“There’s something to be said for a shorter, more intense experience. It can be invigorating, sometimes even shocking, like a waltz with a stranger you will never see again, or a kiss in the dark, or a beautiful curio for sale laid out on a cheap blanket at a street bazaar. Feel free to examine them, but please be careful. The best of them have teeth.” ~Stephen King
As the days grow shorter and the nights grow colder, this is the perfect time to curl up with a spooky tale. Here are some scary short stories you can read online!
1.) “Jack O’Dander” by Priya Sharma
The sister of an abducted child is haunted by a sinister figure who may or may not be real. . .
2.) “Hungry Daughters of Starving Mothers” by Alyssa Wong
A woman who can read the thoughts that float above other people’s heads goes on a date with a man who intends to murder and mutilate her. What he doesn’t know is that she is far more dangerous than he could ever hope to be.
3.) “The Pigeon Summer” by Lee Mandelo
After the death of hir best friend, J., the enby protagonist of Lee Mandelo’s “The Pigeon Summer,” begins writing notes to the ghost that si believes lives in hir apartment.
4.) “Don’t Turn On the Lights” by Cassandra Khaw
A take on the creepy urban legend of a dormitory murder twists an old tale into something much more sinister.
5.) “How to Get Back to the Forest” by Sofia Samatar
At first, the kids seem like any other children at summer camp: homesick and loud and obsessed with ghoulish rumors. But it slowly becomes clear that this is not any old camp — and that these kids are never, ever going home.
6.) “The Price” by Neil Gaiman
“The Price” starts off innocuously enough, as the narrator takes in a stray cat that happens to wander by their home. Something, however, is clearly amiss, as every night the cat returns to them savaged half to death.
http://www.bitchwick.com/amacker/bean/price.html
7.) “The Masque of the Red Death” by Edgar Allan Poe
The “Red Death” has killed half the population. Prince Prospero summons a thousand of his friends to join him in the safety of an abbey. It’s full of provisions and entertainments. The doors are sealed. They plan on waiting out the scourge. The Prince throws a magnificent masked ball.
http://xroads.virginia.edu/~Hyper/POE/masque.html
8.) “Hello, Moto” by Nnedi Okorafor
“Hello, Moto” is a different kind of witch story, about power-conferring wigs. Yes…wigs.
9.) “The Yellow Wall-Paper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman (1892)
This is probably one of the most reprinted horror stories of all time, and for good reason. Go insane with its tortured narrator
10.) Minute Reads from Reddit
Most of these stories are 1 minute reads and some of the creepiest ones I have ever read. Lots of Trigger Warnings!
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