Write a thriller about someone who witnesses a murder… except there’s no evidence that a murder took place.

Posted in Thriller and Suspense on Jul 23, 2021

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✍️ 226 stories

“Witness” by Riddhi Shedge

She saw him. She saw him get killed. She saw the life drain out of his eyes. She heard his screams of pain. She heard the footsteps of the murderer as they ran away. She felt a tingly sensation course through her. She felt a tight knot form in her chest. She witnessed it all. But no one believed...

399 comments 399

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“How It Happened” by Anna Elizabeth

The banging on the door thundered in the room. The receptionist bounded out of her chair and ran to the door. A woman tumbled in, soaking wet from the rain and covered in mud. Tripping and slipping, she hurtled herself to the desk and cowered against it. The receptionist closed the door and slowly approached her. “It’s alright, you’re safe now.” She extended her hands in a pacifying and soothing manner. “Can you tell me your name?”“M-m-Mary.” She shivered and curled in on herself. “Mary Burns.”“My name is Abbie. ...

70 comments 70

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“What Is Your Emergency” by Heidi Slowinski

“911, what is your emergency?” “Yes, I’m calling to report a murder,” she said in a cold, distant voice. “I’m sorry, ma’am. Did you say you’re calling to report a murder?” asked the dispatcher. “Yes,” answered Victoria. She stared vacantly. “I’m going to need some more details so I can send help. Let’s start with your locati...

45 comments 45 SHORTLIST ⭐️

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“The Phantom Doctor” by Natalie Dafoe

She nods her head reassuringly as I tell her, her eyes bulging and her ceramic-white teeth clenching. When I finish, she purses her deep red lipstick heavy lips and sighs.“I know,” I say, my hands trembling. “It sounds like I’m crazy. But you have to believe me - I saw it. With my own two eyes!” My voice takes on a high-pitched tone, and she set her hand soothingly on my knee. A singular silver ring lay on her finger, and it rubs against my leg. Something about her feels vaguely familiar, but I can't rememb...

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“Served” by Lina Oz

My eyes flutter open.I’m panting. My arms are shaking. The covers are soaked and sticky and pungent.I sit up, terrified to look down at the sheets.I do anyways.No stains. Just…water. Sweat. My sweat.I squeeze my eyes shut.The memory flashes behind my eyelids. I see his own dark green eyes, narrowed into slits, staring into mine with anger and shock and horror. I watch my hand sail through the air; it cuts through the space smoothly and gracefully. I see the blade of the knife as it sinks into his ...

29 comments 29

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“♠ Dead Man`s Wisdom ♠” by The Rookie

Iron heels thundered on the craggy stones, echoing in the hallway in the depths of the Spirit temple. Distant, desperate voices tore apart the calm breeze of morning wind, brushing against my knees. Screams, that worked their way through your ears into your body, sending shivers and chills, that would stay there, roaming around long after the sound would fade. Scream did fade, moving aside for cold, deep silence to fil...

14 comments 14

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“Flight Risk” by Elle Boyd

Since her official diagnosis with dementia, Gladys has wished to return to her birthplace while she can still remember her family members and landmarks. Her granddaughter has shown her around her old village on the computer, but it’s not the same, of course. She wants to walk the cobbled lane to the family home one more time, feel the uneven stones underneath her feet. She can still manage a few steps on her own, so it is a possibility. It is just past midnight, but Gladys is not aware of the time. The night s...

12 comments 12 SHORTLIST ⭐️

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“The Ladies of the Lake” by Yolanda Wu

Our bones lie at the bottom of the lake; covered with mud, worn down with age. Sometimes the current pushes the mud back, exposing our gleaming bones. Our spirits ripple with the current. We rise each morning with the breaking of the dawn, And then we sleep with the glistening of moonshine across the surface. But we do not rest. For our ghostly lungs are still filled with water...

128 comments 128

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“Charade” by Scout Tahoe

You arranged to meet her at the front steps of a church with dizzying limestone curves of nude angels. They blew shaken breaths into the tumbling leaf sky. When she arrived she scrunched her face and pecked a kiss on one of the statue’s lips. Later she would describe the sensation as cold, but right then you sat on the steps while she kicked pigeons in various directions. She was having fun, you could tell, the way her markered eyebrows were sketched down into the bridge of her nose. Once she was done, she ripped a...

19 comments 19

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“Accusation ” by Palak Shah

Pounding the tarmac, she bolted down the garden path like an Olympic champion at the start gun. She quickened her pace to an all-out sprint, whilst the springing graceful steps of twenty miles earlier had long since disappeared. The slapping noise of her flip-flops resonated around the vandalised walls of the housing estate with a clanging echo. She didn’t know where she was nor did she know where she was heading; but sh...

4 comments 4

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“A Night to Forget” by I. F.

Millie Shore believed in life after death, but she didn’t count on it. It sounded like an oxymoron to her, and besides, how much more tragic would her death turn out if she was waiting to get somewhere, but didn’t end up there? It’s a lot like taking a trip to Disneyland; reasonable enough to believe you’ll have a good time, but you shouldn’t count on it. Long lines and little kids, food-poisoning and rollercoasters, too many contradictions. Life after death, it just doesn’t make sense. Millie woke up in the evening...

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“A Murder!” by Jessy Glazewski

Ivan hated birds. He hated everything about them, the way they looked. The way they walked, flew, chirped in the early hours of the morning. Cawing relentlessly into the late hours of the night. The foul smell they would leave in trails as they flew past him on his early morning walks. And the poop. Don’t get him started on the poop. There was nothing Ivan found more appalling than to wake up to find a fresh, sloping pile of oozing, slimming poop on his baby—a 67 fuchsia red mustang. Re...

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“Regrets and Dreams” by Yasaman Ghobadi

There are inevitable accidents in life which, change something delicate deep down inside us everlastingly. It varies from person to person yet resembles in being not explicable but rather tangible and breathing only for the one who experienced it!For me, it happened one outrageous, blue night.As my co-worker had an accident and was hospitalized, I was snowed-under at the company and had to stay there for some hours more. After I left the office and walked for half an hour, at 1:30 am, I reached the car agency to t...

6 comments 6

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“Rouge” by Molly Leasure

From a nozzle, black paint eases along the curves of a fear-stricken Marilyn Monroe apparent. Blonde curls lick her earlobes, framing classic gold earrings. Rouge highlights her widened, luscious lips. And pristine eyebrows lay stark against her broad forehead. But that’s where the similarities end. She’s her own woman, dressed to the nines in anguish.Levi shakes another can. Blue this time. His fingers splay on the unmarked metal as he leans in to meet her eyes. “Hey beautiful,” he whispers, laying down an outline in her massive p...

24 comments 24

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“Planned” by Lani Lane

Mature themes. Discretion advised. You saw me, reader. I didn’t realize you’d come back in the bar, having forgotten your wallet in the back room. There’s no evidence. Not a single drop of blood or brush of a fingerprint. Not an ounce of suspicion. No evidence. Except you. You can go to the police right now; I won’t blame you. I won’t do anything. I realize you’d be well within you...

19 comments 19

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Write a thriller about someone who witnesses a murder… except there’s no evidence that a murder took place.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 226 stories

“Witness” by Riddhi Shedge

“How It Happened” by Anna Elizabeth

“What Is Your Emergency” by Heidi Slowinski

“The Phantom Doctor” by Natalie Dafoe

“Served” by Lina Oz

“♠ Dead Man`s Wisdom ♠” by The Rookie

“Flight Risk” by Elle Boyd

“The Ladies of the Lake” by Yolanda Wu

“Charade” by Scout Tahoe

“Accusation ” by Palak Shah

“A Night to Forget” by I. F.

“A Murder!” by Jessy Glazewski

“Regrets and Dreams” by Yasaman Ghobadi

“Rouge” by Molly Leasure

“Planned” by Lani Lane

🌟 Similar prompts

Write about a pirate captain obsessed with finding a mythical treasure.

Write a romance where the characters pretend to be dating each other in order to win a reality show.

Write a story where one character needs to betray the other, but isn’t sure if they can.

Write a space adventure story that features a visit to an alien marketplace.

Contest #67

Enter our weekly contest!

$50

Prize money

755

Contest entries

0

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Tired of MS Word?

Explore more writing prompt ideas: