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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

Submissions are closed

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✍️ 161 stories

“Rush of a Lifetime” by Alyssa Jones

Submitted to Contest #96

(Is this okay? It might be a little... I mean crime... I have removed a few bits.) I can’t help it. I need to do this. I have to. There’s no other way. I bang as hard as I can on the door, hoping beyond hope the family inside would be kind enough to let me in. “Help! Help!” I scream at the top of my lungs, my voice raw, throat soar, panic through every syllable. “Let me in! Please!” My voice cracks at the last word. Hard. My breathing heavy, panicked. They should understand how much I need this, how much trouble I would be in. Finally, the d...

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“My Stranger-to-Friend Friend” by Hadiyah Khan

Submitted to Contest #96

I was so tired. I looked around franticly trying to find somewhere to sit. Finally I saw a little wood bench to sit on. I sat down letting all my thoughts blow behind me with the cold wind. I took a big gulp of my water as a hear soft pat a about 2 feet next to me. Out of the corner of my eye I could see a dark figure. I couldn't tell exactly what it was so I slowly put my water bottle down back into my bag. I turned my head to see a girl sitting on the bench. I have never seen her before. Some strands of her thin silky blonde hair fell onto...

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“John John Is Not Hades” by Mike Garrigan

Submitted to Contest #96

Black sheets of rain tore across Jack’s front yard. Snug in the warmth of his living room, Jack looked up. A deluge pounded the ceiling. Jack sat in his Astor Velvet reading chair. The downpour sounded like an amateur drum circle had converged on his roof. Jack went back to his book, The Argonautica. King Amycus had just knocked out three more of Jason’s shipmen. So much for Xenia, Jack thought. Jack began reading The Argonautica because he wanted to enjoy an old-timey greek myth, but he was burnt out on the&nbs...

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“The Stranger” by Cagalli Lim

Submitted to Contest #96

It was a summer's eve. I sat idly on my balcony as the midnight breeze blew rampant through town, caressing my raven locks and threatening to blow off my top hat. The moon was at its fullest, bright and blossoming in the casm of the night sky, and the stars shone vividly on the canvas of black and blue and violet. I held a book atop my left palm, scouring the pages of my latest chapter. I almost didn't notice the dark, looming figure approaching my porch. At first sight, it looked to be a mere shadow. A trick my eyes were playing on me for r...

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“STRANGER THINGS” by 8322 PRITHIKA K.P

Submitted to Contest #96

DO YOU KNOW WHERE A STORY STARTS, DO YOU THINK WHEN THE HERO OR HEROINE BORN? NEVER! A STORY CAN START WITH ANYTHING. AND I AM STARTING THE STRANGER THINGS... ON A SUNNY MORNING, THERE WAS A SMALL HUT, THERE LIVED A YOUNG SMART BOY NAMED ARJUN. HE WAS NO FAMILY NOR FRIENDS. NONE WAS WITH HIM, HE LIVED ALONE WITH GOATS, HENS, HORSES, COWS, YAK, SHEEP, BUFFALO, REINDEER, CALVES, OXEN, BULLS, AND MANY MORE. HIS DAIRY WAS HIS FRIEND. HE WAS A COWBOY TOO. HE PLAYS WITH HIS HORSE HE NEVER LIKED THE WAY HE WAS AND HE WANTED TO LIVE WITH A BIG F...

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“Fortune or Misfortune” by Theresa Bhowan

Submitted to Contest #96

The doorbell rings.Jane closes her eyes and takes in a deep breath.Now? Really? Who could it possibly be?Working as a journalist at the town’s weekly paper, Jane’s hardest day is a Friday. It is the day after the paper has been printed and distributed, and it is a day of endless complaints from mid-forty-year-old women who have nothing better to do than scour the paper and find some sort of error in the 50-page newspaper. It is also a day of endless meetings and insincere apologies, filled with empty promises on how the paper intends to be b...

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“Ogodazi's Head Will Touch The Earth” by Olisa Okoye

Submitted to Contest #96

Whenever it came time for war, Ogodazi’s heart knew no fear. Stories of his unmatched skill and brute force on the battlefield caused his name to resound throughout the village of Ndi Nri and beyond. One could feel the bristling of the hairs on their skin whenever his name was called. Even the little children were in awe of his great exploits. And quite soon, like his forefathers from long ages past, he became a living legend amongst men. Ogodazi The Great, they called him. He was a giant of a man- broad and sturdily built. In his youth...

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“The Dungeon” by Chris Wagner

Submitted to Contest #96

I regained consciousness cuffed to brackets on a clammy stone wall. My newly acquired petite breasts bobbed teasingly with each inhalation, but lay out of reach of my hands. Bodily things tingled and stirred beneath my pinafore in ways I'd never experienced. "Nice. Still think the view would be better from my old body." I stretched out my stockinged legs, letting the dress ride up. "Especially that part." I wiggled backwards to give my arms some slack. Sweat dripped down the dungeon walls, remind me of my th...

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“A WELCOME LIKE NO OTHER” by Suyan Budhoo

Submitted to Contest #96

A WELCOME LIKE NO OTHER In 2015, I had just become an ambassador of the Parliament of Religions, whose head office is in Chicago, USA. This was a community whose work I had admired since childhood and it just seemed like a natural progression that I would be affiliated with it someday. Ever since I had heard of the first Parliament which took place in 1893, it had been my dream to attend at least one conference. I am someone who lives from pay-cheque to pay–cheque and although I had dreams of attending the conference, I ...

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“Gouges ” by Meta M Griffin

Submitted to Contest #96

Alice felt like she’d been whacked over the head when her adopted sister, Julie, told her she wasn’t her ‘real’ sister because Alice had accidentally scratched Julie's car. Alice still felt like a stranger in the home even though she’d lived with her adopted family for several years. She'd been there longer than any other place. Also, moving to Texas was a major adjustment.The driveway was narrow and dark, so Alice had a hard time seeing when she pulled into the driveway. She barely tapped Julie’s new Camry. Alice backed away,...

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“Share the blessings” by Mariana Del Rosal

Submitted to Contest #96

It was just one more of those dark, endless nights of what seemed a dark, endless winter. The snow kept falling, and although it was neither too thick nor too moist, it seemed like a white blanket spread all through the village. The cottage was a haven in the blizzard. Inside, Mother Mirth was stirring a pleasant-smelling copper pot over the fireplace, while young Ethel sat by her side knitting yet one more blanket. None of the family was going to be cold at night, they had enough wool and animal furs to get warm enough, the oak roof over th...

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“War on the doorstep” by Lomi Willow

Submitted to Contest #96

Remi sat in his office overlooking important papers. Suddenly the doors opened as his cousin barged in. "Remi, have you lost your mind!?" He slammed Remi's table. "How could you recall the troops in the middle of war and back out of the alliance. Now we're gonna be at war. How could you be so reckless?" Remi sighed. "It's because Ariel asked me to, in return for waking my parents. Forming the Alliance was a mistake in the first place. Flora tribe shouldn't have suffered like that. They did nothing to us." His cousin glared at Remi. "You ...

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“Annoyed” by George Puscuta

Submitted to Contest #96

‘Seize him!’ ‘Yes, Sir!’ The frightened man was brought in front of the Sergeant and dropped like a sack of grain at his feet. The Sergeant looked at him apprehensible, taking in what made the man who he was: his ragged clothes, his disheveled graying hair, the brown loose skin hanging awkwardly wherever two different body parts met. He found the sight to be lacking something. Disgusting! he thought to himself. ‘What are you doing here… Sir?’ he said, stressing the last word. The address had the desired effect and the man pulled himself inwa...

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“The Suitor and his Blunder” by Angelina Nahorny

Submitted to Contest #96

Growing up as a little girl, I learned about Greek mythology. My dad was a professor of Greek Mythology and Religion at the local university, so my childhood was filled with dramatic retellings of the Odyssey and fantastical summaries of how spiders came to be. He told me of powerful, narcissistic men who could fight away any problem and witty women who could outsmart the sun. These legends became an important part of who I am today. Especially after my dad died. After his death, I read the stories he would tell me over and over again until ...

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“On rainy days” by Robyn Visco

Submitted to Contest #96

Lightning strikes were visible just beyond my window and the thunder clapped afterward. “BOOM!” I flinched, even though this had been going on for the past few hours. Nevertheless, I carried on with my nightly routine; specifically, I was eating dinner in front of the television. Then, I heard a knock at my door, or at least, what I thought was a knock. I dismissed this, who in their right mind would be outside in this heavy thunderstorm? Whoever it was, knocked again. This time, I was sure that there was someone at the door. I looked into ...

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Contest #96

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