Psychological Thriller Short Stories

Sarah Carpenter lives in an isolated farmhouse in North Yorkshire, and for the first time after the death of her husband some years ago and her children, Louis and Kitty, leaving for university, she's living alone. But she doesn't consider herself lonely. She has two dogs, a wide network of friends and the support of her best friend, Sophie. When an old acquaintance, Aiden Beck, needs somewhere to stay for a while, Sarah's cottage seems ideal, and renewing her relationship with Aiden gives her a reason to smile again.

The book opens with a woman, naked except for her high-heeled shoes, seated in front of the window in an apartment she cannot, on her own, afford. In this exquisitely tense narrative reimagining of Edward Hopper's Eleven A.M., 1926, the reader enters the minds of both the woman and her married lover, each consumed by alternating thoughts of disgust and arousal, as he rushes, amorously, murderously, to her door.

Henry Siphuncle has a selfless mission: releasing his patients forever from their distasteful imperfections. It’s for their own good. And the world’s. Even Henry’s own wife didn’t survive his disgust. Nameless has tracked him across the country to an isolated rural community, where the residents are grateful for their new free clinic. For Henry, it might just be the end of the road.

The world of the professional truck driver can be a lonely one. For Roy Harper, a man for whom loneliness coupled emotional baggage and a series of life failures, it all may be too much to handle. It all comes to a head when he is tormented by a younger driver who is the quintessential "Bully" on the road.

Thirty-four years ago, on October 31, poor Hannah Talbott took part in a scavenger hunt gone violently wrong. The mean girls made sure of it. To this day, for a haunted local mother, the most unsettling Halloween costume of all is an urban legend they call Hannah-Beast. It’s a reminder of the past she can’t forget. Especially tonight when it’s come back, so close to home.

Blood-churning, mind-bending, and an intense thriller at its core! This collection of suspenseful short stories will satisfy your deepest craving for fear. Trapped in a concrete labyrinth! Stalked by a malevolent book character! A dark, eerie basement, possessing the very essence of malice! An ambitious reporter whose questions lead to an unbelievable fate! Hunted and preyed upon by an unstoppable demonic foe! Waking in an infinite underground tunnel, a nightmare that never ends! This is just a snapshot of the horrors that are about to unfold.

Self-destructive. The worst thing that could happen to herself is continuing to be herself. Continuing to be where she is. The need to be released has found her. Taking steps forward is difficult, seeing the chaos in the world is difficult. And anytime she sees a glimmer of confidence, any crumb of thought that could be her savior the words of those closest to her ears refill her with doubt. Reminded of the worst in her, if there’s a best in her it’s unseen here.

Two hitmen in a depressed rust belt town struggle with a job gone wrong. A girl witnesses a horrifying accident and carries it with her for the rest of her life. Medical students bring a severed foot to a college party. Five-time Pulitzer Prize finalist Joyce Carol Oates has made a career of exploring the forbidden corners of human experience, and the stories collected here, spanning her first three decades as a writer, are among her most unsettling and unforgettable works to date.

Meet the extraordinary Kendra Michaels in this gripping short story by the #1 bestselling duo of Iris and Roy Johansen. Kendra Michaels's astonishing powers of observation and analysis have made her a go-to for law enforcement agencies all across the country. Her other senses, hyper-developed...

Seven strange stand-alone tales involving unusual people caught in disturbing circumstances are presented in this collection.

With hold-your-breath suspense and shocking endings, the five short stories in this collection will put you on the edge of your seat and get your brain and blood pumping.

Diverse, dark-humored, and deliciously bite-sized, you'll love this compelling collection of 16 psychological suspense short stories. If you're a fan of Roald Dahl or Gillian Flynn, you'll love these unsettling stories with a twist in the tale. Are you ready to stay up all night with USA Today best-selling author JT Lawrence?

What lengths would you go to in order to ensure a peaceful existence? Newlyweds Eve and Leigh Chandler are thrilled to be given a council house on a recently built estate after living with Eve's parents for a year, and are eager to get to know their new neighbors. Eve quickly forms a friendship with Tessa Patterson at number 16, but things turn sour when Mark Denny moves into number 18 with his two teenage sons.

"Searingly honest, brilliant and disturbing. Brad Phillips peels back the skin and bone and stares right into the human soul." (Anthony Bourdain) Brad Phillips' collection of short stories adeptly walks a very thin line between taboo and propriety, with rigorous self-awareness and generosity. By confusing ideas around fiction and autobiography, Phillips writes with painful sincerity about shame, addiction, trauma, and the more troubling outreaches of sexual desire, with wit that is at odds with the subject matter. Brad Phillips is a well-known Canadian artist.

An eclectic selection of short stories.

Driven by an uncanny mystery from his youth, Ian Randall became a “spiritual cleanser”, ridding disturbances from homes. But his belief in the beyond was challenged by his wife’s death. Merle House, the root of Ian’s obsession, could change that. The woods are restless again. Maybe here, Ian will find what he needs - if he’s willing to make a deal with the dark.

It’s the hottest winter on record, but Raymond’s demanding, bedridden mother doesn’t mind. She likes it warm. Lately, however, control over the thermostat has become a nasty struggle. And each morning that she’s still alive is a suffocating new challenge for Raymond. How high can the mercury climb before he boils over?

In this gothic, virtuoso debut collection, Mike McCormack dispenses nightmares both stylish and macabre. "A Is for Ax" offers alphabetized look at the killing of a parent, while the title story tracks a chilling sibling rivalry. Other works here offer multiple-quiz on the road to Calvary, a door-to-door saleswoman trafficking in strange and menacing feats, and a self-mutilating artist pushing himself to the limit. These sly and dangerous stories show us a young writer who was already a master of wicked formal play, and whose sly takes on life and death remain profoundly unsettling.

A young man struggles with flashbacks and nightmares in a society which has a new and controversial way to deal with violent crime. Some say this is a groundbreaking new form of justice. Others say it's criminal.

Step into a world where reality is fractured and nothing is as it seems. In this chilling collection of seven short stories, you’ll encounter mysterious shadows, broken relationships, and eerie forces that defy explanation. Each story explores the thin line between what’s real and what’s imagined. Brace yourself for a journey through the unexpected, where every ending leaves you questioning everything.