Horror Story Roundup, Part Three

It’s almost the end of September. You know what that means, dearies—spooky season is here! It also means that it’s time for the third year of my special Horror Story (and Poem) Roundup!

Like I did last year and the year before, I have collected all of my Halloween- and horror-related short stories, microfiction, and poetry from the past year and am presenting them here for your ease and enjoyment.

From the gory to the psychological to the downright weird, I explore it all in this wide range of works. So take a deep breath and dive on in:

Poetry

Santa Compaña

Cultures all around the world have their own stories about the walking dead. Have you ever heard of the Santa Compaña? Just don’t let the marching dead catch you out at night—alive—unless you want to join their procession as their new leader.

The Transformation

Some things are too horrible to describe. Some transformations cannot be imagined. And some are just arboreal in nature.

The Ghost Lantern

Who is carrying that lantern down the tracks? Here one moment, gone the next—what is his story? Where did he come from? And why does he leave a bloody trail in his wake?

Tainted Love

Love is eternal, ever-lasting. Even when one partner does not return that affection—or even dies under the other’s care. But some people will go to greater lengths to preserve that love than others, lengths that most could not even imagine.

The Haunted Forest

What horrors have the trees witnessed? Something has left a scar upon their souls…and blood upon their bark.

Microfiction

Dinner

Trapped in a room for endless days, the protagonist and her fellow captives know that they must escape—but there’s only one door out. As their numbers dwindle, the need to get out presses harder on them. But what waits for them on the other side of the forbidden door?

Admiration

She thought that her life with her new husband was perfect. He only asked one thing of her: do not open the closet in the hallway. Simple enough, right? But then she started to hear things coming from behind the door, and she can no longer ignore her curiosity.

Escape

They say that she’s insane. That’s why they locked her up in this room, for her own safety. But she sees them, the man and the woman that he murdered. If she wants to be rid of them, she must escape this room…but will it be alive or dead?

Lips as Red as Blood

Everyone loves Snow White. Everyone, that is, except for her stepmother. But why? Pure jealousy? Or is there a reason that the “Evil” Queen wanted her stepdaughter dead—one that would save the lives of her citizens?

The Woman in the River

Every Latinx person knows the myth of La Llorona. But what is her side of the story? What is the real reason behind her crying by the water every night? And can she be helped?

Short Stories

The Mischief

She doesn’t know how she got in this cave. She doesn’t know how long she’s been in this cave. All she knows is that rats tear her apart, something invisible sews her back up, and when she wakes up again, the whole process starts all over again. After an eternity of this torture, she can take it no longer and makes her plans to escape. But can she find her way out when she doesn’t even know how she got there in the first place?

A Christmas Beast

Not technically a Halloween story, this story fuses some horror into the Christmas season. Every year on Christmas Eve, Greg—brother of the famous Santa Claus—transforms into the greatest monster known to the season: Krampus. He reluctantly lets the beast take over, punishing bad boys and girls as they sleep. But can he hold back his own temper when he comes across a bad adult?

Breakout!

Trapped in a scientific facility on an alien planet, the nameless protagonist must find their way out with the help of a sympathetic scientist. They must rush through the facility without being stopped by other scientists and soldiers and make it across the desert terrain to leap over the fence to freedom—but not everything goes as planned, and not everything is as it seems.

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Do you have any spooky or Halloween-themed stories or poems that you want to share? Leave them in the comments below for us to check out!