submitted to Contest #102

“Pete, run the counter while I’m-Pete!”Pete’s father’s voice managed to cut through the music. Pete pulled his headphones out of his ears. He was sitting in the backroom. He looked around the corner and called into the shop proper, “Yeah, Dad?”“Watch the counter while I go get us lunch,” his father, August said, already starting towards the front door. He was tall man, with iron-colored hair. Muscular, but he wasn’t going to be on any swimsuit colanders thanks to that beer belly of his. Even so, most of the Salem’s single moms (and some of t...

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“Entrusted” by Cynthia Prokarym (Scott)

Submitted to Contest #102

By now most of the townspeople in our neighborhood have seen the strange figure in some form or other. Auggie, herself , has run away from it a few times.But it always finds her. It wants her. Why her? Her keen intuition is on red alert. The figure is close…. Too f-in close…“This right here…” Auggie complains, shaking her index finger back and forth for emphasis, “going out in a pitch black area on a Friday night…very bad idea right now. It’s still out there. Any of us could be it’s next meal !...

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“Stand Still So I Can Look at You” by Kathleen March

Submitted to Contest #102

It was while she was working on her sabbatical research in the medieval city of Santiago de Compostela. Just for the record, the city was originally - some say - Compostela de Santiago. However, the history of the place can be left for another time. It would be necessary to discuss the true meaning of that special word ‘Compostela’ and the true story behind how the Apostle Saint James made his way to Galician shores in a stone boat. However, the city’s name isn’t the point here, so we won’t go into any more detail. The point is actually th...

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“Prophecy” by Kira Krieger

Submitted to Contest #102

It was a time of Kings and Queens. Of full harvests and lavish parties. And, most importantly, of magic, abundantly. Or at least to my story. My mother was always proud of me, even when I broke something. My father, on the other hand, never wanted to see me doing anything other than housework with my physical two hands. Living in two different worlds was more comfortable than living my father’s standards of a daughter, at least until a sickness hit our small village. Mother and Father came home from the market, and by...

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“Violin Lessons” by Mary Corbin

Submitted to Contest #102

Lena was raised on violin lessons and minimal parental supervision. We called her Diva because we never learned her name until the day she was moving out. For three years, she lived above us and we never had any contact with her, other than to hear her perfectly executing an etude on her violin in superb fashion. Or singing along in angelic soprano to an opera recording. Sometimes, it would feel as though the heavens above had opened up to invite us upward in the purest transcendence. May we introduce? Today, we are Alex, though some da...

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Write about a mysterious figure in one’s neighborhood.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 205 stories

“Grape Soda” by Annalisa D.

“Betrayed due to selfishness” by Melody Frost

“The Radley Place” by Katharine Widdows

“Dad's Gone” by Colin Devonshire

“Newcomer on 4th Street” by Ruth Smith

“the cursed lady” by Aisa M

“The Witch of Bayberry Avenue” by M.A. Williams

“My first muse” by Scott Skinner

“The Lost Alpha” by Athena Ember Antigone

“The Man Across the Street” by Phoebe DeNeve

“Commander Fletcher” by Jj Gomez

“Entrusted” by Cynthia Prokarym (Scott)

“Stand Still So I Can Look at You” by Kathleen March

“Prophecy” by Kira Krieger

“Violin Lessons” by Mary Corbin

🌟 Similar prompts

Start your story with a metaphor about human nature.

Frame your story as an adult recalling the events of their childhood.

Write about a character with an unassailable moral compass.

Write a story about someone losing faith in an institution.

Contest #102

Enter our weekly contest!

$50

Prize money

712

Contest entries

0

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

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