There was a boy staying at an old, haunted inn. As he lay in bed, he heard a soft whispering. He couldn't make out the words, but it sounded menacing. He turned on the light, but it flickered and went out. He closed his eyes tight and kept repeating positive thoughts. Eventually, he fell asleep out of exhaustion. In the morning, he learned that the whispering was just the old pipes in the inn making noise.
Good scary bedtime stories are good because they play on our fears in a controlled way. They often have elements of the unknown, like in 'The Monkey's Paw' where you don't know exactly what the next wish will bring. This creates suspense and makes our imagination run wild.
One classic bedtime scary story is 'The Tell - Tale Heart' by Edgar Allan Poe. It's about a man who is driven mad by an old man's 'evil eye' and eventually kills him. Another is 'The Monkey's Paw'. A family gets a cursed monkey's paw that grants wishes, but with horrible consequences. And there's 'The Legend of Sleepy Hollow' with the headless horseman who haunts the town.
A really good scary bedtime story is 'The Wendigo'. It's a creature from Native American folklore that is associated with hunger and cannibalism. The idea of this half - man, half - beast lurking in the forest is terrifying. 'The Girl with the Green Ribbon' is also spooky. A girl always wears a green ribbon around her neck, and when it's finally removed, there's a big surprise. And 'The Haunted Doll' stories are always good for a scare. Dolls that seem to have a life of their own are really creepy.
A really spooky bedtime story could be 'The Legend of Sleepy Hollow'. Ichabod Crane, a superstitious schoolteacher, has an encounter with the Headless Horseman in a spooky, small town. The Horseman chases Ichabod, and it's left ambiguous whether Ichabod survives or is carried away by the Horseman. It gives a great sense of fear and mystery.
In a small village, there was a well. Legend said that at midnight, a ghostly hand would reach out of it. One night, a curious child went near the well at night. He saw a shadowy shape but then realized it was just a branch swaying in the wind. The moral of the story is not to believe everything you hear.
A great scary kids bedtime story is 'The Graveyard Book'. It's about a boy who grows up in a graveyard among ghosts. There are some spooky elements like the ghouls that come out at night. 'The Girl with the Green Ribbon' is also a good one. The mystery around the girl's green ribbon around her neck is quite eerie. And 'Scary Mary' which is about a haunted doll can be really spooky for kids at bedtime.
One classic scary kids bedtime story is 'The Big Bad Wolf'. In this story, the wolf tries to blow down the houses of the three little pigs. It's scary because the pigs are in danger, but it also has a happy ending when the pigs outwit the wolf. Another is 'The Headless Horseman'. The idea of a rider without a head chasing someone is really spooky for kids. And 'Bloody Mary' is also quite well - known. However, this one might be a bit too scary for very young kids.
Another is 'The Cursed Painting'. A man buys an old painting at an auction. When he hangs it in his bedroom, at night he starts to see the figures in the painting move. The people in the painting seem to be trapped in a never - ending nightmare and they try to drag him into their world. He has to find a way to get rid of the painting before it's too late.
One example of a scary bedtime story with a warning is 'The Red Room.' The warning in it is about the red room being haunted, and the character is warned not to stay there overnight. But of course, they don't listen. This leads to all sorts of spooky encounters.