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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

Write about someone welcoming a stranger into their home.

Posted in Thriller and Suspense on Oct 26, 2022

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✍️ 161 stories

“When the Stranger Knocks” by Rebecca Hackney

Submitted to Contest #96

It was just a normal day for Jane first she cleaned her house while listening to music then she did some laundry. After the cleaning was done she was curled up on the couch reading her book when a knock on the door sounded and the normal day changed. Not expecting anyone, Jane checked her phone for missed messages or calls and found none. The knock sounded again on the door, louder this time so she reluctantly got up and answered the door. Jane pulled open the door without checking who it was, “Can I help you”, she asked the man. “Pretend li...

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“Just Come On In!” by Avarie Roberts

Submitted to Contest #96

I woke up in a startled panic. Someone was at the door. I can't go out there looking like raccoons from the dumpster attacked me! I darted straight out of bed and ran to my closet. Just grab the first thing you see Makayla. My dark purple silk robe. I wrapped that around me while rapidly trying to run my fingers through my hair. Just put it in a bun. The doorknob was oddly cold for being in the middle of July. Outside the door was a teenage girl. Her scent consisted of the wind and her hair was dark brown and knotted. " Hello! Can I help y...

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“The Sleepless Night” by Robin Pine

Submitted to Contest #96

Knock Knock Knock.My eyes fluttered open as I was greeted by the darkness of the night. I heard the rain outside my house as lightning flashed through my window. In a tired daze, I listened, trying to determine if the knocking was real, or if I had imagined it. I turned my bedside light on. The clock on my nightstand read 2:29am.Knock Knock Knock.I heard it again. The knocking was real, and it sounded much louder this time. “Dammit…” I grumbled as I threw my blankets aside. As thunder rumbled through the sky, I racked my brain, trying to fig...

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“Apple Valley” by Maria Diniz

Submitted to Contest #96

 “I’m home and there’s no sign of you,” Marnie’s phone shook with her mother’s text message. “I told you I have a meeting today at eight. Did you forget again?” it went on.“I know,” she desperately texted back, her right hand still on the steering wheel. “Be home soon.”“Where even are you?”At this, the headlights of an ambulance came flashing behind her, its siren deafening, and she had to swerve for her life, dropping her phone to the floor of the car. Where even was she? She could feel the rage, the proud indignation of a burned-out e...

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“Angel from Montgomery” by Ethan Deal

Submitted to Contest #96

I had just hit Montgomery the night before. The cobwebs were starting to grow in my head and the speed only got me out of Tifton and across the state line.  I was crashing and I knew that if I didn’t get up and get moving, I’d likely die behind a fucking Waffle House.  No, I wasn’t going to let that happen.  So, I hit the public library.  I wasn’t exactly looking for education or a quiet place to read.  I just needed a computer to find directions to the nearest blood bank.  The closest was eleven miles.  I ...

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“Do you know who I am” by Tammy Levine

Submitted to Contest #96

It was around 3:30 p.m April was sitting down on the couch watching tv with Zeus, who's the family dog. The doorbell rang and Zeus looked out the window and started barking when she noticed a man outside. He had on torn jeans, a t-shirt that said' Be Nice', he has long brown hair that goes down to his shoulders, and hiking shoes."April who is at the door mom asked? "I do not know, I have never seen him before. "Should I open the door April said".No call your dad to come downstairs to open the door mom said." He can take a break from fixing t...

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“Strange people” by Margot Pierpoint

Submitted to Contest #96

I remember the night like it was yesterday. I was asleep when the loud knock came on my door. I reluctantly heaved myself out of bed and down the stairs to the front door. I remember thinking it was probably my nextdoor neighbor/sister coming to talk, so I left my hair in the messy state it was in. I remember the utter surprise when I opened my yellow door, with the chipping paint and squeaky doornob, and the person outside my house was a tall woman with dark hair tucked under a wide brimmed hat. It was hard to tell in the darkness but I cou...

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“Old is gold” by Upama Borkar

Submitted to Contest #96

This is a story of an old sleepy town.It wasn't populated with too many people.Everyone seemed to know everyone here.It was peaceful as there was no incidents of theft or murder here ever.It was quiet strange as there was rarely any incidents in this town although it was known to house some of the wealthiest men here.One day a traveller arrived in this small town.He was crossing this town to go to the other side.He arrived here by nightfall.As he was scared to travel through the woods at night (because of thieves) he decided to spend the nig...

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“The uninvited guest” by NK Hatendi

Submitted to Contest #96

The back door was ajar. Fatima didn’t recall leaving it open in her early morning rush to get to work. In the corridor was a whiff of her bath salts mixed with the potpourri she had burnt the night before. Nothing else was out of place.  After placing her bag on top of the footstool by the door, Fatima saw a worn pair of woman’s shoes in the passage. She approached them with their stale fishy odour becoming very distinct, and Fatima gingerly picked them up with a plastic bag and placed the battered pair near the back door. A trail of we...

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“Thirteen years later” by Aditi Kshirsagar

Submitted to Contest #96

It was approximately 10:30 p.m. when the bus dropped him on the periphery of the town. Aditya Suri was nervous and eager at the same time. He remembered very little about Mussoorie. His memories were limited solely to those places he had visited as a child. He knew this tourist place was magnificent. Now that he had come back, he had wanted to explore all of it—with his family, of course. He had to first find out about his family. Would they accept him? Of course they would. They loved him, right? The few moments he could recall we...

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“Housekeeper” by KS .

Submitted to Contest #96

“Don’t you even know how to sweep the floor? Hadn’t your mother taught you anything? How can you be so careless? You are so stupid.” These harsh words were just continuously echoing in her ears while she was mopping the floor. “You pig, you are so dirty. No one taught you how to clean the floor. Maybe it’s because you used to live in a slum? Who brought you up this way? You shit!” She was trying to ignore all this noise and concentrate on her work. But this voice was following her in each room wherever she was mopping the floor. It made her ...

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“Second Impressions” by Simon Kigo

Submitted to Contest #96

The storm is now close to Brine town. It’s expected to have wind speeds of up to a hundred miles per hour. All the residents are advised to stay indoors and possibly board up their windows. Neo watched the news cuddled up on his couch, his two cats Magp and Finn sleeping next to him. He was in Brine town waiting for the revered storm to reach. Unlike most, he loved when it was a stormy season. Nothing beat binging a horror movie while Mother Nature raged on. The movies also helped with his fantasy paintings and his day job as a gothic tattoo...

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“A Fork in the Road” by Belle Arana

Submitted to Contest #96

There was a knock on the door. Archie almost stumbled as he walked up to it, feeling nervous and sweating buckets. He fixed his hair first, stretched out his shirt, and then put on a smile before he opened the door. The first thing he noticed was the purple hair and a black flame tattoo that went around the man's neck like a collar. His ears were pierced from the helix to the lobe, and one of his eyebrows had three diagonal slices of hairless scar tissue. They looked like the dictionary meaning of the term "polar opposites". Archie had o...

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“The Path From the Past to the Future” by Akra Carras

Submitted to Contest #96

The room was large. Everything in it was large. Lavish furniture surrounded me, paintings hung on bright colored wallpaper, tall green plants reached toward the sun at windows, through which a rosy sunset light was cast over the room. It’d been so long since I had been in this room, in this house. Nothing had changed but the owners. Each settee stood in the same place. Some of the paintings had been replaced, family portraits interchanged with colorful landscapes and still lifes.  Nothing had changed, and yet everything had changed.&n...

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“A Place to Call Home” by Rainne Mallard

Submitted to Contest #96

Perhaps it was a little selfish of her to feel so happy on such an occasion. After all, she had taken care of Adam for a little over a year now at the church orphanage, but seeing Adam, a boy who was so independent yet so bright, before a couple who were to be his foster parents—yes, there was no doubt that Sister Anne would miss Adam, but even this was superseded by the joy she felt for Adam right now. “Adam, I know this may be a little hard to take in, but the Brunsons have graciously decided to take you in!” exclaimed Sister Anne. The...

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🌟 Similar prompts

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Contest #96

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