fiction

Horror fiction that delivers on its promise to scare, startle, frighten and unsettle. These stories are fake, but the shivers down your spine won't be.

Squawking Chimes
I framed Grandma’s picture after she died. It was a small photo, nestled cleanly in a wooden frame I found lying around in my parent’s house back in Abry. It was an old photo, taken back in the forties. She was youthful back then, smiling in her twenties. Grandma had seen everything—the Great Depression, World War II, the Kennedy’s… Trump… COVID—all of it. She even contracted the virus, at 95 years old, and kicked it to the curb with only minimal symptoms. She was a tough lady. She had a good sense of humor, probably because she knew most people were totally crazy; she’d had too much first-hand experience with that shit, throughout the course of her century.
By Robert Pettus3 years ago in Horror
Blood Pumpkin
"What in the hell are those?" Clarence had gone to Reggy's Veggies to buy seeds, just as he had every year since Reggy had opened. David Decker probably bought his seeds here, too, Clarence reflected. It was part of the reason Clarence kept coming back. The fact that Reggy was a friend since boyhood and Clarence taking his business to the new feed store up the road would hurt him was secondary.
By Joshua Campbell3 years ago in Horror
50 Famous Horror Legends (Part 3)
Night Hag She huddled in bed, remembering the bad horror movie she had watched earlier tonight. The strange, burned killer with the knives for fingers would haunt her dreams, she was certain. He was horrible and comical at the same time. But he was really scary, and she knew she probably should have just skipped that particular flick. After all, the killer had haunted the dreams of the doomed young teenagers, and she, herself, often had disturbing dreams.
By Tom Baker3 years ago in Horror
The Headless Corpse
Once, in Wukiang, there was a young student of literature. He was an aspiring teacher, in charge of students from the Tsiang family (who must, we assume have had some prominence), and so had many duties, and worked long days. It was during a particular season that he took a holiday to "sweep out the ancestral tombs."He told his wife one morning, "Prepare my lunch for me as I have much to do today and will be famished by the time I should get in! " Then he left for the day, and his wife went about doing the thing he had commanded.
By Tom Baker3 years ago in Horror
Grandma Saw a Dead Man Once
My grandmother and I have been roommates for about a year now. That probably sounds pretty weird for a twenty-three-year-old to say, but I have to say that it's been a great arrangement.
By Joshua Campbell3 years ago in Horror
Letters from a Fog Survivor
9/2/1999 White clouds block out the cooling colors of daylight. No birds caw, not even the crows. No insects fly around as you carefully walk the foggy streets in a residential area. It’s quiet and empty– too silent for your own comfort. The rule is to never drop your guard because if you do, another horde will be after you. You have been alone in the world for the past month, trying to get by robbing vacant homes by people who moved away. The smell of iron invades your nostrils. On a normal day, it would smell like asphalt and fumes from running cars. It’s dead. If it weren’t for the gas mask on your face, you would become one of them– the infected. They are not dead, but still people who became corrupted by this fog. Your clothes covering your body saves you from the fog’s poison. Blisters, burns, and boils are its battle to get inside your body. Power and water have been cut off for over two weeks now. There is no chatter among the locals. A part of you misses it.
By Ace Melee3 years ago in Horror
Halloween; Kin
Happy Halloween There once was a jack-o-lantern but it wasn’t just any jack-o-lantern. Upon a farm there lived a young boy of 9 or 10 with messy hair, freckles, and a missing tooth grin. His name was Jeffrey. Of all the times of the year, Autumn was his favorite, the changing colors of the leaves, the holiday of Halloween at the end of the month, and most importantly the pumpkin carving. For you see Jeffrey was lonely, his farm was so far away from the town he rarely saw other kids his age and when he did at the school they weren’t very fond of him. But when October came around and the harvests came in he could have as many friends as he wanted. All it took was a few pumpkins and some silly faces and Jeffrey was one of the happiest kids in the world. But this year was different, just faces were not quite enough anymore so something special would be done. A single pumpkin nice and round almost perfect was selected from the harvest, it was gutted and then a gentle face was carved in it. Two oval eyes, a tiny triangle nose, and a two-toothed smile happy and kind. Jeffrey then took two sticks and like his grandfather showed him before tied them together with twine to make the frame of a scarecrow; a rather tiny one no bigger than a child. Taking one of his old shirts with a two-button collar and collared sleeves in a dusty blue color he put it on the frame stuffing it with straw and giving the scarecrow his old mittens. With his grandfather’s help, the bottom of the main stick was split in two and widened out, and tied with twine for legs. The scarecrow got some brown pants stuffed with straw and a few lengths of twined between the belt loops to keep it up. With the placement of its head, the pumpkin friend was complete and Jeffrey was happy.
By Anastasia J Cleveringa3 years ago in Horror
The Little Black Bird
“Shoo, demon bird, get off of me!” I yelled and swatted. A bird with glowing red eyes had started following me a few weeks ago, every day its visits were a little more frequent. Today was the worst so far, no matter where I went it wouldn’t leave me alone.
By Alex H Mittelman 3 years ago in Horror
Cinders Ella
Ah, so you've returned. Excellent. Welcome back to the Realm of "What if...?". I have another classic for you today, one that has many versions worldwide: the Tale of the Little Cinder Girl. Suspend your disbelief for me once more, just for a few moments, and I shall begin our tale anew.
By Natalie Gray3 years ago in Horror
The Mythical Creature Of The Woods
“Eamon, help! Please Eamon, we really need your help.” This message, or yell for help was broadcast straight into my mind. There’s only one person who has the magical ability to talk to another’s mind, but only if that person is also magical, in some form or another.
By Colleen Millsteed 3 years ago in Horror
The Face in the Wall
Terry’s day started with the previous shift dragging Inmate Harrison from his cell. The two officers, old pros at this, had him cuffed up and held under each arm, the yard Sergeant coming behind as he manfully attempted to hold the inmates kicking legs. Sergeant Leeman wasn’t a small guy, somewhere between a bodybuilder and a sideshow strong man, and even he was having trouble keeping a hold of the struggling inmate. Harrison was six and a half feet tall and most of it was ankles and elbow. As they took him out, he was screaming loud enough to shake the cobwebs in the rafters.
By Joshua Campbell3 years ago in Horror
Safe And Sound
She fluttered and floated effortlessly in the sky, in and out of the trees she darted, coasting, soaring, till I could no longer follow her path.
By Kelli Sheckler-Amsden3 years ago in Horror