Good first lines to start a story: 'In the middle of the night, a strange noise woke me up.' How can I continue this story?

It sounds like the start of a mystery or a horror story. Maybe there's a burglar or something supernatural causing the noise.

It might be an animal that got into the house. I first thought it was a mouse, but the sound was too loud for that. I tiptoed to the kitchen where the noise seemed to be coming from. When I peeked around the corner, I saw a raccoon rummaging through the trash can. I didn't know how it got in. I quickly opened the back door and shooed it out. After that, I made sure to lock all the doors and windows tightly.

I could immediately feel my heart pounding in my chest. I slowly sat up in bed, trying to listen more closely. The noise seemed to be coming from downstairs. I reached for my flashlight on the bedside table and, with trembling hands, made my way towards the door. As I opened it, a cold draft swept across my face, making me shiver.

The moment I was awakened by that strange noise in the dead of night, a shiver ran down my spine. I was all alone in the house. I carefully opened my bedroom door and peeked out. The house was pitch - black. I remembered that I had left my glasses on the kitchen table, so everything was a blur. I heard the noise again, this time it sounded like it was coming from the basement. I was terrified of the basement, but my curiosity got the better of me. I slowly made my way down the stairs, my hand gripping the railing tightly. When I reached the bottom, I fumbled for the light switch. Once the light was on, I saw that a mouse had knocked over a box of old tools, creating the noise. I was so relieved that it wasn't something more dangerous.

For a thriller story, after being awakened, you grab a flashlight and slowly move towards the source of the noise. You realize that the noise is coming from outside your window. Looking out, you see a masked figure running away. You decide to follow, leading you into a dark alley. Along the way, you encounter various obstacles. You might find out that the figure is part of a gang planning something illegal in the neighborhood, and you've now put yourself in danger.

It could be just the old house settling. As houses age, the wooden beams and structures shift slightly, which can often create strange creaking or knocking sounds.

You can describe your immediate reaction to the noise. 'It was a dark and stormy night when I first heard the strange noise. I froze in my tracks, my heart pounding in my chest. I strained my ears, trying to figure out where it was coming from.'

In the middle of the night, a loud noise woke up John. He sat up in his bed, his heart pounding. He listened carefully, trying to figure out what could have made such a sound. It seemed to be coming from downstairs. He grabbed a flashlight from his bedside table and slowly made his way out of his room. As he walked down the stairs, every creak of the floorboards made him jump. When he reached the bottom of the stairs, he shone the flashlight into the living room. There, he saw that his cat had knocked over a vase, which had shattered on the floor.

You could make it a horror story. The dark and stormy night sets the mood perfectly. Maybe there's a serial killer on the loose in the small town. A family is huddled together in their home, thinking they're safe. But then, they start to notice strange things. Shadows moving outside the windows. The power goes out. And the killer is slowly making his way towards their house, drawn by the lights that were on before the outage. The family must now find a way to defend themselves.

The story might continue with Tom opening the box and finding a magic key inside. The key fits into a locked door in his attic that he has never been able to open before. When he unlocks the door, he discovers a room full of old books and a strange device. The device transports him to a different time period, like the Middle Ages, and he has to find a way to get back home while having many adventures in the past.