Write a story with the aim of scaring your reader.

Posted in Short Story on Oct 11, 2024

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✍️ 111 stories

“They're Already Here” by Needs Chocolate

Submitted to Contest #272

"Mommy! Mommy! Help, it's chasing me!"My four-year-old crashed into our bedroom dressed in his Toy-Story pajamas, wild-eyed and hysterical. Leaping onto our bed, he burrows beneath the blankets, shaking and crying. "Good grief. He needs to learn to sleep in his own bed," my husband griped, tired of this constant nightly battle that began shortly after Jimmy's fourth birthday. "Jimmy, sweetie, what is chasing you?" I asked gently, trying to peel him off my leg. "There's monsters in my room, an one got out and is trying to eat me." Why are hum...

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“What Our Demons Do in the Dark” by Isabella Sparks

Submitted to Contest #272

Cass and Dean were on their way home after a late night movie. The roads were deserted as they drove through their small sleeping town. It was a pastime of theirs, to joyride in Dean’s old Impala, taking the long way home in the late hours of the night. Dean grabbed Cass’s hand, interlacing his fingers with hers. He lifted it up to his lips and gave it a light kiss before he rested it on her thigh and smiled. Cass returned his warm gaze, and a moment later his eyes flitted past her and he nodded at the old building on the right as he idled b...

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“Stuck in a time loop ” by Sasan Sedighi

Submitted to Contest #272

In the spacious meeting room of the ward, doctors gathered to discuss the condition of a new patient admitted to the psychiatric ward a few days earlier. After exchanging greetings and small talk, Professor Peterson, the head of the psychiatric ward, initiated the session by saying, "We are here to discuss..." he stopped to read the patient's name from the notepad he had in front of him. He hadn't met the patient but had heard from other doctors about his extraordinary claim to be stuck in a time loop. Though he wasn't convinced, he agr...

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“All That Lives in This Dark Corner” by Abby Johnson

Submitted to Contest #272

There was one thing Miller knew for sure after his first day in his new house; His house had a ghost. He had bought this house on Rural Road #5 two weeks prior. It was a plain house with an open floor plan and its wooden panels outside painted an abysmal gray. It was a Cape-style house, his realtor told him. “Built in 1905 by a man named Ernie Betts. He was a fisherman, you see, and needed his house close to the bay.” The house sat on fifty-five acres of land outside of Hamlet, Maine in a little township called Doe’s Head. Miller thoug...

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“Whispers of the Silver Tongue” by Alfonso Saldaña

Submitted to Contest #272

In the heart of a city cloaked in perpetual twilight, a lone journalist named Eliza Perez uncovered a sinister truth. For years, the city had been marred by decay, its streets littered with broken promises and abandoned dreams. At the helm of this crumbling metropolis stood a monolithic corporation, Dominion Industries, its presence both tangible and spectral, casting a long shadow over the lives of its citizens.Eliza’s curiosity had been piqued by whispered rumors of a secretive board meeting, a gathering of the elite where decisions were m...

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“If Thine Eye” by Gail M Feldman

Submitted to Contest #272

It's funny: I came home from Kabul intact and immediately lost my left eye. Five days home, three days drunk, went through a red light. Two little girls and their mother died; I live with that. Thanks to a sympathetic jury, I did no jail time, just had to attend classes, pick up lots of trash and meet with a probation officer, a nice young woman, married, of course, so nothing to do but joke around and be respectful. A year later, with the government still trying to decide whether to pay for a new eye, I stumbled out of my overpriced Brookly...

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“The Rule of the Apartment” by Cameron Snider

Submitted to Contest #272

Alex’s last box of personal effects came down on the bed with an unpleasant rattle. He might have been more careful with the container, considering its ‘fragile’ label, but Alex had enough with moving for the day. He was not a fit sort of folk, and couldn’t be bothered to care after how long the move had taken. Outside the window, he could see that the day was already drained completely of it’s light. “Last box, thank God.” With an unpleasant hack, Alex let out a cough, then sniffed. The place was unusually dusty, and he could swear the...

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“Out With the Boyos” by RE Beck

Submitted to Contest #272

“My lover slept with my mother” was playing on an old episode of Jerry Springer and it was 91 degrees in the shade. The kids next door were outside running through a sprinkler, screaming as they chased each other into the spray. But at least I wasn’t at work, and I had cold beer. I was basically a happy guy. Later, I would think about how the weather doesn’t pay attention to people. It’s only in movies that someone gets mad and a thunderstorm starts. That day sure as hell didn’t pay attention to us. If it had, it would have been cold, f...

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“The Hunt” by Avery Forrester

Submitted to Contest #272

It always hurts to eat.I can barely remember what it’s like to enjoy the act of eating. Savouring the reward was always my favourite part of a hunt; sinking my teeth into soft, supple flesh, warm blood trickling down my chin and leaving my hands slick and red, taking my time to relish every last bite. It’s all gone now. Killing has become nothing more than a chore, knowing that in the end, I won’t enjoy the feast. Never again. ***The winter air was harsh and biting that night. The seasonal chill always made it harder to get a good meal—the f...

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“The Smoking Room” by Rob Ryter

Submitted to Contest #272

I am sure it used to be here. Shit, there can’t be much of my break left. This is ridiculous. I get little enough free time as it is. Hell, one corridor looks just like another in this place. They’ve moved it again. They must have done. We used to have a proper smoking room with soft chairs and a water cooler, kettle, fridge and stuff. It’s no more than we’re entitled to. I know some people don’t smoke. I get that. But it’s about freedom of choice, isn’t it. You can choose whether you smoke or not. We won’t inflict our smoking on you. We’ll ...

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“Worker Bee” by Grace Archer

Submitted to Contest #272

TRIGGER WARNINGS: Wasps, Body Horror, TrypophobiaChicago, 1989When Lawrence stepped into the darkened hallway, his only observer was the museum’s newly installed security camera. It followed him with a tiny blinking red light. He stared up at it in contempt. Ten years he’d spent pacing these halls, outlasting every other security guard, and what had his stalwart attitude earned him? A mechanical babysitter. He may have been getting on in years, (the thick mustache above his lip had gone from salt-and-pepper to just salt), but he was still as...

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“The House with Four Chairs ” by Savannah Wagner

Submitted to Contest #272

*Disclaimer - This story is inspired by Neil Gaiman's writing style which features dark and unsettling themes* There were four of them. Each sat in their own chair, facing a dimly lit fire. You could only discern the light emanating from the fireplace if you were a couple feet from it. “I’m hungry,” said the one we’ll call Lenore. She was always hungry. The others could tolerate their hunger. “Patience,” said the one we’ll call Virgil. “Good things come to those who wait. The longer it simmers, the better it tastes.” Virgil was roasting meat...

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“The Terrifying Tale of Todd's Totally Spooky Night” by Tina Harden

Submitted to Contest #272

Todd Braverman considered himself the bravest man in Cowardly Creek, which, admittedly, wasn't saying much in a town where the annual Courage Festival involved competitive hiding under blankets. But Todd was determined to prove his mettle once and for all by spending the night in the town's infamous "Murder Mansion," a dilapidated Victorian house on the hill that had been vacant since the previous owners fled screaming about a demonic Roomba.Armed with nothing but a flashlight, a bag of cheese puffs, and his lucky rabbit's foot (which, much ...

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“Bittersweet Revenge” by Ellie Northrop

Submitted to Contest #272

Within the blink of an eye, lightning is shooting across the sky and striking the ground. Thunder rumbles loudly and is deafening to all ears. Despite the violent storm that is occurring, only one area is being affected by it. A simple house sitting alone on a lonely road surrounded by nothing but woods; everything outside the perimeter of the house is untouched. The wind violently whips around the trees and bushes that border the house, stripping the leaves from them. Rain slaps the ground and fills up the entire backyard until it becomes f...

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“Grandma's Farm” by Mack Crotwell

Submitted to Contest #272

When I agreed to care for my grandmother’s decrepit, well-seasoned farmhouse, I don’t think I was in my right mind. Because here I am, standing at the threshold, debating turning around and telling the moving van to take me back to my apartment in the city. I could beg for my lease back, even though I had to beg for the apartment manager to let me out of it. The old, white house is exactly what you would picture as a farmhouse. It’s a simple, two story home with wood-stained shutters on every window. The one’s on the back of the house swing ...

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Write a story with the aim of scaring your reader.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 111 stories

“They're Already Here” by Needs Chocolate

“What Our Demons Do in the Dark” by Isabella Sparks

“Stuck in a time loop ” by Sasan Sedighi

“All That Lives in This Dark Corner” by Abby Johnson

“Whispers of the Silver Tongue” by Alfonso Saldaña

“If Thine Eye” by Gail M Feldman

“The Rule of the Apartment” by Cameron Snider

“Out With the Boyos” by RE Beck

“The Hunt” by Avery Forrester

“The Smoking Room” by Rob Ryter

“Worker Bee” by Grace Archer

“The House with Four Chairs ” by Savannah Wagner

“The Terrifying Tale of Todd's Totally Spooky Night” by Tina Harden

“Bittersweet Revenge” by Ellie Northrop

“Grandma's Farm” by Mack Crotwell

🌟 Similar prompts

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

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

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

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

Contest #272

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

480

Contest entries

174

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: