Scary chat stories: the witch
The witch in these stories brews nothing and flies nowhere. She gives exactly what was asked for and writes down a debt. The fear does not start at the ritual but a year later, when the debt is collected.
An exchange, not a curse
A curse is unfair, which makes it annoying rather than frightening. An exchange works differently: the character agreed, the terms were said out loud, and there is nothing to object to.
The best version of the device is the one where the help genuinely worked. The headache stopped, the money appeared, the person came back. Nobody doubts the power any more, only the price, and the whole story is the wait for the bill.
What you must not do
This setting has simple rules, and all of them are about consent.
- Confirming your name, especially in full, especially out loud
- Taking anything from her hand, change and small coins included
- Accepting help without asking when it has to be repaid
- Giving someone else’s name instead of yours, because that works
- Assuming that a death cancels the agreement
How to write your own
Start with an everyday benefit: the pain stopped, the exam was passed, the lost thing turned up. The reader has to be glad before they understand the price.
Name the deadline precisely, and prefer a time on the clock to a date. Repayment at 21:15 sounds like an appointment, and the reader waits for it to the minute alongside the character.
The woman from Zagornaya
Half a year of headaches the doctors could not explain, gone in one evening. The woman said it had to be repaid in a year.
How it starts
- Mum took me to the old woman on Zagornaya
- What for
- Six months of headaches, the doctors found nothing
- And
- They stopped in one evening
A spell on your name
An unknown number asked whether she was Anna Coleman. She answered yes. That was enough.
How it starts
- Has an unknown number messaged you
- Today. They asked whether I was Anna Coleman
- Did you answer
- I said yes, why
- You should not have
Never take her change
There is a new cashier at the all-night shop and nobody takes their change. The rule is simple: take it from her hand and you owe.
How it starts
- There is a new cashier at our all-night shop
- And
- Everyone leaves without their change. They just walk off
- Maybe that is how they tip
- The man in front of me said: you do not take her change
FAQ
What witch stories are here
Three: "The woman from Zagornaya" about a debt due in a year, "A spell on your name" about a confirmation given over chat, and "Never take her change" about a rule in an all-night shop.
Why is the witch an ordinary woman
Because the recognisable frightens more. A neighbour across the street, a cashier on the night shift or the old woman your mother took you to beats any figure in a cloak.
Are these real rituals
No, all of it is invented. We publish no instructions and describe no real practices; this is a plot for a short video.