Last year, I celebrated spooky season by writing microfiction for some of my friends. Each friend was asked to choose a number from 6-100, as well as a common word to serve as a starting point. A few hours later, that friend received a horror story based on their choices.
Since it was so much fun, I’ve decided to do it again this year. Here are the first four stories, courtesy of Brian, Mandy, Sarah, and Will. If you enjoy these, check out last year’s stories here and here.
Story #1
Prompt: Verdant (44 words)
The plague was unanimous. Every man, woman, and child, as they say.
Birds built nests in our crumbling ruins. Ivy climbed our proudest towers. Cats and dogs wandered our streets in weary pilgrimage.
We persisted, somewhere beneath the topsoil. Even our graves were beautiful.
Story #2
Prompt: Waterfall (42 words)
They tracked the werewolf to its lair behind the waterfall. There, a man lay naked in a heap of viscera and flattened bullets.
“Why here?” they asked. “To hide your scent?”
The man stared into the thundering waters. “To feel clean again.”
Story #3
Prompt: Opalescent (99 words)
“Rodriguez! My office, now!”
Rodriguez closed the door and took a seat. “What’s the matter, chief?”
The chief slid a stack of papers across the desk. Rodriguez recognized them. “John Doe,” he said, thumbing through the report. “Found him by the lake yesterday morning.”
“Oh, you found him? See, I was confused, because your report said you ‘came upon his pallid form, laid o’er a mound of broken shells as a king in opalescent glory’.”
“‘Tis true,” Rodriguez nodded. “‘Tis pity.”
“Dammit, Rodriguez! I hear one more word of Shakespeare from you, I’m taking you off the park beat!”
Story #4
Prompt: Mushroom (52 words)
The spores weighed nothing; a light breeze sent them halfway across the state. They grew everywhere and fruited immediately. By the time we got one under a microscope, they’d already covered the continental US.
Patients exposed to the spores reported a feeling of pervasive calm. We’ve decided not to worry about it.
