Last year, I shared some good spooky stories perfect for Halloween. I figured I would share three more that I’ve thought about recently, and might pick up myself before spooky season is over. If you haven’t yet, take a look at last year’s article after this one. And as with last time, I’ll be spoiling a fair amount of these stories, so go read them first if you’re at all interested! For now, bundle up, dim those lights, and get ready for some unsettling vibes.
The Veldt by Ray Bradbury
I never read this story myself while in school, but I know a lot of people do. In fact, during my student teaching, one of the teacher’s in my cohort was teaching this story to his students. It’s a great one for high schoolers, while still having subtlety that any adult could appreciate. And like Bradbury’s other works, it has a lot to say (and is shocking relevant to this day). While this piece is more sci-fi than it is horror, I think it still applies perfectly for this article.
This short story is about a normal family: two parents and two kids. They live in a futuristic automated house which can do everyday tasks for the family, like tying shoes and cooking meals. The parents feel like their job as parents has been diminished greatly since the home does everything for them, including entertain the kids. They spend much of their free time in a virtual room, which can project all manner of scenes and settings for them. lately, the kids have enjoyed the setting of a veldt, or an African savanna-like setting. They enjoy watching the lions hunt and eat, which puzzles the parents.
The adults become more and more concerned as their kids continue this obsession with the veldt. Additionally, the parents hear screams from the room, and often see projected versions of their household belongings. Concerned by the un-ending fascination with the lions and death, they consult a psychiatrist.
The man suggests they take a break from the house and have a reset of sorts, hoping to break the children free from the VR room. But when the parents go to fetch their children, the door is locked and the lions begin to hunt. They realize too late that the screams they were hearing were none other than their own. The psychiatrist returns to find the children eating lunch in the room, while the lions eat meals of their own in the distance.
I always wonder how Bradbury knew so much of what was to come. This story was published in 1950, but has become increasingly relevant over the last 75 years. An unhealthy obsession with un-reality and death sounds like something that could happen today. We are becoming more and more dependent on automation and fiction. AI and online psychosis are affecting lives every day. This short story is scary mainly because of how we can see it reflected around us every day.
The Monkey’s Paw by W.W. Jacobs
This was a short story that I looked into myself outside of school, likely while bored at work and reading random Wikipedia articles. But I knew quite a bit about the story before even reading it, largely through cultural osmosis (like The Simpson’s episode). You may have heard people referencing a monkeys paw, when you get what you ask for, but with some sort of twist.
The short story is about a family, the Whites, who are entertaining their guest, a friend who is recently home from military service in India. He shares that while he was there, he obtained a monkey’s mummified hand, which was enchanted to give three men three wishes each. The friend reveals that he is the second owner, and that he obtained the paw when the first user wished for death as his third blessing. He has used up his three own wishes, and while he doesn’t reveal what they are, he tells the Whites that it was not worth the blessing. He throws the paw into the fire, but Mr. White retrieves it, as he is curious about it.
Later that night, Mr. White feels the need to sate his curiosity. At his son Herbert’s suggestion, he wishes for the last 200 pounds he needs to pay off the house. One of the finger moves, startling Mr. White, but nothing else seems to happen. Thinking it a fluke, they all go to bed.
The next day, the money still has not shown. Herbert leaves for work, joking that the wad of cash will fall on his head. Instead, the couple are later visited by a man from Herbert’s work. There was an accident, and Herbert was killed while operating heavy machinery. The company claims no responsibility, but they want to give something in return for Herbert’s work. They give Mr. and Mrs. White 200 pounds.
The couple bury their son. In the midst of their grief, Mrs. White remembers about the paw and its other two wishes. She makes Mr. White wish for Herbert to be alive again, and they wait to see if it comes true. After a short time, they hear a pounding at the door. Mrs. White can’t open the bolt herself, and she cries to open the door to see her son. But Mr. White knows that something is wrong. While Herbert may be alive, the being on their step is not his son. Frantic, Mr. White find the monkey’s paw again, and makes his third wish. When his wife finally manages to open the door, no one is there.
Ooh, this one gives me chills. I love the plot point of our wishes having catches. It feels more realistic. Everything comes with a cost. And the fact that we don’t know the price of the final wish makes it even more chilling.
1408 by Stephen King
I have a fun connection with this short story. Earlier this year, Ava and I were traveling to a small writing convention a few hours away. During the trip, we listened to the audio recording of 1408. As we drove, the car in front of us swerved suddenly, revealing a piece of debris in the road. We hit it head on, startling us quite effectively, and making the climax of this story even more poignant, with hearts already pounding.
Anecdotes aside, this short story is about an author named Mike who is working on his latest in a series of novels, titled Ten Nights in Ten Haunted Hotel Rooms. He shows up at the Hotel Dolphin, determined to stay in their haunted room, number 1408. The hotel manager tries very hard to dissuade him, citing over 50 deaths attributed to the room as proof that Mike should avoid it at all costs. To make matters worse, it’s on the 13th floor, and the numbers of the room add up to 13, making it unlucky on all accounts.
Mike is not a superstitious man, and does not believe in paranormal activity, but even he’s creeped out. He stubbornly insists on seeing the room, to which the manager reluctantly agrees.
From the very beginning, the vibes are off. Things appear slanted or askew, Mike feels like he is seeing things, and the general atmosphere of the room feels strong enough to kill. Mike records the next 70 minutes of his experiences on his tape recorder. Things get more and more intense the longer he’s in there. he sees voices, sees things that aren’t there, and feels to off put that he’s forced to set himself on fire to gain enough lucidity to escape with his life.
Mike is forever scarred from his short stint in the room. He refuses to write. He needs to sleep with the lights on. And yet he still claims to not believe in ghosts, because they used to be humans. And there was nothing human about what he felt in room 1408.
Even with the extra scary jumpscare with the debris on the road, this story would have spooked me. There is something so unsettling about an ordinary place being distorted so violently. It’s haunting. Go listen to the audio version, because the narrator does a phenomenal job. It’s Stephen King, by the way. He narrated his own story here, and did a great job of doing so.
Lions, Monkey Paws, and Ghosts, oh my! Hopefully you enjoyed hearing about these three short stories. And maybe you even went and read them, too! Remember to check out last years spooky short stories, and stay tuned for some more spooky content this month, especially from Ava.
This content was written and created by a human, without the use of any artificial intelligence tools. The authors do not authorize this article’s usage in training AI tools. We proudly support the original works of creators and individuals over technology that steals and manipulates original content without consent of creators.
Leave a Reply