The Ghosts the Government Hid
Imagine a world where people are born with the ability to perceive ghosts, but this gift is suppressed by the government. The protagonist, who has always suppressed their abilities, starts experiencing overtly powerful and disturbing visions that threaten their sanity. Outline a story where uncovering the truth behind these visions could reveal a horrifying government conspiracy.
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.
- Trap your hero in one place they can't easily leave.
- Raise the stakes from personal to public halfway through.
- Open with the threat already in motion, not the setup.
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
- Prophecies from the Abandoned LibraryCreate a narrative involving a group of friends who find an old, cryptic book in an abandoned library. As they decipher the contents, paranormal…
- The Medium at the Old MansionA renowned psychic medium retires to a sleepy countryside, hoping to escape the voices that have haunted her career. But instead of peace, she finds…
- The Paranormal DebunkerDescribe the unsettling journey of a journalist who specializes in debunking paranormal occurrences as they come face-to-face with incontrovertible…
- The Shadow Around HerAfter surviving a near-fatal accident, a man develops the ability to see "shadows" around people, which he soon learns signify imminent death. When he…
Fifteen minutes in? Keep going.
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