Short Story : ' A Suspenseful Story Contest '

here were many short stories I’ve read over this cycle.All of the short stories were great to read and analyze.Although, all were great in their own way.In my opinion only one of them, was the most suspenseful short story of this cycle. I believe that Waxworks is the most suspenseful short story because of its unpredicting climax.

When I heard Jessica crying and saw the dog looking into my face I told him “Georgie go see why Jessica is crying”. Next thing I knew he went off running and she was quiet so I went to check on her and there they were in the bed sleeping, he comfort her. Even though a snow storm was coming, she decided to go on her winter camping trip anyway. It was like something was calling her out there. But in the event of her wilderness trip she was starting to feel better. There was a positivity her in her life that was growing and the depression had started to fade by the activities she is doing. Her experience of sleeping in below freezing caves, digging out of a snow barricades with the help of Jackson and Hailey. She was doing things her and her dogs would never have dreamed of. She admits that her very cold and freezing adventure has helped her appreciate the beauty of life and her winter wilderness experience. She was starting to feel like she belong and was appreciating the value of her life and her surroundings. “A Blizzard under blue sky” gave her a new lease on life and a spark of rejuvenation.

As I looked up, the sky was dark the sidewalk illuminated by the streetlights. The sound of crickets and cars echoing through my ears. I walked home that night, tears in my eyes. I was leaving, I couldn’t handle it anymore. The meds, doctors, psychiatrists nothing was working, our lives were in constant danger. By the time I got home the car was gone. By the time, I finished packing it was dawn. The sun creeping in through the shutters. For the next couple of days, I crashed at Jason’s before I headed South. I heard my cell ringing, it was mom… I let it go to voicemail.

I walked silently, my converse crunching on the wet sidewalk. I zipped up my jacket and took a sip of my coffee. I slowly walked towards my school when someone's shoulder slammed in to me. My coffee flew out of my hands, the lid came of as it hit the ground, spilling all over the sidewalk. I stumbled as I tried to regain my balance. I hate this small town I thought to myself. When I returned home I arrived to both of my parents sitting at the table. I looked at them with a confused look, “Ava why don't you take a seat,” Father said “we have something to tell you.” I took a seat not saying a word just giving them a confused look. “Ava honey your father got a promotion,” Mother stated “and we are going to be moving to California!” Fireworks were going off in my head thinking of all of the new things I would get to experience.

When I woke up in the morning, my mom had left for work. My dad was singing in the kitchen, banging pots around. I got up, tiptoed down the hall, washed my face. A neatly wrapped present lay on the bathroom counter. It was addressed to me. I stuffed it into my robe pocket, and rushed back down the hall. Under the covers, I opened the package. On the first page of a small, leather notebook, an inscription read: to a writer, love your mother. I never wrote anything in the notebook. I could never think of anything good

“My ex-girlfriend was taken away by the cop and taken to the local jail. My ex-girlfriend’s Dad showed up and I rode back with him to their house. Finally my parents came and picked me up. I went home and maybe got two hours of sleep, if you even call that sleep. The next morning, I went back to my ex-girlfriend’s house and she was later released from jail that day. For the longest time, we would just sit there in silence, because, what do you say? It was time to comfort one another. I not only felt bad about the whole situation, but I knew no one was going to believe me, us. Believe that a girl purposively jumped into the moving vehicle. I later learned that the girl who died had been suicidal. Earlier that day, before the accident,

The rain got harder as Tina walked alone in tears. She missed her daughter Iris. Tina thought about all the good times they had together. She wondered why Iris had done that to herself. Iris was a skinny young girl who killed herself. Iris wa bullied at school for how far she was, so Iris decided to stop eating. Tina was walking in the rain. It had been a year since Iris was gone. She thought back to that day. Tina woke up and made herself some coffee. She nibbled on a muffin that she bought from the store yesterday. She took Iris to school and then went to work. Tina went throughout her day as usual, but what she didn’t know was that soon her daughter would take her own life. Iris got home and went up into her bedroom. Tina wouldn’t get home

One night, thoroughly past her bedtime, Georgiana crept stealthily downstairs to sneak a bite of pie, even though her mother would never approve. She immediately realized a heavy drape of desolation. The only noise was her heart beating to the rapid rhythm of the twitching fan. Georgiana thought that no one would be awake at one in the morning. She slipped through the doorway into the kitchen. For an instant, her heart stopped. A dreadful sight stood in her way. An innocent and isolated individual lay with his hand grasping for life, but it was already over. Taking a step back, she

Sarah Black is a 21 college girl who is smart and nice. She lives an apartment that Is near her college. She is a busy girl and a hard working girl. She does her best to success and not disappoint her parents. She came from a small town called Rod Ford where she was a small girl and who got bullied by everyone and no one liked her, she always goes home without telling her parents anything and keeps the pain in herself without telling anyone. She lived a depressing life and thought of giving up until one day she said why to give up my life I didn’t do anything wrong, why do I have to blame myself, at that moment she decided to start over and told her that I am going to study and become a successful person and make my parents proud. She

As she rubbed her eyes in exhaustion she remembered the adventures of the day before. When she got home she passed out from the excitement and strain on her heart. She reached down to check her leg and sighed with relief to find a replacement was already attached. She looked over at her nightstand and noticed her spare glass waiting for her to put them on. As she got out of bed all she could think about was how rude she was to Sam. She walked into the kitchen to see her mother preparing breakfast. She looked around and did not see Sam. She didn’t know why she expected to see her but she was upset that he was not here. Her mom turned a saw her disappointment and said “He seem in quite a rush to leave he left his job to help you.” She was startled by her answer and rushed out the door ignoring the cries from her mother. She hurried Sam’s farm almost throwing up because of the strain on her heart. When she reached the farm she found an old man working the fields. She rushed over and asked, “Where is Sam?” The old man replied, “I fired him because...” She didn’t let him finish She rushed to the road the taste of blood in her mouth from running. She saw a man walking on the road looking forlorn. She called out, “Sam!” The man stopped and turned it was Sam he answered her, “Joy?” She ran into his arms and started to cry. Sam confused hugged her back. She thought to herself about how a horrible incident led to her

It was a pleasant fall Tuesday when Stephanie went to work. Her day normal consisted of writing reports, and filing paperwork for her office. She turned on the television to see if there was anything alluring in the news. “NEWS FLASH: MAN CONVICTED OF MURDER HAS ESCAPED PRISON.” The warning did not phase her, considering the jail was far from her office. She concluded that she was safe. By four o’clock, it was time for her to travel home from a laborious day of work. She arranged her things into her bag, and began her trek. Walking out the door, she was met with warm rays from the sun. It was an astounding way to end a strenuous

I utilized a lot of different writing elements in the suspense/scary story, the most obviously used element was foreshadowing. The phrase “It is how she would have wanted it” was repeated multiple times throughout the story, first starting as a seemingly insignificant piece of dialogue but ending as the last line of the story. There was also a lot of conflict, for example when George criticised James about the cleanliness of his house, or when James killed George. The way that James has been “feeding” his dead cat can be seen as a sort of unpleasant comical irony in that he is dumping food on his dead cat twice a day. I used mood throughout the entire story and tone specifically in the dialogue. By describing the setting “George took a deep first step into the basement. The staircase was worn with unstable boards and cracked

The first story I chose was “After Twenty Years”. The suspense in this story was that it was dark and neither Jimmy nor Bob could see one another. The foreshadowing in the story is that when Bob lights his cigar. The light from the cigar gave Jimmy enough light to be able to see his face and the diamonds that he was wearing. What I though was ironic is that if Bob hadn’t come back after twenty years he wouldn’t have gotten arrested, but because he made a promise to keep his appointment, the only person who would recognize him.

While the first morning sunlight washed over her kitchen, Barb Delacour exchanged text messages with her 18-year-old daughter, Lindsay, as she prepared breakfast for her family. Since Lindsay’s departure for college, their virtual “chit-chat” became an everyday routine in an effort to remain connected. Barb inquired about classes and what was happening on campus, and Lindsay assured her mother all was well. The conversation ended, as always, with “I love you!” Sadly, that afternoon, Lindsay attempted suicide.

Amazing analysis, Kyle! You have pinpointed several key moments that really do help build up the suspense throughout the entire short story with great accuracy. I especially love how you drew the parallel between time running out and the soap drying, which is something that I myself had not considered beforehand. I also agree with your statement on how the simple act of slowly dropping more and more information throughout the story builds up the gravity of his final choice. But, in your opinion, do you think that the suspense paid off at the end? Or do you think that the narrator's final choice was disappointing after all of that build