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Selfies
"Selfies", by Lavie Tidhar, is a creepy little horror tale about the fate of a young woman who makes the mistake of a lifetime when she buys a new phone in the local mall.
32 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 17, 2014
6 people are currently reading
300 people want to read
About the author
Lavie Tidhar
393 books731 followersLavie Tidhar was raised on a kibbutz in Israel. He has travelled extensively since he was a teenager, living in South Africa, the UK, Laos, and the small island nation of Vanuatu.
Tidhar began publishing with a poetry collection in Hebrew in 1998, but soon moved to fiction, becoming a prolific author of short stories early in the 21st century.
Temporal Spiders, Spatial Webs won the 2003 Clarke-Bradbury competition, sponsored by the European Space Agency, while The Night Train (2010) was a Sturgeon Award finalist.
Linked story collection HebrewPunk (2007) contains stories of Jewish pulp fantasy.
He co-wrote dark fantasy novel The Tel Aviv Dossier (2009) with Nir Yaniv. The Bookman Histories series, combining literary and historical characters with steampunk elements, includes The Bookman (2010), Camera Obscura (2011), and The Great Game (2012).
Standalone novel Osama (2011) combines pulp adventure with a sophisticated look at the impact of terrorism. It won the 2012 World Fantasy Award, and was a finalist for the Campbell Memorial Award, British Science Fiction Award, and a Kitschie.
His latest novels are Martian Sands and The Violent Century.
Much of Tidhar’s best work is done at novella length, including An Occupation of Angels (2005), Cloud Permutations (2010), British Fantasy Award winner Gorel and the Pot-Bellied God (2011), and Jesus & the Eightfold Path (2011).
Tidhar advocates bringing international SF to a wider audience, and has edited The Apex Book of World SF (2009) and The Apex Book of World SF 2 (2012).
He is also editor-in-chief of the World SF Blog , and in 2011 was a finalist for a World Fantasy Award for his work there.
He also edited A Dick and Jane Primer for Adults (2008); wrote Michael Marshall Smith: The Annotated Bibliography (2004); wrote weird picture book Going to The Moon (2012, with artist Paul McCaffery); and scripted one-shot comic Adolf Hitler’s I Dream of Ants! (2012, with artist Neil Struthers).
Tidhar lives with his wife in London.
Tidhar began publishing with a poetry collection in Hebrew in 1998, but soon moved to fiction, becoming a prolific author of short stories early in the 21st century.
Temporal Spiders, Spatial Webs won the 2003 Clarke-Bradbury competition, sponsored by the European Space Agency, while The Night Train (2010) was a Sturgeon Award finalist.
Linked story collection HebrewPunk (2007) contains stories of Jewish pulp fantasy.
He co-wrote dark fantasy novel The Tel Aviv Dossier (2009) with Nir Yaniv. The Bookman Histories series, combining literary and historical characters with steampunk elements, includes The Bookman (2010), Camera Obscura (2011), and The Great Game (2012).
Standalone novel Osama (2011) combines pulp adventure with a sophisticated look at the impact of terrorism. It won the 2012 World Fantasy Award, and was a finalist for the Campbell Memorial Award, British Science Fiction Award, and a Kitschie.
His latest novels are Martian Sands and The Violent Century.
Much of Tidhar’s best work is done at novella length, including An Occupation of Angels (2005), Cloud Permutations (2010), British Fantasy Award winner Gorel and the Pot-Bellied God (2011), and Jesus & the Eightfold Path (2011).
Tidhar advocates bringing international SF to a wider audience, and has edited The Apex Book of World SF (2009) and The Apex Book of World SF 2 (2012).
He is also editor-in-chief of the World SF Blog , and in 2011 was a finalist for a World Fantasy Award for his work there.
He also edited A Dick and Jane Primer for Adults (2008); wrote Michael Marshall Smith: The Annotated Bibliography (2004); wrote weird picture book Going to The Moon (2012, with artist Paul McCaffery); and scripted one-shot comic Adolf Hitler’s I Dream of Ants! (2012, with artist Neil Struthers).
Tidhar lives with his wife in London.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 89 reviews
October 29, 2019
In the last picture, I’m dead.
this is one of the best "covers" that these delightful tor shorts have produced so far, but in this case, the artwork is better than the story. don't get me wrong, it's not at all bad; it's a great idea, but i just thought its execution was a little unfocused. i loved the fact that the story was mostly told in shuffled snapshots - the descriptions of the selfies one girl took with a spooooky camera forming the shape of the narrative. and i thought the demonic compulsion to take these selfies was hilarious, and a clever little jab at, you know, "these kids today" and all.
My finger itches. I hold up the phone in front of me and press the camera button and it’s like something in me wakes up for the first time and something inside me dies—I can’t describe it. I don’t need to. I press the button and there’s the image, instead.
my only complaint is that when the narrative is fragmented like this one is, there are too many loose ends, too many dropped pieces of the story. and usually i have no problem filling in the gaps myself, but i found the character of farnsworth perplexing, and i'm not sure how he fits into the larger story, except as a device to give ellie (and therefore, the reader) some arcane factoids. i wish he had been more integrated into the story instead of just being "that which infodumps," but it's hard to complain too strenuously about free stories. even the shorts i haven't swooned over have at least been a nice brief entertainment - a little snack in between the larger meals of books. i will never stop reading these. NEVER!
read it for yourself here:
http://www.tor.com/stories/2014/09/se...
come to my blog!
this is one of the best "covers" that these delightful tor shorts have produced so far, but in this case, the artwork is better than the story. don't get me wrong, it's not at all bad; it's a great idea, but i just thought its execution was a little unfocused. i loved the fact that the story was mostly told in shuffled snapshots - the descriptions of the selfies one girl took with a spooooky camera forming the shape of the narrative. and i thought the demonic compulsion to take these selfies was hilarious, and a clever little jab at, you know, "these kids today" and all.
My finger itches. I hold up the phone in front of me and press the camera button and it’s like something in me wakes up for the first time and something inside me dies—I can’t describe it. I don’t need to. I press the button and there’s the image, instead.
my only complaint is that when the narrative is fragmented like this one is, there are too many loose ends, too many dropped pieces of the story. and usually i have no problem filling in the gaps myself, but i found the character of farnsworth perplexing, and i'm not sure how he fits into the larger story, except as a device to give ellie (and therefore, the reader) some arcane factoids. i wish he had been more integrated into the story instead of just being "that which infodumps," but it's hard to complain too strenuously about free stories. even the shorts i haven't swooned over have at least been a nice brief entertainment - a little snack in between the larger meals of books. i will never stop reading these. NEVER!
read it for yourself here:
http://www.tor.com/stories/2014/09/se...
come to my blog!
November 10, 2016
Find all of my reviews at: http://52bookminimum.blogspot.com/
“In some cultures they believe that every photo takes away a little bit of your soul.”
Yep. That ‘bout sums it up.
You can read this for free HERE.
“In some cultures they believe that every photo takes away a little bit of your soul.”
Yep. That ‘bout sums it up.
You can read this for free HERE.
November 23, 2020
Meh. Meh. Meh.
This short was just not for me. It read like a real class B, made for TV horror movie. The writing was gimmicky and it’s message not subtle enough to be effective. Execution fell flat, and the theme overdone. Honestly, this story takes me back to my childhood as I somewhat remember watching a similar story growing up:
And come to think of it, I read a similar story too
And I think both of those were better than this.
This short was just not for me. It read like a real class B, made for TV horror movie. The writing was gimmicky and it’s message not subtle enough to be effective. Execution fell flat, and the theme overdone. Honestly, this story takes me back to my childhood as I somewhat remember watching a similar story growing up:
And come to think of it, I read a similar story too
And I think both of those were better than this.
September 27, 2014
In some cultures they believe that every photo takes away a little bit of your soul.
My father says this all the time.... more as a joke, I think, than anything. He, like his daughter, hates having his photo taken.
This short is strangely written. It's jumpy and obscure in a way that could be very awesome..... but isn't.
The writing is too choppy for my liking and there is little to no character development. If you are trying to spook me, Tidhar, you have to first make me give a shit!
Two stars because... the concept was interesting.
The cover art is freaking great though!
My father says this all the time.... more as a joke, I think, than anything. He, like his daughter, hates having his photo taken.
This short is strangely written. It's jumpy and obscure in a way that could be very awesome..... but isn't.
The writing is too choppy for my liking and there is little to no character development. If you are trying to spook me, Tidhar, you have to first make me give a shit!
Two stars because... the concept was interesting.
The cover art is freaking great though!
May 24, 2016
Something is standing outside under the lamp.
I pull back the corner of the curtain and I don’t look out but I take a picture.
In the picture something with my face is standing outside and it’s looking back at me and it’s smiling.
Wasn't really scary but I like how the author made something unique out of the ordinary.
April 22, 2015
Nope.
Not scary.
Not scary.
December 8, 2016
I have always suspected this is how the millennials will end.
November 10, 2016
Selfies is a short story on Tor.com. A friend reviewed it on here and I thought it sounded interesting. I liked the story though it was a bit disjointed to me since you start at the end then jump to the beginning and work your way to the end again. I gave it three stars since there seems to be a bit of an homage to Lovecraft in it. Farnsworth the collector struck me as Lovecraftian. That's the main reason I gave it a three star instead of a two-star rating. It's a good story, but not a great story, though it gives a very interesting slightly sinister take on the selfie culture.
October 13, 2018
“Selfies,” by Lavie Tidhar, is a creepy little horror tale about the fate of a young woman who makes the mistake of a lifetime when she buys a new phone in the local mall.
Oh, this is creepy. And smart. And really very creepy.
Can be found for free here: https://www.tor.com/2014/09/17/selfie...
Oh, this is creepy. And smart. And really very creepy.
Can be found for free here: https://www.tor.com/2014/09/17/selfie...
November 14, 2019
Technology can be a double-edged sword.
One of the things I liked the most about this story was the fact that it wasn’t told in order. It was up to me as the reader to piece everything together chronologically. Not only was this a great deal of fun to do, it kept me perked up for any small clue about what happened to Ellie, the main character, or why her new cellphone was anything but the bargain she thought it was.
It would have been helpful to have a little clearer understanding of the antagonist or antagonists. While the plot did eventually give a description of them, it also seemed to contradict itself in one place as far as how many of them there were. It didn’t matter to me whether there was one or a dozen of them. I simply would have liked to know for sure what that number was so that the ending could have been a little easier to visualize.
Ellie was such a complex character. There were times when I shook my head at the foolish things she did after she realized her new camera was acting odd. She was so young, innocent, and broke, though, that I simultaneously understood why she’d shake off these moments as simple malfunctions. There was no way she could afford a new phone at full price, so I could see why it was so tempting for her to find innocuous explanations for what was happening.
Selfies should be read by anyone who thinks of themselves as horror aficionados.
One of the things I liked the most about this story was the fact that it wasn’t told in order. It was up to me as the reader to piece everything together chronologically. Not only was this a great deal of fun to do, it kept me perked up for any small clue about what happened to Ellie, the main character, or why her new cellphone was anything but the bargain she thought it was.
It would have been helpful to have a little clearer understanding of the antagonist or antagonists. While the plot did eventually give a description of them, it also seemed to contradict itself in one place as far as how many of them there were. It didn’t matter to me whether there was one or a dozen of them. I simply would have liked to know for sure what that number was so that the ending could have been a little easier to visualize.
Ellie was such a complex character. There were times when I shook my head at the foolish things she did after she realized her new camera was acting odd. She was so young, innocent, and broke, though, that I simultaneously understood why she’d shake off these moments as simple malfunctions. There was no way she could afford a new phone at full price, so I could see why it was so tempting for her to find innocuous explanations for what was happening.
Selfies should be read by anyone who thinks of themselves as horror aficionados.
March 27, 2016
In the picture something with my face is standing outside and it’s looking back at me and it’s smiling.
Weird little story, a quick read but difficult to follow. The numbers are out of order days/events/selfies taken. Someone else is after the fun although I don't know who or why. There's a lot of questions left at the end of this one.
Read
January 30, 2022In some cultures they believe that every photo takes away a little bit of your soul.
June 28, 2022
Almost too creepy to read in the dark. Not one of my favourites as I wished for a less abrupt ending and more fleshed out characters.
October 1, 2024
Quick read for the spooky season.
August 7, 2019
A quick, free online read, which unfortunately left a lot to be desired. I do, however, really like the cover, as well as the mythology of cameras/mirrors trapping souls.
However, nothing was explained (not even the characters) and the experimental style, while self-explanatory, just felt choppy and unnecessary.
Personally, I prefer 'Ghost Camera' by Darcy Coates, for a similar, but actually spooky, reading experience.
However, nothing was explained (not even the characters) and the experimental style, while self-explanatory, just felt choppy and unnecessary.
Personally, I prefer 'Ghost Camera' by Darcy Coates, for a similar, but actually spooky, reading experience.
December 19, 2016
The concept was excellent but the execution left much to be desired.
This can be said about most short stories 'it was so great I wanted more!'
This one just needed more. More substance to really bring the fear home. Farnsworth was used as a part of the story but he had no substance. He came off as just odd.
The pieces were there but the picture just didn't come into focus.
This can be said about most short stories 'it was so great I wanted more!'
This one just needed more. More substance to really bring the fear home. Farnsworth was used as a part of the story but he had no substance. He came off as just odd.
The pieces were there but the picture just didn't come into focus.
November 9, 2015
Very short, seemed more of a teaser!
September 28, 2014
Short story horror from tor.com.
It was not an in-depth work, but a quick five minute distraction.
Spare it 5 minutes.
It was not an in-depth work, but a quick five minute distraction.
Spare it 5 minutes.
April 10, 2017
A strong, experimental short, non-linear and effective. Yes, this kind of thing has been done before, but this is a fine execution of the premise regardless, premise being that a teenager gets a used camera-phone, starts taking selfies, bad things happen. Would also make a good J-horror-esque short film.
April 24, 2017
This was pretty good. Creepy and interesting. All of the good things.
July 23, 2018
what if phones, but too much?!
June 3, 2019
I don't have a high opinion of selfies, they're a cliche for vapid vanity now, but when this story was written, I think it was different. Reminds me that earlier today, I read a headline about a woman who fell over a waterfall and died trying to take a selfie. I don't know the details. I didn't even click the link to that article because there are so many similar stories now.
November 2, 2014
This short story marveled me. I absolutely loved it. It was creepy. It was macabre. It was tinged in foreboding and insidious intent, everything I love reading in a short horror story.
I'm not a huge fan of short stories. I love writing them, but reading them is completely different for me. Usually, short stories lack the luster most novels provide. They don't always have character development, sometimes the wording and plotting shudders its way through to the end. While this one was not very elaborate (in length, my dear, not in ideology) the choppy writing was absolutely perfect for the story.
Ellie buys a phone at a shop in the back of a mall she didn't know was there. She feels utter compulsion to take photos of herself. Throughout her life after buying the phone, through very aggressive selling tactics might I add, she begins to see the photographs she takes tell lies about her. They put her in events and places she has no recollection of being. She is followed by shadowy figures and accosted by a man imploring her for the phone. We also receive a small portion about the creation of this insidious phone.
After finishing this, I will probably never take a selfie (cringing at the use of that abhorrent word) again.
"My hand is shaking. A shot of me against supermarket shelves. Shoppers pushing carts loaded with food and cans and cereal. One by one they stop and raise their heads and look up at me. They smile with my face. They have no eyes.
Someone whispers my name: Ellie, Ellie.
I run."
I most definitely look forward to perusing Lavie Tidhar's other works.
I'm not a huge fan of short stories. I love writing them, but reading them is completely different for me. Usually, short stories lack the luster most novels provide. They don't always have character development, sometimes the wording and plotting shudders its way through to the end. While this one was not very elaborate (in length, my dear, not in ideology) the choppy writing was absolutely perfect for the story.
Ellie buys a phone at a shop in the back of a mall she didn't know was there. She feels utter compulsion to take photos of herself. Throughout her life after buying the phone, through very aggressive selling tactics might I add, she begins to see the photographs she takes tell lies about her. They put her in events and places she has no recollection of being. She is followed by shadowy figures and accosted by a man imploring her for the phone. We also receive a small portion about the creation of this insidious phone.
After finishing this, I will probably never take a selfie (cringing at the use of that abhorrent word) again.
"My hand is shaking. A shot of me against supermarket shelves. Shoppers pushing carts loaded with food and cans and cereal. One by one they stop and raise their heads and look up at me. They smile with my face. They have no eyes.
Someone whispers my name: Ellie, Ellie.
I run."
I most definitely look forward to perusing Lavie Tidhar's other works.
December 26, 2014
Selfies was a fun combination of modern day vanity and the old belief that taking a picture of someone captures a part of that person's soul.
It was...okay. I liked how the story was told in a series of photo descriptions. The build up towards the ending is pretty well paced, although the strange break at the beginning where the random kid delivers exposition felt a bit out of place. It felt like it would have served better as an epilogue, rather than an opening.
My biggest problem was that I really couldn't take the story seriously. It was never scary or creepy for me.
I guess I've just read one too many creepypastas. (I had an addiction to them earlier on in the year.)
This short even follows the general format of a creepypasta, down to the girl getting the phone from a creepy old man in a store that mysteriously disappears after the phone is passed off on her. The story was at least well-written, and properly edited, which is more than I can say for most creepypastas out there.
You can read it for free here.
It was...okay. I liked how the story was told in a series of photo descriptions. The build up towards the ending is pretty well paced, although the strange break at the beginning where the random kid delivers exposition felt a bit out of place. It felt like it would have served better as an epilogue, rather than an opening.
My biggest problem was that I really couldn't take the story seriously. It was never scary or creepy for me.
I guess I've just read one too many creepypastas. (I had an addiction to them earlier on in the year.)
This short even follows the general format of a creepypasta, down to the girl getting the phone from a creepy old man in a store that mysteriously disappears after the phone is passed off on her. The story was at least well-written, and properly edited, which is more than I can say for most creepypastas out there.
You can read it for free here.
February 14, 2015
Another Tor.com short story.
God this gave me the creeps. It has just the right amount of modern day worries and old mythology, without getting preachy about them young kids and their self-chats or whatever.
God this gave me the creeps. It has just the right amount of modern day worries and old mythology, without getting preachy about them young kids and their self-chats or whatever.
December 4, 2014
Listened to the audio version on the Tor.com podcast and was left underwhelmed. The central conceit felt fairly obvious, and the execution wasn't exciting enough to make up for that. A couple of creepy images, but that's about it.
July 16, 2016
3.5 stars. Didn't blow me away, but it was subtly creepy and no... I don't ever plan to start taking selfies now.
September 1, 2019
Short and sweet. Can envision this expanded into a novella.
July 29, 2023
A girl acquires a new phone - pretty much forced onto her in a seedy little shop - and finds herself gripped by an insatiable urge to take selfies. And gripped by much else.
I found this short story on a list of 'Best Short Scary Stories of All Time', and since it was online (on Tor.com), I read it. But while it has potential, it didn't really work for me. There is some indication of what lies behind the creepiness here, but it's too murky, too amorphous, too reliant on the reader's imagination. Ultimately, since I could not understand exactly what was happening, it failed to grip me.
If I wanted a scary short story, I'd go back to AED Smith's very spooky The Coat. Just the memory of it makes my hair stand on end.
I found this short story on a list of 'Best Short Scary Stories of All Time', and since it was online (on Tor.com), I read it. But while it has potential, it didn't really work for me. There is some indication of what lies behind the creepiness here, but it's too murky, too amorphous, too reliant on the reader's imagination. Ultimately, since I could not understand exactly what was happening, it failed to grip me.
If I wanted a scary short story, I'd go back to AED Smith's very spooky The Coat. Just the memory of it makes my hair stand on end.
January 27, 2025
Selfies by Lavie Tidhar is Tor original short. You can read this story (and all the other ones in this series) for free on the Tor.com site https://reactormag.com/selfies-lavie-...
A creepy little horror tale about the fate of a young woman who makes the mistake of a lifetime when she buys a new phone in the local mall.
My ongoing quest to get current with the Tor short stories.
I hold up the phone in front of me and press the camera button and it’s like something in me wakes up for the first time and something inside me dies—I can’t describe it. I don’t need to. I press the button and there’s the image, instead.
A nice bit of creepy from Tidhar.
4 Stars
A creepy little horror tale about the fate of a young woman who makes the mistake of a lifetime when she buys a new phone in the local mall.
My ongoing quest to get current with the Tor short stories.
I hold up the phone in front of me and press the camera button and it’s like something in me wakes up for the first time and something inside me dies—I can’t describe it. I don’t need to. I press the button and there’s the image, instead.
A nice bit of creepy from Tidhar.
4 Stars
Displaying 1 - 30 of 89 reviews