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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

Write about a mysterious figure in one’s neighborhood.

Posted in Horror on Oct 26, 2022

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✍️ 205 stories

“Mousetrap” by Mandy McCool

Submitted to Contest #102

Growing up, I had a three-legged cat named Mousetrap. I wasn’t the one who named him, obviously, as he had been around for as long as I could remember. I barely even recall a time when he had all four legs. My early memory has always been sort of spotty, so I only have a brief moment where I can clearly see him jumping from the top of the bookcase and landing softly on four gray paws, then the very next memory his front right leg was missing. When I would ask about why Mousetrap had his leg removed, I was always told the wretched old woma...

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“Simple People” by Markeisha B

Submitted to Contest #102

My big brother, Adam, and I walked through the middle of the barren road toward the esteemed--by us-- “Pecan Forest, a few blocks from our home. “Do you think Joe will let us play outside later this evening?” I asked Adam in hopes that he’ll say yes.“Maggie, you know how he is.”I did know how our father was, all business and disapproving of anyone unlike him. Joe--our father is an up-and-coming journalist for our town’s newspaper; we call him Joe because he wants to only be seen as a serious businessman.“Maybe Big Bob can convince him,”...

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“The Forgotten Children” by Massiel Alberto

Submitted to Contest #102

When I was a nine-year-old boy, in my town, which was a small corner on the Earth where everybody knew each other and knew every tiny secret, the children started to disappear without a trace. Every week we heard of a new kidnapped kid in the neighborhood. The parents were so scared, they stopped sending their children to school. We weren’t allowed to look through the windows or to talk with anybody that wasn’t family. People distrusted each other. Everyone knew their neighbors, but the situation became so despairing that they didn’t know ...

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“Bang Bang” by Saralyn Richard

Submitted to Contest #102

Bang Bang Not for the first time, I woke up in a sweat, covers wrapped around my torso and calves. I felt like an embryonic beast, trying to break out of a chrysalis, the vivid dream already fleeing away in all directions, leaving only trailing wisps. I latched onto one, an insubstantial puff, and held on as it went the way of deep sleep. I already knew this dream. It was the same recurring dream that had plagued me since childhood….            We called him “Bang ...

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“Someone New” by A. Smoak

Submitted to Contest #102

Jaime and Henry had picked the neighborhood because it seemed to be the idyllic suburban oasis that had eluded them when they were a childless couple living in the city. Jaime missed the city, it had always been her home and she had always felt such a strong connection to that place - but Henry had worn her down over these past few years. When she was pregnant and more than happy to take the subway everywhere, he seemed to find the urban lifestyle more and more unbearable. He had grown up in a neighborhood like this one - with wide, clean si...

2 comments 2
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“VIBES” by Suha Mutwalli

Submitted to Contest #102

First job is something different, something very peculiar. Especially, when you know that you will be paid a big sum for the work. It had been almost a month for me, working as a PA for Mr. Green, one of the famous and successful businessman of the conurbation. Daniel, a good friend of mine, told me about the hunt of Mr. Green for a new PA. Basically, he worked as a rainmaker for me. My daily schedule became quite busy. I kept myself immersed with the new job. As one of the perks of this Job, I was given a service of free pick and drop ...

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“Leela and Chanesar ” by Gn Memon

Submitted to Contest #102

Leela-Chanesar  Nearly seven hundred years ago when Ghyasuddin Balban ruled over the throne of Delhi, Chanesar the Dasro prince was the ruler of Dewal in Sind. His beloved queen was named Leela. Chanesar was the most handsome prince of the time. His manly beauty and exciting features fluttered the heart of even the most virtuous maidens while Leela had no rival in the whole area for her celestial beauty and feminine charms.  They were an ideal couple. Just as we would close the eyes and dream of much more to this, they wer...

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“No Longer Friends, and Friendships Brand New” by Rachel <3

Submitted to Contest #102

The house is glossy midnight blue, fresh-painted, and perfectly framed through my speckled bedroom window. I'm mildly surprised by the sudden curb appeal that the house has gained from its new paint job. The place hasn't looked so clean and new in the six years my family's lived across the street from it, and I always thought of it as a lost cause. If every street has a slightly haunted, probably abandoned old wreck of a house, this one was ours, but it's really cleaned up. "Watcha think?" Khloe holds out a hand for my inspection. I glan...

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“Look Up” by Adam Wan

Submitted to Contest #102

Yuki came around a bend and descended the steps. A gust of the evening wind blew over her— the summer tepid, here still, the season only reaching its peak. The fireworks festival is coming; maybe that’s its peak. Arriving at the thought, she shook it away as she reached the final step, readying herself: there he was, waiting. “Ah,” she halted in her steps, not knowing what to say; she simply stood there. The sun was setting… Just then, he turned around, seeming to notice her. “Why’d you call me?” Their eyes met, and a breeze played a...

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“Today?” by Joe Swanson

Submitted to Contest #102

I stopped to say Hi to a guy sitting on a bench by the rose garden in the park. He looked like he could use a friend, turns out he didn’t. Said he just liked roses, reminded him of when times were good, the sky was green, and the grass was blue. I left him sitting there, too big to carry, too stubborn to change. He asked as I turned to withdraw, subtly of course, “Do you need any.” I asked, “what?” He said if I didn’t know, he couldn’t help me. He also said, “if it was free, would it make a difference?”  I said, “I ...

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“Mystery or Monster?” by Sevv E

Submitted to Contest #102

Locals say they were the wind. Well, I’m just here to catch the breeze. A questionable silhouette that was always there at the right time. Some say that they were the shadows. Finding peace in the darkest corners when someone begged to be saved.  They’ve earned the name “Depth,” standing for the hole you may fall in if you chase them too long. Maybe I’ve already fallen. Or maybe… they’re who I think they are. If I am correct, then this search has been worth it. Months and months of searching for my father, and maybe this supposed loca...

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“The Visitor” by Rutheanna Chang

Submitted to Contest #102

Hello, my name is David. We had a strange visitor this week. His name is Jeff. There is something about him that is mysterious. He also has this aura around him. He sometimes appears out of thin air! No one knows his real name. Let’s start the story.  On a sticky and rainy day, a volcano erupted at Mystery Village. Volcano ashes spread all over the village and people ran. But then, the volcano and the ash clouds disappeared! Then came lightning followed by a deafening voice, “People of the Mystery Village, I cannot tell you who I a...

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“The Durrel Mystery.” by Ameera Rashid

Submitted to Contest #102

I could tell what I was doing was generally phrased "stalking". I was very well aware that it was wrong, and probably even illegal to spy on someone, but if you were in my place, I'm pretty sure you would have done the same. Let me start from the beginning. Recently, a middle aged man named Nate Durrel moved in the apartment right next to our building. I was never a nosey person, so I didn't even spare him a second glance when I noticed a new face around. However, when piqued, my curiosity had an insatiable appetite, and it was about to be...

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“Broken Nose” by Mike Garrigan

Submitted to Contest #102

Through his shoes and into his knees, Jamie felt his skateboard vibrate as he slid across the top of a park bench in Greenhill Park. Upon landing, he turned against the grain of the asphalt, powersliding to a stop. “Yes!” he said. He removed his helmet, swooped his hair out of his face, and smiled. Jamie had been trying to land a railslide all summer without totally wrecking himself. Jamie looked ahead, just beyond the park, to Mr. Winwood’s house. In a neighborhood bridled by yellow and tan homes, Mr. Winwood’s dark mahogany haunt...

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“PELAGE ESCALIER” by Saim Khurshid

Submitted to Contest #102

I woke up this morning with a headache haunting my peace. I had gotten up earlier than usual and decided against getting ready for school just yet.  I left my room which is right next to the stairs leading down to the living room and kitchen. I was going to head down to see if I could scavenge some breakfast for myself when my eyes noticed something awfully strange; the staircase was covered in some black coating. On closer inspection, It looked like hair or fur to be exact. I decided not to think about it and blamed the dog. Even tho...

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