The Shadow Around Her
After surviving a near-fatal accident, a man develops the ability to see "shadows" around people, which he soon learns signify imminent death. When he sees a shadow encircling his fiancée, he goes on a desperate quest to change fate, all the while being hunted by an ancient society that believes some destinies should not be altered.
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.
- Cut every scene the moment the tension drops.
- Put a clock on it: the hero has until midnight.
- Trap your hero in one place they can't easily leave.
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
- Murders Under the CurseImagine a scenario where a detective with a rational mind confronts a string of murders that seem to be linked to an ancient curse. Every step closer…
- The Skeptic at Blackwood CastleA renowned skeptic of the supernatural, famous for debunking alleged hauntings, receives a mysterious invitation to spend a weekend in a castle…
- Voices from the Cold CasesWhen a forensic scientist working on cold cases starts hearing the voices of victims, they initially believe it's stress-induced hallucinations.…
- The Medium and Her GhostSet in an alternate Victorian era where paranormal entities are integrated into society, the story follows a young medium and her dead partner — a…
Fifteen minutes in? Keep going.
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