best 500 words short horror stories

Sure. One story could be about a haunted mirror. A girl moves into an old house and there's a large, ornate mirror in her bedroom. Every night, she sees a figure in the mirror that gets closer each time. Eventually, it reaches out from the mirror and she's never seen again.

One common theme is the unknown. Stories often play on our fear of not knowing what's out there, like in a story where a character hears strange noises at night but can't figure out the source.

One of the great ones could be 'The Tell - Tale Heart' by Edgar Allan Poe. It's a classic that builds intense psychological horror as the narrator's guilt over his deed drives him mad. Another might be 'The Monkey's Paw' which shows the terrifying consequences of interfering with fate through a simple yet cursed object. And 'The Yellow Wallpaper' which uses the setting and the protagonist's deteriorating mental state to create a sense of horror.

Words such as 'haunted', 'phantom', and 'ghastly' work well for horror stories. 'Haunted' immediately brings to mind places or things that are possessed by spirits. 'Phantom' refers to a ghostly or illusory figure. 'Ghastly' describes something extremely unpleasant or horrifying, like a ghastly apparition in an old, abandoned house.

Sure. One of the scariest could be the story about the haunted house where every night strange noises and apparitions appear. It builds a great sense of dread with its detailed descriptions of the creaking floors and cold spots. Another good one might be the tale of the cursed object. When people touch it, they start to have nightmares and then things from their nightmares start to invade their real lives. And there's also the story of the lost souls in the forest. People who enter the forest get lost and are haunted by the wailing voices of the souls that never found their way out.

One great story could be 'The Yellow Wallpaper'. It's a disturbing tale about a woman's descent into madness. Another might be 'The Monkey's Paw' which has that classic horror element of wishes gone horribly wrong. And 'The Tell - Tale Heart' is also quite famous, with its unreliable narrator and the growing sense of dread.

Well, there could be a story in there about a cursed object. Maybe a doll that seems to move on its own and brings misfortune to those around it. The suspense in these stories is what makes them so engaging.

There might be 'The Monkey's Paw' which has elements of the supernatural and shows how a simple wish - granting object can bring great horror. The family in the story experiences unexpected and terrifying consequences from their wishes.

They often have a sense of the unknown. For example, in 'The Call of Cthulhu', the idea of these unknowable cosmic beings is really scary. Another characteristic is a build - up of suspense. In 'The Monkey's Paw', the reader is kept on edge waiting to see how the wishes will turn out horribly. Also, they can play with psychological elements like in 'The Yellow Wallpaper' where the main character's mental state deteriorates in a very disturbing way.

I would recommend 'Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark' by Alvin Schwartz. This book is filled with classic short horror stories that have been scaring generations. The stories are often accompanied by disturbing illustrations that add to the overall horror factor. It's a great choice for those who enjoy traditional horror stories with a touch of the macabre.