Menu

Menu
Prompts
Contests
Stories
Blog
Featured stories
Activity feed

Discover weekly, the best short stories

Looking for a steady supply of contemporary short stories? Every week thousands of writers submit stories to our writing contest.

11000+ Contemporary Short Stories to read

Submitted by writers on Reedsy Prompts to our weekly writing contest. All the newest modern day stories to thrill and inspire, all in one place.

Contemporary Short Stories – Page 711 of 734

The Heart and the Wild

Submitted to Contest #65

 Hank knew there were two ladies on his doorstep before they knocked on his door. One had an overpowering scent of lavender and chemicals, while the other had used a basic deodorant. One had a clomping, excited step while the other was more controlled, but heavier. And, of course, the lovely scent of perfectly baked chocolate chip cookies. A lot of them. “Ah, werewolf senses. Nothing like ‘em,” he mused. He had to remind himself to wait until they knocked before going to the door. Any strange behavior would be met with suspicion. He...

8 likes 4 comments 4
Read story

The midnight mutt

Submitted to Contest #65

The crushed, stale, ranch doritos scraped his gums with their salty corners. They were his worst meal this week but it would stop his stomach from grumbling and that was enough. It had already been five days since he left his pack but he knew what he was doing. He knew he was right. When the bag was empty he wiped it clean with his tongue while he used his paw to hold down the corner. As soon as the wind picked up he took his last lick and stepped away, watching as the bag was swept into the street. Soon this would all be over. Without givin...

7 likes 0 comments 0
Read story

Samhain Soulcakes

Submitted to Contest #65

Kay: Ayyyyyy happy Samhain witchessssss June: Happy Samhain!! Ali: yoooo lets get itttttt Kay: What time yall comin over? Kay: Ive got like… so many soul cakes in the oven right now Kay: Just waiting to be eaten Ali: omg  Ali: currants or raisins  Kay: Raisins Ali: yaaaassssssssssss  June: I still have to cleanse my tools and finish my alter. I don’t think I’ll be too much longer! Kay: Sick! You still bringing the moon water?  Kay: Also Ali, your bringing your tarot cards, right? Ali: im in the m...

13 likes 1 comment 1
Read story

Graveyard Smash

Submitted to Contest #65

It all began because of a lame old song, sung or recited by a one-hit singer nobody could pick out of a crowd. The song was even inspired by an earlier, odd-duck tune with the theme of mashed potatoes. The earlier one was sung by a girl group, maybe around 1960. That didn’t keep the lame song from becoming way too popular, from being played annually at a certain time of the year: pre-Halloween.  Every year since 1962 right up until now that tune haunts commuters by car, customers who walk by a store display and set off the mummy with ...

20 likes 0 comments 0
Read story

A Night In The Graveyard

Submitted to Contest #65

"Sell it to me." Carissa laughed at Sawyer's preposterous suggestion. It was another foggy summer morning and the two were lazily leaning against the grand oak tree overlooking the empty gardens below. "C'mon you can't tell me you're not even the slightest bit intrigued by the notion of spending the night in the graveyard," Sawyer was starting to chuckle, seeing Carissa trying to keep her composure as she could sense his bombardment of absurd reasons were about to spew out, "Look, there's going to be a full moon tonight, you can-" ...

7 likes 0 comments 0
Read story

On The Gray

Submitted to Contest #65

Though there were tall iron fences, the gateway was empty, hinges rusted up with nothing on them. In the dark of the October evening, it struck Zara as wrong, and the things she’d agreed to on the bus took a darker and damper turn. “Are you sure they won’t lock up?” she asked. “How? There’s nothing to lock. And besides, we could just climb over the fence if they did, or stay till morning.” Rose slipped up behind her and put her arms round Zara’s waist. “Come on, you said you would. Don’t you think that’s romantic? Watching the sunrise to...

17 likes 2 comments 2
Read story

A Halloween First

Submitted to Contest #65

Fifty something, Joyce, loved Halloween. It brought back happy childhood memories, when life was simple. Her life was anything but simple now as a divorced mom of two grown children. Someone always needed something, and her paycheck rarely stretched until the next one. Soon her shift would be over, but she didn’t really want to go home to an empty house.            The diner had been busy with customers - most excited for Halloween, but there were a few who didn’t like their r...

12 likes 0 comments 0
Read story

The Victorean Headstone

Submitted to Contest #65

“Hey! Where are we going? Why are we entering this place?”“Umm, because…. This is a place where none would come looking for us, at least for the time being.”The sign board above read- ‘St. Claire’s Cemetery’. Anne and Viraj walked in hand in hand. They had decided to spent this night at a place of Anne’s choice.Anne met Viraj when they began their medical school. They had to work hard day and night to reach where they are today. Its this hard work which also helped them find each other.Having spent all those times studying human anatomy...

9 likes 0 comments 0
Read story

my ugly little husband

Submitted to Contest #65

I’m lying in bed, just me, next to my ugly little husband. Aw, I’m being mean, aren’t I? He’s not that bad, just hairy around the neck and soft in the belly, and his face isn’t too symmetrical. But I’ve seen worse. And I’m used to it all, the way his nose folds into his lip, his hair sticks out by the ears. It’s comfortable, comforting, like the horrible wallpaper at Grandma’s house. It’s just that tattoo that bothers me.  He sleeps shirtless, so when I’m awake at night, I always see it, a penguin on the left side of his ribcage. He w...

54 likes 10 comments 10
Read story

Topics Addressed Include, in Order: Campaign Decisions, the Virus, and the Chain of Command

Submitted to Contest #66

           “It doesn’t count if you’re already planning your defeat.” Marjorie Williams crossed her arms triumphantly and smirked as Ezra Lee vibrated, his muscles tensing, hoping to some higher power that he could resist the urge to smack her.           Luckily Ezra knew how to lock his emotions up into a little stronghold box, then smash the box into smithereens and scatter the pieces across the Arctic—not that he supported litteri...

44 likes 11 comments 11
Read story

Boo Hoo

Submitted to Contest #65

I stood in the rain and watched the water drops splash up from the ground through the arches of my feet. The light from the street lamp sparkled and refracted on liquid beads. I turned my face up to the weeping sky and felt nothing. I was the only being out on the street tonight. The wacky waving inflatable arm flailing tube jack-o-lantern in my neighbor’s yard dodged and bobbed in the wind. The blowup ghost hissed and moaned. An umbrella, its bones turned inside out, tumbled down the avenue, skipping to the tune of spooky music blarin...

9 likes 9 comments 9
Read story

Irrationality

Submitted to Contest #65

“So, you’re definitely getting extra credit for this, right?” I said, avoiding a particularly stubborn weed whose sole life desire appeared to be mating with my shoe. Dozens of them sprouted from the improvised path we trekked; the front gate would have been an easier obstacle, but Wren wasn’t willing to risk getting caught. “Not just a measly ten points or something–we’re talking getting a full grade bump, yeah?” “That’s what Mr. Wright said.” “But doesn’t he want some sort of proof? Sure you can snap a picture, but that only proves you...

7 likes 0 comments 0
Read story

A Witchy Vision for the Future

Submitted to Contest #65

Maya could feel the village calling out to her even now. Her daughter had come home a week ago to shoulder the responsibility of her father’s last rites.  Poonam had wanted to take her parents with her to London when she first got the job, but they had refused. Her father had said something about wanting to die in the village he had been born in, but Maya knew that he was looking out for her. He knew that Maya’s magic was rooted in the village. Moving away would mean a weakening of her abilities, and she wasn’t ready to give that u...

7 likes 0 comments 0
Read story

A Play, On Words

Submitted to Contest #65

                A Play, On Words  Camilla: “It was a dark and rainy night, or would stormy work better?” “You aren’t planning on using that tired old cliché to begin with, are you? Our play is supposed to be about peoples ideologies and relationships, and we ain’t the Walton’s, if you know what I mean.” “What you all laughing at. I know who the Walton’s were. They lived on the lane, just down the road from the old hanging ...

8 likes 0 comments 0
Read story

A ghostly surprise

Submitted to Contest #65

"This is a joke, right?" "No this isn’t. I’m serious.” "Can we do this? Can we sleep in a graveyard? I feel like we are trespassing." "We aren't trespassing. We're visiting my grandparents." "In a graveyard on Halloween. This is the beginning of my bad horror movie." Electra laughs. "Oh, come on. It'll be fun, we'll set up a tent." "We can't set up a tent. People will see us." "Okay, so we'll sleep in a crypt." "The one with chains loops around the handles." "Oh my gosh, Sam. Stop being a killjoy. This is for our channel. We need followers."...

7 likes 2 comments 2
Read story
RBE | Illustrated Short Stories | 2024-06

Bring your short stories to life

Fuse character, story, and conflict with tools in Reedsy Studio. All for free.