Sometimes you want a scare you can devour in a single sitting. The kind of story that doesn’t wait for slow dread but instead slithers right under your skin, fast and sharp. These 13 books all clock in under 300 pages—but don’t let their size fool you. They pack enough atmosphere, chills, and haunting imagery to keep you up at night.

🕯 The List

1. Come Closer by Sara Gran (192 pages)
   A possession story that feels disturbingly plausible. Minimalist horror at its sharpest.
2. We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson (160 pages)
   Isolated sisters, poisoned sugar bowls, and Jackson’s trademark gothic strangeness.
3. This Is Where We Talk Things Out by Caitlin Marceau (150 pages)
   A mother-daughter getaway spirals into claustrophobic psychological horror.
4. Horrorstör by Grady Hendrix (248 pages)
   A haunted-IKEA satire with creepy funhouse vibes and corporate dread.
5. The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson (246 pages)
   A classic haunted house tale that still defines the genre.
6. A Head Full of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay (286 pages)
   Just under the cutoff—possession, reality TV, and unreliable narration collide.
7. Night of the Mannequins by Stephen Graham Jones (136 pages)
   A prank with a mannequin spirals into slasher-level chaos.
8. Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke by Eric LaRocca (102 pages)
   Online obsession turns grotesque in this cult favorite of disturbing horror.
9. Nothing But Blackened Teeth by Cassandra Khaw (128 pages)
   Japanese haunted house + a wedding gone very, very wrong.
10. Coraline by Neil Gaiman (176 pages)
    Buttons for eyes. Enough said.
11. The Ballad of Black Tom by Victor LaValle (150 pages)
    A chilling, razor-sharp Lovecraft retelling.
12. The Silent Companions by Laura Purcell (288 pages)
    Creepy carved figures, a crumbling estate, and gothic chills galore.
13. The Grip of It by Jac Jemc (276 pages)
    A haunted house that won’t stop shifting, and paranoia that won’t let go.

Sometimes the most haunting stories are the ones that don’t waste a single word. These slim, sinister volumes prove you don’t need 500 pages to summon dread—you just need the right atmosphere, a whisper of unease, and a house (or mind) that won’t stop creaking once the lights go out.

Have you read any of these quick chills? Or do you have a favorite short horror that left you wide awake after the last page?