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Discover weekly, the best short stories

Looking for a steady supply of suspense short stories? Every week thousands of writers submit stories to our writing contest.

8830+ Suspense Short Stories to read

Submitted by writers on Reedsy Prompts to our weekly writing contest. From bizarre characters to creeping threats, this collection of suspense short stories gives you an exciting array of bone-chilling tales.

Suspense Short Stories – Page 589 of 589

Wood and Iron

Heera A

Submitted to Contest #31

It was one of those days where nothing was supposed to happen. Or at least, nothing out of the ordinary. The first rays of the sun were peering in from behind the greyish-white clouds. I had my morning cigarette tucked in the corner of my lips, the tobacco smoke tickling my nostrils with familiar warmth. A pair of birds flew twittering over my head. I cannot recall exactly what they were because I didn't really care much for birds, but I hoped I had looked up.At least, I would have noticed that each bird had four wings instead of two.And tha...

6 likes

It's the Unusual Circumstances That Bring Us Together

Kathleen M.

Submitted to Contest #27

It’s not an unusual circumstance to see a person boarding a train without a ticket. It happens all the time when people with little money have many places to go. In my case, however, it was because the cops got wise and I had to skip town in a hurry. Con men have to eat, we’re not an exception to the rules of life. I had spent the earlier part of my day dodging the conductor who was looking for tickets, and the two police officers searching the cars for me. Perhaps I shouldn’t have made off with the mayor’s pocket watch, but when I see shiny...

8 likes

Resolute

Submitted to Contest #25

What better way to start a new year than with a knife in your gut?The blade, a crude meat knife rather than a proper dagger, had stabbed into Yonah’s stomach beneath and to the left of his navel. He intended to catch the accursed thing with his right handーforged from meteorite iron and skeletal in appearanceーbut someone else swung at the eight-year-old girl hiding behind him and clutching at his left arm. At that moment, Yonah’s protective instincts decided both his and her fates; his steel hand grabbed the incoming sword and shattered it wi...

11 likes

Date Night in Ohio

RD Smith

Submitted to Contest #23

The fervent movement of Trevor’s eyes gave the impression that he was seated on a witness stand. Taillights. Flurries.Zero bars.Taillights.A mortaring, fluffy monsoon. Zero bars.Shit. He had hoped that he could fill the momentary deafening silence with the noise of his thumb scrolling social media. No such luck. His 2006 Toyota Corolla was a worn, red speck in the multicolored vehicle mosh pit, creating a Jackson Pollack original on the snow-covered rural Ohio highway. Cell service could only be a mirage at this point.He th...

4 likes

My Sweet Baby

Submitted to Contest #20

My sweet baby, all fresh and pure.I seen nothing sweeter, than my babe beforeI will hold you proudly, till you can walk strongThen my little babe, will be gone, a strong manAnd then this sweet mother, will rejoice for so long. Aged arms caressed a soft child as the song was hummed with a raspy voice. The child slumbered as his mother slowly put him down into the crib. Sunlight streamed into the room, flooding the wooden rocking chairs, the body size mirror, and the sleeping babe in a golden war...

10 likes

Let's Start a Podcast

Jessica C

Submitted to Contest #15

“Did you ever hear about this?”Christy slides the magazine across the table. Miller looks up, wiping his Cheeto-stained fingers on his sweatshirt.“No. What is this?”“Crazy article. So apparently this guy is like, super normal family man and then one day he snapped and killed his neighbor. And when they caught him, they found, like, twenty peoples’ heads in his backyard.”I am staring at the beam of late afternoon sun streaming in from the smeared library window in the corner, trying to count the millions of twinkling...

10 likes

300 Seconds

Submitted to Contest #13

Jared glanced at his watch and smiled to himself. He knew that it was pointless to time the bell hop, but old habits and all that. Considering this quirk was all that was left of his once debilitating OCD, Jared embraced it. Keeping track of those seconds kept him from needing to count stairs, kept him from having to go down to the first step again if he missed one or lost count, kept him from tapping the railing five times if there was an odd number of stairs, kept the compulsion to look at the ceiling every fourth step he took at bay.“Welc...

8 likes

Saved by the clouds

Simon Ward

Submitted to Contest #8

Finally, old enough for an adventure, I'd had three weeks exploring the Brazilian coastline, stopping at a small village. I spotted a chalkboard sign for a boat trip and thought I’d give it a go. The condition of the boat should’ve warned me off, large enough for the 20 or so passengers but rather weathered, as soon as we’d set off the two crew, who looked like trainee pirates were throwing drink down their necks. A large American couple berated them for drinking but got a volley of abuse when attempting to get them to focus o...

12 likes

The Desert Mouse

Submitted to Contest #8

The mellow sun rises over the shifting sands of the Sahara Desert. Dawn.Over a ridge, far in the midst of the desert, peeks a small golden desert mouse. It gazes over the rippling sea of sand, rubs its nose, cocks its head, and does an about-face to go back down to its hole alongside the oasis.It freezes suddenly as a slender, striking, evil head rises menacingly before the mouse. It is one of the Yellow Snakes; snakes so venomous it can kill a man in thirty seconds. Carnivorous, the Yellow Snake flicks its tongue in the direction of the mou...

42 likes

The Widow

Mackenzie Morris

Submitted to Contest #7

Set at a whopping 375 degrees, the old oven struggled to get up to temperature. I kicked the hissing box of scrap metal causing the partially hinged door to fall open. “Shit.” I muttered. I slammed the door shut and set down the overloaded paper bags. My shoulder throbbed wearisomely, and the oven, unbothered, continued to whistle and wheeze behind me. I unpacked the groceries arranging them into an orderly pile and assessed my damage. There were some eggs, a bag of potatoes, and a small slab of red meat but the rest of the items were for my...

7 likes