The Lighthouse Artifact
A lighthouse keeper on a remote island finds an ancient artefact washed ashore, glowing with an eerie light. Soon after, strange visions plague not only the keeper but also unsuspecting tourists. Craft a tale where the keeper must uncover the artefact's origins and its connection to the paranormal disturbances before the island spirals into chaos.
Suggested length: A short story: 1,500 to 5,000 words, or flash fiction under 1,000
Start the clock
Pick a sprint, press start and keep going until it stops. Momentum beats polish on a first draft.
Make it yours
Three ways to take this prompt somewhere nobody else will.
- Raise the stakes from personal to public halfway through.
- Open with the threat already in motion, not the setup.
- Make the person helping your hero the one to worry about.
Writing thriller books
Something terrible is coming. Can they stop it in time?
Where a mystery looks back at a crime, a thriller looks forward at a threat. The reader often knows more than the hero, and the tension comes from watching danger close in. Short chapters, high stakes and a ticking clock are the tools of the trade.
What readers expect
- A clear, escalating threat
- A hero under pressure
- Twists and reversals
- Pace: little time to breathe
A tip before you start
Put a clock on it. A deadline the reader can count down turns every scene into a race.
More Paranormal Thriller prompts
- The Haunted Resort ForumThe members of an online forum dedicated to paranormal experiences decide to meet in person for the first time at a haunted resort. Once there, they…
- The Ghost Who Forgot Her MurderWrite a story in which a detective can see and communicate with ghosts. On his latest case, he must solve the murder of a spirit who doesn't remember…
- The Subway's Endless HourThe passengers of a subway train find themselves stuck in a continuous loop, re-living the same eerie hour over and over. As panic sets in, a young…
- Nightmares of the Sunken ShipWrite a story about a small coastal town where the residents start experiencing shared nightmares about a shipwreck off the coast, leading to the…
Fifteen minutes in? Keep going.
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