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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

Write a story where a creature turns up in an unexpected way.

Posted in Short Story on Oct 25, 2024

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✍️ 98 stories

“The Fog” by Kristen D'angelo

Submitted to Contest #274

Grandma said the Fog wasn’t there when she was a little girl, but appeared suddenly in her young adulthood. No matter the time of day or year, the coast that our town sits on always has a thick line of fog. So much so that to enter our village requires taking a long indirect route on or over the land, even though a direct cross of the water by boat or plane would make a much shorter travel. Legend says that the Fog appeared after the pearl was stolen from the great Sea Dragon. Every morning my grandmother goes out to the shore line as if to ...

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“Basement Dweller” by Michael Palmieri

Submitted to Contest #274

Basement Dweller I found a house—what a glorious steal,No hesitation, I sealed the deal.A picket fence, so white, so bright,With shutters that gleamed in the pale moonlight. The papers were signed, the keys now mine,I claimed the prize I'd longed to find.Day by day, I toiled and strained,To make it gleam like gems unchained. Four beds, two baths, an attic so high,Where shadows whisper and breezes sigh.A living room where echoes play,A dining hall in dim disarray. The kitchen stood in silence deep,As if holding secrets long asleep.A garage an...

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“The Black Book” by Jason Pflug

Submitted to Contest #274

Jeremy never thought to go to the library except in the fall. The squat stone building that housed the library was close to his house, just two blocks down Walnut, three blocks on Prince. But, summers were for tree forts and bottle rockets, winter was for sledding, and Jeremy spent every spring hunting tadpoles, salamanders, and every other living thing that swam, slithered, or crawled. Autumn was for books, and one day in mid-October the sun’s rays would slant just so between the houses, the leaves would rustle like turning pages, and he wo...

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“Tchotchkes” by Sutton Whitmore

Submitted to Contest #274

(TW familial death)Grandpa died on a Sunday. He passed silently, unnoticed by the walls around him, not a creak of the floorboards, or a squeak of the mattress he laid on, only the shallow release of breath to confirm the absence of life. The night had opened up and swallowed him giving birth to the early morning. A day emerged without him for the first time in 78 years. Just a lonely 650 square foot cottage surrounded by hemlock trees void of anyone to clock his last moments. His cause of death was undetermined, chalked up to...

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“The Library’s Guardian ” by Savannah Stallings

Submitted to Contest #274

Low chirps of the field crickets filled my ears as I rested my head against the pillow. It’s 2:34 am and I haven’t had an ounce of sleep. I blamed it on the mysterious and unexplainable noises of the countryside, but deep down I know that there is something else tormenting me. I shut my eyes for what feels like a second when suddenly I was awoken by the earsplitting buzzing of my 7 o’clock alarm. “First day on the new job,” I softly murmur to myself while rolling out of bed. The job is nothing special, just something to keep my mind busy whi...

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“The Uncanny” by Carmen Singleton

Submitted to Contest #274

Flora 1/2/2010 So many things have happened in only a little bit of time. I can’t believe my parents are gone now. I’m so sad. I can’t believe they died in a burning building. Now I have to move from my home to California, to live with my Grandma. I’m on the plane right now alone, it’s really scary because I’ve never been on a flight by myself before. I miss my parents. Why did this have to happen?  (Sunday)-1/10 It’s been a week, I’ve been very busy. I had to move in with my Grandma, she is very nice. I didn’t get to see her ...

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“Dancing Monkey” by Trey Blevins

Submitted to Contest #274

Benson ordered two more beers, upping me to two and him to four. "I wouldn't say so, no," I said. "You're not listening to me, they're round— they're round-ish," he defended. I held up my empty bottle. "It's bottle shaped, so... I'd give you cylindrical. But I wouldn't say round." "Ok, wise guy, but what's a cylinder?" he asked. "Buncha circles stacked up on eachother, ain't that right? An infinite amount." "And so because the circles that make up the cylinders that partially resemble bottles are round..." "Then bottles are round, Mr. Leslie...

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“Lyten” by Anna E

Submitted to Contest #274

The sun pinched and twisted the sky until the black faded, ink flowing down a sheet of white parchment. Sera watched as the dark blanket of sky was drained- and a brick of slate grey replaced it. A couple hundred years ago, their ancestors had described such an event as sunrises with smooth, colorful prose. She figured there must’ve been something the sky lost in all those years, because even the pencils on her desk had more color than the skies.There was a seat in her father’s office adjacent to a large window carved in the wood that was me...

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“Unexpected Advice” by Paul Hellyer

Submitted to Contest #274

The Eurythmics, Sweet Dreams was playing in the worn-down bar, though Kathy thought the place had a certain charm. She was dancing unabashedly on the empty floor, seemingly the only one with any steam to vent. The lonely figures of men were sitting at the bar, occupying otherwise empty tables, it should have been a quiet night.But Kathy wasn’t thinking about them. She was waiting for something to happen. Something was bound to happen. After all, today had been a day of such drastic change, she could see no signs of i...

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“SKINCRAWLER” by Dennis Adams

Submitted to Contest #274

 Journal Entry 1 – April 2nd The doctor on TV said it would be helpful to write down what we’re feeling. She said it could help us feel less lonely or be less afraid. Really, I have nothing better to do.  One of my neighbors dropped off a loaf of banana bread at my door this morning with a note. The note explained that she had taken up baking as a hobby but couldn’t eat everything she was cooking by herself. I wonder if she’s also watching the same doctor on TV and journaling. I will have to ask her when this is all over.  J...

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“The Day the Lawn Gnome Came to Life” by Mariel Renaud

Submitted to Contest #274

Once upon an uneventful Tuesday in the perpetually sleepy town of Burton Bay, something so bizarre, so utterly extraordinary happened that it would forever alter the town’s claim to fame. Burton Bay, until that day, was best known for its annual pie-eating contest, where grandmas and kids alike faced off in battle, wielding whipped cream and cherry filling. But this Tuesday, something far wilder than a pie-eating contest was afoot. It all began in the front garden of one Trixie Quibble, Burton Bay’s most dedicated gardener. Known for her pre...

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“The Legend of Nazaré” by Eva Soares

Submitted to Contest #274

A heavy fog had carpeted the entire valley all the way up to the vertiginous cliffs, rolling off of the rocky precipice and into the tumult of the Atlantic Ocean. It was a brisk autumn morning in the quaint village of Nazare, and this year the biting cold and gray of winter had descended upon the coast early. However, a strong and noble man like Dom Fuas could withstand a little cold and wind for the sake of a good hunt. Especially in his richly furred cape and overcoat, he thought. He quickly glanced back at his huntsmen and dogs, both shiv...

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“The Audit” by Andrew Darrah

Submitted to Contest #274

Part One Jason leaned over conspiratorially, motioning for me to do the same. I obliged. “Mark, do yourself a favor. Buy stock of Wagner Electric. Right now. As much as you can afford.” I pondered this, wondering what my buddy knew. He did tend to have good contacts in various industries.  “Wagner Electric? What do they even do?” “I’ll save you the elevator pitch,” we waved off. “Just know that they’re about to score a HUGE government defense contract. Huge. And the best part? No one knows about this yet. Top secret stuff.” I considered...

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“The Barghest” by E. H. Fairley

Submitted to Contest #274

They moved in a hushed formation. Hardened skin under bare feet pushing down and squelching into the bog. As mud squeezed through toes, he inhaled sharply. He tried to forgive the scratching sting of frozen clumps knocking his knees. His body understood the infliction of pain and his mind knew no bounds to belief, yet his shoulders shook under the pressure of the coffin and his ankles clicked as they stiffened in the frigid water. He’d watched the tides his whole life. He'd watched the muddied plain never dry as the Northern waters crept wit...

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“Recluse (We the Spiders)” by Jade Perkins

Submitted to Contest #274

Mr. Miller is not the first to die. It always starts in the basement. That is where I live. The men, or devious children, always discover the basement within the first week or two of moving. They open the poorly hidden door with some curiosity, and immediately try to find a light source due to the darkness of the room. Dust and earthly smells fill their nostrils, and after fumbling around a few minutes or so, they find the beady string that turns on a poorly lit light bulb. There is just enough light to walk around, slowly, and make out so...

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Contest #274

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