A very frightening Quora short horror story involves a nurse working the night shift in a hospital. She was walking down an empty corridor when she heard the sound of a wheelchair moving on its own. She followed the sound and it led her to an old, locked room. Through the small window in the door, she saw a patient sitting in the wheelchair, but the patient had died days ago. The idea of a dead patient's spirit still lingering in the hospital is what makes this story so terrifying.
The element of the supernatural. In quora horror short stories, you often encounter ghosts, demons, or other unworldly beings. For instance, the story of the girl haunted by a vengeful spirit. These supernatural entities operate outside the rules of the normal world and can do things that are impossible and terrifying.
The scariest for me was the one where a person was alone in their house and heard footsteps pacing up and down the stairs all night. They were too terrified to even look. Another was about a handprint suddenly appearing on a foggy mirror in a bathroom when no one was there.
The unknown is a very scary element. For example, in a short horror story, when you hear strange noises but don't know what's making them. It creates a sense of fear and anticipation.
For me, 'The Outsider' by H.P. Lovecraft is extremely scary. The concept of a being that is so alien and terrifying is just bone - chilling. 'The Open Window' by Saki also gives me the creeps. It has a great twist at the end that makes you shiver. Another really scary one is 'The Black Cat' by Edgar Allan Poe. The way the narrator's relationship with the cat deteriorates is truly horrifying.
A Quora short horror story tells of a man who bought an old mirror at a flea market. When he got it home, he noticed that the reflection in the mirror sometimes seemed different. At times, he could see a figure standing behind him in the mirror when there was no one there in reality. One night, he woke up to find the figure in the mirror reaching out towards him. He smashed the mirror in fear and never bought another antique item again.
One quora horror short story I remember is about a girl who moved into a new old house. Every night, she heard strange scratching noises from the attic. One day, she finally mustered the courage to go up there. In the dim light, she saw a pair of glowing eyes. Before she could react, a cold hand grabbed her ankle. She never made it out of that attic alive.
The story of a hiker on Quora was quite disturbing. He got lost in the woods and found an abandoned cabin. Inside, there were strange symbols drawn on the walls. As he explored further, he heard a blood - curdling scream. He ran out of the cabin and got even more lost. He eventually made it out, but the experience haunted him. He said it was like he had stumbled into something truly evil in those woods.
The unknown. In short horror stories, often what you don't see or understand is the scariest. For example, in 'The Red Room', not knowing what is making the noises in the walls creates a sense of dread. Another element is the isolation. When the characters are alone, like in 'The Yellow Wallpaper', it amplifies the fear.
Ghosts and spirits play a big role in scaring people in these stories. They often come with an eerie presence. Like in a story where a spirit haunts a particular place. It might be an old house or a lonely road. The spirit's actions, like making things move or whispering in a cold voice, are really terrifying. Also, the cultural beliefs and superstitions in Tagalog culture add to the scariness. Things like the idea of vengeful spirits due to wrongdoings in the past are quite spooky. It makes the horror more relatable to those who grew up with these cultural beliefs.
Sudden twists. Like when you think a character is safe and then suddenly they're in mortal danger. In a short story, this can be really shocking. For instance, a person thinking they escaped a haunted place but then finding out they're still trapped in some other way. It plays on our sense of false security.