english horror short stories

Often, they create a sense of unease quickly. For example, they might start with a strange setting like a haunted house or a desolate moor. They also tend to have unreliable narrators sometimes, as in 'The Tell - Tale Heart' where the narrator's sanity is in question.

Fear of the unknown is a big theme. In 'The Call of Cthulhu' by H.P. Lovecraft, the characters are faced with a terrifying, unknowable entity. Guilt is another theme. In 'The Tell - Tale Heart', the narrator's guilt over his actions drives him to insanity. Revenge can also be a theme, like in some stories where the dead come back to take revenge on the living.

One common theme is the supernatural. Stories often involve ghosts, vampires, or other otherworldly creatures. For example, in 'Dracula's Guest' which is related to the Dracula story, the supernatural element of the vampire is very prominent.

One story is about a traveler who stays at an old inn. At night, he wakes up to find a woman in a white dress standing at the foot of his bed. Her face is pale and she has a sad look. Before he can say anything, she vanishes. The next morning, he asks the innkeeper about her. The innkeeper tells him that a long time ago, a bride was murdered in that room on her wedding night. Another story is of a woman who buys an antique mirror. When she looks into it, she sometimes sees a face that isn't hers. The face looks angry and distorted. She tries to get rid of the mirror, but it always finds its way back to her house. It seems that the mirror has a malevolent spirit trapped inside it.

Common themes include the breakdown of reality. In some stories, the line between what is real and what is not becomes blurred, and this can be extremely terrifying. For instance, in stories where characters enter a strange dream - like state that has real and deadly consequences. Also, the theme of family secrets. Hidden family secrets that are dark and macabre often surface in horror stories, bringing horror not just from the secret itself but also from how it affects the family members involved. This can range from a family curse to a long - buried murder within the family.

Isolation is also a frequent theme. When characters are alone, whether in a big old house or a desolate place, they are more vulnerable to horror. Their isolation heightens the sense of dread because there's no one to immediately help them.

Sure. 'The Tell - Tale Heart' by Edgar Allan Poe is a great one. It's about a man who is haunted by the eye of an old man he lives with, and his descent into madness as he tries to deal with it. Another is 'The Monkey's Paw' by W.W. Jacobs. A family gets a magical paw that can grant wishes, but each wish comes with a horrible price. And 'Carmilla' by Sheridan Le Fanu, which is an early vampire story with a female vampire preying on a young woman.

Sure. 'The Tell - Tale Heart' by Edgar Allan Poe is a great one. It's about a narrator who is haunted by the vulture - like eye of an old man he lives with and eventually kills him. Another is 'The Monkey's Paw' by W. W. Jacobs. A family gets a magical paw that grants wishes but with terrible consequences.

There's also 'The Yellow Wallpaper' by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. It tells the story of a woman who is slowly driven mad by the yellow wallpaper in the room where she is confined for rest.

There's 'The Monkey's Paw'. A family gets a cursed monkey's paw that grants wishes but with horrible consequences. When they wish for money, their son dies at work and they receive the compensation money. It shows how interfering with fate can lead to terrifying outcomes.