The horror and the Gothic genres speak to something primal in each of us—unconscious desires, nascent fears, desperate dreams, and our most violent impulses.
Fiction allows us to come to terms with our shadow selves in a safe yet immersive environment while also posing pertinent questions about ethics and morality, vengeance, and justice.
Horror short stories not just allow a glimpse into a monster’s psyche, but also offer a critique of the monstrous society that has made such evil possible—all the while making your skin curl in fear.
So, turn your reading hour to the witching hour with these gripping and unsettling short story collections that promise tons of spooks and scares!
A Sunny Place for Shady People: Stories
Mariana Enriquez is one of my favorite contemporary horror authors active today, and each of her short story collections are worth rereading. Many of the stories in her latest collection, A Sunny Place for Shady People engage with Argentinean socio-politics, popular urban legends and the horrors of inhabiting a female body, constrained by the forces of patriarchy and capitalism. Thus, it’s not uncommon for her tales to get pretty dark and gruesome, reflecting the lawless and corrupt world wherein ghosts and people unhappily mingle.
The Bloody Chamber
Angela Carter’s feminist retellings of popular fairytales remain just as popular and relevant now as they were when first published in 1979.
Beautifully evocative and densely atmospheric, Carter’s prose transports you to the shadowy landscapes of familiar folktales, with fresh monsters lurking in every corner.
Interspersed with vignettes and novelettes, Carter’s “adult” version of these fairytales bestows the female characters with agency and bravery so that they can actually earn their happily-ever-afters.
Cursed Bunny
Shortlisted for the International Booker Prize and translated into English by Anton Hur, Cursed Bunny by Korean author Bora Chung is a mesmerizing collection of speculative stories with a horror slant.
The titular tale is a deeply unsettling story of vengeance against a corporate CEO and a scathing critique of capitalism and exploitation, while the opening story, “The Head” is a delicious body horror treat that tackles women’s insecurities and unfulfilled aspirations and how running from our troubles won’t save us in the end.
My personal favorite is the “Embodiment,” which deals with the plight of an unmarried woman who suddenly gets pregnant of her own accord, emphasizing how difficult it is for women to access medical care within a very patriarchal and judgmental society.
Mouth: Stories
Puloma Ghosh’s electrifying debut collection of short stories, Mouth is a love letter to girlhood, hungry ghosts, and all the longings we’ve tried to hide away.
The vividly visceral and redolent prose is the book’s strongest suit, narrating captivating tales of first loves, heartbreaks, lost homelands, and unrequited desires, against speculative or magic realist backdrops.
Many of the stories take place on campuses, at dorm parties, or at concerts, so the millennial reader may find their fears and dreams reflected within these pages.
North American Lake Monsters: Stories
This debut horror anthology won a Shirley Jackson Award upon publication and deals with monsters and the humans who inhabit them. Each of the stories are in-depth character studies, highlighting how painfully human we all are.
While the “Crevasse” tinged with cosmic horror has a Lovecraftian charm to it, “Wild Acre” is a harrowing examination of living regret and guilt, even as your life slowly falls apart as a result of your cowardly actions.
With just a few details, Ballingrud skillfully evokes both setting and mood, building up towards bittersweet or tragic endings that feel strangely intimate and intense.
Night Shift
When it comes to spine-tingling horror, one can’t go wrong with a Stephen King collection, and when it comes to short stories, Night Shift collects some of his best work over the years.
Seriously, every tale in here is an absolute banger, especially the “Bogeyman” that will have you hating closets forever. And for those who aren’t yet familiar with King’s corpus, Night Shift is an excellent place to begin.
Edgar Allan Poe: Complete Tales & Poems
Finally, if you’re looking for some classic horror, you must go back to Edgar Allan Poe, who played a foundational role in developing the Gothic and horror genres with his macabre tales like “The Fall of the House of Usher” or the deeply lyrical and haunting poems such as “The Raven”.
A leatherbound, unabridged tome that collects all his major works will not only introduce you to his grisly short fiction, but also highlight his contribution to detective stories and locked room mysteries, as well as melodic poems with a strong focus on rhymes—all laced with an ever-looming sense of dread and darkness.
