very short scary stories

One night, I heard a strange scratching at my window. I peeked out, but saw nothing. Then I heard it again, closer. Suddenly, a pale face stared back at me.

Very short scary stories often rely on common fears such as the dark, the unknown, and being alone. They use vivid but minimal descriptions to create a sense of unease. For instance, a story could say 'He walked into the empty house. The creaking floorboards were the only sound. Then he saw a shadow move.' This builds tension without a lot of extra words. Also, they can play on superstitions like ghosts or curses to make the reader feel scared.

Well, very short scary stories usually rely on creating an instant sense of dread. They don't have much room for complex character development. Instead, they focus on a single, terrifying moment or a short sequence of events. For instance, a story might be about a person opening a door to a room that was always locked, and inside there's a menacing figure. This sudden shock is what makes these stories effective. They can also use simple but powerful descriptions like 'the room was filled with a cold, damp air that smelled of death' to set the mood.

Yes, they can be. Ghost stories often play on our fears of the unknown, and in this book, they might be especially spooky. The short format allows for quick jolts of fear.

One common theme is the unknown. For example, in many stories, there are unexplained noises or figures in the dark that create fear because we don't know what they are. Another theme is death. Stories often revolve around sudden or unexpected deaths, like in 'The Lottery'. Isolation is also a theme. When characters are alone, whether in a big empty house or in the woods, it makes them more vulnerable and the situation scarier.

One story is about a girl who went trick - or - treating alone. She knocked on a door of an old, decrepit house. An old woman with a pale face opened the door. The woman just stared at her without saying a word. Then she slowly reached out her hand with long, yellowed nails towards the girl. The girl ran away in terror.

Sure. One is 'The Last Breath'. A hiker gets lost in the woods at night. As he tries to find his way, he hears a faint whispering. Every time he stops, the whispering stops. When he finally reaches a small cabin, he realizes the whispering is coming from inside. Another one is 'The Doll's Eyes'. A girl finds an old doll in the attic. At night, she wakes up to see the doll's eyes glowing red, staring at her. And 'The Footsteps in the Hall'. A woman alone in an old mansion hears slow, heavy footsteps in the hall at midnight, but when she looks, there's no one there.

Sure. 'The Yellow Wallpaper' is a very scary short story. It tells the tale of a woman's descent into madness as she is confined to a room with yellow wallpaper. The descriptions of her psychological state are really frightening. Also, 'Lamb to the Slaughter' by Roald Dahl. A seemingly normal housewife commits a shocking murder in a very unexpected way. There's also 'August Heat' which has a spooky sense of fate and doom throughout the story.

Well, for one, they often have a sense of the unknown. When readers don't know what's going to happen next, it creates fear. For example, in 'The Monkey's Paw', we don't know exactly how the wishes will turn out horribly. Also, the use of atmosphere. Dark, gloomy settings like in 'The Tell - Tale Heart' add to the scariness. And the characters can be very disturbing, like the unreliable narrator in that same story.

Sure. Here is one. A girl was home alone at night. She heard a strange scratching at the window. When she peeked out, there was a faceless figure just inches from the glass, staring back at her. She ran to her room and hid under the covers, but she could still hear the scratching getting louder.