Around Halloween, we love to indulge in the season by creeping ourselves out. We'll watch creepy movies on repeat, jumping at every scare and having a hard time falling asleep that night. Though movies are excellent at this, there are also several creepy short stories that are thoroughly unsettling. Whether you tell these stories around a campfire or read them with all the lights on, get ready to be disturbed.
1. 'The Turn of the Screw' by Henry James
This gothic short follows a governess who cares for two seemingly perfect children. After seeing some characters lurking on the grounds who are supposed to be dead, the governess starts to question everything. One of James's best-known stories, it even got a 2009 reboot on British TV despite the fact the story is 120 years old.
2. 'The Black Cat' by Edgar Allan Poe
A man has a seemingly happy life with a lovely wife and a beautiful black cat, Pluto. After he becomes an alcoholic, however, his sanity unravels when he believes that his cat is intentionally mistreating him. It's a classic macabre, odd Poe tale.
3. 'The Legend of Sleepy Hollow' by Washington Irving
This story was written nearly 200 years ago by the first American author, yet it is still unsettling and well-liked. Disney also made a cartoon of it in 1949. In the secluded glen of Sleepy Hollow, superstitious schoolmaster Ichabod Crane competes against town hunk Brom Bones for the hand of the attractive Katrina Van Tassel. In the process, Bones uses Crane's fears of practically everything to his advantage. The ending is ambiguous and can be interpreted in a range of ways, from appalling to unsettling.
4. 'An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge' by Ambrose Bierce
Plantation owner Peyton Farquhar is awaiting his execution, a noose around his neck, perched on the edge of a railroad bridge, staring down at the flowing river. While he is waiting to die, he reflects on his life and the events that lead to that moment. Heralded as one of the greatest American short stories, it is intriguing, disturbing, and has a shocking twist ending.
5. 'The Yellow Wallpaper' by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
A hallmark of American feminist literature, this story is an epistolary work that chronicles the life of a homebound woman. Her husband, who's also her doctor, prohibits her from doing anything to get over her "nervous depression." Instead, she loses her sanity and hallucinates seeing a woman in the wallpaper of the room she's been boarded up in. This story is unsettling because of its realistic interpretation of attitudes towards women's health during this time.
6. 'The Tell-Tale Heart' by Edgar Allan Poe
This is not only a classic Poe story but an incredibly disturbing story worthy of campfire legend. The narrator is a servant to an old man who has a "vulture eye" that creeps out the narrator. In the story, the narrator is trying to convince the reader of his sanity, though he is describing in detail how he murdered the man. The language and bizarre plot are completely captivating and will hold onto you until the last word — and even then it may not let go.
7. 'The Rocking-Horse Winner' by D.H. Lawrence
This story focuses on a money-tight American family whose son, Paul, is obsessed with a rocking horse. He says this toy allows him to go into a hypnotic state during which he can accurately predict the winner of horse races. Weird.
8. 'Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?' by Joyce Carol Oates
Though this story is fairly new, having been written in 1966, it is sure to be a classic gothic short. Connie is a young teen who captures the attention of a young man who drives a gold convertible. The story gets more disturbing when this man comes to Connie's house and tries to convince her to go for a drive with him. Though the plot may seem simple, it is anything but. It is truly written to capture the imagination and will thoroughly creep you out.
9. 'The Veldt' by Ray Bradbury
This story follows a family in a futuristic world. They move into a tech-savvy house, but the parents are dismayed that their children are becoming engrossed in the technology to the point of complete disobedience. It really gets you thinking about the negative impact technology can have on our lives.
10. 'The Most Dangerous Game' by Richard Connell
After a game hunter from the city falls off a yacht, he swims to a nearby island. Instead of getting help, the man who lives on the island hunts him down in a game of life or death. It's an incredible story that really makes you think about justified murder. It was also made into a short film only a few years after the story was published.
11. 'The Monkey’s Paw' by W.W. Jacobs
A British family comes to possess a mummified monkey's paw which has been enchanted to grant its owner three wishes. Though the wish is granted, it comes about through a series of horrifying consequences. Be careful what you wish for.
12. 'William Wilson' by Edgar Allan Poe
Another Poe classic, this story is about a man who meets his doppelganger at a party. Wilson is horrified and tries to get away from the other Wilson, but the doppelganger follows him and interferes with his life. You may never look in a mirror the same way again.
13. 'Royal Jelly' by Roald Dahl
The Taylor family is concerned for their baby daughter, who refuses to eat anything. The husband Albert adds royal jelly (used by beekeepers to make bee larvae grow) to his daughter's milk. After seeing positive results, he starts to eat royal jelly himself — but not all is the bee's knees.
