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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.

150+ 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 6 of 10

Blood That Wasn’t Mine

Weekly Contest #338

The crimson color dripped from her hands as she stared at her reflection rippling across the pool’s surface. The blood wasn’t hers. She knew that much with a certainty that made her stomach twist. Still, it clung to her fingers as if it belonged there, dark and sticky, gathering beneath her nails. Lucy dipped her hands into the pool. The water was shockingly cold, biting against her skin, and she sucked in a breath as she scrubbed her palms together. Red streamed away in thin ribbons, dissolving into pale pink clouds that vanished almost as ...

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Two of a Kind

Grace Yoder

Weekly Contest #338

The sharp buzz of my alarm pierced through my skull like a drill bit finding bone.7:25 AM.My blood crystallized.The FBI meeting. The one thing I’d been obsessing over, the appointment that would determine whether I became something more than a paper-pusher in a beige cubicle—it started in exactly thirty-five minutes.And I was still in bed. Forty minutes away. In sweatpants and a faded Metallica shirt I’d owned since college.My stomach dropped like an elevator with cut cables. This wasn’t just sleeping through an alarm—this was a career-implo...

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Pages of Fate.

Rylie Miller

Weekly Contest #338

CW: Physical violence, gore or abuse, Mental health Wednesday, 3/6/96 I didn’t mean to open the book. I only wanted to see if it was real.It waited on the desk as though it had always been there spine cracked, pages breathing out dust and something far older. The air around it felt heavy, expectant.Inside the cover was a yellowed slip, stamped in red ink: THIS SECTION IS OFF LIMITS. I laughed under my breath the kind of laugh you make when your instincts are screaming and turned the page anyway.That was the moment everything broke.The rest o...

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The Glass Invitation

Ann Hartwell

Weekly Contest #338

Arthur Pendergast was a man of precise habits. He liked his tea at 178°F, his books alphabetized by the author’s last name, and his life entirely devoid of surprises. As a professional archivist for the city’s historical society, Arthur spent his days in the basement, cataloging the leftovers of dead people. He found comfort in the predictable decay of paper and the silence of the vaults.The invitation did not fit his schedule.It appeared on his desk on a rainy Tuesday—a heavy, cream-colored envelope with no stamp and no return address. Insi...

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Uncorked

Max R

Weekly Contest #337

I don't expect that you've found this on purpose. Because I sure as shit never intended to pull anyone within the orbit of my frayed mind. This is my attempt at a warning that my thoughts aren't well-suited for intellectual consumption by any means. People underestimate the amount of work it takes to sit down and do fucking nothing. It's unfathomable to those who have it all. The try-hards who work out their traumas and are “better people” because they can create habit-forming normalcy in their lives. Well fuck me forever thinking I could fi...

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Time Wizard of Farland

Matthew Deng

Weekly Contest #337

There once lived a wizard named Alan Rame in a kingdom named Farland. He wasn’t a wealthy wizard and lived in a modest home which consisted of a small garden for herbs and spices, and a hut that only had two rooms. Alan wasn’t discouraged by his living conditions as he was happy with his daily routine where he regularly tended his garden and picked herbs when they were ready. Even during bad harvests, he was able to survive by asking the animals of the forest to provide for him in times of need. Farland was a distant kingdom f...

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An Unfortunate End

Alaa Belle

Weekly Contest #337

CW: Graphic violence May 20If only it were just a nightmare. If only she could wake up, with Thomas by her side, caressing her face, whispering in her ear, "Don't worry, my love. I'm right here with you".Eloise let out a shaky breath and shifted slightly in her place, trying not to tip over the inflatable tanning bed she lay on. The plastic surface was growing increasingly uncomfortable by the day. The constant sun exposure had begun to soften the material. Eloise was simply waiting for it to break beneath her.She had grabbed onto it as she ...

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The Project

Ariana Smith

Weekly Contest #337

The lights blinded Henry as they flashed on, illuminating the space around him. As his eyes adjusted to the visual assault, he took in his surroundings. He was in an empty room, except for the chair and table where he sat. There was a chair facing him on the other side of the table in case someone else were to join him. A door suddenly appeared in the wall, and a small woman entered the room. Click, clack. Her heels were the only sound as she strode to the table. Henry looked at the woman expectantly, but she placed her binder on the desk an...

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A Long-Distant Relationship With Reality (Sorry Zucchini)

Silas Moth

Weekly Contest #337

[TW: MENTAL HEALTH, BLOOD]Rory's hands shook as he worked to open the unfamiliar locks of the front door. He knew he should have grabbed gloves before leaving that morning but decided otherwise in order to cut down on time. Zucchini was there to greet him, purring at his arrival, leaving a trail of white fur at the base of his pant leg. Gross. Making his way to the kitchen proved to be his greatest challenge of the morning as he was accosted by affection along the way from the small feline. The note that he was searching for, which was sure ...

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The Impenetrable House

Alyssa Belfiglio

Weekly Contest #337

The house was large, made of stone, and impenetrable. Cameras were installed along the perimeter. No one could come, and no one could leave, without getting their image trapped in a recording.Unless, of course, someone came prepared.I checked my watch. My rental car had been parked for a full minute. I didn’t want to linger here too long and raise any suspicions. The housekeeper worked every day, but the landscaper came and went based on a schedule outside of manmade time.I took my hands off the steering wheel and itched the edge of my plati...

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My Last Dive With Cheryl

Ken Spragg

Weekly Contest #337

Every Wednesday, during the summer and fall months, brought with it a new mystery dive in Lake Erie. It's now mid July and this is my sixth such dive this year, with the same group. My best friend and favorite dive buddy Cheryl was once again accompanying me with the same group of fourteen regular charter attendees. But I felt uneasy about something. Something seemed different. Perhaps it was the elder gentleman who was new to us as boat captain? Perhaps his new boat and the surroundings seemed strange. Something just didn’t sit right, a...

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The Wife Who Saved Greenland

Erik Green

Weekly Contest #337

Nuuk, Greenland. Maren punctuated the end of the argument by slamming a cast-iron skillet onto the stove. "Lars, you’re an old fool! The fog is so thick out there, even the seagulls are walking! What do you expect to catch? Pneumonia?" Lars only sighed, pulling on his salt-crusted parka. "I have to go, Maren. Olaf is already waiting." "Of course he is! You’re only going out so you don't have to fix that fence!"Maren tossed a plastic bag at her husband’s head. "Take that Temu junk of yours too! At least your hand won't freeze to your beer can...

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The Voice of the Heart

William Tang

Weekly Contest #337

The Voice of the HeartBy: deduOliver first sensed that something was wrong one morning.He awoke from the nightmare with his heart beating too fast, like a child straining to escape confinement.Though already seventy-three, he stood before the mirror and saw a face that had been rewritten,as if time had retreated by twenty years.The doctors said the procedure had been a success.A complete blood replacement, a heart transplant, followed by immunosuppressive treatment and neural adaptation therapy,this was, they claimed, a triumph of reverse ti...

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No Filter. No Hype.

Tristan Messpeh

Weekly Contest #337

I sit back down at my computer with a cup of coffee. One more hour until the end of my shift. Just enough time to do absolutely nothing. But my brain needs input, or I’ll fall asleep. Coffee won’t cut it – I only drink it for the taste.I’ve already closed today’s batch of tickets. The rest can wait until tomorrow. I tuck my legs up on the chair. Let’s see what’s happening out there – not on social media, but in real life.I open the logs with a smile. Other people read the news – I read reality. No filter. No hype. Just facts. No likes. No co...

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Secrets Found

Matthew Deng

Weekly Contest #336

A businessman named Albert Hert invited his son, James, to a meeting at his office as he needed to speak to him about something urgent. His son was very surprised to be called to the meeting as this almost never happened. “What is the matter dad,” said James, “you are scaring me with all of the secrecy lately.” “Is there anything I can do to help you? I have been working here for about ten years, and I have never seen you like this.” His father finally gave an answer though he remained in a panicked state. “My son,” he said, “...

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