psychological

Mind games taken way too far; explore the disturbing genre of psychological thrillers that make us question our perception of sanity and reality.

Pretty
18 is the age of beauty. My birthday, April 8, is the day I’ve been waiting for my whole life. On that very day and beyond, I get to become pretty. I get to wear makeup, pretty dresses, elegant shoes, all the things the pretty girls do. My whole life I’ve been called ugly. Of course, I take no offence to it. Everyone is called ugly until 18.
By S.D.R. D8 years ago in Horror
Awake
"Awake" I keep having this dream—well, nightmare. Well, it's hard to say, really. I guess it really is all a matter of perspective, when it comes down to it. But onto the recurring, well, whatever. I wake up, and I'm lost. I'm confused. I have no idea, in a way, where I am, and I am all alone. I mean, I'm not really all alone. My wife, my kids are there. My coworkers...well, they're not all in the room with me, but, well, what I mean is that in my dream, my wife is, normally, and sometimes one or both of my kids. But I wake up, and I look around, and everything scans normally. Completely usual. Par. For. The. Course. It IS my wife, my kids, who crawled in bed with me and my wife at some indeterminate point in the middle of the night. When, I can't recall, but I normally can't. It's my bed, our bed, our bedspread, that we bought seven years ago, when she had gotten tired of the last one. That's my TV, our TV, all of our's TV. It's all there, just as I left it when I went to bed. The same. But different. It's all a little off. Just enough off that I can't put my finger on it, that I'm left behind, unsure and underwhelmed by the difference, trying to label it as something real, or rather as some unidentifiable bit of potted meat or undigested potato or scuttling crab claw from the night before.
By Adam Pridemore8 years ago in Horror
The Surface
Every breath I take pierces my lungs like a blunt dagger moving deeper into my body. “I’m running out of time.” I whisper, my words floating to the surface.
By Eleanor 8 years ago in Horror
Not a Love Story
He's not sure when this will end or when it began. He knows he didn't love her when it began. Or maybe he did. Maybe the Fates knew that he did and it was they that compelled him to take her. They sing to him when they see someone new that they crave, but when he saw her they screamed in agony until his stomach was twisted into knots and it felt like a fire had begun in his chest. When he took her the flames still burned but he started to enjoy the pain, and the Fates hummed softly.
By Crisanta 8 years ago in Horror
Stalker in the Woods
Island Creep I moved to an island on Lake Michigan for the summer. It’s a touristy area and you can make decent money in the summer and my aunt owns a bar and grill and motel so I figured why not? I just went through a breakup after a six-year relationship and have been battling issues with depression and anxiety for over a year now so I figured this would be a nice change of scenery.
By Kristin Jeaneen8 years ago in Horror
Who Are You?
Have you ever decided to pack your bags and leave, leave with no plan or thought of where. This has been the most compressed year I have ever witnessed. Heartbreaks, fall out and much more. It’s like this whole time my life has been a secret television show, with hidden cameras. All I’m waiting for now is someone to jump out and surprise me.
By Molly Kane8 years ago in Horror
Mr. and Mrs. Jones
“Oh! You’re home early, Nancy.” “I know, I had an appointment. I’m feeling a little under the weather.” “That’s too bad. What did the doctor say?”
By Amber Larkin8 years ago in Horror
“Unheimlich YoU"
You woke up suddenly, startled and confused, groggy, as your eyes adjust to the bright shafts of daylight stabbing at your eyes. Daylight? What were you doing sleeping? Weren’t you supposed to be at class? What time was, is it? You pause to take in your surroundings, unsure of where, when, or why, or even where on campus you are. Rubbing sleep from your eyes, you realize you’re lying on green grass, freshly cut and finely manicured, and, off in the distance—the bell tower. As you ponder this, you stretch your neck, uncomfortable from sleeping on your own book bag.
By Adam Pridemore8 years ago in Horror
Normally Traumatized
Normally Traumatized Stop. Heart beats faster. Don’t be stupid. Wind picks up, blowing papers off the desk, swiftly landing on the floor.
By Drew Dorius8 years ago in Horror
Save Me
The straps are too tight on my wrists. My ankles are trapped by wraps and wraps of metal. I squirm and try and get out with no success. That’s when he walks in. The man in the white coat. My eyes dart towards him and scan his body. He’s going to hurt me again, I just know it.
By Julia Barker8 years ago in Horror
Lydia
The fiery orange dusk sky illuminated over the city signaling for adult and child to head home for the night. A man in his late thirties walked lonely across the dried autumn leaves blowing across the chalky sidewalk. Every click of his boot walking the same path every second of every day from home to work to home again. His mind absent but his body following the steps like a replaying record. He stopped in front of a blue door to the same old, white house. Like always he reached for the doorknob, his house always being unlocked. The cold painful air whipped from his home, the same air that his beloved had once breathed, where his children had played, before that tragic day. He took a few moments and closed the door once again trying to get the past from his mind, to get the courage to walk into his home. 'A nice day for a walk, to clear my mind' he had thought to himself even if it was only for a few seconds. He had walked to his favorite bakery to pick up something sweet to indulge himself in. Once again, walking the same old path back to his home until standing dead in his tracks, his heart had almost dropped from hearing a squealing sob. He walked towards the park where he heard the sobbing and saw a little girl in the sandbox, in a torn, bright blue dress holding an old, dirty bunny that looked like it was once white. He hesitated to approach her, but gathered up the courage, walked over and knelt down. Even feeling his presence she did not look up at him.
By LL Moore8 years ago in Horror
Pillow Thoughts
Sleep paralysis is a concept I have learned to fear due to the nature of the unwelcome guests that arrive with it. Tonight is no different.
By Zene Patton8 years ago in Horror