Thursday Thirteen

Spooky Short Stories for the Threshold of Halloween

1. “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson
A sunlit village gathers for its annual ritual, one that is cheerful, ordinary, and horrifying. Jackson’s masterpiece of social horror exposes the violence lurking beneath tradition.
Read online (XpressEnglish)

2. “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
A woman confined for “rest” begins to see movement in the wallpaper. A descent into madness—or a haunting critique of domestic repression and medical gaslighting.
Read online (Project Gutenberg)

3. “The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe
A murderer insists on his sanity, but the sound of a beating heart beneath the floorboards betrays him. Guilt becomes a rhythmic torment in Poe’s classic.
Read online (PoeStories.com)

4. “The Monkey’s Paw” by W.W. Jacobs
A cursed talisman grants three wishes, but with cruel irony. A meditation on grief, fate, and the danger of tampering with the unknown.
Read online (Project Gutenberg)

5. “The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allan Poe
In the catacombs beneath carnival revelry, a man exacts revenge brick by brick. Poe’s tale of betrayal and buried secrets chills with its calm cruelty.
Read online (PoeStories.com)

6. “The Summer People” by Shirley Jackson
A couple decides to extend their stay past Labor Day only to find that the locals grow strange. A quiet dread builds as the landscape turns hostile.
Read online (PDF)

7. “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” by Ursula K. Le Guin
A utopian city thrives, but at a terrible cost. Le Guin’s philosophical fable asks what we’re willing to sacrifice for comfort, and who bears the burden.
Read online (PDF)

8. “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner
A Southern woman clings to the past and to something more disturbing. Gothic decay and denial culminate in a macabre revelation.
Read online (PDF)

9. “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin
A woman receives news of her husband’s death and tastes freedom, albeit briefly. A haunting twist turns liberation into tragedy.
Read online (Owl Eyes)

10. “Charles” by Shirley Jackson
A mother worries about her son’s unruly classmate, until the truth emerges. Domestic absurdity masks a darker reflection of childhood and denial.
Read online (PDF)

11. “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut
In a dystopia of enforced equality, beauty and brilliance are punished. A rebel rises—and is swiftly crushed. Satirical, eerie, and disturbingly relevant.
Read online (PDF)

12. “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” by Joyce Carol Oates
A teenage girl meets a stranger who knows too much. Inspired by true crime, this story simmers with psychological menace and seductive dread.
Read online (PDF)

13. “The Landlady” by Roald Dahl
A young man checks into a cozy bed-and-breakfast. The tea is warm, the pets are still, and the guestbook never changes. Dahl’s tale is quietly terrifying.
Read online (PDF)

*An AI tool helped put this list together*

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Thursday Thirteen is played by lots of people; there is a list here if you want to read other Thursday Thirteens and/or play along. I've been playing for a while, and this is my 931st time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday. Or so sayth the Blogger counter, anyway.