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

3270+ Historical fiction Short Stories to read

Submitted by writers on Reedsy Prompts to our weekly writing contest. Whether you’re looking to step back into ancient civilizations, the 19th-century, or anywhere in between, our collection of historical fiction stories is here to keep you riveted.

Historical fiction Short Stories – Page 208 of 218

The Costume Party

Submitted to Contest #44

“Hey! Wait up!” Aaron called from a block away. We were just leaving the cinema from the special screening of Ghostbusters at the Drive-In by our neighborhood, even though it only came out 6 months ago. I was too busy listening to The Smiths’ new album, The Smiths on my Walkman to hear him and stop walking. I had to wait in line for two hours outside the record store by my house to get it on release day, and was still enjoying it 8 months later. “Hey!” Aaron exclaimed as he jumped in front of me to stop my stride. I heard him mumble for a se...

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Maverick

Submitted to Contest #44

"Giv'em Hell for me, Brother," chokes Maverick.His once ivory teeth become a crimson red as each inhale and exhale quicken faster than the rage of musket balls flying past our heads. We grip our hands as tight as we can around each other's forearms as we did on the day we first met during the Northern enlistment against the Confederacy. Amongst the troops, Maverick was respected almost as highly as General Kilgore, a man of few words but true to his name, and could make a friend and an enemy within seconds. Maverick was an impressive st...

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Falling

Submitted to Contest #44

Factory smoke enveloped London in a grim curtain. The higher Ellie climbed, the heavier it got. “Are you sure we’re allowed to be up here?” Ellie asked as Nate dragged her up the curving stairwell onto the ladder that led to the roof. Nine stories up, she’d heard that this was the best place to see the city. On a clear day, of which there had been few recently, they said you could see the spires of the cathedral and even the university, but there was a reason a parish apprentice would never come up here herself. She clambered up the ladder b...

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The Masterpiece

Submitted to Contest #44

It wasn’t even a real theater.The room belonged to my cousin Tom, who leased it for almost nothing on account of it supposedly being “haunted.” It was part of a four joint strip mall located in the middle of an old rundown neighborhood where it had sat empty for decades, still as brand new as the day it was built, back when Tom’s daddy was in grade school. The only blemish on the otherwise flawless exterior were the boarded up windows in Tom’s movie theater. Apparently, a runaway convict had been hiding out in that very room for weeks when t...

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Fleas

Submitted to Contest #44

- no,! It can not be 27.It is 28! - mended the greenish three legged old parrot, trying the real figures they were in.- Dat is gud. Ai laik.- Tell me, birdy, do you really like these rings above our heads ¿- Dat ¿- Yes, the ones getting out of the huge branch of the broken arm of our planet.- Nais - and the three – ok three and a half – legged bluish parrot a kind of tiny pillow hidden under his legs that looked more like some branches,  full of feathers. It brought closer to his luminous &nb...

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Pilar From Lugo

Submitted to Contest #44

Pilar, as every good Catholic knows (a lot of bad ones know, too, most likely) is a woman’s name derived from Our Lady of the Pillar. At the same time, not many who come from outside Catholicism know that this virgin appeared in the area of Zaragoza in 40 A.D. to encourage Saint James, Santiago, to keep his commitment to Christ and Christianity. That is relevant to this story.That should mean Pilar should have become the main figure in Spain, and James the second place finisher.However, that is not what happened, but since it was so long ago...

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The In Between

Submitted to Contest #44

It was time for a change, but that change didn't come in time. At least not in time as people usually understand its passing. My name is Annabelle, or Belle as I was known to my family and friends. The Belle of the Ball they use to tease.I was always considered one of the privileged and well educated in our community. But people rarely understand the fact that well educated doesn't always exude awareness nor does it exclude ignorance. Privilege can sometimes be a hindrance to possessing the right kind of knowledge.Considering my current plig...

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Showdown in Mid-Town

Submitted to Contest #44

Lincoln was no longer with us. It was a period tucked between two revolutions: one social, the other technological. The eye of an American storm. A time when fashion ruled, and global war didn't. Also a time of selfishness and competition. Of disease and danger. Of envy and enmity. Predators and killers. Talent and stardom. Free will and cheap thrill... They called him "Lone-Finger Pete", and it was no mystery why. Three of them on his right hand - three that had helped give him deadly aim back east during the war - had been amputated d...

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The Longest and Shortest Hours of Your Life

Submitted to Contest #44

  The Longest and Shorter Hour of your life6:00am: Sun wakes me up at dawn. It’s strong and searing but welcome. I pull myself out of the muddy hole that I’ve carved out into the side of the trench. I find that Sam has fallen asleep on my foot and I have to shake it out before I can put my weight on it. The putty’s have slipped down on my left foot and I have to take them of completely, strip them of mud and dead lice, and rebandage them for inspection at 6:15am.6:00 am: First day of school. My mum examines me, patting do...

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08:31 One Day in the Life of Arnold Clockmann

Submitted to Contest #44

In a large, sunny parlour room of a stately retirement home there stands an ornate antique Grandfather clock. Its dulled ivory face reads 08:29. At its base sits a wooden crate filled with old toys. Atop the pile is sprawled a small tin man; a burnished bob-watch fills its chest. Several aged residents in the room sit in over-stuffed armchairs or propped up in wheelchairs. Some stare at a muted tele-screen splashing grotesque images against the wall, others out into space. Slanted shafts of early sunlight filter into the room. The residents ...

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Every End is a New Beginning

Submitted to Contest #44

Bad winds had blown us off course. We were in waters unknown to mankind. At present, there was no wind to bring us back on track. If anywhere, we were drifting further away from our destination.I noticed that this happened at an increasing speed. That didn't make sense to me and I worried about it. Both the helmsman and the captain were aware of this inexplicable phenomenon, but they asked me not to inform the other members of the crew to avoid unnecessary panic.All things considered, this was an excellent opportunity for me as a scholar —an...

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No quiet Storm

Submitted to Contest #44

Knowing the nature of humanity does not equate to understanding the actions of man; time in this dilemma is proceeded only by experience and a personal one at that.Parklesis flapped his wings long and hard as we emerged from the wormhole. We had no say in the direction of our punishment but there was no way that I, Jaiden Storm,  would be going anywhere or rather anytime without Parklesis.Parklesis was an aviant Equidae. Born from the ancient family of Perissa, to date, there was maybe a hundred of her kind across the span of time. You ...

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TALE OF THE PHARMACIST

Submitted to Contest #44

I was seated in a comfortable chair in the terrace of the building. It was night time and a pleasant soft breeze was blowing causing the live coals in the hookah in front of me to glow. Someone came and put in something on the coals, and they glowed brighter for moments as smoke curled upwards. I put the inhaler from the hookah between my lips and drew the smoke in. In seconds I landed on a sea shore with my bag. It was morning. The sea was calm and waves lazily lapped the sand on the shore. Two fishing boats came in from the sea and emptied...

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Luminaria

Submitted to Contest #44

The island of Quadra was strung with lights and lanterns. Strings of popcorn lined the dirt streets, cranberry ropes adorned the necks of tall faceless candle-lit buildings downtown, and turkeys lined up innocently to the slaughtering block. The islanders were preparing for Thanksgiving. A thicket. Densely wooded with blackberry bushes and blackthorn trees scattered haphazardly, the sky was hidden by the knit of thorns and thin twigs. Miles from the coast and miles from the town. The thicket of Quadra was the middle of the island, and the co...

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When

Submitted to Contest #44

I grew up in a time period when, the successors of Paleolithic humans adapted to the rapid global warming that constitutes the beginning of our present interglacial period, circa 9,600 BCE ago. Even back in them days we were will aware of Global Warming even if writing wasn’t invented not even on cave walls and surely not a Bic lighter. The earliest writing systems appeared c. 5,300 years ago, but it took thousands of years for writing to be widely adopted, and it was not used in some human cultures until the 19th century or even until ...

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RBE | Illustrated Short Stories | 2024-06

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