930+ Bedtime Short Stories to read

Submitted by writers on Reedsy Prompts to our weekly writing contest. Everybody loves a story before bed, and our collection of bedtime short stories has got you covered.

🏆 Winning stories

“Mouse!” by Michał Przywara

🏆 Winner of Contest #186

(This uses a triangular sequence to determine the number of words per line, and per paragraph https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triangular_number. A couple of the longer lines seem to wrap as well - not clear how to resolve that with this editor.)Mouse!Inmy house.Iknow notwhence it came.Eyesbeady eyesglare a...

252 likes 259 comments 259

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“Silence” by Thom With An H

🏆 Winner of Contest #171

There is a peace at sunrise that surpasses all understanding. It's a renewal. A feeling that anything is possible. I’d like to say I drag myself from the comfort of my bed every day to enjoy sunrise’s splendor, but you wouldn’t believe me and I would be lying. What is true is I was there that day and so was she. There is a connection between sunrisers just because they are sunrisers. It’s a shared, yet unspoken, appreciation for things quiet and beautiful. That might explain why I was immediately drawn to her, ...

339 likes 236 comments 236

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“Home of the Brave” by Thom With An H

🏆 Winner of Contest #135

A mom’s job is never truly finished—Elise knew this instinctively when her son was born. For at least the hundredth time, she sat next to his bed in that chair mending his quilt. There was no way of knowing, the day she bought it at a flea market, that it would become her son’s most valued possession. To call it a quilt stretched the definition as it was nothing more than a thousand pieces of oddly shaped swatches stitched together, layer after layer, until the whole of it was thick enough to hold in the warmth...

317 likes 225 comments 225

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⭐️ Recommended stories

“The Raven at the Window” by Tanya Humphreys

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #240

One thing I was very wary about was the temperamental moods of Nature. Before leaving the nest for the first time, my mum had instructed me on flying head on into a steady stream of wind, one flick of a wing against it and I would be tumbled beak over toes. “Better to use the gales to your advantage to conserve energy. A slight breeze will allow the airfoil of your wings to allow you to soar. Back drafts allow you to hover in place.” I had been excited to try. To make her proud and master the art of soaring and hovering and attacking those...

26 likes 10 comments 10

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“Dispatched” by Deidra Whitt Lovegren

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #235

“9-1-1. What is your emergency?” Casey moved to the edge of her chair, fully aware that all eyes in the Dispatch Center were on her. She struggled to focus on her first call, her mind ruminating on the “we-need-to-talk” text she sent Michael that morning. Her boyfriend had grown distant since starting classes at the community college. “9-1-1. What is your emergency?” she repeated more loudly.Click.Casey tapped her console, disconnecting the line before immediately calling the number back. She...

78 likes 49 comments 49

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“Shucked” by RJ Holmquist

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #221

Finally I was dead. This was the moment I had waited for my entire life. To be clear, I did nothing to hurry its arrival, nothing egregious anyway, despite the fact that my husk of clay wasn’t always what I’d call "amenable" to keeping itself alive. Nonetheless, I really did do my best as long as it was my duty. I fed it, exercised it, gave it multi-vitamins when I remembered and generally deferred from the things it craved that would clog its arteries, fog its brain and otherwise break down its fragile fickleness. But all along I knew ti...

38 likes 33 comments 33

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✍️ All stories

“Why the Sun and Moon Sometimes Meet- A Venda Myth.” by Takalani Munzhedzi

Submitted to Contest #245

Long ago, before the sky was split into day and night, there was a kingdom in Africa called Venda. In the heart of the kingdom was the Chief Palace and in it, a lonely and selfish chief called Mmbengwa. Chief Mmbengwa was an ugly king with an ugly heart and so he did not have a queen. Despite this, out of all the women in the land, his eyes were set on a beautiful seamstress called Masana. She had long hair and gorgeous eyes and every day the Chief and his horsemen passed by her shop. “I must have you as my wife,” the Chief would say while ...

4 likes 0 comments 0

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“A Tale for the Gods: Eos Lost” by Khadija S. Mohammad

Submitted to Contest #245

Artemis was bathing in her favourite pool with her dryad friends, when Apollo appeared. Though the temporarily blinding flash of light that came with his arrival was nothing new to Apollo's twin sister, or her nymphs, it still took them a moment to regain their sight. Recovering, they discovered Apollo already before them, shielding his eyes, as well as Aphrodite, who was looking oddly smug. Apollo's hand was over the eyes of young Hermes, his brother.Artemis sighed, and ushered the dryads out of the pool and into their respective trees. Ent...

7 likes 12 comments 12

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“Iris' Lament” by PJ Miller

Submitted to Contest #245

As the dusk fades out and the moon rises higher in the sky, Iris, goddess of the night, watches over the forest and all of its creatures, from the tiniest spider crawling in its web, to the largest panther stalking its prey. With muddy hands, she touches every closed flower and weed, her flowing cape caressing the dirt behind her. Suddenly, screams and cries break the silence of the night, and she makes her way towards the noise, finding the edge of a cliff and a young group of campers down below, cornered to the rock face by a panther. She ...

3 likes 0 comments 0

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“The Lady of the Last Star” by Paweł Ciarka

Submitted to Contest #245

It was considered a fact, that there are more stars in the universe, than human souls that ever lived in it. This statement is no longer true. Most of them died, or rather, were killed, leaving entire galaxies in darkness. But some said, „some” meaning the very last of humanity before even they met their end, that some stars still spark like diamonds in dessert sands. Across uninhabited planets and carcases of nebuli, their light guides a certain, troubled soul. And the darkness, right on its tail.       &n...

12 likes 6 comments 6

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“The Child of the Eclipse” by Charli Adams

Submitted to Contest #245

I was born during the time when the moon stole the sun. They told me I was special because that day was special. My birthday became holiday for my people, but of course, that was after the initial fear and confusion caused by the events that day had been adequately addressed. On the day in question, just before I was born, the elders huddled in conference as darkness spread where light should have touched for hours yet. Their worry was like a wildfire, spreading through the village faster than gossip and amplifying my people's fear. They won...

7 likes 3 comments 3

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“Allondial and Remu (remastered)” by Michelle Oliver

Submitted to Contest #245

To hear the stories told by old women over the fire, one would believe the world to be inhabited by ghouls and hobgoblins. This is not true. The world is full of magic for sure, but the magic has been here longer than the old women, longer than humankind and longer indeed than memory can express.In the beginning of time, Allondial was born. Her first breath was a gasp that awakened humankind from the eternal sleep of non-existence. Her smile was gentle as she gazed upon all creation as it woke, and humankind smiled back. Enthralled...

18 likes 14 comments 14

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“A Double Whammy” by Cara Fidler

Submitted to Contest #244

****Some content may not be suitable for minors. Explicit descriptions of a sexual nature.****A Double WhammybyCara Fidler"What in the hell is this??!" she said outloud, as she stared in disbelief at a picture of her lover in bed with another, much younger, woman. She found the picture quite by accident when she checked the pockets of his slacks for loose change before tossing the pants into the washing machine. "Bastard!!!Liar!!!" she exclaimed, as she reeled in the wake of this devastating hit. She was the housekeeper and mistress to a man...

7 likes 6 comments 6

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“Lost Chords ” by Kimberly Straub

Submitted to Contest #243

Our story began one quiet nightIn a small studio, under dim lamplight. Over a piano, our Creator hoveredand our song was slowly uncovered.We were nothing more than simple chords,Not ready for stages or spinning records.Still, we were elated to be brought into existence,And knew we’d find completion with some persistence. But as our Creator stumbled along the ivory keys,A heaviness filled the air with his growing unease.  From deep within swirled the makings of a storm,As thoughts of doubt and insecurity began to swarm.Wit...

4 likes 5 comments 5

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“A Kitten’s View of the World” by Sara Potter

Submitted to Contest #243

BOOM! There it was again. That loud noise that shook the earth came with a big bright light in the sky this time. Thankfully they were cuddled up close to Mama with their heads covered by this large box. A lot of water was falling from the sky outside the box, but they weren’t getting too wet under here. She didn’t like getting her head wet, but she liked the water. When they all walked around when water wasn’t falling from the sky, Mama always brought them to pools of water so they could have a drink. Mama didn’t like getting her head wet,...

5 likes 2 comments 2

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“Two Worlds Collide” by Kathy Walsh

Submitted to Contest #243

Johnny just couldn’t believe it. The football coach just informed him that if he didn’t get a better grade in his astronomy class, he wouldn’t be able to suit up on the team. He shuffled home with his head hung low. He hated astronomy. Nothing made sense to him. All this discussion about things flying around somewhere he couldn’t even see was crazy. And then the teacher telling him to remember that his mom serves him noodles. What the heck does that have to do with space? His mom greeted him as he let the d...

9 likes 0 comments 0

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“Stranger Danger” by Linda Sammaritan

Submitted to Contest #242

“Howdy, little pardner, are you lost?”The man’s voice comes out of nowhere in the buzz of the crowd. It scares me.His big face comes too close. Scruffy gray beard. Squinty eyes. A yellow-teeth smile. Something brown is stuck between two of them near the corner of his mouth. His breath stinks. Like a skunk that’s been dead for a long time. But not as bad as when Dad ran over one. The smell stayed with us until the tires finally scraped it all off onto the road.My own eyes get squinty as I search for Dad. He was just here. We were standin...

13 likes 3 comments 3

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“Kissing Frogs” by Tanya Humphreys

Submitted to Contest #241

Warning: Olde Timey fairy tale Once upon a time in a land full of magic and mischief… A skinny peasant boy pitched up the grassy bank of a sunlit pond, a large green bullfrog’s legs dangled from his hands like overcooked asparagus spears. “Here m’lady! Here’s the finest one yet.” Princess Rose rolled her pretty brown eyes. Seth said that every time he caught another one. The frog squirmed, it was slimy, and she nearly dropped it as she took it from the lad. “Ugh.” Seth looked up expectantly. Rose raised the frog to eye level. It blinked its...

12 likes 2 comments 2

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“Butcher Knife” by Naomi Atwood

Submitted to Contest #241

Trigger warning: This story suggests child sexual abuse.                  I only vaguely recall Grandpa coming to the door of our bedroom that evening and asking us to come to his bedroom. I do remember that it was not the first time.  My older sister, Evelyn, at age seven and myself, five years old, were already in bed. We shared a room that was just down the hallway from our grandfather, in the basement of the duplex where our family li...

4 likes 2 comments 2

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“The Hacker, Pixel, and Glitch” by Addie Cox

Submitted to Contest #241

Niko woke up to the sound of a gunshot. Luckily for Niko his life did not end with that sound, as would be expected. “Sugar snaps!” That was another thing you would probably need to know about Niko (the first being he was not already dead), he had an obsession with food that blended into his language, that and he was, to put it plainly, pretty weird.Niko tore through his living room where he had fallen asleep doing history homework, his books and papers flying everywhere, and raced to his bedroom. The gunshot sound had been loud (as gun...

7 likes 0 comments 0

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“The Drink of Wine” by A.J. Williams

Submitted to Contest #241

Contains themes of substance abuse, emotional abuse, & sexual content*Note: A.E. refers to After-Event*City of Barrie, Kingdom of Ontario August 2112 (100 A.E.) In the grand hall, torches blazed brightly, casting dancing shadows upon the gathering of warriors. Soldiers, generals, guardsmen, and nurses alike were gathered around tables hewn from the sturdy trunks of sugar maple and white pine. Their faces illuminated by the flickering flames, they feasted upon steaming bowls of soup and broth, served in rough-hewn wooden vessels. Loaves o...

7 likes 1 comment 1

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