Like vampires, werewolves have a special place in the hearts of writers and readers alike. If you want to write about werewolves, but you’re not sure of how to get started, look no further! This list of prompts can help you stir up inspiration for your next story, or you could use them as writing warmups, roleplay inspiration, and more! 

Writing Prompts About Werewolves

• The local werewolf pack has recently stepped up its outreach program. Now, it’s almost impossible to go to any store without running into a werewolf trying to recruit new members. Ads for becoming a werewolf are now more common than military recruitment ads, and solicitors knocking on doors are more likely to be werewolves than not. Your character is just trying to get through their day while dodging these various annoyances. 
• Local police departments and independent detective agencies alike have started hiring werewolves to join their investigations. Your character is a werewolf who just got a new job as a rookie investigator, but they end up in over their head when a simple investigation turns into a much more complicated and dangerous situation.  
• Your character is someone who never knew what it was like to struggle. As the child of a wealthy conglomerate owner, they are on track to inherit not only a huge sum of money, but also one of the most profitable business entities in the world. Life could not have been better. However, one night, while out on the full moon, they are attacked by a werewolf and turned. Now, they have to find a way to keep their perfect life while hiding their new, dark secret. 
• After a night of prowling around, a werewolf hides somewhere safe to change back into their human form. They thought they were alone here, but another person rounds the corner just in time to witness the werewolf character in all their naked glory. What happens next? 
• Your character encounters a werewolf and can’t resist asking questions about alphas and omegas, and whatever else they can think of. Rather than get the answers they were hoping for, however, they get a lecture on stereotypes and the importance of cultural sensitivity. 
• A run-in with a stray cat leaves your character feeling a bit… odd. As it turns out, wolves are not the only creatures people can turn into on the full moon—there are werecats, werebears, and all manner of other werecreatures!
• Werewolves can have many forms depending on the story they appear in. Some are simply humans who can become wolves, indistinguishable from regular wolves. Others become monstrous hairy beasts that resemble something between a wolf and a gorilla. Some even have in-between states in which they look mostly human, but have the ears and tail of a wolf! Some can shapeshift voluntarily, while others can only change forcibly during the night of a full moon. Try to come up with your own variety of werewolves. Give them unique traits, abilities, and limitations, and don’t forget to consider how a person becomes this type of werewolf in the first place!
• A jaded old werewolf recently started adopting orphaned and abandoned kids. Only some of these kids are werewolves too, while others are humans, vampires, or any number of other creatures, but it doesn’t matter—once they’re part of the pack, they’re family. Write a scene that shows a regular hectic day in their lives, showcasing the diverse cast of rag-tag kids and how the pack handles their various needs and habits. 
• A werewolf character is just starting out in college, but their lycanthropy makes it a little difficult to juggle all their responsibilities and a social life at the same time. They have to keep turning down invitations to parties that happen too close to the full moon, and the course workload is hard to keep up with since they’re always worn out from turning into a wolf every month. Add to that the fact that they have to keep it all a secret from everyone, and graduation starts to seem like an impossible goal. 
• Explore the difference in customs and culture between werewolves and humans living in the same area. Would they treat their family, friends, and peers differently? How would their habits and behavior differ from those who aren’t werewolves? How is this different between those who were born a werewolf and those who are forcibly turned later in life? 
• Your character has always been a loner. They’ve never really made any friends, and they always struggle to fit in no matter where they are. However, everything changed after they became a werewolf. Now, they’ve been invited to join a pack, and their new friends always make a point to include them in all the cool stuff they do. For the first time in their life, they feel like they truly belong somewhere—but are things as perfect as they seem on the surface? 
• Your character is a “lone wolf” werewolf who thought they knew everything there was to know about lycanthropy, but when they encounter another werewolf, they discover that things can differ substantially across different werewolf species. Write a scene in which these two werewolves discuss how their experiences differ, and how they bond (or argue) over these differences. 
• Your character is a human who just really really wants to become a werewolf for some reason. Write a story about their various attempts at getting turned into a werewolf, and how each one fails comically. 

Angsty Werewolf Writing Prompts

• Werewolves are the result of corrupt human experimentation. However, the project was poorly managed, and the test subjects were able to escape. Now, these werewolves must run for their lives to escape the scientists who want to put them back in a laboratory—a feat that is made much more difficult by their uncontrollable transformations during the full moon. 
• Werewolf “dogfighting” has been creeping up as a popular underground pastime recently. Sometimes, these werewolves fight to make money off betting spectators, while others compete to be the “top dog.” However, contestants are not always willing participants, and some are kept as prisoners and forced to fight to preserve their lives. 
• Your character is vengefully tracking down the werewolf who turned them—but there’s a problem. They still haven’t actually decided what they want to do once they find their attacker. Will they give in to their anger and get revenge for what happened to them, or do they just want some kind of closure? Will they find what they need along the way, or will they lose themself in the process? 
• Everyone knows not to be outside once the sun goes down if they want to avoid the werewolves that prowl the streets at night. Your character has always been so afraid of the werewolves that they make sure to give themself more than an hour to get home after work. One evening, however, their car stalls, and they are forced to try to make it home on foot. They end up outside after dark for the first time in their life—but that’s when they learn the truth. Werewolves are not the thing people should be afraid of. People should be afraid of what the werewolves are protecting them from. 
• Werewolves have a shorter lifespan than humans. Write a story in which a werewolf has to explain this fact to their human fiancé. 
• A werewolf follows the scent of another werewolf and finds them locked away, held captive by a “private collector” of werewolves. After a daring rescue, the first werewolf decides to help the victim recover and get accustomed to their freedom once again.
• The government has decided that there is a serious werewolf problem, so they start offering huge cash rewards in exchange for proof of a werewolf who’s been killed. This results in not just a large number of armed and dangerous amateur werewolf hunters, but also an increase in scam artists intent on taking advantage of this system.  
• Lycanthropy began as a curse that was inflicted on a single person, who then passed that curse down through their children, grandchildren, and so on. Write the story of the very first werewolf, and what exactly happened to get them cursed. What did they do? Who cursed them? Did the punishment fit the crime, or is there an element of injustice to this story?
  If you want to write about curses, you could always check out my other article, Curse Your Characters! (Writing About Magical Curses).

Romantic Werewolf Writing Prompts

• A character hires a werewolf to be their bodyguard. Since the two often go everywhere together, they end up growing close, and it isn’t long before their relationship evolves away from its original transactional nature. Keeping the human character safe from harm suddenly has much higher personal stakes for the werewolf. 
• A werewolf and a vampire fall in love with each other—but neither one is aware of the other’s supernatural nature. Both characters try to keep it secret from each other, to comedic effect. 
• One character loves how much their werewolf partner’s behaviors remind them of a puppy. Maybe they growl when grumpy, spring up when excited, or stick their tongue out when they’re thinking. Write a story about this character admiring their partner and thinking about all the little things they love about them. 
• A character who was born a werewolf encounters someone who was recently turned, and decides to teach them everything they need to know about lycanthropy. Through this mentorship, the two grow close, and the new werewolf is invited to join the other’s pack—and meet their parents. 
• A monster hunter ends up falling in love, but unbeknownst to them, their new sweetheart is a werewolf like the ones they are regularly tasked with slaying. 
• A character’s childhood crush who moved away recently returned to the neighborhood. The character decides to check in on them, hoping to catch up and see what they’ve been up to. However, their old crush shuns them, and refuses to talk to them. Little do they know, their crush has always felt the same about them, but now that they’re a werewolf, they’re afraid of getting close to anyone lest their secret slip out. 
• One day, a human character encounters someone they hate (a rival, an annoying neighbor, etc) bloodied in an alleyway, shambling around after a full moon. Overcome with pity, the character takes them in to treat their wounds, only to find out… they’re just as insufferable as always, and don’t even act appreciative of their kind gesture. The characters part ways, only for the same thing to happen again a month later. Soon, the characters fall into a routine where the human character looks after the werewolf character during the full moon. Along the way, they have to begrudgingly accept their growing feelings for one another.
  This prompt is inspired by the infamous “enemies to lovers” trope. If you want some additional tips for writing that kind of romance, I suggest checking out my article Writing From Enemies to Lovers: Creating Dynamic Relationships.

Some Parting Thoughts on Writing About Werewolves

Werewolves are a hugely popular trope in fiction, and they have been for a long time. The first story with a werewolf (arguably) appears in “The Epic of Gilgamesh” in roughly 2100 BCE, which means that humans have had an interest in werewolves for over 4000 years! With a history like that, it’s pretty evident that werewolf stories will continue to be a hit well into the future, too. 

Good luck, and have fun with these! 

Ghosts and the paranormal provide a bottomless source of inspiration for writers. Ghost stories have existed since the dawn of humanity in some form or another, and are still a favorite for modern storytellers. If you want to write about ghosts but you’re running low on ideas, checking out some writing prompts can give you the inspiration you need!

Whether you just want to warm up, or you’re looking to find something to spark your next big project, you’ll find many ideas here to get you started!

Short Writing Prompts About Ghosts

• Your character is a ghost who is stuck haunting something mundane (like a teapot, old cupboard, pair of scissors, eraser, vase, etc). How would you tell this story in an interesting way? What is the unexpected significance of the mundane object? What does it mean to the character? 
• You never believed in ghosts. You’re in denial, even after you become one yourself. 
• A realtor is trying to sell a very obviously haunted house, but the ghost haunting it keeps scaring off potential buyers. 
• You can see ghosts, and they’re everywhere—and often very annoying.
• Describe a haunted house in detail. Is it an old house, or a new house? What elements betray the house’s haunted nature? How can you create an eerie atmosphere by only describing what the house looks like, and not by what haunted things occur there? 
• There’s a ghost haunting your character’s laptop. They can browse the web, upload to social media, and even chat with the character by typing into a word processor. Does this ghost torment the character by ruining their online reputation? Does the ghost help them get dates by going through dating sites for them? Does the ghost do their online homework for them? Are they friends? Explore this dynamic. 
• You’re a ghost, and you delight in scaring the amateur paranormal investigators who come to try to communicate with you.
• You can talk to ghosts, and they give you all the hottest gossip on your neighbors, since they roam the neighborhood. 
• Write an argument between two characters. One believes in ghosts wholeheartedly, while the other one doesn’t believe in ghosts at all. Try to make both characters sound passionate and reasonable.
• Your character is being haunted by several old ghosts. Since the ghosts died before many electronic devices were invented, they don’t know what a phone, a microwave, or maybe even electric lights are. As a result, these curious ghosts are constantly pushing buttons, turning lights on and off, and overall just messing around with all the technology in the house. 
• There are two ghosts living in your character’s house: one recently passed away and is still getting used to being a ghost, while the other is several centuries old. Your character often has to listen to them arguing about just about everything, from culture and politics to food and decor. 
• A person can only gain the ability to communicate with ghosts if they have had a near-death experience. Describe an experienced ghost hunter’s past and how they developed their ability. 
• You find out your best friend is just a bored demon, and has been this whole time.
• Your pet has grown up with you and has gotten you through a lot of hard times. When the pet passes away, it never truly leaves, and instead continues to watch over you from the afterlife.
• Write a backstory for a ghost. Where does the ghost stay? Why are they stuck there? When did they die? Did they die a violent death? Are there other ghosts with them? What are the relationships between the ghosts? How is their story similar to, and different from, other traditional ghost stories? 
• You don’t know it but you are, in fact, a ghost. One day, you meet someone who tries to convince you that you’re dead. Utilize an unreliable narrator to tell this story. 

If you need help writing an unreliable narrator, check out my other post: What is an Unreliable Narrator? (And How to Write One!)

Ghost Story Writing Prompts

• There is a ghost attached to a high-schooler, but they can only communicate with them using mirrors. The ghost can either appear behind the character’s reflection, or they can become the character’s reflection. This old ghost then often finds themself giving life advice to this teen about navigating high school, figuring themself out, and planning for the future—along with other classic teen drama scenarios. 
• A complete skeptic gets haunted. They are adamant about ignoring the ghost and its antics, brushing off even the most obvious paranormal signs. It’s not that they can’t see the books flying off the shelves or the locked doors suddenly swinging open, they just don’t believe a ghost is behind it, and instead cite earthquakes, the wind, the old house, neighbors, and anything else they can think of. This is really frustrating for the ghost haunting them. 
• You and your buddy are professional ghost hunters. You two go into a job thinking it’ll be easy money, and you are the only one to leave alive. On top of that, you’re now the lead suspect in the investigation into their death. Only you know that your partner was killed by an evil spirit, but you don’t know how to prove that to the authorities, and frustratingly, the spirit isn’t active when the police are around—almost like it’s trying to get you in trouble. 
• Your grandfather, who you really didn’t visit as often as you should have, unexpectedly passes away, and he leaves you a box of his old belongings. You expect it to be filled with old records or sentimental objects, but instead, it’s filled to the brim with ghost hunting equipment. There is also a letter written by your grandfather, requesting that you try to contact him from beyond the grave. 
• Your character tragically lost their child in an accident, but ever since, the child’s ghost has been hanging around their house. The character is overjoyed that they can still spend time with their child, and things are okay for a little while. However, more ominous things begin to happen, and the character starts to question if this kid really is the child they lost. Demons have been known to disguise themselves as children, after all… 
• You’re haunted by a ghost who can’t move on—but they can’t remember why. You embark on a quest to discover who this ghost is, and what could possibly be keeping them tethered to the mortal realm. 
• A small child has an invisible friend. Their parents encourage this and don’t think much of it, but this “friend” is actually the ghost of a young boy who is trying to get the child killed so he will have company in the afterlife. He is never successful, however, as all his plans are comically foiled one way or another. 
• You’ve always been fascinated by the paranormal, so despite everyone’s warnings, you decide to meddle in occult practices. It starts simple enough, with a clumsy séance or two, but when you can’t make contact with anything, you seek out increasingly haunted locations. After a while, you admit defeat, but soon meet someone who claims that you’re being followed by several spirits—you just can’t tell. It turns out, there really are people who can see spirits, you just aren’t one of them. You team up with this new friend to learn the stories of the ghosts that have attached themselves to you. 
• There are legends of a ghost ship sailing around in the seas of a small town. What most people don’t know, however, is that this ghost ship isn’t a pirate ship—it’s a luxury cruiseliner. 
• There is only one house that isn’t abandoned in the old culdesac at the edge of town. In it lives a little six-year-old girl, by herself. At least, that’s what the rumors are. They don’t see any adults coming in or out of the home, and no one sees her off to school in the mornings or steps out to welcome her home in the afternoons. Occasionally, someone will see an adult move past a window, so the police have never been called to investigate this rumor. What no one in the neighborhood knows, however, is that the girl’s parents have been dead for a while, and continue to care for her as ghosts. 
• You were at the peak of your life when you died. You had a good job, you were about to get married, and you had just signed the lease on a new house. Things were really starting to look up for you, so it’s understandable that you weren’t able to pass on after your unexpected death. Your fiance moves into the house alone and grieves you for quite a long time. However, it doesn’t last forever. Eventually, they find someone else, get married, and have kids. They move on, and you are stuck watching them build their life without you. 
• Tragedy has followed you all your life. You decide to visit a psychic to have your fortune told. They inform you that your misfortune is due to a generations-long curse that was bestowed upon your family. You embark on a mission to finally break the curse using whatever means necessary, no matter the risk. Whether or not the curse is real, the character believes in it wholeheartedly.

Writing About Ghosts

When you write about ghosts, you have a vast network of cultural and spiritual resources at your disposal. There’s a huge variety of ghosts that you can draw inspiration from, such as banshees, poltergeists, and mylingar, but you can also draw from existing stories about well-known ghosts in media, such as Bloody Mary, The Headless Horseman, and many others. 

Humans have an inherent curiosity about the unknown, particularly in reference to death and the possibility of some form of afterlife. Stories about ghosts have been popular for so long because they satisfy some of that morbid curiosity, while also often making a subtle commentary about what it means to be alive. 

If you’re having a hard time writing ghost origin stories, check out A Guide to Killing Your Characters. It might help you out!

Good luck, and have fun!

Who doesn’t love vampires? If you want to write about vampires, but you’re low on fresh ideas, check out this list for inspiration! These prompts can be used to inspire short stories, novels, roleplays, comics, and more, but you can also use them for warmups and practice! 

Short Vampire Writing Prompts

• No one told you vampirism came with amnesia. Or…. maybe they did. You wouldn’t have remembered anyway. 
• A vampire works as a bartender at a cocktail bar for vampires—meaning the base for all the drinks is blood. 
• A renowned vampire hunter is turned during one of their hunts. Do they continue hunting vampires for revenge, or do they have a change of heart now that they can relate to the struggles?
• A vampire cradles their dying human friend in their arms. They have a limited time to convince them to let them turn them into a vampire. What is their conversation like, and does the vampire manage to convince the human to become a vampire to save themself?
• A newly turned vampire develops a lisp after their new fangs grow in. Ashamed of this, they practice speaking when home alone, and avoid speaking at all when out in public. 
• A vampire unknowingly drinks from an intoxicated person, and becomes intoxicated themself!
• Create a new kind of vampire. How are they different from traditional depictions of vampires, and how are they similar? Keep the primary conventions of vampirism (such as having to leech off humans to survive), but make things a bit more interesting!
• You always assumed all vampires would automatically gain a good fashion sense and a flawless memory. As it turns out, that’s not the case, as evidenced by your many decades of dressing like a slob and never being able to recall what you had for lunch yesterday. You haven’t even bothered to learn any new skills in that time either. You can’t help but feel a bit embarrassed and intimidated when you attend vampire gatherings.
• There has been a vampire sighting in a nearby town. You and a few other amateur vampire hunters flock to the area for fun, but are soon in over your heads when you come face to face with a real vampire.
• As it turns out, vampires make excellent nurses. 
• Rather than drinking blood, some vampires are sustained by the thoughts, memories, and energy of those around them. One vampire consumes the nightmares of their lover with PTSD. 
• A coven of witches have managed to make themselves immortal, but it requires drinking human blood regularly to work. To supply themselves with blood, they regularly abduct humans to sacrifice. 
• Have an old vampire recounting the truth of a particular historical period, from the perspective of what life was like being a monster at that time.
  (For tips on researching a historical period, you can check out The 10 Best Ways to Research for a Story!)
• Rather than having large fangs, vampires have a long, sharp, proboscis-like tongue for drinking blood. Aside from that one feature, it is impossible to tell the difference between a vampire and a human.

Vampire Story Prompts

• Your main character has been falsely accused of being a vampire. Now, they have to hide from both vampires and human vampire hunters, while trying to make a case to prove that they aren’t the monster people think they are. 
• Vampires are real, but they aren’t much of a threat. The real threat is the ruling political party, which has been accusing political opponents of vampirism to have them executed for years now. They are able to stay in power by capitalizing on the public’s overwhelming fear of vampires. 
• A rookie vampire hunter is taken on a hunting mission with some more experienced vampire hunters. However, when it is revealed that the “menacing vampire” they came to kill was just a small child, the rookie has second thoughts. They are unable to stop their comrades from killing the child, but the experience inspires them to switch sides and advocate for the rights of vampires. 
• Many different types of vampires coexist within the same world. Some are averse to garlic and the sun, some have super strength or speed, some are strictly nocturnal while others don’t mind being out during the day. Some need to drink frequently, while others only need a pick-me-up every now and then. Some resemble undead monsters, while others are classy and charismatic. Some can even turn into bats. When two different types of vampires have a kid together, the results can be… unpredictable. 
• It didn’t take long for society to realize that vampires are just the superior life form. They’re powerful, immune to disease, can live forever, and look good doing it. Soon, everyone wanted to be a vampire. The rich and powerful in society started paying vampires to turn them, while those who couldn’t afford it were forced to stay mortal. Now, several centuries later, the ruling vampires are still alive, and charging the humans a monthly blood tax in exchange for being allowed to live. 
• Half vampires, known as “dhampirs,” are not immortal, not strong, and still reliant on human blood to stay alive. Essentially, they get all the drawbacks and none of the positives of being a vampire. The only way for dhampirs to become true vampires is if their vampire parent turns them. If any other vampire tries to do it, it won’t work. Two dhampir siblings embark on a mission to find their estranged vampire parent, so they can finally become true vampires. 
• An elder vampire ends up caring for a human child. They want to give the kid the best possible life: a chance to go to a good school, a social life, extracurricular activities, and much more. However, they have to try to provide all of this while staying out of sight, lest a vampire hunter finds them and tries to hurt them.
• Almost everyone is a vampire now. An alternative was found for human blood, so humans are not required to sustain vampires. However, many rich vampires still believe human blood is a luxury and a delicacy. The few humans that are still alive are kept on a farm, where their blood is routinely harvested throughout their lives to make a profit. The protagonist is a human who has grown up on one of these farms, and is determined to make a change. 
• Before burial, it is customary to remove the heart of the deceased and burn it, to ensure they don’t return as a vampire. One family who just lost their daughter doesn’t like the idea of mutilating her body, and buries her privately to keep it a secret from the authorities. Three nights later, her body is gone, and only a small trench of loose soil remains where she used to be. The family must now hunt down the monster they created before she can hurt anyone, and before the townspeople realize what they’ve done.
  (This plot also works well with zombies. Check this out for more zombie writing prompts!)

Writing About Vampires

Vampires have a long history of being used in fiction. From the ancient folklore vampires who could remove their heads to the classic tale of Dracula and the infamous Twilight series, vampires have been the uncrowned king of monsters for some time—and this trend doesn’t seem to be dying off any time soon. Vampires continue to evolve with each new story that comes out, so even though it may seem like every story about vampires has already been told a million times, there will always be room for innovation.

Have fun with these, writers! 

Writing horror stories is a blast, but it’s not always easy to come up with new ideas. That’s why I’ve put together another list of writing prompts—horror story themed this time! If you’re feeling monsters, ghosts, killers, or just mystery and suspense, then I’ve got you covered with these writing prompts. 

Take a look at some of these ideas, and you might find the inspiration for your next big story!

Writing Warmups for Horror Writers

This category doesn’t have any story prompts, so if that’s what you’re here for, you can skip to the next section. Instead, these prompts are exercises to help you warm up and practice some of the techniques you’ll use when writing in the horror genre! 

• Describe a horrifying monster in as much detail as possible. Don’t leave anything up to the imagination with this beast.
• Write a monologue for a character who is afraid of something. They could be speaking out loud to comfort themself, speculating about what could be lurking in the dark, or something else. 
• Write a scene in which several characters are accusing each other of something. Focus on the tension and the emotions, especially if characters are hurt that others don’t believe them.
• Describe a creepy old house. What are the elements that make it creepy, and how can you describe them in a way that would make your readers nervous?
• Write a scene in which a character is paranoid about being watched or followed. Maybe they’re walking home in the dark, afraid of an ex-partner, or just overthinking. 
• Write a character’s reaction to finding a dead body. Be as authentic as possible in describing their thoughts, actions, fears, and subconscious reactions.
• Write a scene in which a character receives terrible news. Try to convey the emotions they would feel with intensity and authenticity. 
• Listen to a horror movie soundtrack or horror ambiance track and write whatever it makes you think of. 
• Write a series of letters, composed by one of your characters to a member of their family (or a close friend). They are going through something (such as an illness or an adventure) and cannot visit personally, so they send letters to explain their situation. Try to make your character’s writing style differ from your own, and utilize the unique pacing of the letters to build suspense and mystery over time. You can write the other character’s responses too, or not!

Horror Story Prompts

It’s not always easy to come up with ideas for writing horror stories, so I’ve created a small list of ideas for you! Feel free to use any of these, or take bits and pieces from several different ones. They’re a little longer than some of my other prompts, but I hope you find the additional context helpful!

• While exploring an abandoned house, you find a porcelain doll on the ground. You’ve always had an interest in creepy aesthetics, so you decide to take it home. Soon after taking the doll home, however, you begin to feel an overwhelming sense of dread and sadness that clouds your mind. In addition to that, you seem to be having terrible luck with everything you attempt. As it turns out, a girl went missing in your neighborhood a few years ago—and she has the exact same features as the doll, down to the same beauty mark on her cheek and the same scar above her eyebrow. She’s even wearing the same clothes that the girl was last seen wearing. 
• You and your best friend have been buds since elementary school, and now, you go to college together. He’s always been the kind of person to leave parties early and flake out on plans to hang out, but you’ve gotten used to it so you rarely think much of it. That is, of course, until a recent news report announces that police are on the lookout for a serial killer with a physical description that sounds a lot like your friend. The announcement comes after a student at your college was found dead on campus—the same night your friend decided not to go to a party with you.
• A traveling carnival has come to your town, so you decide to check it out with some friends. You all have a great time together, but when you go to bed that night, your dreams are plagued by terrifying, murderous clowns. This goes on for a few nights before you bring it up to your friends, and they reveal that they have all been having similar dreams. You guys decide to investigate the carnival, and you find that it doesn’t actually exist, and no one else in town has any memory of it.
  (Need some help writing about nightmares? Check out Writing About Dreams and Nightmares!)
• You bought a refurbished cellphone from a second-hand seller, but it’s been acting weird. You can’t afford to get it checked out, so when it randomly opens apps on its own, you simply close them and continue using it like normal. One day, as you’re sitting bored in a lecture or meeting, you decide to just watch your phone to see what it does if you don’t stop it. As it turns out, your phone has been trying to communicate with you this entire time! Well, more specifically, the ghost possessing your new phone has been trying to use apps and notes to get your attention. 
• Your spouse has been acting a little strange lately, but for the most part, it is easy to brush it off like you’re overreacting. One night, however, you catch a glimpse of them in a mirror or around a corner, and what you see isn’t your spouse at all… it’s someone—or something—else impersonating them.  
• You’re a doctor, and you recently saw a peculiar patient. They complained of grogginess, fatigue, and insatiable hunger. While examining them, you also noticed patches of necrotic tissue. You couldn’t formulate a diagnosis right away, but you suggested that the patient stays in a hospital until you can figure out what is wrong with them. One by one, hospital staff call in sick with similar symptoms, so you decide to move the patient into quarantine. However, when you get to their room, you discover the patient missing, with a nurse dead—and half-eaten—on the floor.
  (Psst! Check out these other Zombie Writing Prompts!)
• You’re an amateur paranormal investigator, and you just received a commission to investigate a house. You decide to go alone. After a thorough investigation, you don’t find any signs of the supernatural, so you pack up and head home. Ever since then, however, you’ve noticed a little girl lurking in the shadows around your apartment. One time, you were even sure you saw her inside your room. 
• You recently went to an island for vacation, and got to swim in some breathtaking underwater caves. Now, a few weeks later, you can’t stop thinking about those caves. You’re finding it harder and harder to control your impulses, and at times, it feels like you aren’t in control of your actions. Unbeknownst to you, a little parasite from those waters has taken up residence in your brain, and it’s changing the way you think and act.
• Recently, you’ve noticed the same man in many different places. You often see him on the subway on your way to work, in your favorite coffee shop, and even just walking on the street. You’ve noticed him watching you until you make eye contact with him, at which point he immediately looks away. One day, you don’t see him on the subway after work, and honestly, it’s a bit of a relief. That is, of course, until you get home and find that your front door has already been unlocked.
• You and your friends decide to trespass in an abandoned factory, just for fun. It’s terribly creepy inside, plus the old machines and spare scrap metal laying around makes it a bit hazardous. Soon, your group stumbles upon some evidence that someone has been living here: a dirty mattress on the floor, a cooler, trash, and several articles of clothing strewn about. You also, unfortunately, find several knives and devices that look like instruments of torture. You and your friends decide to leave quickly to avoid trouble, but get lost on your way to the exit. One creepy sound is enough to send several of your friends running, and now, you all have to find each other before you can find your way out. 
• You wake up one morning, and you have no idea who you are. You can’t remember your past at all. In your quest to figure out what kind of life you’ve led up until now, you end up discovering evidence that you’ve committed crimes in the past. Many… many crimes. You aren’t sure if anything you’ve discovered is true, but when the police come looking for you, you have no choice but to run away. Now living the life of a fugitive, you slowly work to uncover the secrets of your gruesome past. 
• You’d heard many rumors about vampires lately, but you aren’t a particularly superstitious person. Rumors are just rumors, after all. Or at least… that’s what you thought until one fateful night. You were walking home late at night, when you witnessed an attack—one man viciously stabbed another in the chest, and then fled the scene. Cautiously, you approached the wounded man, who still had the wooden stake sticking out of the center of his chest. He was alive, but barely. In his dying moments, he told you the truth about vampires: they exist, but they are being kept a secret, contained in a horrible asylum where they are experimented on. Very few vampires ever escape, and those that do get hunted like him. Just before he died, he begged you to spread the truth, and to save the rest of his kind. 
  Want more writing prompts about vampires? I got you.
• Your worst nightmare has come true: you’ve been kidnapped. You don’t know who your kidnappers are or what they want from you, but you do know one thing. They keep referring to you with a name that isn’t yours. No matter how much you try to convince them that they have the wrong person, they don’t believe you. 

Writing Horror Stories

Horror is a vast and diverse genre, but it is riddled with clichés. However, you don’t have to come up with something completely original in order to make a good story. You can breathe new life into old, overused tropes by adding in surprising twists and new perspectives. If your characters pull their car over on a creepy road in the middle of the night, what are your readers going to be expecting? What can you do to surprise them instead? Subvert readers’ expectations, and your story will end up being much more memorable!

Keep it creepy, writers!