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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 427 of 431

More Than Anything

Submitted to Contest #61

Tim Porter was a simple man. Quiet, kind, caring, and hardworking.  He lived in a modest cottage in the small mountain town of Manitou Springs, Colorado with his wife of nearly 34 years, Ciara Porter. While Tim was growing up in southern California with his parents who had recently emigrated from Venezuela, Ciara was being raised in an orphanage, learning about her Indigenous ancestors of the Sioux Tribe. Since Ciara was usually a well-behaved child, her older brother could visit her often to tell her about their parents ...

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Bean Pies

Submitted to Contest #61

Some may call it Deja vu. My therapist says it’s PTSD. Of course, no one knows the full story. You should be honored to know you are the first person to hear my story. This tale is about a smell. This smell haunts my dreams, the vision haunts my nightmares. It’s become so recurring that I have started not sleeping at all. I even nearly got fired from my job after trudging through the door thirty minutes late, adorned in a mismatched suit and heavy dark circles around my eyes. The smell leaves me with searing headaches. And the worst part? It...

15 likes 1 comment 1
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Red Ribbon

Submitted to Contest #61

Bear swept a meaty paw to move the thin curtain, a young and brilliant hue of sky blue. He pulled out his old toy drawer from behind. Pushed open the wooden lid, adorned with lovingly detailed images of a happy life. A blast of cold air hit Bear’s face and a pale fog seeped out of the chest. It creaked and groaned as it moved. Much like I do, Bear thought. I am old, there is no use denying it any longer. Dozens of toys were piled up inside of the chest, but Bear paid them no heed. He reached only for the one laying limp on the top.The t...

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Glass Eyes

Submitted to Contest #61

Glass blue eyes stared out at the world, unblinking. I stared back, my reflection rested over the doll’s face, the glass of the display cabinet catching the light. It was a pretty little thing, pale porcelain skin and honey blonde locks. Plaited and neat, I longed for such hair, so different to my unruly black mop. She wore a cornflower blue dress and white pinafore, little black shoes polished to shine. “What are you doing, ma cherie?” I snapped away from the cabinet quickly, heart pulsing at the familiar, husky voice of my great-au...

22 likes 4 comments 4
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Imposters

Submitted to Contest #61

“How about you start by telling me what happened the other night?” Her pen hovered over the clipboard on her knee. I sat in a large armchair across from her that always sunk too low to lean back comfortably. “I was in the airplane,” I began. Her pen scribbled. “Everything was fine at first. Then they closed the doors. I heard the airlock hiss and then the vents--” I paused. The scratching of pen on paper stopped. “Then the vents turned on,” I continued. “You know, the ones that blow air above every seat? They say recycled air has no smell...

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Poppet

Submitted to Contest #61

Hello, little one. There's someone I'd like you to meet. Here- this is Flopsy. No, don't suck on his ear. Now, your Mummy says you're still too young for stuffed animals, but she wouldn't understand. What I thought is if I give him to you now, a present like, it would be a very callous Mummy who would take him away again. I suppose she'll hide him away until you're a bit older, but that won't matter. Point is he'll be yours. You'll have bonded. There's nothing she can do about that now. She doesn't like me at the best of times, so I shan...

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Tapes

Submitted to Contest #61

I wondered where I could find a cassette player? I hadn’t had one in years. Finding a sealed envelope in my parent’s safe deposit box was a surprise, I have to say. It was all the way in the back of the box, and it had never opened after being placed in there over 30 years ago. The items inside the envelope were cassette tapes that were unmarked except being numbered 1-3. I HAD to know what was on them.  My parents always seemed to have some questionable friends and associates, so the mysterious situation of their death really came as n...

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The Straw Doll

Submitted to Contest #61

“Come forward!” demanded the old woman in a sickly voice. She sat upon the throne, her hunched and withered body lost inside the regal gown and robes that long ago fit her snuggly. A crown sat upon her head, heavy on her brow. “Stand before me grand-daughter. Hear what I must say and do as I bid you.” The young girl was trembling, but she walked forward, slowly at first, and stood before Queen Valda. Her hands were folded before her and she bowed gracefully. She did not have the courage to look the queen in the eye. “Vahnessa, you are ...

24 likes 13 comments 13
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Harlequin

Submitted to Contest #61

Most kids have teddies or some variation of that, but I had my plush little harlequin. Each night he would sit faithfully beside my head, and stare down the monsters with his frozen expression. And there were a lot of monsters. No names for any of them—they were too primeval for names. A werewolf in a story can be killed, vampire staked. Dragons and manticores can be slain, given enough time. Even Godzilla eventually retreats to the ocean. But these shadowed things weren’t fairytales. They didn’t inhabit neat little stories with rules that c...

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Trusty Ol' Pocket Knife

Submitted to Contest #61

The door flung open. Jamie came running into the room, opening all the drawers frantically. He stopped at the bottom drawer and snatched a pocket knife out of it, immediately holding it tightly to his chest. He then stepped slowly to his bed, attention fully on the knife, tracing Dominic’s name scribbled on it with a permanent marker. As he laid down, his eyes stayed locked on what was in his hand. Dom sat at the foot of his little brother’s bed, watching. He as well, couldn’t tear his eyes off what Jamie was holding. That pocket kni...

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The Changeling

Submitted to Contest #61

A cool breeze filtered into the room through the half-open window. I puffed thoughtfully on my cigarillo. My partner, Conrad LeFontain, sat in the corner, reading something on his tablet. I was never much for them things; too much technology these days. “Mail call!” said a voice from outside.  “Howdy Perry,” I said, inclining my head to the lanky, middle-aged postman.  “Howdy, Walter, Conrad,” replied the postman, tipping his pith helmet. “You’ll never guess what happened today!”  Perry was known for telling tall tales, wh...

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The Yo-Yo

Submitted to Contest #61

“This,” Derren threw a hand toward an ornate wooden yo-yo in a bowl of keys, “is my inheritance.” Maria paused, one mahogany leather boot dangling in her gold-choked fingers. “A yo-yo?” A cackle leapt out of her as if the situation had slapped her in the back of the head. “Your millionaire old vampire of a mother left her only child, a yo-yo? What did she do with the rest? Leave it with the cat sanctuary?” Another cackle forced its way out, this time a really guttural howl.  “The Parrot Zoo Trust, actually,” said Derren slowly so th...

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Morgue Room B

Submitted to Contest #61

My mother was obsessed with J.D Salinger. If you have to know, she was a bit off. She swore from the moment I was born that I “embodied” the spirit of his writing. In particular, she always read me “A Perfect Day for Bananafish.” Every night after bath, she would squeeze me with my towel and tell me to meet her in bed after I brushed my teeth. At the age of seven I could recite direct dialogue from a short story about a deranged man who kills himself next to his wife. To say death was romanticized from a young age for me would be a complete ...

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The fire of truth turned everything into ash

Submitted to Contest #61

       The fire of truth turned everything into ash The weather was very alluring, the entire area was covered with a thick sheet of snow and bright sunlight was shining everywhere. The light golden color reflecting upon the pile of snow embellished the entire surroundings. The entire scenario was ratiocinating an ecstatic mood. Its new year eve and the city was bustling with lots of people. In all those happiness Christine was sitting quietly sipping her coffee and enjoying the beautiful atmosphere in a ...

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Write What You Know

Submitted to Contest #61

Write What You Know by Stephen Owen Mr. Edwards was a whiskey-nosed man who taught English at Gainsborough Comprehensive. He wore a green tweed jacket with leather elbow patches and was pretty crazy at the best of times, but today he was in overdrive. He scribbled his literary tip for the day across the blackboard in four giant powdery words. When he'd written the last one he underlined it several times with a piece of red chalk and turned to face the class. “Write. What. You. Know.” Edwards was emphatic. He spoke as if each word was...

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RBE | Illustrated Short Stories | 2024-06

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