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.

The Cruise
The helicopter flies above the ocean, waves gently bouncing up and down below. The cruise ship sits on the horizon along with the sun. “What do we know about the mission?” I ask the commanding officer flying the chopper. There’s four of us in the squad, thee mercenary types and me, a bioengineering student. I was told a few days ago that I’d be sent with this small group to investigate this ship that’s been seemingly abandoned.
By John U5 years ago in Horror
Those Who Would Not Die
At first, when people stopped dying, it was like a fairy tale. By some unknown miracle, every man, woman, and child in our world was no longer subject to death. No more funerals, no more mourning, no more lost loved ones. Death had somehow been banished from our world and we all rejoiced.
By Gordy Yates5 years ago in Horror
Arrival
We had been told stories of the great ships carrying the strange, white men. Travelers from other tribes had brought the white man’s items to trade; things we had never seen. They tell us stories of their encounters with them, and their golden hair and blue eyes. Our elders warned us that they could be dangerous, others believed they could be friends. I couldn’t help but wonder about these men. Who are they? Where did they come from? Why is their hair the color of the wheat we harvest? What do they want? These questions ran through my mind like rapids, as I watched the distant ship on the horizon grow closer to the shore.
By Jenna Tomovich5 years ago in Horror
Sun Smuggler
A low bellow coursed through my body, shaking me, as the vibration of the ship’s foghorn roared two decks above. Wakeup call. I stretched my arms and legs as I tossed around in my canvas hammock, savouring the mere seconds of peace. I rose my sullied hands up to my face, rubbing sunken, weary eyes. With my creased knuckles I began scraping the film that glued my eyelids shut. This film appears on everything, unbiased. It gathers on your eyelids, hands, and feet. No one is immune, not my fellow mates nor the cook, not even the Captain, and most certainly not I. This film is the Salt. The Salt that lingers in the damp air of this wretched place, the Salt that commands the tides of the Shadowy Sea and the Salt that fills any old Skulker’s veins, just like mine.
By Derrick L.5 years ago in Horror
Shipwrecked
“Careful Jacob, don’t run off too far”, the woman said to her son as he was about to explore the ship. “Relax, Sarah. It’s his first time on a cruise ship. Let him enjoy it,” her husband said as he put his arm around her.
By Mr.X5 years ago in Horror
Hatched from a Hollow Place
He carved into the porous surface with the precision of a surgeon; cleanly the lines were made across its curves and the operation was underway. A transformation. The shell, its innocent cream against the rough hand that grasped it, allowed itself to give way to the demands of that which possessed it. Without argument, and without crumbling, the carving of its surface continued with the carver transfixed in his work. The clear control of his quick movements hid his impatience, and could have been mistaken for flourishes of showmanship or joy. There would be no way to tell that his grip on the shell was so firm that it threatened to crush the thing; that considerable focus on his part was restraining that very impulse. One would be forgiven therefore not to have considered rage as a defining characteristic of the artist, and, as he completed the carving of the beautiful turtle, one would also be forgiven for not comprehending the expression on the artist's face as he turned his work over in his palm. Admiration for his own work seemed only natural as the process was as seductive as the outcome was astounding. Yet, it was not admiration in his eyes, but memories, the scenes washing in and out as the waves slid onto the shore behind him. He thought to himself how he’d like to carve into the shell of the turtle and leave it hollow.
By Rob Payne5 years ago in Horror
Just a myth. Runner-Up in the Improbable Paradise Challenge.
I can’t remember the last time I’d eaten. It’s funny how hunger can take a hold of you, the emptiness somehow fills you, consumes you until all you can feel is your body crying out for sustenance. I lie here, naked, barely noticing the jagged rocks of the island, my island, digging into my sides and scratching my fair skin as all I can think about is my desperate need for food.
By Oby5 years ago in Horror
Carina
The Carina was back. Grant noticed it out of the corner of his good eye, after he had turned to go inside. The charred remains of his cigarette were slowly being eaten by the waves, vanishing into the tide where he had flicked it a moment ago. He barely registered it. His eyes—both of them, now—were fixated on the boat floating just on the edge of the horizon.
By Matt Spaziani5 years ago in Horror
Murky Waters
My mama always told me to watch out for the bad boys but she never told me how dangerous the rich ones were. Oscar was the only son of the Frost family. Their family was basically royalty in Barrowview. Our city was small. Despite the prime waterfront real estate, only about 50,000 people lived within city limits. The brutally cold and harsh winters may have something to do with that.
By Kahli K5 years ago in Horror
The Haunted Library
We don’t tell our guests about the library. Here at Chateau de Livres Resort, we have a wide array of amenities. An Olympic-size lap pool, a world-class spa, a Michelin star restaurant, and of course the most luxurious guest rooms this side of the continental divide. Despite our name, though, the library in the basement is strictly off-limits to all but a few select staff.
By Katt Kantack5 years ago in Horror
They Saw Me...
They saw me... I’m do not like the water I kept reassuring my friends and they begged me to take a cruise with them for my big “Over the hill” birthday. No, I repeated over and over again until my face turned red. But we’ve already purchased the package and it’s to your favorite place, my cousin exclaimed in excitement. Plus, are you the one that always says, you only live once, she reminded me as if I really wanted to hear that at this point. With a knot in my throat and an unsettling in my stomach, I quickly said okay, okay before I could change my mind. But we have to have an inside cabin and I’m not stepping out on deck until we reach our destination. You guys know how hydrophobic I am. They all just came in for the group hug as if I hadn’t said anything. But my heart was saying something different.
By Veronica Marie Anderson5 years ago in Horror
Infected
Mom had a hangnail once; it put her in the hospital. I know that sounds dumb, but it’s true. She kept pestering it, picking at it and chewing on it before she managed to pull it out of the skin, wounding the crease along her nail bed and cuticle. She rinsed it off and forgot about it.
By Paula Shablo5 years ago in Horror