One of the top scary horror stories could be '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 ends up killing him. Then he hears the heartbeat of the dead man, which could be his guilty conscience. Another is 'The Shining' where a family is trapped in an isolated hotel with malevolent spirits. And 'The Exorcist' is also very terrifying, with the possession of a young girl by a demon.
One of the scariest horror stories is 'The Tell - Tale Heart' by Edgar Allan Poe. It's about a man who kills an old man because of his 'evil eye' and then is haunted by the sound of the old man's still - beating heart under the floorboards. Another is 'The Shining' by Stephen King. The story of a family in an isolated hotel with supernatural forces driving the father insane is truly terrifying. And then there's 'Dracula' by Bram Stoker. The idea of a vampire preying on the living and the dark, gothic atmosphere makes it a classic scary horror story.
I think 'The Exorcist' is one of the scariest. The idea of a child being possessed by a demon is truly terrifying. Also, 'The Conjuring' movies can be very scary as they deal with real - life hauntings.
One of the most influential scary horror stories is 'Dracula'. It has influenced countless vampire stories and movies. Its portrayal of the vampire as a seductive yet deadly creature has become a staple in horror. Another is 'Frankenstein'. It explored themes of creation and the consequences of playing God, which have been revisited in many horror works.
One of the top scary stories could be 'The Tell - Tale Heart' by Edgar Allan Poe. It's about a man who is driven mad by the old man's 'evil eye' and ends up murdering him, then being haunted by the sound of the dead man's beating heart. Another might be 'The Monkey's Paw'. A family gets a cursed paw that grants wishes but with horrible consequences. And 'Dracula' is also very scary. It introduced the world to the iconic vampire, Count Dracula, who preys on the living.
The unknown is a big factor. In many of these top horror stories, like in 'The Shining', the characters are in an unfamiliar and isolated place. The hotel is full of secrets and strange noises. Another element is the loss of control. For example, in 'A Nightmare on Elm Street', people can't control their dreams and are at the mercy of Freddy Krueger. And the idea of the supernatural, like demons in 'The Exorcist', which are forces that humans can't understand or easily defeat.
Most scary horror short stories often have a sense of the unknown. They leave a lot to the imagination. For example, in 'The Tell - Tale Heart', the narrator's madness is not fully explained, and the reader is left to wonder what really drove him to such extremes. Another characteristic is a build - up of suspense. In 'The Monkey's Paw', the wishes are made one by one, and with each wish, the tension rises as the characters don't know what horror will befall them next.
A really scary real horror story is the story of the Mothman. In Point Pleasant, West Virginia, people reported seeing a large, winged humanoid creature. There were also a series of strange events and disasters that seemed to be associated with the sightings. The whole situation was very eerie. And the story of the Hinterkaifeck murders in Germany is also quite terrifying. The entire family was brutally killed in their isolated farmhouse, and there were strange signs before the murders, like footprints in the snow leading to the house but none leading out.
The Amityville Horror is quite well - known. The Lutz family moved into a house where a mass murder had occurred. They claimed to experience all sorts of paranormal activities like seeing red eyes, feeling cold spots, and hearing voices. It was so terrifying that they fled the house after just a short time.
The story of H.H. Holmes is truly terrifying. He built a 'Murder Castle' during the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. He lured victims, mostly young women, into his hotel which had secret passages, torture chambers, and gas chambers. He killed an unknown number of people for his own twisted reasons. Then there's the story of the Hinterkaifeck murders in Germany. An entire family was brutally murdered on their farm in 1922. The strange thing was that there were signs of activity in the house days after the murders as if the killer was still there. Also, the case of the Zodiac Killer in California. He sent taunting letters to the police and his murders were extremely brutal and random, leaving the public in a state of fear for years.