alisoncooks Posted April 13 Posted April 13 Younger dd (15) wants to read “something scary.” I have reasons not to just set her loose with Stephen King or the library. I’m looking for specific recommendations of “horror-light” or spooky short stories. Fairly clean and not too gory? Is that too big of an ask? I’m not opposed to older stuff (Poe?) but she has specifically asked for short stories, and I am not familiar with any short story anthologies. Would Lovecraft be appropriate? I’ve never read anything Lovecraft… Thoughts? 1 Quote
Melissa in Australia Posted April 13 Posted April 13 Agatha Christie? They are fairly short. I found them scary enough when I was a teen. 2 Quote
Miss Tick Posted April 13 Posted April 13 (edited) What Moves the Dead, by T. Kingfisher, is a retelling of Poe's The Fall of the House of Usher. I didn't recall ever reading The Fall, but I recently read What Moves and I find it very, classically creepy! It is not a short story, but it is a novela, so not much longer. If she particularly wants a short story you might look at Roald Dahl's "The Landlady" It was creepy, but I classified it as "middle school creepy". Implied, but not explicit. It was difficult finding appropriate short stories for my middle school short story class! Edited April 13 by Miss Tick 1 Quote
Miss Tick Posted April 13 Posted April 13 I forgot to mention that there happens to be a Stephen King book that he apparently wrote for younger readers (The Eye of the Dragon), but I haven't read it yet, and I think it is fantasy rather than horror. You might offhandedly mention that if she *does* ever pick up a Stephen King book, it is very, very, (very!) important to accept that stopping in the middle of the chapter, when the action is calm, is the way. to. go. 1 Quote
popmom Posted April 13 Posted April 13 Is she wanting fluff? or substance? I'm not anti fluff--I just don't enjoy it as much when it comes to scary stuff. You said you don't want to set her loose with Stephen King. Why is that? I'm pretty sure I had read The Stand (Stephen King) by 15. It is amazing but definitely NOT a short story. lol I do think there are Stephen King short stories that would be appropiate for her age. I think??? It has been awhile since I read anything by him. I don't remember any graphic s&^--none at all actually. 1 Quote
melbotoast Posted April 13 Posted April 13 (edited) Sorry for the self-promotion, but my write club put together this family-friendly anthology of spooky campfire stories a couple years ago. It's free on KU. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BCVBKBP6 Edited April 13 by melbotoast 1 Quote
Ausmumof3 Posted April 13 Posted April 13 I don’t know if it’s exactly horror but maybe Flannery O’Connor? 1 Quote
Kareni Posted April 13 Posted April 13 Would "A Rose for Emily" by William Faulkner work? Regards, Kareni 2 Quote
Momof4sweetkids Posted April 13 Posted April 13 Maybe too young for her but if you're Christian, Cooper Kids Adventures by Frank Peretti 1 Quote
HomeAgain Posted April 13 Posted April 13 I find The Yellow Wallpaper and Jane Eyre to both be horrifying, but that may not be your style. Perhaps something local? Our Barnes & Noble sells anthologies of ghost stories for our state and region. They range from pretty detailed to light sketches. Nothing as deep as like, In Cold Blood by Capote, but enough to light the mind. I'm trying to remember what I read in high school, but I think a lot of that was thrill, not horror. 2 Quote
Harriet Vane Posted April 13 Posted April 13 Lucy Maud Montgomery (author of Anne of Green Gables) wrote a collection of scary stories. 1 Quote
Bambam Posted April 13 Posted April 13 Many of Ray Bradbury's books are a series of short stories. I would not consider them horror, but some of them are unsettling. Clean as far as I can remember. 4 Quote
cintinative Posted April 13 Posted April 13 (edited) The Murders on the Rue Morgue, Masque of the Red Death, Edgar Allen Poe maybe Nathaniel Hawthorne? possibly Hound of the Baskervilles? ETA: actually, this is a full novel. I hoped it was a novella. Edited April 13 by cintinative 2 Quote
alisoncooks Posted April 13 Author Posted April 13 Thanks for the recs. I’ll look into them all! @popmom - re: Stephen King. I have only read a few, years ago, but I definitely remember graphic sexual stuff. 🤷♀️ Maybe I’m remembering something else. So, to elaborate on my restrictions for this kid. She says she wants scary stuff, but she also tends to fixate a bit and has bad dreams. I want to keep the truly dark, horrific stuff out of her head for a while, if I can. And she wants short stories because she gets bogged down/discouraged by longer books and series. She wants something she can finish in a few sittings. 1 Quote
HomeAgain Posted April 13 Posted April 13 I did remember one: The Girl With The Silver Eyes. It's a short chapter book. It's not exactly horror (medical malpractice), but it is unsettling and the age is right. I think the protagonist is 13 or so. I ended up mulling that one over for a few years before moving on to Stephen King's Firestarter. Same sort of theme, different audience. Also, loved by my kids: Invasion of the Lawn Weenies/In The Land of the Lawn Weenies And Other Creepy Tales. They're fun, but definitely weird. If she's ready for anything longer, Caroline B Cooney's books are...something. The Face On The Milk Carton and sequels are unsettling with the what-if's. What if you were stolen? What if you had bonded with your new family? What if your old family wants you back? Her other books are just as good. 1 Quote
cintinative Posted April 13 Posted April 13 I haven't read these in many years, but here are a few others I remember being spooky: "The Monkey's Paw" by W.W. Jacobs "The Open Window" by Saki "The Tell-Tale Heart" by Edgar Allen Poe “Young Goodman Brown” by Hawthorne 5 Quote
cintinative Posted April 13 Posted April 13 I saw Neil Gaiman's "Coraline" listed online for a younger age. I watched part of the movie they made from it and it creeped me out, so I have never read it. 2 Quote
Dmmetler Posted April 13 Posted April 13 12 hours ago, alisoncooks said: Younger dd (15) wants to read “something scary.” I have reasons not to just set her loose with Stephen King or the library. I’m looking for specific recommendations of “horror-light” or spooky short stories. Fairly clean and not too gory? Is that too big of an ask? I’m not opposed to older stuff (Poe?) but she has specifically asked for short stories, and I am not familiar with any short story anthologies. Would Lovecraft be appropriate? I’ve never read anything Lovecraft… Thoughts? I would agree with avoiding Stephen King...I read Skeleton Crew on a band bus, and there are STILL things from those stories that pop up in my nightmares. And from what I understand, the novels are more troubling than the short stories. Maybe this one? The Haunted Space Suit | Arthur C. Clarke (1958) (the link will show you the start of the story) The Veldt by Ray Bradbury The Veldt (ufsc.br) Actually, a lot of Ray Bradbury might serve. He tends to be a bit more on the suspense/horror side than the hard sci-fi side. 1 Quote
Sasharowan Posted April 13 Posted April 13 I remember reading Hitchcock for kids as a teen and they were spooky but not too bad. Here are some of the titles. 1 Quote
Cecropia Posted April 13 Posted April 13 I've read "The Eye of the Dragon" (Stephen King) a few times, and there is some brief sexual content. It's not a horror novel like his others. Has she read the "Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark" books? Just the images can be kind of unsettling. Some of the "Choose Your Own Adventure" original books might work, particularly "The Horror of High Ridge." Maybe "The Mystery of Chimney Rock." "The Red Shoes" by Hans Christian Andersen "The Juniper Tree" by the Brothers Grimm "Bluebeard" by Charles Perrault (Quite a few of the original fairy tales were dark, violent, and creepy, before Disney-fication.) "The Metamorphosis" by Franz Kafka "The Little Black Bag" by Cyril M. Kornbluth "It's a Good Life" by Jerome Bixby -- also an excellent (old) Twilight Zone episode once she's read it 2 Quote
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