Horror Stories of 100 Words
For the month of September 2026, these are the stories that intrigue us most.
* Built to Last by Hala Alam
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* In the Woods by Stephen Tenerowicz
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* The Photographs by Ann Fulleros
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* Passenger 27 by Kamran Connelly
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* Fur by Sebastian Maguire
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* Various Forms of Self-Expression by John Harrison
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* The Taste by Amanda Linehan
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* Mine by Laura Shell
Built to Last
by
Hala Alam
They promised her parachute was durable.
“Only the best for a gold medalist.”
She pulled the ripcord. The canopy opened, then the wind gathered it around her. Nylon tightened over her limbs, pinning them against her.
Each breath drew the cords tighter against her chest, compressing her lungs. When she hit the ground, her bones snapped and twisted within
the parachute’s folds.
They found their champion face down in the grass. The fabric had constricted so tightly that her flesh had swollen the mesh, purple and pulsing, desperate for escape.
At least they’d been honest—the parachute was durable.
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Hala Alam is an emerging writer from Seattle. She dabbles in poetry and short story writing, focusing on themes of romance and religious horror.
In the Woods
by
Stephen Tenerowicz
When the witch cursed me, I told myself it didn’t mean anything.
Curses weren’t real.
I kept telling myself that until roots started to split out of my feet, like elongated, grotesque tentacles.
They locked themselves in the ground and I could no longer move. I strained against them, but the ground held fast. I was anchored in deep.
The next morning, my skin began to change to bark. It was rough and thick.
By evening the bark crawled to my face but my eyes remained.
I looked out into the forest. Only able to watch.
I was home.
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Stephen Tenerowicz is a horror enthusiast and writes dark stories and flash fiction. He resides in Upstate New York and can be found on Instagram at @SteveTenerowicz and Substack. ttps://substack.com/@piecemakr9?r=3k4hnz&utm_medium=ios&utm_source=stories&shareImageVariant=light
The Photographs
by
Ann Fulleros
Every night at exactly midnight, my phone takes photographs.
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I blamed a faulty camera until I saw myself sleeping in the first picture.
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The second showed me sitting upright.
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The third showed me standing beside my bed.
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Last night, I woke before midnight and stayed perfectly still, watching the clock.
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12:00.
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My phone flashed.
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I grabbed it.
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The photograph showed my empty bed.
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I laughed, until I heard breathing behind me.
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Slowly, I turned.
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Nothing.
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Then my phone flashed again.
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This time, the photograph showed me staring at the screen.
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Behind me stood something smiling.
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It was wearing my face.
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Ann Fulleros is a Filipino writer and ESL tutor who is passionate about language, storytelling, and meaningful connections through words. As an English educator, she helps learners build confidence in communication while making language learning engaging and accessible. As a writer, she draws inspiration from life experiences, emotions, and the stories of people around her. Her work reflects her love for words and her belief in the power of storytelling to inspire, heal, and connect. Social media links: https://www.facebook.com/annderthemoon12
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Passenger 27
by
Kamran Connelly
New York to London. None stop.
We leave the Big Apple midday, due to arrive before nightfall.
But inclement weather forces a speed reduction.
The skies darken before Ireland and ten seats ahead, passenger 27 starts to flip out, pleading for the windows to be closed.
The attendants try to calm him. No good.
He makes it halfway down the aisle, pulling the window shades down before we find out why.
In the night sky, the full moon shines.
He expands like a ballon and morphs into a monster.
We crash in Wales, mauled to death before we touch the ground.
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Kam’s Novelette DEATH BED INC is due for publication by Twisted Dreams Press.
He has features in anthologies by Hollowpoint Press, Wolfsinger Publications RDG Books Press and UnpopularPublications. Is currently shopping around his debut novel, The Extinction Process. And his Vampire novella BLOOD BANK.
Is published online at The Horror Tree, Trembling with Fear, Flash Phantoms, and WitCraft for his works of fiction. Has poetry featured in three anthologies, and a novella featured in the Paul Cave Prize for literature.
Fur
by
Sebastian Maguire
“Fur is murder!” The girl gripped her flyers and hurled the words at the woman enrobed in the most luxurious pelt of greys, browns, and creams.
The woman’s bejeweled right hand raised a lorgnette to her face while her left reached behind and grabbed the floor-length coat, parting it at the back slit.
A tuft of brindled fur emerged from the woman’s rump. A tail. The woman’s scarlet lips slowly parted. Two elongated canines.
***
All the police had to go by were the flyers scattered over the sidewalk and clumps of pelage found around the body. Fur is indeed murder.
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Sebastian Maguire is a writer living in New York City and has been published by 101 Words.
Various Forms of Self-Expression
by
John Harrison
They have finally pushed me too far. I have prepared carefully, silently - waiting until everyone in the house is sound asleep. I sit down quietly on the rug and drape a bath towel over my head. I am instantly transformed into all the TV monsters that I have always loved - the viral specters, fathomless and bloody; the werewolf with its terrible pent-up rage; the casual cruelty of the vampire. When I take the towel away, I go back to being the monster that I have become. My parents don’t know this yet,,,but they will. Soon.
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John Harrison studied cultural anthropology to PhD level at Oxford University. New to writing, he has had a number of poems and stories published in magazines and books, including Hollow Point Books, Anaphora, the Pennsylvania Literary Journal, Step Away, Beyond Words, CC&D, Half and One, and Samizdat.
The Taste
by
Amanda Linehan
It wasn’t the fur that started to sprout on all areas of my body that tipped me off. Not really. It was my taste for flesh.
I had always enjoyed a rare steak, but this was different. It all started with one and a third pounds of ground beef. I had ripped the plastic off and devoured it before it even occurred to me that it was raw.
And then there were the animals. My distraught neighbors posted “missing” flyers all over the neighborhood and on social media.
Maybe I would make one for my spouse after I cleaned up.
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Amanda Linehan is a writer who lives in Maryland. Her fiction has been featured in Every Day Fiction and in the Beach Life anthology published by Cat & Mouse Press in 2017. She has also self-published five novels, one novella, and one non-fiction book since 2012. Learn more about Amanda and her fiction at amandalinehan.me.
Mine
by
Laura Shell
The shapeshifter and the werewolf stood face-to-face in the woods. Their teenage prize cried, tied to a tree.
The shapeshifter pointed at her. "I took her. She's mine."
The werewolf growled.
The shapeshifter formed into a black panther. A tussle ensued. Blood and fur flew in the air.
The girl's mother had followed her daughter into the woods. She untied the girl, grabbed her and spirited her away.
Tired from fighting, the animals paused. They both looked at the tree where the girl had been held, noticed she'd disappeared. The cryptids stared at each other, shrugged, then went their separate ways.
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Laura Shell has been published in NUNUM, Maudlin House, X-RAY, Vestal Review, and Killer Nashville, among other publications. Her first anthology of paranormal stories, The Canine Collection, was released in 2024. She has another collection of short stories, titled So Far, So Good, So What? coming out on September 8, 2026. You can find more of her work at https://laurashellhorror.wordpress.com.