horror story

noun

: an account of an unsettling or unfortunate occurrence

heard horror stories about recent layoffs

also : something unsettling or unfortunate

his childhood was a horror story

Examples of horror story in a Sentence

We've all heard horror stories about airlines losing people's luggage.

Her childhood was a horror story.

Recent Examples on the Web

So far, the video has over 107,000 likes and has resonated with thousands of users—many of whom shared their own horror stories. —Raja Krishnamoorthi, Newsweek, 13 Mar. 2025

Some fans shared horror stories of their brownie batter overflowing in the oven. —Karla Walsh, Better Homes & Gardens, 6 Mar. 2025

Talk to neighbors Several of the flood horror stories cited in a Herald investigation about secret flood histories might have been averted by chatting up neighbors. —Alex Harris, Miami Herald, 24 Apr. 2025

Shauna choosing to be the villain is a horror story of a different kind, and one Yellowjackets could — and should — pull off in a final season about the Yellowjackets’ most aspirational final girl. —Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 11 Apr. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1937, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for horror story

• allegory
• amatory
• auditory
• category
• clerestory
• crematory
• desultory
• dilatory
• dormitory
• excretory
• extempore
• feudatory