Spooky Short Story Collections

His Hideous Heart: 13 of Edgar Allan Poe’s Most Unsettling Tales Reimagined

You might remember reading Edgar Allan Poe’s delightfully creepy tales in middle school, and perhaps the eerie pounding of “The Tell-Tale Heart” haunts you to this day. His stories perfectly capture the moody, gothic atmosphere of a gloomy October evening. Dahlia Adler and a team of 12 other popular YA authors teamed up to modernize Poe’s 150-year-old horror stories, taking fresh perspectives on the classics. A modern retelling of “The Oval Portrait” by Lamar Giles peaked my interest, and the original tales are included in the book for comparison. With a different audio narrator for each tale, this collection is worth listening to as you crunch through piles of leaves on a walk or prep ingredients for a warm pot of chili.

Dark Tales

by Shirley Jackson

Thanks to recent film adaptations of We Have Always Lived in the Castle and The Haunting of Hill House, Shirley Jackson's fiction is more popular than ever. Her famous short stories like "The Lottery" are just as entertaining, and perhaps more HSP-friendly, than her adapted novels. Jackson expertly turns the seemingly mundane into deeply unsettling events, revealing the darker side of humanity in the process. The first story in this collection stars "Miss Adela Strangeworth" who hates sloppiness and loves her home. Of course, nothing is as it seems, and Miss Strangeworth's stroll around town takes a sinister turn.

The Last Seance: Tales of the Supernatural

by Agatha Christie

Tana French says that "reading a perfectly plotted Agatha Christie is like crunching into a perfect apple: that pure, crisp, absolute satisfaction." Christie’s short stories are especially crisp, tightly plotted, and thoroughly mind-bending. This collection features mysteries with supernatural elements: ghosts, haunted houses, and ancient curses. Our favorite detectives, Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple, make appearances, and you can count on Christie to include a puzzle in each bite-sized suspense.

The Rendezvous and Other Stories

by Daphne du Maurier

A novelist deals with heartache. A fiancé has bad news for his beloved. A warship gets rescued by another ship. At face value, these plots don’t sound particularly suspenseful, but fans of Daphne du Maurier's novels know better. Her protagonists are ordinary people who find themselves in extraordinary, even dangerous, situations. The suspense unfolds slowly, building to a crescendo as secrets are revealed. Atmosphere hangs heavy over well-drawn characters. If you enjoyed Rebecca for its quiet, romantic mystery, don't miss out on this short story collection.

Bloodchild and Other Stories

by Octavia E. Butler

Science fiction might be the eeriest genre of all. Think of The Twilight Zone or Black Mirror (neither of which you’ll catch me watching before bed). In this genre, otherworldly elements often highlight real human themes, and Octavia Butler is a master of the craft. Her only collection of short stories includes the Hugo award-winning title story “Bloodchild,” which examines a strange bond between tic-like aliens and the humans who have colonized their planet. Other stories are more realistic, but every tale exposes a new truth about the human condition.

The October Country: Stories

by Ray Bradbury

Sometimes a title is sheer perfection. Covering everything from weird family folklore to classic monster horror stories, The October Country is truly meant to be read in October. Bradbury opens this classic collection: “October Country . . . that country where it is always turning late in the year. That country where the hills are fog and the rivers are mist; where noons go quickly, dusks and twilights linger, and mid-nights stay…” His stories reflect this mystical, gloomy time of year, and despite being written in the 50’s and 60’s, their themes remain poignant.

Among the Shadows: Tales from the Darker Side

by L.M. Montgomery

This collection makes me think of Anne’s Story Club, the one in which she and her friends write about “love and murder and elopement and mysteries.” Anne would simply devour a book full of romantic ghost stories. Though somber and brooding, these 19 tales of heartache, secrets, and hauntings showcase Montgomery’s eloquent style and vivid imagination. It might be a little tricky to track down (try Thriftbooks or your local used bookstore), but it’s worth hunting for Montgomery’s unique and fascinating collection.

Spooky Short Story Collections

His Hideous Heart: 13 of Edgar Allan Poe’s Most Unsettling Tales Reimagined

Dark Tales

The Last Seance: Tales of the Supernatural

The Rendezvous and Other Stories

Bloodchild and Other Stories

The October Country: Stories

Among the Shadows: Tales from the Darker Side

The MMD Summer Reading Guide

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summer reading starts May 16th