Well, 'The Exorcist' is often considered among the top horror stories. It tells the tale of a young girl possessed by a demon and the efforts to exorcise it. The demonic possession scenes are truly terrifying. Then there's 'Rosemary's Baby'. A woman becomes pregnant and slowly realizes that her baby is part of a Satanic plot. It plays on the fears of the unknown and the violation of the most sacred, motherhood. And 'Psycho' is a classic. The Bates Motel and Norman Bates' split personality make for a truly chilling story.
One of the top horror stories could be 'The Tell - Tale Heart' by Edgar Allan Poe. It's about a man who is driven mad by the old man's vulture - like eye and ends up murdering him, then being haunted by the sound of the dead man's beating heart. Another might be 'The Shining'. In this story, a family stays at an isolated hotel during the winter and the father slowly descends into madness, seeing ghosts and trying to harm his family. 'It' by Stephen King is also very popular. A group of kids in a small town are terrorized by an evil clown named Pennywise who preys on their fears.
Some of the top horror stories include 'The Call of Cthulhu' by H.P. Lovecraft. It involves a cosmic horror, with an ancient and powerful being, Cthulhu, that drives people mad just by its existence. 'A Nightmare on Elm Street' is also well - known. Freddy Krueger haunts people in their dreams and can kill them there. It blurs the line between the safety of sleep and the horror of nightmares. 'The Blair Witch Project' gives a sense of real - life horror as it's presented as a found - footage movie, making the viewer feel like they are in the middle of the terrifying events in the woods.