My favourite short stories tend to be creepy or magical. I think due to the necessary open-endedness of short stories, it lends itself most to mystery and magic.
Angela Carterās Bloody Chamber is a great classic creepy feminist story to start with.
Carmen Maria Machadoās The Husband Stitch continued Carterās legacy
Iām a HUGE Kelly Link fan, but her stuff is very strange so might not be for everyone, but my favourite of hers is probably The Specialistās hat or Skinderās Veil
Shirley Jacksonās The Lottery is also a classic, and if you like creepy stories and want a good overview of writers in that genre, I recommend the collection āWhen Things Get Darkā, a collection inspired by the tone of Jacksonās work; it features Kelly link, Carmen Maria Machado, Joyce Carol Oates, and loads of contemporary short story writers. I discovered the story Tiptoe by Laird Barron through this and its possibly my favourite creepy short story, it sent full shivers down my spine in a way no other story had.
Related Recs
Iāve loved a good weird, creepy, and/or magical story ever since I first read The Bloody Chamber. Hereās a few I recommend:
Stranger things happen - Kelly link
white cat, black dog - Kelly Link
her Body and Other Parties - Carmen Maria Machado
The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories - Angela Carter
the Dangers of Smoking in Bed - Mariana EnrĆquez
When Things get dark - Edited by Ellen Datlow
The Frangipani Hotel - Violet Kupersmith
Feb 20, 2024
Magical realism/general spookiness is the perfect genre for short stories, mystery lends itself to brevity.
We Have Always Lived in the Castle - Shirley Jackson (158 pages)
Our Wives Under the Sea - Julia Armfield (232 pages)
Annihilation - Jeff Vandermeer (195 pages)
Pirasesi by susanna clarke (245 pages)
The Magic Toyshop - Angela Carter (200 pages)
(Or even short Angela Carterās Love which is 120 pages)
Jan 4, 2025
The Doll-Maker and Other Tales of Horror, Black Dahlia and White Rose: Stories, The Corn Maiden and Other Nightmares. But my favorite which Iāve rec-ed before is Haunted: Tales of the Grotesque the titular story Haunted is so sick and twisted and I cry tears of fear every time I go back to read it (which I have multiple times). She has the most viscerally disturbing and discomfiting style and a unique ability to crawl under your skin, more so than any other horror author Iāve read and horror is not even typically her primary genre!!
Apr 20, 2024
Top Recs from @mouse
I used to be envious of people who had āMySpace friendsā or ātumblr friendsā. Now I have PI.FYI friends. Thank you capyboppy for your lovely letter and this illustration of a capybara and a mouse with fruit on our heads, it made me weirdly emotional ā¤ļø
Jun 11, 2024
š£
is gig etiquette dead? Donāt go to a gig if you wanna just talk to your mates! go to a pub itās what theyāre for!
Dec 8, 2024
IT'S OUT MY RECORD IS OUT I LITERALLY AM CRYING. The culmination of 4 plus years of work. I'm...gonna go to bed now!
May 3, 2024