scary story essay 500 words

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Paradise Falls: Chapter 22

The author of my dreams, when the dead came visiting, art and grit, fireflies and dancing peacocks, thirsting for freedom, the island flamingo: chapter 30, the intern, part 1, mifepristone: its value beyond reproductive health, paradise falls: chapter 21, changing tides, inner eclipse, the new phase, the order of things, walking on water, remember to play, april showers, naltrexone shortages reported across u.s., growing up -the bangalore years, paradise falls: chapter 20, a day of fools, the island flamingo: chapter 29, all things abandoned, seeds of doubt, storm drain: a 500 word horror story.

The early summer rainstorm ceased. But, dark clouds remained and hovered above the sparsely populated street. Rainwater trickled into the storm drain below and lured the brown, slimy creature to the surface. Overcast skies and rain-drenched surface created the perfect environment for the underground creature. Conditions were ideal for it to go in search of a meal. It seeped out through a small crevice between the road and the round drain cap.

The sinister blob slithered down the deserted street and headed toward the nearest home. It glided across the dampened pavement with an eerie silence. Driven by hunger, the brown goo then drifted onto the wet grass where it devoured pill bugs and worms. The mysterious mass lacked a mouth, so it absorbed things through its gelatinous skin.

As it neared the solitary house, it sensed large sources of food and quickened its pace. The blob slithered into the backyard, inched its way up the steps, and squeezed through a screen door. Once inside, the creature squirmed into the family room and moved up the backside of the sofa where a male dozed. With stealth and silence, the goo rolled toward him. It slid over the man’s forehead and dove into his opened mouth.

The male bolted awake, and his eyes flew open. He coughed, retched, and struggled to breathe. The man reached up and grabbed at the goo to yank it away, but the creature ingested his hands. Before long, he succumbed to the attack.

The mass then inched its way down the man’s esophagus and into his stomach. After consuming the innards, the slimy creature forced its way out through the abdomen of the lifeless male. It slithered in and out repeatedly until it consumed every bit of flesh, bones, organs, blood, and hair. Evidence of the male’s body was non-existent. Gone—vanished into the belly of the blob.

The creature left the couch and made its way into the kitchen where it detected a female. The mass glided toward her leg and ascended.

She looked down and screamed. The female shook her leg and whacked at the brown goo to free her body from the ghastly creature, but it latched on with unmatched strength. It made its way toward her face, entered her mouth, and rendered her silent.

The slime entered through her eye sockets and consumed her brain, then moved down to ingest her body. A droplet of blood remained on the floor—until the gelatinous creature rolled backward to absorb it.

The slimy creature sensed movement coming from above. It slithered up the refrigerator, toward the family feline.

Fearful of the strange brown blob, the calico cat jumped down and dashed out of the house.

The nefarious creature, satisfied with its consumption of food, rolled down from the appliance. It slithered out of the house and headed back toward its home—the underground. It intended to roam the storm drains, to lie in wait for the next rainstorm and the meal it’d provide.

How Can You Pretend?

Orion’s embrace part 10.

Donna Trovato

The Evidence

Man standing on a beach with logs stacked all over haphazardly looking toward the sea in a red jacket. A gloomy sky and island is in the background.

Paradise Falls: Chapter 2

Inevitable Change

Wholesomeness

Seize The Holidays

The Dark Chasm

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I’m going with the wave

I want to fly

Bobby Mackey’s – Beyond The Demons

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500 Words - The Haunted House

The Haunted House By Lily

Once on a very dark, cold night there lived the Nicholls family. They were a kind hearted, happy family.

Their house was quite grand but there was only one thing about their house, their house was a ……………. HAUNTED HOUSE!!

The story begins with all the Nicholls family fast asleep in their warm cosy beds. During the night when the clock struck midnight, a silvery white ghost appeared. After the ghost appeared, he yowled a very spooky sound. Whenever he yowled that sound, lightening struck! Even though the sounds were so loud, the family were still asleep. Well asleep except for two – Molly and Holly, the 9 year old twins. The twins were very adventurous. They decided to find what was making that spooky sound. They jumped out of bed and started looking. First they looked under their beds, then behind the clock and all around the house but they couldn’t find where the yowling was coming from. They looked outside but they still couldn’t find where the noise was coming from. Eventually they gave up. Holly said “if we saw whatever that spooky thing was, should we have told them off?”. Molly replied “yes, definitely”. They silently crept back to bed.

In the morning Holly and Molly heard a crying sound coming from outside. The girls politely asked if they could go outside. Their Mum replied “of course you can so long as you get dressed first”. “We will Mum” they said running up the stairs flinging off their pyjamas along the way.

After the twins got dressed, they quickly raced outside to the grassy garden. Suddenly they came to a stop when they were face to face with a crying ghost. Molly said bravely “wwwwwhats the mattttttter” while shaking. “Are you alright?”. “I keep scaring people but all I want to do is to help” said the ghost sadly. “Hmmmm” Holly said. “I’ve got an idea! Our Dad is an excellent inventor. I’m sure he can help!”. “Great!” said the ghost. “I’m glad you found me”. All the three decided to meet after the girls had told Dad what had been going on.

The girls found Dad busy tinkering in the cellar making new fantastic inventions like he always did. Dad said “I’m making a no spooky sound medicine”. Well what a co-incidence. Molly asked Dad if she could borrow it and off the girls went carefully clutching the medicine making sure they didn’t spill a drop. They gave the ghost the medicine. He trusted the girls by drinking it all up. That night, the ghost went back to the Nicholls family house, tried to make a spooky noise but it didn’t happen. He knew that the medicine had worked. The ghost was so thankful for the twins help, he silently floated into the girls bedroom and whispered “THANK YOU!”. But wait, later the family were asleep and the ghost was cured so who just made that yowl?

Memorable French Exchange Trip to Montpellier

SkyArts - Painting Birds with Jim and Nancy Moir

Poppy and Betsy's Inspiring Efforts in The Bone Cancer Trust-Elfie Run

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4960+ Horror Short Stories to read

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“ the gingerbread cookies ” by aaron chin.

🏆 Winner of Contest #229

The Gingerbread Cookies Let’s go downstairs and bake some cookies, like mother used to make. The warm smell sits right at home in your nostrils, invading them like wild ax-murderers hacking and slashing their way through endless miles of human bodies that stand in the way of their inhumane, carnal desires. Shhh, shhh, but that’s too dark. It’s Christmas after all. So let’s go down...

“ Cerulean ” by AnneMarie Miles

🏆 Winner of Contest #223

The door is cerulean, a bright and vibrant blue, but really it is the color of my sudden uneasiness. The feeling creeps up me slowly, jumps out at me dauntingly, and I am frozen in it. If the door were a mirror – and how I wish it were as innocent as a mirror – I would see my face reflected back to me, and it would tell me to run.I’m not sure what’s more jarring: the fact that this door is a clashing contrast to the rest of the library décor, or the fact that I’ve never noticed the path we took to get here before. I supp...

“ Do Flamethrowers Belong In The Library? ” by Kenz Ross

🏆 Winner of Contest #211

We lose people all the time. It’s just the nature of the job. What can you expect from a place full of nooks and crannies people intentionally go to get lost in? I usually don’t worry when I don’t see someone for a while, but when it’s been days since someone’s checked out, it’s usually a sign that I need to step in. I’m not doing this alone, thankfully. No Librarian i...

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[Content note: substance misuse, suicide, transphobia]Picture this: Dorian Gray, 25, gorgeous bachelor of the Brighton gay scene #handsomeAF #queen #slay. Picture his blazing blue eyes set above aquiline nose and a rosebud pout of a mouth. Cheeks ready to blush under the lick of glitter from a make-up brush. Deep gold locks styled to perfection. Forehead wide and empty as a summer sky #beautynotbrains #imageiseverything #skindeep.Picture this: Dorian perched on the sleek leather and chrome of a barstool in the Poison Ivy, margarita in one ha...

“ Safe and Sound Safe and Sound ” by Katharine Widdows

Trigger warning - psychological abuse.7.15am - go downstairs. Phone fully charged, remove cable. Stare at phone wallpaper – not familiar – photo of huge oak in West Park at end of my street – where Rich proposed. Maybe took it yesterday – maybe not. Not sure. Stare more. Check for messages. Mum, Sarah, Rich. Rich? Not heard from him in ages. Is he ok? Oh, he’s replying to me. I didn’t message him. I must have, yes, look. Asked if he had a good weekend, sent 23.03 yesterday. Was in bed by 10. Must have got up - come downstairs - forgotten. Sl...

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There are few places Belinda Blackwell likes to lay down to rest more than upon her husband’s chest. He hadn’t been expecting her. Belinda hadn’t been expecting to be home so soon, either– what with the unpredictability of her father’s illness demanding open schedules from his children, someone on-call at all times lest the old man die without one of them there to hold his hand. When Oscar had come to join them a week early— something about a case closing timely and a stiffening in his shoulders when Belinda enquired about her sister-in...

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Submitted to Contest #249

DO NOT DRIVE INTO SMOKE. The yellowed road sign was already a dwindling speck in his side mirror, hardly worth devoting any extra energy on, but Bryan couldn’t shake the nasty thought that a sign like that was just the sort of unimpeachable non-action that authorities like to take in a crisis. Notably, he didn’t put much thought into the actual substance of the warning. Wispy gray clouds of smoke rolled somewhere ahead, their exact distance impossible to judge against the resolutely flat landscape. Besides, driving into the smoke didn’t see...

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She sees it as much as feels it. She does not question this. Content instead to be afforded a ringside seat to a very special moment in her life. A moment made special by it’s simplicity. A celebration of an end. All of her final exams now over. The elation of having completed this part of her journey. No care as to the results of her efforts. That is for another day. All that matters is now. There is nothing else. She feels alive in a way that she hasn’t in such a long time and she embraces that feeling and pulls it closer. She sees it all ...

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The net across the court had ensnared somebody, who now struggled like a bug on sticky paper.Digby Guzman froze. The horde had long since departed for greener – aka warmer and fleshier – pastures. He’d hoped that all the zombies had vacated the area. But he’d forgotten that the walking dead weren’t all that bright. It made sense that a few stragglers remained stuck in spots that humans with intact brains would not. He tightened his grip on his tennis racquet, which had a big dent and loose strings dangling like spilt guts.The zombie hung hal...

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Submitted to Contest #248

Trigger Warning: Throughout this tale, there will be subtle mentions relating to mental health, body image, sexuality, physical violence, and religious tone. Shakey blistered-sunburned fingers holding a pair of binoculars scan the sparse landscape seeking anything to ease the ache of solitude and impending doom. The sun's rays twinkled off the beads of sweat racing each other as they fell from brow to chin. A parched tongue gently soothes the sting of salted droplets on red cracked lips. Weeks had passed since any adequate shelter or provis...

“ Desperate Remedies ” by Darsh Mishra

There was a woman who lived in small house in a busy town. She lived away from all the people though. They lived near a town up a hill. She was the town’s doctor. The town’s only doctor. She was said to never have a patient die under her care. They said she never got ingredients from other stores for her remedies. Some would she was a witch. She was evil and trapped to her land from a curse. The town people said she would cure them from a drink from her well. The people who drank it said it was the sweetest water they ever tasted. Little kid...

“ It Called To Me ” by Noted Moments

Chris had been driving for hours, with the GPS insisting he was close to his parents' house, but he was still ten hours away by paper map. "I knew I should have invested in that new Tesla. I wouldn't have to figure this out. My mom is going to be so worried about me. Dammit, where am I?" says Chris, with a hint of shame in his words. The wooded road seemed to stretch on forever, the trees blurring together like sentinels guarding some ancient secret. He had been looking forward to this trip for weeks, eager to escape the city and spend some ...

“ Desperate Remedies ” by Steven Nimocks

Chapter 1The alarm clock's speakers shattered the blissful peace by blasting the chorus of Highway to Hell. Noah Vale needed the shock to wake up at 4:30 A.M. He stood up and stretched. For the last 10 years, it signaled another mundane day for Noah at Omni-Forge Industries. His wife of 15 years still laid there as the weather forecast began."Lauren, get up or I'll be late," he said, finding her still in bed when he finished his morning routine."C'mon, I got ten minutes left." He gathered his things to leave. Lauren got up and made breakfast...

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THE WIND IN THE WILLOWSBy Chris AshlineThroughout history, there have been many tales and lore regarding creatures of all types. One such creature roams the bayous in Louisiana near a little town named Blue Stone. The townspeople have given this creature that has decided to reside in the area the name of the Willowwind. While none of the people have ever actually seen the creature, there are also some locals who have never been seen again. There are those who have been brave enough to travel out in the swamp for all kinds...

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“ Paradise Lost ” by Mel Kennedy

The sun - a red sun, it turns the sand the colour of blood. Red, the colour of blood. Blood, the warm liquid that ran down her hands and arms the day the raiders came. A blood soaked world. She doesn’t like the colour red. She walks steadily down an old highway, eyes shielded by a worn out baseball cap. Her hands are covered with solid leather gloves, a long, torn jacket protecting her body despite the unbearable heat. Her clothes have seen better days. How many people have worn them before her? Judging by the claw marks, a fair ...

“ Desperate Remedies ” by Alfie Mills

March 8th, 2023 - My Final PostSleep evades me, my mouth a dry desert of sores that burn with each breath. The mere thought of food induces violent waves of nausea, and I have resorted to shaving my own head in desperation. This is the last night I will spend on this earth, according to their twisted plans. But I refuse to succumb. No, this won't be my final night on this doomed planet if my plan succeeds.It's been four months since I was diagnosed with the worst kind of cancer. They tell me my only chance is chemotherapy, but I know the tru...

“ Highway 99 ” by Raven Rhodes

Sarah was driving on Highway 99, a cursed road and an old folks tale in her old town. The legend goes that Highway 99 is cursed, the dark road stretches 5 close to 6 miles without any red lights no communities of people, and dark creepy woods on both sides. A lot of car wrecks have happened on Highway 99 because of the hex put on this road by witches who practice satanic rituals. There is also the legend about the boy who died on Highway 99 or the so-called town's children who would get caught running out and they all mysteriously died. It i...

The Best Horror Short Stories

Horror stories. What is it that you think of first? Maybe it’s malevolent, otherworldly spirits. Or perhaps it’s psychopaths, serial killers, and struggling writers driven mad by a deserted hotel? Whatever it is, there’s one thing that unites you and every other horror lover out there — adrenaline. You know the feeling: your skin crawls, your heart pounds, a shiver runs down your spine. And, as all the best horror story writers will tell you, the cause of this feeling isn’t just the presence of a monster, but the creation of suspense.

That’s where short stories come in. Think Stephen King, Edgar Allen Poe, H. P. Lovecraft: some of their best horrors take the form of a short story. Tales that climb steadily towards a dark and horrific denouement. The kind of thing that, if you’re brave enough, you’d tell your friends around a campfire — a torch casting spooky shadows on your face.

Looking for some spine-chilling horror stories?

If you’re into creepy stories that keep you awake at night, then look no further than our collection of short horror stories, compiled from submissions to our weekly writing contest. Here we’ve gathered together all the scary stories that made us want to lock our laptops in a cupboard and hide under the blankets. And at the top of the page, is the cream of the crop: horror stories that have either won our competition or been shortlisted.

Lots of promising new writers have emerged from this collection, deftly creating atmosphere and building that all-important suspense. So who knows? You might just discover the next Stephen King. And if you enjoy this collection of horror stories, then why not try your hand at writing your own? You could join this week’s short story contest , and walk away with the cash prize — and a shot at publication in Prompted , our new literary magazine!

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132 Best Horror Writing Prompts and Scary Story Ideas

Horror stories send shivers down our spines. They are gruesome, shocking, and chilling. Scary stories are meant to horrify us, and there are many ways to make a powerful impact on the reader. The element of surprise is crucial to make the readers’ blood freeze.

There are different types of horror stories. They often deal with terrible murders, supernatural powers, psychopaths, the frightening human psychology and much more.

Although many horror writing prompts and scary ideas have been written, the following 132 horror writing prompts can spark great creativity in aspiring writers of the horror genre.

A family is on a camping trip. The parents are walking with their two children, a daughter and a son. The little boy trips and falls into a dark river. His father jumps to rescue him. Somehow the boy manages to swim to the surface. The father is nowhere to be found. When the mother gets a hold of the boy, she can’t recognize him. She tries holding him, but the moment she touches his wet body, her hands start burning.
A young girl goes missing in a nearby forest. The whole town is searching for her. Her parents find her sitting and smiling in a cave. Her eyes are completely white.
A woman starts watching a movie late at night. The movie seems all too familiar. Finally, she realizes that it is a movie about her own life and that she might be already dead.
A house finds a way to kill every visitor on its premises.
A child makes her own Halloween mask. She glues a lock of her own hair on her mask. The mask comes to life and threatens to take over the girl’s body.
While digging in her backyard, an old lady discovers an iron chest. She opens it and finds a pile of old photographs of her ancestors. All of them are missing their left eye.
A priest is trying to punish God for the death of his sister. He is getting ready to burn down the church, when supernatural forces start to torture him.
Every year a woman goes to the cemetery where her husband is buried, and when she looks at his tombstone, she notices her own name carved in it.
A woman puts a lipstick on in the bathroom when she hears a demonic voice saying to her: “Can’t you see?”
A mysterious child psychiatrist promises parents to cure their children if they give him a vile of their blood.
A group of 10 friends decide to rent an old English castle for the weekend. The ghosts are disturbed and seek their pound of flesh.
A photographer travels to an Indian reservation for his next project. He starts taking photos, but there are only shadows in the places where people should have been.
A young married couple decide to renovate an abandoned psychiatric hospital and turn it into a hotel. Everything is going well until their first guest arrives.
Three sisters are reunited for the reading of their grandmother’s will. She has left them a diamond necklace, but they have to fight psychologically and physically for it.
An old woman pretends to be lost and asks young women to help her get home. She offers them a cup of tea and drugs them. When the women wake up, they are chained in the basement. The old woman gives them tools and boards, so that they can build their own coffin. If they refuse, she inflicts pain on them.
A mysterious stranger with a glass eye and a cane commissions a portrait. When the portrait is finished, the painter turns into stone.
A little girl’s sister lives with a monster in the closet. She exits the closet on her sister’s birthday.
The demons under the nuclear plant get released after an explosion and start terrorizing the families of people who work at the plant.
A woman gets trapped in a parallel universe where every day she dies horribly in different ways.
A cannibal hunts for pure children’s hearts hoping they will bring him eternal youth.
A politician hides his weird sister in the attic. She’s had her supernatural powers after their family home burned to the ground.
A 16-year-old girl wakes up on a stone-cold table surrounded with people in black and white masks. They are chant and start leaning forward. All of them carry carved knives.
A boy hears screaming from his parents’ bedroom. He jumps and hides under his bed. Suddenly, everything becomes quiet. A man wearing army boots enters his room. He drags the boy from under the bed and says: “We’ve been searching for you for 200 years.”
A husband and his wife regain consciousness only to see each other tied to chairs, facing each other. A voice on the radio tells them to kill the other, otherwise, they would kill their children.
A mysterious altruist gives a kidney to a young man, who has potential to become a leading neuroscientist. After a year, the altruist kills the young man because he proves to be an unworthy organ recipient. The following year, the mysterious altruist is a bone marrow donor.
A group of friends play truth or dare. Suddenly, all the lights go out and in those ten seconds of darkness, one of the group is killed.
A young man becomes obsessed with an old man living opposite his building. The young man is convinced that the old man is the embodiment of the devil, and starts planning the murder.
Concerned and grieving parents bring their 8-year-old son to a psychiatrist after their daughter’s accident, believing that the boy had something to do with her death.
A woman is admitted to a hospital after a car crash. She wakes up after three months in a coma, but when she tries to speak, she can’t utter a sound. When the nurse sees that she is awake, she calls a doctor. The last thing the woman remembers is hearing the doctor say: “Today is your lucky day,” right before four men in black robes take her out.
A small-town cop becomes obsessed with a cold case from 1978. Three girls went missing after school, and nobody has seen them since. Then one day, in 2008, three girls with the same names as those in 1978 go missing. The case is reopened.
After his parents’ death a cardiologist returns to his small town where everyone seems to lead a perfect life. This causes a disturbance in the idyllic life of the people since none of them has a heart.
A man is kidnapped from his apartment on midnight and brought on a large private estate. He is told that he will be a human pray and that ten hunters with guns will go after him. He is given a 5-minute head start.
A strange woman in labor is admitted in the local hospital. Nobody seems to recognize her. She screams in agony. A black smoke fills in the entire hospital. After that, nobody is the same. A dark lord is born.
A young girl finds her grandmother’s gold in a chest in the attic, although she isn’t allowed to go there by herself. She touches the gold and she starts seeing horrible visions involving her grandmother when she was younger.
An anthropologist studies rituals involving human sacrifice. She slowly begins to accept them as necessary.
A family of four moves in an old Victorian home. As they restore it, more and more people die suddenly and violently.
An old nurse has lived next door to a family that doesn’t get older. Their son has remained to be a seven-year-old boy.
A girl wakes up in her dorm and sees that everybody sleepwalks in the same direction. She acts as if she has the same condition and follows them to an underground black pool where everybody jumps.
A bride returns to the same bridge for 50 years waiting for her husband-to-be to get out of the water.
An old woman locks girls’ personalities in a forever growing collection of porcelain dolls. Parents of the missing girls are in agony and they finally suspect something. When they tell the police, their claims are instantly dismissed.
A chemistry teacher disfigures teenagers who remind him of his childhood bullies. One day, he learns that the new student in his school is the son of his childhood’s archenemy.
A girl starts digging tiny holes in her backyard. When her mother asks her what she is doing, the girl answers: “Mr. Phantom told me to bury my dolls tonight. Tomorrow night I am going to bury our dog. And then, you, mother.”
Twin brothers were kidnapped and returned the next day. They claim that they can’t remember anything. The following night, twin sisters disappear.
A boy has a very realistic dream about an impending doom, but nobody believes him until during a storm all the birds fall dead on the ground.
Room 206 is believed to be haunted, so hotel guests never stay in it. One day, an old woman arrives at the hotel and asks for the key to room 206. She says that she was born there.
A genius scientist tries to extract his wife’s consciousness from her lifeless body and insert it into an imprisoned woman who looks just like his wife.
Two distinguished scientists develop a new type of virus that attacks their brains and turns them into killing machines.
A woman steps out of her house only to find four of her neighbors dead at her doorstep. Little does she know that she isn’t supposed to call the police.
A bachelor’s party ends with two dead people in the pool. Both of them are missing their eyes.
A young woman wearing a black dress is holding a knife in her hand and threatening to kill a frightened man. She is terrified because she does not want to kill anybody, but her body refuses to obey her mind.
A strange religious group starts performing a ritual on a playground. The children’s hearts stop beating.
A woman discovers that her niece has done some horrible crimes, so she decides to poison her. Both of them take the poison, but only the aunt dies.
A man encounters death on his way to work. He can ask three questions before he dies. He makes a quick decision.
An older brother kills his baby sister because he wants to be an only child. When he learns that his mother is pregnant again, he decides to punish her.
A husband and his wife move to a new apartment. After a week, both of them kill themselves. They leave a note saying: “Never again.”
A man is trying to open a time portal so that he could kill his parents before he is ever conceived.
A famous conductor imprisons a pianist from the orchestra and makes him play the piano while he tortures other victims, also musicians. Every time the pianist makes a mistake, the conductor cuts of a finger from his victims.
A popular French chef is invited by a mysterious Japanese sushi master for dinner. A powerful potion makes the French chef fall asleep. He wakes up horrified to learn that he is kept on a human farm, in a cage.
A nuclear blast turns animals into blood-thirsty monsters.
A mysterious bug creeps under people’s skins and turns them into the worst version of themselves.
A kidnapper makes his victims torture each other for his sheer pleasure.
Four friends are invited to spend the afternoon in an escape room. A man’s voice tells them that they have won a prize. They happily accept and enter the escape room. They soon realize that the room was designed to reflect their worst nightmares.
Two sisters have been given names from the Book of the Dead. Their fates have been sealed, so when they turn 21, dark forces are sent to bring them to the underground.
A mother-to-be starts feeling severe pain in her stomach every time she touches a Bible. Despite the fear for her own life, she starts reading the New Testament out loud.
A literature professor discovers an old manuscript in the college library. He opens it in his study and suddenly a black raven flies through the window.
You are the Ruler of a dystopian society. You kill every time your control is threatened.
You are an intelligent robot who shows no mercy to humanity.
You are a promising researcher who discovers that all the notorious dictators have been cloned.
A nomad meets a fakir who tells him that he would bring agony to dozens of people unless he kills himself before he transforms into a monster.
A most prominent member of a sect goes to animal shelters to find food for the dark forces.
A man hires unethical doctors to help him experience clinical death and then bring him back to life after a minute. Little does he know that one minute of death feels like an eternity full of horrors.
You travel home to visit your parents for the holidays. Everything seems normal until you realize that demons have taken over their consciousness.
A mysterious woman moves into your apartment building. One by one, all of the tenants start hallucinating that monsters chase them and jump into their own deaths.
Divorced parents are kidnapped together with their son. Both of the parents have been given poison, but there is only one antidote. The boy needs to decide which parent gets to be saved. He has 30 seconds to make that decision.
A patient with a multiple-personality disorder tells you that you are one of six characters.
You wake up in bed that is a blood-bath.
The Government abducts children with genius IQ and trains them to fight the horrors in Area 51.
A woman who has just given birth at her home is told that the baby is predestined to become the leader of the greatest demonic order in the country.
A man signs a document with his blood to relinquish his body to a sect.
A woman enters a sacred cave in India and disappears for good.
A man opens his eyes in the middle of his autopsy while the coroner is holding his heart.
You look outside the windows in your house only to see that the view has changed and there is black fog surrounding you.
The gargoyles from the Notre Dame have come to life and they start terrorizing Paris.
Somebody rings your doorbell. You open the door and a frightened girl with bloody hands is standing at your doorstep. “You’re late,” you reprimand her.
You wake up in the middle of the night after a frightful nightmare, so you go to the kitchen to get a glass of water. You turn on the light and a person looking like your identical twin is grinning and pointing a knife at you.
A renowned book editor receives a manuscript elegantly written by hand. The title grabs her attention and she continues reading page after page. When she finishes, the manuscript spontaneously starts burning, and the editor is cursed forever.
The last thing you remember before losing consciousness is fighting a shady Uber driver.
You find yourself in a cage in the middle of a forest and black mythological harpies hovering above the cage.
A woman wants to quit smoking, so she visits a therapist who is supposed to help her with the use of hypnosis. She goes under and when she wakes up, she feels like a born killer.
Five hikers get stranded during a horrible storm. One of them kills the weakest and starts burning his body.
A mother goes in the nursery to check up on the baby and discovers that the baby is missing and, in her place, there is a baby doll.
A killer is willing to pay a large sum of money to the family of a volunteering victim. A cancer patient contacts the killer. The killer ends up dead.
The sacred river in a remote Asian village fills up with blood. The last time that happened, all the children in the village died.
A tall, dark, and handsome stranger invites a blind woman for a romantic date in his botanical garden. The garden is full of black roses in which women’s souls have been trapped. He tells her that she will stay forever with him in his garden.
A frightened man is trying to lead a werewolf into a trap and kill him with the last silver bullet.
An architect designs houses for the rich and famous. What he doesn’t show them is that he always leaves room for a secret passageway to their bedrooms, where they are the most vulnerable.
A man’s DNA was found on a horrible crime scene and he has been charged with murder in the first degree. He adamantly negates any involvement in the crime that has been committed. What he doesn’t know is that he had a twin brother who died at birth.
Every passenger on the Orient Express dies in a different, and equally mysterious way.
A magician needs a volunteer from the audience in order to demonstrate a trick involving sawing a person in half. A beautiful woman steps on the stage. The magician makes her fall asleep, and then he performs the trick. In the end, he disappears. People in the audience start panicking when they notice the blood dripping from the table. The magician is nowhere to be found. The woman is dead.
A mother discovers that her bright son is not human.
Specters keep terrorizing patients in a psychiatric hospital, but nobody believes them.
A man’s mind is locked into an immovable body. This person is being tortured by a psychopath who kills his family members in front of him, knowing that he is in agony and can’t do anything to save them.
A bride-to-be receives a DVD via mail from an unknown sender. She plays the video and disgusted watches a pagan ritual. The people are wearing masks, but she recognizes the voice of her husband-to-be.
A man turns himself to the police although he hasn’t broken the law. He begs them to put him in prison because he had a premonition that he would become a serial killer.
Jack the Ripper is actually a woman who brutally kills prostitutes because her own mother was a prostitute.
A ticking noise wakes her up. It’s a bomb, and she has only four minutes to do something about it.
After a horrible car crash, a walking skeleton emerges from the explosion.
A world-famous violinist virtuoso uses music to summon dark forces.
A philosopher is trying to outwit Death in order to be granted immortality. He doesn’t know that Death already knows the outcome of this conversation.
A beautiful, but superficial woman promises a demon to give him her virginity in exchange for immortality. Once the demon granted her wish, she refused to fulfill her end of the deal. The demon retaliated by making her immortal, but not eternally youthful.
A voice starts chanting spells every time somebody wears the gold necklace from Damask.
Three teenagers beat up a homeless man. The next day all of them go missing.
Thirteen tourists from Poland visit Trakai Island Castle in Vilnius. Their bodies are found washed up the next morning. They are wearing medieval clothes.
A group of extremists ambush the vehicle in which a head of a terrorist cell is transported and rescue him. They go after anybody who was involved in his incarceration.
A hitman is hired to kill a potential heart donor.
A man is attacked by the neighbor’s dog while trying to bury his wife alive.
A woman disappears from her home without a trace. He husband reports her missing. The police start to suspect the husband when they retrieve some deleted messages.
After moving to a new house all the family members have the same nightmares. Slowly they realize that they might be more than nightmares.
A psychopath is drugging his wife, pushing her to commit a suicide so that he could collect the life insurance.
A woman loses her eyesight overnight. Instead, she starts having premonitions.
A vampire prefers albino children.
A man commits murders at night and relives the agony of his victims during the day.
A black horse carriage stops in front of your house. A hand wearing a black glove make an inviting gesture. Mesmerized, you decide to enter the carriage.
Demons rejuvenate by eating kind people’s hearts.
People are horrified to find all of the graves dug out the morning after Halloween.
Men start jumping off building and bridges after hearing a mysterious song.
A voice in your head tells you to stop listening to the other voices. They were not real.
A severed head is hanging from a bridge with a message written in the victim’s blood.
A delusional man brings his screaming children to a chasm.
A 30-year-old woman learns that a baby with the same name as her died at the local hospital 30 years ago.
A vampire donates his blood so that a child with special brain powers can receive it.
A teenager is determined to escape his kidnapper by manipulating him into drinking poison. He doesn’t stop there.

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EveryWriter

A New Community of Writers

2018 500 Word Scary Story Contest

September 9, 2018 by Richard 6 Comments

Welcome to our 2018 500 Word Scary Story Contest. Every year we run this contest, but this year…it’s different. Over the last year and ½ our site has simply had a lot of issues. I can’t pass up doing this contest, but as it sometimes gets less entries than some of our other of our contests, this year we will not be offering a grand prize.

If you win this year’s contest you will receive:

Publication in EWR: Short Stories
Get a feature page on our site
Get your work promoted on our social networks

Every Halloween for the last 5 years we have done this contest, and we won’t let a little adversity stop the Halloween festivities. We NEED stories. The rules for this contest:

Stories must be 500 words or less
Stories must be scary!
Stories must be submitting by October 28, 2018.
Submit your work to eds [at] everywritersresource [dot] com

Halloween is my favorite time of year around here, and I really want some new scary stories. We want and need Horror stories for our EWR: Short Story site this Halloween season. It’s not Halloween without those new scary stories. So as you submit these, if we like them we will publish them. Consider this contest also a call for submissions. The winners will be announced in our big Halloween night Movie Chat (details to come).

Also, please nothing pornography or just terrible. Please send your best quality work. I’m really looking forward to reading these. Make me fear! Send your work to eds [at] everywritersresource [dot] com

Awesome International Horror Magazine’s Fiction Contest
Cinquain Challenge
Winner of the 2016 James Dillingham Young Award
50 Word It’s really cold outside, warm me up with Horror Contest
Greatest 50 Word Horror Story of All Time! (you vote)

About Richard

Richard Everywriter (pen name) has worked for literary magazines and literary websites for the last 25 years. He holds degrees in Writing, Journalism, Technology and Education. Richard has headed many writing workshops and courses, and he has taught writing and literature for the last 20 years.

In writing and publishing he has worked with independent, small, medium and large publishers for years connecting publishers to authors. He has also worked as a journalist and editor in both magazine, newspaper and trade publications as well as in the medical publishing industry. Follow him on Twitter, and check out our Submissions page .

Reader Interactions

Sharmyn McGraw says

October 7, 2018 at 4:57 pm

Hello, I’ve tried to submit my 500 word or less story to the email address listed above and received a bounce notice, the email address had exceeded it’s limit. Is there another email address I can send it? Thank you, Sharmyn

Robert Kinard says

October 11, 2018 at 4:21 pm

Dreams of Halloween

Like a shadow moving in the darkness… It is something seldom seen. A total act of malevolence, as monsters haunt your dreams… As the sun goes down before tonight’s full Moon. A low rolling fog spread feelings of foreboding and doom. Ghouls and Goblins step out of the gloom, Looking to devour every little kid in costume. Evil spirits celebrate their tormented dreams… Of what can only be… Halloween!!… All hallows eve!! From the nightmare to nightmare and things that go bump in the night. You have an un-easy feeling like somethings just not right. Looking around you stop to check. Feeling the hairs stand up on the back you neck. A cold chill from your sixth sense gives you a freight. As you fall victim to a Vampires bite. People hear your blood curdling scream! As you try to run from this tormented dream. Tripping over a rotted corps You fall into an empty grave. As you struggle to get out, You become the sandman’s slave. Count Dracula summons you, Because once upon a time, You were brave. From nightmare to nightmare now night of the living dead. You’re one of the Zombies waiting in the shadows to crack open somebody’s head. As you step from the shadows grabbing victims right off the street. Eating their brain makes feel complete. A feeling you’ve known all too well, as Witches cast their powerful spell. Like a shadow moving in the darkness… It is something seldom seen. A total act of malevolence, as monsters haunt your dreams… This… Will never be complete, unless innocent little children wearing costumes, Go door to door yelling… Trick or Treat.

Patrick Hoople says

October 14, 2018 at 10:21 pm

“Ghost Witch” Native Americans refer to her as Skuda-ku-mooch or Ghost Witch. Tales that my, great grandmother would tell, entertaining my sister, Adelynn, and I, late on autumn nights. My great grandmother was blind from birth, yet she claimed to have seen Skudakumooch in spirit as a child.

Lore of the Skudakumooch has dwelled in my subconscious since I was a toddler. My mother never mentioned the stories. When asked, she would always give a frustrating but relieving roll of the eyes. Passing them off as imagination. But much talk of the Skudakumooch was permeating through town. You see, Skudakumooch hibernates for five hundred years after one night of possessing a being of innocence.

This year was supposedly the five hundredth year since her last awakening. It is said, that, the ghost witch enters the body of a child, only, to murder and cannibalise the family of the possessed. The witches purpose is to conduct this ritual every five hundred years, laying the groundwork for all evil spirits in the land. But it is already October, and my mind is beginning to be at ease.

In her stories my great grandmother explained that the witch had thick standing hair, embedded were twigs and dead toads. The face was scarred, with a cat-like nose and pearl-white eyes. A smell of burning flesh would fumigate the room. She never showed emotion, only whispered something softly, with a frying voice, into my grandmothers ear. My grandmother would never repeat what the witch had whispered. She seemed, creeped at the thought. Eager to know, my sister and I would beg, only to lead to our grandmother telling us that it was all a dream or she had made it up.

This year, our grandmother hasn’t spoken at all. In february, she just stopped. The doctor believes it to be the onset of Alzheimer’s. Since her diagnosis, it began to get odd. Adeline had brought home a stray cat. The cat had been severely injured in the upper face. It’s teeth were visible, even, with her mouth closed and her eyes were missing. I swore it had been cursed. At night, even after closing my door. I would find the cat sitting at the end of my bed staring at me, with no eyes. I had finally had too much when I kicked her off of my bed. The next morning I swore to take her to a shelter when we found that she had disappeared.

As I lay in bed, I keep smelling a horrid smell, but something interrupts that thought. Adeline, across the hall, is trying to decipher what grandmother had written down for her. Adeline, yells out ”Halloween”. Running into my doorway and with a breath she says “I asked her what the Skudakumooch had whispered and she wrote Halloween Night”. As mother entered the room and demanded we get back to bed. Unable to speak, mother shuffled Adeline to her room. I lay back and pull the covers close. Tonight is halloween.

Every Writer says

October 19, 2018 at 6:57 am

I want to say I’m sorry to all of you that there have been some …..let’s say unfriendly posters in a couple of our threads….we get 100s of comments per day, and It’s hard to go through all of them. I AM reading all of the contests entries, but I am behind. I’m sorry these unfriendly posters weren’t ban sooner. As of now they have been blocked. Commenting on an entry is fine, if it’s positive, if you get someone heckling you, please email me at [email protected], and I will remove them from the site. For now I’m reading reading reading….I love Halloween.

October 19, 2018 at 7:49 am

Also, it helps us a great deal if you sign up for our newsletter. We generally send less than 1 email per month, but every so often more. It’s not often though. Please join if you want to know about our upcoming contests, about winners of the contest, and other happenings on our site. https://www.everywritersresource.com/newsletter/

Quordle says

March 9, 2024 at 2:19 am

It has been bookmarked, and I intend to revisit in the future to peruse updated content.

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500 Word Horror Story Challenge

YOU ARE READING

A woman lets a couple whose car has broken down into her house to use her phone. Not it is as it seems.

# breakdown # gore # horror # mutilation # storm

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The table lamps flickered once, twice then went out with a crack. Startled by the unexpected pop, I spilled my mug of coffee over myself and the book I'd been reading. On my way to the kitchen to get a cloth to clean up there came a knocking on the front door. A young looking couple were stood there drenched to the bone.

"May I use your phone to call my father?" asked the girl. "I've broke down about a mile back."

"Sure, if the storm hasn't affected it," I replied. "My lamps have blown but the electric is still fine at the moment. Come on in."

"Thanks," she said with a smile. "I only live a few miles away so it won't take my father long to get here, I'll be out of your hair in no time."

They both entered and I pointed the girl to where the phone was sat on a small table in the hallway leading to the kitchen. I went back to cleaning up the mess I'd made.

She returned a few minutes later after making the call and asked to use the bathroom.

The couple slipped their shoes off and ascended the wooden stairs with me following them, I needed to get a clean shirt. Another few minutes passed and not a sound could be heard from the bathroom. Curious, I stopped on the landing at the top of the stairs. The cream carpet by the bathroom door appeared to have a dark stain. It was wet when I touched it, and my fingers were painted red. Was that blood seeping from under the bathroom door?

"Are you alright in there?" I asked.

Nothing. I knocked gently on the door. No answer. I swung it open and saw the girl was somehow pinned to the ceiling. I don't know how or by what. I opened my mouth to scream but my throat was dry and all I managed was a croak. Her head had been torn off, her stomach ripped open, and her internal organs were scattered on the tiles. Her intestines dangled down and into a tangled heap, surrounded in a pool of thick dark blood. The boy was nowhere to be seen. The window was shut and locked so where was he? I needed to call the police. I slipped with my bloodied feet landing in all the entrails. The scream came out of me this time. I ran down the stairs and noticed only one pair of shoes by the door before the house was plunged into darkness. I scrambled to find the phone. The line was dead.

Thud! Thud!

Someone was banging like hell on the door. I raced to it and saw an elderly man's face through the small window. Her father I presumed. I opened it and the girl's boyfriend stood there with an evil smile. He raised both arms up to show me one hand holding the girl's severed head and her father's in the other.

A/N Don't forget to vote if you enjoyed the story and any constructive criticism is very welcome. Thanks for taking the time to read. :)

101 Horror Writing Prompts That Are Freaky As Hell

Looking for some scary story ideas for your next writing project?

Sometimes, a good scary prompt idea is all you need to get started on a dark story your readers won’t be able to put down.

And that is the goal. What’s a horror story without white-knuckle suspense?

You want your readers at the edge of their seats, unable to stop though they know something bad is about to happen.

You also want to reward them for reading to the end and leave them wanting more.

So, how can this collection of horror writing prompts help with that?

What Are the Main Elements of Horror Writing?

List of most common horror themes and tropes to write on .

66 Horror Writing Prompts

Halloween Writing Prompts

Mystery writing prompts, psychological horror story ideas, “the monster you know” story ideas, ghost story writing prompts, funny horror story ideas, horror story ideas.

Every good story needs an idea that takes root in your imagination and doesn’t let go. Horror stories in particular need to affect you a certain way. If they don’t sound an alarm in your head, they won’t sound one in the heads of your readers, either.

They need to reach into your psyche, take a scrap of memory, and turn it into something that would keep you up at night.

And as you’ve no doubt read already, “No surprise in the writer, no surprise in the reader.”

Look through the prompts that follow, and choose one that calls out to you and lingers in your imagination.

Paint a picture in your mind of the characters involved. Give yourself a reason to invest in them by giving each one some interesting backstory.

Then set a timer and write.

Since Earl Horace Walpole’s gothic horror The Castle of Otranto hit shelves in 1764, English readers have clamored for dark plots that excite primitive instincts and tickle our fear bones.

Many horror authors leverage shadowy impulses by sprinkling stories with uncomfortable happenings and gruesome fatalities.

But that’s not all it takes to write within the genre, begging the question: What are the main elements of horror? Traditionally, there are five: suspense, fear, violence, gore, and the supernatural.

Suspense : Creating anxious tension is a critical component of horror as it keeps the audience glued to the story. They need to find out what happens! Traditionally, suspense is valued as a sophisticated form of horror, and building it well is a skill.
Fear : Confronting fearful things is a powerful emotion with chemical reactionary consequences, making it a hallmark of horror writing.
Violence : Savagery is scary because it’s inextricably linked to death and pain — two of the four great human fears.
Gore : Brains and guts are a cornerstone of classic horror. For better or worse, our neural pathways light up when confronted with intestines, brain matter, and gushing fluids. Successful horror writers keep readers and watchers engaged by deploying gore effectively.
Supernatural: The main difference between “true crime” and “horror” is a supernatural element. While horror stories draw people in with realism, they usually feature an emotional detachment valve in the form of an explicit or implicit otherworldly presence.

Vampires, ghosts, zombies, and murderers are big-picture mainstays of the horror genre. But what are some other, more detailed tropes associated with scary storytelling?

Babysitter Alone in Big House: The naive babysitter trope is oft-repeated because it works. The sitter acts as a stand-in for the reader or audience in that, like you, they’re vulnerable. Horror-sitters are the character conduit through which readers and viewers can experience the impending fear.
Manipulative Vampires: Maybe it’s their piercing eyes, snappy attire, or mysterious penchant for the “nightlife.” Whatever the case, people stan vampires, and sensual and manipulative ones are an incredibly effective horror character trope.
Ghost-Haunted House: Ghost-haunted houses are a recurring horror motif. Whether you approach it from a traditional or modern angle is up to you. Both can work.
Creepy Kid: In real life, it’s kind to see all kids as precious and special, no matter their quirks. But when it comes to Horror World, creepy kids are a dime a dozen! Sometimes they’re the main attractions or “red herrings” (which we’ll get to more below); other times, they’re supernatural catalysts that serve as a story’s MacGuffin. Whichever the case, unnerving kids go a long way when devising a disturbing scene and fomenting suspense.
The Nonbeliever: Most horror stories have at least one character whose lack of fear or faith (in the story’s “supernatural” element) lands them six feet under.
The Red Herring: A “red herring” is a false clue. The term dates back to the 1400s to describe a culinary preparation for fish, but the first known use as a euphemism for “distraction” appeared in 1884.
Isolation: Few things frighten people more than being all alone while danger looms. As such, isolation can be a helpful trope when crafting horror stories.
Graveyard Chase: A well-conceived chase around a graveyard is another horror mainstay that continues to deliver. Try adding a twist to modernize the trope.
Distorting Mirrors: Whether a single reflecting glass or a full-on maze, using mirrors as a motif is a tangible and effective way to signal distortion.
Aliens and Cultists: The human psyche can’t resist rubbernecking when confronted with the possibility of aliens and the sociopathic underbelly of cults. Resultantly, they work well as engaging frameworks for horror stories.

101 Horror Writing Prompts

Whether you’re writing for a special occasion or just to experiment with the horror genre, any of the scary story prompts in the following groups should get you started.

Go with your gut on this one, and choose an idea that feels both familiar and provocative. Then give it a go!

1. A mysterious gift from an estranged aunt arrives on Halloween with a crystal ball and a note addressed only to you, her godchild.

2. One of the trick-or-treaters bears an uncanny resemblance to your departed sibling and repeats that sibling’s last words before picking your sibling’s favorite candy bar.

3. On Halloween night, you find a box at your door that contains a strange note and a little something from each of the people who have hurt you in the past year.

4. On this Halloween night, your guinea pig won’t stop running in circles, and your dog keeps staring at the door, emitting a low growl.

5. You run out for candy on Halloween afternoon to find the streets empty and the store abandoned. A single car cruises into the lot and pulls into the spot next to yours.

6. Every time you went to answer the doorbell, no one was there. The next day, you heard about the missing children. The worst part? Your kids spent Halloween with your ex and were supposed to come trick-or-treating last night.

7. You arrive home on Halloween to a large package from your new boss, who’d bought every piece of your favorite candy from local stores. The note reads, “Save some for me.”

8. You’re watching TV on Halloween night when your show is interrupted by a faintly familiar someone declaring their love for you and saying they’ve watched you all your life.

9. You come home to find a stranger walking through your home, sipping your wine and admiring your collected antiquities. They startle at your approach and act as though you’re the intruder.

10. The night before Halloween, you have a dream in which you wake up to see a dark shape standing outside your closet. You wake up screaming with your hands around your spouse’s throat.

11. Election day looms, and Halloween feels more ominous than ever. You’ve kept the lights off, but that doesn’t stop one visitor from leaving a note: “Knew you lived here.”

12. Your best friend has gone missing, and someone keeps leaving small reminders of them in your mailbox. You see someone approach to deliver something else, and your heart nearly stops when you recognize them.

13. You’ve always wanted a dog, so when a rain-soaked mutt shows up on your front step, you let him in. Unfortunately, something else hitched a ride.

14. Someone moves into the apartment next door and starts playing loud music at night. You call the police, who find the guy dead holding a note with your name and address.

15. Someone keeps replacing items in your home with different objects that look vaguely familiar. No one else has a key to your home, and there are no signs of forced entry.

16. You bake some cookies to share with the new neighbor, but the terrified woman backs away from the plate, shaking her head. Someone from inside calls out, “I’ll have those.”

17. Someone at work has offered to do a tarot card spread for you, and you politely decline. You find a single tarot card in your mailbox when you return home.

18. You don’t remember wandering alone on a country road as a small child, but someone does. And he wants to make sure you’re not around to testify against him.

19. Someone has gotten to your laundry before you and left it neatly folded in piles on top of the dryer. A note reads, “For more TLC, knock on #303.”

20. The window of your apartment leads to a fire escape, but twice you’ve come home to find it open. Nothing is missing. But someone keeps leaving a ring on your kitchen table.

21. You order a Christmas wreath for your door and the company sends you a package with money instead. The note reads, “Keep half. I’ll pick up the rest in 72 hours.”

22. A child knocks on your door and tells you you’ll be visited by three people that night. One of them will show you your future. The child’s face reminds you of someone.

23. Your best friend is dating a woman who seems familiar to you — and not in a good way. Turns out, she’s got a bad feeling about you, too, and she warns your friend.

24. You receive a surprise delivery of a holiday flower arrangement with a note from someone who went to jail for assault. The message reads, “I’ll be home for Christmas.”

25. An abuser from your past has written you a long letter of apology, and you agree to meet them for coffee. You find your favorite coffee place deserted — on Black Friday.

26. You broke up with your sweetheart when he lied about taking you to the prom and begged you to run away with him so he could escape an abusive home. He’s back.

27. An old friend, who had tried to warn you about an ex-boyfriend years ago, has come back to town to run a diner. Within a week, known bullies start disappearing.

28. For the past three dates, the guy you met ended up dead and posed as if proposing. A note on each one’s empty chest cavity reads, “My heart belongs to [your name].”

29. You’re with a friend at the home of the guy she’s dating. In the bathroom, you find a box with jewelry for almost every birthstone. Yours is the only one missing. You hear a scream.

30. Everyone keeps telling you your memories can’t be trusted. You’re safe with them. They’ll protect you. But you haven’t left the house in years.

31. You thought it was cute when your little sister wanted to wear your aunt’s high heels and pose with a hand on her hip. But your sister had an uncanny way with accidents.

32. You never expected to win the ‘57 Chevy from the church raffle. Neither did the car’s owner, who immediately tried to buy it back. He didn’t respond well to “No, thanks.”

33. Every time you saw anything like “Tornado Warning” or “Flash Flood” in the news, you knew someone would end up dead. And your ex would blame the weather.

34. You come home to a dozen roses from a guy who’s been telling his friends you’re dating, and you get angry. For some reason, though, everyone you know is on his side.

35. Your “Secret Santa” leaves an expensive bottle of wine with a note, “Drink me.” You call a familiar number and hear the phone ring on the other side of your door.

36. Your dad has a secret known only to his twin brother, who mysteriously disappeared but left a note with a box of his belongings in the attic. You take it with you when you leave.

37. You just broke up with the person who’s catering your best friend’s wedding. They also made the cake.

38. Some of your in-laws have decided to deliver their sibling from you. When they cross the line, you make a promise to them and to your spouse. One by one, they disappear.

39. Your health is steadily declining, and you don’t know why. Neither do your doctors, who test for the usual health issues and find nothing. Then someone calls to warn you.

40. Your estranged father sends you a porcelain doll — the one he swears you told him you wanted. It has the face and hair of your missing mother. And her eyes are glued open.

41. You’ve just told your family you’re asexual, and they seem to accept it. Out of the blue, the handsome guy next door shows up to ask you out, and your parents quietly nod.

42. A cop pulls you over for driving a few miles over the speed limit, tells you to get out of your car, slams you against the hood and whispers in your ear, “This is from your ex.”

43. You emailed your fiancé for months before meeting him for the first date. Now, you’re getting strange phone calls from someone claiming to be his wife and telling you to run.

44. You stood numb at the coffin of a close friend and flinched when your father rested a hand on your shoulder. “Had to be done,” he whispered. “Remember the bigger picture.”

45. A small package bears the name of your sister, who died five years ago. It contains a pendant that matches her own and a note asking you to activate it by chanting, “Sisters Forever.”

46. Your elderly neighbors died on the same day of an apparent suicide pact. In their will, they left their pug to you, along with a small box of what they called “magical items.”

47. You receive a note penned by your best friend, who died in a car accident the month before, His parents had found it in his room and hand-delivered it, barely looking at you.

48. You pounce on a new opening in the apartment building close to your favorite coffee place. The first night there, you wake up to ghostly shapes surrounding your bed.

49. At your first slumber party, your friend’s older brother surprised you during a late-night run to the bathroom. He died a decade later in prison. Now you see him in your dreams.

50. Your home is the high-tech brainchild of your best friend, who bequeathed it to you (rather than to his wife). It anticipates your every need and desire.

51. You’ve been having dreams about a door that shows up in your room. In one, you walk through it and see someone you love being murdered . You warn them the next day.

52. You’re the lone survivor of a horrific train crash, and everywhere you go, you see the ghosts of some of the passengers. Some have told you the crash was no accident.

53. You’re looking through your mother’s possessions when a note slips out of the book she’d been reading, warning you about “the ghost who runs this house.”

54. Your new boyfriend is obsessed with ancient artifacts, but when something hitches a ride on his latest find, you witness disturbing changes in his behavior.

55. Your life is already complicated when your boss asks you to stay at his home to care for his dog while he’s away. You soon learn the house is as mischievous as the dog.

56. You’re an editor for the college literary journal, and you’ve been getting poetic hate mail from a student who’s angry you didn’t choose their poems for the latest issue.

57. Your favorite neighbor is a trans woman named Lani who looks out for you. She warns you about a guy down the hall, who keeps trying cheesy pick-up lines to get you to smile.

58. Your co-workers tease you about your weight gain. One is found dead in the bathroom, her mouth stuffed with candy. Everyone but the custodian suspects you.

59. An anonymous admirer sends you a singing telegram with a chilling question. Now you have less than 24 hours to sing your answer in a public square, with a flash mob.

60. You sign up for wine deliveries but are disappointed by the first bottle you open and taste. On the label, you find a crass, insulting note from an old enemy.

61. Your date finds out your BFF is asexual and starts asking intrusive and insensitive questions. When your friend shuts him down, he insults and warns you both.

62. You’re working the dinner rush, and a customer loudly insists on changing her order the moment you deliver it. Someone quietly follows her as she storms out the door.

63. You’re having an open house for your new shop, and you catch a customer shoplifting. She says, “I was told to come in here and take these. You’re being watched.”

64. You arrive at your new house, and the keys from the realtor don’t work. Someone answers the door with a disarming smile. “So, you’re here about the room? Come in!”

65. Your date is going well until you reveal that you have a dog. “I’m not really a dog person,” you hear. When you get a bad feeling and end the date, things get messy.

66. Your journal goes missing, and within a week, a goofy, adorable guy starts showing up at your usual stops. He seems surprised to see you, but something isn’t quite right.

Creepy Writing Prompts

67. The old tunnel had been blocked off for as long as anyone could remember, but late at night, you could still hear the faint screams echoing from deep within.

68. As you walk past the abandoned house on your way home from school, you notice one of the curtains move slightly in an upstairs window, but the house has been empty for years.

69. You wake up suddenly in the middle of the night and see two small handprints on the foggy bathroom mirror that are far too small to belong to anyone in your family.

70. Every night when you go to sleep, you feel an uncomfortable pricking sensation on your skin, yet every morning, you find strange symbols carved into your arms that you don’t remember making.

71. While exploring the attic, you find an old doll that looks eerily like you did as a child, and when you pick it up, its eyes suddenly open.

72. The scraping sound from the closet stops whenever you turn on the light, but it always returns as soon as the room goes dark again.

73. Every time you glance in the mirror, your reflection behaves slightly differently than you do – blinking at the wrong time or moving too late.

74. You wake up covered in mud and scratches with no memory of where you’ve been all night, and the soles of your shoes are worn through as if you had walked for miles.

75. Lately, your pets have refused to go into certain rooms of your house, but you have no idea what frightens them so badly about those areas.

76. You discover a trap door hidden under an old Persian rug in your basement and shining a light into it reveals a set of footsteps descending into the darkness below.

77. You wake up one morning to find all the mirrors in your home have been turned around to face the wall, even though you live alone.

78. Your television is switched on in the dead of night, the static slowly resolving into shapes, and what looks back at you from the screen makes your blood run cold.

79. You keep finding sticky notes around your house with messages written on them in unfamiliar handwriting, like “GET OUT” or “I’M WATCHING YOU SLEEP.”

80. Every time you look at a clock, the time is exactly 3 minutes slow, though all the clocks in your home are set correctly and keep perfect time when others view them.

81. On your way home, you notice a figure standing motionless at the end of the street, staring directly at your house with its face hidden in the shadows of its hooded robe.

82. Your dog comes running inside with its leash still attached but hanging limply, yet when you call the number on the leash’s tag, your own cell phone starts ringing from within your house.

83. Your computer camera activates unexpectedly while you’re working, and you see your own bedroom behind you from an impossible angle near the ceiling, suggesting someone is watching through the camera right now.

84. You hear your name called out softly in an empty room, and even though the voice sounds familiar, you live alone, and you know no one else is inside.

Spooky Writing Prompts

85. Every night when you lie in bed, you hear the floorboards outside your room creaking as if someone is pacing back and forth, but every time you quickly open the door to check, the hallway is empty.

86. While exploring the woods behind your new house, you discover a crumbling old stone well, and when you peer down into the darkness, you think you see pale faces staring back up at you.

87. Your reflection in mirrors and windows often moves independently, quickly looking away whenever you try to catch it, watching you from impossible angles that don’t align with where you’re standing.

88. An unfamiliar chat window opens on your computer screen with only the message “I can see you through your webcam” written inside it by an unseen sender.

89. Plants within your home have been dying overnight no matter where you place them, the leaves and stems drained of all color as if the life has been completely sucked out.

90. You wake up to find a pile of dead birds on your lawn, their wings broken and necks bent at odd angles as if they crashed directly into the ground from high altitudes.

91. The old paintings hanging on the walls of your recently inherited mansion seem to follow you with their eyes, and occasionally, you notice mysterious new figures added in the backgrounds that disappear by morning.

92. Turning on all the faucets causes blood to drip out instead of water, yet when others in your home check them, the liquid running from the pipes is perfectly clear.

93. You wake from a nightmare convinced someone was standing silently at the foot of your bed, only to find the imprint of two bare feet seared into your bedroom carpet right where the figure was standing.

94. Whenever you look in the bathroom mirror late at night, you see dead relatives standing silently behind you who disappear when you turn around to check if anyone is there.

95. The baby monitor in the nursery suddenly emits a strange crackling sound followed by a singsong voice you don’t recognize whispering your baby’s name over and over.

96. Your shadow appears to have a mind of its own, often following you more slowly or quickly than it should and reaching areas you know your body has not moved to.

97. Photos taken with phones or cameras in and around your home show blurry figures lurking in the background that do not match any of the people in the images.

98. Any writing you leave out overnight – from sticky notes to notebooks – has mysterious reoccurring symbols added in unfamiliar handwriting scattered among the existing text.

99. You wake in the middle of the night to the sound of your locked window being forced open from the outside, but when you jump out of bed to check, it’s closed securely as if nothing happened.

100. From your garden, you can see directly into your neighbor’s bathroom mirror, but instead of the neighbor’s reflection, you swear you sometimes see your own face staring back with an expression you don’t recognize.

101. While searching through the attic in your recently purchased Victorian home, you find an old portrait of a severe-looking woman whose eyes seem to follow you around the room; later that night, you wake to find the same woman standing at the foot of your bed, silently watching you sleep.

How Do You Come Up with Horror Ideas?

Coming up with fresh, frightening ideas is key to crafting an effective horror story. While horror inspirations can spring from ordinary events and observations, it helps to have strategies to unleash your most sinister creativity. Here are some tips for conjuring bone-chilling tales:

Mine your nightmares. Dreams often access our deepest fears. Pay attention to recurring nightmares or startling images from your subconscious, as these can inspire terrifying new monsters or situations.
Twist tropes. Take common horror archetypes like haunted houses, demonic possession, or slashers and put a new spin on them. Surprise readers by changing elements they assume to be familiar.
Extrapolate fears. Think about phobias you or others have, like darkness, insects, or tight spaces. Imagine those fears exponentially intensified to petrifying extremes.
Research real horror. Study disturbing historical events, murders, superstitions, or unexplained phenomena and fictionalize them in a new horror setting.
Observe people. Carefully watch those around you and look for small creepy details in their appearances or behaviors that could be expanded into something sinister.

With an observant eye and inventive mind, creators can find endless inspiration from both mundane moments and their most nightmarish dreams. Putting ordinary things in an ominous light or letting one’s imagination run wild with “what if” scenarios generate the kinds of situations and figures that fuel truly frightening tales.

Pay attention to the world around and inside you, and plumb the depths of your creativity, and you’ll never run short on horror ideas.

159+ Horror Story Prompts – Unleash Your Scary Stories

By: Author Paul Jenkins

Posted on Published: September 5, 2022 - Last updated: January 2, 2024

Categories Writing , Inspiration , Storytelling

Are you a horror enthusiast with a passion for writing? Well, you’ve come to the right place! In this article, we’ve put together 159 spine-chilling horror story prompts to help unleash your creativity and keep your readers on edge. Whether you’re a novice or a seasoned writer, our carefully curated prompts, sorted by genre, will turn your creative gears.

Dive into these prompts and start crafting your terrifying tale today! With our help, you’ll be able to engage and thrill your audience through captivating narratives and haunting horror elements.

Key Takeaways

Discover 159 creative writing prompts to inspire gripping horror stories
Experience prompts tailored for different sub-genres within the horror realm
Unleash your creativity and captivate readers with spine-chilling tales

25 General Horror Writing Prompts

Here are 25 intriguing horror writing prompts to spark your imagination:

Haunted Places

Your family moves into a new home, only to find out it’s haunted by the ghost of a previous occupant.
A group of teenagers dares each other to stay overnight in a haunted house.
Inheriting your deceased grandmother’s house, you find a haunted music box.
Your group of friends discovers their beach hotel is haunted during their vacation.
Settling into your new home, your family realizes they’re not alone.

Mysterious Encounters

You and your friends go camping in the woods, but a mysterious killer begins stalking you.
Alone at home, you hear strange noises coming from within the house.
While driving home from work, your car breaks down late at night in a dark, isolated area.
On Halloween night, a creepy child dressed in a clown outfit shows up at the door of your babysitting gig.
Investigating odd noises in your attic, you make a horrifying discovery.

Supernatural Experiences

You and your friends decide to play with an Ouija board, accidentally summoning a demonic presence.
Strange occurrences begin happening when you discover that your children have been playing with a voodoo doll.
Living alone, an elderly woman notices objects in her house mysteriously moving independently.
Following a car accident, you start having nightmares of your death.
You stumble upon disturbing rituals at an abandoned temple on a Mexican vacation.

Unsettling Situations

Waking up in a hospital, you have no memory of how you got there or what happened to you.
You find out that your identical twin sister has been locked away in an asylum and decide to switch places with her.
As layoffs loom at work, your colleagues start dying in mysterious accidents.
Trying on clothes in a dressing room, you realize you’re not the only one present.
Your regular poker game is disrupted when you realize one of your friends has been replaced by an impostor.

Survival and Escape

After being stranded on an island, your group of survivors becomes the prey of cannibals.
Returning from war, you discover sinister counterparts have taken the place of your family members.
Driven by financial desperation, you agree to participate in a dangerous medical experiment.
Performing maintenance on an old elevator, you find yourself trapped overnight with terrifying company.
You start receiving terrifying phone calls and strange gifts at your doorstep.

25 Horror Screenplay Ideas

Let these ideas spark your creativity as you dive into the eerie world of horror writing:

Curses and Transformations

Imagine a small town where a mysterious curse transforms townsfolk into animals under the cover of darkness.
Picture an evil witch transforming people into frogs, forcing them to race against time to break the spell.

Ghosts and Spirits

Picture a woman tormented by the spirit of her deceased sister, who relentlessly attempts to end her life.
Think of a family moving into their dream home only to discover it’s inhabited by vengeful ghosts.
Visualize a woman pursued by her abusive ex-lover returned from the afterlife.
Consider friends visiting a haunted house, unaware of the frightening spirits awaiting them inside.
A family moves into a new house, only to find they’re being watched by an unseen presence.

Demonic and Otherworldly Entities

Envision a group of friends camping in the woods, stalked and hunted by ravenous werewolves.
Contemplate a young girl possessed by a malevolent demon, striking terror and death in her community.
Ponder a man who gradually realizes his wife has been replaced by an extraterrestrial being.
Envision a mother’s fight to protect her children from a nightmarish creature hiding in their closet.
In the midst of an eclipse, vampires emerge to feast upon unsuspecting humans.
A detective uncovers a shocking truth: werewolves have committed a string of grisly murders.

Apocalyptic and Unnatural Threats

Zombies and the undead.

Imagine a zombie invasion during a couple’s Caribbean getaway.
A twisted scientist creates a serum that turns its victims into undead zombies and unleashes it on the world.
On Halloween night, the dead rise as zombies to roam the Earth.

Paranormal and Psychic Phenomena

A woman is tormented by sinister, phantom-like children.
People fall victim to demonic possession through everyday technology.
A man, subjected to cruel experiments, channels newfound psychic powers to exact revenge.

Terrifying Encounters and Survival

Haunting encounters.

Teenagers partying in a deserted warehouse get trapped, facing dire consequences.
Kids at summer camp discover the staff members are aliens with a sinister plan.
As teens roam through an abandoned asylum, they begin to vanish one by one.

Cultural and Exotic Horrors

An American family vacationing in Japan unwittingly stumbles upon paranormal Yakuza activity.

Wilderness and Isolation

While hiking in the mountains, a group of friends must find their way back before darkness falls.
A brave sibling must protect their younger sister during a home invasion.

Let these ideas guide you in crafting your own terrifying tales. Enjoy the spine-chilling writing process!

37 Science Fiction Horror Prompts

Immerse yourself in these spine-chilling science fiction horror scenarios:

Space Horrors

Envision a space expedition going horribly wrong when the crew realizes they’re not alone on their ship.
Consider a woman astronaut haunted by a ghost from her past that she thought she left behind.
Visualize a cursed alien object causing gruesome deaths to whoever touches it.
Picture people trapped in a deadly maze on a faraway exoplanet created by a lunatic.
Contemplate astronauts on a deep space mission finding a hidden creature aboard their ship.
Envision a woman waking from cryogenic sleep to find she’s the last person on earth.
Reflect on a woman realizing her perfect life is an illusion created by an AI brain implant.
Contemplate a family vacation in space ruined by an alien creature stalking them.
Envision a woman with someone else’s still-beating heart inside her chest after surgery.

Time and Dimensional Anomalies

Imagine friends using a time machine and ending up in a parallel universe where menacing creatures are hunting them.
Think about a girl with psychic abilities accidentally opening a portal, unleashing terror upon her town.
Imagine friends uncovering an evil alien entity behind strange disappearances near their hometown.
Think about scientists accidentally opening a door to another dimension while working on a top-secret project.
Imagine a man stuck in a deadly time loop, living the same day over and over.
Ponder women drawn to an alien after a strange invasion, but is it just a physical attraction or something more sinister?

Alien Invasions and Encounters

Ponder an alien invasion taking over a small town, leaving a group of teens to save the day.
Reflect on a virus turning humans into zombies, with survivors fighting for their lives in a world of ruin.
Ponder a student’s terrifying hallucinations of an alien invasion caused by mysterious pills.
Consider mysterious disappearances in a town, with aliens as a possible culprit.
Picture an alien invasion forcing humanity underground, and someone venturing back to the surface only to find something far more horrifying.
Envision a distant future where humanity is at war with an advanced alien species, changing the course of human evolution .
Imagine a silent spacecraft appearing over a city, its intent unknown, sparking fear and fascination worldwide.

Futuristic Dystopias

Think about a mad scientist experimenting on people to create the perfect human.
Visualize an eclipse leaving everyone blind, except for one person.
Picture a future with a hive mind connecting everyone, and a woman hearing voices that aren’t her own.
Ponder a dark secret hidden by corporations ruling a world without democracy.
Consider an environmental disaster forcing humanity to live in a dome city ruled by a tyrannical government.
Visualize a world with cloning, and a woman realizing her identity isn’t what she thought.
Reflect on a small town terrorized by a killer who’s not quite human.
Contemplate scientists resurrecting extinct animals, only to create something far more dangerous instead.
Reflect on a man who suspects he may have started a zombie outbreak after a suspicious virus appears.

Psychological and Supernatural Terrors

Envision a boy discovering a mysterious door in the forest that takes him to an unwelcoming world.
Contemplate a girl who starts seeing unseen creatures after making a wish on a shooting star.
Consider a world controlled by AI, where a man starts to question his own memories.
Visualize a woman haunted by nightmares that turn out to be real, discovering she’s not the only one suffering from them.
Imagine a woman exploring lucid dreaming, later realizing she’s not the only one inside her mind.
Think about friends playing an augmented reality game with deadly stakes against a mysterious opponent.

27 Halloween Night Horror Prompts

As you delve into the world of horror writing, set the stage by using these chilling Halloween night prompts to unleash your creativity. Remember, on Halloween, the barrier between worlds becomes thin, so embrace the eerie occurrences that lurk in the shadows.

Haunted and Cursed Locations

Picture yourself and your friends gathered around a bonfire, sharing ghost stories. As one tells a tale about a cursed house nearby, you suddenly realize you’re standing in front of that very house.
A dare leads a group of teenagers to spend Halloween night in a haunted graveyard, only to discover they are not the only ones there.
Exploring an abandoned mental asylum with friends on Halloween, you hear strange noises coming from a cell.
After moving into a new home, paranormal happenings plague your family’s first Halloween.
An unexplainable force draws you to an abandoned house on Halloween night.
Curious teens follow your town’s haunted history, only to realize they are being watched by an evil presence.

Terrifying Encounters

A quiet Halloween night spent home alone becomes terrifying when you hear someone break in. As you hide under the bed, the intruder is already in the room with you.
Walking home from work, you notice a man following you. Your pace quickens, but so does his – and he’s always right behind you.
Trick-or-treating with friends, you encounter a seemingly abandoned house with its lights on and voices inside.
Playing basketball alone on Halloween, a mysterious clown approaches you on the street.
A chilling phone call from an unknown number threatens you on Halloween night.
Taking an alley shortcut, you notice something odd in a dumpster.
Babysitting on Halloween, unexplainable events occur while you’re alone with the children.
As you trick-or-treat, a masked man follows your every step.
Lying in bed, the slow approach of footsteps up the stairs on Halloween night fills you with dread.
A power outage causes uneasy knocking on apartment doors during Halloween night.

Supernatural and Mysterious Events

Driving home from a Halloween party, your family hits a deer on the road – except it’s more than just an ordinary deer.
Babysitting on Halloween night, the power goes out and you hear strange noises coming from upstairs.
Cleaning up after a party, you discover a hidden door in your basement that leads into darkness.
A remote cabin trip with friends for Halloween quickly becomes a nightmare with no connection to the outside world.
Discovering an old box in the attic, the contents send shivers down your spine.
Finding an ancient book on Halloween, a young boy unknowingly releases malevolent forces.
Desiring adventure, a group of teens leaves a Halloween party to stumble upon a forbidden place.
On Halloween, a haunting text message arrives from an unknown sender during a midnight horror movie.
First Halloween in a new home, you begin to realize your family isn’t alone.
As you set up for a Halloween party, lurking shadows indicate you are being watched by something malevolent.

These prompts will help you explore the spine-chilling world of horror stories, invoking spine-chilling fright and fueling your writing on Halloween night.

18 Haunted House Horror Prompts

Imagine your protagonist moving into a new home, only to find that their sanctuary is disrupted by paranormal forces. These 18 haunted house horror prompts will craft a chilling tale to keep your readers on edge.

Ghostly Encounters

Unwelcome Occupant : You and your family move into a new home, only to realize it’s haunted by a former resident.
Spiteful Spirit : A haunted fixer-upper reveals the vengeful ghost of a former owner.
Malicious Phantom : Your family moves in, only to find a malevolent spirit already residing in the house.
Ghostly Messenger : A tormented girl receives cryptic messages from a ghost.
Terrifying Twins : Expecting twins, you worry that one is possessed by a demon.
Mother’s Nightmare : Strange scratches on your daughter’s body make you think she’s possessed by a demonic entity.
Haunted Marriage : Your relationship is tested when your new home turns out to be haunted.
Ghostly Visions : After moving into a new home, you suddenly gain the ability to see spirits.
Unexpected Roommate : Moving into your first house together, you and your partner quickly realize something unseen shares the living space.

Demonic and Supernatural Threats

Nightmare Hauntings : A mysterious figure tormenting your dreams puts your family in danger.
Demonic Husband : Strange symbols in your home make you suspect demonic possession of your spouse.
Portal to Darkness : Your new home connects to a demonic realm through a mysterious entrance.
Dark Communication : Your son starts speaking in tongues and behaving strangely, making you think he’s talking to demons.

Mysteries and Dark Secrets

Deadly Dare : Friends stay overnight in a haunted house for a dare, only to discover the danger is real.
Dark Secret : Unbeknownst to them, your family moves into a house with a history of brutal murders by the owner’s son.
Mirror Menace : Suspicion of your husband’s infidelity grows as you notice another woman’s reflection in the mirrors.
Eerie Sounds : Unusual noises emanate from your home’s attic.
Hidden Horrors : You find remnants of a gruesome past concealed in your new home’s walls.

These prompts will help you explore the haunted house setting through various eerie scenarios, involving ghosts, demons, and chilling discoveries—all in a friendly, second-person point of view. Dive into your story, harness the fear, and captivate your audience with these spine-tingling ideas.

17 Paranormal Activity Horror Prompts

Haunting and possessions.

Consider a woman haunted by a ghost that desperately needs to communicate something important.
Think about a woman discovering her son is possessed by an evil demon.
A family moves into a new house already inhabited by ghosts seeking company.
Your mother becomes possessed by an evil spirit, endangering everyone in her life.
An exorcism goes haywire, unleashing a horde of demons into the world.
A family is visited by the ghost of their young child, who tragically passed away.

Dark Forces and Evil Entities

A woman discovers her supernatural abilities and uses them to stop a force of darkness from enveloping the world.
An evil witch curses a village, turning all its inhabitants into various animals overnight.
Two young girls learn they possess witchcraft powers and must stand against a wicked sorcerer.
Unfriendly angels begin to descend from heaven with ominous intentions.
The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse ride into your town, bringing death, destruction, and chaos.

Mysterious and Deadly Threats

Imagine you and your friends go camping and find yourselves hunted by a mysterious and possibly non-human creature.
A group of friends is stalked by a killer who knows their darkest secrets and deepest fears.
A psychic girl foresees her own death but is powerless to stop it, adding to her fear.
People begin to inexplicably and spontaneously combust around you, with no discernible cause.
A rampant wave of demonic possessions starts affecting your community, turning loved ones against each other.

Unexplained and Terrifying Events

A family vacationing in a secluded cabin starts to encounter unexplainable events.

10 Plot Twists for Horror Stories

Ready to take your horror stories to the next level? Here are 10 plot twists that can add a frightfully unexpected twist to your sinister tales.

Unending nightmare : Your protagonist wakes up and realizes they’re caught in a never-ending bad dream.
Hidden family secrets : Your protagonist’s nemesis turns out to be their long-lost twin sibling.
Extraterrestrial encounters : The menacing creature is actually an alien from another world.
Ghosts with a purpose : The spirits haunting your protagonist are time-travelers from the future , trying to avert a catastrophe.
Reincarnated nemesis : Your protagonist discovers they are the reincarnation of the villain they despise.
Psychic revelations : Your protagonist realizes they have psychic powers and have been experiencing visions of future atrocities.
Supernatural portal : The seemingly ordinary small town setting is actually a gateway to the underworld.
Demonic doll : The murderer is an evil doll that springs to life under the cover of darkness.
Purgatory prisoner : Your protagonist has been dead all along and is trapped in purgatory.
Reader revelation : In the end, the reader realizes they are the true culprit in the story.

Sprinkle these plot twists into your horror writings to frighten your readers, weaving magic and torture into your stories for unforgettable moments of terror.

The Structure of a Great Horror Story

The attention-grabber.

A compelling horror story begins with an element that captivates the reader’s interest. This initial intrigue should evoke fear without giving away too many details. Your goal is to entice the reader to continue.

The Tension Builder

Having captured the reader’s interest, building suspense through eerie descriptions and tension-filled narratives is essential. Keep details vague to maintain an air of mystery , allowing the reader’s imagination to run wild.

The Chilling Moment

At some point, you ought to deliver an unforgettable scare. This is when your tension-building pays off. The chilling moment should be surprising yet consistent with the story’s context. An out-of-context scare might feel contrived and undermine its impact.

The Unraveling

Finally, it’s time to bring the story towards its conclusion. Provide some clarity while leaving a hint of ambiguity. This keeps the reader on edge even after they’ve finished reading.

Keep these guidelines in mind, and you’ll be well-equipped to craft an enthralling horror story. Focus on maintaining mystery, building suspense, and striking at the perfect moment. Happy writing!

The Potential Weakness of a Horror Story

As a writer, you want your horror story to be frightening enough to captivate your readers and not so horrifying that it repels them. To find the ideal balance, it’s crucial to know who your audience is and what scares them.

Remember, there’s no one-size-fits-all formula when it comes to fear. Different people are frightened by different things. Horror elements such as blood and gore aren’t always the most effective; sometimes, stories that tap into our deepest fears are more terrifying. For instance, a story about a mother losing her child in a store could evoke more dread than one involving a murderous monster.

One major challenge of crafting a compelling horror story is avoiding predictability. To keep your readers engaged, consider subverting their expectations and taking your story in surprising directions. This approach not only keeps them guessing but also maintains suspense throughout.

In the world of horror, striking a balance between being too scary and not scary enough is critical. By understanding your audience and exploring their fears, you can tailor your story accordingly. Ensuring unpredictability and capitalizing on deeply-rooted fears can significantly help elevate your story. Following these guidelines, you’ll be on the right track to create a chilling horror tale that leaves your audience suitably spooked.

What Are Common Horror Writing Themes

The world beyond our understanding.

A classic horror theme involves supernatural elements. This could mean ghosts, vampires, witches, zombies, or other beings that evoke fear. Incorporating the supernatural into your story can create spine-chilling moments for your readers to enjoy.

Menace Behind The Mask

Serial killers attract attention in horror stories as well. These characters often suffer from mental illness, making them unpredictable and frightening. By targeting specific victims, these killers bring a sense of personal dread for readers. Consider having a serial killer as your story’s main antagonist if you want to delve into gruesome aspects of human nature.

Alone in The Dark

Isolation is a powerful theme in horror, as it allows fear to fester and grow. When characters find themselves cut off from society, voluntary or not, situations can spiral out of control quickly. To increase tension in your story, have your characters confront their nightmares in isolation.

The End of The World

Apocalyptic scenarios are yet another classic horror staple. These can involve a zombie outbreak, an environmental catastrophe, or any other event that brings society to its knees. If your goal is to craft a harrowing story, consider setting it during or after a cataclysmic event.

Terror in Our Flesh

Body horror focuses on grotesque mutations, excessive gore, and horrifying physical changes. Although graphic in nature, body horror can also incorporate scares and suspense. For a blood-curdling tale, experiment with body horror elements.

Incorporating aspects such as population growth, psychological horror, and terrifying clowns can add an extra layer to these themes. Remember, whether you choose one of these themes or create something entirely original, the most crucial aspect is writing a story that piques your interest while keeping a friendly tone and maintaining a second-person point of view.

What Makes a Character Terrifying

Understanding their desires.

Firstly, it’s important to determine what your character wants. Their goals should be sinister and harmful to others. Whether it’s a simple desire to inflict pain or a complex plan to conquer the world, ensure that their intentions send shivers down your readers’ spines.

The Extent of Their Actions

Next, consider the lengths your character is willing to go to achieve their goals. Are they prepared to kill, torture, or maim? The more gruesome and ruthless their methods, the more terrified your readers will become. Looking at classic horror villains like Freddy Krueger or Michael Myers, you can see that their lack of mercy in inflicting pain on others is what makes them so scary.

Victims : The types of victims your character targets can also add to their degree of terror. For example, do they prey on innocent people or focus on those with specific traits?
Best friend : If your character has a best friend or close ally, explore how their relationship influences their actions and motivations. Consider how this bond can add depth or twists to the story and enhance the frightening aspects of your character.

Uncovering Their Motivations

After identifying your character’s sinister objectives and the extreme methods they’re willing to employ, seek to understand the reasons behind their desires. Was their drive initiated by a past tragedy or the concealment of a dark secret? By comprehending their motives, you can create a truly believable and terrifying character.

In conclusion, a well-rounded and multi-dimensional character with malevolent motives can truly strike fear into the hearts of readers. Utilize these suggestions to craft a spine-chilling horror story, making sure to let your creativity and imagination run free.

Fate and Coincidence in Horror Story Writing

In your journey as a horror writer, you might realize that blending fate and coincidence plays a crucial role in making your stories spine-chilling. When characters face continuous misfortune, readers can’t help but feel a sense of dread. So, how can you make the coincidences in your story plausible and avoid making them seem forced? Here are a few tips to help you seamlessly integrate fate and coincidence into your tale.

Firstly, remember that not all coincidences need an explanation. Sometimes, leaving them unexplained is better. A neatly knit story where everything is explicitly connected can feel contrived and unbelievable. Embracing mystery can add suspense to your spine-tingling narrative.

However, avoid certain coincidences altogether to maintain reader engagement. For instance, if two unrelated characters coincidentally meet on the street or a character discovers vital information purely by chance instead of through their efforts, it may seem unconvincing or like cheating.

To ensure that every event has a purpose and avoid contrived coincidences, ask yourself why a specific incident is happening and how it will impact the characters and plot. If you can’t find a satisfactory answer, consider reevaluating that scene.

By heeding these tips, you can make coincidences believable and enhance suspense instead of diminishing it. Strive to maintain an air of mystery while ensuring that each event serves its purpose. With a little effort, you can craft spine-tingling horror stories that will leave your readers captivated and wanting more.

Entangled love in horror

In the realm of horror films, the inclusion of love as a central theme can create a compelling contrast that heightens the emotional stakes of a story.

This juxtaposition of love in a horror story often deepens the reader’s connection to the main characters and makes their journey through fear and horror even more poignant.

Whether it’s a psychological thriller in which the protagonist must save a loved one from strange and evil forces or a supernatural horror in which love is the only solace in a world of darkness, the element of love adds a unique dimension to scary story ideas.

Love can be the driving force that pushes characters to face their deepest fears, resulting in an unforgettable and impactful horror story.

When horror writers weave these threads together, they create not just good horror stories but narratives that resonate on a deeply human level, combining the thrill of fear with the warmth of love.

Choose a Catchy Title

If you’ve gathered a wealth of story ideas and are ready to bring your spooky tale to life, the next crucial step is finding the perfect title to capture the essence of your story.

We invite you to explore our specially crafted guide at Brilliantio’s Horror Story Titles , where you’ll discover 34 unique ideas on how to name your horror story effectively.

This resource is designed to help you brainstorm and select a title that not only intrigues your readers but also gives a glimpse of the chilling adventure they’re about to embark upon.

A compelling title can make all the difference in drawing readers into the world you’ve created, so be sure to take advantage of this valuable tool in your storytelling journey.

Frequently Asked Questions

How can i start writing a frightening tale.

Choose a setting: a haunted house, a creepy forest, or an old mansion.
Develop your main character(s): give them a strong backstory, fears, and strengths.
Identify the source of horror: a ghost, a monster, or a mysterious villain.
Create tension and suspense: use descriptive language to keep readers on edge.

What elements create an excellent creepy romance?

Dark and alluring atmosphere: gothic, mysterious, and eerie.
Forbidden love: star-crossed lovers or love triangles.
A menacing or supernatural element: a vampire, ghost, or werewolf.
High emotional stakes: danger, betrayal, lost love.

Are there short horror movie ideas suitable for students?

A cursed object: an old book, a painting, or a music box.
A hidden secret: a forbidden room or an undiscovered basement.
A group of friends’ ghost hunting expedition turns dire.
Attending a party unaware of the host’s sinister intentions.

How should I approach writing a 500-word scary story?

Focus on one main event, setting, or character.
Utilize a simple and compelling plot.
Use concise descriptions to create an eerie atmosphere.
Leave readers wanting more with a twist ending.

What intriguing concepts can I use for body horror?

Transformation: becoming a monster or a grotesque creature.
Disfigurement: a character waking up with altered physical features.
Parasitic takeover: the protagonist’s body gradually taken over.
Cloning or doppelgangers: exploring dark counterparts.

How can I make my chilling tale stand out?

Subvert clichés : twist typical horror tropes to surprise readers.
Focus on psychological terror : dive deeper into characters’ minds.
Blend genres : combine horror with mystery, romance, or sci-fi.
Incorporate folklore or legends : introduce lesser-known myths or legends.

Home — Essay Samples — Geography & Travel — Haunted House — My Own Experience in a Haunted House

My Own Experience in a Haunted House

Categories: Haunted House Personal Experience

About this sample

Words: 686 |

Updated: 6 December, 2023

Words: 686 | Page: 1 | 4 min read

Works Cited

Bader, C. (2014). Paranormal America: Ghost Encounters, UFO Sightings, Bigfoot Hunts, and Other Curiosities in Religion and Culture. NYU Press.
Dickey, C. (2016). Ghostland: An American History in Haunted Places. Penguin Books.
Hargrove, R. (2013). The Haunted House: A True Ghost Story. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform.
Holzer, H. (2017). Ghosts: True Encounters from the World Beyond. Black Dog & Leventhal.
Klinger, L. (2014). The New Annotated H.P. Lovecraft. Liveright Publishing Corporation.
Michell, J., & Rickard, R. (Eds.). (2016). Paranormality: Why We Believe the Impossible. Overlook Press.
Radford, B., & Nickell, J. (2012). The Science of Ghosts: Searching for Spirits of the Dead. Prometheus Books.
Randles, J., & Hough, P. (2016). The Paranormal, the new guide to understanding and working with the unexplained. Watkins Media Limited.
Tucker, E. (2016). Haunted Halls: Ghostlore of American College Campuses. University Press of Mississippi.
Underwood, P. (2013). Haunted London. Amberley Publishing.

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Instructions Followed To The Letter
Deadlines Met At Every Stage
Unique And Plagiarism Free

To Cut a Short Story Short

Curious Flash Fiction by Simon J. Wood

Category: 300-600 word stories

To the Blue (poem)

Carry my heart, take it down to the sea, Where the sand meets the waves, and the sea meets the sky, And let me remember my comrades who died, And who fought for their country, like me. Carry my memories, out ‘cross the land, Where the sand meets the green, and the green meets the town,

Jolly as a Pie!

(550 words) “I’m a servant, milord, a maid to Sir Oswald’s household.” “And are you happy there?” I asked. “No, milord, cursed be the day I came into this house!” “What do you see around you?” “Stone flags, milord, and a great fire. There’s a kettle o’water a’heatin’ for the washing.” “Is it the scullery?” “Yes, milord, there be a great kitchen for the cooking.” “Is there anyone else there?” (subject laughs) “Yes, milord, there’s Jack, the varlet. He sits by the fire, his face red as any fox!”

In Dulci Jubilo

I'm very pleased to announce the publication of In Dulci Jubilo, an omnibus of my first three titles, Bound in Morocco: A Short Story of Intrigue, To Cut a Short Story Short: 111 Little Stories, and To Cut a Short Story Short, vol. II: 88 Little Stories. I have re-read (many for the first time in years) and edited all two hundred stories, and am delighted to say that I enjoyed them all! So, the omnibus contains the very latest up-to-date versions of every story. They range from one hundred words to seven and a half thousand. The three individual volumes that make up In Dulci Jubilo have been republished with the revised texts, in hardback (not Bound in Morocco), paperback, and Kindle. The description of In Dulci Jubilo reads as follows:

Fun of the Fair

(600 words) I was a schoolboy at St Paul’s when the incident I’m about to relate occurred. I was one of a small number of boarders – my parents were ‘swingers’ (as we’d now call them). Not that I knew that at the time, of course. They just said they had ‘business to attend to,’ so I was packed off to St Pauls for months at a time. Anyway, it was a quiet Saturday in May, and I’d gone down to the kitchens to fetch some milk for a pot of tea I’d just made. There was Sally, the kitchen maid, with her arms up to her plump elbows in a sink full of washing up. “Hello, Sally, what’s that smell?” I asked. There was an unpleasant odour, not unlike the dreaded boiled cabbage, cooked to death, served up four times a week.

Sweet Dreams

(500 words) Control in moving between worlds was something his grandfather had taught him, a closely guarded secret. He came from a place, just a whisper away but invisible and unreachable. At midnight, whilst the moon threw shadows like huge gravestones across the street, he would walk, seeking the aroma he desired. His face was gaunt and sallow, his lips thin and red, and his eyes as black as infinity.

Where Golden Sleep Doth Reign (poem)

To sleep, perchance to dream, I lay my head on the pillow. I close my eyes, but then it seems, Like the clouds, my thoughts start to billow. Did I remember to bolt the front door? And did I lock the car?

Completely Unexpected

(625 words) It was incredible and completely unexpected. The sensation as our fingers touched was electric, my heart skipped a beat and I momentarily forgot to breathe. Her fingers intertwined with mine and she twitched her lips in that funny way she used to, before kissing me tenderly. I gazed into her dark round eyes and knew it was love - deep, sacred love.

Connections

(650 words) Given that there were fewer than seven hours before the Sapphire of the Seas sailed from Le Havre, Third Engineer Giuseppe ‘Joseph’ Marino queued anxiously at Portsmouth ferry terminal. The ferry was due to leave in thirty-five minutes and the sailing time to Le Havre was five and a half hours, given a calm sea. He became aware of a small girl at his side. “All those destined for Bilbao, please proceed to gate C,” came an announcement. Joseph’s heart thudded. No, he was destined for Le Havre, gate F. That was OK, everything was fine. He wiped the sweat from his brow. “I’m lost, I’m not sure where my mummy and daddy are.” Joseph looked down at two brilliant blue eyes in the little girl’s upturned face, and his heart melted. Then back to the noticeboard. Departure in less than thirty minutes. In a pocket, his fingers crushed a used train ticket. If he missed the ferry, he missed the cruise ship. If he missed the cruise ship, he missed three months’ work, three months’ good wages, wages he couldn’t afford to lose. He’d be busting his nuts in a crummy, low paid job at home. No contest.

Scene in a Tent

(600 words) The tent flap opens, and Trevor comes in. Everyone’s here now. Everyone, that is, except Alan the group leader. He’ll be sorting out logistics with the mule team. Eating with them too. I give Trevor a bright smile from beneath my red baseball cap, holding out my plastic plate to Muhammed as he serves from a huge bowl of lamb and vegetable stew.

Flash Friction FREE on Kindle!

For the next 48 hours, Flash Friction, To Cut a Short Story Short, vol. III, is FREE on Amazon Kindle. Simply head over to your local Amazon, download and ENJOY!

The Moon and the Arrow

(400 words) Old man Tatum had been dreaming of his grandchildren, Sonny and Sarah. They’d all been treading dry pine needles in a huge forest, on their way somewhere. He couldn’t remember where. Then he was aware of pressure on his legs. In an eye blink, he realised someone was sitting on the bed. A young woman, skin as pale as the full moon burning through the curtained window. He thought his heart would pound right out of his chest, then she smiled, and suddenly he was calm.

A Triangle Across the Sky

(600 words) Martha Longthorn sat at the reception desk of the Beconsby Chronicle. She opened a desk drawer and took out a black crystal. She lifted her skirt and held the crystal between her legs. Outside, a few passersby went past on their anonymous business. Then she noticed a man on the opposite side of the street, looking across at the Chronicle office. He wore a beanie hat and a long dark-green jacket. A carrier bag dangled from one hand, whilst the other clasped a walking stick. He started to cross the road towards her. She hurriedly replaced the crystal in the drawer.

Phil Cosker

Writer & photographer.

500 word short stories.

Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic I’ve been locked away for existing health reasons. I was starting to plot my new book but found I couldn’t concentrate for long enough. Instead, I’ve been writing 500 word short stories, to eventually finish up with a collection – ‘From Behind the Plague Door’. The 500 word stories in the collection ‘From Behind the Plague Door’, first reader and editor, Jules Sewell. Please Note… The characters portrayed in these literary works are fictitious.

Stories from 2024

The Dove 2024>>> More
Treats 2024>>> More
A Journey 2024>>> More

February 2024

A Forfeit 2024>>> More

January 2024

Delayed Gratification 2024>>> More

S tories from 202 3

December 2023

The Aviator 2023>>> More

November 2023

Meanwhile 2023>>> More

October 2023

Redemption Song 2023>>> More

September 2023

A Last Resor t 2023>>> More

August 2023

A House 2023>>> More
The Expert 2023>>> More
Forgiven 2023>>> More

May 2023 No Posts in May

Dogs of War 2023>>> More
Wishes 2023>>> More
There were no stories published in March. (because I was moving house after 27 years. It drained me, but I’m coming back)
The Incredible Shrikes 2023>>> More
The Unicorn 2023>>> More
A Bowl of Olives 2022>>> More
Cabbage 2022>>> More
Perseverance Terrace 2022>>> More
A Pawn Shop 2022>>> More
Below Stairs 2022>>> More
The Bed 2022>>> More
Mourning 2022>>> More
Returned to sender 2022>>> More
The wood 2022>>> More
Diamonds 2022>>> More
One Night 2022>>> More
The Wheelchair 2022>>> More
A childhood 2022>>> More
Billy No Mates 2022>>> More
The Bothy 2022>>> More
The Headstone 2022>>> More
Kith and Kin 2022>>> More
Sugar Loaf Mountain 2022>>> More
School’s Out 2022>>> More
Missed 2022>>> More
A Familiar Dog 2022>>> More
Conversely 2022>>> More
Comrades 2022>>> More
In Memory of Ghosts 2022>>> More

February 2022

Word of Mouth 2022>>> More
Manicured Nails 2022>>> More
Din 2022>>> More
Haunted 2022>>> More

January 2022

Marley Lives 2022>>> More
The Escape 2022>>> More
The Jacket 2022>>> More
Untidy Rain 2022>>> More
Let Them Eat Cake 2022>>> More

S tories from 2021

December 2021

Concerto for Emilia 2021>>> More
Fate. Phil Cosker 2021>>> More
May Day. Phil Cosker 2021>>> More
The Errand . Phil Cosker 2021>>> More

November 2021

The Drain Man. Phil Cosker 2021>>> More
Snapping . Phil Cosker 2021>>> More
Property. Phil Cosker 2021>>> More
Pinky. Phil Cosker 2021>>> More

October 2021

Out of Time. Phil Cosker 2021>>> More
Oludeniz . Phil Cosker 2021>>> More
Mrs Windsor. Phil Cosker 2021>>> More
Madness . Phil Cosker 2021>>> More
Lister. Phil Cosker 2021>>> More

September 2021

Lily. Phil Cosker 2021>>> More
Germany Calling. Phil Cosker 2021>>> More
Pain. Phil Cosker September 2021>>> More
Ex Pat. Phil Cosker September 2021>>> More

August 2021

Lawe. Phil Cosker August 2021>>> More
A Change of Climate. Phil Cosker August 2021>>> More
The Men in Blue Serge Suits. Phil Cosker August 2021>>> More
The Odeon. Phil Cosker August 2021>>> More
The Ossuary . Phil Cosker August 2021>>> More
Message in a Bottle . Phil Cosker July 2021>>> More
Afterlife . Phil Cosker July 2021>>> More
Paternoster Square. Phil Cosker July 2021 >>> More
Snow . Phil Cosker July 2021>>> More
The Mirror . Phil Cosker June 2021>>> More
Gwyther House. Phil Cosker June 2021>>> More
Lying In. Phil Cosker June 2021>>> More
Flies. Phil Cosker June 2021>>> More
Coltman St. Phil Cosker May 2021>>> More
Chernobyl . Phil Cosker May 2021>>> More
Ryker. Phil Cosker May 2021>>> More
The Black Shield of Falworth. Phil Cosker May 2021>>> More
Hair. Phil Cosker May 2021>>> More
Crossing the Border. Phil Cosker April 2021>>> More
The Present. Phil Cosker April 2021>>> More
Tea Ceremony. Phil Cosker April 2021>>> More
A few Sherbets. Phil Cosker April 2021>>> More
After the Big Sleep . Phil Cosker March 2021>>> More
Compline. Phil Cosker March 2021>>> More
Macaroni Cheese . Phil Cosker March 2021>>> More
What a laugh. Phil Cosker March 2021>>> More

February 2021

Scrapbooks. Phil Cosker February 2021>>> More
Cowboys. Phil Cosker February 2021>>> More
P.O.W. Phil Cosker February 2021>>> Mo
Billy Spider. Phil Cosker February 2021>>> More

January 2021

Mary. Phil Cosker January 2021>>> More
The Leader. Phil Cosker January 2021>>> More
Rain. Phil Cosker January 2021>>> More
Shooting Rats. Phil Cosker January 2021>>> More
Harry. Phil Cosker January 2021>>> More

Stories from 2020

December 2020.

Christmas . Phil Cosker December 2020>>> More
Happy Christmas. Phil Cosker December 2020>>> More
Monsignori. Phil Cosker December 2020>>> More
Sound . Phil Cosker December 2020>>> More

November 2020

Thor. Phil Cosker November 2020>>> More
Murder on the shore . Phil Coske November 2020 >>> More
Wasaman. Phil Cosker November 2020 >>> More
Repurposed . Phil Cosker November 2020 >>>More
The school run. Phil Cosker November 2020 >>>More

October 2020

‘Fetch’. Phil Cosker October 2020 >>>More
The Welsh Dresser. Phil Cosker October 2020 >>>More
The Lift. Phil Cosker October 2020 >>>More
Lily. Phil Cosker October 2020 >>>More

September 2020

Homage. Phil Cosker September 2020 >>>More
The Tank . Phil Cosker September 2020 >>>More
The Wall. Phil Cosker September 2020 >>>More
The Speech. Phil Cosker September 2020 >>>More

August 2020

Runnymede. Phil Cosker August 2020 >>>More
Lave sus Manos. Phil Cosker August 2020 >>>More
The Garage. Phil Cosker August 2020 >>>More
Walking Rough. Phil Cosker August 2020 >>>More
1945. Phil Cosker August 2020 >>>More
Emory. Phil Cosker August 2020 >>>More
Cats. Phil Cosker July 2020 >>>More
Resting Place. Phil Cosker July 2020 >>>More
The Plague. Phil Cosker July 2020 >>>More
Empathy. Phil Cosker July 2020 >>>More
Emily. Phil Cosker June 2020 >>>More
Valdemar. Phil Cosker June 2020 >>>More
The Stretcher. Phil Cosker June 2020 >>>More
The Funeral. Phil Cosker June 2020 >>>More
God. Phil Cosker May 2020 >>>More
Cabin Fever. Phil Cosker May 2020 >>>More
Bottle of Drink. Phil Cosker May 2020 >>>More
Barking Mad. Phil Cosker May 2020 >>>More
White Chairs. Phil Cosker May 2020 >>>More
Exposure. Phil Cosker April 2020 >>>More

Topics in English Topics in english to learn and fluent pronunciation and writing and facilitate conversation between you and others, whether in school, work or daily life

Short horror story essay 8 Models

Short horror story essay is one of the popular intimidation methods that help parents in correcting children and improving their behavior in many educational aspects.

Through this article, we will provide you with many models that talk about stories of horror and intimidation that may help or influence the behavior of children, show the goals of horror stories, and the extent of the impact of these stories on improving children’s instincts, and strengthening their personality.

Short horror story essay

The school plays an important and significant role in educating children and improving their behaviour. In a similar article that talks about horror stories, the student can learn about the dimensions of these stories, the extent of their impact and why they are used.

The student can talk about his fears and terrifying situations he went through. The teacher can take advantage of these events and try to address these fears by guiding him and talking to him, or by making him research more about the dimensions of the problem and the benefits that he benefited from despite going through a terrifying situation.

At the beginning of the article we will put several points that show the goals that must be present within the topic, and several models will be created using these points inside them, so that the articles are useful for the student in case he wants to present them to the school, or if he wants to know the aspects that he should talk about inside a similar article he talks about the horror stories and the bad situations he was exposed to.

Objectives of the article

1- To obey orders.

2- Giving up bad behavior.

3- Repressing the evil instincts that are inside every human being.

4- Controlling the child in the safety zone next to the parents.

5- Planting correct means and methods through intimidation.

Several years ago, my father told me a story about a boy who went out without telling his family where he was going. And this was late at night. After he left, he met some children and played a little with them and enjoyed this, but because of the late time these children left him, some of them returned to their home alone, and some of them their families came to to pick them up, and he found himself alone in the end.

He decided to walk around for a while, so that he might encounter other children and continue playing with them. But after walking for a long time, he found that all the streets were empty, and it was dark everywhere, and he could no longer discern where he was, and that he was far from home and lost his way.

And whenever he tried to return from where he came, he found himself in dangerous areas with street dogs, and in order to avoid them, he kept entering other streets, until he lost the way completely. So he sat crying and did not find anyone to bring him home because all the people of the town were asleep.

The time at night was getting hard for this naughty little boy. Every minute that passes feels like it’s a long time and he’s so afraid of darkness and loneliness. And whenever he heard the sound of dogs howling, intensified in crying. And whenever he called his father, he did not come to take him, because he was far from the house and did not tell them that he was going out, and did not tell them where he was going.

Then he learned that he had made a big mistake and that his father would not come to look for him because he thought he was asleep. And he decided to try to call for help and search for any place where there are people and tell them what happened.

And he kept walking in the dark crying for a long time until he found some people, and told them his name, where he lived, and the name of the neighborhood in which he lived. Fortunately for him, they weren’t bad guys, and they brought this guy home.

The father was very angry with him for this behavior and punished him for a week for this behavior. But the boy was happy that he came home and learned the lesson well and knew that this wrong behavior was dangerous and could have lost his family for life.

While hearing this story, I was very afraid and put myself in the place of this boy, and I found myself learning from him what to do. And that I must tell my family where I am going, and watch the time, and take care of myself and not stay away from home. When I finish playing, I go home.

In the early morning, I was very careful to memorize my full name, the name of the neighborhood in which I live, the name of my mother, and the house number.

Although the story was scary for me, I learned a lot from it and had a reaction to every event that takes place in it.

Dear student, a basic form was submitted for the topic on short horror story essay, In addition to many other models such as, horror short story essay, creepy short horror story essay, a short horror story essay, short ghost story essay, short ghost story essay, scary short story essay, scary experience essay.

If you prefer to add any other topic, you can contact us through the comments of this article and we will study your request and add it as soon as possible.

horror short story essay

At the weekend I went on a trip with my friends to the forest. We took camping equipment, some food and water. The weather was nice, the trees were leafy, the birds were flying from tree to tree, the landscape was beautiful.

We wandered in the woods and ate the fruits on the trees, and as we wandered, a huge bear appeared in front of us, looked at us and prepared to attack us.

We were all very terrified, but the instructions reminded us not to run, not to scream, and to act calmly. I took out of my bag a self-defense spray bottle, which should be used in this case. But the bear left quietly and none of us were hurt.

creepy short horror story essay

I get up early and sit in the garden of the house, enjoying the fresh air, listening to the sound of birds, watching beautiful flowers and other beautiful landscapes, but yesterday something terrifying happened to me.

When I sat on the bench in the garden and was enjoying nature I felt something moving under the chair.

I quickly looked under the chair and found a large black snake.

It moves slowly, I felt very terrified and could not move, I remained frozen in my place, the snake crawled slowly and I looked at it with horror, until it moved away several meters, I called the competent authority immediately and a trained man came and caught the snake.

a short horror story essay

Last week I went with my family to the zoo, the weather was nice, and we were enjoying the nature, where there are a lot of green leafy trees and decorated with beautiful flowers and large areas that allow us to run and play, everything was beautiful.

Then we went to the animal cages and watched the animals from a distance.

But there is a person who got very close to the lion’s cage, even though there is a sign on it that says Do not go near the animal cages.

He was not satisfied with that, but he extended his hand into the cage, and the lion grabbed his hand with force, and this person was unable to rid his hand of the lion’s fangs.

The man screamed loudly from the severity of the pain, and the guard came quickly and tried to give the lion a piece of meat to leave the man’s hand, but to no avail.

The veterinarian quickly intervened and gave the lion an anesthetic injection, and the man was able to get his hand out of the cage, but it had many wounds and was taken to the hospital. It was really terrifying moments.

Short ghost story essay

There are many people who feel terrified in the dark, and my brother is very afraid of the dark and feels terrified and imagines frightening things.

So when the electricity went out and the house became dark. I went to his room quietly without feeling, and stood in front of him, making some strange sounds.

My brother jumped quickly and came out of the room saying a ghost of a ghost, but he hit the wall and cut his head and bled a lot, it was a big wound.

At that time I was telling him don’t be afraid, I am your brother, but he was very frightened. I was very sorry for him and regretted that I had caused him to feel terrified and made him crash into the wall.

And I told him I was just trying to joke with you and I wouldn’t do it again but you should train yourself not to be afraid of the dark.

A Short Scary Story Essay

Last weekend I went with my friends on a fishing trip. We chartered a fishing boat with all our fishing gear and went into the sea for a long distance, so that we could see neither the beach nor the city.

We started fishing and we were very happy because there are many fish and they are also big, and the weather was nice.

Suddenly strong winds blew and the waves rose, and the fishing boat was swinging with us over the water, up and down, and we couldn’t control it.

At this time we felt so afraid that we would drown.The fishing boat cannot withstand these bad weather conditions.

But after a while the wind calmed down a bit and we miraculously survived.

Scary short story essay

Last weekend I went with my colleagues on a school trip to one of the archaeological sites, and we had some teachers with us organizing the trip and supervising our transfers.

We entered a museum that houses great antiquities and stood listening to the tour guide talking about the history of these antiquities.

I was fascinated and listened to the tour guide with great interest, so that I did not feel the departure of my colleagues and teachers, as they left the museum and got on the bus and left this place and did not feel my absence.

When I found myself alone in the museum, I felt very afraid and searched for them all over the museum, but I could not find them, so my fear increased and my crying became louder.

Suddenly I found one of the teachers entering the museum and looking for me, so I ran towards him and grabbed his hand and felt safe.

Scary Experience Essay

At the end of the year I had a frightening experience. I went to the beach and decided to snorkel, so I bought wetsuits, put them on, and dived into the sea. But it was not what I expected and almost drowned.

I was so scared when I found myself unable to dive, and could not swim to the top.

It was a difficult situation but one of the lifeguards on the beach saw me, knew I was going to drown and ran to save me.

Therefore, I advise others to learn before we do anything that might endanger our lives.

To read more related articles, you can click on the following links below the article.

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Can you write a scary story in 150 words? (7 Scary Good Shortcuts)

If love stories make you swoon and comedies make you belly laugh like a deranged raccoon, then horror stories make you clench your gut, slam shut your eyes, and pray for the nightmare to end. Scary stories deliver fear. That’s their job. But can you write a scary story in 150 words?

That’s a question terrifying enough to send shudders down the spine of the most experienced writer.

Yes, you can write a scary story in 150 words (or less). The keys are: 1) To trigger fear fast by leveraging age-old human psychology, and 2) To narrow the story to its most basic elements. In this post, you’ll learn 7 ways to terrify readers while keeping your story super short. Plus 75 fear-themed prompts to give you all the goosebumps.

That brings up a few other questions: how to write a good horror story? what even makes good horror?

Let’s start with how to write micro-stories, then layer on the scary.

Read some r eal life writing convention horror stories .

How to Write Short Horror stories

There are a number of effective ways to write super short stories, or micro-stories (also called micro-fiction or, in our case, micro horror). It’s all about drilling down to the heart of the story. Then cut away the fat. After that, you keep scraping away at the story until you get all the way to the bones.

Three scary effective ways to write short:

Story Stripping (I promise this is SFW – safe for work 😉 )

Find the Bones

Write the bones, story stripping.

To write a short story, you write a story short.

Trust me, that sounds more profound than it actually is (don’t end sentences with is, it’s just poor grammar-ship). But the point stands. Writing short stories doesn’t mean that you shortchange the story. It means that you take the complete story and strip it down to its essence.

So, that means you have to really understand the story. That’s the only way to know what to save and what to shave.

Consider these tips when stripping your story:

Complete this story template (Character + Conflict + Crucible). Just fill in the details of your story so that you have the main elements – the character (who the story is about), the conflict (what is the main character up against), and the crucible (the setting or situation that traps the character in the story so they can’t just run away).
If you don’t have a story, use a prompt (like the 75 scary-themed prompts later in this post)
Strip your story down to one or (at most) two characters. You only have 150 words after all.
Strip your story down to a single setting. More settings mean more words, which you don’t have at your disposal.
Strip your story down to one conflict.

Can I write a scary story in 150 words skull image

Table of Contents

After you finish story stripping, it’s time to find the bones. In practice, it’s really just another, deeper level of cuts. You might have a scene or series of scenes in your mind.

Time to kill those darlings. Prepare yourself because this is going to hurt.

It’s time to find the bones of your micro-horror story:

Cut your story down to one character (really, give it an honest try). You probably don’t need the other character (at least not much). Pretend you HAVE to cut your story down to one character. How would you do it? (Then do it).
Cut your story down to one scene. (There’s probably no time for multiple scenes. Go deep with one scene instead of drifting on the surface of several scenes).
Now cut your story down to a slice of that scene (a micro-scene). Which slice? The most dramatic slice. The scariest slice (Scary Spice?).
Cut your story down to one slice of the setting, the micro-setting. (If your setting was a graveyard, now it’s one tombstone. If your setting is an abandoned school, now it’s a haunted bus or empty classroom)

Once you complete those steps, you will have a super bony story ready for the page. You have finished the brutal work of chopping away at your story. Now it’s time to focus on techniques for translating your slimmed up story into actual words.

But before you grab your pencil or keyboard, I have two more cool techniques to share with you. These methods will help you maintain your narrow focus to reach your goal of penning your story in a maximum of 150 words.

The first approach is called the Napkin Test. Here’s how it goes. You attempt to write your entire story on one regular-sized napkin. I know! It’s a terrible test. The worst, really. But it forces you into conciseness. The physical edges of the napkin taunt you with their limits.

Try it out. Grab a napkin (or go buy a cheap pack the next time you are at the store). Try to force yourself to write the entire story in the square space of that napkin.

The second method is even worse. I call it Twitterizing your story. Instead of the napkin, write your entire story in one 150-character tweet (or whatever the current Twitter limit is – if Twitter still exists lol). Even if Twitter is a distant relic of the past when you are reading this post, you can still attempt to write your entire story in 150 characters. Let’s be nice and not include the spaces in the character count.

Why punish yourself with the nearly impossible? Because, once you struggle to write your story in 150 characters, 150 words will seem like a football field of space.

Then there is the actual writing of words. Writing a scary story in 150 words is a challenge best met with intention.

Apply these best practices for writing super short copy:

Use short words (as a bonus, often shorter words pack more punch)
Use short sentences
Avoid adjectives and adverbs (you can always add them in later if you are under word court)
Use vivid verbs with more emotional connotation
Use nouns with more meaning
Use symbols, subtext, and multiple meanings as often as you can (you can double the emotional impact of your writing while keeping the word count low)

Check out my post on The Best Thesaurus for Writers .

In summary, to write short requires short, simple sentences filled with short, simple words packed with subtext.

7 Ways to Terrify Readers (Based on Neuroscience)

You have the bones of your story. It’s time to talk terror. There are certain tools and techniques writers use to create the unsettling atmosphere of psychological suspense.

When you are writing micro-fiction, you must employ the best horror tactics to terrify readers in the small space of your story. Apply these next tips to scare your readers’ shorts off.

By the way, all of these tips work wonders because they are based on real brain science (sources at the bottom of the article).

1. Scare them Early

Things are scarier if you are already afraid. So scare them early and often. Once we are primed for fear, we interpret everything else through this fear-smeared lens. Especially in a micro or short story, we need to get to the fear fast.

In your story, don’t go for the slow burn by building to suspense or fear. Dive into the middle of the scary. Think that’s hard to do in 150 words? Try 5 words.

Can you write a scary story in 150 words? six word horror stories

2. Threaten the Ordinary

Un-scary things can be the scariest (humans imagine the worst). One of Alfred Hitchcock’s favorite techniques was to invoke fear in normal settings, like showers, and into normal things, like birds.

Sure, graveyards and old, empty houses are scary. But so are rain gutters with smiling clowns.

scary clown image for can you write a scary story in 150 words

When choosing your story and scene settings, think outside of the graveyard. Invoke fear into the ordinary. Pick a normal place and make it terrifying.

3. Slow Time Down

When scared, people experience time distortion where time appears to move slower. Novice skydivers, for instance, often think the preparations before jumping take longer than they do. Horror scenes in movies and fiction often exploit this slo-mo feature to terror by increasing the pace of terror while simultaneously slowing time down to focus on the fear.

You can achieve a similar effect by raising the pace of action in your story while slowing down the experience of the horror. You do that by focusing in on specific character actions, description of simple setting details (like the bloodstained baby shoes), and entering into the mind and emotions of the character.

4. No Way Out

According to neuroscientists (people way smarter than me), the purpose of fear is to prompt us into appropriate adaptive action. Mainly, that is to escape the source of the threat or perceived threat.

That’s why it’s so terrifying to feel trapped. So, ramp up the fear in your stories by hemming in your characters so that they can’t do what everything in their biology is screaming at them to do: get the hell out .

Now all of those buried alive stories make more sense. So do the stories of being conscious but immobile on the surgeon’s table, the scalpel sharp and gleaming inches away from the whites of your eyeball.

When you think about trapping your character or characters, think not only about the physical location. Also, think about access to help through cell phones and other resources like food, water, and air.

5. Helpless

Another primitive fear is powerlessness. When we feel helpless, we feel desperately alone. That’s another reason those buried alive stories are so dang terrifying.

Spook up your story by getting your character alone and without any outside help. In your 150-word story, you might only have one character anyway. But this technique also works for longer stories.

When plotting out your story (or pantsing your way through it), ask yourself, “How can I make my character more helpless?” and, “What do they need? How can I take that away?”

6. Vulnerable

Like helplessness, vulnerability is another fear trigger. That’s one of the reasons the shower scene in Psycho is so visceral. The female character is completely vulnerable.

The same can be said of the movie Jaws. When we are floating in the ocean, we are easy prey. Vulnerability can be terrifying.

What parts of your story can exploit vulnerability? How can you make your character more vulnerable?

Consider these possibilities:

Darkness (When we can’t see, we are more vulnerable)
Handicapped (Such as when we are injured and can’t run or defend ourselves)
Weaker/Smaller (Children are vulnerable, when facing bigger and stronger opponents, we are all vulnerable)
The unknown (When we don’t know what is out there or what we are up against, fear magnifies)

7. Empathetic Fear

The terror that I can relate to is more terrifying. Vampire horror stories and zombie stories can be very scary, but I can’t really relate to them. But hearing a knock on the door in the middle of the night? I’ve been there .

That’s why scary stories involving pets (Pet Cemetery) and dolls (Chucky) scare the goodness right out of us. Most all of us have experienced pets. Most of us have glanced side-eyed at a creepy doll perched on a dusty dresser and wondered at the dark intelligence that might be starting back at us.

When crafting your story, dig into relatable experiences and places. They terrify us in their normalcy. We connect to them more easily and fully.

75 Scary Story Writing Prompts

In case you need spooky story starters to write your short horror story, here are 75 writing prompts. Use them for writing sprints, creative fodder to generate new and terrifying micro or long-form horror story ideas, to write creepy fanfiction, or just as a mental exercise to train your mind to see story possibilities everywhere. You could even consider them 75 Halloween themed prompts (since some of the prompts reference this spooky holiday) . It’s completely up to you!

Download a copy of all 75 Horror writing prompts as a PDF below: (Just click the Download button)

You come home and no one recognizes you.
The old civil war painting in the hall just blinked.
Describe Halloween from a Jack-O-Lantern’s point of view.
What is the most terrified you have ever been?
What are some unusual tools that you could use to carve a pumpkin?
Write a scene where someone carves a pumpkin while the pumpkin screams.
Something is following you while trick-or-treating.
You realize that you are slowly losing your mind.
Your character must stay overnight in the room where a dozen people were murdered.
The old man in front of you has fully black eyes (no whites)
Your dog is acting strangely like it doesn’t recognize you.
Your character wakes up trapped somewhere.
What is the most terrifying day of the year? Why?
A kid suspects his or her parents may be trying to murder them.
Your mirror image stops mimicking you.
Your character finds a long-lost letter that chills his spine.
The doll on the dresser just moved by itself.
Who do you want to scare this Halloween? How will you scare them?
Your car breaks down in the middle of nowhere.
What would you do during a zombie pandemic?
You suspect the old lady next door is cooking more than bread.
Write a story about a haunted playground.
Share your first pumpkin carving experience with a person deathly afraid of knives.
Can you write a poem from the point of view of a serial killer?
Prepare a questionnaire to interview the monster under your bed.
How would you define yourself, a scaredy-cat or strong-hearted person who is difficult to scare?
Do you believe in ghosts?
Write a descriptive recipe from the point of view of an evil witch.
Complete the sentence- When I looked behind the basement water heater …
Your little brother tells you that he saw a monster underneath the bed. Then he shows you the claw marks on his shin.
Write a persuasive letter to your pen pal pleading with them to never to play “Bloody Mary.”
Flip to three random words in the dictionary and create a scary story that connects all three.
Make a list of decorative items that can be used by a Vampire to lure victims into his lair.
A new mother finds a jack-o-lantern with a secret spooky message inside it.
What would you do if you woke up in the middle of the night to find someone staring at you?
Your shadow stops following you. What do you do?
You wake up in the middle of the night and can’t breathe.
Write about the history of a ghost town.
Write a story about a kid who goes trick-or-treating but gets lost in the woods.
While taking a shower, your character realizes she is covered in giant tarantulas.
All the power and lights suddenly go off in the middle of a storm.
Your character starts spitting up blood.
You are a vampire trying to get invited into a house. Write a first-person account of what you would say to gain entrance.
What scares you the most?
What are the similarities of your top three scary movies?
Write about a normal object that becomes unsettling.
A traveling minister brings your dead brother back to life but something is different about him.
List as many words as you can that sound “scary” to you.
You start hearing the thoughts of a serial killer.
A new girl in town puts a curse on you.
You wake up in bed next to a dead body.
A man attends a funeral and realizes the body in the coffin isn’t dead.
A woman gets in touch with her dead younger sister.
A woman attends a funeral and realizes the body in the coffin is her.
If you could bring any Halloween monsters back to life who would it be and why?
A man is accused of kidnapping a child he has never met.
A woman wakes up with no eyesight in a place she has never been.
Write a story where nothing is as it seems.
A scary clown is walking towards you in the dark.
The local psyche ward just lost all power and all staff has mysteriously disappeared.
The empty subway train slows to a stop in the middle of a tunnel.
A serial killer is recreating every one of Stephen King’s novels .
A man takes a beautiful woman home, but she starts acting oddly inhuman.
A woman’s spouse is convinced she’s been replaced with a clone.
A man’s dog starts becoming more aggressive.
Create a social media profile for one of the following: mummy, clown, zombies, vampires, or werewolf.
All the children in town disappear.
A woman gets out of the shower to a strange message written in the steam on the bathroom mirror.
A mythical being comes back to life.
The faces of a man’s neighbors start to sag grossly.
Write about a household item possessed by an evil spirit.
Complete the story – The moment she stepped off the curb onto the deserted street…
You think you might be starting to crave blood.
The magnets on the fridge spell out, “I’m in the room with you.”
You start to hear whispering in the walls of your house.

How to use These Horror Writing Prompts for Writing Sprints

Choose one or more prompts from the list
Prepare your writing tools
Decide on a word count goal, for example, 1,000 words (hey, that’s almost 7 of those 150-word stories. The actual calculation is 6.66. Coincidence??).
Set a timer for between 15 and 60 minutes.
Start the timer.
Write as many words as you can until the timer stops or goes off.
Record Your word sprint data on a spreadsheet or using online software. For example, your word count achieved compared to your word count software.

For a complete breakdown of writing sprints, read Writing Sprints: The Ultimate Guide to Successful Writing Sprints .

So, that’s how to write a scary story in 150-words (or less). For even more awesome content, consider these articles:

21 Ways To Write a Complex Villain [Ultimate Badass Guide]
How To Write Morally Gray Characters [Bestseller Secrets Revealed]
How to Become a Writer for SNL (The Insanely Complete Guide)

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6 Sincerely Spooky Stories in 100 Words or Less

Halloween is upon us, but here in the digital age, it’s hard to find the time to read a short story, let alone a full-length horror novel. Here, then, are six blood-curdling tales for the digital age, each 100 words or less.

RELATED : 10+ Short Scary Stories You Definitely Don’t Want To Read Alone

Sally’s parents went out for a Halloween dinner, so Sally decided to invite a few friends over. There was some booze and pot, some slasher DVDs, and then the spooky highlight: a Ouija board.

Just gibberish at first and then, to their horror and delight, messages.

Specific messages.

S-A-L-L-Y , the board spelled out.

“Who is this?” said Sally.

SALLY OH SALLY

“Are you dead?”

“How did you die?”

“Who are you?”

YOUR MOTHER

Sally is still screaming when the police car arrives, and a single officer, cap respectfully in his hands, approaches the house.

Driscoll and Smedley are grave robbers. Their night’s work done, they head to the hospital on a cart loaded with fresh corpses.

No honor among thieves: Driscoll plans to cut Smedley’s throat after they get paid. Driscoll cackles to himself as they traverse the London dawn. He looks at Smedley, thinking: He has no idea.

“Excellent,” shouts Dr. Barron from a casement window as they draw up with their grisly cargo. “You’ve brought me those seven corpses I need!”

” ‘Ere,” says Driscoll. “There’s only six on the cart! You told me—”

“Yeah,” says Smedley, drawing his revolver. “I did, didn’t I?”

They entered the chamber.

Kendall was gripped by foreboding. There was the altar stone with its spiral pattern, carved millennia ago.

Glover shone his torch around the gloom. “The legends say this place makes people vanish.”

“Hard to see where anyone could vanish to.”

“Ten have, over the last 200 years.”

Kendall stared into the spiral carving; as he did so, he felt an awful sense of unease. Suddenly, he saw infinity. The same pattern repeating, over and over, reminding him of something. And then he was remembering, screaming—

Kendall was gripped by foreboding…

The Old Well

Frightened human eye pupil with a skull within it

I fell down the old well. Fortunately, I wasn’t hurt. At the bottom, there was a skeleton, a horrid thing in the tatters of a summer dress. I was terrified. I climbed out and ran back to the house but I couldn’t find my family, only a man and a woman I didn’t know. I approached them; the man ignored me, but the woman screamed, and then I realized there was something important I had forgotten.

Then I was back in the dark well again, with that horrible skeleton.

What have I forgotten? What was it?

From Room 116 come the sounds of flamenco in the hot Seville night. The clacking of castanets, the shuffle of heels, the melancholy guitar.

“Christ,” says Benson. “For the third night running!”

Before he knows it, he’s out of bed and hammering on the door of 116. “Keep that bloody noise down!”

The noises stop abruptly. The door creaks open.

On the bare floorboards are a broken guitar, cracked castanets and a pair of mouldering high-heeled shoes.

The dust is thick. Undisturbed.

All Benson can hear now is the sound of his own breathing, hard and fast.

Long Distance Call

At the hideout, the phone rang. Trembling, Dan answered.

“Dan! It’s Tony.”

Dan gasped.

“I thought you were—”

“Just listen. Guess the bank job didn’t go like we planned, huh? Still. At least one of us got away.”

“What are you—”

“Shhh. I had to describe it. This place.”

“Whispering shadows. The sky white with ash. The horizon roars, and the streets are bleached bone…”

“Nobody has a face.”

“This isn’t funny.”

“I mean, I expected flames, and pitchforks, laughing devils. Not this.”

“But you’ll see. Soon enough, Danny Boy. You’ll see.”

Cover photo: ifeel_infinite/flickr

This article was originally published on November 1, 2014

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