Mystery Writing Prompts

In a world where superpowers are common, exceptional normal people are simply thought to have superpowers and thus don't stand out. One exceptional person had a test done years ago to prove their normalcy; upon needing to show the test again, they realize the result has changed.

"7 gunshot wounds to the chest. Dead on arrival. And you're tellin me that a corpse walked out of your autopsy like it was nothing?!" "I'm telling you, that's what I saw! They didn't even have a scratch on em when they left!"

After getting engaged you decide you should share your family’s dirty laundry, like your dads drinking. What you were not prepared for was your fiancée coming clean about their family’s connections to organized crime, the illuminati, aliens, the fae, and too many other crazy things to count.

You've been dragging the body across the desert for days.

This is an odd job. You're given a small ship and sent out to photograph some newly discovered islands, the pay is ridiculous, so, who cares? That's when you notice that the islands are moving—and they're following you.

A woman receives a cryptic note instructing her to go to a particular bar at 2 o’clock in the afternoon on a weekday, wearing nothing but high heels and a trench coat. The bar isn’t crowded, but isn’t completely empty either. She’s to ask for a particular bartender, for further instructions.

You don't know why but no matter how hard you masturbate, you can't bring yourself to orgasm. Coincidentally, your roommate is making weird noises from across the apartment.

Your son went missing when he was 5, and no one believes a strange portal took him. As the only suspect, you went to jail for 30 years. But as you are released in front of at least a hundred people, your son appears from a portal. He's still 5, but also looks like he lived a thousand years.

You and the boys break into your local high school to investigate a rumor. The rumor is, there's a secret swimming pool under the school that's been sealed off. You guys finally found it but, somethings seems way off about it.

Physical fitness tests are being carried out on criminals on death row. The high performers are removed to a different facility for unkown reasons.

Someone has been stealing from your house, but you don't know who. In an attempt to catch them, you leave a roll of fake money in the drawer of a stand and wait for it to go missing. While at work, you get a call from the police station.

You are a time traveler hunting down another time traveler taking shelter in the old west. You enter a saloon, looking for the suspect. The piano player, noticing your entry, smiles and begins to play "Smooth Criminal." You have found your target.

L went to school and noticed my best friend Bethany was topless… I pointed it out and she seemed confused… she said that she was always topless. In fact, every girl was topless like it was nothing. And more things keep changing! Can I uncover this mystery before I begin to change too?

For ages, there has been a divide between the "evolved" species and the "designed" species. New evidence has been unearthed that humanity are an artificial race, designed for companionship. Yet no one in the galactic community have ever seen humanity's "creators", and of them there are no sign.

You are a homicide detective called to the scene of a murder. You quickly realize that the victim is a younger version of yourself.

As the athlete on the podium accepted her Olympic gold medal, there was just one problem. No one had ever heard of her country before.

A blind old homeless person lives near your workplace. They seem to get a lot of visits from rich-looking people, who always ask them the same question: "Hey there old timer, anything I can do for you?"

A knock on your door reveals a person who you absolutely despise. They appear terrified of you, and ask you to sign a paper saying you have forgiven them.

As much as you want to grieve too, your mind is too focused on everyone else crying in the room. They were the only people present when the death happened and the only people that could’ve poisoned her. The only problem is that she drank from your cup and they got the wrong target.

A regular coffee shop that no one ever took notice of gets exposed as serving mind altering substances in their coffee beans. On this particular day, a man storms into the café saying "I know what you're doing. I hear voices! I demand you to stop"

The archaeologists stumble upon a strange room full with what appears to be fertility statues. Maybe it's a curse, maybe it's just that you haven't left camp in months, but some of your teammates are starting to look real good.

After decades of searching, humanity finally makes contact with an alien species. But instead of sending a message of peace or war, the aliens send a single question: ‘Why are you alone?’

You are a geologist on the first manned mission to Mars, and while taking a soil sample you discover something buried in the Martian dirt, a human skull.

Santa lives in the north pole with his elves. Krampus lives in the south pole with… well no one knows. You’ve set out to document exactly what goes on there

You live alone and off the land up in the snowy mountains. During a blizzard you hear a frenzied knocking at the door.

An unfamiliar man, mortally wounded in medieval armor stumbles up to you, grabbing you by the shirt collar, all but pleading "I *must* complete the circle, but it is up to you to break it!", handing you- strangely- a lottery ticket. Then dies. Tomorrow, you learn that ticket won $1.9 billion...

One day you found a sealed hatch to an old fashion fallout bunker. As a joke you tap on it a few times and shouts if anyone is inside. To your surprise, someone shouts back.

A detective is investigating a murder, but the "clues" are actually random, nonsensical objects left by a spirit/ghost who enjoys messing with mortals. The detective, however, takes them incredibly seriously.

Late night. Dimly lit bar. Whiskey served neat in a chilled glass. Cigarette smoke drifting in the air. You will not see her in the morning. Nor will you ever forget tonight.

A goth cowgirl finds it more than a little suspicious how often her friends are mysteriously "out of milk"...