short two sentence scary stories

I woke in the night to a cold hand on my face. When I turned on the light, there was no one.

The old house was silent. Then I heard a child's laughter from an empty room and no one was there.

One could be 'The door creaked open. A shadowy figure with no face stared at me.'

I was alone in the attic. Then I felt someone whisper my name in a voice I didn't recognize.

I woke up in the middle of the night. There was a figure standing at the foot of my bed, its eyes glowing red.

One effective one is 'I was home alone. Then I heard a voice whispering my name from the empty basement.' It gives an immediate sense of dread as being alone at home is a common situation and an unexplained voice is very creepy.

In the mirror, a face that wasn't mine stared back. It grinned as I screamed.

It depends. Some people might find them super creepy, while others might not be that affected.

They are effective because they are concise. They get straight to the point of scaring you.

One element is the unexpected. For example, in 'I opened the fridge. A severed hand was inside.' The normal act of opening the fridge is suddenly made terrifying by the unexpected discovery. Another is the use of the unknown. In 'I heard a knock. No one was there when I opened the door.' The mystery of who or what knocked creates fear.