Might want to consider reading the following stories with the lights on...
The world's shortest horror story consists of only two sentences that were written and published in 1948 by Fredric Brown: "The last man on Earth sat alone in a room. There was a knock at the door..."
In celebration of Halloween, Timothy Truman's creative writing students at Berkeley High recently accepted the challenge to pen their own two-sentence horror stories. Check them out below:
“After a restful sleep, I woke to an uncomfortable bed. Are all graves this cold?” - Mik Bahe, 11th grade
“I told my brother I’ll never forget the memories I had with him and I told him, “I love you.” He said, 'I love you, too' and I left the funeral." - Kevin Boris, 10th grade
“I was in a dark room with no windows, just pitch black, and I felt myself start to panic as I knew there was no way out. As I turned around, I felt something touch me that had red beaming eyes.” -Nautica Brown, 11th grade
“A masked killer in the bushes lurking on Halloween night looking for teens. He caught one and it only took 5 seconds for a new masked murderer.” -Will Chavis, 11th grade
“There was a mother and daughter trick-or-treating, and everybody stopped and stared at them. They died last Halloween.” -Al'layjha Cromedy, 11th grade
“I opened my door to an officer telling me my son had died. I turned in fear as he glared at me with a menacing grin on his face.” -Lillian Dwyer, 12th grade
“I looked outside and saw a man in the dead of night standing under the dim light. I turned around and the man was right behind me giving me a fright.” -Nathan Fedie, 11th grade
“Every night at midnight, I’d hear a faint cry for help until one night I let my curiosity get the best of me and followed the voice. I ended up staring at a headstone with my name engraved on it.” -Savannah Fernandez, ninth grade
“After working without rest, I finally opened my mother’s door and I lay there leaning my head upon her cold shoulders. It was time to leave before the groundskeeper found me, so I got up and reburied her.” -Jaser Flores, 12th grade
“I look out the back door, and I see him on the other side. I turned around to go to bed, and he was behind me the whole time.” -Bryana Harries, 11th grade
“The girl was so confused when the lights went out. They never came back on for her.” -Zoe Harrison, ninth grade
“I slowly looked down at the porcelain bathtub, stained with dark crimson red. I looked at the dismantled body, oh brother what have I done?” -Gwenivere Hauf, 10th grade
“I woke up to the sound of knocking on glass. At first, I thought it came from the window until I heard it again, coming from my mirror.” -Asia Le, ninth grade
“I woke up in a joyful mood and went to my mirror with a smile on my face. Only my reflection wasn’t smiling back at me.” -Aubrey Lichtfield, 10th grade
“On a Halloween night that was dark and stormy, three girls were on their way back to their neighborhood to trick-or-treat. They turned around and there was Ghostface who came and kidnapped all three of them, and they were never found again.” -Keirsten Mack, ninth grade
“I loved her, so I knew I had to let her go. For now, I know your breath seems to slow when you see the van that quickly got Ann.” -Jade Marion, ninth grade
“I stare down at my wife as she sleeps peacefully, closing the door to leave her alone. As I place the final nail, I hear her start to scream from inside the coffin.” -Charlotte Mueller, ninth grade
“I was walking home at night when I heard a faint whisper from the woods calling my name. The next thing I knew, something grabbed my ankles and pulled me down to the pits of Hell.” Elizabeth Powell, ninth grade
“I stared at myself in the mirror, black goo oozing out of my eyes and a gigantic scar on my stomach. When I looked down, no scar was there, but when I looked up my hand was reaching out of the mirror.” -Savannah Prioleau, ninth grade
“Hi, my name is Jason; my father and I were going hunting for food, and we saw a large animal that looked like a goat with the face of a man. I closed my eyes and my father was dead and my hands were chopped off.” Shadiya Qa'Dir, 11th grade
“I woke up in the middle of the night to find someone standing above me. They had a knife, it was bloody, but I could not move.” -Sophia Ramos, 11th grade
“I came home from a hard day of work only to find my girlfriend holding our child. I didn’t know which was more horrifying, seeing my dead girlfriend and child, or knowing someone put them there.” -Edwin Reifer, ninth grade
“I saw my mother in my window today, smiling at me. She died three years ago today.” -Tiara Richardson, 10th grade
“I woke up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom. As I stood in front of the mirror, there was no one staring back at me.” -Lucas Smelser, ninth grade
“BOO. Did I scare you?” -Jackson Smith, 10th grade
“The night before, at 1:35 a.m., my brother and I were prank calling. I woke up to my mom facetiming me, but she died 7 years ago.” -Samaiah Washington, 11th grade
“After the accident, I was excited to return back to school. Why did the teacher pass by my desk?” -Jasmine Jones-Wyndham, ninth grade