On the Fringes of Reality

Where the ordinary world reveals its true nature

Category: contemporary horror

  • Micro Monday: A Triptych

    Today, a micro-fiction triptych – three stories that circle the same golden moment, each revealing different truths about longing and the human heart. The Wedding Ring: Three Longings The Angel’s…

  • Sunday Short: Craze!

    Monday Morning Jason Shields blew his whistle and watched Year 10 charge across the pitch like they meant business. Finally. After fifteen years teaching PE, he’d grown tired of coaxing…

  • 7 Contemporary Horror Shorts That Weaponise Everyday Anxiety

    The most effective horror takes the ordinary fears we live with every day and pushes them just far enough to become unbearable. These seven stories prove that the scariest demons…

  • Flash Friday: Rose-coloured Spectacles

    Jude stretched in his king-size bed, Egyptian cotton sheets sliding against his skin as morning light streamed through floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the Thames. His penthouse apartment gleamed with marble surfaces…

  • Routine Maintenance

    “Just a routine cleaning today,” the hygienist said, adjusting the overhead light. “Open wide for me.” Diane settled back in the chair as the familiar scraping began. The hygienist hummed…

  • Classic Shorts: Marionettes, Inc. by Ray Bradbury

    When Ray Bradbury published Marionettes, Inc. in 1949, he crafted what might be the perfect science fiction horror story: a tale that uses futuristic technology to examine the timeless human…

  • The Loyalty Card

    Owen slid his card across the counter, grinning at the brunette in the corner booth. She smiled back. The barista—pale, thin, forgettable—raised his stamp and brought it down with a…

  • Sunday Short: Lucid Witness

    Jo discovered her ability on a Tuesday night in March, dreaming of the Morton Park murder. She’d been reading about cold cases before bed, drawn to the twenty-three-year-old case of…

  • Flash Friday: Circuit

    Circuit marks a departure from the usual fare but I’d argue it’s contemporary horror at its most unsettling. No ghosts or monsters here, but the protagonist’s epiphany does reveals something…

  • Visiting Hours

    “Mr Ashworth is in the recreation room again,” Julie whispered to the night supervisor. Patricia frowned. “That’s impossible. He’s supposed to be bed-bound in Ward C.” “I know, but he’s…

  • Micro Monday: The Caretaker

    Edwin hummed softly as he prepared their breakfast. Porridge with honey, just how little Anna liked it. He stirred the bowl carefully, making sure it was the perfect temperature.

  • Sunday Short: The Dinner Party

    “Electrical fault,” Simon was explaining. “The investigation concluded it started in the kitchen. Very sad.” “When did you say this happened?” Catherine asked, trying to keep her voice steady. “Next…

  • Flash Friday: The Grief Counsellor

    She began waking with tears on her cheeks, mourning losses that belonged to other people…. The collected sorrow was changing, growing heavier than the sum of its parts.

  • No Substitute

    For Lorna Mrs Campbell surveyed Year 3 with growing unease. Twenty-eight children sat in perfect rows, hands folded, identical smiles stretched across identical faces. The same grey eyes, the same…

  • Micro Monday: Library Fines

    The third overdue notice arrives on a Tuesday. Rebecca stuffs it into her handbag alongside the others, promising herself she’ll return the books tomorrow. She always promises tomorrow.

  • Subscription-Based Reality

    I understand your concern! Unfortunately, subscription services cannot be extended beyond the renewal date. Might I suggest our Basic Social Package at £47.99 monthly?” Marcus felt a chill. He’d seen…

  • Classic Shorts: The Lottery by Shirley Jackson

    As well as entertaining us, great short stories actually teach us how fiction really works. In Classic Shorts we take a closer look at the stories that have stuck around,…

  • Last Message

    Death used to mean silence. Now our phones outlive us, charging beside empty beds like digital ghosts waiting for one final conversation. Last Message asks what happens when grief makes…

  • Pharmaceutical Personality Sculpting

    Pharmaceutical Personality Sculpting explores our modern obsession with self-optimisation and the seductive promise that we can simply medicate away the parts of ourselves we don’t like. We’re constantly bombarded with…

  • The Procedure

    The Procedure explores one of our most fundamental fears: losing control of our own bodies and voices when we need them most. Many of us will have experienced that vulnerability…

  • The Reflection

    I notice it while applying mascara—my reflection hesitates a fraction too long before mirroring my movements. The next morning, brushing my teeth, she’s definitely lagging. When I stop, she continues…

  • Algorithmic Relationships

    Just a quick plug before we dive in… keep an eye on freeflashfiction.com, who will be publishing my story “Echo Room” in September 2025 (or possibly before). You can read…

  • Still Active

    A contemporary horror story that explores our increasingly digital afterlives and what might happen when the boundary between online and offline begins to blur. Still Active examines a fear that’s…

  • The Echo Room – Coming Soon

    I’m excited to share some fantastic news: my story “The Echo Room” will be published on freeflashfiction.com shortly! This story emerged from a simple but unsettling question: what if the…

Navigation

About

On the Fringes of Reality is a collection of contemporary horror stories that explore the unsettling spaces where our ordinary world reveals its true nature. Each tale examines the familiar through a darker lens, finding terror in technology, relationships, and the everyday moments that suddenly turn strange.