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#329 The Graveyard Shift

People say everything gets quiet after dark — but we writers know better. When the rest of the world is asleep, that’s when our characters start whispering, pacing, and maybe even making some questionable life choices.

This week, tell us a story shaped by late-night hours. Whether it's a tale inspired by spooky season or a silly, sleep-deprived story meant to make us laugh, we want to see what happens when the lights go out. It’s the graveyard shift: time to clock in.

🥇 Winner

The Protracted, Peculiar, and Probably Quite Pointless Trial of Bertie Masturbine

W B

Winner of Contest #329 🏆

Rather than enjoying the miracle of life, humankind has generally chosen the opposite – they have tried to understand it. More specifically, since the first caveman scribbled on the walls of his home, humankind has questioned what comes afterwards. Broadly, there are three schools of thought. Some think there’s nothing. Logical, if a bit dull. Some ‘don’t believe in, like, heaven and hell and all that stuff but feel, y’know, like there must be something out there, like, death can’t be the end, right?’ This is the most insufferable school of ...

90 likes

⭐️ Shortlisted

The Haunting of Rin Tin Tin

AJ Ramson

Shortlisted for Contest #329 ⭐️

A haunted house is only a haunted house if you can afford to live somewhere else. For the financially impaired, it’s just a house with an unusual feature. And this house’s unusual feature was the ghost of former canine movie star and Hollywood sensation Rin Tin Tin.Of course, I didn’t know this was Rin Tin Tin at first. I thought he was just your run-of-the-mill semi-transparent German Shepherd. There’s very few people on Earth that can take one look at this ghost-dog and say “I know that dog! That’s the dog from the 1920s who starred in tho...

31 likes

The Retirement Plan

Chris Steely

Shortlisted for Contest #329 ⭐️

The Retirement Plan "This one's you grandpa!" James felt the warmth bloom in his chest as his grandson held up the drawing. A lopsided house with a crooked sun. Two stick figures, one with black and white hair, holding hands. "It's you, Grandpa," Eli said, pointing to the tallest figure. "And there's me."Pride. Joy. Love. The emotions swelled together, golden and full. James' hand moved to his phone before he'd consciously decided. Muscle memory. He opened the app, logged the feelings: Pride (child-related), Joy (familial), Love (grandchild)...

26 likes

This week's prompts

Write a story about a character who is haunted by something or someone.

Halloween – 99 stories

Center your story around someone who yearns for something they lost, or never had.

Angst – 73 stories

Write a story from the point of view of a ghost, werewolf, vampire, or other supernatural creature.

Halloween – 82 stories

Make a character’s addiction or obsession an important element of your story.

Dramatic – 47 stories

Write a story that includes the phrase “It was a dark and stormy night,” “Skeletons in the closet,” or “Digging up the past.”

Dramatic – 58 stories

Stories

The Protracted, Peculiar, and Probably Quite Pointless Trial of Bertie Masturbine

W B

Winner of Contest #329 🏆

Rather than enjoying the miracle of life, humankind has generally chosen the opposite – they have tried to understand it. More specifically, since the first caveman scribbled on the walls of his home, humankind has questioned what comes afterwards. Broadly, there are three schools of thought. Some think there’s nothing. Logical, if a bit dull. Some ‘don’t believe in, like, heaven and hell and all that stuff but feel, y’know, like there must be something out there, like, death can’t be the end, right?’ This is the most insufferable school of ...

90 likes

My Cherry Blossom

Submitted to Contest #329

We walk side by side down the long crosswalk, the cool wind gently disarranging our hair as we look at the beauty of the cherry blossoms surrounding us. I look up at Isak, and his wavy brown hair is softly tossed by the breeze, his light brown eyes reflecting the soft pink of the blossoms. He was taller than I, his features pronounced from this angle, casting a tender and profound expression. Beside him, my darker characteristics—my black hair and deep brown eyes—contrast so much with the night and yet harmonize with the shadows of the paths...

49 likes

THE YEAR DEATH GOT MY NAME WRONG

Defining Thoughts

Submitted to Contest #329

I’ve always believed May babies come into the world stubborn. Maybe it’s the Taurus in us: hoofs dug deep, head low, refusing to be told when it’s time to go. Nobody had to convince me of that. Life tried to erase me more than once, and every time, I wrote my name back into the world with whatever ink I had left—blood, breath, or bone. But the night everything finally broke open—the night that would circle back and start digging up the past before I ever knew there was a past worth digging—I wasn’t thinking about destiny, or astrology, or su...

44 likes

Peek at evil and it'll peek back at you!

Denise Lu

Submitted to Contest #329

Screwed. I was completely and absurdly screwed. Trust me, I'm not even exaggerating this time. All my life, I thought I was one of those lucky girls who grew up in a rich, loving, and caring family, with normal parents who would do everything for their kids and who worked hard to create a healthy environment.I remember when I was in seventh grade, many of my friends had issues at home. Abusive or drunk parents, divorced parents fighting for custody of the kids, a toxic environment with a lot of disrespect, and some were terrible, like my bes...

36 likes

The Haunting of Rin Tin Tin

AJ Ramson

Shortlisted for Contest #329 ⭐️

A haunted house is only a haunted house if you can afford to live somewhere else. For the financially impaired, it’s just a house with an unusual feature. And this house’s unusual feature was the ghost of former canine movie star and Hollywood sensation Rin Tin Tin.Of course, I didn’t know this was Rin Tin Tin at first. I thought he was just your run-of-the-mill semi-transparent German Shepherd. There’s very few people on Earth that can take one look at this ghost-dog and say “I know that dog! That’s the dog from the 1920s who starred in tho...

31 likes

The Cursor Blinks

Submitted to Contest #329

The cursor blinks. 2:47 AM. Mikayla's hands hover over the keyboard, not quite touching, as if the keys might burn her. Or save her. She isn't sure which.The writing community's weekly prompt glows on her second monitor: Write a story about a character who is haunted by something or someone. She's read Clive Barker since she was fifteen—she knows haunting. She knows how desire and dread weave together until you can't tell which thread is which. But knowing and doing are different animals, and right now, sitting in her apartment with the radi...

29 likes

Sparks Fly

Mary Bendickson

Submitted to Contest #329

Sparks Fly Parson Graves listened to Sheriff Claiborne's explanation why he brought Nellie-Rae Sparks to his house next to the church in Hollow Springs, Georgia so late in the evening. Sixteen-year-old Nellie-Rae shifted uncomfortably on the high wagon seat gripping her coat around herself as she watched the men discussing her fate on the front porch. The bodies of her parents still lay in the bed of the wagon, victims of a brutal attack by a gold seeking robber at their mountain cabin homestead in the woods.The only reason she survived was ...

28 likes

The Retirement Plan

Chris Steely

Shortlisted for Contest #329 ⭐️

The Retirement Plan "This one's you grandpa!" James felt the warmth bloom in his chest as his grandson held up the drawing. A lopsided house with a crooked sun. Two stick figures, one with black and white hair, holding hands. "It's you, Grandpa," Eli said, pointing to the tallest figure. "And there's me."Pride. Joy. Love. The emotions swelled together, golden and full. James' hand moved to his phone before he'd consciously decided. Muscle memory. He opened the app, logged the feelings: Pride (child-related), Joy (familial), Love (grandchild)...

26 likes

Vielle Vignes

Submitted to Contest #329

From the depths of the damp Limestone cave, a fine vintage was selected. The cellarmaster carefully decanted out the Caramel amber liquid away from the coagulated sediments. I chuckled at the ceremony, as it reminded me of a monocled mad scientist; The oversized beaker, iron apparatus that cradled the mold covered Jeroboam, a reeded silver funnel- lined with a virgin handkerchief, and a vigil candle below the bottle's neck. Hell of a ritual, just for a drink. I fiddled with the Solutrean flint pendant around my neck, out of boredom. “A glass...

26 likes

The Cat and the Demon

L.K Pieterse

Submitted to Contest #329

Being a demon has its perks. For instance, the current human really needs sleep, yet it’s far too entertaining watching him spiral over that date he had six years ago. This is worth every lost hour.The girl wasn’t even special. But the shame? Oh, exquisite.I remind him of his awkwardness every time he starts believing things are going well. Can’t have a talented human like him gaining confidence now, can we?“You farted in front of her and blamed an old lady.”His mind plummets straight into the what-ifs. Beautiful.“You’re useless. You’re soci...

26 likes

Where the Daisies Grow

Submitted to Contest #329

Daisy knew the moment she saw the coffin that forgiveness had come too late.Daisy remained still, her eyes fixed on the casket as she wiped away a tear. The lifeless figure before her confirmed it—hope had died long before her mother’s body turned cold. Her chest tightened as numbness crept through her limbs. Once, everything had felt whole—until that tragic day.The scent of roses pulled her back in time. Conversations around her softened and faded. She was again in a yellow polka-dot dress, sitting on the gray carpet of her mother’s flower ...

24 likes

Bones

Joan Crow

Submitted to Contest #329

TW: Death, themes of grief Bones are not malleable. They break under pressure. They deteriorate with age. Yet, they are rigid and dense. And in the right conditions, they can last for centuries. It must be why the skeletons in the closet of my mind continue to stay preserved. Bleak memories, buried stories, and a haunted past – perfect circumstances to keep the heaps of clandestine bones heavy and intact. Such a grim, melancholy reminder of the things I can never forget. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. Not quite true, I suppose. They say i...

23 likes

The Haunting Of Rose Cottage

Zoe Dixon

Submitted to Contest #329

Lionel paced the hallway, as he had been for the past half hour, muttering and glaring at the walls as though he could shame them into behaving. Where is that blasted knocking coming from? It had started again about midnight , a steady, maddening tap-tap-tap, as if someone were politely but insistently rapping from inside the plaster. He had checked all the doors. All the windows. The cupboards, the airing closet, even the old laundry chute Hazel had always said was “haunted in a charming, historical way.” But nothing. Just the same narrow,...

23 likes

Haunted by Love

Karen LENGER

Submitted to Contest #329

Haunted by LoveA baby’s cry. Slipping through the chink where the shutters do not quite meet. It threads the rafters, gathers in the corners, grows until it fills the cabin like smoke. I sit at the table, hands wrapped around an empty cup, and wait for it to fade. It never does quickly. Grief doesn’t, I’ve learned. It lingers, like damp in stone. The fire on the hearth is low. It never quite remembers when it began. Some nights I cannot recall laying in the wood. Yet there it burns, sullen and begrudging, as if offended by its own persisten...

22 likes

Midnight Merchandisers

Submitted to Contest #329

I’ve been dead for fifty-six years, but I’ll tell you the truth: nothing in the afterlife prepared me for the chaos of a poorly arranged thrift store. When the last customer shuffles out, and the staff clicks off the lights, I rise through the linoleum floor, like an avenging retail superhero, minus the detestable spandex, of course, and get straight to work.Sweaters and tops need to be sorted by color, not size; coffee mugs need to be arranged by season. It's nearly Christmas now, so snowflake and Santa cups will be front and center. Shoes ...

22 likes

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Contest #329

This contest has ended. Thank you for your submissions.

$250

Prize money

359

Entries

147

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Nov 21, 2025 EST

Won by W B 🏆

Title: The Protracted, Peculiar, and Probably Quite Pointless Trial of Bertie Masturbine

Submissions must be between 1,000 - 3,000 words and will be approved and published on Reedsy Prompts within 7 days of the contest closing.

Read the full terms & conditions or check out the FAQ if you have any questions!

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