Which subreddit is dedicated to user-generated short horror stories?

The subreddit dedicated to user-generated short horror stories is r/nosleep. Its defining format asks writers to present fictional horrors as though they are real, while commenters generally participate in the same fictional premise.

r/nosleep was created on March 24, 2010. Its rules emphasize believable storytelling and discourage readers from breaking the illusion by treating posts as ordinary fiction inside the discussion. That role-playing convention distinguishes it from broader communities such as r/horror, r/creepy, and r/shortscarystories.

The subreddit has become a launchpad for internet horror writers. Stories posted there have inspired novels, podcasts, films, and television projects. Dathan Auerbach’s novel Penpal, for example, grew from a story he originally posted on r/nosleep in 2011.

The community’s reach has also produced disputes over copyright. Narrators and channels have sometimes reused stories without permission or credit, prompting moderators and writers to organize against unauthorized adaptations. A popular r/nosleep story about a fictitious epidemic in Mammoth, Arizona even led some readers to mistake the fiction for a real event.