Write a Six-Word Horror Story
There’s a (probably apocryphal) story that Ernest Hemingway was challenged to write a six-word novel, and he responded with, “For sale: Baby shoes, never worn.” Over at io9 they’ve been riffing on this extreme flash-fiction idea with a series of posts inviting commenters to write six-word science fiction stories: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4.
Science fiction and horror are kissing cousins at the very least, so a lot of the contributions skew in that direction. Some are outright creepy:
It was moving under my skin.
— Blalock
“The snow… it… it… got hungry.”
— fogelmatrix
“Try to relax,” my parasite said.
— Claire B.
They ate dreams. Only insomniacs survived.
— x84jdh
Some are really evocative:
The monsters cry in their sleep.
— JennyGirl
The outsiders killed us last night.
— spagornasm
Walls had ears. Eyes, too, now.
— Daryl
The Old Gods come in peace.
— Phos
Death machine works, but it weeps.
— Matt
And some are funny:
Zombies placated! They just wanted hugs.
— nootrac4571
“The badger revolution humbled us all.”
— interrogator-chaplain
Room for rent, cheap. NOT HAUNTED.
— Long Lost Albatross
“Chess?” scoffed Death, “no way. Candyland.”
— ColinGagnon
(Most of them seem to be less “complete story” and more “really intriguing first sentence.”)
Want to play along? Write your spookiest six-word story and leave it in the comments! Here are a few to get you started:
“Believe in ghosts? I am one.”
The screaming isn’t real. Ignore it.
Tiny footsteps run into the closet.
“Mommy, why won’t it stop moving?”
Posted in Whatever | 12 Comments »
April 30th, 2014 at 7:09 am
Everything dies and you must watch.
April 30th, 2014 at 7:22 am
where did the spider go
April 30th, 2014 at 7:36 am
She couldn’t put down the ax.
April 30th, 2014 at 7:37 am
“Mama, I don’t like that smile.” (actually said to me by one of my kids)
April 30th, 2014 at 8:07 am
It slithered quietly into Rachel’s ear.
April 30th, 2014 at 9:12 am
Red velvet rivulets. Blood, bled, dead.
April 30th, 2014 at 1:25 pm
Ooooh, these are all so good! (6-word comment).
The stars call me: “Come home.”
April 30th, 2014 at 1:56 pm
A riff on Hemingway:
For sale: Second hand cemetery plot.
April 30th, 2014 at 6:27 pm
The evil baby crawls closer, closer.
May 1st, 2014 at 2:37 pm
People died beneath a silent sky.
May 1st, 2014 at 3:00 pm
Mother’s bloody smile said, “Baby’s gone.”
May 1st, 2014 at 3:05 pm
I’m obsessed with this. Help me. (unintentional 6 word horror story)
His coffin was less than comfortable.
Just like that, it quickly spread.
She screamed as his head melted.