Well, I think 'I smelled smoke but no fire. Then a voice said 'get out' is really scary. Also, 'I saw footprints in the snow leading to my window. I'm on the second floor.' is quite terrifying. These stories play on our fears of the unknown and the unexplained. They make us question what could be out there in the darkness or just beyond our perception. For example, the footprints in the snow are especially spooky because it defies the normal logic of how someone could be outside a second - floor window. And the disembodied voice warning to 'get out' when there's no obvious danger is a classic horror trope that sends shivers down our spines.
One of the scariest is 'My phone took a picture by itself. There was a shadow behind me.' Another is 'The clock stopped at 3:13. Then I heard a knock on my door.'
A really scary one is 'I put on my coat. There was a hand in the pocket that wasn't mine.' And 'I turned on the TV. It showed my empty room but with a dark figure.' These stories are short but they manage to create a sense of unease and fear very quickly. They rely on unexpected and often unexplainable elements that catch the reader off - guard. The idea of finding a foreign object like a hand in a pocket that you expect to be empty is a very visceral and creepy concept, and seeing a figure in your own supposedly empty room on the TV is also quite disturbing as it blurs the line between the safety of your own space and the intrusion of the unknown.
I was walking in the forest. I heard footsteps behind me. When I looked back, there was no one there, but the footsteps continued getting closer.
I opened the fridge and saw a severed finger among the vegetables.
I looked in the mirror. My reflection smiled and blinked without me doing it.
I opened the attic door. A cold hand grabbed my ankle as I stepped inside.
My phone rang in the middle of the night. It was my number calling me.
He found a doll in the attic. When he blinked, the doll's eyes were looking right at him.
Here are two. First, I heard my name whispered in the empty attic. No one was there. Second, I saw a figure at the end of my bed. When I blinked, it was closer.
I find 'The photo on the wall changed. My dead grandmother was now smiling.' quite disturbing. It combines the normalcy of a photo on the wall with the unexpected and eerie change. A photo is supposed to be a static memory, but when it changes in such a strange way, it makes you feel like there are forces at work that we can't understand.
I found a tooth on my pillow. Not mine. Then I heard a whisper, 'I'm coming for the rest of them.' I shuddered, knowing I was in danger.
One that scares me is 'The phone rang in the empty house. When he answered, all he heard was heavy breathing.' It gives a sense of immediate dread.