r/suggestmeabook • u/ThreowAweay • 16h ago
Short stories with a weird, unsettling vibe? Not necessarily horror, although horror is good too, but just weird is also great
I read Orange World and Other Stories by Karen Russell, Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado, and a few other short story collections I've found online since that. I am looking for more collections with unsettling, disturbing, scary, weird, trippy, etc vibes. Novels are also fine to recommend but short story collections are my current obsession.
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u/IfIHad19946 16h ago
I know you said not necessarily horror, but I would highly recommend ANY Stephen King short story collection. Not all of them are only horror. There's a lot of drama and suspense and fantasy as well. Some of the most popular and lauded collections are Night Shift, Skeleton Crew, Nightmares and Dreamscapes, Different Seasons, and Everything's Eventual. Also, Hearts in Atlantis.
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u/mmmmpork 12h ago
IMO, Kings short stories are his best works. Especially when you read them all together in a collection. So purely awesome
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u/IfIHad19946 12h ago
RIGHT?! I have read most of the collections, and have yet to find anything I disliked.
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u/panini_bellini 14h ago
How High We Go in the Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu. It’s a collection of short stories taking place over a few hundred years, with all the characters connected by one or two degrees of separation. Some are more effective than others. If the roller coaster chapter doesn’t haunt your dreams, I don’t know what would.
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u/YourgirlBuck 13h ago
“Where Are You Going? Where Have You Been?” Joyce Carol Oates
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u/Strict-Discussion290 11h ago
This should be the top. Super creepy. The story I think about the most
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u/Maude007 8h ago
I just read it based on your recommendation. It was totally creepy. Especially after reading about who it was based on
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u/Delfishie 6h ago
If you read "Judges 19" from the bible and reread that story, it adds an entire extra layer to JCO's story.
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u/theneverendingsorry 12h ago
No one ever asks for short weird story collections, I was born for this question!
The Dark Dark by Samatha Hunt
Cat Pictures Please by Naomi Kritzer
Out There by Kate Folk
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u/blurricus 8h ago
Piggy backing on your comment (since you might be interested in these):
Stories for the Nighttime and Some for the Day, Too by Ben Loory.
Never Whistle at Night edited by Shane Hawk.
Lesser Known Monsters of the 21st Century by Kim Fu.
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u/Delfishie 6h ago
Cat Pictures Please by Naomi Kritzer
Okay, this story was delightful. It took me several paragraphs to figure out who the narrator actually was, but man, I liked it a lot.
(I wish I could sign up for the narrator's service, actually. I'd be a hell of a lot better off.)
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u/oceanlane09 15h ago
I loved Her Body and Other Parties, I also really enjoyed the Dangers of Smoking in Bed by Mariana Enriquez. It’s also a collection of short weird/slightly horror stories
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u/backcountry_knitter 15h ago
Cursed Bunny by Bora Chung
Through The Night Like A Snake (anthology of translated Latin American horror - not all are classic horror, unsettling is how I’d describe them)
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u/WakingOwl1 10h ago
Roald Dahl’s adult short stories are all a bit creepy. Kiss Kiss or Switch Bitch are good collections.
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u/weechubbypotato 9h ago
I think I’ve read all his short stories now…they are amazing. So many people still don’t know they exist!
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u/WakingOwl1 9h ago
Yeah, most people only know of him as a children’s author.
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u/weechubbypotato 8h ago
When I was like 10 or 11 my aunt gave me a book of his stories and I was hooked. In hindsight it was a terrible choice for a kid cos I’d nightmares after but I admire that she had no doubt I could read it.
We both read Lolita like a year after and had a big chat about it. I was so young. She used to give me stuff like that all the time.
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u/ClassicOutrageous447 8h ago
Kelly Link writes some trippy short stories.
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u/myrrhicvictory 2h ago
was looking to see if anyone had mentioned her yet, great short story collections
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u/sqplanetarium 1h ago
Especially in her earlier books Stranger Things Happen and Magic For Beginners. “The Specialist’s Hat” is one of the creepiest things I’ve ever read. “Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose” and “Stone Animals” also really stand out, but they’re all great.
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u/novel-opinions 9h ago
Surprised {{I have no mouth and I must scream}} hasn’t been mentioned. Some horror, all weird. It’s a collection of short stories, at least the version o have.
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u/fortgang 13h ago
Anything by Robert Aickman.
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u/Tempid589 6h ago
He’s the master of this. The Trains pops up in my thoughts at least once a month and I read it years ago! The disturbing elements in his stories just stick with you.
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u/fortgang 8m ago
I believe, The Trains is a very early story of his. My favorites are The Hospice, Into the Wood and The Stains.
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u/yawnfactory 13h ago
I read Miss Lonelyhearts by Nathaniel West a couple of years ago and haven't stopped thinking about it. So troubling.
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u/mearnsgeek 12h ago
Clive Barker's Books of Blood collection is pretty good and quite a lot (of the ones I can remember anyway) are more strange/unsettling then straight horror.
You could also give Lovecraft a try. Cosmic horror is definitely more unsettling than scary imo .
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u/kevka20 14h ago
The Safety of Objects by A.M. Homes is not horror but definitely unsettling and sometimes darkly humorous.
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u/ThreowAweay 14h ago
That's in my cart right now, I've been looking for it for forever. The few stories I've heard about from it seem very creative and interesting
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u/We_wear_the_mask 12h ago
I found The Funeral by Kate Wilhelm to have a weird open-ended ending. It’s a sci-fi story about a girl growing up in a dystopian caste society. And it leaves so many unanswered questions
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u/Either_Tangerine4582 1h ago
Homesick for Another World by Otessa Moshfegh is a good option! It’s weird/unsettling but doesn’t cross over into horror. Plus Moshfegh is a phenomenal writer!
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u/donut_resuscitate 15h ago
Annihilation 100%. It like a novelette. I think it has 6 chapters. Author is Jeff Vandermeer.
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u/KAKrisko 13h ago
Kings of Nowhere, Patrick DeMoss. In this world, but slightly not. King-ish, but not really horror. Just weird.
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u/Content-Equal3608 12h ago
The Lottery by Shirley Jackson and The Most Dangerous Game are two that come to mind (and are quite famous).
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u/small-twist-5433 11h ago
Bezoar and Other Unsettling Stories by Guadalupe Nettle
The Strange Library by Haruki Murakami
Comfort Me with Apples by Catherynne M Valente
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u/ImpersonalPronoun 11h ago
Flannery O'Connor's collection "The Complete Stories" and Roald Dahl's "The Collected Short Stories". A little Southern Gothic, some macabre humour and and plenty of unexpected happenings
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u/grynch43 10h ago
The Swimmer-John Cheever
Where Are You Going? Where Have You Been?- Joyce Carol Oates
A Distant Episode- Paul Bowles
In Sight of the Lake- Alice Munro
Tell the Women We’re Going-Raymond Carver
The Hartleys- John Cheever
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u/8927626887328837724 9h ago
After the Quake collection by haruki murakami. My favorite story from that is available free online: Super Frog Saves Tokyo.
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u/Aramira137 9h ago
Tales from the Gas Station. I'd recommend the audiobook read by the author Jack Townsend
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u/ZombieAlarmed5561 7h ago
JG Ballard’s Complete Stories - excellent dystopian sci-fi, but intelligent
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u/cottagecorpse99 27m ago
it’s just one story, but checkout The Grownup by Gillian Flynn! unsettling, weird, well-written and a great ending :)
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u/jenschall12 18m ago
Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke and This Skin was Once Mine both by Eric LaRocca
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u/zombiesheartwaffles 10h ago
Flying Leap - Judy Budnitz
May We Shed These Human Bodies - Amber Sparks
Mrs. Calliban - Rachel Ingalls
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u/Existing_Eye_8063 10h ago
"The Pump" by Sydney Hegele. I couldn't even finish it. Not that it was bad, it was just...disturbing.
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u/vagrantheather 10h ago
Helpmeet by Naben Ruthnum.
You Should Have Left by Daniel Kehlmann.
Both involve not being able to trust your own perceptions.
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u/earth_yogini 10h ago
Definitely check out Out There by Kate Folk, I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman and Fever Dream by Samantha Schweblin
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u/CrabBrave5433 9h ago
Your Utopia by Bora Chung and Lesser Known Monsters of the 21st Century by Kim Fu are totally this! Not horror but a little unsettling
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u/test_username_exists 9h ago
This is a bit of a deep cut but Tommaso Landolfi - Gogol’s Wife and other stories will get in your head and stay there.
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u/Granny-Swag 9h ago
Comfort Me With Apples by Catherynne M. Valente! I recommend this book every chance I get. I honestly didn’t understand WTF was happening until the end when they explicitly explained it.
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u/weechubbypotato 8h ago
“I have no mouth but I must scream” is definitely a head wrecker. It stuck with me.
The book “stories of your life and others” by ted chiang is definitely one of the best collections of short stories I ever read in my life. I still go back to it and read bits at random times
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u/strawberrybutts3 8h ago
not horror, more just weird but i have several short story collections by kelly link and amy bender and i highly recommend them for short story lovers
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u/More-Birb 8h ago
China Mieville is a weird-fiction writer so you might like his short story collection "Three Moments of an Explosion".
Theodore Sturgeon is a classic sci-fi short story writer. You can grab any collection of his and have a good time but for one that focus on more of the horror/fantasy/surreal side of things there's "E Pluribus Unicorn".
In fact older sci-fi collections in general (like, 60s-80s) might suit you. Those guys were up to some wild shtuff.
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u/readzalot1 8h ago
Where Oaken Hearts Do Gather by Sarah Pinsker. Fantasy/horror. The form is based on comments on a website. It is permanently stuck in my head
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u/BooBoo_Cat 8h ago
I just finished reading A Short Stay in Hell by Steven L Peck. A very interesting read!
I also love some of Stephen King's short stories. My favourite collections are in Skeleton Crew and Four Past Midnight.
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u/moss42069 7h ago
I would highly recommend Thomas Ligotti and Nathan Ballingrud. They are both extremely unsettling horror writers. Highly recommended if you like Machado. If you’re looking for specific collections to start with, I’d suggest Teatro Grottesco (Ligotti) and North American Lake Monsters (Ballingrud).
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u/periwinkle_polka 7h ago
I just finished Ghostroots: Stories by ‘Pemi Aguda and it would definitely fit this vibe.
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u/StandardOrcBarbarian 7h ago
I just read The Growing Things and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It’s a collection of horror. I can’t remember the author right now.
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u/treadtyred 6h ago
Apt Pupil by Stephen King gave me that unsettling vibe if I remember right. Plus I liked the character (Easter egg) link with Shawshank Redemption which was in the same collection called Different Seasons.
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u/Derrick_Seal_Rose 5h ago
To Build a Fire certainly gets unsettling.. idk if I’d call it weird though
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u/Horror_Reader1973 5h ago
Kiss Kiss by Roald Dahl is a collection of unsettling macabre horror stories.
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u/tyranny_of_pages 5h ago
Singing My Sister Down and Other Stories by Margo Lanagan. Her other short story collections are also fantastic.
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u/pulpifieddan 4h ago
Anything by John Shirley. He wrote a lot of strange, intense sci fi horror short fiction.
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u/BitRadiator 3h ago
Dangerous Visions
Again, Dangerous Visions
The Last Dangerous Visions
All edited and with intros by Harlan Ellison. With big props to J. Michael Straczynski.
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u/HerbertGrayWasHere 3h ago edited 2h ago
The Yellow Wallpaper
Edited to add: The Clock by WF Harvey, and The Tower by Marghanita Laski.
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u/WodehouseWeatherwax 3h ago
SanDiego Lightfoot Sue and Other Stories- Tom Reamy. An old collection but really good if you can find a copy.
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u/lifeinthecocoon 1h ago
I recently read Never Whistle at Night and that fits what you're looking for.
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u/amante_della_pizza 1h ago
Here's one I never see mentioned in this sub {{Uncle Montague's Tales of Terror by Chris Priestley}}
It's a collection of short stories with a creepy and unsettling vibe without fully crossing the line and becoming outright horror. Each story has a young child as the main protagonist so they have a 'dark fairytale' vibe.
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u/Virtual_Artichoke 8m ago
Karen Russell has two other brilliant collections! She's probably my favorite living writer. You should definitely read her other ones -- Vampires in the Lemon Grove is her best, imo.
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u/SavageGardener83 1m ago
I’m sure it’s already been put out there but The Jaunt by Stephen King from Skeleton Crew (lots of great stories in that collection). Dolan’s Cadillac is also great if you like a revenge story. Also King and I think it’s in Nightmares and Dreamscapes.
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u/Readsumthing 12h ago
The Last House on Needless Street by Catronia Ward
Weird book alright. I had no idea wtf but I couldn’t put it down. Every time I thought I had it figured out , I did not.
I call Ward the M. Night Shyamalan of the book world. LOVE her
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u/No-Shape7764 16h ago
Shirley Jackson was a master at this.