Monsters Among Us
Dark Lore Digest Prompt #49
DARK LORE DIGEST | PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER | META
Monsters Among Us
Dark Lore Digest Prompt #49
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Suzie & Mugglebum — Created by Karen Schwartz with Perchance AI — Adapted with PowerPoint Designs.
From Karen Schwartz: Here’s the prompt scenario. Your story must be between 300 and 800 words. You don’t need to include the actual scenario, but use it to create the tale.
The renowned publisher wanted Suzie’s children’s picture book manuscript before the end of the day; the deadline was non-negotiable. Suzie had only the ending to complete. That shouldn’t be too hard, but when her villain screamed bloody murder, the trembling author knew she had lost control. Suddenly, an undeniable force pushed her back into her chair, and her unrecognizable protagonist stepped off the page.
If you want to add an extra challenge, entirely optional, end your story with the following line: Nothing speaks evil more than evil itself.
Suzie, better known to her readers as SK Rollins, had been writing children’s books for 20 years.
The series Monsters Among Us, with 49 books, had been her brightest star and had made her a millionaire 400x over.
However, she wasn’t happy… She no longer felt fulfilled by writing children’s books and wanted to pursue something real. She wanted a Pulitzer. So, she decided number 50 would be the final book in the series.
The publisher wasn’t happy with that eventuality and had threatened not to publish it. But she knew that was an idle threat, like cutting off your nose to spite your face. Who would turn down a potential million-dollar baby?
Suddenly, his phone call proved her right.
There was a condition, though… A non-negotiable condition. The deadline for the manuscript would be tonight at midnight. No leeway whatsoever.
She had no idea why. She even asked, but he just replied, “I have my reasons.” And since she was almost finished, she agreed. Now all that was left to do was vanquish Mugglebum, once and for all. There was no story without him. That’s what she wanted… What she needed.
Her readers may be children, but they weren’t stupid, and she had killed him off at least a dozen times before. This must be inescapable… There could be no way out… No turning back. She’d have to be very clever.
She made some avocado toast and a steaming cup of Earl Grey tea and sat down with her pen and manuscript. She would just have to figure out an inescapable finale.
She came up with an idea and started writing. Monsters can’t tell their reflection from reality. So, she could have the kids lure Mugglebum into a magical mirror. Once it was trapped inside, the world would be reversed, and it wouldn’t know how to escape… It would be inescapable.
Oops, that was one she used in Monsters Among Us: Trapped in the Mirror Maze. That wouldn’t do.
How about a mysterious closet that opens into dozens of strange worlds, she thought. And since Mugglebum was a curious monster, he wouldn’t be able to resist exploring them all. He’d never come back.
But then, that was the plot of Monsters Among Us: The Closet Door Between Worlds, wasn’t it?
Oh, wait, she could rig the lid on Sally’s toy box, where he slept, then once Mugglebum climbed inside, the lid would snap shut and send him to a different dimension. Aha, very clever.
But just as she started writing again, Mugglebum tore through the window, making loud arguments and accusations. “You can’t get rid of me that easily. I made you. You’d be nothing but a lowly copywriter without me.”
His roar and foul breath pinned Suzie’s hair to the sweat of her brow.
Of course, he had a point. She knew she was successful because of Monsters Among Us, as she had been a struggling freelance copywriter before she started writing those stories.
But she also knew she deserved a life she would be happy living. She deserved to pursue her dreams after devoting 20 years to children’s books.
Sure, she thought, those books had been translated into 45 languages, but she was ready to move on, and Suzie wouldn’t be held back by a foul-breathed monster from a bedtime story, even one she created — especially, one she created.
Who did he think he was? She created him, not the other way around. And since she was his creator, she could send him back where he came from. Heck, she even drew his pictures.
That’s when it hit her. She realized that every other attempt to get rid of Mugglebum had been done with her pen in ink. She had never tried to draw him out of existence.
For just as she was the writer of Monsters Among Us, she was also the illustrator.
She came up with the evil idea to draw Mugglebum on a distant, deserted planet next to Pluto. He would be perpetually frozen there forever.
Nothing speaks evil more than evil itself. And she could be evil when she needed to be, and right now, she needed that more than ever.
This is the detailed explanation of the prompt. Thanks for this very imaginative and compelling prompt Karen Schwartz
[embed]Newest Prompt — Not Every Picture Book Is For Children Dark Lore Digest Prompt #49medium.com
Here are the submission guidelines for Dark Lore Digest
[embed]Dark Lore Digest Prompt List and Updated Guidelines Updated November 3, 2025medium.com
Here are two more fabulous DLD tales by @
[embed]The Last Page of Mother Thorn Dark Lore Digest Prompt #49medium.com
[embed]The Picture Book Dark Lore Digest Prompt #49medium.com
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Stephen Dalton is a retired US Army First Sergeant with a degree in journalism from the University of Maryland and a Certified US English Chicago Manual of Style Editor. Also, a Top Writer in Bitcoin, Business, Investing, Nutrition, Travel, Fiction, Transportation, VR, NFL, Design, Creativity, and Short Story.
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