31 Days of Spooky Short Stories

This October I had many hours of reading time available as I was recovering from surgery (I’m feeling great, by the way). I thought I would give myself a challenge: read a spooky short story each day this October.

I had no method when choosing a story each day. Sometimes, I would reread an old favorite. Sometimes, I would randomly choose a title from the table of contents. Sometimes, I thought a title was seductive. Thus, this is not a formulated reading list or one I would put forth as canonical. It was just random fun!

I shared my choice each day on my Instagram stories, but the entire list is also below. I highlighted a few in orange that were standout favorites (even though I enjoyed most of the stories!).

1. Mary E. Wilkins-Freeman, “The Shadows on the Wall”
2. M.R. James, “Casting the Runes”
3. Lady Wilde, “The Horned Women”
4. Amelia B. Edwards, “The Phantom Coach”
5. T.E.D. Klein, “The Events at Poroth Farm”
6. Louisa May Alcott, “Lost in the Pyramid, Or the Mummy’s Curse”
7. Edgar Allan Poe, “The Oval Portrait”
8. Wilkie Collins, “The Dream Woman”
9. Richard Matheson & Richard Christian Matheson, “Where There’s A Will”
10. Robert Louis Stevenson, “The Body-Snatcher”
11. Ray Bradbury, “Heavy Set”
12. Mark Twain, “A Ghost Story”
13. J.S. LeFanu, “An Authentic Narrative of a Haunted House”
14. Washington Irving, “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”
15. Tennessee Williams, “The Vengeance of Nitocris”
16. H.P. Lovecraft, “The Evil Clergyman”
17. Charles Dickens, “The Lawyer and the Ghost”
18. Lisa Tuttle, “The Third Person”
19. Bram Stoker, “The Judge’s House”
20. Washington Irving, “The Adventure of the German Student”
21. Tanith Lee ,”Perfidious Amber”
22. Richard Matheson, “Long Distance Call”
23. Jerome K. Jerome, “The Haunted Mill or the Ruined Home”
24. M.R. James, “Lost Hearts”
25. Fritz Leiber, “The Girl with the Hungry Eyes”
26. Kelley Armstrong, “Dead Flowers by the Roadside”
27. Sharon Webb, “Threshold”
28. J.S. LeFanu, “The White Cat of Drumgunniol”
29. Manly Wade Wellman, “School for the Unspeakable”
30. E. G. Swain, “Bone to His Bone” 
31. Alvin Schwartz, Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (read multiple short stories in this one)

Hope y’all had a great Halloween!