NoSleep has always been dear to my heart. I first discovered it back in the early 2010s, and I’ve been a regular ever since. Long before I posted my own stories, I was an avid reader, and over the past decade and a half, I’ve read hundreds, if not thousands, of stories, among them many NoSleep series.
While standalone stories are the norm, its series are something special. They’re where writers get to build something bigger, and some of the most beloved and popular works NoSleep ever produced are multi-part tales. I’ve already put together a list of the best NoSleep stories, so a list dedicated to the best NoSleep series was long overdue.
A quick note: several of the series on this list were later published as books. If you’d rather read them in novel form, or a series has since been removed from Reddit, I’ll point it out.
If you’re looking for more NoSleep recommendations, check out my list of the most well-written NoSleep stories and the weirdest NoSleep stories.
As always, I’ll avoid major spoilers, but a series’ premise and setup may be necessary to explain its inclusion.
Fiction by René Rehn
With that said, here are the best NoSleep series anyone should read (last updated: September 2026).
Penpal
Penpal was one of the first big NoSleep series, and anyone who’s spent some time on the sub has heard of it. It’s the story of a young boy who’s being stalked, but we never get the full picture at once. Instead, the story unfolds in bits and pieces, unsettling fragments of his childhood that make us wonder what’s really going on. With each installment, these fragments grow creepier until the whole story slowly and terribly comes together.
It’s this structure that makes Penpal work so well. The horror doesn’t come from any single event, but from the realization of what all these scattered memories actually mean.
Penpal is a NoSleep classic, and it was later published as a novel, which I believe is the best way to experience it.
Borrasca
C. K. Walker’s Borrasca is probably the most popular NoSleep series of all time. It regularly tops lists of the sub’s best stories, and for good reason. It’s a fantastic, well-crafted, but also deeply twisted tale.
Borrasca follows Sam, a young boy who moves with his family to the small town of Drisking, Missouri. The town’s full of creepy urban legends, all of which seem connected to a single word: Borrasca. Then tragedy strikes, and Sam’s sister Whitney goes missing. Even years later, as a teenager, Sam’s still haunted by her disappearance, but he hasn’t given up hope of finding her. When other disturbing events start piling up, he and his best friends, Kyle and Kimber, begin to investigate the mystery behind Borrasca.
It’s a masterpiece of online horror fiction, well-constructed and set in a world that feels alive. Every little detail matters, and on a reread, you’ll be surprised how many of them add up. A few years ago, this NoSleep series was also adapted into a fantastic podcast by QCode, one that stays true to the original story while expanding its lore considerably.
Tales From the Gas Station
Comedy horror usually isn’t my cup of tea. Then I discovered Tales From the Gas Station, an absolutely amazing and ridiculous NoSleep series.
It tells the story of Jack, a gas station attendant, how he spends his nights, and the many bizarre events he gets tangled up in. All of it is presented by a narrator who’s not exactly the sharpest, who doesn’t realize he’s in danger, or simply doesn’t care. It’s this deadpan delivery that makes the series what it is. When I first read it, I laughed out loud more than once, which is not something I can say about many other works on NoSleep.
The original story is unfortunately no longer available on Reddit. These days, Tales From the Gas Station only exists in book format, spanning multiple volumes that continue Jack’s tales in the same hilarious manner, including a Halloween and Christmas installment. You can find them all on Amazon.
The Third Parent
Anyone who’s been on NoSleep knows the name Elias Witherow. He’s one of the sub’s most popular writers, known for disturbing stories like Feed the Pig, which I featured on my list of the best NoSleep stories.
The Third Parent is his most infamous work, and a name that still comes up whenever NoSleep veterans talk about the sub’s most disturbing stories. It centers on the enigmatic figure of Tommy Taffy, a strange character who doesn’t seem entirely human, more akin to a smiling cartoon character come to life. That friendly exterior, however, couldn’t be more deceiving, because Tommy Taffy is one of the most twisted creations in NoSleep history.
After he appears at the narrator’s home, he soon takes over the family, becoming, as the title states, a third parent. From here on out, things get more and more fucked up.
The Third Parent was also novelized, and the book adds a lot to an already twisted tale, shedding even more light on Tommy Taffy himself. It’s available on Amazon.
I’m a Search and Rescue Officer for the US Forest Service
The Search and Rescue series, also known as SAR, took NoSleep by storm when it was first posted, and its reputation hasn’t faded since.
There’s a good reason for that. Each part is written as a short anthology of strange and unsettling events out in the woods, twisted but always believable. That anthology structure makes it work so well. While the series contains its fair share of enigmatic figures and beings, it’s the mysterious events and sights that stick with you, most famously the stairs in the woods, an image that has since taken on a life of its own.
Search and Rescue was featured on the NoSleep Podcast and even served as loose inspiration for Butcher’s Block, the third season of Channel Zero.
The Spire in the Woods
The Spire in the Woods is probably my favorite NoSleep series of all time, and among the greatest stories ever posted on the sub. Unfortunately, the series has since been deleted, and its novelization is currently out of print.
After a teenager named Robert Edward Kennan takes his own life, the story’s narrator investigates the events that led to his suicide. All of them seem connected to a local legend, that of the Widower’s Clock. Soon enough, the narrator and Robert’s former girlfriend set out to uncover the mystery.
What makes The Spire in the Woods so great is how alive it feels. Many horror stories happen in isolation, and we never get a sense of the world these terrible events happen in. Not so here. We learn about each character, their lives, and how they’re all connected. It’s a tale of real people doing real things, one that slowly comes together into a fascinating work of horror.
For a while, there was even talk of a movie adaptation, reportedly produced by Steven Spielberg, but the project has since been abandoned because of complications during Covid. It’s a shame, because this early NoSleep series is a masterpiece. It’s currently not legitimately available anywhere, though you can find a discussion about its removal and status here. I hope it’ll be available to read again soon.
The Left/Right Game
Few NoSleep series have gained the kind of popularity that the Left/Right Game has. I’ll admit, though, it took a while to grow on me. When I first read it, there were quite a few things I didn’t enjoy about it, and I only truly came to appreciate it when I listened to QCode’s amazing podcast adaptation.
The concept, however, is fantastic and probably the reason so many people became obsessed with it. The titular game works like this: you get in your car and take a drive, first turning left, then turning right, then left again. Repeat this long enough, and you’ll end up somewhere… different.
The series is written as a transcript by one Alice Sharman, who joins a man named Robert J. Guthard and a group of fellow enthusiasts on another of his Left/Right Game runs. As you’d expect, things soon turn strange, and then quite dangerous, for our unlikely group of participants.
There’s something enticing about people venturing into the unknown, into surreal and strange places, and a lot of creativity went into this world and its characters. The Left/Right Game deserves every bit of its popularity.
The Whistlers
The Whistlers was written in early 2015, and I’d call it required reading for anyone digging into the sub’s history. I first discovered it via the fantastic adaptation by the NoSleep Podcast.
During an estate sale, someone comes upon a camping backpack containing a bundle of papers. These papers tell the story of the Whistlers, transcribed to us in full. It’s the tale of a young woman who got lost in the woods with her friends, and by the first installment, they’re already in dire straits. They’ve been out there for weeks. One of their friends has died; another is still missing. Worse, they’re being stalked by something out in the woods, something they only refer to as the Whistlers.
As the series continues, we learn what drove the group out into the woods in the first place, who they are, and how they got lost, all while following their attempt at escape.
The Whistlers is written in diary format, and it’s one of the best NoSleep series employing this style of storytelling. If you haven’t read it, do it now.
The Hidden Webpage
u/nazisharks is one of my all-time favorite NoSleep writers. If you’ve read his stories, you know they’re among the weirdest on the entire sub. His standout work is Three Visits to a Hidden Tribe, which I featured on my list of the best NoSleep stories.
This series, commonly known as The Hidden Webpage, is absolutely fantastic in its own right, and it was adapted as one of the NoSleep Podcast’s season finales.
The tale begins when our narrator is contacted by an old friend via an email account that shouldn’t exist anymore. In her messages, she tells him about The Hole, an old internet mystery surrounding a strange, secret website. From here on out, things only get stranger. In typical u/nazisharks fashion, the series twists and turns and grows weirder with every part. There’s something about his works that leaves you with an underlying sense of existential dread, and this one is no different.
My Dad Finally Told Me What Happened That Day
u/nazisharks strikes again, and yet again with a series that the NoSleep Podcast adapted for one of its season finales.
It details a family mystery, one that turns stranger with each installment. One day, the narrator’s father tells him about an incident that took place years ago. Afterwards, the narrator sets out to talk to other members of his family and learns of other, even stranger events. Interestingly, each part of the series is divided into smaller sections, each centering on a different family member as they add more details to what happened that day.
It’s one of the best, most well-constructed mysteries on NoSleep, a tale full of twists and turns that will probably make your head spin. And by the end, we might not get all the answers, and are left with quite a few questions. But that, of course, is typical for u/nazisharks.
The Previous Tenant Left a Survival Guide
u/newtotownJAM has written multiple series on NoSleep, but her most popular remains the New Tenant series.
At its outset, our narrator and her boyfriend move into a new apartment, where they discover a list of rules on how to survive the place. The two of them dismiss it as a joke, but when the narrator’s boyfriend goes missing, she realizes there might be more to these rules. Following them, she begins to investigate what’s going on in the strange old tower block she now calls home, and before long, she learns the place isn’t just strange, but very dangerous.
The New Tenant series proved so popular that it kicked off an entire trend on the sub: rules stories, in which a narrator has to follow a set of rules to survive. People eventually tired of the format, but this NoSleep series stands out as the one that started it all, and it’s well worth reading even if you’re not a fan of rules stories.
I’m a dentist for monsters and last night I took on a new patient.
u/newtotownJAM’s second entry on this list stands out for how unique it is. I never thought I’d come upon a series centering on a dentist for monsters, and I never thought I’d enjoy it this much.
While there’s a framing narrative and a continuous overall plot, the series reads more like an anthology. Each part details an encounter with yet another patient, and over its course, we meet a variety of creatures, some grounded in mythology, others entirely original, but each unique and disturbing in their own right.
What I truly came to love, though, were the characters, especially Coco, who’s an absolute delight to read about. It’s a NoSleep series that’s not just unique and enjoyable, but at times genuinely beautiful.
A Seaside British Pub & Return to a Seaside British Pub
C. M. Scandreth is another one of my favorite NoSleep writers, and among the most talented on the sub.
As the title states, this series revolves around a lonely British pub near the seaside. Over multiple parts, the narrator recounts the strange events taking place at the pub, while introducing us to its patrons, which might or might not be entirely human.
What makes it so great is the focus on each individual character. The series is structured as an anthology, each part set against the backdrop of the pub, yet all of them are connected. We get to know every patron, glimpse into their lives, and slowly learn who, or what, they really are.
The series has since been deleted by the writer, but it can still be found on her personal subreddit, The Hallowdine Library. Both parts were also adapted into two fantastic episodes of the NoSleep Podcast, the first of which you can find here. It’s among the sub’s greatest series, and worth every bit of effort it takes to track it down.
Infected Town
Infected Town is another earlier NoSleep series, and it’s earned its status as a classic.
Our narrator is into urban exploring, and one day, she ends up at a town that’s been sealed off from the outside world. Inside, she finds a desolate place covered in a strange, mold-like substance, populated by shambling, sickly looking people.
What starts as the exploration of an abandoned town soon grows into a much bigger, sprawling horror tale, one in which far more sinister forces might be at play. Interestingly, Infected Town also ties into other NoSleep series, which shed light on the events that led to the town being sealed off.
It’s a long series, one of the longest on the list, especially if you count all the related tales. If you’ve got the time, though, it’s well worth the investment.
The Good Shade Hotel
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to work at a hotel for supernatural beings? That’s exactly what the narrator of u/HylianFae’s series gets himself into when he starts working at the Good Shade Hotel.
It’s a place not only run by supernatural beings but also frequented by them. By the time the narrator realizes the nature of his new position, it’s already too late. He’s signed a contract stating he has to last three months before he’s allowed to quit without serious repercussions. Over the course of the series, he bears witness to a variety of beings and situations as strange as they are dangerous.
The Good Shade Hotel is extremely charming, full of characters that might not be human but are likeable all the same. It’s a fantastic NoSleep series, one that stands out for its unique scenarios as much as its writing.
Butcherface
Butcherface is another NoSleep classic, posted more than a decade ago, and one of the first series ever adapted by the NoSleep Podcast as a bonus episode back in season one.
One day, the narrator visits his friend Chris’ home to help him and his father remodel it. In the basement, under the floorboards, they discover an old, worn box containing 24 unmarked video tapes. That evening, the two of them start watching, and realize the tapes contain the home videos of a man they come to call Butcherface. The footage is disturbing enough on its own, but it also reveals something worse: Butcherface once lived in this very house.
The narrator and his friend begin to investigate the ominous figure, only to learn he might still be nearby.
It’s another long series, and an early one, well deserving of its reputation. If you want to read a piece of NoSleep’s history, read Butcherface.
The Bloodworth Saga
The Bloodworth Saga is another older classic, and one of the best NoSleep series out there.
It starts with our narrator declaring he’s finally ready to share the full story of what happened to him and his friends. On his and his sister Abi’s first day of kindergarten, they met a young boy named Jonah, who was different from the other children: quiet, shy, withdrawn. When he and Abi visit Jonah’s home, they’re met by his mother, who’s more than a little creepy. From here on out, the narrator reveals the events that led to the death of his sister and five of his friends.
Interestingly, Bloodworth also wrote a variety of standalone tales, all of them connected to and hinted at over the course of the series. Reading them first makes for a much richer experience, since finding all the clues and connections is half the fun. You can find a detailed reading list here, which is also the easiest way to navigate the saga, since its parts are spread across more than one account.
A word of warning, though: The Bloodworth Saga is among the most twisted and depraved series on this list. It’s also fantastically well-written, and I’d urge any NoSleep fan to read it.
The Deepest Part of the Ocean is Not Empty
u/TheJesseClark has always been one of my favorite writers on NoSleep, and he’s clearly among the most talented. This series is all about the horrors hidden below the surface of the ocean.
A man prepares to descend into the unexplored depths of Higgin’s Maw, a place fifty thousand feet below the surface. He’s slightly worried about what he might find down there, but pushes any thoughts of danger away. A mistake, as we soon find out.
With only two parts, this is a rather short NoSleep series compared to many others on this list, but I can’t help but include it. There’s something about the writing, the tension, and the suspense that makes it such a gripping read, and it’s easily among the best creature features on the entire sub.
So We’re About 99% Sure the New Guy in Town is a Vampire
I only discovered this series by u/TheJesseClark recently.
Vampire tales can be hit or miss, but this one turns the concept into an entirely new experience. It’s not about some random person’s encounter with a vampire. Instead, it follows a police investigation into a new gang in town, known only as the Ferals, who go around massacring the members of rival gangs, leaving behind nothing but bloody corpses. Corpses which, notably, bear two very specific bite marks.
As our two main characters, officers Davis and Mackey, dig deeper, they begin to suspect the man behind it all might be a vampire: a rich European who recently moved to town. What follows is not so much a supernatural tale as one about police work, the drug trade, and conspiracies.
As someone once commented, this NoSleep series is almost too good, too well-written, to be posted online for free. Read it, and then read the rest of u/TheJesseClark’s work while you’re at it.
Anthology of WontThinkStraight
u/WontThinkStraight’s anthology is a series of loosely related tales written during the sub’s early years.
Each story is directly related to the narrator, or something that happened to one of his friends or acquaintances. This framing narrative admittedly isn’t the strongest, but the individual tales are nothing short of fantastic. They’re all unique, covering a variety of scenarios as weird as they are disturbing. My favorite among them, and one often brought up by other NoSleep readers, is Gurgles & Bugman.
Part of this NoSleep series was also adapted during the second season of the NoSleep Podcast. The tales might not be tightly connected, but every single one of them is worth reading.
The Showers
The Showers originally comprised only two parts, but became so popular over the years that the author eventually continued the series.
The story opens with a college student telling us about his love for all things creepy and for the local tales he grew up with. One he came to love above all others was told by his high school teacher, Mr. Mays. Years ago, Mr. Mays and his friends set out on a cross-country trip, and on the way back, they stopped at the home of a friend’s grandpa. Only they ended up somewhere else entirely, and eventually stumbled upon a room they came to call the Showers.
Years later, the narrator and his friend decide to follow their old teacher’s footsteps and find the Showers for themselves.
It’s one of the best, most well-written NoSleep series out there, and was adapted as one of the NoSleep Podcast’s season two bonus episodes. It’s since been novelized as well, so if you’d rather experience it in book form, you can find it on Amazon.
Dr. Margin’s Guide to New Monsters
Dr. Margin is a researcher who studies monsters and supernatural entities, and at the start of his guide, he declares that most of the common ones, like werewolves and vampires, have been domesticated. They aren’t what they used to be, no longer scary, and no longer a danger to humanity.
During a talk with a werewolf, however, he’s introduced to an idea: monsters don’t simply stop existing. New, horrible creatures appear to replace those that have lost their relevance. And so we follow Dr. Margin as he travels the world in search of these new monsters, bearing witness to his investigation.
All the creatures we’re introduced to are as unique as they are creative, but what carries this NoSleep series is Dr. Margin himself. His narrative voice is among the strongest and most distinct in all of NoSleep. Anyone should read it, especially fans of supernatural entities and monsters.
And The Stars Will Fall From Heaven
This was a series that quickly became one of my absolute favorites.
One day, during his shift at the local shipping yard, our narrator, Mark, steps out for a smoke. He and some of his co-workers witness a police chase: a truck comes sliding down the icy road, followed by a swarm of police cars, and the chase soon ends in a massive crash. That, however, is only the beginning. One of Mark’s co-workers rescues the badly hurt truck driver, who mumbles about someone having to be stopped, about the news or the radio needing to be informed. A moment later, they find themselves under fire by the police.
Rushing back inside the shipping yard, they lock the doors, and soon they’re not just cut off from the rest of the world, but under siege.
What stands out most are the characters and the prose, some of the strongest writing I’ve encountered on NoSleep.
The series has since been deleted by the writer, but it’s been novelized as When The Stars Fall, which you can find on my list of the best NoSleep books.
The Summer I met David
The Summer I met David is another outstanding entry. A little girl, six years of age, is living with her parents and brothers at an old farmhouse. One day, she goes to the nearby bridge and meets a young boy, David, a year or two older than her. The two soon become friends and spend almost all their time together.
But there might be more to David. Before long, this NoSleep series turns into one of the most gripping and terrifying on the entire sub.
It’s extremely well written, with great, realistic characters, and much of its horror comes from watching events unfold through the eyes of a child who can’t fully grasp what’s happening. If you haven’t read this one, you definitely should.
Single Parenting is Hard in Sterling Creek
The Sterling Creek series, as the title suggests, centers on the small Midwestern town of Sterling Creek. A travel vlogger who’s visited all sorts of American communities details that none have ever felt as off as this one.
From here on out, he shares various pieces of information and testimonials about the strange events taking place in Sterling Creek, all of which seem connected to certain names that keep coming up.
To be honest, the series took a while to grow on me, but from part four onwards, I was absolutely hooked. What makes it such a great NoSleep series is that each part works as its own story while feeding into a larger, overarching mystery.
My job is watching a woman trapped in a room.
u/Verastahl is another extremely popular and talented NoSleep writer, and this series about an odd job is among his best works.
Our narrator was looking for a new job when a certain classified ad caught his interest. Before long, he finds himself watching a woman trapped in a room for six hours every day, noting down anything interesting that happens.
What makes this story so great is how well it’s constructed. At only four parts, it might seem short compared to others on this list, yet it packs in enough twists and turns to leave your head spinning. It’s a small masterpiece of construction, and well deserving of its popularity.
My Name is Lily Madwhip, and I See Things Before They Happen
One can’t put together a list of the best NoSleep series without mentioning the name Lily Madwhip.
Lily is a little girl who sees things before they happen. In the series’ first part, she reveals she’s seen her brother die, down to the details of his funeral. She tries to stop what’s coming, knowing full well she won’t be able to. Thus begins one of the greatest series ever posted to the sub. Through it all, her doll Paschar is always with her, and as with Lily, there might be more to Paschar.
What makes this series so great isn’t just the fantastic writing, but the narrative voice. Most NoSleep series are told by a fairly neutral narrator. Not Lily Madwhip. Her voice is full of life, entirely unique yet completely believable as a child’s, and you can tell how much love went into crafting these tales.
If you’ve never read Lily Madwhip, I highly recommend it. It’s among the best, most well-crafted series NoSleep has to offer.
The ocean is much deeper than we thought
u/RichardSaxon is a fantastic NoSleep writer with quite a few popular stories to his name, and this series is among my favorite works of his.
The sub loves its deep-sea horror, but this one carves out its own space. At the outset, a doctor sets out to a station at the bottom of the sea. When he arrives, he learns one crew member went missing for three days, then returned to the station, quarantined himself, and died.
It’s a story about being trapped at the bottom of the ocean and the dangers hidden down there, with fantastic writing, great dialogue, and a creature that’s as unique as it is horrifying. If deep-sea horror is your thing, this NoSleep series is a must-read.
My grandfather spoke dozens of languages. His final words were a warning in a language no-one’s heard of.
This series is written by the one and only u/Max-Voynich, a favorite of mine and probably the greatest experimental horror writer on the sub.
In the first part, we learn what happens the day the narrator’s grandfather dies, and how he addressed his old friend Artie, who was present at his death. Soon enough, the narrator reaches out to Artie to make sense of those last words. Thus begins a slowly developing, sprawling mystery that only grows weirder. The series starts great and only keeps getting better.
There are many elements that make it work, be it the references to mythology and language, or u/Max-Voynich’s unique writing style. Like so many of his works, this NoSleep series is nothing short of fantastic, and I highly recommend it.
This morning the doors to our apartment complex were welded shut. I’m starting to think that it was a good idea.
Stories about people trapped in a confined space have always been among my favorites, and this series delivers and delivers well.
At first, our narrator and the other tenants of his apartment building try to figure out who welded the doors shut and why. Soon enough, they learn that something very dangerous is lurking outside.
The series comes with fantastic characters and a strong narrative voice, but its best part is without a doubt the setting. There’s a constant feeling of being trapped, of danger pressing in from outside, and on top of that, it features some of the most interesting and unique creature designs on the subreddit. A tale as grim as it is fascinating, and easily among the best NoSleep series out there.
I’m a guard stationed at a ‘secret’ government prison. A few hours ago, there was a major breach.
u/Mr_Outlaw_ is known for his long, sprawling, interconnected series, and this one doesn’t disappoint.
As the title states, the narrator is a guard at a secret government prison known as the Chasm, a place where supernatural beings, so-called Voids, are being held. During a major breach, almost all the Voids are released. The resulting massacre leaves most of the guards dead, but our narrator is lucky enough to find a secret room to hide in. Soon, though, the Voids aren’t just targeting the guards, but each other, and a bloody battle royale begins.
This series is one thing above all else: a lot of fun. It’s less a typical NoSleep series and more an action-packed creature feature, full of brutal, over-the-top fights between crazy supernatural beings. It might not be for everyone, but u/Mr_Outlaw_ has outdone himself, and I absolutely love it.
My friend has been living in an alternate reality for the past seven years. This is what he told me.
Another series by u/Mr_Outlaw_, and probably his longest. It introduces us to Clint Rockwell, the narrator’s friend. Clint was always different, a loner looking for adventure, someone who wanted to go somewhere uncharted. During his time in college, he mysteriously vanished and remained gone for seven years. Then, one day, he knocks on the narrator’s door and tells him what happened.
As it turns out, Clint joined a secret research project, one that brought him to a different world, or, as the title states, an alternate reality. The rest of the series recounts what happened to him there.
This NoSleep series is an exercise in creativity, a mad world full of crazy characters, places, and disturbing creatures. Things can get a bit too wild at times and occasionally go astray, but it’s always a fantastic read. At thirteen parts, it’s another long one, but very well worth it.
When the town smells like cinnamon, you know someone just died
With a title like this, you wouldn’t expect it to be among the weirder NoSleep series out there. It is.
We’re introduced to the small town of Tattletoe, whose inhabitants have everything they desire. It’s a beautiful town, but one with its peculiarities. Tattletoe is full of special shops producing masterpieces of a certain nature, all of them destined solely for export, and none of the townspeople may buy or own any of them. One of these shops is Mrs. Holly’s bakery. Whenever a child is born, or whenever someone dies, she bakes a batch of pastries: nutmeg for birth, cinnamon for death.
Another rule of Tattletoe is that everyone must work. Once a child is old enough, they’re assigned a job, and our narrator ends up at none other than Mrs. Holly’s bakery. That premise is weird enough on its own, but things only get stranger the longer the series goes on and the more we learn about the town.
u/likeeyedid is another prolific NoSleep writer, but this series is my favorite among her many outstanding works and one I’d recommend to anyone.
I’m a magician, and I’m pretty sure the kid onstage actually sawed a lady in half.
The story starts when a magician attends a magic show, where one trick catches his interest. He comes to think it might not be a trick at all.
Afterwards, he meets the young man he saw on stage, Alexander Chase, who was inspired by none other than him and his famous Bellagio escape act. Soon enough, it becomes clear there’s much more to Alex than meets the eye, and as the series continues, we learn more about him, but also about the Mirage Carnival, a place shrouded entirely in mystery.
The writing here is superb, especially the dialogue, and the characters are all equally interesting and unique. Fair warning: this is another long NoSleep series, spanning multiple arcs across more than twenty parts, but it’s well worth the investment.
What happens when you write Satan instead of Santa.
This series might not be for everyone. Comedy horror has always been a tough sell for me, but this one was so ridiculous I couldn’t help but read on.
As the title states, the narrator’s daughter accidentally writes a letter to Satan instead of Santa. To his surprise, it’s not only answered, but her wish for a giant, life-sized teddy bear is fulfilled.
The series is exactly as silly as it sounds. All the characters, from Franken Teddy to Ms. Hatchetface to Satan himself, are utterly ridiculous, but also strangely likeable. It’s almost a bit too silly and cartoonish at times, yet it’s got an undeniable charm. Not your typical NoSleep series, but one of the more unique ones out there, and if you’re a fan of comedy horror, check it out.
How to survive in Hell
This is one of the most creative NoSleep series I’ve come upon. It’s not really a story, but more of a handbook, if you will, on how to survive in Hell.
Over its course, we learn what a terrible, bloody place Hell truly is, essentially an endless struggle for survival. We learn about Hell’s capital, Dis, its various places of interest, and the people and factions populating it. It’s the setting and the way it’s told that made this series stand out to me.
A word of warning, though: Hell is a terrible place, and this series isn’t shy about its various disturbing atrocities.
My grandpa, a retired homicide detective, just told me the case that still keeps him up at night
This series by the great u/Nickbotic centers on a set of cases the narrator’s grandpa only refers to as the Impossible Ones: cases simply too strange to ever be solved.
It’s best described as an anthology of unexplained, disturbing crime cases. What makes it stand out is not only the creativity behind each case but the overall quality of the writing, which turns each installment into a gripping read.
If you like twisted, mysterious crime cases, this NoSleep series should be your next read.
I just graduated from medical school, and my new hospital has some very strange rules
u/ByfelsDisciple is among the most popular NoSleep writers of all time, and he’s been posting on the sub for as long as I can remember. This is one of his more recent series, but also one of his best.
It’s set at St. Francis Hospital in Charleston, West Virginia. Dr. Afelis, a young medical intern, learns that every new intern is provided with a set of rules. The reason: St. Francis isn’t an ordinary hospital, and Dr. Afelis soon witnesses firsthand what happens when one of her fellow interns doesn’t follow them.
I’m not a big fan of rules stories, but u/ByfelsDisciple brings a lot of fresh elements to the format, and combined with the setting and his fantastic writing, the result is a NoSleep series that’s both enjoyable and original. Be warned, though, it can get quite disturbing, with plenty of gore and unsettling imagery, yet beneath all of it, he tackles some genuinely deep themes. A series that stands apart from the plethora of other rules stories.
I have an unusual job. The pay is good, but I really hate the moaning sounds that go with it.
u/ByfelsDisciple’s second entry centers on a rather unusual job.
In its first installment, our narrator is talking to a woman who’s afraid the ghost of her dead husband is stalking her. But as so often with u/ByfelsDisciple, things turn out differently than expected.
What makes this series great is the narrative voice. Patricia Barnes is one of my favorite NoSleep characters ever. Her voice is strong, she’s full of sass, and she constantly one-ups people with her snarky remarks. The whole thing is a lot of fun, full of fantastic dialogue and ghastly images.
I Was Fucking Fat
The third and last series by u/ByfelsDisciple on this list. At only four parts, it’s rather short compared to others here, yet it stands out for several reasons.
A young woman states she’s fat, fucking fat indeed, but she’s also desperate for a change. After discovering a post online about a service called Better Way, she signs up for the program. Soon after, she finds herself confined to a single room, chained to the wall. Thus begins NoSleep’s most twisted weight loss treatment ever.
It’s a series that doesn’t shy away from the disgusting details, but what makes it so great is how well u/ByfelsDisciple captures the mental state of someone suffering from morbid obesity: the narrator’s helplessness, her dependency on food, the insurmountable challenge that weight loss entails. Without a doubt, among his best work, and one of the strongest NoSleep series of its kind.
I Clean Crime Scenes and Hoarder Houses for a Living. Today I Saw Something I Don’t Understand
u/Dopabeane belongs in any conversation about NoSleep’s greatest writers. Her work stands out for its beautiful prose and for how unique her stories are, often reminiscent of twisted, sad fairy tales. This series is my favorite among her works.
We get to know a man whose job it is to clean out hoarder houses and houses where dramatic deaths occurred. The latest house he’s sent to used to belong to an old woman, and quite a few things are wrong with it. One of them is a painting, a beautiful one, depicting a misty, primal forest drenched in moonlight. There’s much more to this painting than meets the eye, and soon our narrator sets out to learn more about it.
It’s a fantastically well-written NoSleep series, full of twisted beings and a fair amount of body horror. If you’re looking for something with genuinely beautiful prose, this is the one.
I used to deliver pizzas. Now I’m a driver for the Dark Convoy.
After reading a few of u/cal_ness’ series, he quickly became one of my favorite writers on the sub.
The narrator of his Dark Convoy series loves driving, and he’s good at it, damn good. That’s why he works as a pizza driver, but also partakes in a few other, less legal activities with his friend Steve. One day, he witnesses a strange, vibrant shooting star crash down in an abandoned industrial area, and since he’s making good time on his latest delivery, he checks it out.
What he finds is neither aliens nor a pot of gold, but humans representing the Dark Convoy. After passing a strange, unsettling test, he’s welcomed as a new member. From this moment onward, he works, or better, drives, for the Dark Convoy.
The series has since been deleted by the writer, but it’s been released as a novel, which honestly is the superior way to experience it, anyway. You can find it on Amazon. If you like dark societies, supernatural entities, hard-ass characters, and fucked-up scenarios, the Dark Convoy is for you. You won’t regret it.
Don’t stop running when it smells like petrichor.
u/cal_ness’ second entry on this list is a different beast from the Dark Convoy: quieter, sadder, and more personal.
Our narrator begins by telling us about his sister’s death, a death he blames himself for. One day, the two of them got drunk and high, and on the way home, the narrator crashed their car into a tree. It’s been years since then, long years, but eventually, he receives a letter from his mother, one that states only a single thing. After a call with his brother, he sets out to visit his hometown and pay his parents a visit.
From here on out, we learn what’s truly going on in the narrator’s hometown, and what happens when it smells like petrichor.
It’s a NoSleep series that shows just how much darkness can hide behind a picturesque small-town curtain. Once again, the writing is fantastic, the plot well-crafted, and the characters feel truly alive. A story full of powerful emotions, but also plenty of disturbing, genuinely nightmarish imagery.
I help people commit suicide, but they have to convince me to do it first.
u/hercreation’s suicide helper series was an absolute hit when it was first posted.
As the title states, our narrator is a woman who assists people in ending their lives. Her client in the first installment is a doctor, who tells her quite a disturbing story to justify why he wants her services. As the series continues, we meet more people who want to end their lives and learn the various twisted reasons that drove them to this decision.
It’s more of an anthology, held together by the framing narrative of the narrator’s particular line of work. u/hercreation is a great writer, endlessly creative when it comes to disturbing scenarios, but just as strong with characters and dialogue. If you haven’t read this NoSleep series, I highly recommend it.
I own a boutique that offers full body transformations to customers in need of a new identity.
u/hercreation again, this time with the owner of a boutique, but a boutique of a very special kind.
In each part, the owner is approached by people looking for a change. One thing sets her services apart, though: she always makes sure the customer gets what they need. Which, as you might guess, isn’t always what they want.
It’s another anthology-style series, and interestingly, it tackles quite a few modern issues along the way, bringing each part to a satisfying and often fitting conclusion.
I joined a support group that promised to “cure” me of my phobia. The first participant is deathly afraid of clocks.
The third series by u/hercreation on this list, this one centering on phobias.
Our narrator suffers from a specific phobia herself, one she doesn’t share with us just yet, but one that leads her to join a support group. At the outset, we’re introduced to the other participants, before the first of them, a woman named Cecily, shares her story. As the series continues, we learn about all the other participants’ phobias, each of them unique and more than a tad weird.
Yet again, it’s an anthology held together by a framing narrative, but this one is something special. It’s a NoSleep series about broken people, but human people, one that’s raw, alive, and full of genuinely powerful emotions.
I run a bar that serves one of a kind drinks to clients in exchange for their stories…this one got to me.
u/tjaylea’s series about the Spaces in Between is another great entry in the grand tradition of strange-establishment stories on NoSleep.
The bar, as we soon learn, is a special place. Its patrons can’t pay for its brews with money alone. Instead, they have to tell the barkeeper a story. After a brief visit from a woman named Letty, another patron, Gomez, enters with a tale of his own to share, or at least troubles he needs to vent.
As the series continues, we learn more about the bar itself, its owner, its patrons, and what a truly strange place it is. What makes this NoSleep series so great is, without a doubt, the writing: the vocabulary, the intricate descriptions of the drinks and the flasks they come in. They’re all special, almost magical, and add so much to the series’ atmosphere.
Forty-eight years ago, I pulled off the only unsolved aerial hijacking in American history. I’m D. B. Cooper, and this is my story.
NoSleep series come in many forms, but this one stuck out to me for how unique it is.
There are no supernatural beings here, and no serial killers. Instead, it’s the story of a man driven to commit an aerial hijacking when he learns of his wife’s illness, a fictional retelling of one of the most famous unsolved cases in American history.
What makes it such a great read is the writing, the narrative voice, and the plot itself. It’s a NoSleep series entirely grounded in reality, and that’s exactly what makes it so enjoyable. It’s proof that the sub can do more than just monsters.
I’m a therapist and my patient is going to be the next school shooter.
u/Dr_Harper’s series about his newest patient is quite something. It’s among the most suspenseful and terrifying NoSleep series out there, both for its subject matter and for how frighteningly realistic it is.
The writing is fantastic, the characters believable, and the ending is quite the tearjerker. At only three parts, it’s a rather short series, but it also serves as a lead-in to u/Dr_Harper’s many other stories, which are all nothing short of fantastic. His work has also been published in book form, so if you enjoy this one, there’s plenty more where it came from.
I was dead for six minutes and saw Heaven. I would rather go to Hell.
This series details what our narrator experiences after a terrible traffic accident.
He sees a light at the end of the tunnel and realizes he’s died. He promptly finds himself in Heaven, but in a physical body, greeted by a strange figure named Daniel. What’s odd is that Daniel was waiting for him, hoping for a chance to get away from Heaven. When he asks why anyone would want to leave Heaven, Daniel simply tells him he’ll find out soon enough. And so, he sets out to traverse the realm of Heaven.
It’s a NoSleep series rich in Christian imagery, but its plot and the idea behind it make it such a great read. It’s the definition of existential dread.
We Used to Live Here.
This series begins with a strange situation and ends as probably one of the most successful NoSleep series of all time.
Eve recently moved into a new home with her girlfriend, planning to renovate and flip it. One day, a family arrives at her doorstep. The father explains he grew up in this house and asks if they might come in, so he can show his kids where their father grew up. The narrator’s reluctant at first, but eventually yields.
What seems like a normal visit becomes complicated when the family’s youngest child, a girl named Jenny, goes and hides in the basement. When she doesn’t reappear, the family’s invited for dinner, and eventually, thanks to terrible road conditions, offered to stay the night. That night, the father tells the narrator and her girlfriend about the strange things that took place in the house when he was still a kid. From here on out, more and more strange things start happening.
u/Polterkites is known for his fantastic writing, but this series is something else. It’s a wild ride from beginning to end, one that will make your head spin, with characters, dialogue, and tension all on point. And its success speaks for itself: it won NoSleep’s Scariest Story of the Year in 2021, the novelization was published by Simon & Schuster, and a Netflix adaptation starring Blake Lively is in the works. The original series has since been deleted from Reddit, but the novel is the definitive way to read it anyway, expanded well beyond the original posts. Few things posted on NoSleep have ever gone this far.
I work on an oil-rig in the North Sea. …I’ve just been assigned to a rig that officially, doesn’t exist…
This series starts out by revealing the intricacies of working on an oil rig and just how isolated the job truly is.
There’s one thing our narrator finds strange, though, one thing nobody’s able or willing to talk about. Five days before a shift on a rig ends, seven workers are selected and moved to another rig. It happens every shift, without fail, and the people who go are never seen again. Eventually, the narrator himself is selected and shipped off by a Royal Navy battleship. Given the opportunity to decline the new assignment, he accepts, driven by curiosity. All he’s told is that the rig officially doesn’t exist, and that he’s better off not wondering about its true purpose.
At only three parts, you might expect a shorter read, but each part is much longer than what you’re used to on NoSleep. The writing and atmosphere are both fantastic, and the story holds its own against the sub’s other ocean-based classics.
u/Darkly_Gathers is a writer I only discovered a few years ago, but he’s written several more series, many of which the community enjoyed tremendously, among them one about a young woman trapped on a bus and another about the so-called Drowned Man Games.
DUNGEONS AND DARKNESS
NoSleep is full of weird and unique series, but this one by u/Jgrupe is among the most unique I’ve come upon.
Our story begins at a grocery store, where the narrator’s brother, Noel, is working the night shift. That night, the narrator and his friends decide to pay him a visit. One of them brings along a game called Dungeons and Darkness, found in a box in the basement, along with a couple of really old bottles of Coca-Cola. They try the drinks, start playing the game, and after each of them picks a character and draws a first card, they’re suddenly transported to a medieval fantasy world and forced to play for real.
It’s a thoroughly unconventional NoSleep series, different from almost anything else I’ve read on the sub, yet there’s something extremely charming about it, be it the characters or the setting. The writing’s great, there’s plenty of humor, and, of course, quite a few things go wrong for our characters. All-around fun, though admittedly not for everyone.
I am a sex worker. Sometimes I get the strangest clients.
u/Mandahrk is another great and prolific NoSleep writer, known for his stories centering on Indian folklore, but also for his rather twisted sexual ones. This series is my favorite among his many works.
The story begins with a young woman sharing the intricacies of her job, the many weird things she’s had to do and experienced over the years. But sometimes, she tells us, you come upon someone who’s truly evil, or who might not be entirely human.
What follows is a series of weird tales and disturbing incidents full of sex in its most primal and disgusting form, told with the right vocabulary sugarcoating nothing. It can be a tough read, but it’s worth it for how real and raw it is, at least in terms of sex work. What elevates this NoSleep series beyond its twisted details is the way it’s told, carried by a strong narrative voice. If you’re looking for sexual horror, this one’s a must-read.
How to survive camping
fainting–goat’s camping series is one of the longest and most successful NoSleep series of all time. At far over 100 parts, it’s quite a commitment, but one that’s well worth it.
The tale starts out simple. Kate owns a campground and explains its intricacies, along with the rules the campers have to follow to avoid a dire end. It might sound like another rules series, but it’s quite different, with a unique setting, fantastic characters, and plenty of twisted creatures and scenarios. Before long, the series takes on a life of its own. We learn more about the campground, the narrator’s family, and the nearby town. In time, it grew into one of the strongest, most well-crafted series on NoSleep, full of twists, captivating characters, and supernatural creatures both mythological and entirely original.
The series has since been removed from Reddit, but it lives on as a book series spanning several volumes, all available on Amazon. If you’ve got the time, you should absolutely dig into it. It’s one of the greatest NoSleep series of all time, and probably the most ambitious thing ever attempted on the sub.
I’m a drug dealer and you shouldn’t smoke what I’m selling
u/ChristianWallis has recently become my favorite weird fiction and cosmic horror writer on NoSleep. His imagery and prose are among the best on the entire sub, and this series of his stood out to me above the rest.
We’re introduced to a London drug dealer, one smart enough to cultivate a small circle of wealthy, functional clients who can afford to hide their addiction. Then one of them shows up at his door with a brick of heroin he claims to have found in a ditch, stamped with a strange gold symbol that hurts to look at. The narrator sells it off in pieces to his eleven regulars, and then, one by one, they stop coming back. What he finds when he goes looking for them is the stuff of genuine cosmic nightmares.
It’s a masterclass in escalation, grounded in the grimy logistics of dealing before it tips into something vast and terrible. Unfortunately, there are only three parts, and the series remains unfinished to this day. But what’s there is phenomenal, and even incomplete, it earns its place among the best NoSleep series I’ve read.
The Booger
This two-part series comes from u/aapterson, best known for his disturbing NoSleep classic, The Pancake Family.
Abby, a veteran, returns back home to West Virginia with shrapnel in her hip and something she can’t talk about. Literally can’t: whenever she tries, her throat seizes up, and the words come out wrong. So she frames it as a story, maybe true, maybe not, about her best friend Rusty, her peculiar grandmother Zebula, and the thing they encountered at a small-town knife show. A thing she calls the Booger, because a booger is something you can pick out and flick away.
At only two installments, it’s one of the shortest series on this list, but it stands out as one of the strongest in terms of voice. The narration sounds rough and Appalachian, the setting feels genuinely alive, and beneath the folksy telling sits one of the cruelest entities NoSleep has ever produced. Few series pack this much heartbreak into so few words.
The dogman
The dogman is the first thing u/Coney-IslandQueen ever posted, which is hard to believe once you’ve read it.
Kenna moves with her mother and little sister, Jamie, from Oregon to a house on the edge of the Louisiana woods, leaving her father behind. Bill, the man who sold them the house, keeps coming around. Jamie starts talking about the dogman, a figure who watches their bedroom at night, waving at her from the trees. Then Jamie disappears.
It’s a quick series, a short read, and it stands out not so much for its plot as for its prose. The writing is gorgeous, thick with Louisiana heat and childhood dread, closer to Southern Gothic literature than typical NoSleep writing.
The Downstairs Parlor
This series is set in a giant, strange mansion where the narrator grew up as one of twelve siblings, alongside grandparents, aunts, and a plethora of visiting cousins. The house has rules, and breaking them brings trouble. When a cousin war escalates and the narrator’s little brother falls through an uncovered mirror, the family’s response is chillingly matter-of-fact. Grandmother tapes his name on the glass and says he’ll come back or he won’t.
The whole thing reminded me of nothing so much as Mervyn Peake’s Gormenghast: a vast, rule-bound house that’s a world in and of itself, rendered with dark humor and a child’s flat acceptance of the impossible.
Unfortunately, there are only a handful of parts, each sharing a different anecdote from the narrator’s life in the mansion. But what’s there is fantastic, offering just enough mystery and strange magic to make it a delight. I wish there was more, because it’s easily one of the most unique NoSleep series ever posted.
Twelve-Acre Plot
Twelve-Acre Plot is one of the oldest series on this list, posted more than a decade and a half ago.
Our narrator, Charlotte, is a broke college student who answers a too-good-to-be-true Craigslist ad: free rent on a beautiful twelve-acre plot by the woods, in exchange for feeding the dogs and watering the flowers. The woman who hands over the keys is strange, hollow-eyed, and insists that the narrator always keep the dogs with her. Naturally, on Charlotte’s very first day, the dogs vanish.
It’s a long read, one that stands out for its slow, mysterious plot, but especially for its writing. The prose feels far more literary than what you usually read on NoSleep. It’s a relic from the sub’s early days that deserves far more attention than it gets.
I Challenged Myself to Ride the Tram for an Entire Week Without Getting Off
Full disclosure: this one’s mine. I’ve posted a handful of series on NoSleep over the years, but the Long Ride is the one I believe holds up the most.
It starts, as many terrible ideas do, with a drunken dare. A young man declares he can ride the tram back and forth through his city for an entire week without getting off, and armed with a giant camping backpack and a self-imposed set of rules, he does exactly that. What begins as a dumb stunt slowly turns into something else, as the tram reveals its stranger passengers: a boy with a grin no child should be able to make, an old man who remembers lines that were discontinued decades ago and might not be entirely alive.
The plot is relatively simple, and I’ll be the first to admit it. But I believe the imagery here is some of the strongest and strangest I’ve ever written, a slow slide into the liminal that I’m still proud of. The first part was removed from NoSleep, but it survives on my personal subreddit. The rest of the series is still up. Judge for yourself whether it belongs on this list.
