Halloween Stories
Step into the shadows with our carefully curated collection of spine-tingling talesβfrom Edgar Allan Poe's psychological terrors to H.P. Lovecraft's cosmic horrors. Whether you seek gothic ghosts, vengeful spirits, or things that lurk in the darkness, these stories will haunt you long after the last page. Perfect for a dark October night by flickering candlelight!Looking for family-friendly frights? Check out our Halloween Stories for Children collection.
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The Monkey's Paw
A cursed talisman grants three wishes to its owner, but at a terrible cost. This classic horror story explores themes of fate, greed, and the consequences of tampering with destiny.
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The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
Ichabod Crane, a superstitious schoolteacher, encounters the ghostly Headless Horseman in this atmospheric tale set in colonial New York.
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The Tell-Tale Heart
A haunting psychological thriller about guilt and madness, as a murderer is driven to confession by the sound of his victim's beating heart.
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The Yellow Wallpaper
A woman's descent into madness, told through her obsession with the patterns in the wallpaper of her room. A powerful critique of the medical treatment of women in the 19th century.
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The Masque of the Red Death
Prince Prospero attempts to avoid a deadly plague by hiding in his abbey, but death finds a way to infiltrate his masked ball.
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The Black Cat, painting by Anna PΔdzik The Black Cat
A man's descent into alcoholism and cruelty leads to supernatural revenge in this chilling tale of guilt and retribution.
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The Cask of Amontillado
Montresor lures his enemy Fortunato into the catacombs for a deadly revenge, demonstrating the cold calculation of a perfect murder.
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The Fall of the House of Usher
A gothic masterpiece about the deterioration of the Usher family and their ancestral home, blending psychological horror with the supernatural.
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Young Goodman Brown
A Puritan man's nighttime journey into the forest reveals the dark secrets of his community and tests his faith.
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The Most Dangerous Game
A big-game hunter becomes the prey when he washes ashore on a mysterious island where a Russian aristocrat hunts humans for sport.
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The Pit and the Pendulum
A prisoner of the Spanish Inquisition faces a series of horrifying tortures in this suspenseful tale of survival and fear.
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The Lottery
A small town's annual lottery has a shocking and violent conclusion in this disturbing exploration of tradition and mob mentality.
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The Pale Man
"The Pale Man" is a classic short horror story. It's told in the form of a journal, written by a man who is staying at a small, isolated hotel in the countryside to recover from illness. The tone is quietly unsettling and deeply psychological, with eerie, macabre tension that builds subtly. This is an Editor's Pick!
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The Minister's Black Veil
A minister's decision to wear a black veil for the rest of his life creates mystery and fear in his Puritan community.
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A Rose for Emily
The tragic life of Emily Grierson unfolds in this Southern Gothic tale of isolation, tradition, and a macabre secret.
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The Canterville Ghost
A humorous ghost story about an American family who moves into a haunted English mansion and refuses to be frightened by its resident ghost.
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The Turn of the Screw
A governess becomes convinced that the children in her care are being haunted by malevolent spirits in this ambiguous psychological ghost story.
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The Signal-Man
A railway signal-man is haunted by a mysterious specter that appears before disasters, in this atmospheric Victorian ghost story.
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The Wendigo
A hunting expedition in the Canadian wilderness encounters the terrifying supernatural entity known as the Wendigo.
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The Body Snatcher
A macabre tale of grave robbers supplying bodies to medical schools in 19th century Edinburgh, based on the true crimes of Burke and Hare.
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The Horla
A man's diary entries document his descent into madness as he becomes convinced an invisible being is controlling him.
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The Open Window
A young girl tells a terrifying ghost story to an unsuspecting visitor, with a wickedly clever twist ending.
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Sredni Vashtar
A sickly boy's secret worship of a ferret leads to dark and surprising consequences in this darkly comic horror story.
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The Phantom Coach
A traveler lost in a snowstorm takes shelter in a mysterious house and encounters a ghostly coach on Christmas Eve.
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The Judge's House
A student studying for exams rents a supposedly haunted house and encounters a malevolent rat and the ghost of a hanging judge.
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The Furnished Room
A young man searching for his lost love rents a room with a tragic history in this poignant ghost story with a twist ending.
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The Outsider
A being who has lived in darkness for years emerges to discover a horrifying truth about himself in this atmospheric horror tale.
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The Call of Cthulhu
The discovery of strange artifacts and disturbing dreams lead to the revelation of an ancient cosmic entity in Lovecraft's most famous story.
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The Colour Out of Space
A meteorite brings an unearthly color and horror to a New England farm in this tale of cosmic contamination.
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The Music of Erich Zann
A student discovers the terrifying reason behind a mute musician's nightly performances in this atmospheric horror story.
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The Rats in the Walls
An American restores his family's ancestral English estate and uncovers a horrifying secret beneath its foundations.
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Pickman's Model
An artist's horrifyingly realistic paintings of ghouls reveal a disturbing source of inspiration.
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The Damned Thing
An invisible creature terrorizes the California wilderness in this early science fiction horror story.
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An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge
A Confederate sympathizer faces execution during the Civil War in this masterpiece of psychological realism with a shocking twist.
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The Boarded Window
A frontiersman's tragic past and the mystery of his boarded window are revealed in this haunting frontier horror tale.
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The Middle Toe of the Right Foot
A man returns to the house where he murdered his wife, only to encounter her ghost in this chilling revenge story.
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The Moonlit Road
A murder mystery told from three perspectives, including that of the victim's ghost, in this innovative horror story.
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The Death of Halpin Frayser
A young man's nightmarish dreams and mysterious death in a California forest reveal a dark family secret.
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The Toll-House
Three travelers take shelter in a supposedly haunted toll-house and face supernatural terror.
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Jerry Bundler
Travelers at an inn hear the story of a hanged man's ghost in this atmospheric Victorian ghost story.
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August Heat
An artist's sketch and a stonecutter's work coincide in a chilling premonition of death.
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The Beast with Five Fingers
A severed hand takes on a life of its own in this macabre tale of revenge from beyond the grave.
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The Repairer of Reputations
The first story from 'The King in Yellow' collection, featuring madness, conspiracy, and a forbidden play.
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The Yellow Sign
An artist and his model are drawn into the dark influence of 'The King in Yellow' in this tale of creeping dread.
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The Demoiselle d'Ys
A time-traveling romance with supernatural elements set in medieval Brittany.
Halloween Poems
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The Raven
Poe's most famous poem about a mysterious raven's midnight visit and its haunting refrain of 'Nevermore.'
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The Bells
A musical exploration of the different bells in life, from joyous wedding bells to melancholy funeral bells.
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Annabel Lee
A haunting love poem about a beautiful maiden who died young, mourned by her lover from beyond the grave.
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Lenore
A meditation on death and mourning for a beautiful young woman.
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The City in the Sea
A dark vision of a dead city ruled by Death itself.
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Little Orphant Annie
A classic Halloween poem warning children about goblins with the famous refrain 'An' the Gobble-uns 'll git you Ef you Don't Watch Out!'
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Hallowe'en
Burns' long poem describing Scottish Halloween traditions and superstitions.
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The Skeleton in Armor
A Viking warrior's ghost tells his tragic love story from beyond the grave.