The Cabin's Waiting Tribute
During a fierce winter storm, a group of friends is snowed in at an isolated cabin. As they explore the attic to find more blankets, they discover a collection of old, handwritten journals dating back over a century. The journals hint at something ancient and malevolent that's been part of the cabin's history — something that eagerly awaits its next tribute as the storm intensifies.
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.
- Let one rule of the house or town be broken, and show why it existed.
- End before the danger is over.
- Tell it as a story someone is begging the reader to believe.
Writing horror books
Something is wrong here, and it's getting closer.
Horror is defined by the feeling it creates: dread, then fear, then the urge to keep reading anyway. The threat might be a ghost, a creature or the person in the next room. Underneath, the best horror is about something real: grief, guilt, the things we can't control.
What readers expect
- Dread that builds
- A threat that can't be reasoned with
- Characters out of their depth
- An ending that doesn't let you off easy
A tip before you start
What you don't show is scarier than what you do. Let the reader's imagination fill in the dark.
More Horror prompts
- Footprints in the Blackout SnowDuring a brutal winter storm, the power goes out in a secluded village. Amid the blackout, a family discovers that each snowfall brings a…
- Nightmares at Future ParkCreate a horror tale set in a futuristic theme park where the holograms start malfunctioning, trapping visitors in their worst nightmares.
- Voices in the Winter WindDuring a severe winter storm, a small isolated town loses power. Odd, whispering voices begin to drift with the wind, audible to everyone yet seen by…
- The Mansion's Locked BookWrite about a character who inherits an old mansion from an unknown distant relative. As they explore the house, they find a hidden basement with a…
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