English teacher Sahar Mustafah’s Creative Writing classes wrote four of the five monster stories below. The other was created by society’s “monster” Al technology. Can you guess which story was written by ChatGPT?
1 – Halloween Night’s Lesson in Greed
It was Halloween Day, and Billy and his friends had made a bet to see who could collect the most candy. Whoever collected the most would get the loser’s candy bag. Little did Billy know, this greed would be the death of him.
Billy had been excited about this competition throughout the entire school day, brimming with the pride of a winner. At the end of the day, the bus couldn’t come to a complete stop before Billy pushed the other kids out of the way and ran inside his house to put on his Superman costume. He grabbed his pillow from the bed, hastily shook off the pillowcase, and rushed outside to get an early start on trick-or-treating.
The sun hadn’t even set before he began banging on his neighbors’ doors, demanding candy. The night continued, and he ended up at the last house in the corner of the neighborhood, where no one else dared to go. He slowly crept up to the run-down house. One of the steps on the stairs was slightly broken, causing him to tread carefully. He looked around and saw no cars or other trick-or-treaters; the place was vacant. Doubts began to creep in until he spotted a bright bowl of his favorite candy—sour gummy worms—sitting on a table in the corner of the porch. His pillowcase was already filled to the brim, but his determination to win the challenge, combined with his greed, propelled him toward the bowl.
As he walked, the porch creaked under his feet, causing him to shudder with each step. After what seemed like forever, he finally reached the bowl. He looked left, looked right, and then he struck. He snatched the entire bowl from the porch, snickering to himself. No one else was there to want it, so why not take it all, right? He was wrong—extremely wrong.
Suddenly, he heard something approaching—something big.
Thump, thump, thump.
His skin began to crawl, and his mouth went dry. Billy cautiously turned his head toward the sound, letting out a blood-curdling scream as he locked eyes with the creature.
The creature was huge and scaled, with a long tail that dragged against the ground and an undeniable hunger in its eyes. “That’s… mine!” the creature growled, causing Billy to drop all his candy, including what was in his pillowcase, and run off in tears. It was safe to say he had officially lost the bet, leaving him with no candy, no pride, and a lasting lesson about the dangers of greed.
2 – Ignatia’s Transformation
There was a girl named Ignatia, a lovely girl known for being the stereotypical shy and kind-hearted student. She excelled in school and adored her family, finding happiness in her academic achievements. However, that validation was soon overshadowed by the cruel taunts of her schoolmates.
Ignatia had a condition that caused her skin to boil when she became extremely enraged, but most people considered her strange or weird. She was often labeled as “contagious” or “nasty,” even though she couldn’t fully control her condition. One day, at the age of 22, she reached her breaking point, and her condition intensified, culminating in a fire forming above her head. Her skin began to bubble, and her eyes turned an eerie amber-orange.
This startling transformation was triggered by a disrespectful exchange with a postman while she was walking to her local grocery store. As he handed her a package, he paused, visibly cringing at her appearance. This moment ignited a pit of rage within her, causing her skin to flare like magma.
But instead of succumbing to despair, she channeled her rage into power. Ignatia felt that no one had shown her sympathy, so now everyone would feel the consequences of their insensitivity. To her surprise, her telekinesis caused flames to erupt at the base of a fire hydrant, the blaze spreading from block to block.
As she watched the flames consume her community, the shock on her face transformed into a sense of happiness. For the first time in her life, she felt validated, as if she were eight years old again, mesmerized by towering flames. Ignatia had harnessed her anger, reclaiming her story in a way she had never imagined possible.
3 – The Time Creature
It’s after midnight, and you thought you had more time to finish what you needed to do, but now it’s too late. It’s during these hours that The Time Creature appears, particularly powerful between twelve and three.
The worst part about The Time Creature is that there’s no escaping it; you won’t know it’s there until it’s too late. As you work, a pounding headache develops, so intense it feels as if the walls are spinning. You convince yourself that “everything is okay” and “I’ll get to sleep soon,” but that’s the first sign: delusion.
Suddenly, you hear the ticking of a clock, increasing in speed and growing louder, as if it’s right behind you. You check your surroundings, but you won’t see anything. Maybe there’s just a clock in the next room that you never noticed before? You know there isn’t, but you’re almost done, so you power through.
After the auditory hallucinations, the final step arrives: red smoke fills the room, swallowing everything in its path. If you’re not asleep by then, it’s too late. The smoke creeps up from the floor, wrapping around the walls and engulfing you, suffocating you.
Now that you’re paralyzed, The Time Creature can finally strike. Materializing from the smoke, it takes on the face of a clock, revealing a detached jaw and teeth as sharp as swords. It consumes you whole.
You’ll wake up the next day, wondering if it was all a dream. But it doesn’t matter, because whether it was real or not, you will never be the same. You’ll be doomed to avoid late nights, and you won’t dare ask what time it is ever again.
4 – The Awakening of Seismos
On a certain island in a certain year, there was a famine. The animals on land would not reproduce, and the crops would not yield. Even in the sea, all the fish had disappeared. However, one man had an idea. His name was Peter. He felt the ground shake slightly beneath him and cast a spell he had learned from the fairies to create a breathable bubble.
Diving underwater, Peter noticed the ground shaking more intensely. He didn’t see any fish either, so he swam deeper until he found a cave. As he approached, the tremors grew stronger.
At the cave’s entrance, he saw the source of the disturbance. At first, he hesitated, almost retreating, but his courage urged him forward. Then, he saw two large, beady eyes and what appeared to be ten rows of sharp teeth—each tooth the size of his body. The ground shook violently around the creature.
“I am Seismos,” the beast boomed. “Why have you come to my domain?”
Peter was stunned by the creature’s ability to speak. Fear gripped him, but he gathered his resolve. “There is a famine on the surface, and all the fish have vanished,” he explained. “I have come looking for answers.”
Seismos curled his titanic mouth into a wicked smile. “Foolish human. It was I who stole your food. I must have sustenance to complete my awakening. I ate the fish, and now I will eat you.”
The creature began to suck the water around him, causing the ocean to shake with its power.
Peter reinforced his bubble as much as he could. It made him immobile, but it also increased his chances of survival. Seismos shook the ground with such force that it nearly popped the bubble. Drawing on the air within, Peter propelled himself toward the surface, escaping Seismos’ domain.
As soon as he broke the surface, Peter was met by the sight of a gigantic tsunami generated by the underwater earthquake. The wave swept him away, knocking him unconscious.
When he awoke, he fled to the fairy forest. Together, they cast a sealing spell so strong that it reached Seismos, forcing the beast to return to his slumber.
They say he is still alive to this day. Every time an earthquake occurs, it is a reminder of his power returning.
5 – Chat GPT:
At Homewood-Flossmoor High School, rumors swirled about a monster that prowled the halls after dark. Students exchanged stories of a tall, shadowy figure with elongated limbs and hollow, glowing eyes. It was said to emerge from the old science wing, where strange noises had been reported for years.
One chilly October evening, a group of friends decided to investigate the legend. Armed with flashlights and bravado, they crept through the empty corridors, laughter masking their unease. As they neared the science wing, an eerie stillness fell over the school, and their laughter faded into nervous whispers.
Suddenly, a loud crash echoed from a nearby classroom. Heart racing, they approached the door, the air thick with tension. Mia pushed it open, revealing a dark room littered with overturned desks. As their flashlights danced across the walls, they caught a fleeting glimpse of the creature—its twisted form slithering away into the shadows.
Panic set in, and they turned to escape, but the door slammed shut, trapping them inside. The creature’s raspy breath filled the room as it drew closer. The next morning, the halls were silent, and the friends were never seen again, their laughter replaced by a chilling reminder of the monster lurking within Homewood-Flossmoor High.
