Menu

Menu
Prompts
Contests
Stories
Blog
Directory
Contests
Magazine
FAQ

Write a story about someone who sees a black cat cross their path... for the tenth time that day.

Posted in Mystery on Nov 7, 2019

Submissions are closed

Make sure you don't miss our next contest by creating your free Reedsy account.

Sign in with Google
Sign in with Facebook

Or use an email address:

Why not check out our active contest?

✍️ 40 stories

The Black Cat

Submitted to Contest #13

Ever get the feeling you are being stalked? Ever get the feeling you are being stalked…by a cat? There is a black cat that I have seen for like, the 10th time today. The thing is following me and he is starting to really creep me out. It has these green eyes that narrow when it looks at me. Like it wants me dead. It hates me, and I haven’t even done anything to it. Hell, I like cats. They have never really liked me, but still. It shouldn’t hate me this much. It all started when I was going for an evening stroll. It was a nice evening. As soo...

5 likes 1 comment 1
Read story

Count to Ten

Submitted to Contest #13

The black cat shot from the Kowalczyk’s hedge across my bow like a cannonball. At the same instant, the crack of a bat sounded, and ten-year-old Brian Kowalczyk nearly beaned me with a line drive hit off his younger brother Steve’s pitching. As Steve scrambled after the ball, Brian grinned sheepishly and waved. “Sorry, Mr. Stevens!” After my years in Nam, I don’t startle easily, and anyway, no harm had been done. I waved back and said, “Nice hitting! Who’s cat was that?” Brian shrugged and took a practice swing as Steve scampered back to the...

5 likes 2 comments 2
Read story

Huh?

Submitted to Contest #13

That’s strange.                     I stopped and stared at the black cat. It had crossed my path several times today. I couldn’t count, though—I was striving to get to work to do some paperwork, although it was a Saturday. Yes, but I wanted to work extra hard to show Mr. Pigs that I cared about being one of his employees. If I didn’t work hard enough for his approval, I’d quit. I was getting tired of his complaining. EZ Ways Corporation was a...

5 likes 0 comments 0
Read story

My Misfortune

Submitted to Contest #13

My name is Pisano and I live in St Lost where cats are quite uncommon especially dark-colored cats. I never realized why but I guess it just didn't matter that much. But there was this one time, when I was going to school, I saw a black cat as I went on the school bus. Wow, how interesting! I thought. Such a rare sight. Unfortunately, we had a math and science test today. Agh, I hate tests. But it got weirder when I saw 3 more black cats on the courtyard. 4 black cats in one day? What sorcery is this? They were all under one car. How interes...

4 likes 0 comments 0
Read story

Do not leave your window open

Submitted to Contest #13

It was a cold gray day as usual in that part of the city, people were not friendly at all, they were even quite rude to each other. I went for a walk as I used to do since I was widowed, I bought some white flowers to my wife, I would take them to her grave like every day; but that day something was different, the atmosphere felt heavier than usual, and most curious, a black cat was following me, it was the tenth time I saw him on my way that day, I decided to ignore it, since I do not believe in superstitions, however, during the night I co...

4 likes 0 comments 0
Read story

Out of Luck

Submitted to Contest #13

I have never been a superstitious person. I have never balked at the idea of walking under a ladder or opening an umbrella indoors. Stray pennies that I find on the sidewalk don’t fill me with excitement at the prospect of coming luck. Quite frankly, I think that people who do think this way are a bit ridiculous. Still, I had to admit that I had seen more than just a few strange coincidences that day.  It started early, with not one of my six alarms going off to wake me up. Sure, that’s just a small thing for most people, but I have six...

4 likes 0 comments 0
Read story

The black cat story

Submitted to Contest #13

Hi, guys. My name is Samantha and I have a question. Are you a superstitious person? Do you believe that some object or creature is able to bring you good or bad luck?I don’t. At least I consider myself not a superstitious one. You’ve broken a mirror. Who cares? Is it something wrong with that object whether with your hands which let the mirror fall down?And what could be wrong with a cat even if it is black? The cat itself is cute and fluffy. It can bring no danger. Ok, maybe broken mirror but it doesn’t count.Have you already given your an...

4 likes 0 comments 0
Read story

Golden Eyes

Submitted to Contest #13

I paced toward the end of the street. The rain beat down upon me, and I could already sense the beginning of a cold. My teeth chattered and I clung to my papers, trying to protect them from the storm's grasp.I still had another two blocks to go before I reached my house. I had gotten off work twenty minutes ago, and not being able to afford a car or bus ride, I braved the downpour.Now I hurried home, my thin fall jacket soaked and my hands grasping tightly to the soggy work that I had spent days working on.Thunder shattered the atmosphere. T...

3 likes 0 comments 0
Read story

Once Were Friends

Submitted to Contest #13

      I drove down Aberdeen Avenue slowly, I hadn’t been here in a long time and was just looking at all the changes that took place in the 15 years I had left. An old house made to look new, a new house already destroyed by fire. I was randomly in town visiting from Florida when I got a call from an old friend, Jay, somehow he had heard that I was in town and would happy if we could get together. I was reluctant at first, we had had a falling out way back in the day, which was my fault all the way, but he put m...

3 likes 0 comments 0
Read story

Worry Stone

Submitted to Contest #13

One, two, three, four, five, six, and seven. Flip over. One, two, three, four, five, six, and seven. I punch into work. 9:17 in the morning. Like every other Friday, but not today. It is 13th, of November, on a Friday. A Friday the 13th. Superstitious? Maybe. Careful? Indeed. Every other street; a black cat crosses my path. Seven times. Seven times. Seven times, a black cat crossed my path. Work. Work. Work. Stock here. Stock there. Stock in this way. 11:33 in the morning, that is when I clock out. Like every other regular Friday.  blac...

3 likes 0 comments 0
Read story

I Really Liked That One

Submitted to Contest #13

"Fix your face, Leeko," Janet puffed. I reached for my face wondering what was wrong with it."No, your other face," she sighed, reaching for my costume, pulling at the attached headpiece. I was a T-rex for Halloween this year--full-body costume that left my face sticking out from the neck. Waiting now on Benji's front porch, I suddenly felt very uncomfortable in my costume choice. And very much like a child. Maybe this was a little too bold. A little too funny for me to pull off. I wondered about different ways to change into something else ...

3 likes 0 comments 0
Read story

The Emerald Eye

Submitted to Contest #13

Lawrence Knight was familiar with the whole “nine lives” spiel about cats, and he even believed it to some extent. When he was eleven years old his mom brought in a stray cat from the street that she decided to call Winky for their family to raise as their own. Lawrence was always slightly afraid of Winky, which only had one good eye and limped with each step, but his mother assured him the cat was perfectly healthy.“He’s got at least four more lives in him, hon,” she used to say. He often wondered what took the first five.In his nightmares,...

3 likes 1 comment 1
Read story

Sorrow

Submitted to Contest #13

I sunk my fingers into Sorrow’s black fur. She let out a hiss. A neat little claw took a swipe at me. ‘You can’t stay here,’ I told her. ‘I need to use my keyboard.’ The black cat finally drew herself up, back arching, hackles raised.  I returned my eyes to the bleary screen. The essay only contained a single sentence.  I tapped my fingers on the desk, awaiting the demons of inspiration. There was an unopened letter close to my escape key. I already knew the sender from the scrawled letters of my name on the front. If my uncle had ...

3 likes 1 comment 1
Read story

The Ominous Feline

Submitted to Contest #13

My sight was going around and upside down, rolling until it settled and, is that me? From the corner of my eyes, I saw my body lying on the floor, my neck unattached to the rest of my body revealing a mass of blood. How am I still alive? is this the state when the brain remains alive after a matter of minutes? But, he plugged my eyeballs and- oh there he is, still finishing me with the grin on his face. But above all, the whole thing remained surreal to the very end. People said that crossing a path with this ominous jet-black crea...

3 likes 0 comments 0
Read story

They Say Black Cats are Bad Luck... Maybe They're Right?

Submitted to Contest #13

“They say black cats are an omen, but I think they’re pretty cute.” Jenny was telling Diane as they happened upon one while window shopping. They lived in New York and both lived successful lives; Jenny was a writer and Diane was an advertising specialist for a major television network. They were out getting lunch when they passed by a new, trendy clothing boutique named Franchella’s. They noticed a beautiful white dress in the window, but then Diane jumped when something scurried between her legs. A black cat. “I hate those little things,” ...

3 likes 1 comment 1
Read story

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a story about someone spending the night in an old Victorian home-turned-hotel on Halloween.

Halloween – 45 stories

You go to visit your neighbor. When you ring the doorbell, a stranger appears and tells you that your neighbor has been dead for ten years.

Thriller and Suspense – 49 stories

You go for a walk and accidentally bump into someone. They feel the bump, but the person can't seem to hear or see you.

Thriller and Suspense – 52 stories

Write a story about an eventful evening of trick-or-treating.

Kids – 37 stories

How to Write a Novel

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

How to Write a Novel