Read Aloud the Text Content

This audio was created by Woord's Text to Speech service by content creators from all around the world.

Text Content or SSML code:

Share Share on Facebook Next Skip to main content Menu Reader's Digest Logo The Healthy Logo RD.COM Holidays & Observances Halloween 20 Spooky Halloween Stories That Will Keep You Up at Night Taylor MarkarianTaylor Markarian Updated: Oct. 31, 2022 If you love scaring yourself silly on Halloween and beyond, these terrifying tales will do the trick. 20 Scary StoriesRD.COM, GETTY IMAGES (2) Don’t say we didn’t warn you! Forget baseball—swapping ghost stories is the best American pastime. But you have to do it right: Sit in a circle on the floor with the lights off. (Or, if you really want to set the mood, venture to your local cemetery on a moonlit night.) Feel the eerie weight of the tension in the air and a tingle of nervous excitement for the next ghoulish tale to be told. Of course, you don’t believe any of it, but as the spooky stories go on you think, “What if it is true?” Might dark, mysterious things like spirits and demons exist? There are a lot of people who swear they’ve seen ghosts. Could they all be lying? Could they all be missing some sort of rational explanation, or do Ouija boards, seances, and witchcraft really work? Whether it’s Halloween or you’re just fiending for a scare, we’ve got plenty of terrifying tales to pull at the threads of your sanity. Some of them are made up, but others are eyewitness accounts from real people. Are you willing to suspend disbelief? Read on…if you dare. Suit On Mannequin And Key With Text All DoneRD.COM, GETTY IMAGES (4) The architect’s key There was once a man named Edward, who designed and built his own perfect house. He lived in it for many years until he eventually passed away. A new family soon moved in, but whenever they went into the basement—where Edward’s personal study had been—they would get the feeling that someone was watching them. One day, the father of the new family decided to fix up an old jacket, which every tailor in town had told him was beyond repair. So, he went down to the old study, laid his jacket on a chair, and then tried to see if there was anything in the old desk that could help him mend it. But the drawers were all locked, and he couldn’t find a key anywhere. The next morning, he came back down to find the key on the desk, all of the drawers open, and his jacket completely fixed. Here are more haunted house mysteries no one can explain. Handprint In Flour And Car Crash With Text Love, MomRD.COM, GETTY IMAGES (4) A mother’s love Some people actively go out looking for ghost encounters, and every once in a while, they find one. When Kevin was a teenager, he and his friends had heard about a dangerous turn on the nearby highway that caused many accidents over the years; it was now haunted. The most well-known story was of a mother who took her own life after her son had crashed his car and died there. It was said around town that her ghost remained at the deadly turn to protect people from ending up like her deceased child. Kevin and his friends decided to put that theory to the test. At night, Kevin drove his friends out to the highway. When the group of boys arrived at the turn, they pulled over. They’d brought a bag of flour with them and proceeded to sprinkle the white powder on the road, the grass, and the car. The idea was to get footprints to prove that the ghost was indeed real. The boys hopped back in and began to take the car around the turn. Kevin accelerated faster and faster and—THUMP. The car came to an abrupt halt as if someone had slammed down on it with their own two hands. They immediately got out of the car and saw two woman-sized handprints in the white flour on the hood. For more haunting tales, check out these scary podcasts. Teddy Bear Sitting In Hallway With Text Hide And SeekRD.COM, GETTY IMAGES (4) The ghost in the hall Four young women moved into an old New England apartment together. (You know, the type with squeaky floorboards and a long, dark hallway.) A month after they moved in, one of the roommates realized that her favorite stuffed teddy bear was missing. The others all said they hadn’t touched it or seen it. Weeks went by, and she almost forgot about her teddy when something strange happened. She opened the door to one of the closets they hardly ever used, and there on the top shelf sat her furry friend. All of her roommates swore they had no idea how it had happened. Now, whenever the teddy bear goes missing for a few days, she knows exactly where to find it. Tent And Campfire With Text Quick, LookRD.COM, GETTY IMAGES (4) A voice in the desert Two young men in their 20s, Josh and Dan, went on a camping trip together in a desert in New Mexico. They didn’t take much with them besides sleeping bags, food, and materials for a fire. After they cooked their dinner, they fell asleep as they gazed up into the starry night sky. The beauty and peace of the trip were short-lived, however. In the early, dark hours of the morning, Josh was startled awake by what sounded like Dan’s voice, but frantic. The voice said, “Come here, quick! Look!” Sleepy and confused, Josh got up to see what his friend was talking about. He heard again, “Come here, quick! Look!” It sounded unnatural; a perfect repetition. Josh took a few steps forward, and then someone grabbed him from behind. He turned around to see Dan with his finger in front of his mouth, warning Josh to keep quiet. They rolled up their sleeping bags and left. They still don’t know who—or what—was trying to lure Josh away into the desert. Freaked out by this spooky story? These hilarious Halloween memes will calm you down. ADVERTISEMENT Bathtub With Enlarged Temperature Knobs Labeled Hot And ColdRD.COM, GETTY IMAGES (4) Echoes of the past A young bachelor at the beginning of his career became very successful very quickly, so he bought himself a house. One morning, he awoke to the sound of running water. He rushed to the bathroom and saw that the bathtub faucet was running on full blast. He was perturbed by this, as he lived alone. A week later, it happened again, only this time it wasn’t just one faucet—it was all of the faucets in the house. The young man called a repairman to fix the pipes and the water damage…but, as it turned out, the pipes weren’t broken. The repairman, a local, seemed visibly shaken. “What’s wrong?” the bachelor asked. “The woman who lived here before you,” said the repairman, “she drowned in that bathtub.” Crime Scene Tape Next To Chocolate Bar With Text Never TwiceRD.COM, GETTY IMAGES (4) No one steals twice Jen went to the same convenience store every day after school for a snack. Over time, she became good friends with the cashier, Lucy. Out of curiosity, one day Jen asked Lucy how she would stop someone if they tried to steal from the store. Lucy replied, “Oh, no one ever steals anything from here twice. The store won’t let them.” Jen didn’t know what that meant but dropped the subject. When she went back to the store at the start of the next school week, Jen walked in to find Lucy talking to some cops. Apparently, a man stole from the store and drove off, but his brakes mysteriously failed and his car went soaring off a cliff. The cops asked Lucy if she knew what happened. “No,” she said. “I was stocking the back room. I didn’t even know he’d come in.” No one ever steals twice… If you’re looking for spooky stories that are a little less creepy, these Disney Halloween movies might be more your speed. Vintage Photograph Of Grandfather And Baby Next To Candle With Text Someone ElseRD.COM, GETTY IMAGES (5) When the candle burns Three little girls were having a sleepover one night when they decided to try to host a seance. One of the girls, Clara, recently lost her grandpa and wanted to see if she could commune with his spirit. The three girls gathered some candles and a few items that belonged to the late grandfather: his watch, his cigar case, and a photograph of him. The girls held hands and started the seance. Suddenly, the candles began to flicker, and the hands on the watch began to spin. Clara was sure it was her grandpa! Elated, she began to talk to him and ask him questions, when all of a sudden one of the candles flew, as if by some invisible force, and almost hit her head. “Grandpa would never do that,” she said, shaking. She was right. It wasn’t her grandpa—and whoever it was clearly did not like being disturbed. Read up on these signs your house could be haunted.