Cults, conspiracies, giant monsters with psychic powers, and an unforgettable ending; Call of Cthulhu has it all.
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Top 10 short horror stories
#2
Suggested by
Sean Rosen
Dread, by Clive Barker
10
Sean Rosen
8 years ago Report
This tale's antagonist could put The Scarecrow to shame! A college professor's experiment on human fear turns sadistic.
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#3
Suggested by
Sean Rosen
Abed, by Elizabeth Massie
10
Sean Rosen
8 years ago Report
Frequently censored for its graphic detail, Abed tells of a young woman whose husband gets turned into a zombie, and her mother-in-law still wants them to conceive a grandchild.
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#4
Suggested by
Sean Rosen
The Fall of the House of Usher, by Edgar Allan Poe
10
Sean Rosen
8 years ago Report
One of the first modern horror stories from a storytelling master.
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#5
Suggested by
Sean Rosen
Maggots, by Tim Curran
10
Sean Rosen
8 years ago Report
A prime example of "splatterpunk," or extreme horror. Curran tells the tale of a French soldier during and after Napoleon's failed invasion of Russia. The soldier is gravely wounded, but his life is saved by accidentially becoming a host to a special breed of parasitic organisms.
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#6
Suggested by
Sean Rosen
The Damned Thing, by Ambrose Brierce
10
Sean Rosen
8 years ago Report
Another "invisible monster" tale, Brierce makes the idea sound almost plausible, adding to the tale's scariness.
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#7
Suggested by
Sean Rosen
The Horla, by Guy de Maupassant
10
Sean Rosen
8 years ago Report
Told in entries from the protagonist's diary, a Frenchman fears he may have become host to a malevolent ethereal being.
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#8
Suggested by
Sean Rosen
The Yellow Wallpaper, by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
10
Sean Rosen
8 years ago Report
Interpreted as a haunted house story, a story of madness, or both. Gilman is said to have paved the way for horror literature criticising the status quo, especially in terms of how men treated women.
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#9
Suggested by
Sean Rosen
The Whimper of Whipped Dogs, by Harlan Ellison
10
Sean Rosen
8 years ago Report
Inspired by the Kitty Genovese murder, the author adds supernatural forces to a true horror story.
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#10
Suggested by
Sean Rosen
What Was It?, by Fitz-James O'Brien
10
Sean Rosen
8 years ago Report
A classic tale that pioneered the "invisible monster" story.