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

150+ Urban fantasy Short Stories to read

Submitted by writers on Reedsy Prompts to our weekly writing contest. From vampires at the bar to werewolves around the corner, our collection of urban fantasy stories will bring the magical into everyday life.

Urban fantasy Short Stories – Page 3 of 10

A Familiar's Tale - A Day in the Life of Hex Maledictio

Submitted to Contest #327

A loud, guttural roar rose from the hollow depths, rousing me from the deathlike trance I’d been experiencing upon the top shelf of the Esoteric Archive.If the minions have summoned another demon in the cellar, I shall demand harsher punishment this time. They fooled the Mistress once by blaming their “remote control car,” but they did not deceive me.The sound came again—louder this time. I felt it ripple through my bones, right down to the tip of my tail…Oh—wait.That’s my stomach.It must be dinner time.Please forgive my manners. I am Sir He...

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The Familiar and His Not-So-Familiar Witch

Submitted to Contest #327

Oliver darted over dead leaves and frostbitten grass, his heart pounding in his chest. He hissed and flicked his tail as a hand brushed it, but failed to grab hold. Three humans chased him, smaller and younger than his Lizzie. They stank of rotten onions or some unpleasant meat. Their faces were hidden behind garish Halloween masks that glowed faintly under the moonlight. Despite the masks, he recognized them as teenagers, as his Lizzie would call them. Oliver leaped effortlessly over the corpse of a pumpkin discarded on the sidewalk, the sw...

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The Cat and the Photograph.

Submitted to Contest #327

The neighbours were, quite rightly, angry. Night after night, the little tuxedo cat caterwauled. As long and as loud as he could. Sitting high off the ground in the branches of the fig tree that dominated Jenny Lloyd’s backyard. His call carried across fences, into bedrooms. A thin and haunting sound that screamed of sadness, piercing walls and movies on the television. Nothing would stop him and Jenny didn’t seem to care. Nothing done but the occasional shout of “shuddup”. But no matter what the threat, the bribe, the cat always maintained ...

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Marcel, the Worst God for the Job

Submitted to Contest #328

The marble pillars of the great hall shook and cracked again as the sixth seal broke. Marcel le Malchanceux and Chengyun, Dragon of the Mist, quickened their pace toward the Chamber of Seals. Marcel could feel the Halls of the Gods unbinding as they ran.“You have to stop her!” Chengyun’s voice shook like a river being dammed.“ME?!” Marcel shot him a look. “What do you expect me to do? You’re a dragon!” His fingers twitched uncontrollably.“Of a small river! You’re the god of—”The hall shook again. Marcel stared, wide-eyed, as Chengyun leaked ...

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The Familiar Road

Submitted to Contest #327

He opened his eyes. Smack dab on the double yellow. The pavement was rough and cold. A fallen leaf lay atop his body. Standing, he shook off the leaf. The nearby trees were beautiful just a few days ago. Now? Nearly barren. This was the third time he had died this week. It took a little bit out of him every time. When he was younger, he could die every day and be ready to do it again in hours. Now dying practically ruined him for the rest of the day. Climbing to his paws, he shambled across the pavement. He reached the rocks. His head felt a...

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To Be Loved

Submitted to Contest #327

The vampire was hanging from the tree like a damn bat. The hunter advanced carefully, sure of each step because each step meant the end of the hunt and his demise. Vampires usually do the attacking after all, no one is mad enough to attack them. So, the hunter advanced with careful madness. Smooth as a shadow, he could barely hear himself moving. The air smelled fresh and the grass wet. He wore the night, and it fit him well. He circled around the tree, using its trunk to hide. He worried the excitement of the hunt would beat his heart too l...

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Cats Can Fight Masked Men Too

Submitted to Contest #327

They snatched Devi away in front of my eyes. The audacity! When they came for her, I must have seemed nonchalant. I didn’t hiss at the masked men. They pushed her against the wall and forced handcuffs on her. I figured Devi would just shake out of them. Pummel the assailants. I was wrong. Stand still, a voice in my head said. I kept my butt up in the air, tail flicking slowly from side to side, daring them to touch me. Do. Not. Lick. Yourself. A hairball tickled my throat. Don’t throw up. Be calm, be calm, BE CALM, it grew frantic. I silenc...

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Patron Pudding

Submitted to Contest #327

Mister Pudding-Pants looked down disdainfully at the brood of witches gathered around his table. His chief minion, Mistress Jupiter Alder fretted over the group like a mouse caught in a trap. She was waving her hands and complaining yet again that the spell had failed to work. These people knew nothing of true witchcraft. They toiled among the plain people of the world, never pulling back the curtain long or far enough to see what truly lay on the other side. “My rose bushes!” Jupiter shrieked, glaring out her window in horror. “They’ve turn...

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A Familiar’s Duty

Submitted to Contest #327

She woke to sunlight in her salt-and-pepper hair and a cat staring at her. For a moment, her mind was lost in the damnable fog that covered her from time to time. “Good morning…” she crooned, reaching down to stroke his head.Pause. Brow wrinkle“…Precious?” The cat froze mid-blink.Precious was the name of a Guinea pig his Lady had cared for back in 1953.She laughed, a thin, tinkling sound, much like teacups knocking together.“Oh, hush, of course I remember you,” she assured him.She absolutely didn’t. From its far corner hiding place, the broo...

9 likes 4 comments 4
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For Her

Submitted to Contest #327

Everything I do is for her. From the moment she saw me, she knew I was hers and she was mine. “Look, mommy!” she had exclaimed, waving her free hand wildly and pointing at where I watched her from my cage in the terrible land of death and despair the humans call a ‘shelter.’ Her parents looked puzzled and a bit horrified as she dragged them closer. “Look, I want this one! I want this one!” “Cassie, honey,” her mother said gently, “you don't want that kitten, it only has one eye. Don't you think it looks scary?” Indeed, at the time I surely l...

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The Eye of Amber

Submitted to Contest #327

The cupcakes had taken her three hours to make.Mara arranged them on the kitchen table in a careful circle—seventeen of them—because that’s what you did when you turned seventeen and wanted to pretend someone might care. She’d piped frosting rosettes in lavender and cream, colors her mother had loved, according to the single photograph she kept hidden in her drawer. Silver and purple tissue stars hung from the ceiling, cut by hand the night before while her stepmother’s television droned through the wall.Her phone sat face-up beside the cupc...

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SpellBound

Submitted to Contest #327

He stretches his back, then settles across from me. “Let me tell you,” he says, “it’s not easy out there.” He pauses to sniff his dish, shakes his head, then takes a bite before continuing. “I’d almost given up, in fact, until I came across this new app. SpellBound. Yeah, with two Ls.”“Two Ls, huh?” I repeat. “I guess I’ll check it later…” I wait for him to continue.“Look, even then, it took some trying,” he says. “I open it up, and first thing, this really ugly hag pops up, ancient, nose warts and all. Must have paid up for the premium plac...

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Kings don’t meow

Submitted to Contest #327

The quiet suburban street glowed red and blue as Officers McCarthy and Ramirez rolled up in their cruiser, siren fading into the still morning air. McCarthy, a broad‑shouldered Irishman with the kind of build that suggested he was better at eating doughnuts than chasing criminals, stepped out, squinting at the large oak in front of them. “Dispatch, Unit 12’s on scene,” he said into his radio, fighting a slight wheeze. “Situation appears… critical.” Static popped before the dispatcher’s voice came through. “Copy that, Unit 12. What’s the natu...

5 likes 1 comment 1
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Siren's Song

Submitted to Contest #326

It had been weeks since that night at Sarah’s flat. Weeks since Andrew realised just how far down he’d sunk. He’d been so lost, looking for her, dreaming of her. Chasing the dragon had cost him everything. After Craig had thrown him out, hearing Sarah call him trash – lying at the bottom of the stairs was like a veil being lifted from his eyes. He’d wandered the streets, returning to his place of solace. The lighthouse. And when he threw the cheap pawn-shop engagement ring into the river, the ring he’d been holding onto for weeks, months, ye...

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King-Size Candy Bar

Submitted to Contest #326

"Eheheheheheheheheheheh." fluttered out of thin strips of fabric over Charlie's lips."What the hell was that?" Jimmy spat out between his fangs."Eheheh, sorry, ” he said, squinting through three layers of wrapped cloth. I laugh when I’m nervous.""But why did it sound like that? " he said and waved his cape over his face."I don't know. Ehheheheheheehhe–Can we go?""No, my older brother told me this house hands out king-size candy bars, and I’m getting one.""But, but there's not one other kid on this street. Ehehehehehehe, I think your brother ...

8 likes 2 comments 2
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RBE | Illustrated Short Stories | 2024-06

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