Genre
Horror: Short Stories to Read
Horror looks for fear where it sits deepest – in the dark, in the familiar, in ourselves. On Fireside you'll find eerie stories by real authors that get under your skin. Read the latest horror stories for free.
Latest Horror stories
The Customer After Midnight
by Magdalena
Magdalena Nowak, a pharmacist in Kraków, is visited monthly by a mysterious man who requests a nonexistent medication and leaves no reflection or shadow. When she finally questions him directly, he reveals he seeks something to stop what has already stopped. The next morning, she discovers a new line in a 1943 inventory ledger written in handwriting almost identical to her own.
The Typeface Nobody Ordered
by Paul
Paul Vanderhaegen, a Belgian logo designer, discovers a mysterious font file he never downloaded, one that begins subtly corrupting names in his projects. Despite repeated deletion, the file returns and eventually alters the names of his own twins. The story closes on a quiet, lasting dread: Paul now reads every name aloud letter by letter, unable to trust that names will hold their shape.
The Stop List
by Tobias
Tobias Kirchner, a parcel delivery driver in Leipzig, discovers a thirteenth stop in his app leading to an address where no building exists, and the app confirms a delivery he never made. The entry reappears weekly, and after reinstalling the app, a countdown of eleven weeks appears. Tobias avoids Tuesday night shifts ever since, but quietly keeps counting down the weeks.
Basic Dough for Everything
by Rudi
A pastry chef finds a handwritten, nameless recipe card for an uncanny 'Basic Dough for Everything' in his newly-taken-over bakery — and recounts what happened the one time he followed it, including a customer who recognized, exactly, the taste of her dead sister's kitchen in the finished bread.
The Knock at Hvammur
by Helga
A retired nurse from Iceland's Westfjords recounts a yearly knock on an unreachable window that a fisherman's widow associated with her drowned husband — and which continued after her death. A quiet, unresolved horror story caught between reason and grief.
Frequently asked questions
What makes a good horror story?
Not the shock but the dread of it. The strongest effect comes from suggestion, atmosphere and the unsaid – and from characters you fear for.
What is the difference between horror and thriller?
A thriller threatens life and limb and runs on pace; horror aims at a deeper unease – the uncanny, the supernatural, or the dread inside the seemingly normal.
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