Halloween isn’t the only reason we crave horror fiction this time of year. something about fall prepares us for stories of the macabre: the crunch of leaves underfoot, the whisper of the wind, and the smell of things dying. I read a lot of horror fiction thanks to the work of editors like Ellen Datlow, John Joseph Adams, Ann Vandermeer, and Niall Harrison. Here are the 9 creepiest short stories I’ve read from contemporary writers that have been published online in the last decade.
“sun bleached” by nathan ballingrud nightmare magazine
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one of the best stories in ballingrud’s debut collection of small beer press, north american lake monsters, “sunbleached” was nominated for a shirley jackson award in 2011. it’s one of my favorite vampire stories of all time. times, about a boy in a broken family on the gulf coast who makes a deal with a wounded vampire.
“how to go back to the forest” by sofia samatar lightspeed magazine
samatar is best known for her fantasy novels a stranger in olondria and its sequel the winged stories, but she can also flex her horror muscles whenever she feels like it. when a short story starts with this line of dialogue, “you have to throw it up”, you know something spooky and weird awaits you. “How To Get Back To The Woods” was also featured in Best American Sci-Fi & Fantasy of 2015, edited by Joe Hill and John Joseph Adams.
“the wilds” by julia elliott tin house
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The title story of Elliott’s 2014 collection is a perfect introduction to his unique brand of Southern Gothic Revival speculative fiction. When a new family moves into the neighborhood, a young woman on the verge of adulthood is intrigued by a boy wearing a wolf mask.
“a breakdown of horses” by brian evenson the american reader
the title track of evenson’s latest collection is one of his most brutal explorations of the human condition. After a traumatic head injury, a man’s house (and family) keeps changing overnight. one day, he has three children. the next, he has four. To make matters worse, he comes across a horse paddock that he can’t fathom.
“hello, moto” from nnedi okorafor tor.com
Like Samatar, Okorafor has made a name for himself in a different genre, this time science fiction, thanks to Laguna and the Book of the Phoenix, but his work actually runs the gamut of speculative fiction. From the she-fears-of-death fantasy to the galactic horror of Binti, she refuses to be pigeonholed. “Hello Moto” is a different kind of witch story, about wigs that confer power. yes… wigs.
“the third bear” by jeff vandermeer clarkesworld magazine
The author of the southern reach trilogy, city of saints and madmen, and finch is also a prolific writer of short stories, including this gem that was nominated for a shirley jackson award in 2007. it is also the title story of his 2010 collection for Tachyon Publications. he must really like bears, given the look of a giant one in his upcoming fsg novel, borne.
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“the game of smash and recovery” by kelly link strange horizons
my favorite kelly link stories are the ones that literally give me goosebumps. His latest collection, Get in Trouble, is chock-full of creepy fiction, but this standalone story published as last year’s bonus fundraiser in Stranger Horizons holds a special place in my dark heart. On an alien planet, a brother and sister play hide and seek while waiting for their parents to return.
“shiva, open your eyes” by laird barron nightmare magazine
If you’ve never read a Laird Barron story, you’re probably still able to see the world as a generally decent place. For the rest of us, Barron’s “Carnivorous Cosmos” is one of the best bodies of work by a contemporary horror writer. “Shiva, Open Your Eyes” was actually Barron’s first professional sale, appearing in Fantasy & science fiction in 2001, and it’s the only story I’ve ever read written from the perspective of a mouth.
“glashaus” by madeline gobbo and miles klee arcturus magazine
“if you were to see the estate for the first time”, begins this gothic horror tale set in a fictional war-torn country, “dazzling as a glass-eyed beetle, poisonous in the sun, surrounded by dead ends labyrinths and jungle ghosts, you wouldn’t be surprised to learn that he frequently led visitors into reckless and savage acts.”
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