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Set your story in a haunted house.

Posted in Horror on Sep 8, 2023

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✍️ 68 stories

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Submitted to Contest #215

     The bolt cutters snipped through the chain like it was made of paper clips; the wrought iron gate opened slowly, ominously.     James and Mac, two men both in their mid twenties, slipped through the open gate.      Friends since college the two had always hoped for quick money and easy fame. A YouTube channel seemed the logical move; so they started posting videos of their a ‘urban adventures’, breaking into various abandoned buildings.     &n...

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POLTERGa.iST 2123

Submitted to Contest #215

The battered SUV rumbled down the dark, deserted, murky dirt road outside Vernyn in the year 2123. Rain pelted the windshield, the digital display on the dashboard flickering as they approached their destination. Zephyr Voss gripped the steering wheel, eyes fixed on the towering, dilapidated mansion that loomed in the distance.Inside the SUV, the giant stereo speaker in the back seat throbbed with a bass-heavy rhythm, drowning out the patter of rain. Astra Synth, her fingers dancing over a holographic interface, adjusted the music's frequenc...

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The Malberrie Haunted House

Submitted to Contest #215

It was the night of October thirty-first, and I was getting ready for my thirty-first shift at the Malberrie Haunted House. It was the Malberrie’s first year of being fully in business and it was quickly becoming the most popular Haunted House and Halloween attraction in all of Washington State.  I won’t lie, this wasn’t where I imagined I would be at this time in my life. Not even close. I thought, or hoped I suppose, that I would be partying and hanging out with the rest of the kids in my grade, but money is money, and I happened to e...

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Paralysis

Submitted to Contest #215

Dreaming, your stomach feels weightless in your throat as you find yourself falling into a darkened chasm with no idea when or how long you have been descending. Looking up, you notice a trickle of light, a possible source of where you may have befallen. Reaching out to the light, you try to escape as the glow suffocates in the surrounding blackness. Fear and loneliness encase you like a mother’s womb and you succumb to the bleak surroundings, forfeiting any fight left inside. It’s over, you think to yourself.     &nbsp...

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Potter's Field

Submitted to Contest #215

“Honey, you are going to love the house” said David Augno (pronounce ‘oh no’) to his wife of 10 years. “The development is built on acres of land from a large farm purchased by Soil. They bought the farm and several other acres to build a large compost facility. You’ll love it there I promise.” Deidra Augno said nothing. She quietly stared out the window watching the scenery go by."Mom, can I choose my own room at the new house” inquired Teresa, the Augno’s six-year-old daughter.        “Yes dear, you ...

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Red Flag

Submitted to Contest #215

            Emma had made the dish before, but that was years ago, long before she moved into her current home, where the oven’s maximum temperature was three hundred degrees. She wrinkled her nose as she read the thermometer. It’s a shame rare chicken had such a bad rap.             “I’m afraid it’s going to be a bit longer,” she called to her date for the night, the first man she’d ever invited into her home for dinner, a...

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The Klemens House.

Submitted to Contest #215

Trigger warning for the content ahead includes mental health, physical violence, gore, sexual violence, and abuse.Mr. Kenneth K. Klemens first built the house after marrying his wife, Rebecca. He got the land dirt cheap off of a farmer of the land. Nothing ever grew there. Farmer Rick had no use for it, and luckily Mr. Klemens had no plans of starting a farm. Kenneth and Rick of them grew to be fast friends afterward.They soon found that part of the barren land problem belongs to boars trampling through the acres. Though Kenneth didn't plan ...

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The Correct Way to Use Your Friends

Submitted to Contest #215

           Luis smacked the mosquito that was trying to make a meal of him. He hadn’t thought he’d be spending his night as a buffet.            The five teenagers trudged up the secluded driveway to the old plantation house, the lights from the large windows guiding them in the murky night.            “Thanks again for carrying my duffel, Nick,” Luis said.    &nbs...

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The Candlelit Attic

Submitted to Contest #215

I glanced at Monsie for a split second before my eyes darted back up to the only window in the house that ever glowed. Against a navy-blue backdrop spangled with stars, the illumination flickered as gusts of summer breeze played across the windowsill indicating the window was open, the light, candlelight. Monsie was fat. He’d grown up under the floorboards of Gilly’s Sweets. I had not been so fortunate and had spent my first couple of years in a barn. Not only were scraps hard to come by, but my siblings and I spent a great deal of time fl...

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Save Me If You Can

Submitted to Contest #215

The arteries of the house dripped, dripped, dripped. Maia’s steps were hesitant as she stepped further inside. She was distinctly aware that the floor was soft and almost flesh-like, but she was more focused on what she felt rather than the physical features of this dark place. It wasn’t comfortable, but familiar. She’d been here before.She patted the air, hoping to find something to grab and give her a sense of guidance. She felt like she was trapped in a coffin. Her hands finally slid against a wall but she squeaked and yanked them back. S...

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The House On Eerie Street

Submitted to Contest #215

I've always liked spooky, thrilling things like ghosts and vampires. I was one of those weird kids who wanted to watch rated R movies with my dad and play alone with an Ouija board to meet spirits. I dressed up as a ghost almost every year until I was 12, but I never thought I'd meet a real one.  My husband and I were looking for a new house with our two kids, Cara and Jon. I was looking for an older home to redecorate, a lovely, cozy home in a nice neighborhood. It took a long time, but we found one. It was perfect, a nice backyard w...

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Vanator

Submitted to Contest #215

The deluge of icy water soaked Sorina. Thunder exploded; lightning blazed. In-between, all was pitch. It wasn't the rainstorm terrifying her. It was the black figure appearing and disappearing throughout Forest Park, each time whispering in her ear, “She is mine. She is mine.” Two Romanian vampyrs had once battled for the love of Sorina’s mother, Marian Bane. The vampyr who lived, returned twenty years later to stake claim on her mother. Now she was gone – against her will.   A crash of thunder, so powerful the ground shoo...

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A Wail in the Night

Submitted to Contest #215

Laura placed the mug inside the cupboard and straightened it so that the handle was facing her. She took another cup out of the cardboard box and did the same. She found the repetitive movements comforting. Laura glanced out the kitchen window after placing the last mug. The grass was a vibrant green, accentuated with palm trees and short, rounded bushes; the midday sun struck the land. Ice streaks appeared on the windowpane’s edges, spreading slowly towards the middle. Laura hadn’t noticed as her mind wandered to an image of her and her unb...

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Moonlight

Submitted to Contest #215

Moonlight By C Jyl Parker The mirror showed a reflection that wasn’t mine. No one stood before me in the mirror, only shadows of a different room. How could that be? And where was my face, my yellow hair pulled back in bedtime braids, my nightshirt? How did I get here? Was I dreaming? I stood before a large, oval mirror, my hands gripping either side of its carved wooden frame. I wanted to step back, to release the death-grip of my hands, but I was frozen in place, as if another entity controlled my will. I thought back to the day’s event...

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The Shades of the House

Submitted to Contest #215

The old Montes house, situated on the town’s main street, looked quite pleasant during the day, in spite of years that had passed of total abandonment. The home was constructed by some long ago ancestor of the Montes family, which was noted by the red mansard roof, the grand chimney, and the high tower of the attic. The house was painted a white brick that somehow still looked clean in the light. The inside of the home was bare, except for a red velvet rug in the vestment, the cream curtains on every window, and a grand piano in the parlor r...

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