There are countless scary movies and terrifying novels. But have you ever been seriously unsettled by a tweet? Read these Twitter horror stories ... if you dare.
We combined the Halloween spirit and our love of social media for Scared Twitless. We asked our readers to tell a scary story in 140 characters or less. Stories were shared with the hashtag #st140.
Our readers got creative and jolted us with an array of stories. Some stories were dark and eerie, while others took a more silly-spooky approach. We especially loved tweets that were able to establish a chilling scene and skillfully deliver a closing line without feeling cramped.
We were impressed and unsettled by many of your tweets. Here are some of our favorite Scared Twitless stories:
His life gone by the death of his wife. He removed everything that hinted him of her."sorry honey you always had your mother's eyes" #st140— Kevin Lang (@Explosiveazn) October 31, 2012
"I want a divorce," she whispered to the silent figure in the doorway. She knew he wouldn't agree. How can you divorce the dead? #st140— The Rampallian (@TheRampallian) October 29, 2012
My internet addiction killed me, to it I was a slave. Can you imagine my joy when I learned I could tweet from beyond the grave? #st140— Armand Michael(@ArmandTweets) October 26, 2012
#st140 Stop! There was blood everywhere, my son why? Your dad loved you!— Joanna Andrade (@EviaJoanna) October 31, 2012
Having my birthday on Halloween was always fun, but this year was different because I saw myself inside of a casket #St140
My congregation's dark eyes stare at me, their grinning mouths mute. Did I say eyes? I meant eye sockets. The floor is mine, forever. #st140— Paul Streby (@pgstreby) October 28, 2012
As my groggy eyes watched a hundred spiders slowly crawling up my body, my mind thought of only one word...karma. #ST140— Kath Galasso (@KatsTheory) October 27, 2012
Cute, warm & fuzzy. The teddy bear crawled next to me & said "Hello".... #st140 #MadeWithPaper
I'm 6, sitting in the backseat. Mom's singing + driving me to school. Her song stopped suddenly. I look up-Mom is gone-I can't drive. #st140— YellowSalmon (@YellowSalmon) October 28, 2012
(juliangcq)) twitter.com/juliangcq/stat…— Juliangcq (@juliangcq) October 29, 2012
— Miriam Jay Castro (@castromiriam03) October 31, 2012
#ST140 The voice wouldnt stop whispering in my ear. It wouldnt stop. I scratched and scratched until it went away. My ear laid on the floor.— Tom Glassgow (@tomglass11) October 31, 2012
He left her there, buried in the snow, wondering how long it would take for her to die and how long ago they said "I do." #st140— Clint Wells (@ClintWells) October 29, 2012
The old house was dark. It was just a dare. Inside, the screams were muffled only by my own pounding heartbeat. Then she appeared. #st140— Hunter Barrow (@HunterBarrow) October 29, 2012
My books were coming back to haunt me. My characters had come to life, and were seeking revenge for their fateful ends. They're here. #st140— Harvey Hancock (@MrHarveyHancock) October 29, 2012
As the chainsaw engaged itself upon his arm, the Vampire took succulent joy at sucking the fountain of blood from his jerking torso.#st140— Fenway Media (@FenwayMedia) October 29, 2012
He woke blind, on his back. The rat that had already feasted on his eyes was now burrowing down his throat, wriggling all the while. #st140— Chris Schillig (@cschillig) October 29, 2012
No ma’am, says the nurse, as if to soothe me. It says here your hands have been missing since birth. #st140— BrixGeek (@BrixGeek) October 27, 2012
She smiled sweetly and raised the shears in her hand. It soon became clear she wanted more than just 2" of hair..oh the horror..#st140— Jennie Isgro (@J_i_Design) October 26, 2012
Just the two of us. I wake to her hand running up my side, wrapping around my neck. I open my eyes & see her walk into the room #st140— AtomicNicky (@AtomicNicky) October 28, 2012
Went to a Twitter meetup, met my doppleganger. He spoke oddly. A chill went over me as I realized: His words were my old tweets. #st140— Noah Kravitz (@noahkravitz) October 26, 2012
"You have a beautiful smile," grinned the dentist. The drill began, blood splattered his face, and a little girl's voice sang softly. #ST140— Ethan Gomes (@diagas) October 26, 2012
Silly Stories
I clicked the link and waited forthe packets through the 'net to soar.I watched the hourglass spin more,Quoth the Browser, '404.' #st140— Ben Evans (@jedifreeman) October 26, 2012
the tweets are coming from inside the house! #st140— Ricky Robinett (@rickyrobinett) October 26, 2012
My eyes hurt, my fingers were cold, my computer screen was so bright that it blinded me. Finally, I had found my twitter unfollower. #st140— Molly(@DancingCrickett) October 27, 2012
#st140 It all happened so fast. The fever couldn't be stopped. It spread so quickly and tore through the population. The bieber fever— Josh Schroeder (@schroeder_josh) October 31, 2012
The moment you have to pay for the bills #st140— J.G. Barreiro (@Giannithor) October 29, 2012
Stagnant darkness. Howling winds and eerie noises. Open graves, out of which rise political candidates. And then... #st140— Scott McLeod (@mcleod) October 28, 2012
They opened the mail only to see the interest rate had doubled on their mortgage #st140— LYoung (@little__sprout) October 28, 2012
I broke my smartphone and had to start using a flip phone again. #st140— Bryan Naas (@bryannaas) October 27, 2012
On Halloween night I dreamt that demons forced me to eat a 100 lb marshmellow. I awoke in horror to find that my pillow was gone! #st140— Regis Magyar, Ph.D. (@Rlmagyar) October 27, 2012
Ben Affleck & Jennifer Lopez made a romantic comedy that turned out to be the most horrifying thing ever witnessed by human eyes #st140— Taylor Aldredge (@tayloraldredge) October 26, 2012
Snooki is now responsible for another life. #st140— Lisa Patti (@lisanpatti) October 26, 2012
They said I had 140 characters, but the walls of this text box are closing in. The blink of my cursor quickens. I fear the end is nea #st140— Courtney Doman (@cjdoman) October 26, 2012
President Kardashian #ST140— sanguinesu (@sanguinesu) October 26, 2012