Chilling horror stories that were written by women

Horror stories that were written by women: Ghost stories are notorious for their lasting, spine-tingling effect on us. These have, at times, been mixed with elements of crime and mystery to sensationalise the genre. The genre of horror has for long been controlled by men. But few know that there are many female authors who have successfully penned some good horror stories that are disturbing and haunting. It only proves that the craft of writing horror stories does not solely rest with men. Below is a list of eleven horror stories written by women that will scare you out of your wits!
(Photo: Pexels)

'The Haunting of Hill House' by Shirley Jackson: Shirley Jackson’s 'The Haunting of Hill House' is a classic bone-chiller. The story revolves around the lives of four people who undertake an expedition to explore the “hill house”, infamous for its haunted repute. The gang of four -- an occult scholar, his cheerful assistant, a female victim of poltergeist activities, and a future heir of the hill house, sets out to sense what is perceived otherwise as unreal. As they settle inside the house for their respective purposes, it gets powerful by each passing day and prepares to keep one of the housemates forever.
(Photo: Penguin Classics)

'Brother' by Ania Ahlborn: 'Brother' is a horror story about Michael, a boy who struggles to break free from his family for their profoundly disturbing practices. The story revolves around the Morrows, a family that leads an isolated existence in the suburbs of Appalachia. The Morrows, as suspected, are far from normal and therefore receive no guests ever. Even the police avoid knocking on their doors when girls go missing from the highway nearby. Nineteen-year-old Michael yearns for normalcy and dreams of breaking free from his family’s twisted traditions. He slowly begins to lead a normal life, falls in love with Alice from the nearby town. But, as his past refuses to leave him alone, his brother Rebel, takes upon himself to drag Michael back to where he belongs.
(Photo: Gallery Books)

'The Hunger' by Alma Katsu: The novel is a deeply disturbing journey of the passenger of a wagon train by the name “Donner Party”. A series of misfortunes in the form of depleting ration, ugly fights, and mysterious deaths compel the group members to seek an answer for the mishaps. Unable to make a conscious decision due to the panic outbreak, the passengers lose their sanity and blame it on the beautiful Tamsen Donner (believed to be a witch) for their troubles. In a bid to escape the tragedy, the members of the wagon make a hasty decision of heading westward where the worst awaits them.
(Photo: G.P. Putnam's Sons)

'The Woman in Black' by Susan Hill: 'The Woman In Black' describes the hero, Arthur Kipps’s encounters with the haunted Eel Marsh House. Kipps, a promising lawyer, has travelled all the way from London to the North for legal proceedings of Mrs Alice Drablow's properties on her funeral. While on his duty, Arthur discovers alarming secrets about the house and its previous occupants. What follows is a series of sinister events that leaves Arthur severely scarred.
(Photo: David R. Godine)

'The Witching Hour' by Anne Rice: Anne Rice’s 'Witching Hour' is a spellbinding and horrifying tale of witchcraft. The novel vividly captures the activities that take place during the witching hours according to Christianity. It is a family saga with elements of poetry, incest, philosophy, and murders on the same canvas, leaving the readers bewitched for long. 'Witching Hour' talks about a dynasty of witches across different generations, relaying their gift for black arts through the ages. The family is in danger by a looming seductive supernatural force that has haunted the family for several generations. The book spins a rich tapestry of sorcery and seduction.
(Photo: Arrow Books Ltd )

'The Children' by Carolina Sanín: 'The Children' begins with Laura Romero’s freak encounter with a beggar who offers Laura to take a child with her. Baffled, Laura leaves the scene only to discover a six-year-old boy at her doorsteps. The boy, with no background for reference, is found at midnight under her balcony. Laura initially finds it maddening to trace his guardians. Her quest to trace Fidel’s past lands her among bureaucratic whirlpool. With the passage of time, both develop a fond relation of a mother-son. But Laura doesn't really know who she is warming up to.
(Photo: MacLehose Press)

'My Soul to Keep' by Tananarive Due: Jessica finds a perfect husband in David. They lead a happily married life until Jessica’s close family and friends are found dead under mysterious circumstances. Amidst all this, David makes a shocking revelation: he, along with other members of an Ethiopian faction, had traded their humanity for an everlasting life about four centuries ago. Engaging, thrilling and terrifying, 'My Soul to Keep' traps Jessica between love for her husband and her bid to protect her life.
(Photo: Harper Voyager)

'The Yellow Wallpaper' by Charlotte Perkins Gilman: 'The Yellow Wallpaper' is a short story in form of diary entries in the first person by a woman who suffers from “temporary nervous depression”. She lives in a rented mansion having spooky shades with her physician husband. The man advises her plenty of rest and minimum exposure to any activity that might stimulate her brain to think. The understimulation in turn has an adverse effect on her mental health and she begins to hallucinate the yellow wallpaper that she sees all day in odd ways. It is a hair-raising horror story with strong feminist undertones that will surely creep one out.
(Photo: Wisehouse Classics)

'The Afterlife' by Jessica Faleiro: 'The Afterlife' begins on a light-hearted note of a family get-together in Carvalho mansion situated in Goa. The Fonsecas gather to celebrate Savio Fonseca’s 75th birthday. On one such night, the electricity fails and gives the Fonsecas a perfect chance to share the folklore around their family and its haunted past. The book gently reveals each character’s personality along the book as the stories unfold alongside. With a compilation of eight chilling horror stories and a secret guarded by Savio and his wife that is revealed towards the end, 'The Afterlife' is a book that offers variety and relatability in the same frame.
(Photo: Rupa & Co)

'The Doll' by Daphne Du Maurier: Before penning down 'Rebecca', the book that gave Daphne du Maurier a place among the literary bigshots, she wrote a number of short stories that were precursory to her later works. 'The Doll' is a captivating book with eerie whispers that give the readers a heart-in-mouth feeling every time one reads it.
(Photo: Harper)