Horror Writing- 33 Simple Prompts for Creative Horror Writing:
Prompt- A boy discovers a well that whispers, “I love you but not for long.”
Eli’s family moves into a new town, finding a cabin just on the outskirts. The bustling town of Hollybean is a newer town itself with only having been founded 100 years ago. The cottage is a simple yet comfortable three-bedroom home with an old well in the backyard along with a creek that lazily flows through the eerie woods which sits a few feet from the back stone wall.
When Eli and his parents had first pulled into the driveway, he wasn’t impressed. His parents had sold their old home in San Diego, California, to move to Hollybean in Tennessee to open a new business for this? But as the weeks went by, the cottage grew on Eli and he would play around the house and adventure in the woods. He even has a few new friends he made when he started the fifth grade.
However, the only thing that seems to frighten young Eli is that creepy well. It is old, falling apart, and gives the vibes like something out of a horror movie. His parents always remind him not to go near it since they are afraid he might fall in. He always rolls his eyes whenever they remind him, but he stays away.
One afternoon, Eli sits in the backyard eating his lunch alone, like he typically enjoys doing. As he munches away on some crunchy chips, his eyes wander over the backyard. He wants to play after he finishes eating, but he isn’t sure what he wants to play. Suddenly, a low moan catches his attention and he froze with a chip hanging out of his mouth. Eli breathes heavily in fear as he glances around, trying to figure out where and what has made that noise. He notices the wind blowing some trees. They bend a bit as the wind presses against them and the moaning sound returns.
“It’s just the trees,” he says with a tense laugh. “Only the trees moving in the wind.” He laughs again, forcing the laugh, and he eats a few more chips.
When the trees moan again, he ignores it, since he knows what is making the sound. He picks up his cup of water to drink when the moan happens again. His hand shakes uncontrollably as he holds the cup, the water sloshing out over the sides and onto the table and onto his lap. This moan isn’t a tree moan. This moan possesses a more human-sounding, darker, and more frightening quality. Eli slowly turns to look around behind himself to see if maybe someone has snuck up behind him. He is hoping it is just one of his friends, but there is no one behind him.
The moan intensifies, and Eli finally knows where it’s coming from. His fear-filled eyes turn to the well. He stands up and slowly approaches the well, his breathing quickening. His feet forces him forward even though his mind kept telling him to stop and to stay away. Soon, Eli finds himself standing beside the well. He leans forward, hands griping the crumbing stone, and peers down into the darkness.
A chilly breeze blows up out of the well, hitting Eli in the face and pushes his hair back. Eli’s eyes widen when a voice whispers up at him from the depths of the well.
“Join me, Eli…”
Eli screams and runs back to the house, leaving his lunch forgotten on the table. The door slams closed behind him as he rushes to find his parents. He finds his dad and tells him what happened. His dad grows concern even though he doesn’t believe his son about the moaning, and decides to do something about the well. He can’t destroy it because it has been there for so long and is considered a historic landmark. He has to come up with another way to protect his son.
After the incident, Eli refuses to go anywhere near the well. He even barely plays in the backyard. His dad boards up the top of the well, and with the help of his friends, a shed-like building is built around it as further protection. After this, Eli returns to the backyard, but whenever he is back there, he makes sure he stays far away from the well.
As the months pass by, Eli still keeps his distance from the creepy well. His friends still tease him from time to time about that particular day, but he ignores them. All of this, however, changes one sunny day.
Eli and his friends are playing in his backyard among the trees. His friends are, of course, teasing him again about the well and the spine-chilling moaning. They dare him to go back to the well to prove he isn’t a scaredy cat. Eli keeps telling them no, but they wouldn’t give up, their game now on pause as they continue to harass Eli.
“Fine! If I do it, will you all leave me alone?” Eli says in an annoyed tone. He just wants them to stop bugging him and go back to playing.
His friend’s grin triumphantly and slowly nod to each other in agreement. Eli grumbles as he turns and walks towards the shed. As he places his hand on the doorknob, he takes in a deep breath, letting it out slow. He twists the doorknob, and the shed door creaks open. Eli wrinkles his nose in disgust as the damp and musky air hits him all at once due to it being closed up for so long. He walks further in, and the door swings closed behind him. The sound makes him jump, and he spins around. He runs for the door and tries to open it, but it is stuck. Eli bangs on the door, trying to get the attention of his friends, but no one comes to save him. His breathing becomes erratic as he hears something behind him. He slowly turns around, his face pale.
“I love you, but not for long,” a low eerie voice whispers from the well.
Eli screams!
Several police cars pull up to Eli’s house with their sirens blaring. His friends had thought Eli was playing a joke on them when he didn’t come out of the shed after a while, so they all had left. When Eli didn’t come in when the sunset, his parents panicked. They called all of his friends, who all said the same thing. They told his parents they had dared him to go into the shed around the well, but he never came back out, so they had just left to go home. His parents searched the shed, but there was no sign of Eli. The well remained covered, so they didn’t believe he had fallen in.
Now police, police dogs, and their neighbors are there searching the woods behind the house. Daylight soon gave way to dusk as beams of white light swing back and forth between the trees as search party continue to search for Eli. Finding no trace of the missing boy, the police call off the search party for the night and promise Eli’s parents they will return in the morning to resume the search.
Eli’s parents couldn’t sleep after everyone had left, so they sat in the backyard, their eyes searching the dark forest, hoping Eli will return. But no happy reunion will come. Exhausted, his parents get up and turn to go back inside to sleep. Suddenly, Eli’s laugh echoes through the forest.
“Eli?” his mom calls out, turning back around. “Where are you, sweetheart?”
“Son, please come out. We aren’t mad at you or anything. We just want you to come home safely,” his dad pleads. “We’re worried about you.”
Laughs sounded muffled again, more like it is coming from the shed. But this couldn’t be as they had searched there earlier. They both instantly rushed to the shed, unlocking and slamming the door open to quickly peer inside. The dim light doesn’t show in the dark corners, so his parents had to walk inside. The door slammed shut behind them, making them both jump. As they turn to look at the door, Eli appeared standing there, dripping wet with an evil grin on his face. They both let out a bloodcurdling screamed. Then silence.
The next morning, the police and neighbors return in order to resume the search for Eli. When the leading officer knocked on the front door, there was no response.