I woke up in the middle of the night to a scratching sound at my window. I peeked through the curtain and saw a pale face with hollow eyes staring back at me. It vanished when I blinked. I told myself it was just a dream, but the scratches on the window were real in the morning.
They often play on common fears like the unknown, being alone, or things that seem normal but are actually very wrong. For example, a familiar - looking doll that becomes menacing. They make you realize that horror can be anywhere, even in the most ordinary things around you. And in just one paragraph, they manage to create a whole atmosphere of dread that lingers in your mind.
A third one. I was staying in a motel room on a long road trip. The room was dimly lit. I noticed the wallpaper was peeling. As I lay in bed, I heard scratching on the wall. I thought it might be a mouse at first. But the scratches got louder and more violent. I got up to look, but there was nothing there. When I turned back, the bedcovers were all messed up as if someone had been sitting there, and a cold hand brushed against my ankle.
Start with a hook - something that grabs the reader's attention. Then, build up the main events or conflicts quickly. End with a resolution or a cliffhanger. Keep the language simple and vivid.
I'll share one. I woke up in the middle of the night to a strange scratching at my window. I slowly turned my head to look, but all I could see was my own pale reflection. Then, the scratching stopped. A cold hand touched my shoulder. I dared not turn around.
One long horror story could be about an old, abandoned asylum. A group of friends decided to explore it at night. As they entered, the air was thick with a musty smell. The hallways were dimly lit by the faint moonlight seeping through the broken windows. Strange noises echoed around them, like the moans of long - dead patients. One of the friends saw a shadowy figure in the distance that seemed to glide rather than walk. As they moved deeper into the asylum, they found a room full of old, rusted medical equipment. Suddenly, the door slammed shut behind them, and they heard scratching on the other side. Panic set in as they tried to find a way out, but every corridor seemed to lead them further into the nightmarish place.
Story 1: I found myself in a deserted subway station late at night. The lights were flickering ominously. I walked along the platform, and the silence was deafening. Suddenly, I heard a faint scratching sound coming from the tunnel. I peered into the darkness, and a figure started to emerge. It was a pale, gaunt man with long, sharp nails. He started running towards me at an inhuman speed.
Story 2: I was staying in a motel room on a long road trip. The room was cold and damp. As I was about to go to sleep, I heard a soft knocking on the door. I got up to check, but no one was there. When I went back to bed, the knocking started again, this time louder. I looked through the peephole and saw a woman with a blank expression just standing there. Then she slowly disappeared from view.
In a long - forgotten, boarded - up mansion on the outskirts of town, a group of teens once broke in. They found themselves in a large hall. As they explored, they noticed that all the portraits on the walls seemed to be watching them. One of the teens felt a sudden push when no one was near. They also heard faint music coming from a locked room upstairs. The feeling of being constantly watched and the unexplained events made it a truly horrifying single - location experience.