12 Short Horror Novels Under 300 Pages

Julie and James have simply purchased a home within the nation. They’re metropolis people, by and thru, however they want the break from the hustle and bustle. And, maybe extra importantly, their marriage wants it. They’re working laborious to show over a brand new leaf, however issues preserve going off the rails. They discover rooms that weren’t there earlier than. Stains seem in a single day, lining the partitions like graffiti artwork. Is James enjoying methods on Julie…or is one thing extra sinister at play inside these ever-shifting partitions?

From the writer of My Heart Is a Chainsaw and The Only Good Indians comes this novel a few trope-savvy high-schooler who should put together to go toe-to-toe with a masked serial killer — once more. Lindsay’s her hometown’s Final Girl. She survived her first run-in with Billie Jean, a slasher who wears a Michael Jackson masks. Everyone is aware of the story, however few know the way it ends. Lindsay’s odds of surviving spherical two go up exponentially if there are different Final Girls round to — actually — take the hit for her. But can she survive lengthy sufficient to turn out to be the final Final Girl?

According to native lore, a younger bride whose husband-to-be died moments earlier than their wedding ceremony sealed herself within the partitions of a Heian-era citadel in Japan. Now, her ghost is alleged to hang-out the grounds, demanding a yearly sacrifice. What higher place might there probably be for 2 ghost-chasers to get married? As Faiz, Talia, and their buddies put together for his or her in a single day celebration, nonetheless, outdated feuds come again to the fore, and one visitor begins to suspect the Ohaguro-Bettari legend is something however a fantasy.

In this Edgar Allan Poe retelling, struggle veteran Alex drops every little thing after they study that their childhood buddies, the Ushers, have turn out to be mysteriously in poor health. When Alex arrives, they discover Roderick Usher exhibiting indicators of psychological sickness. His sister, Madeline, is now a frail sleepwalker. And one thing foul appears to have contaminated the land across the siblings’ ancestral dwelling. Alex gathers their allies and prepares to battle for his or her buddies, however first, they need to determine what, precisely, ails the Usher siblings.

Four-year-old Manami was the sunshine of Yuko’s life. Now she’s useless, murdered by two of her mom’s 13-year-old college students. Yuko has made up her thoughts to actual vengeance on Shuya and Naoki in her personal time, her personal means. But when her strategies fail, one after the other, she finds herself able to resign from her place. But Yuko has one final trick up her sleeve. The grieving mom delivers one closing lecture to her class on this pulse-pounding thriller from the writer of Penance.

Strange phenomena plague a pair after they buy a wise speaker on this tightly wound debut. Thiago and Vera’s home was by no means the identical after Vera introduced the Itza dwelling. Random noises go unexplained. Rooms flip chilly at a second’s discover. And Itza retains ordering issues neither of the 2 needs. After Vera unexpectedly dies, Thiago destroys the Itza and quits their dwelling in Chicago for a Colorado retreat. The sensible speaker is useless…so why do unusual issues preserve taking place at Thiago’s new abode?

Following a psychological breakdown introduced on by her mom’s premature loss of life, Miranda Silver returns to her childhood dwelling, the place she begins to exhibit unusual signs. Miranda had an consuming dysfunction lengthy earlier than her mom’s loss of life. Now, nonetheless, she’s appearing identical to her mom, her mom’s mom, and her mom’s mom’s mom, as properly. Bad fortune all the time befalls the ladies within the Silver House…and it appears to be like like Miranda is perhaps subsequent.

Something horrible occurred to Merry’s household. Fifteen years in the past, the Barretts had been the main target of a multi-night tv occasion documenting the real-life exorcism of Merry’s older sister, Marjorie. But questions stay for a lot of viewers, and even for Merry herself. Was Marjorie actually possessed by a malevolent entity, or was she merely exhibiting indicators of psychological sickness? Sitting down with an interviewer for the primary time since her household was torn aside, Merry tells her story in A Head Full of Ghosts.

Would you spend per week enjoying hide-and-seek in an deserted amusement park, if it meant you’d win sufficient cash to vary your life without end? That’s precisely what Mack and her fellow opponents are about to do. Once the sport begins, nonetheless, Mack realizes that she hadn’t actually recognized what sort of sport she signed up for, not till folks began disappearing, and one thing started stalking those that stay. Now, she and the others must make use of all the talents of their arsenals with a purpose to survive the week.