Start your story during a full moon night.

Posted in Mystery on Jun 30, 2023

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?

✍️ 81 stories

“White Pygmy” by Garth Upshaw

Submitted to Contest #205

The rhino didn't freak out until Katie stomped the brakes and swerved into the middle lane. I grabbed the Jesus strap. Tony mumbled a string of soothing words from the passenger seat. A bloated full moon hung over the skyline. Katie Cultziger, world-famous movie star and also my mom, drove a top-of-the-line Ford GreenBear van with one hand on the wheel, the other tapping the dash. The animal shook its bumpy, gray head and strained against the straps, grunting and flinging ropey lines of spit in all directions. The sm...

3 comments 3

Read story

“Moving House” by Jennifer Chan

Submitted to Contest #205

Moving to a new house during the new moon will bring difficulties, but doing so during the full moon will bring happiness and prosperity to the family. Diego carefully points the driver of the moving van to the bungalow on the right. Even with only the moon as his guide, he can still see the yellow paint curdling on the wood, the overgrown plants on the side. Next to the house, a single lamp post stands quietly impotent. When the driver kills the engine, the 16-year-old boy allows himself a moment to catch his breath. For the first...

3 comments 3

Read story

“Moonlit forest” by Eddie McKenzie

Submitted to Contest #205

It was a bad idea right from the very start. Leo knew that he really ought to have stayed in bed and pretended that he had not seen his sister, two years his elder as she neared her eighteenth birthday, slip silently through the garden and out the back gate. If Lilibet was going somewhere after midnight in her night clothes that was her business and her's alone. But he knew, for he had overheard stories that he pretended not to hear, that it was very dangerous for young ladies to go walking about late at night, especially dressed for bed, fo...

0 comments 0

Read story

“Full Moon Coffee” by Bruce A J McLauchlan

Submitted to Contest #205

I couldn’t sleep. The full moon glared through the window at me: challenging me; accusing me of… … … what? I could have drawn the curtains, tried to shut it all out. But just thinking about it woke me even more. The soft pad of feet, cat’s eyes peering around the door; then she too left me alone. Lonely. A glance at the neon glow of the clock: 22:35. Sleep wasn’t going to come any time soon. On impulse, I decided to go and grab a late night coffee. &nbsp...

2 comments 2

Read story

“Moonpieces” by Aqsa Malik

Submitted to Contest #205

On April 26th, I pack up a piece of the moon. Of course, I don’t actually know, or even care what the date is, but the reasons for its significance are twofold; the humans do, and this time, it’s late enough where I can secure energy for the entirety of next month. The drawstring bag tightens silently as I lump the wheat coloured chunk into its charcoal depths. Even in the few seconds that I held it, I could feel the healing aura seep into my cosmic latte pores, refuelling my social battery to a dangerous level. I will not, I decided, turn i...

1 comment 1

Read story

“Empress” by Jesse Sloan

Submitted to Contest #205

They waited for the thunderstorm to pass under the eves of an old mausoleum. The thing was built to look like some sort of Greek temple or maybe a miniature government building. It had a dome on the roof. There was even a little porch with smaller versions of the columns at the Parthenon. Frank and Lisa got under the porch roof to shelter from the sudden rain. The rain came in from the gulf and it lasted for hours, drenching the New Orleans cemetery. Occasionally, lightening flashed and thunder cracked and rumbled loudly. The sun went ...

0 comments 0

Read story

“The Missing Link” by Vysh D

Submitted to Contest #205

Cruthetania was always my home. Or at least that is what my whole village thought. But that is not what I thought. I had grown up in Cruthetania for an eternity, and I was longing to leave it. I had heard many stories of the 'world beyond', as they called it and I genuinely wanted to know what it was. But whenever I brought up the topic, I was shushed. One day, I was walking the town circle to the market, as my mother had asked me to bring groceries. There was a large group of cosarths, who were like the heads of Cruthetania. As I wa...

0 comments 0

Read story

“Friend or Foe” by Kathy Casteel

Submitted to Contest #205

Friend or Foe? Exactly how does a home, once it turns back into a house, stay strong enough to still be standing long enough for a tree to grow through its ceiling? Is it happy for the tree’s company? Is the tree pulling it down, or holding it up? Is the cabin pulling the tree down? “You would think it would be enough that those kids came wandering through here in the middle of the night and fell through my floor. What were they thinking wandering around in here with nothing but moonlight to guide them. Thank goodness it was a full moon ...

0 comments 0

Read story

“An Unfortunate Birth, a Medieval Tale” by Kaitlyn Wadsworth

Submitted to Contest #205

(Caution. Mention of someone bleeding in this story)Long, long ago . . . there lived a Lord named Tytus who dwelled in a castle commonly known as Wadeley Keep. He had inherited it from his father-in-law, Lord Roland. On this day, Tytus stood near the bed holding an undersized baby bundled in a soft woolen wrap. The father’s green eyes sparkled in adoration at his son and heir while his wife Soona cuddled their newborn daughter in the comfort of the bed. Red-rimmed eyes and a flushed face made her look unwell.A full moon shone through the win...

8 comments 8

Read story

“The Moon and the Mind” by Patricia Williford

Submitted to Contest #205

THE MOON AND THE MIND They say the crevasses of the mind expand with a full moon. Tiny fissures that snake through the cerebral cortex in all of us widen and grow with the pull of the tides. For many, this just creates a widened arena for the boundless joy and wonder they feel when gazing into the bright night sky. But for some, these growing, empty spaces in the brain are ripe for contamination by the world’s tilted, irrelevant logic or just provide fertile ground for the seed of disarrayed thoughts planted thr...

0 comments 0

Read story

“The Hunter’s Moon” by Danielle Dunmire

Submitted to Contest #205

The Hunter’s Moon By Danielle E. Dunmire The moon sees everything. At its zenith, the woods below are bathed in its white luminescence. The bonfire raging in a small clearing isn’t necessary for light, just the heat. The circle of people gathered around it clutch black robes tight about themselves to guard against the chill, their breath clouding as they speak. It’s too early for snow, but soon… The moon knows what’s coming. They only meet like this: under a full moon, matching robes, same intent...

0 comments 0

Read story

“The Taste of Music” by Virtual Chesse Emporium

Submitted to Contest #205

The Symphonia Performing Center is a sight to behold. Not only was it one of the oldest and most popular theaters in the world, it was an outdoor amphitheater. It was gorgeous in the daylight, but it's best seen at night. Lanterns are lit up around the audience, the cushioned wood seats gleamed brightly during the full moon and sheets of stars twinkle and wink over everyone’s heads. Never in my life did I think I’d sit here, but today’s my lucky day. After his self-imposed hiatus, my idol Ramone was back and I was seeing him tonight! When I ...

1 comment 1

Read story

“Runner” by Christina Howdeshell

Submitted to Contest #205

TW: Death, fire, knives, suicide, blood Elisabeth's knees hit the ground with a soft thud, and she leans back to sit on her dirt covered feet. She stares up at the full moon, her only source of light in the thick forest, and lets out a loud, guttural scream. She can no longer run. She can no longer fight. She has no clue where she is, and with just the moonlight to guide her, there was no way she would be able to find her way out. He was close behind her. She knows his dog has her scent as she can hear that stupid mutt barking fr...

0 comments 0

Read story

“They've Come Undone” by Grace Heinz

Submitted to Contest #205

His name was Jess, but we called him Ghost. The act of which he was accused, he did not do— not intentionally, anyway. His grandmother knew about stars. These three facts hold themselves clear in my mind, distinct as the moon on the night of the Fourth. The crowd that night was so large that it bordered on inane; more people than we had ever seen at one place in our little lives. It moved like a sea creature from the amphitheater where our parents dropped us off. We stood on our tiptoes to witness the miracle. Slow and bulky, yet conseq...

0 comments 0

Read story

“Conrad Aiken Demands a Gin and Tonic” by Lisa Tankersley

Submitted to Contest #205

As the October full moon was flowing through the blinds in the bedroom, that unmistakable sound was happening again. As I began rising up out of the bottom layer of sleep, the clinking of the ice cubes in a high ball glass was vague at first, then louder – it was being deliberately shaken at me. It became nearly pitch black outside when clouds began moving in from right to left, covering the full moon; I squinted as I reached for my cell phone on the bedside table. I knew the time, but I still felt it necessary to look: insomnia so often cau...

0 comments 0

Read story

Load more stories

🌟 Similar prompts

Make your protagonist go through a rite of passage.

Character – 54 stories

Write about a character who develops a special ritual to cope with something.

Angst – 89 stories

Make a character perform a ceremony to set something or someone free.

Dramatic – 55 stories

Write about a character who breaks free from a tradition to create a new one.

Character – 26 stories

Contest #205

Enter our weekly contest!

This week's theme: Ritualistic

$250

Prize money

305

Contest entries

129

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Jul 07, 2023 EST

Won by Lindsay Flo 🏆

Title: The Walk

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

Start your story during a full moon night.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 81 stories

“White Pygmy” by Garth Upshaw

“Moving House” by Jennifer Chan

“Moonlit forest” by Eddie McKenzie

“Full Moon Coffee” by Bruce A J McLauchlan

“Moonpieces” by Aqsa Malik

“Empress” by Jesse Sloan

“The Missing Link” by Vysh D

“Friend or Foe” by Kathy Casteel

“An Unfortunate Birth, a Medieval Tale” by Kaitlyn Wadsworth

“The Moon and the Mind” by Patricia Williford

“The Hunter’s Moon” by Danielle Dunmire

“The Taste of Music” by Virtual Chesse Emporium

“Runner” by Christina Howdeshell

“They've Come Undone” by Grace Heinz

“Conrad Aiken Demands a Gin and Tonic” by Lisa Tankersley

🌟 Similar prompts

Make your protagonist go through a rite of passage.

Write about a character who develops a special ritual to cope with something.

Make a character perform a ceremony to set something or someone free.

Write about a character who breaks free from a tradition to create a new one.

Contest #205

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

305

Contest entries

129

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: