Menu

More apps built by Reedsy

reedsymarketplace

Assemble a team of professionals

reedsystudio

The writing app for authors

reedsylearning

Writing courses, events and memberships

reedsydiscovery

Get your book reviewed

reedsyprompts

Weekly writing prompts and contests

Menu

Prompts

Contests

Stories

Blog

Directory

Contests

Magazine

FAQ

Write a story that involves a mystery — it doesn't need to be crime-related, it should just include something that remains unexplained until the end.

Posted in Mystery on Jun 26, 2021

Submissions are closed

Make sure you don't miss our next contest by creating your free Reedsy account.

Sign in with Google

Sign in with Facebook

Or use an email address:

Why not check out our active contest?

✍️ 150 stories

The Red Bat

BeInspiredAbstracts/Etsy SarahGreenwood

Submitted to Contest #51

       “Don’t do it that way. You’re going to strip the screw.” Dad corrected as he pushed up from his chair to retrieve the tool out of mom’s hands. They were replacing the screens in the kitchen windows, the last home improvement project of the summer. Winged insects buzzed in and out into the night air. My mother handed the tool over, the familiar look of defeat in her eyes, and went back to the stove to stir the boiling pot of pasta. Her eyeglasses slipped to the end of her nose from the moisture i...

157 likes

The Urn

Angelina Valencia

Submitted to Contest #51

Fire. Glitches of fire, then it was pitch black with just a small beam of light on a simple brown urn. It felt cold and empty like this was what loneliness felt like, only it was for an eternity. Then there was another glitch and in the distance, a man was hunched over, but it was facing to where you could only see its back. You could hear it, the aggressive breathing like someone was suffocating through a gas mask.Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale.You could also hear in the distance, murmuring. It was like someone, or something, was screaming,...

131 likes

Her Dark Brown Eyes

Zyönnah Isiguzo

Submitted to Contest #51

Her dark brown eyes seemed emptier than the dried-up lake that sat in the middle of the desert outside the dingy wooden windows, yet they were shining bright with panic and pain. A false religion was not the only thing hidden under her light grey scarf, but also a thousand knots of curls over raging red bruises. Two pairs of parched greyed lips parted at intervals, then were sealed shut by an invisible force seen only by her. She brought her scarred fingers to those lips forgetting there were no nails left to chew, then brought them down as ...

120 likes

102 comments 102

The Newly Fallen Dark

Elle Clark

Submitted to Contest #51

There’s something to be said for the newly fallen dark. People praise the moonlight of the true night and dance in the bright sunshine of noon. They revere the pink blush of a sunrise and they worship the golds and scarlets of the sunset. Mornings and afternoons, with their variety of brightnesses are useful and who doesn’t love a good pre-dawn stillness? But the newly fallen dark gets forgotten. Too dark for the rich, deep hues of black, blue and purple to be impressive. Too new for the first rays of moonlight and the first kisses of starli...

79 likes

Chaos is a Friend of Mine Part Two

Jubilee Forbess

Submitted to Contest #51

 The next day, I came back and there was the girl sitting by me again and she looked at me and told me her name was Saberdeen Darsablio. And I said, “Okay.” Because if I said anything else that might get me attached and Chaos told me not to. No one told Saberdeen that, though. She kept talking and talking and talking to me all the week long and on Friday she asked if I could come with her to a party. It will be fun, she said, come and see, she said. And I said, no I won’t go with you. That was in my rules. No clubs, no parties, no nothi...

74 likes

The Resurrection

Note Book

Submitted to Contest #51

                                The Resurrection The Auction Nefertiti and Paul rushed in towards the Iron Gate only to find a signboard which read 'All Auctions are Closed Off'. Nefertiti, as you all might know, was the most beautiful Egyptian queen of 1300 BC. She resurrected in her secret tomb in Egypt. Paul is a 50 year old man; a retired archaeologist who is settled in Cairo. ...

66 likes

A Record Player With No Records 3

BRoOkE HAs A COwBoY HAt

Submitted to Contest #51

Saturday-July 13-2020-9:00 PMHey. Henzi here. And I’m going to tell you (yes, Diary, you) everything that happened.Exactly one year ago today, I found a record player. That record player belonged to my father, who had passed away years before. I thought that it would be a nice family heirloom. But then things started to happen.I was cleaning out the attic with Jeff and Hattie, you know, my neighbors, and we were just doing our thing when Jeff came across the player. He said that there weren’t any records, so I would have to buy some if I wan...

63 likes

Fear Knot

Jonathan Blaauw

Submitted to Contest #51

I count him braver who overcomes his desires than he who conquers his enemies; for the hardest victory is over self – Aristotle    Phrygia, Western Anatolia, 850 BCE    The Phrygian King was dead.    The council of elders called a hasty assembly to discuss the tricky matter of succession. The monarch had died suddenly, leaving behind no heir. Such a thing had never happened before and Phrygian custom made no allowance for this eventuality. The lobbying for power had already begun am...

60 likes

A Bad Feeling

Raquel Rodriguez

Submitted to Contest #51

Taisiya's eyes slowly open, and although her vision is a bit blurry and she can't really tell what's going on, she gets a bad feeling. The short, blond hair on her neck and back stand up straight. "Daddy?" She murmurs, slowly sitting up and untangling her legs, which are wrapped in her light, carnation pink blankets. All Taisiya hears are Chip's paws as they hit the hickory-colored wood floor. "Daddy?!" She exclaims, jumping off of her bed.M-maybe he's at work? Is he?Taisiya wonders, her hazel eyes wide. "See, these are t...

59 likes

A Poem Of Lies And Folly

Submitted to Contest #51

I always wonder when god manufactures us, he must have an expiration date. It's only fair. So, when someone fortuitously decides that he is going to kill his friend today, does god have it all planned? Or is it, oh child, I'm so sorry! It surprised me. You could've lived 50 years more if not for your friend. It depicts the circle of life to say that everything has an end. The mystery of Cassandra Brills's disappearance. A normal elite high school girl. December, 2018 "How long has it been snowing?" Cassandra questions her twin sister, Ruanah...

45 likes

Still as a Statue

Jordan De La Garza

Submitted to Contest #51

I don’t remember exactly how I fell, but my body won’t let me forget how much it hurts. My left arm is swollen and tender, painful to the touch. It throbs with each beat of my heart. I cradle it close to my chest and try to ignore the ache that races through the bone. My arm is the worst of it, though I can feel scrapes and cuts on my hands and knees. I try to stop shaking from either from the pain or the shock, but as my eyes strain to detect even the faintest light in this dark, vast place, I start feeling more and more helpless.I can’t re...

44 likes

Reality

Submitted to Contest #51

Reality! How does one describe ‘Reality’? In the words of Albert Einstein ‘Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one’ And in my own words ‘Reality is subjective’ Just like opinions everyone has their own reality, defining their own life. Just like ‘bitter truths’ and ‘white lies’ everyone’s reality is their own perception and convenience. ‘Did a 16-year-old poison her whole family? Why? What was her motive’ Read the front page of the newspaper on the table. The concept of reality often leaves me so baffled that ...

43 likes

A New Beginning

Cypress Grey

Submitted to Contest #51

I was suddenly aware of my consciousness, though something stopped me from opening my eyes. It wasn't that a physical obstacle prevented me; the slow build of dread rising in my chest at what might meet my gaze was enough to keep my eyes shut tight. I had woken up with no recollection of how I’d gotten here... wherever “here” was. The soft undergrowth cushioning my body felt cool against my burning skin, but it remained the only clue of my whereabouts until I could manage the strength to open my eyes. Perhaps I should take inventory of my su...

43 likes

Happy Birthday, Let's Cut Your Throat!

Aqsa Malik

Submitted to Contest #51

“I think.... is she dead?” I stand over the little girl, gulping, drops of crimson falling from my dagger onto her cadaverous face. She almost looks like she’s back alive like that, the blood seeping into her cheeks, giving off the guise of a deep blush. “She looks beautiful,” I remark, still talking to myself, with awe in my voice, a look of wonder on my face.“Aaaand scene,” Ryan strikes the clapper, motioning for the props crew to clear the setting. His eyes never leave me, though. Too exhausted to care this time, I’m determined, push...

41 likes

Oblivion

Submitted to Contest #51

“Where on Earth did you get a plane from?” Dad asked with alarm. A moment before, he had called on the Good Lord to explain what he saw before him. They were in a large, stark, wood-and-concrete hangar on a disused airfield. Tom stood there beside a plane.Actually, it was more of a plane-in-progress. Mum and Dad came to realise this as their initial shock wore off a little. When you got a side-view of it, you couldn’t help but notice that it had no seats and that where there should be a control panel, there was nothing but a view into the ho...

41 likes

Load more stories

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a story that begins and ends with someone looking up at the stars.

Middle School – 402 stories

Write about someone who has a superpower.

Kids – 146 stories

Write about someone who returns as an adult to a place they last visited as a child.

Character – 235 stories

Write a story about someone who's haunted by their past.

Character – 252 stories

reedsylearning

How to Write a Novel

Join Tom Bromley for a writing master class and finish your first draft in 3 months. Learn more →

How to Write a Novel