Now that we’ve covered Gothic and Ghost stories, I want to take us down the path of truly unsettling tales that have lingered with me long after the last sentence. Some, you may know. Others, you may have only heard of in your nightmares.
Read them all at your own risk!
My Favorite Unsettling Short Stories
A Good Man Is Hard to Find by Flannery O’Connor
This one was a hard read, and I still think about it years later.
If you’ve never read Flannery before, fair warning. She isn’t known for delicate language.
The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
When the wallpaper is so bad you have no other choice but to descend into madness!
All of Kafka’s stories are unsettling, but this one is my personal favorite. It’s what happens when “would you love me if I were a bug” became horrifyingly real.
The Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allan Poe
I mean, what else do you do with a sworn enemy? You invite him into your cellar for rare wine!
The unsettling part might be how funny I find this story, but it’s still one of my favorite Poe tales.
A man decides to swim through the neighborhood pools, but what starts as a fun adventure ends in cold reality.
The Monkey’s Paw by W.W. Jacobs
A classic tale of “be careful what you wish for.”
The Picture in the House by H.P. Lovecraft
You never really know what’s going on behind closed doors.
Also, Lovecraft was a racist, and some of his language reflects that. Fair warning.
There are more, but I feel like this is a great starter list to get you as unsettled as humanly possible. I will warn you that Flannery O’Connor and H.P. Lovecraft often use crude and racist language, so read those at your own risk.
What are your favorite unsettling short stories? Let me know in the comments!
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