Scary Words

A list of scary five and six word stories and a list of creepy words, nouns and adjectives that you can use if you are writing a horror story.

Scary Stories in 5 Words

You awake suddenly, buried alive.
Last person alive hears knocking.
Her heart stopped. She didn’t.
“What’s for dinner?” “You are.”
That door was just closed.
Awake , eyes open, can’t move.
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Monday.
Staircase, no shoes, broken glass.
Just saw my reflection blink.
Alone in bed. Blanket shifts.
Wife screams, at her funeral.
You didn’t kill that spider.
Dead man returned for revenge.
You swim. Shark swims faster.
Footprints stop outside your door.
Time machine damaged. Stranded forever.
It made his skin crawl. Away.
Hot. Wake up. On Fire.
Name on tombstone. It’s yours.
Hiking. Broken ankle. Hungry bear.
Plane takes off. Pilot dies.
Pick up hitchhiker. Hook hand.
The alien egg is hatching.
12 missed calls from mom.
Scratching sounds under your bed.
For sale, old clothes. Bloodstains.
Eyes sewn shut. Mouth too.
Fog turns you inside-out.
Dolls aren’ supposed to bleed.

Scary Stories in 6 Words

Human slaves. Robot slaves. Human slaves.
Child under the car. Speed bump?
Shotgun wedding. Bride and groom killed.
Alone. Empty highway. Out of gas.
Volcano erupts. Fleeing, they become ash.
The Homecoming Queen never came home.
You die. No Heaven. No Hell.
Zombie bite. Only cure: Shoot yourself.
Driving alone. Feel hand on shoulder.
Scratching heard from inside the coffin.
They awaited sunrise. It never came.
Astronaut on space walk. Lifeline snaps.
Railway tracks. Foot caught. Train coming.
“Help me!” you cried. No answer.
Flat tire. Missed flight. Plane crash.
Spider eggs hatch. Under your skin.
Dark night. Flat tire. Wolf howls.
Twenty-four hours to live. Yesterday.
Bomb. “Cut red wire”. Colorblind.
Floating above. Look down. Dead body.
Zombies attack. Have gun. Forgot bullets.
Buried on Monday. Died on Tuesday.
Bitten. Moan. Die. Rise. Moan. Brains.
Tombstone trembling. Cries coming from below.
Awake from dream. Living a nightmare.
The water rose above his mouth.
World ending. Rescue ship is late.
Last human kills all zombies. Dies.
Clothes left at edge of lake.
Surrounded by zombies. One bullet left.
Flash of lightning. Glimpse a figure.
Driving fast. Sign says: Bridge out.
Buried alive. Wake up. Not alone.
Drunk driver. Sickening thump. Mother screams.
What do you mean, “No parachutes.”?
Russian Roulette…five clicks… “Your turn.”
Door opens. Empty room. Hear footsteps.

Scary Words to use in a Story

abhorrent
abominable
alarming
appalling
atrocious
awful
beastly
bizarre
bloodcurdling
chilling
creepy
cruel
dark
deathly
decomposing
demonic
devilish
diabolical
dire
disgusting
disturbing
doom-laden
dreadful
eerie
evil
execrable
fearful
fearsome
fiendish
foul
frightening
frightful
ghastly
ghostly
ghoulish
gory
grim
grisly
grody
gross
gruesome
haggard
hair-raising
harrowing
haunting
hazardous
heinous
hellish
hideous
horrendous
horrible
horrid
horrific
horrifying
loathsome
macabre
menacing
monstrous
morbid
murky
mysterious
nasty
nightmarish
odious
ominous
otherworldly
perilous
petrifying
rank
repugnant
repulsive
revolting
rotten
rotting
scary
scream-inducing
shadowy
shocking
sickening
sinister
spectral
spine-chilling
spooky
startling
stomach-churning
strange
supernatural
terrible
terrifying
uncanny
unearthly
unnerving
unsightly
unspeakable
vile
weird
wicked

tomb, crypt, vault
dead body, corpse, cadaver

Scary Anagrams

In The Shining, a little boy writes the word “Redrum” which is backwards for “Murder”.

In an Anthony Horrowitz story, a character is named “Rellik” which is backwards for “Killer”.

In the British horror comedy series Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace, “Garth marenghi” is an anagram of “Argh! Nightmare”.

In The Watcher in the Woods, a girl names her puppy “Nerak”, which is backwards for Karen, a girl who mysteriously disappeared 30 years before.

In the werewolf movie The Howling III, the town is called “Flow” which is backwards for “Wolf”.

A number of books and movies have used the name “Robert Trebor” which is backwards for “Robert Trebor”.

A German novel had a character named Baron “Lefuet” which is backwards for “Teufel” which is German for “Devil”.

A number of books and movies use the name “Nilbog” which is backwards for “Goblin”.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone features The Mirror of Erised which is engraved with the phrase “Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi” which is backwards for “I show not your face but your heart’s desire”.

One book has a character called “Peter J Harpick” which is an anagram of Jack the Ripper.

Shy Cop = Psycho
Worn Grunt = Wrong Turn
Chart Object With Peril = The Blair Witch Project
Infant is Not Ideal = Final Destination
Choose Strife = Stir of Echoes