Set your story during the coldest day of the year.

Posted in Short Story on Dec 13, 2024

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✍️ 52 stories

“Unleashed” by Kim Bridges

Submitted to Contest #281

Jeb woke to the sound of barking. Outside his bedroom window, a partial moon hung in the black winter sky. Jeb looked at the clock: 12:23 am, 8℉, by far the coldest night of the year. His wife Kate had taken Buster, their aging yellow lab, out before coming to bed. Since Jeb had to wake early for work, he hadn’t waited up for them to get back. But if Kate had already taken the dog out, why was Buster now barking at the back door? Jeb reached across the side of the bed where Kate’s warm body should have been laying and felt nothi...

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“The Cat and the Claus” by C.B. Tannon

Submitted to Contest #281

Scoop, grunt, thwump was the rhythm of his work as he dug the grave. He was interrupted when his pocket buzzed and a tinny rendition of We Wish You a Merry Christmas echoed around the dark cemetery. Matt squatted down behind a headstone, swiping a numb finger at the luminous screen, cursing that this had happened to him on the coldest night of the year. He peeked up, surveying. No one there, just black silhouettes of snow-topped headstones looking like some huge, macabre game of whack-a-mole. He put the phone to his ear.‘Hello? Mr. Delaney?’...

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“Judgement Day ” by Mary Avella

Submitted to Contest #281

It’s the coldest day of the year, with temperatures at ten degrees Fahrenheit. Snow blankets the ground, with only the salt-covered roads a different color than white. It’s my year to host Christmas Eve for the family and everything needs to be perfect. I add more wood to the fireplace and adjust the stockings. On my way to the kitchen, I check the grandfather clock in the corner of the hallway. Half an hour till the party starts. I rearrange plates of cookies and carry them into the dining room, coordinating them into colorful patterns, whe...

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“The Vending Machine ” by Abby Harris

Submitted to Contest #281

The wind blew through the open window of my shabby motel room. The window, not by choice, had been ajar due to its age and the cracked seal around it. I hadn’t anticipated being snowed in for three days on my journey back from Chicago. Life had been full of surprises. My stomach growled in protest at the lack of food it had endured during those days of being snowed in. There had been no delivery services in that little town, and there certainly hadn’t been a cab willing to brave two feet of snow to take me to the nearest fast-food restaurant...

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“The Snowstorm” by Sienna Hahm

Submitted to Contest #281

I leaned my head against the taxi window; watching snowflakes drift onto the glass. It was only a day after Christmas, but the festivity of the bright holiday still remained. Sparkling lights hung on every traffic light and there were wreaths on every door. As the car sped past houses, the storm began to worsen and the snow fell faster. It wasn’t unusual for New York to become almost freezing in the winter, but somehow, the weather outside felt surprisingly intense. The driver slowed down, and I realized that we had arrived. I quickly hopped...

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“In July” by Rubekkah Estero

Submitted to Contest #281

‘Queensland is set for the coldest day of the year today, so pull out those jackets and coats…’ ‘Huh! Perfect timing,’ Dad says, rubbing his hands together with glee as I make my way down the stairs. ‘Georgie! You heard the weather man. Where’s your ugly Christmas sweater?’ I groan and loll my head back. ‘It might be the coldest day, Dad, but it’s still 26 bloody degrees out!’ Everything is relative, and in far north Queensland, cold is just another word for stinking hot. ‘No one should be wearing sweaters this ...

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“Inebria” by Gary Grissom

Submitted to Contest #281

InebriaBy Gary E. Grissom Thomas Collins, a young alcoholic, was driving home from what he believed was the best New Year’s Eve party he had ever attended. Unfortunately, Thomas was inebriated from drinking too many Margaritas. He had received a DUI a few years ago and he’d had his license revoked. He had even gone through the 12 steps of Alcoholics Anonymous; but now he had gone off the wagon because he felt he could certainly handle the effects of only one Margarita. Of course, the one Margarita led to two others before a friend reminded h...

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“Never Again” by Caroline Poplawski

Submitted to Contest #281

This is hell. Hell has literally frozen over, and now Danielle has to follow through with an ungodly number of empty promises made on these conditions. Whoever looked at the forecast and decided it was still perfectly safe and acceptable to hold a football game in the middle of the worst cold snap of the year deserves a special place in this hell to burn—freeze?—for eternity. Danielle had hoped and prayed that it would get canceled today, so she could stay curled up in her weighted blanket and watch Christmas episodes from a bunch of random ...

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“The Coldest Day Brings a Happy Ending” by John Steckley

Submitted to Contest #281

Ralph leaves his home to replenish his very diminished supply of coffee. Even though he is wearing his very warmest clothes, he still begins to shivers all over as he leaves his house. There are several reasons for that, only one of which is the very cold temperature he encountered when he stepped out of his house. There is a loneliness that makes the mind run cold alongside the body. “Why does it have to be the coldest day of the year on my birthday. It is like the weather gods know what day it is and they curse me ...

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“The Hottest Cold Day” by Aimee Lavigne

Submitted to Contest #281

(Note: some foul language) It’s literally 80 degrees in my classroom right now, Mrs. Ferris texted her principal. She looked over her class of 3rd graders. Winter coats and holiday sweaters littered the floor, despite the hooks in their cubbies designed to hold such items. It was the day before winter break started. They just had to not melt for two more hours until they could flee into the parking lot and bus loading zone at 2:25. I’ll try Maintenance again, Principal Beck texted back, but they stopped taking my calls two wee...

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“Beneath the White” by Susan Zalick

Submitted to Contest #281

The snow fell in thick, swirling curtains, blanketing the narrow mountain road as Sophia gripped the steering wheel with white-knuckled hands. Her breath clouded the inside of her windshield as the wind howled through the pines, blurring the world in a swirling gray and white haze. Her car's heater was fighting a losing battle against the bitter cold; she had been driving for hours, eager to make it home for the holidays. Just as she was about to turn onto the main road, the car sputtered loudly—once, twice—and then fell silent. "No, no, n...

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“Into the Deep Freeze” by Pete Gautchier

Submitted to Contest #281

Prompt: Set your story during the coldest day of the year. Into the Deep Freeze Unquestionably, this was the coldest day I had ever experienced. I was literally chilled down to my bones. I could not feel my hands nor my feet. Other nerves in my body, however, were actively feeling the frigid air. The cold pierced my face as though I was a pin cushion. I morphed into a human iceberg. What made matters worse, I was surrounded in darkness. Pitch black darkness. I quickly understood the meaning of th...

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“To the Fire” by Sarah Horne

Submitted to Contest #281

“Today’s low is going to dip into the low teens and it’s shaping up to be the coldest day of the year, so bund-“ I groaned, and cut the engine; Thank God, I made it to my driveway before I had to endure more radio chatter. One day I would get my aux port fixed and have my control over my commute listening material again. I stepped out of my car and regretted not wearing a heavier coat. It was so cold my breath was a solid cloud. I ran as best as I could in the snow to my mailbox, grabbed my couple weeks’ worth of forgotten mail,...

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“Her First Snow” by Mari Schneider

Submitted to Contest #281

“The weather guys said heavy snow overnight.” “I heard they’re closing down all the highways. How many cars do you think they’ll have to dig out tomorrow?” “Haha, I bet at least seven off of 50 alone. Those city folks always think they know better than -” There is a brief moment of static while the woman switches the station before some new pop song comes on. This is why she has never moved out of San Jose: everyone else is so mean. The sun slants lower to her left, and she moves the visor to block it again. She has already left the highway ...

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“The Curious Incident of the Child In The Nighttime” by Tess Ross-Callahan

Submitted to Contest #281

Putting your kids to bed just doesn’t happen the way it does in The Sound of Music. If you’ve never seen it, picture a bunch of stylish bilingual children peacefully walking themselves up the stairs, singing, leaving the grownups downstairs to finish their drinks and conversations. I mean, really. I only have the two kids, forget seven - which I’m pretty sure is the number of Von Trapp offspring - and bedtime is a whole ordeal. Even on a regular night. Even when it’s not the coldest goddamn day of the year, ev...

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Set your story during the coldest day of the year.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 52 stories

“Unleashed” by Kim Bridges

“The Cat and the Claus” by C.B. Tannon

“Judgement Day ” by Mary Avella

“The Vending Machine ” by Abby Harris

“The Snowstorm” by Sienna Hahm

“In July” by Rubekkah Estero

“Inebria” by Gary Grissom

“Never Again” by Caroline Poplawski

“The Coldest Day Brings a Happy Ending” by John Steckley

“The Hottest Cold Day” by Aimee Lavigne

“Beneath the White” by Susan Zalick

“Into the Deep Freeze” by Pete Gautchier

“To the Fire” by Sarah Horne

“Her First Snow” by Mari Schneider

“The Curious Incident of the Child In The Nighttime” by Tess Ross-Callahan

🌟 Similar prompts

Write about a mysterious guest who arrives at a party — but no one knows who they are.

Start or end your story with someone receiving a strange — and possibly sinister — gift.

Write a story from the POV of a non-human character.

Write a story that includes the line “Be careful what you wish for.”

Contest #281

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

309

Contest entries

154

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: