horror story
Americannoun
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a story, movie, etc., that entertains or fascinates by shocking or frightening, especially by an emphasis on bloodshed or supernatural forces.
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Informal. a distressing experience.
the horror stories of child abuse.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
It quickly became a so-called "creepypasta" -- a short horror story reposted and modified around the web, to which other users added details such as monsters and undiscovered dimensions.
From Barron's • May 28, 2026
It was an anticlimactic end to a legal and political horror story: On Monday the U.S.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 10, 2026
After a brief theatrical release, “Frankenstein,” starring Oscar Isaac and Jacob Elordi, starts streaming Nov. 7 as director Guillermo del Toro puts his sumptuous spin on Mary Shelley’s classic gothic horror story.
From MarketWatch • Oct. 31, 2025
Manguso’s “Liars” is a punishing, unrelenting horror story about the total failure of heterosexual marriage told only from the wife’s point of view.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 10, 2024
We seem to be the horror story of the day.
From "Blended" by Sharon M. Draper
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
