Well, there's a short scary story like this. A person was driving at night and suddenly saw a figure in the middle of the road that disappeared when the car got closer. Also, a story where someone found a diary in an old house which described horrible events that seemed to be happening again. And then there's the one about a doll that moved on its own in the middle of the night.
Some of the shortest scary stories can be really impactful. For instance, a hiker got lost in the mountains and when night fell, he heard his name being called from the abyss. There's also a story where a child saw a hand reaching out from under his bed every night. And one more is about a woman who looked in the mirror and saw a face that wasn't hers slowly replacing her own reflection.
Sure. One could be 'The last man on earth sat alone in a room. There was a knock on the door.' It's super short yet terrifying. Another might be about a girl who woke up in a dark room and saw a pair of eyes staring at her from the corner. And there's a story where a man walking in the woods heard strange whispers all around him but saw nothing.
Sure. One of the shortest scary stories could be about a creaking sound in an empty house at night. You hear it slowly getting louder, but when you turn on the light, there's nothing there. Another might be a story where a person always feels like they're being watched while walking alone in the woods, and every time they look back, they see a shadowy figure disappear. And then there's the story of a doll that moves on its own when no one is looking, with its eyes following you around the room.
One shortest scary story is 'The last man on Earth sat alone in a room. There was a knock on the door.' It gives a sense of dread as you wonder who or what could be knocking when there's supposedly no one else left.
Sure. One might be the story about a brief skirmish that lasted only a few hours. It was a clash between two small military units over a strategic outpost. The action was intense but short - lived.
The last man on Earth sat alone in a room. There was a knock on the door.
Sure. Here's one: 'The Little Star'. Once there was a little star in the sky. It was very lonely. One night, it saw a little girl looking at it. The star twinkled extra bright and the girl smiled. Then the star was happy.
Sure. 'For sale: baby shoes, never worn.' by Ernest Hemingway is a very famous shortest short story. It implies a great deal of sadness in just a few words.
One could be 'The last man on Earth sat alone in a room. There was a knock on the door.' It's short but extremely creepy as it makes you wonder what could be knocking when there's supposedly no one else left.
They are often concise. For example, they can quickly create a sense of unease with just a few words, like 'The doll's eyes followed me.' It doesn't need a lot of description to be scary. The simplicity makes the horror more immediate.
The brevity. They leave a lot to the imagination. For example, in 'The phone rang in the empty house', we don't know who's calling or what will happen. It's the unknown that scares us.
One of the shortest Stephen King stories is 'The Man in the Black Suit'. It's a chilling tale that showcases King's ability to create horror in a concise format.