Begin your story with a character having a gut feeling they cannot explain.

Posted in Thriller and Suspense on Oct 25, 2022

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✍️ 75 stories

“The Case of Constance Livingston” by Olivia Snead

Submitted to Contest #127

Edgar Nikephoros Huntinger, private investigator, awoke to a rainy morning. He got up and washed and dressed. He went into the kitchen, and whisked an omelet, made toast, and a pot of coffee. As he ate, he thought of the unresolved case of Constance Livingston. What would have happened if he’d found her son’s father? Memory of the phone call rose in his mind as he recalled Constance Livingston telling him to end the investigation because there was no longer a reason to find the father. Was there something he missed? Would her son had lived? ...

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“Fortunately, Charlotte Hamilton was hit by a car” by Maria Avisal

Submitted to Contest #127

When I regained consciousness, I was slightly startled to be lying on my back on damp, cool, rough cement, feeling mildly befuddled. Before even attempting to open my eyes to further assess my situation or see whose hands were resting on my shoulders, I paused to appreciate the absence of the mild but gnawing discomfort I had been having in my stomach recently, and the new presence of a feeling of satisfaction, as if something had been sorted out. I would have taken a few more moments...

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“Welcome to Apocalypse Burger, Would You Like to Try Our End of Days Combo Meal?” by Chris Churilla

Submitted to Contest #127

I’m bending down to pick up a brown present dropped by my seven-year-old corgi Buddy during our morning walk when I feel it–something I haven’t felt in fifteen years.Trouble.Danger, Will Robinson, danger!Buddy whines, so he must sense it too.Still in my half-bent position, I look around, trying to keep it casual. Nothing seems out of place, but what do you expect at 7AM on a Tuesday morning in suburbia?I realize I must look pretty silly, having been in that position for at least ten seconds, so anyone watching me with ill intent knows I made...

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“THE BLACK FIGURE COMING OUT OF THE SEWER” by Mara Masolini

Submitted to Contest #127

THE BLACK FIGURE COMING OUT OF THE SEWER The villa had been built about ten years earlier. So it was in a modern, if not postmodern style, although perhaps someone might prefer to speak of the eclectic style of the early 2000s . So it was all corners and edges….oh, but the great villa had also chimneys in a shape of a three sided prism. To access the large entrance door, of stained glass and enameled metal, you had to go up a long and very steep staircase of white marble. The villa did not have a harmo...

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“Bad Feelings” by Melinda Madrigal

Submitted to Contest #127

EmmaLynn always knew she the power to feel people's feelings in her gut and in her heart, but this time something is different, this time she can't explain what is happening, this time her gut and her heart is telling her something is wrong. Since she was a little girl EmmaLynn knew she had the power to feel, the power to know when something is wrong. Her mother calls it a gift. EmmaLynn didn't understand what she was feeling or how far it would go until her grandmother passed away. She knew in her heart something was wrong. EmmaLynn t...

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“The Expiring of Emma Hollingsworth” by Susannah Meszynski

Submitted to Contest #127

New England, 1815Emma Hollingsworth was dead alright. The carriage door must not have been secured properly for it slipped open and Emma tumbled out and hit her head on a rock. She lay where she fell as limp as a boned-fish. When the doctor was rushed onto the scene to examine her battered body and bruised head, he pronounced her expired. Now she serenely lay under six-feet of spring soil and a heap of sympathetic flowers. All manner of folk in town came to cry over her grave. I tried very hard to cry like a dutiful mourner, but the tea...

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“Intimate Strangers” by Julia Abelsohn

Submitted to Contest #127

It was a morning like any other. After pushing the snooze button twice, I got out of bed and jumped into the shower. I let the steam and warm soapy water bring me back to life and even splurged on a couple of drops of lavender to wake up my senses. I got a fresh towel from the rack and lavished my dry skin with some rose fragranced olive oil. I brushed my teeth and applied moisturizer to my face. It was a morning like any other, but no amount of lavender oil or rose cream could relieve me of this feeling that something dark was brewing.&nbsp...

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“The Dream” by Bobby Bone

Submitted to Contest #127

The Dreamby Bobby BoneThomas looked up from his computer and gazed into the dimly lit room. As the sun went down the twilight created the dreary mood in which Thomas found himself. He had been engulfed in his informal internet research for so long that he was unsure of the time of day. The darkness that surrounded him indicated that he had lost track of time, but the intensity of his dream the night earlier led him to this compelling activity. Sliding his chair across the tiled floor caused a loud screeching sound that ec...

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“For the record.....” by Matthew Kyle

Submitted to Contest #127

Audrey Morgan was a court stenographer. She mostly transcribed for family courts bouncing between Judge Bosch and Judge Scully, and on occasion Judge Thomason who would borrow her from time to time. Audrey had been on the job for almost ten years and had heard seen it all. She would often say to her husband " In family court there are no rules." or "I wouldn't wish family court on my worst enemy." When she first started in her career, she thought she may not make it or last long. The stories of abuse (especially kids) were the worse,...

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“Deity Awakened.” by Kevin Morley

Submitted to Contest #127

The mist swirled around the boat, coiling like the World Serpent of legend. Kaza couldn’t see anything but the fog, boat, and water, despite the lanterns hung on the front and rear of his skiff. “I shouldn’t have come alone,” he mumbled into the clinging mist. The butterflies in his stomach began morphing into dragons. Something wasn’t right, but he couldn’t put his finger on it. For its part, the mist swallowed his words but otherwise ignored him, except for the all-too-real coil of fog around the boat. Sometimes it would get close enough...

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“Charlie and Sarge” by Professor Alan Dale Dickinson

Submitted to Contest #127

CHARLIE AND SARGE By Professor Alan Dale Dickinson Charlie, Sarge and the new Undersheriff Robert (Bob) Peterson rolled up to a co-op (similar to a Condo) located at number 666 Calle Aragon in lovely LWV (Laguna Woods Village). The undersheriff joined them at Sarge’s request. The undersheriff works directly under the great Orange County Sheriff and Chief Coroner, Don Barnes and also is second in command of the entire OCSD (Orange County Sheriff’s Department). Charlie and Sarge wanted Bob to get a first-hand look at the beautiful community...

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“In Search of Beauty” by Jaida Sims

Submitted to Contest #127

All around her, the city was grey, bland, and muddied as the rain fell into tiny puddles, too small to be fun, and too big to be pretty. Storefronts and buildings were closed and quiet; her mother’s car was silent (as was her mother) but for the engine and the little tapping of droplets against the metal. Anise wondered how unremarkable this world could be, sometimes, until, just beyond glass panes of Anderson’s Antiques, she glimpsed a warm light. It came from a lamp, its lampshade made up of a thousand colors of brilliant stained glass,&nb...

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“Failing to recall” by Queen Green

Submitted to Contest #127

Something had been bothering me, it was one of those annoying feelings, you know that sensation of knowing deep in your gut? Or maybe a more accurate description would be those times where you feel as though you've forgotten something, but for the whole life of you you simply can't remember what you're missing, that's where I've been for almost the whole last week. In the beginning I thought I could ignore it, I was just leaving my house when I felt as though something was missing. I thoroughly patted myself down to assure myself I had...

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“A Formidable Buzz” by Ellen O

Submitted to Contest #127

Jenny had a gut feeling that made her insides rumble like thunder. A tingling started up her neck and reached her scalp making her head buzz like it was filled with angry hornets. Her hands drifted to the bottom of the steering wheel. She slowed her car down, the fresh white snow crunching underneath her tires as she began to pass Woodson Road. The buzzing continued. Her eyes focused on the narrowing of the snow-covered dirt road surrounded by evergreens. It looked like it stretched for an eternity. The white snowfall accented the iron archw...

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“The Allther” by Ariana Anclam

Submitted to Contest #127

The Allther DHALRE The first thing she was aware of was the steady beep…beeep…beeep of the vitals monitor. Dhalre struggled to open her eyes, momentarily blinded by fluorescent overhead lights, fixed in a white tiled ceiling. She blinked furiously, trying to clear her vision. The room began to come into focus. Definitely a hospital room, she decided. She looked down and noticed the red glowing pulse oximeter attached to her index finger, and IV tube protruding from her right arm. Memories came rushing back in flashes. Last she...

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Begin your story with a character having a gut feeling they cannot explain.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 75 stories

“The Case of Constance Livingston” by Olivia Snead

“Fortunately, Charlotte Hamilton was hit by a car” by Maria Avisal

“Welcome to Apocalypse Burger, Would You Like to Try Our End of Days Combo Meal?” by Chris Churilla

“THE BLACK FIGURE COMING OUT OF THE SEWER” by Mara Masolini

“Bad Feelings” by Melinda Madrigal

“The Expiring of Emma Hollingsworth” by Susannah Meszynski

“Intimate Strangers” by Julia Abelsohn

“The Dream” by Bobby Bone

“For the record.....” by Matthew Kyle

“Deity Awakened.” by Kevin Morley

“Charlie and Sarge” by Professor Alan Dale Dickinson

“In Search of Beauty” by Jaida Sims

“Failing to recall” by Queen Green

“A Formidable Buzz” by Ellen O

“The Allther” by Ariana Anclam

🌟 Similar prompts

Write about a character whose intuition is always right — until one day it isn’t.

Write a story about a problem with no good solutions.

Write about a character learning to trust their intuition.

Your character makes a living faking psychic powers. One morning, they wake up with real ones.

Contest #127

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

220

Contest entries

135

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: