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Discover weekly, the best short stories

Looking for a steady supply of thriller short stories? Every week thousands of writers submit stories to our writing contest.

Thriller Short Stories to read

Submitted by writers on Reedsy Prompts to our weekly writing contest. Looking for a story that will keep you on the edge of your seat and holding your breath? Don’t skip our collection of thriller short stories.

Thriller Short Stories – Page 2

The Eye of the Storm

Weekly Contest #363

Chapter 1: Setting the Scene Before a single raindrop fell on Windridge, the storm announced itself in the suffocating stillness. The air pressed down like a living weight, squeezing every breath from the town. An undercurrent of tension twisted through empty streets, as if the wind carried secrets more dangerous than wind and rain. Leaves danced in agitated spirals across cracked pavement. Shutters rattled in their frames. Somewhere beyond the low, dark silhouette of the hills, a loose sign clanged wildly against a post, then all was still ...

2 likes 1 comment 1
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There's A Boy In The Lake

Shortlisted for Contest #362 ⭐️

There's a lake on the edge of town and there's a boy inside it. I want to tell the world about it, or at the very least just the neighbouring town. But I can't now. It's much too late. So I'll tell you, instead. Mosswood lake, they called it, though the kids call it booger water. Murky green and stinking of decomposition. We spent many summers there, you and I. When we were younger, of course. Before it was christened booger water, of course. Back when the banks were clean and gleaming and the water was so clear you could cach a fish just by...

27 likes 11 comments 11
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-Stains and Smudges-

Weekly Contest #362

Zane Stillman threw open the driver’s side door of his 2004 Acura MDX. Growling curses, he sat his 300-pound frame onto the worn-down leather of its driver’s seat.“MOTHER F-As soon as he slammed the door behind him, he had to stop a punch he threw at the steering wheel. Straining, he held back a scream that would’ve been an incoherent expletive filled roar.His sore body tensed, he rocked back and forth in the driver’s seat; his paint covered hands twisted into trembling, animalistic claws.Zane Stillman had always had an issue with his temper...

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The New Nightmare

Weekly Contest #362

John opened his eyes. Darkness. Not just the absence of light—but thick, suffocating darkness. And the smell… it hit him immediately. Rot. Wet decay. Like old clothes left to mildew, like something abandoned too long. It clung to his lungs. He sat up slowly. The room spun. A dull dizziness pressed against his skull, like his body didn’t fully belong to him yet. He swallowed hard and steadied himself, breathing through it. That’s when he saw it—a thin line of light bleeding through the bottom of a door across the room. He stood. Barefoot. The...

7 likes 2 comments 2
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Safe foods

Weekly Contest #362

Morris reached out only for his trembling hand to stop a few inches short and hover in mid air. The fruit had a purplish hue and was swollen and ripe."I'm sorry you were the one who drew the short straw, but it's for the greater good." William said.Morris's stomach let out a pained rumble seconds before he took a large bit of the mysterious fruit. He held his mouth open, black pulp stuck between his teeth but there was no doubt he had swallowed it."It doesn't have any taste, I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not." Morris smiled, looking...

4 likes 2 comments 2
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607

Weekly Contest #362

Florescent lights hummed and crackled as they spit harsh light off the walls of the concrete room. David stood at attention along with the rest of the runners. There was a jarring rattle as the technicians made their way through the room. They struggled as they pushed a large metal cart filled with complicated looking metal boxes. Each one modified with shoulder straps. As they approached each man they placed one on them, adjusted the straps and began fussing with the mechanical parts of the box. The cart made its way behind him and the tec...

4 likes 1 comment 1
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Money

Weekly Contest #362

The money was laying on the table and no one was there to see him thought Detective Carl Mitchell.It looked like it was too be two million dollars in that breifcase and no good drug dealer didn't deserve.Time for Detective Carl Mitchell to make a decision was coming to a end because John Shea was regaining consciousness.Without further delay Detective Carl Mitchell kicks the briefcase 💼 under the couch before turning his attention back to John Shea.Turning John Shea over onto his back Detective Carl Mitchell handcuffs him and lift him up off...

3 likes 3 comments 3
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Love, Murder, and Brain Matter

Weekly Contest #362

The smell of meatloaf and sauce filled the air of the small apartment. From the outside looking in, it was a normal Tuesday evening. Music playing in the background, the cat playing with her catnip filled mouse, and the timer of the oven going off letting me know dinner was done. What you would probably don’t know is I murdered someone just 2 hours ago, and now I am making dinner like everything is fine. The things I get myself into can be downright comical. Standing on my tip toes I grab a can of green beans out of the cupboard. I re...

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And I Whispered 'Bon appetit'

Weekly Contest #362

I didn’t return to the apartment complex out of nostalgia. I returned because the truth has a way of clinging to a place long after you’ve left it, like humidity trapped in the walls. I told myself I was only driving by, only passing through, only proving to myself that I was done with it. But when I pulled into the parking lot and saw the balcony that used to be mine, the faint glow behind the curtains, the quiet silhouette of a new life unfolding where mine once did, I knew exactly why I was there.Some warnings arrive late. Some arrive exa...

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Prize-Winning Chili

Weekly Contest #362

Valentine’s Day had come on a Sunday; Jenna heard sleet spitting at her kitchen window as she coarsely chopped onions and green peppers, adding them to the cubed chuck roast browning in her big sauce pot. She gave everything a stir after adding a big spoonful of minced garlic from the jar from the fridge; the aroma drew her husband to the kitchen.“Whatcha cookin’ Babe?” Frank drew up behind her to give Jenna a hug; she pulled away to put the minced garlic back in the fridge.“Thought I’d get a chili started for the race.” The Daytona 500 woul...

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The Taste of Empty

Weekly Contest #362

I reckon folks with full bellies think food is about flavor. Fancy words like "notes" and "mouthfeel" and "presentation." They swirl wine around in a glass, close their eyes, nod real slow like they're decipherin’ the meaning of life from fermented grapes. They spend forty bucks on a steak no bigger than the palm of my hand, then tell each other how the chef "elevated" the experience. Hell, where I come from, if somebody elevates your supper, it's because they dropped it on the floor and had to pick it back up. I ain't never understood peopl...

4 likes 2 comments 2
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The Vineyard

Weekly Contest #362

THE VINEYARDBy S.L. McDaid Everyone wondered how I made my wines so rich in color and taste. Was it the way the grapes were lined perfectly on the rolling hills here in my California vineyard, or perhaps the soil and how it was fertilized with only the purest of ingredients, organic and clean? But what really made it taste and gave it its signature flavor was the way I aged it in the oak barrels.People came from all over to take tours of my vineyard and its green, luscious views. They came from around the world to walk the land while sipping...

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Essence

Weekly Contest #362

Beneath the willow tree, she crouched, disguised in the shadows. Using her hand to part the branches, she peered between the leaves, her green, cat-like eyes dancing menacingly. She watched as the Bailiff and several men meandered onto the road. They were all brutes of men, but it was only one she had interest in. Her rosebud lips blossomed into a smile once she identified him. It was the summer of 1670 in Mora, Dalarna, a rural parish in the Midwest of Sweden. A mass hysteria surrounding witchcraft had erupted in 1668, and both men and wome...

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The Orchard

Weekly Contest #362

The candles threw warm light across twenty faces. Nina knew them all. She sat beside Dean, and his hand found her knee under the table. She covered it with her own. His skin smelled of cedar soap, the kind he'd been making since before she knew him, bars of it curing on shelves in their room.The table was heavy. Roasted squash split open like offerings, seeds shimmering in the candlelight. Bowls of dark grapes, platters of braided bread. A lamb's leg glazed to amber. Clay jugs of wine passed hand to hand along the wood, and the low hum of co...

18 likes 12 comments 12
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Nothing But Perfect pancakes

Weekly Contest #362

Kayla stood at the kitchen counter, finishing the last preparations for breakfast, swaying her hips to the rhythm of her soulful humming, wearing a borrowed red silk robe. Despite the enthusiasm and glee, it was also a hard day for her. After breakfast with her lover, they would be going back to their homes after a lovely vacation. She poured the perfect amount of pancake mixture into the pan. She paused for a moment, hearing his footsteps as he made his way toward the kitchen. The room was filled with the smell of bacon, caffeine, and her s...

13 likes 9 comments 9
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RBE | Illustrated Short Stories | 2024-06

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