There is a story about a guy who worked late at the office. As he was leaving, he heard footsteps following him in the empty corridor. He was so scared. But when he turned around, it was his clumsy co - worker who had lost his keys and was trying to find them while walking in the same direction. This short story has that sudden shift from scary to funny.
There's 'The Monkey's Paw'. In this story, a family comes into possession of a magical monkey's paw that can grant three wishes. However, each wish is granted in a twisted and horrible way. Their first wish for money results in their son's death at work, which is a really spooky take on how wishes can go wrong and the unexpected consequences that can follow.
One of the best scary short stories is 'The Tell - Tale Heart' by Edgar Allan Poe. It's about a man who is driven mad by the old man's 'vulture - like' eye and ultimately murders him, only to be haunted by the sound of the old man's still - beating heart.
A group of friends decided to camp in the woods. At night, they heard a loud growling. They were all terrified. One of them bravely got out of the tent with a flashlight. There, they saw a'strange beast'. It was actually a small dog with a very deep bark. The dog had wandered away from its owner's campsite nearby. The friends couldn't stop laughing at how scared they had been.
A young boy was home alone and heard the doorknob rattle. He was scared out of his wits thinking it was a burglar. But when he finally got the courage to peek, it was his own dog who had accidentally bumped into the door while chasing a ball. It's a simple yet effective short, funny, and scary story.
Here is another one. A man thought he was buying a parrot that could talk. He took it home and spent days trying to make it talk. Finally, he found out it was a stuffed parrot. His disappointment and then his realization made for a very funny short story.
Sure. 'The Monstrumologist' by Rick Yancey is a great one. It has some really creepy short stories that revolve around a monstrumologist and his encounters with all kinds of grotesque monsters. The descriptions are vivid and will send shivers down your spine.
Well, from '50 best scary short stories', 'The Yellow Wallpaper' is quite disturbing. It shows a woman's psychological breakdown as she is confined to a room with hideous wallpaper. Also, 'The Lottery' by Shirley Jackson is a shocker. It starts off as a normal small - town event but turns out to be a brutal and superstitious ritual.
Well, there's a story in it about a cursed doll. The doll seems to move on its own and has this really eerie look in its eyes. People who come near it start having nightmares. It's quite a creepy one.
From '20 short scary stories', I like the story of the abandoned asylum. The dark corridors and the echoes of screams that seem to still linger there are really terrifying. It makes you wonder what really happened in that place. And the story of the cursed mirror, where people see things that aren't there in their reflection, is also a great one.
The story of the 'Scary Shadow'. A little boy was in his room at night. He saw a huge, menacing shadow on the wall. He was so scared that he hid under the covers. But then his mother came in with a flashlight. It was just his teddy bear's shadow made huge by the angle of the lamp. The boy laughed and hugged his teddy.