5290+ Best Short Horror & Scary Stories to Read Online for Free - Reedsy Prompts – Page 267

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Introducing Prompted, a new magazine written by you!

🏆 Featuring 12 prize-winning stories from our community. Download it now for FREE.

Horror Short Stories – Page 267 of 353

“They expected the Blackout ” by Guia B.

Submitted to Contest #92

They expected the blackout.The weather hadn't been kind in the past few days, rain was on and off, and apparently a storm is coming. Considering everything, a power outage is the least of their worries. The clouds are grey overhead, and with it, everything looks dull and slow, devoid of life, yet the dark cloud stays as some sort of impending doom among the sky. That didn't stop Evan nor the majority of the city from going out for groceries and supplies. The grocery stores and supermaket around the...

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“Beyond a Shadow” by Claudia Neaves

Submitted to Contest #92

Mr. Carraway would never admit just how uncomfortable he felt in that house; why no, that would only fuel the rumors already circulating among townspeople. Rumors were like a fungus or some other contagion, spreading from person to person. All it took was for one to say that they had an itch before the whole town started scratching. There was simply enough oddity about the house and the tired little woman that lived the...

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“La rue way” by Hayley Carter

Submitted to Contest #92

Ghosts were supposed to be fiction. My mother and I wanted a fresh start from my mother’s divorce to my father. I and he never were really on the best of terms. I and my mom just needed a new start. We moved to the countryside, a whole state away from my old life. I was a 16-year-old girl, starting my junior year in a couple of weeks. Moving was hard on my mom. She was usually bright and bubbly, now she was depres...

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“Through the Eventide” by Grace Ingram

Submitted to Contest #92

Her heart hammered deep in her chest, the sound reaching her ears in milliseconds. Breaths left her lips in a shallow staggering pattern, the heat of the moment causing her panic to rise. The sounds of her friend's whimpers and breaths echoed around her, only inciting her distress. They couldn't be found. If their hiding place was discovered it would be the end of everything. Silent tears escaped Lorelai as she glanced ...

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“Exactly What You Expect” by Anna Kerr

Submitted to Contest #92

Exactly What You Expect The shattering of glass breaks me from my trance like state. My eyes go wide, my hair sticking up on the back of my neck. I quickly mute the TV, and I’m surprised to see I’ve almost made it through an entire season of a show without even realizing it. I mean, what else is Netflix good for other than to be background noise while I play on my phone a...

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“as darkness consumes me ” by Julia Szczesna

Submitted to Contest #92

They say the truth will always come out but Clementine hopes she can change her destiny or more likely her brothers. “Clem! Get down here we have to be at the house in an hour that's what the landlord said. Clem?” yelled Tess. “I’ll be down soon T!” Clementine screams back. “Alright but if we're late it's your fault.” mumbled Tess. Clementine hurryingly grabs the rest of her boxes and runs out the room almost tripping ov...

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“The Little Boy Who Listened” by Rebecca P L

Submitted to Contest #92

I was just playing in my room when it happened. Everything went black. I couldn’t see the train track. I couldn’t lay the last piece - Joey the train driver wouldn’t get to go on the new track I had made for him. I cried out in the dark. “Mom!” I heard soft footsteps echo in the hallway of our new home and a light appeared in the doorway. The candle shone like a beacon, illumina...

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“Lost in the Shadows” by J.B. Dixon

Submitted to Contest #92

“Come on, Mort! I’m tired and wanna get some sleep!”“Mellow out, Lara! These bags ain’t exactly light, you know. You’d think we were staying here for a month instead of a fortnight.”“A girl’s gotta be prepared for anything, honey.”“You said it, sister.” Julie walked up next to Lara. “You never know when a party might break out.”“A party? Out here? You’ve gotta be kidding me.” Mikey groaned, carrying about as many bags as his brother. “Thought w...

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“The spirits guide to revenge.” by Ran Stites

Submitted to Contest #92

The partial or total absence of light. The definition of darkness. The partial or total absence of emotion. The definition of my darkness My entire world, apathetic to the darkness that swarms around me. Do they not feel what I feel? Are the others filled with the color and feeling that I lack? In some ways I would never be sure to know if I am the only one who sees the world th...

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“Frozen In Darkness” by Lee Kendrick

Submitted to Contest #92

“Frozen In Darkness” by Lee KendrickSuddenly the lights went out, and I was in complete darkness. It wouldn’t have been so bad if it wasn’t in the middle of winter, but temperatures were now below zero in London. I had just been watching an episode of my favourite old tv series, “Interpol Calling.”Very annoying when I was enjoying it, too. It must have been about 6.15 when this power cut occurred. In London in winter, It gets dark around five o’clock. So the power outage indeed came at not a good ...

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“When Australis Went Dark” by Carlo Sarrosa

Submitted to Contest #92

FOOTAGE TRANSCRIPT CAM 35 - Interview Room #1 Beep. The door softly chimes as Captain Cassandra Ramos enters, followed closely by 2 guards who wait in the rear of the room. She calmly sits down, preparing a personal camera, an audio recorder, and her own notes. Across from her is the only confirmed survivor from the Australis City incident, Dr. Sam Mo...

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“The Haunting In Star Junction ” by Sherri Granato

Submitted to Contest #92

Founded in 1893, Star Junction today is a quiet village with a population of roughly six hundred people. The neighborhood consists of duplex-style houses that were built for coal mining families. The village is located just off of highway 51 in Fayette County, between Perryopolis and Smock, Pennsylvania is an unincorporated community that sits in the heart of Perry Township and was once home to a bustling coal-mining cen...

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“The Outage” by Brylie Mankiller

Submitted to Contest #92

I wake up to the buzzing of my alarm clock. I hurried around, stopped by the devil, my brother. Jake get out of the way I will be late. Mom Jake won't get out of my way. Honey let your sister by. He has work at her office. Fine go ahead Camila. I walk to the fridge and grab my yogurt, But instead it's a prank. It's sour cream and ranch. Omg, Jake seriously I bought this yesterday it's a tub of yogurt for 5 do...

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“Darkness Is the Absence of Light” by Eric Hyzer

Submitted to Contest #92

“You can become anything you want”; that’s what her mother had always said. Nothing could be further from the truth, of course, but when you’re living on food stamps and have a child going to bed hungry more nights than not, that’s what you say. However, Beth knew better—had back then, too, but hadn’t wanted to hurt her mother’s feelings.Life’s a bitch then you die.“Yeah, baby,” she intoned, “you’re so damn good.” Some thirtysomething guy with a potbelly and lousy breath was on top of her. Beth studied ...

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“In the Dark” by Anna Tishchenko

Submitted to Contest #92

Gloria had always liked the darkness, it felt safe for her. For most others, the darkness meant terror and the unknown but for her it was cover and protection. When she was a little girl, her sister would wake her in the night, asking to go first down the long dark hallway to turn on the light, and she never minded. She had a secret that few suspected. She could feel the dark if not actually seeing into it. She t...

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