The Last Knock – A Short Horror Story in English
The rain had ended hours ago, but the sound of dripping water still echoed through the old Sharma house. It was midnight in Kalyanpur, a sleepy village wrapped in silence.
Ananya sat near a flickering lantern, bent over her exam notes. Her parents were away at a wedding, leaving her alone in the two-storied ancestral house. The wooden beams creaked, the night air was heavy, and the frogs croaked in the distance.
And then came the sound.
Tok. Tok. Tokk.
Three sharp knocks at the front door.
Her pen froze mid-sentence. At this hour, no one should be outside. She whispered, “Kaun hai?” But only silence answered. Forcing a laugh, she convinced herself it was the wind. Yet the knocks had been too deliberate, too human.
This wasn’t just a house creaking. This was something else.
The Suspenseful Midnight Knocks
Minutes later, it came again.
Tok. Tok. Tokk.
Louder. More insistent.
Her heart began to race. This wasn’t just a knocking sound at night. It was rhythmic, purposeful—like a message. She thought of every ghost story with suspense she had ever read. Children in the village used to say that once you hear three knocks at midnight, the house no longer belongs to you.
Her hand trembled as she held the lantern closer to the door. Still, no one answered. No footsteps. Just silence.
She returned to her books, desperate for distraction. But at 1 a.m., the sound came again.
Not from the front door this time.
From her bedroom window.
Tok. Tok. Tokk.
Ananya’s skin crawled. That window had been locked for months. The glass pane shook with each knock. She ran down the stairs, heart hammering, trying to escape the sound. But the house itself seemed alive.
A Haunted House That Breathes
The corridor stretched long and shadowy, each corner darker than the last. Her phone had no signal—the storm had cut off the tower. The knocking continued, echoing from every wall, every surface.
Tok. Tok. Tokk.
First on the walls, then the ceiling, then the floor beneath her feet. It was as though something circled the house, searching for a way in.
Ananya whispered to herself: “Stay calm. It’s nothing. It’s just…nothing.”
But the lantern flickered violently. The air turned damp, carrying the smell of wet soil. She swore she could hear anklets jingling faintly—just like the ones from the Indian horror folklore her grandmother used to warn her about.
And then, a whisper.
Right behind her ear.
“Let me in.”
The Reflection That Smiled Back
Ananya spun around. No one was there. But when her eyes landed on the glass cupboard, she froze.
Her reflection was staring back—but it wasn’t her. The reflection smiled, wide and unnatural.
She stumbled backward, knocking over a chair. The reflection pressed its hands against the glass, lips moving with the sound of the knocks.
Tok. Tok. Tokk.
The entire house shook with the rhythm. Shadows stretched across the walls. The lantern’s flame died to a faint ember.
She bolted upstairs, slamming her bedroom door and dragging a table against it.
For a few minutes—silence. Her chest heaved. Maybe it had stopped. Maybe she had survived this night.
But then it began again.
Tokk. Tok. Tok.
This time, not from outside. Not from the walls.
From inside her room.
The Final Horror
Her cupboard door rattled. The sound was unmistakable. Something was knocking from within.
Ananya’s breath came in short gasps. She stared as the cupboard shuddered harder and harder. Her hand reached for the lantern, but the flame went out completely. Darkness swallowed the room whole.
The knocking stopped.
And then—silence.
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The Chilling Twist Ending
The next morning, her parents returned, calling her name. No answer. The books lay scattered on the floor, the chair overturned. Upstairs, the cupboard doors stood ajar.
Inside were only her clothes—drenched, dripping wet.
On the mirror, written in streaks of muddy water, were three words:
“I am here.”
Why The Last Knock Will Haunt You
This short horror story in English is not just about ghosts—it’s about the fear of being alone when the night turns hostile. It is a suspense thriller story that builds slowly, every knock dragging you deeper into dread.
If you love short horror story in English, short horror story in Englishscary stories to read online, tales of haunted houses, or an eerie ghost story with a twist ending, then The Last Knock delivers all of it in chilling detail.
So the next time you hear a creepy knocking sound at night, ask yourself: Is it just the wind? Or is something standing outside your door—waiting for you to answer? Subscribe for more short horror story in English
