Well, they're spooky because they're concise and hit you right away. For example, 'I opened the closet, and a pair of red eyes stared back.' It gives you just enough information to let your imagination run wild. You start picturing the scene, the dark closet, and those menacing eyes. There's no time to build up a long backstory, so it's a sudden jolt of fear.
He moved into a new apartment. Strange noises came from the attic at night. He went to check. A face peeked out from the darkness. He never went up there again. This is a simple yet spooky 5 - sentence ghost story. It plays on the common fear of the unknown in an attic, which is often a dark and seldom - visited place in a home. The face peeking out adds a sudden shock factor.
She entered the abandoned asylum. The hallways were dimly lit. A door creaked open by itself. A shadow darted across the wall. She ran out, feeling something chasing her.
Here's one: 'The last page of the book I was reading had my name written in blood.' Reading is usually a safe and solitary activity. But when something as sinister as your name written in blood appears on the page of a book you're reading, it creates a sense of dread. It's as if the book is somehow connected to you in a very dangerous and unknown way. It could mean that there is a malevolent force that has targeted you specifically through the book.
One could be 'I woke up to find my reflection smiling back at me, but I wasn't.' It creates an immediate sense of unease as it plays on the idea of something being wrong with one's own reflection, which is often associated with the self. It makes you wonder what has taken over your appearance.
Sentence ghost stories are effective because they can quickly set a mood. A simple sentence such as 'The cold draft carried a faint moan.' can immediately make you feel a sense of dread. They often play on our primal fears. For example, the fear of the unknown is exploited in sentences like 'The locked room held a secret that made my skin crawl.' We don't know what the secret is, but it makes us uncomfortable. And the use of sensory details in these short sentences, like 'The smell of decay filled the empty church.' engages our senses and heightens the spooky factor.
Well, consider this one. 'In the abandoned house, I saw a shadow with no source.' It's really scary because shadows are supposed to be cast by something, but this one has no source. Another is 'The closed book on the table opened by itself, revealing blank pages.' The self - opening of an object is a classic spooky element, and the blank pages add to the mystery. And 'The clock stopped at 3 am and then I heard a faint scream.' The significance of 3 am in many ghost stories combined with the sudden stop of the clock and the scream makes it a very effective sentence ghost story.