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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.

6450+ 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 3 of 430

Matryoshka

Submitted to Contest #296

I don't know exactly when I arrived here.I had been wandering for many years, feeling as if I didn't belong anywhere,But then I discovered my beloved Russia...From the moment I breathed its air so cold, I felt a connection I hadn't felt in a long, long time.The scenery so desolate...It was like being home again.Especially the months where the weather was more extreme.When all the vegetation was dying and you could barely hear the sound of animals.It all felt so...right.This was where I was meant to be. Away from everything and everyone.I tri...

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Situate your character in a hostile or dangerous environment.

Submitted to Contest #296

The plane landed at McMurdo Station in Antarctica at 0445 on Tuesday, September 10th during high winds and snow. Fifteen passengers bundled in parkas and winter wear exited the plane clutching their bags to their chests as the wind threatened to carry them away. Pamela Edwards sighed with relief having finally reached Antarctica after months of preparation and five days of travelling from Boston to McMurdo Station. The permit she applied for eight months ago said environmental exploration and described taking core samples from the untouch...

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Run, Rabbit.

Submitted to Contest #296

A sluggish breeze lingered in the air, dense and heavy with the scent of damp bark and soil, settling under my nose. I race alone and under blackened trees blanketed by night, chasing an inevitable dawn. The woods, still soundlessly sleeping, are disturbed by my rhythmic footsteps and then the faint buzz of my phone. I ease into a steady pace, my lips press forming a thin line, and I collect my phone from my pocket. The screen lights up, its beam splitting through the darkness. My tired eyes discover a new notification and out-loud I mutter ...

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The secret

Submitted to Contest #296

This story contains mentions of sexual violence, death, and a very clearly mentally disturbed individual as well as a fair amount of swearing.I slip my hood on, not wanting to be recognised, washing the blood from my hands. My entire body in pain from the mans attack. I couldn’t believe this was the first time id ever been touched like that. I couldn’t handle it. I couldn’t deal with it. He deserved to die.“He deserved it, youll be fine, everyone will be fine, you need to leave” I murmur to myself before pushing open the door. The light hits...

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The Face Of The Forest

Submitted to Contest #296

You have found an old key in your grandma's attic. It doesn't seem to fit in any of the doors in the house. Its surface is tarnished, with strange engravings that seem to twist and writhe under the dim light filtering through the dusty windows. Intrigued, you pocket the key and head into the forest behind your grandmother’s cottage. The sun hangs low, casting long shadows that dance eerily among the gnarled trees. The forest feels alive, whispering secrets through the rustling leaves. After wandering deeper for an hour, you stumble upon a we...

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Mouths Full of Rain

Winner of Contest #296 🏆

I didn't mean to create a frog cult. I named the first one Cletus, after a guy my dad used to buy pills from. It felt right. Greasy name. Like something that would survive the apocalypse by crawling into the crawlspace and licking the mold off the copper pipes. Cletus stared at me through the glass like he knew I was broken. Like he approved. Dumpy tree frog. Litoria caerulea, if you’re trying to impress a vet tech. People call them “Dumpy” like that’s an insult. Like their weight’s a problem. These frogs don’t give a shit. They sag and spre...

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The Fool and the Donkey Track III

Submitted to Contest #296

“Splintered Eden” - Composer - Lewis, Lynsi - “The Album” (TW - mature themes, offensive language, parasocial delusions) CAUTION - Tall grass, watch for snakes Lynsi worked up the nerve to lift her head off the Beast’s shoulder and stared at the sign affixed to the fence ahead of her. The surrounding undergrowth had bloomed into prairie grass, the green blades of which plastered themselves unevenly along the rotting wooden stakes. Beyond the fence, floor lights peppered dust in hues and shades of various blue. An announcer no further than...

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Dreams to Dismiss

Submitted to Contest #296

I have had occasional dreams that have left me panting. Recently, in a series of eventful nights of dreaming, I dreamed about Mike Mawr who I knew from my days at Albany College of Pharmacy. Saw him clear as glass, although Mike and I had not been pals of any kind. I started to blubber, snot and phlegm oozing beyond my control. Through this veil of mucous I told Mike I had to confess something, but I could barely talk for the hiccup-crying. I was embarrassed of Mike seeing me in such a state. But I pushed on, and managed to choke out that I ...

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A world without a white face

Submitted to Contest #296

Every time you make a choice it creates a different reality, another you.100 miles out of Tennessee and 20 miles from a friendly face I have to think what would have happened if I shucked instead of jived. Every headlight that I saw I ducked down wondering if this was the one to lay me down. It wasn’t no time for black folk here and I asked myself if we ever would get our day.The sun gave me a little solace when I saw it peeking its face over the horizon, because most tended to like to do dark deeds in the dark, maybe they thought god might ...

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Following the Herd

Submitted to Contest #296

The zombies surged at the humans like an ocean wave at a wannabe influencer about to lose their phone in the water.Gavin Jenkins’s heartbeat thumped faster. It was happening. He was going to kill and eat someone, another human being. But what was a man to do? It was either fit in or stick out. And look at where sticking out got you – this poor couple was a minute shy of evisceration. No, he needed these zombies to believe he was one of them. He didn’t want to die today, but it was hard when most of the world had an interest in eating the liv...

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Broken Mirror

Submitted to Contest #296

The night comes quickly. A flood tide. Washing the daylight away and replacing it with a muddy ambiguity. I’ve always liked the night. There is comfort in it. Day time glares at me, asking too many questions. It’s where the drudgery of reality resides. The slavery of work takes over contaminating all else. Even the weekend isn’t immune. Snatched moments that cost too much in every possible way. A reminder of sold souls and miserable existence. At least when the lights go down, there’s the promise of respite and more. The prospect of magic in...

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Plea at the Sea

Submitted to Contest #296

In a world that had lost its sense of shape, Flinn held the rail as if it were the very last truthful thing in existence. Under his fingers, the wood was rotted and soft, wet with the icy breath of the deep, and humming low, as if it were an animal that had been injured for too long to be able to cry out. The ship had already ceased its journey. Remembering was what it was; remembering the stormlight and thunder, the iron song and the oarstroke, the pressure of bodies that once believed it was possible to cross the sea. The memory brought te...

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Hand-Me-Downs

Submitted to Contest #296

Doorbells and knocks—easily the worst noises on this space rock, especially when you're elbows-deep in a blood-soaked carpet and there's a pile of limbs in your tub.I froze, the whimsical bell chime I bought online a few months back mocking me with its funny tune. The box cutter in my hand turned to concrete, every muscle in my body warming under the panic.I waited, hoped they would go away. The ticking of my grandmother’s grandfather clock filled the space as I held my breath.The moment stretched long enough for me to finally let my lungs o...

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Come Outside

Submitted to Contest #296

In the space where the ordinary meets the extraordinary, Herman Bandey's afternoon routine is but a veil, soon to be lifted by the uninvited. Here, in this humble house at the edge of the woods, the threads of philosophy intertwine with the supernatural, edifying the idea that the truths we seek may lead us down a path where shadows dance and reason fades.Herman’s key rattled in the lock, a familiar sound that usually brought a sigh of contentment. It felt strangely hollow this late afternoon, as if the house itself was holding its breath. H...

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Fatestitcher

Submitted to Contest #296

Content Warning Please note that this short story contains references to:Implied off page sexual violence/rape, gore, blood, murder, mental health conditions, physical violence, abuse, fantasy theology, and religious trauma. Fatestitcher “You must kill her.” It crumbled before him, as if it were an intricate play orchestrated by the universe to remind him how small he was again. He was suddenly sent back to a memory—a memory of being small and obsolete, where men wished to see him break.After all, why would they wish to see him thrive, for h...

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RBE | Illustrated Short Stories | 2024-06

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