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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✍️ 218 stories

“Beyond the Storm” by A. S.

Submitted to Contest #67

Iain’s throbbing pulse thunders into his swollen fingertips; tightening the swollen mass of tissue where flesh connected with bone. Ears ring with the shouts of the figures around him. They gather together, moving in perfect synchronization until there is no escape. The largest one brushes his fingers against his lip, baring rat-like teeth in a menacing grin when it comes away bloody. Lightning flashes and illuminates the dark alleyway, the sharp contrast highlighting the sobbing rain that drips through Iain’s clothes. Next to his ear a ras...

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“Am I A Pyscho?” by A J

Submitted to Contest #67

It is the type of coldness that reaches into my bones, as if my heart were a door left wide open to the icy wind, slamming only to open again. The only thing to do is keep moving, keep heading toward home if I only remembered. The sky is a rolling blanket of cloud, the color of wet ash, and the ground its dank reflection. Each step becomes a prayer for someplace safe as I walk, seeing the light from a faraway doorway in my flickering daydreams, letting it become more real than the stormy night. My vision clouded and dull, as if a gray film...

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“A Death in Still Creek” by Claire Lindsey

Submitted to Contest #67

It was a lovely day in the woods just outside of Still Creek. The towering trees and dense foliage muted the sound of traffic coming in and out of the little town. Apart from that distant roar of tires on asphalt, the forest was silent. The birds and insects and animals sat hushed, waiting. It was there, in quiet beneath the trees, that 9-year-old Sean found the body while taking a shortcut home from a friend’s house.The lazy, small-town Saturday soon filled with commotion. Police sirens, the lights of an ambulance, and the grumble of the to...

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“The Night the Killer Was Also the Killed” by Antonio Jimenez

Submitted to Contest #67

“Oh, London is man’s town, there’s power in the airAnd Paris is a woman’s town, with flowers in her hair.”The man silently repeating the words to Henry Van Dyke’s ode to the comforts of home watched the Moscow skyline blur past from the backseat of the Volvo he was riding in. He didn’t even know the rest of the poem. Instead, he liked to conclude it with a stanza he had written himself: “And Moscow is killer’s town, where everything is fair.”The man twisting the Van Dyke poem had not been born a poet. He hadn’t been born a killer. Born in Ch...

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“The Man He Was” by Fiza Hasan

Submitted to Contest #67

The shadow struck, morphing into a large, black figure before it dissipated into two people. One of them was alive, while the other collapsed onto the marble tiles below them. A crimson pool formed at their head, surrounding the body—which had landed face-first—like a halo. Raia stifled a gasp, pressing her fist to her mouth as she peeked through the blinds of her window and into her neighbour’s bedroom. Her heart pounded against her chest as the cowardly part of her mind demanded that she return to bed and slip away into a realm of nothing...

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“Golden Boy” by Deborah Mercer

Submitted to Contest #67

Clarissa knew that a murder had been committed. She knew who had done it, and she knew how he had done it. But she also knew that nobody would ever listen to her. Nobody would pay any attention to her. Who was going to believe that Benjamin Rawlston had committed a brutal murder? Who was going to believe that he had done anything wrong at all? That he would so much as park where he shouldn’t or re-use a postage stamp that had escaped the franking machine? Not that he would need to do the latter. &nbsp...

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“The Unexpected Rendezvous” by F. A.

Submitted to Contest #67

Normal was that night in Nice, France. I was strolling along the sidewalk surrounded by beautiful, light pink trees. When I turned away from my path, I heard screaming. Jerking my head towards the sounds, my eyes captured a woman, lying on the road. A red puddle oozed from her lifeless body. Running in panic and hearing two other screams, I slammed into a wall and fell like a chopped tree. Dazed, my eyes tried to refocus. I saw three men dragging five women into a huge van. One man was holding three knives covered with blood. “Memorized thei...

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“Liar ” by Linda Bakewell Bakewell

Submitted to Contest #67

I am not a liar. It is important to me that you know and understand this, I’m not a bad person and everything I did I did because I thought it was the right thing to do. My best friend in the world when I was eight years old was a gangly, smart mouth girl called Fatima. She was far too smart for her own good and had a wicked right hook that all the boys were afraid of. She was the kind of kid you knew was gonna get into lots of trouble, but the good kind of trouble. Raising hell for people, rather than against people. If you know what I me...

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“Red Eyes.” by Tariq Saeed

Submitted to Contest #67

At that night my husband was out of the town with instruction me to clip the door well. My little daughter Sara was six years old. Sometimes Sara talked unusual. She caused dozy and her eyes turned red.The same night she was not feeling well so I called a doctor and he gave him some medicine. She became dozy, opened her lids ,her eyes were red, I heard only “Mama there is a party at Mr Martin,look,look” and she fell asleep. At seven O’clock evening ,I was busy in kitchen Some body very mysteriously creeped in, I...

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“Murder in a Dream” by Harken Void

Submitted to Contest #67

Hallvar sat in his office, browsing the police file of suspects and cursing his brain for not remembering anything regarding the incident. The doctors told him the blow to his head was severe - it gave him a concussion, after all - and that it might take time for his memory to come back. If it did at all.“Hall?”Without turning his eyes from the computer screen, he waved a hand. “Come in, Sigfride.”His assistant walked into the office, placing a hand on Hallvar’s shoulder. “How are you?”“Still can’t remember anything,” he said, scanning the f...

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“The Christmas Murder” by Nandini Shukla

Submitted to Contest #67

RING! RING! RING! went the phone. I reached out to grab it. “Detective Aria Brielle speaking. How may I help you?” I said confidently, hoping it isn’t some advertisement.” It’s a TOTAL DISASTER Miss Brielle!” some woman on the other end moaned. Finally, some cases to solve! Trying to hide my paramount excitement, I replied, “And who might you be-” “Impetus Mall. Terrace. Right away!” She said and cut the line. I looked at myself in the mirror. My auburn hair was a mess. And I was still in my PJs. At home. I ran into the bathroom, tied a high...

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“A Modern Slave” by Janice Magerman

Submitted to Contest #67

Modern Slave Janice Magerman "You hungry dogs, I told you to wait for me. What are a few more minutes, huh?" "So we should let our tummies suffer because you’re taking your sweet time?" Jerome said before taking a fork full of food into his mouth. "I didn't take long on purpose. The girl was giving me trouble." Her jaw tenses mentioning the girl. "Not again. Why don't you just beat her and show her who’s boss?" "I can't hand her over black and blue. These people pay good money for her kind." "Her kind?" Jerome scoffs. "...

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“The Ankh Theory” by Baylie Grace

Submitted to Contest #67

It was any other November day for Tobias Ray, the sky was a hue of grey, which was gradually getting darker as the clock turned to seven, and the air strongly smelled of rain. It had just rained and there were still puddles all around the city. Stray animals drank from the puddles and young men and women were talking on their phones, dodging all of the puddles that were along the sidewalk. Tobias loathed walking after it rained, although it seemed to rain every day in Oregon. The brown-haired man was walking home from his office job (which...

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“The Unseen Crime” by Black Raven

Submitted to Contest #67

It's 6pm. I'm walking down the alley from school when I see a familiar red liquid on the street. I look farther down the street and see that there's a lot more of this red liquid leading to the end of the alleyway. It couldn't be. Could it? This isn't one of the best neighborhoods, but still, it couldn't. No. I reach down and touch the liquid. It doesn't feel like paint, so it has to be it. I have to run! I have to go get help! But I can't move. I'm paralyzed. What the hell is wrong with me?! The killer could still be around and see me. That...

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“Was it in the air?” by Dorothy Claybourn

Submitted to Contest #67

The air hung heavy in the street; getting off work late was usually a relaxing walk home. The mile walk helped Maisie clear her head, think over her day, and plan her tomorrow. The streets were often empty that late, and the noise was mostly night time creatures and insects. The town was relatively small, and everybody knew everybody else. The ladies in town gossiped, and the Good Ol' boys talked fishing, hunting, and women while throwing back a cold beer. Maisie never worried about her walk home; if you did see anyone, they would wave or sa...

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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

✍️ 218 stories

“Beyond the Storm” by A. S.

“Am I A Pyscho?” by A J

“A Death in Still Creek” by Claire Lindsey

“The Night the Killer Was Also the Killed” by Antonio Jimenez

“The Man He Was” by Fiza Hasan

“Golden Boy” by Deborah Mercer

“The Unexpected Rendezvous” by F. A.

“Liar ” by Linda Bakewell Bakewell

“Red Eyes.” by Tariq Saeed

“Murder in a Dream” by Harken Void

“The Christmas Murder” by Nandini Shukla

“A Modern Slave” by Janice Magerman

“The Ankh Theory” by Baylie Grace

“The Unseen Crime” by Black Raven

“Was it in the air?” by Dorothy Claybourn

🌟 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

726

Contest entries

0

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: