01 May Horror Short Stories

What Lies Under the Bed.

Tonight was no different than any other night. Jake obediently followed his parents’ instructions and took a bath, brushed his teeth, and went upstairs to bed. After a while of tossing and turning, Jake heard footsteps outside his bedroom door. Sure it was his parents, Jake jokingly let out, “Dad I know it’s you out there!” There was no response. Jake was confused and started to get a little scared, “Dad is that you?” Jake said in a little more than a whisper. The door creaked open. The light outside was too bright for Jake to make out the shadowy figure, but he was sure at this point that it wasn’t his dad. Frightened, Jake closed his eyes, hoping that if he pretended he was sleep whatever he saw would just leave. The figure walked into the room, hovered over Jake’s bed for a minute, and crawled under his bed.

Mountain People

On a highway deep in the Appalachian Mountains, Grant came across a car stalled in the middle of the road. Grant had spent three tours in Afghanistan, he had a sixth sense of when something didn’t seem quite right. Almost as if placed there deliberately, the car had no sign of wreckage; no skid marks, nor any scratches. As he drove closer, he noticed two bodies lying lifeless, on the pavement adjacent to the car. Grant pulled his car over to see if maybe he could help, maybe someone was still clinging on to life. As he stepped out of his car the two bodies suddenly sat up and looked in his direction. Grant quickly grabbed his revolver, turns around and hits both targets. Grant jumped back into his car and as he drove away he could see twenty or so more bodies swarming out from the bushes behind him.

Death Valley Motel

Last year I checked into a small motel a few miles outside of Death Valley. It was late and I was tired. I rented a room for the night and the receptionist handed me my key, but not before warning me, “There’s a room, across from yours without number. Stay clear from that room.” I took the key and smiled sheepishly. That night I heard water trickling, but not from my room. It’s trickling from across the hall. So I stepped outside and knocked on the door. No response. I looked through the keyhole and I saw nothing but red. I went downstairs to talk to the receptionist who looks me right in the eye and says, “Last week there was a couple who stayed in that room. The guy murdered his long-time girlfriend. By the time we saw her, her skin was all white, but her eyes were red.”

The Great Outdoors

Janet home returned after a two-week solo camping trip. As she began to develop the film from the camera she took with her she noticed an extra roll of film. On that film were numerous photos of her sleeping, from different angles. Janet has never gone camping or hiking since.

Who’s In the Basement?

Jim’s mother told him to never to go in the basement. Jim opened the basement door and tiptoed down a bit. Before Jim could wrap his mind around what he was seeing, his mother grabbed him. Jim never did ask his mom why there was a boy in the basement.