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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.

6520+ 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 359 of 435

The Long Sleep

Submitted to Contest #90

     It is the coming of the Long Sleep again. The days grow shorter and nights grow ever longer. A chill begins to permeate all things. All the crops are going to rest for the winter. Along with the flowers and the trees. The bears and bees and all else hibernate. Mother Nature herself settles in for the ultimate of rests.     The women and girls of the village are all gathering the kindling and wood for the bonfire. It is vital to the ceremony tonight. Thus we are performing an important du...

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Another Day

Submitted to Contest #90

When I woke up I never expected to be on a train. Filled with women, young and old. I tried to get off the grimey green seat to evaluate and help with anyone who was hurt. I struggled standing and given how I had bruises from my ankle to my knee. I was distraught and wincing in pain. I took a deep breath and continued to examine my leg. There was a big multicolor bruise on my knee. I touched it to see if it was swollen. And I jerked my leg while in pain but also relieved to see I can still move my leg. I didn’t even have a chance to gain my ...

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Wingless

Submitted to Contest #90

Wingless                                                                   Mondo stays even after the waters have gone and returned and gone again. He ventures out, climbing through small crevices in the mounds of bou...

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Inconceivable

Submitted to Contest #90

Everyone knew we would eventually kill the planet; we just didn’t think it would happen like this or this quick. Industrialization in all its glory, allowed for easier living for all of humankind. Machinery lifted the burden from the individual to complete daily tasks which allowed for more idle time. We invested our efforts into that idle time to come up with more ways to make life easier yet. It was no secret the industrial machine would eventually consume all resources, or the wars we fought over those resources would ...

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Coeden y Bywyd

Submitted to Contest #90

(trigger warning: some violence)Lauren looked down, horrified, at the blood pouring from Joshua’s stomach. She couldn’t look at his mouth, but the distorted mumbling of her name told her all she needed to know. Whoever that stranger had been, they’d punctured her brother’s lung.“Lauren,” Joshua garbled. Lauren raised a hand to cover his stomach, staring as his blood continued to spill. “Lo.”“Shh,” she said at last, unsure what else to do. “It’s going to be okay, Josh. I promise. I’ll call an ambulance. Yeah, everything's okay.”She winced at ...

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Daughters of the Earth

Submitted to Contest #90

Nathaniel Thornton thought he had found a haven.But, as he tried — and failed — to wriggle free of the pillory, it occurred to him that he’d been wrong. The post wobbled when he fought against his shackles, but the trap would not break. The wooden framework, into which they’d locked his head and hands, remained steadfast and shut. At least no sharp blade hovered above the stocks, ready to guillotine him. Although he’d later reflect that decapitation would have been a preferable fate.“Now, now, Nathaniel.” Heledd Cadigan, dressed in a white r...

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Thou Shalt Not Kill

Submitted to Contest #90

This story has no happy ending. At least not for you. You are the ones that create problems and solve them with war and destruction. Your cruelty towards all you touch, see, breathe, causes horror, scars me, haunts me. Destroys me. You call me beautiful, yet intoxicate me, say you’re grateful for all I’ve created, and you slaughter all the beauty, all mortal souls. You spend millions on killing parasites, still you are the worst kind, disgusting miserable leeches. At first, I was furious. I sent you many signs, warned you. I gave you a ch...

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The night of justice

Submitted to Contest #90

10th of October, 2020 Washing 10th Street, “I don’t know if there’s something wrong with me,” said Sambhav looking the Jasmine sitting next to him puzzled, “Whatever I have been eating seems bitter, and I have been weird dreams all night.” “Did you check with the doctor,” asked Jasmin. “Yes! It’s the first time something like this happened to me I had to check with the doc, but he says all the reports are fine it might be anxiety or gastric issues.” Sambhav’s phone starts to ring, he picks up goes outside, and comes back after five minutes....

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Keep. Eden. Alive.

Submitted to Contest #90

The Gardeners, they called us. We were the only ones they trusted to take care of Eden, and I was one of the lucky few to make it all the way here. The application process had been grueling, but now, as I sat in the middle of a crowded train, I couldn’t help but smile. Being a Gardener was the highest level of work: guaranteed riches, guaranteed insurance, and the best medical care Earth had to offer. So long as you keep Eden alive. That phrase had been ingrained in my head by my superiors, over and over and over. At all costs. The words ...

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The forbidden Forest

Submitted to Contest #90

“I brought this flat because it was near nature. I loved it here but now, they are planning to cut off these trees and make more buildings. How can the government allow it?” said Mia looking out from the balcony with her frowned face. Her hand was busy combing her wet hair. “We can’t help it. The government has already approved it. The construction already began”, said her husband resting on the Sofa and his lay eyes fixed to the TV screen on which a Tennis player, holding his racket was jumping to and fro as if waiting for a pass from th...

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The Bishnois (A community that worships and protects mother Earth)

Submitted to Contest #90

Whenever there is any talk about environment and the preservation of our Earth, there is one community in India whose name comes foremost to the mind.They are known as the first environmentalists .They are the Bishnoi community of India.They not only worship mother Earth but also donot hesitate to lay down their lives for the sake of it!!!! The Bishnois are a Vaishnavite sect, living in western Rajasthan on the outer margins of the Thar desert.They have been conserving the flora and fauna for many centuries to the extent of sacrificing their...

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Nexus

Submitted to Contest #89

He supposed he should have been dead by now; his grandmother had told him as a child that, his family always seemed to have the chance to say goodbye before they died. No one had really believed her, not until his own father had been in a car accident that should have killed him, and had somehow survived for 15 hours in the hospital, until his wife came back on the first flight from Europe. As soon as they’d finished speaking, he’d just closed his eyes slipped away.Everyone was a lot more attentive to what his grandmother had to say after th...

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Copse Valley

Submitted to Contest #89

He stood before the pile of his wife’s cooking and poked some onto a fork, then after pulling a fly off the end with his teeth he spat it in the direction of the setting sun. The fly did not move as it hit the ground, there was a good chance it was knocked out.The man listened intently for irregular sounds, tonight could be the night they were in town, he’d sworn to make them pay.“Somethin’ on yer mind Bruce?” Asked the lady dining with him.Bruce scratched his moustache and withdrew his gaze from the yard “Jes expectin’ trouble.” He said.&nb...

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SEEDING

Submitted to Contest #90

Someone is unplugging the trees. I got the call this morning. The voice was smeared over the phone, ice black and crawling with static, someone is unplugging the trees, it’s serious, really serious, we need you out there, now. I am standing in a sea of dark metal. The trees go on for miles, following the arch and pull of the mountains, softly humming. Or they’re supposed to be humming. They’re supposed to be flickering light and turning their engines, drinking through their cords, giving us oxygen. But the trees surrounding me are dark. S...

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It’s Not the End of the World

Submitted to Contest #90

Biblical plagues don’t seem so bad anymore. In the bible there were only ten. Here in the bunker where I’ve watched humanity blink out of existence I wish I was an Egyptian facing the plagues or one of the heathens who watched Noah’s arc sail away while they drowned. What they have over me is the knowledge that someone would go on after them.The sea rose, how could it not? If you melt ice cubes in soup you get more broth. The rising sea levels weren’t the only problem though. Fish that had evolved to live in certain concentrations of salt wa...

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RBE | Illustrated Short Stories | 2024-06

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