famous short scary stories

Algernon Blackwood is an important author of spooky short stories. His works often deal with the supernatural and the occult. His story 'The Willows' is quite spooky. Saki (H. H. Munro) also wrote some spooky short stories. His stories usually have a touch of dark humor along with the spookiness. Bram Stoker, although famous for 'Dracula', also wrote some short and spooky works.

Edgar Allan Poe is one of the most famous. His works like 'The Fall of the House of Usher' and 'The Black Cat' are full of horror elements. Shirley Jackson is also well - known for her story 'The Lottery'. H.P. Lovecraft is famous for his cosmic horror stories such as 'The Shadow over Innsmouth'.

Sure. 'The Yellow Wallpaper' is a well - known scary short story. It tells the tale of a woman who is slowly driven mad by the yellow wallpaper in her room as she is confined there. 'Carmilla' is another famous one. It's an early vampire story, predating Dracula, with a female vampire preying on a young girl. And don't forget 'The Masque of the Red Death' by Poe. It's set during a plague and has a very eerie and fatal masquerade ball.

The suspense. In famous scary short stories, like 'The Tell - Tale Heart', the build - up of suspense keeps readers on the edge of their seats. You don't know when the narrator will finally snap completely or if he'll be caught. It's this not - knowing that makes it exciting.

The 'Candyman' legend is quite famous. If you say his name five times while looking into a mirror, he will appear. He has a hook for a hand and is said to be the spirit of a murdered man. He'll then kill the person who summoned him.

The suspense. In short scary stories, there's often a sense of not knowing what will happen next. For example, in 'The Tell - Tale Heart', you keep wondering if the narrator will get away with the murder. This keeps readers on the edge of their seats.

There's also 'The Lottery' by Shirley Jackson. In a small town, every year there is a lottery. But it's not a normal lottery. The 'winner' is stoned to death by the townspeople as a sort of sacrifice for a good harvest, which is a really disturbing and unexpected turn.

There's also 'The Yellow Wallpaper' by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. A woman is confined to a room with yellow wallpaper for her 'nervous condition'. As she spends more time there, she starts to hallucinate and believes there are women trapped behind the wallpaper, which is a very creepy and thought - provoking story.

They often play on our deepest fears. Take 'The Tell - Tale Heart' again. The fear of being caught for a wrong deed and the madness that follows guilt are very relatable. These stories tap into our subconscious and make us feel uneasy. They also use vivid descriptions. In 'The Monkey's Paw', the description of the paw itself, all shriveled and with a strange power, creates an immediate sense of dread. It sets the mood for the whole story.

One of the most famous is 'The Tell - Tale Heart'. It's a disturbing tale of a narrator who is haunted by the old man's vulture - like eye and eventually kills him. Another is 'The Fall of the House of Usher', which creates an atmosphere of gloom and doom with the decaying Usher mansion and the strange fates of its inhabitants.