Ten 'Small Town from Hell' Short Stories

Ten 'Small Town from Hell' Short Stories

 

I have a fondness for crime, suspense, and horror stories that take place in small towns. Stories about travelers whose journeys leave them stranded - usually overnight, but sometimes for longer - in a sad little town in the middle of nowhere. And there's always something a little.....off........about the town. Something that isn't immediately apparent, but comes into play before very long. Before you can escape..........

 

So here are ten stories, most of them published before 1990, that involve small towns that have something unsettling about them. I've tried to stay away from more well-known stories (e.g., 'The Shadow over Innsmouth') in favor of those that are a little more obscure.

 

Here we go...........watch that speed limit, and be sure to lock the door of your hotel room. Better yet, wedge a chair under the door handle ! 

 

 

The Full Treatment, by Rog Phillips: never go over the speed limit near the sleepy, inbred hamlet of Bethel. A great treatment of the 'Small Town from Hell' theme, and one of the best stories in the anthology 'Alfred Hitchcock’s A Hearse of a Different Color,' 1972

 

 

Where Yidhra Walks by Walter C. DeBill, Jr. : in the wilds of West Texas, a traveler finds himself stranded in a small town named Milando. The townspeople don’t take kindly to strangers, particularly strangers who start to ask too many questions about the practices of a cult that worships an ancient entity….. 'The Disciples of Cthulhu,' 1976

 

 

On the Road to Honeyville, by Kate Wilhelm: Elizabeth and her mom are making the long drive on the two-lane blacktop road to the town of Salyersville, by way of the town of Honeyville. En route, they enter the Twilight Zone. 'Orbit 11,' 1973.

 

 

 

Ceremony, William F. Nolen: the nameless protagonist of this story is obliged to spend the night in the crumbling town of Doour’s Mill, Rhode Island. It’s cold and rainy, and it’s Halloween. And the few residents of the town who are out and about, are unusually thin…… 'The Year's Best Horror Stories: Series XIV,' 1986

 

After Nightfall, by David A. Riley: Eliot Wilderman is doing sociological research in the UK, in the sad little village of Heron. He notices that everyone in the village takes great care to lock and bar their doors at night. 'The Year's Best Horror Stories: Series I,' 1975

 

 

Tough Town, by William Sambrot: Ed, a travelling salesman, is accustomed to getting indifferent treatment from the folk of the small towns that he visits. But then he finds himself in one particular town, where the people are openly hostile. Why ? Ed will find out, to his detriment……'Alfred Hitchcock Presents: Stories That Scared Even Me,' 1967

Chameleon Town, by Carl Jacobi: a group of chess players, led by physician Lucius James, are obliged to spend the night in the odd little northeastern coastal town of Kingsport. Upon taking a late-night stroll, James is startled to have a sense of deju vu, even though he never before has been to Kingsport. Another tale with a Twilight Zone flavor. 'Nameless Places,' 1975.

The Children of Noah, by Richard Matheson:  At 3 a.m. Mr. Ketchum speeds through Zachry, Maine, population 67, and is startled to be pulled over by the local police. They place the indignant Mr. Ketchum in jail, and are vague about when he’ll be released. But they do take care to provide him with a wonderful breakfast in the morning….. 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents Stories My Mother Never Told Me,' 1965

 

Stillborn, by Mike Conner (1981): a young, newly-wedded bride is obliged to make friends with the elder women of a 19th century mining town. There is something disturbing about the underground chamber where they gather to socialize……'The Best of Modern Horror,' 1990

 

 

One for the Road, by Stephen King: on a snowy and stormy January night, the patrons of Tookey's bar in Falmouth, Maine, are startled to see a well-dressed man come into the place. The man is in dire condition, having walked six miles from where his car went off the road. Off the road, near the abandoned town of Jerusalem's Lot......'Night Shift,' 1978.