18 Fun and Easy Mystery Story Ideas

If you have ever wanted to write mysteries but didn’t know how to get started, then you are in luck. You see… this article includes a brief mystery writing guide and eighteen fun and easy mystery story ideas to help you — or your student writers — get to crafting a mystery story today.

These mystery story ideas and writing prompts are just a few ideas to get you started on your next mystery story. So welcome to the wonderful world of mystery writing.

I hope you enjoy the writing resources and prompts you’ll find here. Now get to it, take a look and enjoy.

Oh yeah!

Table of Contents

Using Excellent Mystery Writing Prompts is Key to a Great Story for Some
What Makes a Good Mystery Story
How to Start Writing A Mystery Story
List of 18 Fun And Easy Mystery Story Ideas Writing Prompts
More Mystery Story Ideas & Writing Resources

In order to practice this genre and give students an opportunity to explore mystery writing, teachers, tutors, homeschool students, and parents may want to rely on the help of some fun and creative mystery writing prompts.

Using Excellent Mystery Writing Prompts is Key to a Great Story for Some

The mystery story ideas listed below provide writers with a sense of direction and the start of a mystery story plot outline. Indeed, these mystery ideas were also written to give student writers (middle and high school students specifically) the essential guidance they may require to write within the mystery genre.

Of course, writers of various ages and skill levels may find these prompts useful.

Just remember, writing a mystery story — and creating a compelling plot that includes hidden clues and an unsuspecting suspect — can be a challenge for some aspiring writers. This is especially true for young and less experienced writers, which is why I suggest checking out the additional resources listed at the end of this post. I think they will be of further assistance to newer writers in their quest to learn the art of mystery writing.

Our list of mystery story ideas can be used for short stories, creative writing pieces, or even novels but mostly they are just there to serve as inspiration.

Ok, let’s very briefly explore…

What Makes a Good Mystery Story

Any good mystery includes the same key components. Like any other short story, you are going to need to develop a plot and focus on character development, you also will need to include other elements, such as:

A Hook — This is the piece of the story that grabs the reader’s attention.
Reader Involvement — Your readers should feel like the detectives in their own story.
Red Herrings — These are strategically-placed clues that distract your readers.

Now…

How to Start Writing A Mystery Story

Before you begin writing mysteries, you will need to outline your plot.

Similar to a traditional story, you will need to identify the setting, the main character, and the problem that will be solved within the story.

However, you also will need to use your creativity to come up with clues, a suspect, and a plot twist that no one is expecting. Once you know what will take place and how your mystery will unfold, you can begin the writing process.

Use these mystery story ideas to help you get started.

List of 18 Fun And Easy Mystery Story Ideas Writing Prompts

Write a story in which the kids are the detectives who solve the mystery.
Your story begins on a family vacation when suddenly one of the family members starts acting suspicious.
Write a mystery story that takes place at the Halloween middle school dance.
Imagine that a group of kids finds a cabin in the woods where a science experiment seems to be taking place.
The local police chief finds a corpse, but no one can figure out whose corpse it is.
Everyone in town talks about ghosts that haunt the nearby mansion, but a group of kids figures out what’s really causing the phenomena around the property.
Write a story about a murder mystery party gone completely wrong.
Your main character is a student who is reading a mystery novel. They begin to notice that the events in the novel are taking place around town.
Gifts keep appearing on your desk in your classroom, and you realize that the contents are clues in a puzzle.
Start a story in which the dialogue introduces the mystery.
Your mystery begins in a small town, where the townspeople continue to report strange happenings to the local police officer. But for some reason, the officer keeps ignoring their reports.
Write a story in which the suspect seems obvious, but the twist is that the main character is the actual suspect.
Craft a short story about a reporter who is trying to understand the motivation behind a string of crimes taking place in town.
Begin your story in an unknown place and time period. The mystery is that the readers have to figure out where and when the story takes place.
Write a story about friends who accidentally plan a picnic in the backyard of a haunted house.
Write a murder mystery that has three clear suspects, and encourage the readers to figure out who the actual criminal is.
Your next suspense story must include the following elements: a spacecraft, an unknown planet, and a small-town sheriff.
The main character in your story is an old woman (or old man) who is caught holding the murder weapon.