2 New Short Scary Stories

The Silver Ring

Gary Donovan’s shovel slid easily into the dark earth in his backyard. He glanced over at the pile of dirt he’d created and saw something glittering. It was a woman’s silver ring with a large single diamond. Inside, he washed off the old yet elegant piece of jewelry. Kim came into the kitchen and he hid it behind his back.

“What have you got?” she asked suspiciously.

He held out the ring. “Marry me? Again?”

Taken by surprise, she plucked the ring from his fingers.. “Where did you get this?”

“Say ‘yes’ and I’ll tell you.”

She hesitated. “Come on, Gary.”

“The hole in the backyard for the koi pond.”

“Wow. Buried treasure.” Surprisingly, the ring fit. Then her face darkened. “Don’t think this makes up for everything.”

No, he knew, nothing would ever make up for the lying and cheating. A few days later, a sweaty Gary stood back, admiring his work. He called for Kim. Arms crossed, looking annoyed, she stood at the edge of the cavity.

“Nice hole,” she said.

The shovel cracked against the back of her head like the sound of a solid double. Kim fell face first into the black earth at the bottom of the hole.

Two months passed and Gary sat on his deck enjoying the silvery orange koi in his new pond.

“Gary,” a woman cried from inside the house. Dawn came bouncing out onto the deck holding out her left hand. “How did you get that on my finger without waking me up?” She proudly displayed an antique silver ring with a large single diamond. “Yes, I will.”

Apartment 118

After having lived in his apartment for what seemed like an eternity, Cliff had still not met or even seen his next-door neighbor. He knew someone lived there because he heard the occasional thump, water running and muffled snippets of voices through the shared wall. Being a private person himself, it didn’t really bother Cliff that he’d never met the people next door, but it did seem strange that he didn’t even know what they looked like.

The situation abruptly changed one night when he was awakened by a woman screaming. After several heart-stopping shrieks followed by sobbing, Cliff got out of bed and went to the neighbor’s door. No one answered after several loud knocks, and the screaming stopped. Cliff was reluctant to meddle, but the woman sounded like she was in trouble, so he dialed 911.

The police arrived shortly and knocked a number of times on the door, but there was no answer. Several minutes later the building manager, looking dazed and concerned in her bathrobe, joined the officers in front of the apartment door.

“What’s gong on?” she asked.

“Gentleman who lives in that apartment, 118, called and claimed he heard a woman screaming in the apartment next door. No one’s answering their door.”

“That’s because both apartments are empty.”