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Discover weekly, the best short stories

Looking for a steady supply of horror short stories? Every week thousands of writers submit stories to our writing contest.

150+ Horror Short Stories to read

Submitted by writers on Reedsy Prompts to our weekly writing contest. From hauntings and murderers to terrifying creatures from the deep, our collection of horror stories will have you breaking out in cold sweats. Take a look… if you dare.

Horror Short Stories – Page 2 of 10

Class of '26

Submitted to Contest #306

Thank you, thank you. Okay. Thank you. Ha ha ha, alright. Thank you. Guys, I’m not the Pope. Thank you. Thank you. My goodness, normally people aren’t that happy to see me walk onstage if I’m not carrying a guitar.Well, who’d have thought I, of all people, would be giving the commencement address at a place like Brown? Or that I’d be given this fancy gown and an honorary doctorate? I’ve no doubt your President, Dr. Holman, approved me as a speaker because I’m famous and not so much for my academic achievements, but, I did do some resear...

13 likes 5 comments 5
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The Violet Hour

Submitted to Contest #306

(This story deals with themes of domestic violence.) On a stormy night, the wind howled through the rain-soaked streets, rattling the shutters of my small abode. I sat at my worn writing desk, quill in hand, ready to write a letter to a long-lost friend. A surge of memories flooded my mind, each tangled with the next.I felt a weight in my chest, reminding me of the illness that was slowly approaching. Like shadows in the evening, I expressed the deep feelings I had hidden for too long.*****October 1, 1850 Dear Flora,I find myself grappling ...

3 likes 2 comments 2
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Slay Inc. (partial submission from a 6 character story written for a tv or movie series)

Submitted to Contest #306

SLAY Inc. You are going through life, not wanting to live, not wanting to die.Hope is elusive, buried, lost.You are a vagabond, a wanderer, a revenant.You have nothing figured out… And then the supernatural catches up with you… …and you have to wake up. The enemy comes to kill, steal and destroy.(John 10:10 ) My soul has dwelt too long With one who hates peace. 7 I am for peace; But when I speak, they are for war. Welcome to Slay Inc., where we risk life and li...

1 like 0 comments 0
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Journal of Anselm Palabras

Submitted to Contest #306

October 11 They’ve assigned me to Site B-12. Disused military research complex buried beneath the ridge. Not on any standard grid, and no one will say who greenlit the excavation. I was told to survey for structural instability. Cracks, shifts, potential flooding or caving. Standard fare. The facility’s real name is the “Seabright Research Annex”, but the workers called it “the Scar.” I think it’s apt. A gash in the earth, bleeding metal and history. Built before the war, shut down long before the bombs fell. Now it’s mine to explore. Harker...

4 likes 1 comment 1
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Galloway, Repeating

Submitted to Contest #306

Text Message Thread – October 14, 2023 – 9:14 PM Alice: Did you get the keys? Nate: Yeah. Front desk guy looked at me weird though. Alice: He always looks at everyone like that. Just ignore him. Nate: The place looks… untouched. Alice: Don’t go in the attic. Seriously. Nate: You’re joking? Alice: I’m not. Just don’t. Voicemail – October 14, 2023 – 11:58 PM From: Nate EverlyHey, um… I know you said not to go in the attic but—okay, I went in.There’s this old trunk. It’s not locked. There’s a recorder in it. Like, a tape recorder?And photos. ...

3 likes 0 comments 0
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Swipe Right, Heart Left

Submitted to Contest #306

Tuesday, 7:17 PMDating App Message Denise: Hi Michelle, Thanks for matching. Hope you had a good long weekend!Tuesday, 7:25 PMDating App Message Michelle: Hey Denise! I did, thanks. Got some hiking in. How about you?Tuesday, 7:31 PMDating App Message Denise: Nice! Just chilled out, honestly. Needed the recharge. Your profile mentioned you're into photography? Any cool shots from the hike?Tuesday, 7:38 PMDating App Message Michelle: Definitely. Yeah, it's my main hobby. Got some decent mountain views, nothing too dramatic but always good to b...

9 likes 2 comments 2
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The Witch and the Woodcutter

Submitted to Contest #306

This passage represents part of a larger novel, The Witch and the Woodcutter, available now. Please be aware this story contains reference to violence against women and children, and suicide. ***Beorn pushed Godfrey to his limit. The forest thundered with the heavy drum of the draught horse’s hooves. Beorn and Morrigan rode pillion, much to Beorn’s guilt.I’m sorry, old friend, Beorn silently said to Godfrey’s neck. I swear I’ll shower you in apples when next we have the chance.Each day, the mountainous wall grew closer and closer; and each d...

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What Remains

Submitted to Contest #306

1/20/xxxx- Sign of LifeI heard it in the walls this morning. I fell asleep in the eleventh hall East from the entrance, tucked into an alcove with my head pressed against the stone. I have no way to tell how long I was asleep, I only know that I awoke with my heart pounding and the sound of something rubbing against stone only inches from me.From what I remember in my panicked state, it sounded as if the creature had not fur, but skin.It pains me to know how close I was to seeing it, yet so far at the same time. 2/25/xxxx- RemainsI found a b...

3 likes 1 comment 1
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How to Bake a Heart

Submitted to Contest #306

Intro:They say grief transforms us into monsters.But before we dive in, a little backstory—every good recipe needs one, and you’ll want to understand where it all unraveled. He wasn’t the first man to steal my heart. Just the last one I allowed in long enough to rot me from within. He spoke of "forever” with lips stained by someone else’s kiss. He brought me flowers when I detested that kind of bloom. He abandoned me in January, a cliché biting through the cold. Yet, here I am, ready to pick gravel from my knees to return to the night he wh...

5 likes 2 comments 2
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Frontier

Submitted to Contest #306

Frontier Sunday September 18I have buried my husband without a prayer. God is not listening. This place is beyond Gods reach.It is equally futile to hope.The baby fights but she is weak. The sweats will win. Just as they did with my husband. She is too small to win this battle.I regret I didn’t have time to name her.I regret I never asked my husband why.Why did he think this land could be tamed?Why did he bring me here promising a good life.This place eats life.I regret the fever hasn’t taken me too. Monday September 19The baby has succumbed...

6 likes 3 comments 3
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The Bell House Letters

Submitted to Contest #306

From Clara to HenryBell House, September 3, 1922 My dearest Henry, We’ve arrived. Bell House is even older than I imagined—stooped with age, as though the stone bones of the place remember more than they ought to. It sits like a relic on the cliff’s edge, gazing out over the sea with a sort of resigned watchfulness. The wind never stills here. It moves through the halls and under the doors like it belongs, sighing through the rafters at night as if recounting secrets in a tongue just out of reach. You’d laugh to see me now, wrapped in my t...

1 like 0 comments 0
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Identical

Submitted to Contest #305

It had been ages since I got a good night’s rest. I rolled out of the covers as if I were in a laundry detergent commercial, arms stretched above my head and a smile on my face. Just for good measure, I dove back down into the plethora of fluffy pillows around me. Today would be a good day. When Mrs. Leonard greeted me with a smoothie, I couldn’t help but grimace at the shade of green. I did not work as hard as I did to drink smoothies that tasted of grass. A pitiful excuse for breakfast. “I’ll eat some biscuits and gravy instead,” I announ...

8 likes 1 comment 1
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Finishing Nail

Submitted to Contest #305

Finishing Nail John was preoccupied. He had to work from home today, again, because his daughter was sick. His boss was sick of it. This had already happened on two other occasions this month and a deadline was looming. He reached for another file while keeping his eyes on the screen. He yanks it from the bottom of the stack and hurriedly opens it just as his full cup of coffee lands on the floor spraying him and the light grey carpet with a heavy dose of caffeine. “Shit.” He had run into the other room to check something real ...

17 likes 4 comments 4
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The House

Submitted to Contest #305

The House It took a few seconds to realize I was utterly and completely lost. Why is this house so big? I thought maybe Leo was right; I should have found the blueprints. The red wallpaper was giving me a headache, and I couldn't describe it, but the rug was very uncomfortable to walk on. It was almost too soft, too contradictory to the sharp angles of the rest of the house. The support beams had such severe edges a stubbed toe could cause you to lose a foot, and the tables had decorations on the corners that looked like blades. Even the r...

5 likes 1 comment 1
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The Road Not Taken

Submitted to Contest #305

The final intersection on my return from school was just an ordinary and unremarkable intersection. To the right was the familiar row of houses, the last of which belonged to my mother. Behind me was the well-traveled road to my beloved elementary school. Forward was the ultimate abyss, the nothingness that swallows everything. But to the left… My mother always warned me: Never take the left turn. Always take the right and you’ll be home in just five minutes. I never knew what lay to the left. It always gnawed on me why mother never allowed ...

5 likes 3 comments 3
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RBE | Illustrated Short Stories | 2024-06

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