Menu
Prompts
Contests
Stories
Blog

Menu

✕
CONNECT
Editing Design Marketing Publicity Ghostwriting Websites
BLOG
Success Stories
APPS
TOOLS
Book Promotion Sites Book Review Blogs Booktube Channel Guide Book Title Generator Character Name Generator Independent Publishers Literary Agents Literary Magazines Pen Name Generator Plot Generator Publishers Directory Short Story Ideas Writing Contests Writing Exercises Writing Scholarships
ABOUT
About Reedsy Terms Privacy

CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

Write a story in which the narrator or a character says "Did you hear that?"

Posted in Short Story on Oct 11, 2024

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.

Sign in with Google
Sign in with Facebook

Or create a new Reedsy account:

Why not check out our active contest?

✍️ 84 stories

“Forest Whispers” by Joe Miller

Submitted to Contest #272

Forest Whispersby Joe Miller The wind howled through the trees, sending a shiver down Mia's spine. She huddled closer to the warm campfire. The forest buzzed with the sounds of night—crickets. Leaves rustled, and an owl hooted in the distance. Then, a different sound pierced the air, making her heart race. “Did you hear that?” she whispered, her voice barely rising above the crackling flames. Tom, her older brother, glanced up from prodding the fire with a stick, his brow furrowing. “Hear what?” he replied, irritation creeping into his tone....

2 comments 2
Read story

“The Workshop” by Ty Warmbrodt

Submitted to Contest #272

Beneath the Northern Mountains, on a plain covered in snow a foot deep, by a frozen solid lake, rests a cabin whose fire keeps the windows glowing. Its stone chimney pumps smoke into the overcast sky that sends a light snowfall to the ground. The night isn’t dark because the white surface of the ground reflects what little light there is back into the sky, making it easy to see. Inside, a tree trimmed in red and gold sits in the corner of the living room. From the mantle stockings hang, one labeled Josie, the other Maggie. By the fireplace i...

3 comments 3
Read story

“Yurika's Tale” by Lucy Plumme

Submitted to Contest #272

“Did you hear that?” “What?” “I heard Yurika was spotted going to a hotel with Teacher Masuda.” “Wow, seriously?!” “Isn't Teacher Masuda…” “Yes! He's already married. Doesn't that make her a third wheel? I can't believe she did that.” Yurika could only stand in front of the door, listening to her classmates' chatter and the harsh words from the people she thought were her friends. She almost couldn't hold her tears anymore. But no—they might think she's playing the victim if she cried. While rubbing her eyes, the announcement rang.  ‘St...

2 comments 2
Read story

“The Haunting of Goodbye” by Valerie Silk-Kremenak

Submitted to Contest #272

The recent years of ups and downs had inevitably led to this day, but it didn’t make the hurt any easier to comprehend. After the wake concluded, my family gathered around the casket together to have a last look at our matriarch before leaving the funeral home; the funeral mass and burial would be the next morning. We wiped away tears and went home to spend the longest night of our lives awaiting the final goodbye. When my family arrived at the church the next morning, the funeral director announced that the casket was open in a small room t...

2 comments 2
Read story

“Don't Say I Didn't Warn You” by D'nea Campbell

Submitted to Contest #272

Did you hear that? Just a rustle of leaves, just a stronger gust of wind. Tell yourself not to worry about it, chide yourself for being silly. Keep walking, you’re almost home. Don’t look back, don’t slow down. Pay no mind to the fact that the streetlights haven’t come on. Maybe the timer’s faulty on this street. Pay no mind to the missing moon, you can tell yourself it’s that time of month, you can tell yourself it’s hidden behind that hawthorn tree. Tell yourself that the intersection isn’t far, even as the block seems to stretch longer. Y...

0 comments 0
Read story

“The Gleaning of Hindsight” by Cindy Calder

Submitted to Contest #272

"Did you hear that?" Aoife spoke to no one but herself for she lived alone. "Do you hear the rush of wind and see the glorious purple-hued clouds? Hear the lightness of flower petals as they fall from the billowed softness like whispers of dreams, caught by the dew laden grass? Oh, but this night, I wish...." Aoife's voice drifted off, her attention focused on the skies.This evening was no different than any other. Each midnight, without fail, the purple clouds appeared to blush painted, dark skies. With their arrival also came the delicate ...

5 comments 5
Read story

“Watchers in the Woods” by Robert Rogers

Submitted to Contest #272

The night was thick with fog, each breath of air heavy and damp as Lucy and Mark wandered deeper into the woods. They had come to escape the bustle of the festival nearby, seeking a moment of solitude among the towering pines. The annual Harvest Moon Festival pulsed with laughter, music, and lights, but the couple craved a quiet reprieve. As they strolled along the narrow path, Lucy felt a strange thrill run up her spine. The trees loomed like ancient guardians, shadows shifting in the flickering light of their flashlights. A gentle breeze r...

1 comment 1
Read story

“Mountain View” by Åse Pauline Thirud

Submitted to Contest #272

«Did you hear that? » As I spoke, he stopped in his movement and listened. But he did not drop the knife. We both stood still. Outside the wind forced the nearby trees to brush against the cabin roof, making a teasing sound as if daring us to go outside. His eyes found mine, questioning what I had heard while I wondered what he would do.  Then I heard it again. This time he heard it too. He said nothing, but his pose changed ever so slightly. The howling was wild and distant, but it was moving. As a response, the wind took a deep breath...

2 comments 2
Read story

“The Old Ways” by Paul Littler

Submitted to Contest #272

    His head was killing him. Eamon Ahearne’s wake was in full swing when Father Brian McCracken grudgingly made his apologies and left, weaving unsteadily to his rooms through the unlit streets in the wee small hours. Waking with a pounding behind his eyes and a mouth filled with sand, McCracken reached for his clock, cursing Saturday morning and needing to be at the church of St Francis Xavier to undertake the morning’s sacrament of reconciliation. “Never again,” he muttered.     Collar turned up a...

4 comments 4
Read story

“I Don’t Want To Go To Hell For The Devil” by Michael Jefferson

Submitted to Contest #272

“This is the most bizarre assignment yet,” Dawn DeSica, a top agent with the Extraordinary Bureau of Investigation, says. “We’ve been picked to take the devil to the United Nations so he can negotiate a peace with the world's leaders.” “Easier said than done,” her partner, Agent Heath Hunter, replies. “You can’t make a deal with the devil,” Dawn insists. Heath and Dawn have been partners for eight years. They’ve proven the rumors of Paul McCartney’s death in 1966 were true and that a robot replaced him; they’ve tracked the Loch Ness Monster,...

2 comments 2
Read story

“Little Ash Girl” by Amy Lynn

Submitted to Contest #272

Little Ash GirlChapter 1 There was a slight breeze blowing across the barren wheat fields on either side of the winding gravel road on that long ago day. I felt it in my bones, though it wasn’t a cold breeze. I wonder now it was a warning of what was to come. We feel the wind, but we seldom listen to it. Perhaps we should. The wind has been places and played witness to things that are far beyond the reach of our imagination. It knows what has come before and perhaps it also whispers of things to come. I recently graduated from NYU with a de...

3 comments 3
Read story

“Tales” by Film Guy

Submitted to Contest #272

My name doesn’t matter. If you must have one, call me the Storyteller. It’s not my real name but it’s what I’ve wanted to be called for years. And I finally can.  I’ve always loved stories. I like making sure there’s a nice beginning, middle, and end. It’s what we all look for in a story. Change and development. And that’s what I’ve loved to do from my childhood to my old age.  I look for stories all over. In libraries, in bookstores. I’m obsessed with finding the perfect story, the perfect set of tales to captivate people, to draw...

0 comments 0
Read story

“Last Time” by Debbie Wingate

Submitted to Contest #272

Deranged killer Michael Meyers couldn’t look like a wimp. When Ricky turned on his pocket-sized flashlight, he hoped no one knew it was him under the mask. He couldn’t believe he let Rachel talk him into meeting at the cemetery. They’d decided a month earlier, when they both became teenagers, this would be their last time trick-or-treating. Rachel insisted it be a memorable occasion.It was already memorable for Ricky. He didn’t like being alone in the dark, and the broken streetlight in front of the graveyard made it spookier than it should ...

2 comments 2
Read story

“Trick-or-Treat!” by Jonathan Clark

Submitted to Contest #272

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!I paused the movie* and my wife and I turned and smiled at each other. This was our first Halloween where we decided to embrace the full stay-at-home experience: the kind where you ditch the parties and usual Halloween chaos with friends and participate in the life of the neighborhood by passing out candy to trick-or-treaters.                   “First customers,” I said with a grin. A low, involuntary groan escaped my lips as...

4 comments 4
Read story

“The Dooley Park Curse” by P Jones

Submitted to Contest #272

“Alright, the car is all packed!” Hedra said, slamming the car trunk closed. I smiled back at her and jumped into the passenger seat. I had waited all year for this and now I was just a five hour drive away from Dooley Park. I know camping at an abandoned amusement park isn’t exactly everyone’s dream twenty-first birthday celebration, but then again, I’m not like most people. Despite hating all things spooky, Hedra, my best friend, was the one that orchestrated the event. “So, what’s the story behind this place?” Hedra asked later in th...

0 comments 0
Read story

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a story with the aim of scaring your reader.

Short Story – 112 stories

Start or end your story with someone running away from something, literally or metaphorically.

Dramatic – 85 stories

Write a story from the point of view of a ghost, vampire, or werewolf.

Short Story – 144 stories

Center your story around someone trying to resist their darker impulses — and they’ll either succeed or fail.

Angst – 63 stories

Contest #272

Enter our weekly contest!

This week's theme: Fright Night

$250

Prize money

488

Contest entries

176

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Oct 18, 2024 EST

Won by Mortimer Ridgewood 🏆

Title: Drone

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!

NEW VIDEO COURSE 🎉

How to Write a Novel

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

Explore more writing prompt ideas:

Adults Writing Prompts ⭢

Adventure Writing Prompts ⭢

Angst Writing Prompts ⭢

Character Writing Prompts ⭢

Christmas Writing Prompts ⭢

Dark Writing Prompts ⭢

Dialogue Writing Prompts ⭢

Dramatic Writing Prompts ⭢

Dystopian Writing Prompts ⭢

Fall Writing Prompts ⭢

Fantasy Writing Prompts ⭢

Fiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Fluff Writing Prompts ⭢

Funny Writing Prompts ⭢

Halloween Writing Prompts ⭢

High School Writing Prompts ⭢

Historical Fiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Holiday Writing Prompts ⭢

Horror Writing Prompts ⭢

Kids Writing Prompts ⭢

Middle School Writing Prompts ⭢

Mystery Writing Prompts ⭢

Narrative Writing Prompts ⭢

Nonfiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Novel Writing Prompts ⭢

Poetry Writing Prompts ⭢

Romance Writing Prompts ⭢

Sad Writing Prompts ⭢

Science Fiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Short Story Writing Prompts ⭢

Spring Writing Prompts ⭢

Summer Writing Prompts ⭢

Teens Writing Prompts ⭢

Thanksgiving Writing Prompts ⭢

Thriller and Suspense Writing Prompts ⭢

Valentine's Day Writing Prompts ⭢

Vampire Writing Prompts ⭢

Winter Writing Prompts ⭢