Short Horror Stories

His Seven Deadly Sins

In the grayness of a city that never quite saw sunlight, Charlie was a beacon of vice. Each day, he succumbed to a sin, as naturally as most would breathe. Lust, gluttony, greed, envy, wrath, sloth, and pride—it was his weekly cycle, each day dedicated to a sin, each sin intensifying with each cycle.

On Monday, Charlie's heart thudded with lust, chasing after every beautiful figure he saw, his eyes hungry and never quite satisfied. Tuesday brought gluttony; he consumed everything he saw, whether it was food, drink, or substances. His belly was never full. By Wednesday, his pockets would jingle with the sound of stolen money, his greed knowing no bounds.

However, it was Thursday, when he was consumed by envy, that he first saw her—the woman in red. She was standing at the corner of 5th and Elm, the scarlet of her dress striking against the drab palette of the city. Everyone else walked past her, but not Charlie. For him, she was an embodiment of something he deeply desired but couldn't have.

He approached her, but before he could say a word, she whispered, "I've been waiting for you." Surprised, Charlie stepped back, but his sins held him in place.

On Friday, wrath consumed him. Angered by his inability to possess the woman in red, he lashed out at everyone. The city began to fear the shadow he cast. Saturday's laziness saw him idly obsessing over the woman, his mind weaving fantasies of what he could do if he possessed her.

On Sunday, at the height of his pride, he sought her out. He found her at the same corner. "Who are you?" he demanded.

She smiled, her crimson lips stretching over white teeth, "I am Sin."

Confused, Charlie took a step forward. "What do you want?"

"I want you to understand," she replied, her voice soft yet chilling, "You've played with the deadly sins, thinking you controlled them. But in reality, they control you."

Suddenly, the city around him morphed. Buildings crumbled, the ground cracked, and the sky turned blood red. The people around him transformed into monstrous versions of themselves, each representing a deadly sin. Their eyes were empty, their souls lost.

The woman in red approached, her fingers reaching out to him. "You are mine," she whispered. As she touched him, a searing pain coursed through his body. Charlie realized he had become a prisoner of his own vices.

The city was now a hellish realm, and Charlie was its tormented soul, forever haunted by his seven deadly sins, and forever yearning for the touch of the woman in red.