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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

Write a story where someone sees the shadow of someone standing behind them.

Posted in Mystery on Oct 21, 2022

Submissions are closed

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✍️ 62 stories

“No Final Goodbye” by Dawn Kaltenbaugh

Submitted to Contest #169

I watched as the coffin was lowered into the unforgiving ground of this awful February day. James was the only boy I had ever kissed, the only one I had ever loved. It felt so unfair to have him cut down in his prime. A germ, smaller than the head of a pin, was his death. Tears rolled down my face, as I stared at the frozen ground, saying my final goodbye. I stayed far longer than the other mourners, wanting to spend just a few more moments with his body, though I knew his soul was no longer there. I saw a shadow f...

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“The Ghost on the Second Floor” by Eric S

Submitted to Contest #169

Ghost on the Second Floor“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” -Ephesians 6:12 ESV         The young Asian girl with unkempt hair and long white dress was watching us again from the second-floor landing. Her shadow from the overhead lights cast over the lobby behind us as each nurse clocked in for their night shift ...

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“Solitude” by Jed Cope

Submitted to Contest #169

I want to say that I am not from a tribe or anything, but as I give voice to that urge of mine, I realise this is a half-baked desire to distance myself from the reality of my existence and that goes against everything I am about to tell you.I am a member of a tribe.We all are.It’s just that sometimes we forget that, or, we attempt to go against the grain denying the nature of our very existence. That contrary nature of ours is perhaps one of the reasons that we have this tradition in my extended family. A ritual that we ...

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“Shadows Never Lie ” by George Georgerfrost@gmail.com

Submitted to Contest #169

Roger Hornsby attempted to murder his overbearing mother with a healthy helping of strychnine in her evening tea as she watched Wheel of Fortune.  It was a simple plan, but just like most simple plans, complications quickly made it much more challenging.  In the end he made good on her murder, but not at all as he had planned it.    Short of resources and opportunities, Roger was forced to share residence with Dolores, his mother.  It was a spacious house his late father, Lloyd, bought for his family after he r...

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“Like Father Like Daughter” by Drew Herron

Submitted to Contest #169

It was a cool March morning, though the warmest it had been in recent months. Signs of spring’s arrival littered the trees above the porch behind the large home. There, at the white cast iron furniture set, sat Theo Hartman. The short round man sipped his coffee while he paged through a Nora Roberts novel. He thought he may have read this one before but wasn’t sure so he continued. The sunlight that peered over the top of his home and onto the pages disappeared behind the outline of someone's head. “Good morning,” he said without looking. ...

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“When Johnny comes marching home. ” by Bart Couder

Submitted to Contest #169

It was a cold October night. The fallen leaves formed a colored carpet. Johnny sighed when he finally came home from a hard day at work. Yet there were still some chores to do. Nobody waited for him at home. He was 56 years old now, but being alone never bothered him. People only hampered him while he was thinking. His thoughts created another universe far from his work and the world he lived in. The microwave heated a frozen dinner within a few minutes. He grabbed his hot food before he went upstairs into his bedroom.With a gentle flick, Jo...

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“Free as a Ghost” by Jess Rinker

Submitted to Contest #169

I let Mom guide me through our dark, chilly house, moving everywhere she pushes me, passively helping her complete her chores simply by existing. It’s not the first time for this middle-of-the-night gather-and-dash routine, and we move seamlessly from room to room, despite most of the lights being dark. In my bedroom, one of her hands rests on my shoulder as we roll up pajamas, jeans, extra underwear. For some reason she pulls a winter coat from my closet, even though it’s May and New Jersey isn’t all that cold in May. We shove things into b...

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“Green Crumbs” by Stephen Bollich

Submitted to Contest #169

A pale 17-year-old boy rests his elbows on the glass table-top in front of him and leans forward to stare down a basket of fried wonton strips. The container is made of shiny metal, with nothing separating the polished steel surface from the hot, greasy, chunks of crisped wheat. Thom furrows his brow as he counts the individual dough pimples still sizzling on the outer layer of each one. The juxtaposition makes him queasy. Steam rises from the pile and beads of oil begin to accumulate below. He knows condensation will soon challenge each s...

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“A Late Night Walk” by Asumini C

Submitted to Contest #169

It’s 11:30 on a cool night in mid-October. I just got off work and am not quite ready to go home. I decide to go for a walk to clear my head. The store I work at was very busy tonight, and the adrenaline is still coursing through my veins. As I turn down Market Street, I am uneasy because I feel someone is following me. I glance behind me and swear I see a shadow standing behind me. As I peer closer, it ducks between two buildings. The palms of my hands start to sweat as I walk faster. My heart is racing. My breathing is short, fast, and sha...

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“Where Someone Sees the Shadow of Someone Standing Behind Them.” by Kathy Frizzell

Submitted to Contest #169

Write a story where someone sees the shadow of someone standing behind them.Stephen King said it best…“If you don’t have the time to read, you don’t have the time or the tools to write.”It was a typical stormy night as I settled down in a little cabin off a deep deserted island. If you are little, curiosity has your attention let me put your mind at rest.Putting wood in the fireplace. Making a cup of coffee, in hand was a book and listening to the soft beats of the rain hitting the rooftop.This is the right time to introduce myself. My name ...

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“Shadowlisted” by Nardalis A

Submitted to Contest #169

It’s a late evening for Assi. She’s writing a newspaper article on the computer, tapping the keys lightly. She’s about to end her shift on the office for today. Soon enough, the clock hits nine. “Finally, time to get away from this place!” Assi thinks while she sorts some papers and puts them in a folder. She stands up and picks up her bag on the desk. Then, the jacket hanging on the clothes hanger. She puts the chair in place and then rushes out. On her way she sees Derek still sitting at his desk, a fellow colleague. “Bye, Derek!” She says...

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“Shadow in the Night” by Kimberly McFetridge

Submitted to Contest #169

All Joan could think about as she scurried through the employee parking lot was a getting home to a nice hot shower, a cup of hot rooibos tea, and bed. It was 11:05 pm, so her girls, Mandy and Julie, would already be in bed. Her husband Brandon could still be up reading and if he was, he might offer to rub her feet. After working a 12-hour shift in the ER her feet, not to mention her legs, were aching. As Joan imagined Brandon’s strong hands kneading her throbbing feet, a figure behind her interrupted her thoughts.  She listened in...

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“Carolyn's Creepy Afghan” by Patricia Merewether

Submitted to Contest #169

 Carolyn's Creepy Afghan I drove two hours to reach my friend Carolyn's little cabin in the woods. It was quite late by the time I wound my way along the bumpy, twisty dirt road and reached her house. I'd never driven there before, and it was construction all the up the highway, so the drive was long and nerve-wracking, so I was so grateful when I found it! This is in northern Michigan, very rural and so dark you need a flashlight to walk more than a few yards. Her feeble porch light was on, but not much help.  She opene...

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“Beware of Shifting Shadows” by Julie Pruitt

Submitted to Contest #169

Just being a United States citizen on Russian soil is enough to make a koala bear edgy. Being a CIA agent in Moscow at the culmination of a mission is nerve popping. At this moment, Koala’s nerve axons could be plucked like banjo strings. Yeah, the agent’s code name is Koala – a United States’ CIA veteran sleeper agent planted in Moscow. Get it? Koalas are the animals that sleep the most … sleeper agent. Keep up. We’re going to have to move quickly to stay ahead of the shadowy figure who is following Agent K. (For security reasons, no real...

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“A Dead Reckoning” by Stephen B. Allen

Submitted to Contest #169

As I stared down at the document laying open upon the top of my desk with pen in hand hovering as if it were a sword about to fall and sever a long line of wonderful memories, I was about to discover if I was right and was going to be paid a visit by the dead this evening?Surprisingly, I honestly could say that I was not scared. Apprehensive perhaps, for its not every day that you encounter an entity from beyond the grave! But should I indeed rendezvous with a specter of the deceased, I felt I had nothing to fear.Or so I hoped!The deep soul-...

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Contest #169

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