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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 422 of 435

The Apparition of Shadewoods Manor

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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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Spooky village

Submitted to Contest #64

There is a village named "south goldwater" where Halloween celebrated with great care & joy.The village got its name from the well, as that whatever the seasons it will never dry.Although the villagers are missing some things from every Halloween, but they don't seem bothered as they say, "may be that's the thing that doesn't belong to them also brings them bad omen, so they went missing" and that's how they spent Halloween holidays. As this Halloween week started the villagers are excited and looking forward to it.At the beginning of ...

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Lights out

Submitted to Contest #64

A yellow vintage car stopped in front of a huge, old but beautiful mansion, and Ava Brown stepped out of its backseat. Dressed in an orange, knee-length crepe dress, her hair bouncing off her shoulders, she walked towards a tall man in an office suit.  “You must be Miss Ava Brown,” The man offered his hand for a handshake. Ava took it graciously. “And you must be Mr. Wilson,” Ava didn’t know his first name and thought it was none of her business to ask for it, “Glad to meet you.” She followed Wilson inside the house through its poin...

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Through the Flames

Submitted to Contest #64

His bright electric blue eyes seem flicker to a crimson red. His teeth grinding together, lips parted a low growl resonating from his deep within his throat. His hands clenched together, itching to throw a punch. His feet are shoulder with apart, ready to launch an assault. His golden hair glowing more than usual, brightening up the darkness around him. But instead his brother gets him to sit back in the booth. Only to watch the show. She stands across the bar room, leaning against the tall bar. Her tall stature and the glitter around her e...

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The One That Did It

Submitted to Contest #64

Trigger warnings: suicide, murder I saw the man again yesterday. He was big and tall, taller than Father. He stood at the end of the hall and made an angry face. Sometimes he yelled.  He didn’t see me though. I was hiding, and anyway he was looking at Jack. Jack looked a little bit scared and also angry. But when Father and Mother came he was quickly not angry.  Father made a strange man come in and the strange man said some things and went away. Father and Mother were not angry anymore.  Today Jack was sleeping and I ...

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this town doesn’t grow on you; it grows in you

Submitted to Contest #64

I.         He hurried up the street, trying to catch up to the elderly lady. “Ma’am? Excuse me, but could I trouble you for directions?”  She stopped walking, turning to face him. “Where to?”  He took one breath of air, flattening his vest, before answering: “Rochair Manor.”  She turned on her heel, wagging a finger at him. “What business have you got there?” He straightened. “It was my father’s property, ma’am. I’m here to sell it.”  “Up the hill there.” She pointed to ...

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RBE | Illustrated Short Stories | 2024-06

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