5940+ Best Short Horror & Scary Stories to Read Online for Free - Reedsy Prompts – Page 383

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Horror Short Stories – Page 383 of 397

“Tales from a Dinner Party” by Emma Taylor

Submitted to Contest #64

The sturdy door of the old library slides open and standing a metre inside is my silvery eyed boss. Her long hair sways in the aggressive breeze, and her porcelain skin, like fluorescent light, glows. Hidden inside her tailored suit is her curvy body. A figure of eight hugging her bones. Her face reflects her personality, a tattooed snarl pulling her lips upwards and her menacing eyes observing your every move. If you don’t meet deadlines, she will never scream, but she will, with those very eyes, insult you. Sometimes I pinch myself, I am s...

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“Truth or Dare” by Coral Winterstrom

Submitted to Contest #64

Rue looked in the mirror at her Halloween costume, she had chosen to be the queen of hearts, she had a red knee length dress with cards on it and a crown made of cards placed on the side of her head, Rue’s brown hair was pulled back into a low messy bun and the dark red dress made her electric blue eyes almost seem like they where glowing. Rue slipped on her black heels and walked down the stairs to the kitchen her mom was there pouring candy into a bowl “ oh your costume is so beautiful!” said Rue’s mom with a smile on her face, ...

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“Thomas and the Oddity” by Chris Buono

Submitted to Contest #64

Thomas felt all the blood in his body rush to his legs. The world went blurry there for a second until he was able to catch his breath again. “Is- is that what I think it is?” he asked with a dry tongue. Thomas jumped when Margret replied to him, “Yeah, that looks like the ghost of Elizabeth Thomas. Murdered in her bedroom forty-seven years ago on Halloween night.” Thomas regained composure once again and averted his ...

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“Shattered Glass” by Tracey Carvill

Submitted to Contest #64

Julie shivered and pulled her jacket closer around her. It was a warm summer night, but it wasn't warm in here. She wondered again why she had ever let Grant talk her into coming here. A ghost hunt in an abandoned asylum? Great. Grant elbowed her, knocking her out of her reverie. "Cheer up," he said, his voice bright but with a familiar dark undertone. "Isn't this cool?" Julie looked up and forced a smile onto her face. "Yeah, pretty cool," she agreed, and looked around again. They had ventured in through a broken window, and now stood...

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“Fruitville” by Molly Kelash

Submitted to Contest #64

(What’s the worst thing you can say to a ghost?I dunno. What?“I don’t believe in you.”Ouch! I admit I kinda’ love the irony, though. You can’t actually talk to ghosts because they don’t actually exist.You want more irony? You can’t actually talk to ghosts—unless you believe in them.) The night I found the doll…wait. Always ahead of myself these days, always so tired and caffeine jumpy. The house first. Three months ago, I bought this lacy, pumpkin and ochre Victorian house renovated to within an inch of kitschy in the middle of thi...

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“The Apparition of Shadewoods Manor” by Markee Jones

Submitted to Contest #64

The Apparition of Shadewoods manor by: Markee Jones My dearest sister, The journey was long and tiresome, but as I stepped out of the carriage and faced the manor that would be my new home I felt my spirits soar and my bones rejuvenate. Shadewoods Manor stands nestled deep in the hills making it quite an adventure to get here, though I do hope you will muster up the courage to visi...

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“Thorn Hill Manor” by Eugene McLean

Submitted to Contest #64

Trigger warning: sexual assault on a minor Sheriff William Johnson should have been in his bed sound asleep at one in the morning on this steamy July night but that wasn’t happening. If he had gotten a total of six hours of “Rest” in the last seventy-two, it would have surprised him. The events of the last three days precluded any peaceful slumber. It had been over fifteen years since anyone had died by anything other than natural causes or a farm-related accident in Gerald County’s little corner of Texas. The events on the evening of...

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“Drowned in Black” by Molly Leasure

Submitted to Contest #64

In 1862, James sailed the James blue†. Aboard the CSS Jamestown, James Plumb and his crew voyaged with six others past the Union’s view. They captured three merchant vessels, turning the flags over with blatant heckles. They towed them to Norfolk, victory now built within the framework—a preemptive claim shared by the Confederate fame.At the end of April, James met his first peril. Men fought on the frontline and died line by line.In early May, James saw an awful display. He vowed to bring his brothers home to Richmond, but their deaths happ...

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“Morrison Manor” by New Inspirations

Submitted to Contest #64

As a child,the building had always fascinated me when we used to go to our school which was 3 kms away.My friends and I used to go to school in cycles.The manor built in Red sandstone used to amaze me as if pulling me towards it.The grand building with the peculiar pointed arch, the steeply pitched roofs and front facing gables gave a dull and grey look,surrounded by dense bush. I had always thought of taking a peek but never had a chance since my friends always thought it should be dangerous to get in to the manor.This manor was establishe...

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“The Whistle” by Matt Render

Submitted to Contest #64

This old house—chips from the ceiling fall and scatter like rain clouds of dust; the floorboards cry in ache; the pipes squeal like a rusted train car. Between his slowly decaying house and the thoughts racing through his mind, There is no silence to be found for Robert. He lays in his bed with a deep longing—a longing for the quiet peace of death; to be buried beneath the rotting floorboards; to be one with the mounds of dust in the cobwebbed corner of his bedroom. When he is not being tormented by his own mind, it is by the soun...

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“Holiday Embers” by Frank Lester

Submitted to Contest #64

Sharp rays of light angled through the old school’s windows, slivers of winter brightness illuminating the dusty wooden floors. Outside a brisk wind swept up the remaining leaves into twirling dervishes and sent the clouds speeding through the sky on wispy fingers. A normal cold day but dry, the persistent drought pushing toward a snowless winter, a situation the region hadn’t seen in years. Stories of wildfire devastation littered local history, a constant weight on the minds of the villagers.The wind whistled between the window seams ...

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“Comfortable Is Good” by Andrea Kepple

Submitted to Contest #64

“You just had to bring him home, didn’t you Barb.” Tom’s lips are so close to my ear the words tickle.“It’s what you do when a relationship hits a certain point. I met his parents at Thanksgiving so I’m bringing home to meet Mom and Dad.”“And me.” Tom’s eyes danced the same way they did when we were little and he would tease me.“You going to introduce him to Nana?”“Don’t be stupid!”“I’m not the one being stupid.”“I think he wants to ask Dad’s permission to marry me.”“We definitely need those parking genes in the family. You sure he has a dri...

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“Secrets of the Moon ” by R Rose

Submitted to Contest #64

It was cold, she was tired, and her legs ached.Crouched uncomfortably behind a hedge wearing a heavy black cloak and mask, Lena tried to keep her mind from how exhausted she felt. Adjusting her short cherry-coloured hair beneath her collar, she moved her weight from foot to foot, unsuccessfully trying to steal back some blood flow. Neck twisted at an uncomfortable angle and nose going numb in the cold evening, she tried to keep her thoughts away from how she ached to be somewhere warm, preferably sitting alone in her room, pouring...

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“The Raven Manor” by Rachaita Chakraborty

Submitted to Contest #64

Death. My affinity towards the end of a soul has pervaded my vision into utter satisfaction. I saw many life marking a full stop throughout my span. A sensation of pure delight filled my dark eyes as they saw demonic creatures settle in every soul existed. I can never claim to see the whole universe, but what my Raven Manor have seen, is satisfactory to feed the dark heaven of my mind. The Raven manor stood in the far end from the crowd, keeping its ears closed for the cruelty that lingered in the town. The enormous structure sustained f...

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“Keep out your dead” by Conor Thackray

Submitted to Contest #64

Since the undertaker was now pushing up roses in his own garden, it fell to me to go lock up the gates and circle the grounds with the rectory candle lantern in my father’s large winter cassock. The Graveyard was closed, to the living and the dead and the church hadn’t conducted a proper burial now for over a month. My father was concerned that rising anxiety among locals, since the plague had arrived in our village, might drive them to desperate acts against the grounds or the church. Apparently, as his heir, it was my duty to take care of ...

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