The holiday season is often celebrated with traditions of joy, generosity, and storytelling, including the long-standing custom of sharing ghostly tales during Christmastime. As the classic lyric reminds us—“there’ll be scary ghost stories and tales of the glories of Christmases long, long ago”— these chilling narratives have been a part of the season’s folklore for centuries. From eerie apparitions to unexplained phenomena, the season of goodwill has a darker, mysterious side woven into its history. Are they only holiday legends, or real ghosts of Christmas past? On this Friday the 13th, here 13 haunting Christmas tales as chilling as the winter air.

Prepare for a spooktacular treat! Halloween is the ultimate day for spine-tingling stories, and we've conjured up 10 micro-horror tales that will give you goosebumps. These eerie miniature narratives crafted by The Confessionals fans have clawed their way into our top 10 for this year's edition of 4-Word Scary Stories. So, turn off the lights, fire up your jack-o'-lantern, and get ready for a howling good time!

October 31 is nearly here… If you’re in the mood for a good ghost story but you’re also short on time, take a quick scan through these 4-word scary stories written by The Confessionals Podcast fans! We picked 15 of our favorite mini tales of horror, submitted on our social media pages, to give you a fright and let your imagination run wild (or run away). They’re creepy and they’re kooky, and just the right amount of spooky!

Recurrent sightings of some mysterious (and scary) paranormal entities have been reported all over the world. Many people have seen the infamous figure of Hatman, the paralyzing Night Hag, the Rake, shadow people, Mothman… the list of supernatural terrors goes on! One other frightening paranormal visage that has appeared to countless people is the specter of La Llorona. Known also as ‘The Weeping Woman,’ La Llorona is a figure of Hispanic American folklore with a tragic story.

Happy Halloween! Last week we asked our listeners on social media to tell us their very best 4-word scary stories, and we’ve carefully curated a few of our favorite responses to share on this spooky day. Some scared us, some mystified us, and some just made us laugh (maybe to keep from crying at the sheer horror). For a quick scare from these micro ghost tales, check out the top 15 scary 4-word stories below!