Latest Stories

Most recently published stories in Horror.

Owl Eyes
Fred leans against a tree. He pants, clutches his chest. Unsteady on his legs, he rests a hand on the trunk. The bark crumbles under his fingers. The decay jolts him; his legs quake under the fright that consumes him, and he collapses on a bed of dead leaves. The entire forest screams of his impending doom. It tries to silence his yearning for rest and reprieve. Though he knows what is to come, he can’t curtail his hope. He rights himself.
By Toni-IslandWriter Glenn6 years ago in Horror
A Lily for the Earl of Owls
The cool of the dark room floods over Lily. Damp air surrounds her as she stands with her head down and her eyes covered. Her heart is racing anxiously though she’s standing in still silence. After some time passes without a sound, she feels emboldened to attempt removing the blindfold. Reaching up, she unties the fabric around her head, it falls away as Lily opens her eyes. The fabric gently hits the floor drawing her gaze to focus downward. Beneath the blindfold at her feet, she sees hand hewn cobblestone floors covered in a residue of the layers of times gone by.
By Yiskah Laureola6 years ago in Horror
Night Prey
The old owl, worn and weathered by the years, perched atop of the large barn at the back of Hank’s property. Hank had just turned onto the long drive that would lead him back to the barn. The barn where the owl waited and watched nightly. Their usual routine had grown into a comfortable fit for both of them. As Hank would get out of his old van and grab his take for the night he never failed to look up and greet the owl with a little “Hello Jim.” Hank had been calling the old owl Jim since he inherited the property from his father eight years ago.
By Cindy Barnes6 years ago in Horror
The road
The road wasn’t any different from the last time they had travelled it. They travelled this way often, and each time the woman would strive to find new markings to measure the journey by, yearning for something novel to pass the time. Sometimes she felt that each day was measured by the journeys taken along the road. They travelled this way so often that sometimes she dreamt of it; in her dreams they would take the last turning and drive along a path filled with trees dripping with emeralds, gilded summer air filling her lungs.
By Su Rose6 years ago in Horror
Warning Signs
13-year-old Hannah’s heart stopped when she saw the sign nailed to a post inside the barn. She ran away from home hoping to avoid danger, not walk straight to it. The sign read, “Hello trespasser and traveler. If you are reading this then it is too late.”
By Mac Hernandez6 years ago in Horror
The Night Owl Princess
Some hundred years ago, there was a princess, skin black as the night sky and thick, charcoal hair braided and wound down her back. Quick on her feet and sharp in the mind, she had just come of age to be married. She had her own ideas of marriage independent of her parents. But the King and Queen must consider political partnerships as the highest priority over their daughter’s happiness. The King had thus chosen a suitable husband twice her age, the prince of Telum. Telum was adjacent to their state, Nox. The prince held a solid mind and had a good hand for the sword, but most importantly, his state manufactured and distributed most of the weapons in the country.
By Wanying Zhang6 years ago in Horror
The Night Shift
Randelyn L. Snow January 19, 2021 The Night Shift After supper, Norman pushed open the screen door and took his usual spot at the end of the porch, his legs dangling over the worn and splintered edge. The sun had already disappeared, but the earth still radiated the heat from the feverish summer sun. He felt the long sweetgrass tickle his bare feet and he reached down and plucked a piece and began chewing it thoughtlessly. His eyes adjusted to the dimming light and he surveyed the fading shadows as they rapidly blended into the shades of night. He swung his feet playfully, twirling the sweetgrass with his fingers, unconsciously lost in his thoughts as the stars punched their light, one by one, through the blackened canvas.
By Randelyn Snow6 years ago in Horror
The Happening
"Damn. Mom would be so disappointed." Was the last thing that crossed my mind as my life finished flashing before my eyes. My mother never approved of my fascination with the paranormal. She wanted a 'normal' daughter, one that loved sports or was ambitious enough to do something like debate or student government. Instead, she got me. From the first moments of childhood, I was odd. I was never scared of the dark. It wasn't that I didn't believe in monsters or anything. I just considered the 'monsters' in my closet, my friends. In my childlike opinion, they weren't scary. They were my protectors. To my mother, my "imaginary friend" was a source of embarrassment.
By Daciana McCromaig6 years ago in Horror
Amber
Dear reader, When we first met, I was walking down the road to go get my groceries and enjoying the summer air. I looked up at the sky while walking, not paying attention to where I was going and I accidentally bumped into a girl. She had loose jeans on and a hoodie up over her head. I thought it was odd but I didn’t mention it. I apologized for bumping into her and continued on my way. After that though I had a bad feeling for the rest of the day and continued to look over my shoulder but nothing else happened until Saturday night when I was at a restaurant waiting for my food. I looked up from my phone for a bit and look out the window. I saw that girl outside standing near the woods, looking at them, but she wouldn’t move. I continued to watch her until my food came and I turned to eat. When I finished eating and paying I left, but stopped in my tracks when I noticed her still standing and staring at the woods. I had been in the restaurant for forty-five minutes. I felt something might be wrong so I went to see if she was ok. When I got near and asked if everything was alright, she turned to look at me with sad eyes and said that her dog ran into the woods and she was scared to go by herself. I then realized she was much younger then she appeared. I told her my name was April and asked for her name. She said her name was Amber and asked if I could go with her to get her dog. I unthinkingly said yes and she grabbed my hand softly and started walking towards the woods. The woods always freaked me out because the trees were so tall and thick it made it incredibly dark. I pulled out my phone to use as a flashlight. As we were walking I got a bad feeling again but this time it was worse. It felt like I was going to faint but I didn’t and kept walking. After walking for what felt like a really short time, I realized I had been walking for almost two hours and my phones battery was getting low. I turned to tell Amber that we had to go back but she wasn’t there. I spun around to find her and didn’t see her anywhere. The feeling became stronger and then I actually fainted. When I woke up my phone was dead and it was really dark. I waited for my eyes to adjust. When they did, I couldn’t remember which way I came from so I just started walking forward. The woods would have to come to an end eventually. It felt like thirty minutes had passed and I stepped on something that made a squishy noise. I jumped back and looked at it and saw a dog’s corpse laying on the ground with it’s heart in front of it. I started running. I fell over and heard footsteps behind me moving quickly. I got up as fast as I could and bolted away from the footsteps. When it got quiet, I slowed down a little bit to catch my breath but blacked out as soon as I stopped. I woke up in a hollowed out tree with a what looked like a prison door. It was old and mossy so I pushed it over and it fell with a soft thud. I saw a lot of other things with me, including different animals like iguanas and lizard and tigers and lions. I let all of them out because I knew that thing was still somewhere probably looking for for more animals. The man eating animals seemed scared of me. That’s why I let them out. I hoped they would cause a big enough distraction to get me away and it worked. I went the opposite way of the stampede and was somehow able to make it out of the woods. As soon as I got back, I went to the police station. However, when I walked in the station they looked at me shocked. I asked them what was wrong and they said I had been missing for over a year. I then told them everything that happened. They seemed skeptical of me, but they shared my story as a warning. Since then, I’ve felt this overwhelming urge to go back to the woods and look for Amber. The police said that they have no record of a little girl named Amber going missing. I realized the mysterious creature must be Amber and I just can’t seem to shake the bad feeling that she’s coming back.
By Opal Rosebrock6 years ago in Horror
The Release
THE RELEASE The wind howled loudly as it ran thru the trees. The owl sat high on the tree waiting. His head twisted its full 360 degree, looking, scanning, searching the surroundings for it. He never knew where it would come from. He just waited for that bright green light that shot up into the sky in a flash. His job was to catch it and escort it to its destination. The release, he never knew when it would happen. It just did.
By Alma Renee Capello6 years ago in Horror
The Four-Armed Crow
Journals of Josiah Foster. September 5th, 1870 It wasn’t dark out when I spotted the beast. I wish it had been. Maybe then it would have made sense why this shadowy hellspawn was so brazen or perhaps it would have disguised its truest form from my vision in a manner that would have led me to believe it was mostly my imagination. But it was sunny, and not a cloud could I see from the bayou banks.
By James Lovett6 years ago in Horror
The Raven and the Barn Owl
It was night, dark, and all around the barn there was silence. She was suddenly confronted face to face with The Raven. The Raven swiftly flew about the barn in a spiral motion as if to call her attention. She could hear his invitation, taunting her, teasing her, reminding her of her latent powers. Suddenly she remembered, as she could feel the ease and natural pull to simply open her arms wide, spread them as she would her wings and she began to fly. First, running up against the towering barn walls and then suddenly turning, flipping, and soon she bagan to soar as if she never missed a single day of being in flight. The sensation of infinite power returned to her being and body and suddenly she felt alive again. They began to fly in unison, dancing and weaving through the barn and she exclaimed to him, “You see, I can fly also! I have not forgotten!”, and they began to laugh of joy for they were together again, and she was in her true form, free to be and express her love in motion. She had not forgotten how to shapeshift, and he brought her to this place so that she might remember. “Barn Owl, do you remember now my love? This is but one of your abilities. I cannot tell you who you are, only you can discover it on your own. Only you can remember. I can only guide you to the places where you can remember.” He said to her as they both shifted back into human form and fell to their feet upon the barn floor, dust rising as they felt the weight of gravity overcome them once more. “I remember now, the Barn Owl was one of my favorites, oh the sensations, I cannot believe how long it has been.” She said to him as she patted down the sides of her body with her hands, regaining her human sensations.
By JB6 years ago in Horror