Write about a character who everyone thinks is guilty of something terrible, but isn’t.

Posted in Thriller and Suspense on Jul 16, 2021

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✍️ 179 stories

“The Tale of the half burnt witch” by Sucheta Halder

Submitted to Contest #70

I run as fast as my feet can take me. The path is rugged and muddy, making it more difficult for me to run without falling face first. In spite of the ominous darkness around me, I couldn’t stop; I knew they were after me. My ears become sharper and my mind paranoid, every snap of a twig is a predator, even if it is a fawn. For each aroma, my brain jumps to the most fearsome thing it could be and my body prepares for flight, fright, or freeze. My knees feel like rubber after running constantly for hours. I gulp the selfish breaths of air. ...

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“Old lady death” by Phil Manders

Submitted to Contest #70

Contains adult themes.I hear them. They think I don’t hear them, but I do. Every day. They think they whisper secretly behind my back, but I hear them. At the supermarket, or in the post office queue. Eyes, staring into the back of my head. I hear them. I feel them. I see them cross the street to avoid me. I may walk with my head down, but I see them, and they are wrong. I know my house is the house that the kids in the street talk about. Don’t go near number ten, the little kids say. That’s Old Lady Death. She killed her kids and then ...

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“The Unsuspected killer” by Obi Zenobes

Submitted to Contest #70

Hicky It was a normal lunchtime when I saw it. i was walking to the queue through the gym when I saw Mrs Pilut. Everybody hates Mrs Pilut, she is one of those math teachers who carry a ruler around and her hair is tied in a bun. She is called PI Butt by older students. I saw her on the ground, her legs were bent and her eyes were staring blankly at the basketballs. She was sideways and in a pool of blood. At the moment I was inspecting her and i found a knife. When I looked at the knife in my hand I heard a gasp and i turned around the...

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“The Hermit” by Roth Sassin (inactive)

Submitted to Contest #70

The door creaks open. Cobwebs break, and dust flies into the air."Jimmy, when are you ever going to oil the door," Meghan steps into the dark shack."'Cause, no one has da right tuh cum 'cept ya. And ya don' even have the full right. So no point.""Jimmy, c'mon. Why do you hate everyone?""They murdered them. YouTubers. Homeless people. Gazillionares. Teachers. Presidents. Policemen. Firefighters. Mayors. All of them. And I'm the last person here. I'm the last one. So now ask yoself why I hate everyone."Meghan is silent for a moment. "Well, eve...

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“Judge and jury.” by Patricia Green

Submitted to Contest #70

The locals bustled past her by the dozen, as she slowly went through the rack of clothes. “Hello Jane, lovely to see you! Hi Mr Green, how’s your wife?” Maeve had been saving all year for the Sidewalk-Sale, and at last it was here. There were so many lovely things on sale, but she was looking for something specific, and there it was. The soft red top she had been searching for. She had seen it in the shop recently at a ridiculously high price which she refused to pay, but now it was seventy percent off! Even at seventy percent off it wa...

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“The Proof of Grief” by Iona Cottle

Submitted to Contest #70

The verdict rang out through the silent courtroom. “Not guilty.” And after that Shannon heard nothing. A gun could’ve gone off next to her and she wouldn’t have noticed. Her mind was reeling. Not guilty?! But… how? In a fugue daze she sought out the young police detective who had liaised with her on the case. There he sat down below, shaking his head, but not looking surprised. Shannon grabbed the rail in front of her and started pulling herself to her feet, before her boyfriend Martin caught her. “Don’t,” he whispered, his voice sof...

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“The Burden” by Zethu Dlamini

Submitted to Contest #70

“Everything will be fine,” I convince myself as I prepare for the first family function since the incident. My niece’s wedding was just what we needed to bring the family back together, or rather to bring me back in everyone’s good books, I hope. I can see the rustic grey house in the distance, the last house down the street and the largest. There are at least four cars parked in the yard. A full house. I park near the gate so as not to crowd the others. It’s only been three months since I’ve been here but somehow it seems very different. ...

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“The Disappearance” by Samira Davis

Submitted to Contest #70

Who would've thought of it? Marie Rodriguez, popular Prom Queen, was missing?Marie's BFF, Trisha, was sobbing hysterically near the Popular Kids' Locker Room. "OMG! She was checking out our Instagram stories, like, mine looked fab! Then, like, she was like, GONE!"The police officer, Sergeant Harrington, stared concernedly at her. "That's quite all right, Miss Jarlene. We will find the culprit, I assure you. But are there any suspects?"Trisha lifted her head of perfect auburn locks, tears sparkling like sequins on the ends of her fake eyelash...

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“Without Ruth” by Rory Cole

Submitted to Contest #70

I can't leave the house anymore. I got rid of my phone last week. I couldn't handle the incessant gossip about me. My house has become a safe haven. The only place that I am free to exist without constant scrutiny. It's been a year since Ruth was killed. A year since my baby girl was stolen from this world by a man who will suffer none of the consequences. Instead, I am doomed to spend eternity locked up in this house, in utter silence. Her music will never blast at a volume that I will have to tell her to turn down again, and the kitchen...

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“Two Lives and a Mirror” by Maahi S

Submitted to Contest #70

Empty rum bottles littered the sticky floor beside my feet. It was day sixteen of misery. Who knew how long before I’d call it quits? I hated drinking impulsively. I prized my sobriety after being neglected by a drunkard father but I wanted to figure what drives a person to do something they detested. My wife had loved life. Or at least, I figured so. Now, she left me utterly broken. I had no more tears. My fists were grotesquely bruised from violent outbursts. There was nothing left to live for. Her face was everywhere. Her radiant smile...

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“¨The Witness¨” by Amelia Lopez

Submitted to Contest #70

Ever since June 29, 2018 the veil clouding Thomas White Smith eyes seemed to drop. Known as Smithy by all of his friends and girlfriend, Olivia Jones ( Captain of the Varsity Volleyball team ) Thomas was fairly liked by most of the students at Faraday High School. This year seems different. The eyes of people just screamed guilty. Just like the man Thomas Smith wishes he will never see again. ¨Valerie´s clothes have been bleached¨, I almost yelled to Amos Clarke (my best friend). ¨So what?...

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“MARRIED IN HELL” by Adaeze Aghadinuno

Submitted to Contest #70

Marriage is a beautiful thing but when married to the wrong person it all turns sour. I have been married for four years now with me being the bread winner of my family and am not complaining, I love my husband and my son so much, plus my best friend Clara she was more than a friend to me in fact she is my sister but then I just don't get it how will a man that claims he loves you not do anything to support you rather the ones your trying to do in other to build the family he kept on scattering. He withdraws money anyhow from our joint accou...

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“Late Innocence” by Ross Grenwell

Submitted to Contest #70

"How dare they."The voice dragged out, drowning itself in the orchestra of the bush-crickets, which was pouring into the damp musty room through the cast-iron bars, high on the wall, hastily built with stone bricks, mossy or otherwise. He laid there. There on the cobblestone, in a puddle of his own blood and vomit, recollecting his memories. The ones which had become foggy after 3 days of constant whiplashes and starvation. His head whirred, drunk with fatigue as it constantly lingered near the edge of abyssal limbo, which he could fall...

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“Creaking Branches” by Tye Foon

Submitted to Contest #70

Hugh’s thoughts trickled cold and slow, like the thin, melting sheet of ice that had formed on his windshield in the time he spent inside the store. His gaze wandered over the rear-view, showing piles of bags and boxes in the back of the sedan, and down to the passenger seat. Peeking out of another pile of bags was a carving of a squirrel. “What an ugly piece of work,” he thought.On his way into the store he had noticed Chuck, a homeless man. Hugh didn’t personally know the man, but he used to see him around town before the quarantine had st...

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“Guilty of Sin” by Doug Goodrich

Submitted to Contest #70

Mrs. Coleman took the last few steps and placed three, handwritten pages on the podium in front of her. Her hands trembled so she forced them down by her sides, pulling on her shirt to try and steady them. She cleared her throat and coughed, trying to dislodge the phlegm. “Thank you, your…” she stopped after hearing her voice in a different register. Mr. Banks, the state prosecutor, handed her a glass of water and she accepted, drinking two big gulps, while placing it to the side of the podium. There was movement in the old courtroom pe...

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Write about a character who everyone thinks is guilty of something terrible, but isn’t.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 179 stories

“The Tale of the half burnt witch” by Sucheta Halder

“Old lady death” by Phil Manders

“The Unsuspected killer” by Obi Zenobes

“The Hermit” by Roth Sassin (inactive)

“Judge and jury.” by Patricia Green

“The Proof of Grief” by Iona Cottle

“The Burden” by Zethu Dlamini

“The Disappearance” by Samira Davis

“Without Ruth” by Rory Cole

“Two Lives and a Mirror” by Maahi S

“¨The Witness¨” by Amelia Lopez

“MARRIED IN HELL” by Adaeze Aghadinuno

“Late Innocence” by Ross Grenwell

“Creaking Branches” by Tye Foon

“Guilty of Sin” by Doug Goodrich

🌟 Similar prompts

Write about someone who’s so obsessed with a goal that it leads to the destruction of their closest relationship.

Write about someone trying to atone for a mistake they’ll never be able to fix.

Write about two people who know they’ve made a mistake, and one of them wants to tell the truth but the other wants to lie about it.

Write about a character who’s so afraid of making the wrong choice that their indecision ruins the very thing they were hoping to keep safe.

Contest #70

Enter our weekly contest!

$50

Prize money

731

Contest entries

0

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: