Can you recommend the best hooked horror stories for beginners?

For beginners, 'The Call of Cthulhu' is a great start. It's very well - known and has a simple enough plot to follow while still being full of that eldritch horror. It gives a good taste of the genre with its dark and mysterious elements. Another good one is 'The Colour Out of Space' as it is relatively short and easy to understand, but still manages to create a sense of unease and horror.

Sure. 'The Monkey's Paw' is a great one for beginners. It's a short story that shows how a simple wish - granting device can bring about great horror. A family gets hold of a monkey's paw that can grant three wishes, but each wish comes with a terrible price.

Roald Dahl's 'The Witches' is another good option. It's a bit more on the lighter side of horror but still has its spooky moments. The story is about a boy who discovers the existence of witches and has to stop their evil plan to turn all children into mice. It has Dahl's signature dark humor and engaging storytelling.

One of the best hooked horror stories is 'The Shining' by Stephen King. The story hooks you from the start with the isolated setting of the Overlook Hotel. The slow build - up of the supernatural events and the psychological deterioration of Jack Torrance is truly terrifying. It makes you keep turning the pages to see what other horrors lurk within the hotel.

For beginners, 'Dracula' can be a good choice. Although it's a long novel, the story is so engaging. You can easily get into the world of vampires and the fight against Dracula. 'The Fall of the House of Usher' is also not too difficult. Poe's writing is vivid, and you can quickly feel the horror of the decaying Usher family. And 'The Pit and the Pendulum' shows how a simple setting can create extreme horror, which is a great lesson for those new to classical horror.

I'd say 'The Lottery and Other Stories' by Shirley Jackson could be a good choice for beginners. The stories in it are quite accessible. For example, 'The Lottery' has a very unexpected and creepy ending that gives a taste of what horror short stories can be like without being too extreme.

Sure. 'The Lottery' by Shirley Jackson is a good start. It's short and simple yet packs a powerful psychological punch as it reveals the dark side of a small town's traditions. Another one is 'The Monkey's Paw' by W. W. Jacobs. It shows how our wishes can turn into nightmares in a very psychological way. And 'The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde' by Robert Louis Stevenson, which explores the duality of human nature in a rather spooky and thought - provoking way.

I would also suggest 'The Black Cat' by Edgar Allan Poe. It's about a man whose personality deteriorates and he starts to harm his pets, especially his black cat. There are elements of the supernatural as the cat seems to have an otherworldly presence. It's a short and easy - to - read story that can introduce beginners to the horror genre.