Note: I'm trying something new today- these are one or two-liner horror stories. My apologies if they are not as riveting or interesting as you wanted! I usually write fantastical prose or fairytale-ish stories.
Paintings
I tossed and turned through half the night. The mangled, unnerving paintings on the wall seemed to move.
I froze when I got up in the morning; I saw nothing but windows on the wall.
Cry
I heard ceaseless crying from my one-bedroom apartment at night.
When I switched on the lights, the room was empty.
Mirror, Mirror, on the Wall
“Mirror, mirror on the wall, who’s the fairest of them all?” I joked to myself, not expecting a reply.
“Look behind you.”
Polaroid
The photograph in my hands showed my smiling family and me.
I’ve been an orphan since birth.
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140,149 Literary Works • 673,032 Reviews
Hello there, human! I'm reviewing using the YWS S'more Method today!
Let us begin with the possessed S’more!
Top Graham Cracker - They’re two-liner horror stories, each with an evil twist!
Slightly Burnt Marshmallow - I think that these are all fine, for the most part. If you wanted to do more of these sentences, you can. :>
Chocolate Bar - Okay, so, my favorite sentences…I liked “Cry” and “Polaroid”. I liked “Cry” because there was no crying in the room when they went to check and “Polaroid” because it showed a narrator with a family when they’re all alone…
Closing Graham Cracker - They’re great for your first time. I enjoyed reading these little two-liner horror stories. They’re all very spooky and creepy…
I wish you an amazing day/night!
Hello! I hope you're having a great day or night, and a good start to your new year!
There's a lot of fun to be had with two-sentence horror stories. Though they lean on the shorter side of things, they still encapsulate what's great about campfire tales! Like a s'more, they're easy to make and great to enjoy! I also appreciate that you stepped outside your comfort zone with this, as it's always great to try new writing styles.
"Paintings" was my favorite of the four. I thought the twist was best executed and very original. I've always had a phobia of windows at night, and this short spoke to that.
"Mirror, Mirror, on the Wall," was also neat, however, I like the idea that the narrator is in a mirror maze, and the spooky voice is actually being wholesome.
I had a small nitpick with "Cry",
The way I interpreted this initially was that the narrator was inside their room, presumably trying to sleep. But considering their hearing it "from" their apartment, I then figured they had to be outside. If this is the case, then "at night" becomes sort of unnecessary information. Either way, I think this one could use some additional clarification.
I was also a little confused by "Polaroid," I wasn't sure it worked well as a two sentence horror story, as it doesn't make much sense without additional context. It could easily be read as "The narrator has been adopted by a loving family and is emotional because they've been alone for so long," or the reader could assume that the photo is with their siblings, cousins, aunts, and uncles- family who aren't necessarily the narrator's parents.
Even if we kept it within the lenses of "this is a horror story. Something is definitely wrong here," there are still several interpretations that a reader could come up with. (Someone's gone back in time and changed the course of history. The Narrator has to lie about their identity for some reason. One of their friends got their hands on photoshop and is playing a mean prank.)
Having multiple interpretations of a story isn't necessarily a bad thing, but with fiction like this, you want every word to pack a punch.
All in all, though, I really enjoyed reading this! I think two sentence horror is a great practice in using precise language and communicating concise ideas. I particularly enjoyed the twists in the first and third story, as they were both very unique. I look forward to reading more stuff from you in the future! With that said, have a great rest of your day/night!