Set your story during polar night.

Posted in Winter on Jan 5, 2024

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✍️ 37 stories

“JOE AND THE GRIZZLY” by Lise Rowlandson

Submitted to Contest #232

JOE AND THE GRIZZLY They threw themselves off the horizon’s precipice that year. Two tenacious tenderfoots left their genteel societies to cross the 60th parallel with dreams of unbridled wealth and power. They pushed against the biting winds, fur-covered heads collapsed, pulling overloaded sleds across acres of blowing snow while aurora borealis chandeliers lit their path. Every sunless day could easily have been their last. Bill Smythe and Joe Campbell made the life-threatening expedition up the British Columbian coast with one ton eac...

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“Saving sparrows in Antartica” by FJ Morris

Submitted to Contest #232

Saving sparrows in Antarctica My little sparrow keeps score of how many dolphins she sees, slicing through the waves, guiding us like sentinels on our mission through the worst seas. She keeps score of how many albatrosses sweep around the bridge of the ship, tracing halos in the sky. She keeps score of how many sparrows hitch a ride on board, singing blessings of relief. But a sailor tells us they will never make it this far away from land. So each day, the count becomes less. Each day, the numbers fall. We see land without the su...

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“Game of Planets” by Heather Henderson

Submitted to Contest #232

Polar Night. A three-month tournament of planets, ice and magic. Altrus had finished the first game: the Mercury-themed find-a-clue, which would have been babyish if it didn’t end in the possible death of a polar bear. To the inhabitants of the North Ice, polar bears represented resilience and might and as such were held as sacred. “Easy.” Altrus smiled confidently, knowing that his mind was sharp enough to pass the contest without much problem. Alina laughed. “For you.” She creased her eyes into half-moons, then gave him a little smirk. “No...

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“True North” by Aaron Mooney

Submitted to Contest #232

Night reigned supreme over the small town of Kinnemuck, Alaska, as it had for the past three weeks. While not the northernmost town in Alaska, it still suffered from the curse of polar night. What granted the townsfolk some comfort through this abysmally cold part of the year was the aurora. For some reason, Sheriff James Breaker was having trouble finding the joy in seeing the greenish hues dance among the clouds tonight. The town boasted a population of a whopping three hundred and five souls—or people, if you’re not the religious type. I...

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“The Rabbit and The Bear” by Samuel Garcia

Submitted to Contest #232

"This will be much easier than I thought, being it's dark all day. What's your name?" "No names, remember?" "Right, right. No names." Both men walk towards the lining of a dense forest. "Did you bring your knife?" "Yes." "What about a gun? Surely you brought that, I'd imagine wolves out here?" "Yes." "Yes, you brought the gun or are you referring to the wolves?” The other man stared at him, “the gun.” “Great, we're good to go then.” They walk half a mile into the dense forest in silence. “So what can I call you then if there's a problem?&...

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“Twilight Menace” by Sabrina Rose

Submitted to Contest #232

The dim twilight looked eerily mesmerizing as Johana gazed out at the frosty horizon, pulling her parka tighter. It had to be subzero as it was the heart of winter in the arctic region of Sweden, in her mother’s small Elven hometown of Nowheresville as far as she was concerned. She could see why she wanted to move to the states with her dad, get out of this town of seemingly eternal night, at least this time of year, but it legit made her SAD, or at least feel like she had seasonal affective disorder. It was a stark contrast to her hometown ...

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“The Polar STATIC STILLS” by Michelle SHAAY

Submitted to Contest #232

THE STATIC STILLS Written by Michelle SHAAY The Hot Toddy Lounge was busier than usual for Wednesday. A frosty Polar night while frigid temperatures danced across the city gave patrons a reason to stay inside the loud, rustic place. As the pub began to close, a fatigued but curious bartender listened to a trending news story on its large flat screen television. “Can I get another shot of vodka and cranberry?” asked an overly drunk bar patron. The slurred words felt like painful daggers to Kenneth's ears. “We’ve shut the bar down for t...

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“Polar Bear's First Sunrise” by Sarah Dinkel

Submitted to Contest #232

All the little polar bear cub wanted to do was see the Sun. He was born during the polar night, when night could last for weeks or even months. He had never been able to see the sun, so his mother told him stories of the enormous, bright ball in the sky that made the whole world bright. The mother bear would wrap herself around her cub, and as she prepared him for bed, she would lull him to sleep with her wondrous tales. “When it rises, it makes the snow twinkle like the stars, and makes our fur shine beautifully” she explained. “And when i...

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“Death's Embrace” by Makadewaandegekek H

Submitted to Contest #232

Death’s Embrace“You can’t save her Adrian… it’s the death mark.” Ignoring his fellow thief’s rebuke, Adrian continued to gently wipe the sweat from his sleeping twin’s brow; her fever was growing worse. Softly, haltingly, he half sang the enchanted words of healing under his breath, secrets he’d stolen from the temple's priest, though he knew they would only delay the inevitable, and not stop it, prolonging his sister’s agony, if no cure was found.He’d been so proud of his magic too, for what other boy of thirteen and a half summers could cl...

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“Polaroid Night” by Keelan LaForge

Submitted to Contest #232

How I ended up on Svalbard simply comes down to work. I was given an assignment to cover the Northern Lights. I had photographed so many things in hot, dry countries the world over, but I’d never been a fan of the cold. It was something that filled me with dread: going to stay on a remote island where Winter reigned, and darkness dictated the unfolding of our days. I knew it would invite depression, just being there for a number of weeks. I knew not a soul there, and that hadn’t mattered on any of my other assignments, but there was somethin...

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“The Kaamos Murders” by Barry Starcher

Submitted to Contest #232

The Kaamos Murders My name is Lars Jokijen, and I have spent most of my life in Finland. The capital of Lapland, Rovaniemi, was where my mother, father, and two older siblings lived. After retiring from the army, my father became the principal of the high school. Years later, he tried to teach me ...

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“Frozen Whispers in the Polar Night” by Richard Zahra

Submitted to Contest #232

October I have been living alone in Grandpa’s cabin for over a month now. The long days with golden sunsets have gradually faded, and the nights are getting longer and longer. Yesterday, when I turned on the satellite phone, I found three messages from Mum, asking me how I was. My reply was very dry: “I’m fine, don’t worry.” She had tried to dissuade me from embarking on my arctic pilgrimage to the island of Svalbard from the very start. She had told me that for a young woman like me, accustomed to living in a bustling city, that remote p...

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“"Polar Night"” by Domika Stewart

Submitted to Contest #232

Last night we sat along the lake for a view of polar night. The temperatures had dropped in the low twenties. The weather was cold and it showed us a beautiful setting of lights. We lived out in the country skirts near the mountains. This was the northern part of the state, where things are isolated. You could see the greenish lights in the atmosphere. The streaks of lighting looked so reachable that I lift my hands in the air. Everything seem very still. You could hear the coyotes howling at the sky. The universe had shown us it's beauty in...

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“TITUS” by Charles Corkery

Submitted to Contest #232

TITUS So, when all is said and done, this is how it’s to end? Is there no hope? None it seems. I am done for anyway but I am determined that Titus Oates will not be blamed for holding back the others. How did I end up in this God forsaken place with these people, these idiots, for whom I have no respect whatsoever? Under the dire leadership of this vain, self-glorious, mis-trusting, neurotic who has, somehow, led us to...what, our doom? Was there ever a chance that our quest, years in the planning, could, in reality, be achieved? Th...

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“The Hermit” by May Cutler

Submitted to Contest #232

The Hermit looked up at the encompassing black and felt the dread sinking to the pit of their stomach. The empty sky was an omen. A warning of consequences if the flame was never reignited. Fate rested on the Hermit’s shoulders and nothing could have prepared them for the long cold journey into the dark for the sake of the light. “We would not survive the winter without new light.” A young woman and her child fanned their last embers. “Thank you for your sacrifice, Sir.” The mother offered her scarf, with tears in her eyes. T...

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Ended on 23:59 - Jan 12, 2024 EST

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Title: The Lantern of Kaamos

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Set your story during polar night.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 37 stories

“JOE AND THE GRIZZLY” by Lise Rowlandson

“Saving sparrows in Antartica” by FJ Morris

“Game of Planets” by Heather Henderson

“True North” by Aaron Mooney

“The Rabbit and The Bear” by Samuel Garcia

“Twilight Menace” by Sabrina Rose

“The Polar STATIC STILLS” by Michelle SHAAY

“Polar Bear's First Sunrise” by Sarah Dinkel

“Death's Embrace” by Makadewaandegekek H

“Polaroid Night” by Keelan LaForge

“The Kaamos Murders” by Barry Starcher

“Frozen Whispers in the Polar Night” by Richard Zahra

“"Polar Night"” by Domika Stewart

“TITUS” by Charles Corkery

“The Hermit” by May Cutler

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a story set in a world with a dying sun, or where light is a scarce resource.

Write a story about someone witnessing — or trying to witness — a celestial phenomenon.

Write a story about someone who has been tasked to keep a flame burning, surrounded by total darkness.

Write a story about someone looking for a sign in a dark sky.

Contest #232

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

280

Contest entries

106

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: