Micro Fiction Horror
For the month of December 2025, these are the 100-word stories that intrigue us most.
* Peeling Bliss by Vidya Hariharan
* Engorged by Deanna Davidson
* Tenderness by Julien Strong
* Cold Faces by Kevin Stonness
* Tricks of the Trade by Bill Cox
* Belsnickel Comes Before Christmas by Brigitta Sheib
* Things You Find at at Garage Sale by Andrea Tillmanns
* The Man in the Walls by Lauren Lowe
Peeling Bliss
by
Vidya Hariharan
The cabbage was purple, stuck to the thick root, and tough to peel. However, I persevered. I chopped the top off first. I kept hacking till I reached the tender middle. The knife kept slipping. I wiped my hand on my apron and continued. I am stubborn that way.
The music was soft and soothing. I lay back in contentment. The cabbage lay in tidy heaps on the centre block. All that remained was to clean the knife and the kitchen. I would do that in a minute. I lay there, soaking in the peace.
The doctors did say he was a cabbage.
Vidya Hariharan is an avid reader, traveller, published poet and teacher. She was recently shortlisted for the Editor’s Choice Award for her haiku from Under the Basho in 2024. Currently she resides in Mumbai, India.
Engorged
by
Deanna Davidson
Food swells in my belly, packed in by large hands that shovel the contents of my lunch into my awaiting mouth. Insatiable hunger pains race through my body, making me overindulge, bite after bite. My sharp teeth rip through the skin, pulverizing my meal into a thick paste. I swallow it in one large gulp, a portion stuck in my throat like regurgitated vomit. I gag, nauseated, ready to explode—one sharp nail presses into my stomach, impaling my blue pinstriped work shirt. The tip rips open a hole in my gut, spewing half-digested meat all over the windshield.
Deanna has received a Bachelor's Degree in English: Creative Writing at California State University, Northridge, as of May 2025. She writes dystopian, fantasy, and sci-fi short stories, as well as children's literature and poetry.
Tenderness
by
Julien Strong
Call me crazy, but my torturer seems to care. He’s gentle when he examines the places he burned my flesh to ash. After force-feeding me poison, his eyes betray concern. And when he holds me, palm soft around my belly, I believe he’s attempting tenderness.
Yet the afternoon he falls to the floor—his heart? his brain?—I don’t hesitate. I scurry up his paralyzed body and stand, hind feet on the crack of his clamped-shut lips. Then I nibble his cheeks. Such tender, bloody things!
His eyes can still blink, so he watches me: white rat, laboratory specimen 92389.
Julien Strong is the author of four books. Their writing has appeared in POETRY, The Nation, The Southern Review, RHINO, River Styx, and many other journals. They are Assistant Professor of Poetry at Central Connecticut State University and live near New Haven, CT. www.julien-strong.com
Cold Faces
by
Kevin Stonness
The notification buzzed at 2:13 a.m.
"Help me, I’m trapped!"
It was from Megan.
Leah froze. Megan had died last week.
She typed: "Who is this?"
Dots appeared, typing. Then stopped.
Another message: "It’s me. I’m cold, Leah."
A sharp knock rattled the window. Leah turned, trembling. Outside, Megan’s face stared back, pale and hollow. Her lips moved silently: "Let me in."
Leah dropped the phone. The knock came again. The phone lit up once more: “Not Megan. Just wearing her face.”
Outside, the features blurred, multiplied—dozens of mouths pressed to the glass, whispering: “Let us in.”
Kevin Stonness is a writer based in Deseronto, Ontario, who specializes in psychological horror and speculative fiction. They are currently focused on exploring the depths of micro-fiction. When not writing, they are busy being "weird," a quality they wear proudly thanks to their daughter's assessment. Kevin is excited for this to be their debut publication.
Tricks of the Trade
by
Bill Cox
When I saw the crystal skull at the yard sale, I knew I had to have it.
“How much?” I asked the creepy dude behind the rickety table.
“Just a dollar,” he grinned, “and the buyer’s immortal soul!”
He burst into manic laughter, which admittedly did give me pause. Then inspiration struck.
I shouted Trudi over.
“Hey, Babe, you know how you want to get me something for my birthday? Well, here it is!”
“Cool,” she said. “How much is it?”
“Just a dollar,” I replied.
So now I have a crystal skull. And a soulless girlfriend.
So worth it!
Bill Cox lives in Aberdeen, Scotland with his partner Hilary and their daughter Catherine. Writing was a childhood sweetheart that he lost contact with after he left school, only to rekindle the romance in his fourth decade. He writes poetry and short fiction and his work can be found in various places, if you look hard enough.
Belsnickel Comes Before Christmas
by
Brigitta Scheib
“Belsnickel scares me,” said my mom, looking past me at my shadowy kitchen window. “He came this night when we were kids, wearing old clothes and tattered furs, rapping on the window with the switches he came to beat us with if we were naughty.”
“Mom, come on, that isn’t a thing?!”
“In Pennsylvania, it is. I was terrified.”
The microwave beeped. I took out her mug, steam rising in circular waves.
“Do you want cookies? Mom?”
She sat unblinking, her mouth hanging open.
I heard it right before her alarming scream—a faint rhythmic tapping against the inky glass.
Brigitta Scheib lives in Harrisburg, PA with her husband, daughter and three orange cats. She just recently got back to writing, a hobby she last pursued in high school and college.
Things You Find at a Garage Sale
by
Andrea Tillmanns
“It probably belonged to my grandparents. It’s very old, that’s for sure.” That was all the seller knew about the mirror, which had caught my eye. The main thing was that he sold it to me cheaply.
When I cleaned it at home and hung it up, I felt drawn to the mirror again. I stepped closer when I thought I saw a strange double reflection – and then I found myself on the other side.
“Finally,” said my counterpart, who looked like me but was someone else, before covering the mirror with a blanket and leaving me in the dark.
Andrea Tillmanns lives in Germany and works full-time as a university lecturer. She has been writing poetry, short stories and novels in various genres for many years. More information can be found on her website www.andreatillmanns.de.
The Man in the Walls
by
Lauren Lowe
A man is living inside my bathroom walls. He watches me shower through the drain. He thinks I don’t know, but I see his small, hungry eye roaming.
I follow my usual routine and drop my clothes to the floor. His greedy eye appears.
But I don’t turn the water on.
Instead, I lift the kettle I boiled just for him.
The moment the water hits the drain, he shrieks, blistering agony echoing up the pipes.
I smile as I lather my skin, his screams continuing.
At last, I finally gave him something worth seeing: the woman who blinded him.
Lauren Lowe is an aspiring writer from Suffolk, England, who has loved storytelling from a young age, attempting her first short crime novel at ten. She is currently completing a creative writing course and developing ideas for future stories. “The Man in the Walls” marks her publishing debut.