40 suggested titles for scary short stories

Writer's block?

Do you need some new ideas for short stories?

Whether a writer has writer's block or not, a writer should always carry a pen or pencil and notepad around. Jot down any ideas that pop into your head. Look for the ideas. Be open to seeing and hearing them.

Still stuck?

Make a list - a list of anything:

How many different sounds can you hear while travelling even a short distance in the car?

Are you waiting for your child to come out of school (and it's raining and nobody feels like getting out and chatting in the parking lot?) Make a list of the different ways the rain falls on various parts of your car.

Can you write a short story or article about anything that you saw or heard today? If you're not already carrying a notepad around with you, wherever you go, start doing it today.

While Tony and I were waiting for my sons to finish their weekly afternoon art lesson today, I made a list of possible titles for a scary short story.

I probably won't write any of these short stories, as I just used the mental exercise to stimulate my imagination, and to give me other writing ideas at the same time.

So, feel free to use them! Perhaps try change the titles a bit just in case more than two or three people use what I'm offering here, as is. Maybe the titles will help you think of other similar titles anyway, or even send you off in a different direction entirely. Have fun!

My Shadow has a Strange Look about it

The Tree without Roots

The Wrong Gravestone

The Sound on the Wind

I had a bit of an Episode with a Gravestone once

Behind the Old Bookstore

The Little One they Left Behind

Dust on the Steering Wheel

Fried Fingers

Blue Toes 

 Just a Child

Give me a Date

It Exists

One Man's Meat

A Day that wasn't so Fine

The Rope Swing

Why she Backed Off

They saw Different Things

It was Not the Same

Exhaustion Sets In

 The Satisfied Pig

Dished up Left-overs

The Fridge is not Telling

What we only Think

The Hidden Workshop

At the End

The Missing Pocket

Hidden in the Roots

Computer Repair Service

The Fly in the Glass

The Cutting Bathroom

Too Many Children

Skin and Not Bone

Furniture Polish

The Rustling Overhead

Inside the Water Tank

Was that a Pig Squealing?

Another Dead Man Found in a Hole

Just a Blade of Grass

The Freezing Fire 

 It can be quite fun involving everyone in your exercise.  Tony came up with quite a few of these titles for me. We were parked some distance from a truck that seemed to have farm animals on the back of it, and when Tony said "Was that a pig squealing?" I said "Where? On the back of that truck?"

"No, it's a title suggestion," he said.

We didn't quite finish the list before the boys finished their art lesson, and they provided the last three. They also enjoyed reading through the list of the previous 37, and I enjoyed listening to them reading it, and I helped them with the title when they struggled to read my handwriting.

I'm not sure I do either, but that's not the point.

Let's look at the title "My Shadow has a Strange Look about it."

This could be a funny story instead of a scary story, or even an article about anorexia.

The Wrong Gravestone? An article about choosing the most suitable one for a loved one.

The Little One they Left Behind? An article about stray dogs.

The Missing Pocket? A sewing lesson article.

Just think , and start writing!

Apologies to the authors if any of these suggested titles are already taken!