A furry rabbit or the family dog may not be the first creatures that come to mind when you think of a scary story. However, animals are principal characters in some of our favorite bone-chilling tales. We were inspired by Friday’s story “The Boomslang Coup,” by Joel Hans, in which an otherworldly taxidermist creates a cast of menacing hybrids. Think: a donkey with the venom of a snake. So, we put together a list of some of our favorite frightening tales with animal stars. Dive in.
It’s hard to compile a roster of scary stories without including Kelly Link’s “Stone Animals,” a story with a cult following. In it, the bunnies are introduced as a domestic issue: an increasing number of them populate a family’s lawn. By the end of the story, they have transformed into creatures of bizarre menace.
In “The Price,” Neil Gaiman takes the age-old trope of the black cat and turns it on its head. A family takes in a stray cat who appears to bring a series of misfortunes into their home. However, it becomes apparent that the cat may be all that stands between the family and much larger forces of evil.
“The Emissary” by Ray Bradbury
A true classic. In this story, published in Ray Bradbury’s aptly named collection The October Country, a dog brings back abstract tastes of the world (such as the smell and feel of autumn) to a bedridden boy. The boy attaches a sign to the dog that asks that he please bring visitors by. However, eventually, the dog becomes the carrier of something far less comforting.
“When I Make Love to the Bug Man” by Laura Benedict
Adrian Van Young recently contributed a brilliant essay on what makes “When I Make Love to the Bug Man” so darn terrifying. Young’s analysis made us appreciate Benedict’s creepy worldbuilding all the more. In this story, a woman’s house is infested with multiple species of spiders, and that is not nearly the most terrifying part.
