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Tiny Terrible Tales
SHE WAITS: A Tiny Terrible Tale
SHE WAITS is a cosmic, creepy, sleep-with-the-lights-on horror short story.
The New Year's Eve tradition of 'first footing' is supposed to bring luck and prosperity.
For Tamsin, it brings only terror.
Looking for some holiday themed horror?
Want to plummet into a sea of existential dread?
Haven't quite met your reading goal?
SHE WAITS is the story for you!
TINY TERRIBLE TALES is a series of standalone, one-sitting horror shorts from indie horror author Sarah Jules.
SHE WAITS is the third release.*
These bite-sized horror stories will sink their teeth into you and refuse to let go.
With regular new releases, there's always something terrible waiting around the corner.
*They can be read in any order and are not interlinked.
PRAISE FOR TINY TERRIBLE
"Masterfully chilling with a gut-wrenching kick. Sarah Jules knows how to take your fears and use them against you." - Elizabeth J. Brown, author of The Laughing Policeman.
"Sarah Jules has already established herself as one of the top authors for all things creepy! Yet another fantastic story from the Tiny Terrible Tales series... How the author manages to fit so much dread and horror into such a short story is truly amazing!" - Justin Boote, author of Soul Searchers.
"For such a short story, this was richly plotted and full of enough backstory to make it feel incredibly well-rounded and realised. It was also full of some sumptuous and scary writing... had my skin crawling." - Dave Musson, author of One More Around the Sun, and owner of the 'Dave Reads King' YouTube channel.
"Did somebody say NEW HORROR SHORT by the inimitable Sarah Jules?!" - Leigh Kenny, author of Hush, My Darling.
"A gripping little short horror story, I really enjoy Sarah's writing it has a way of being gripping, vivid and enjoyable while feeling accessible... A fun chilling little read and I will forever recommend Sarah's writing." - Wyatt Creed Reads.
The New Year's Eve tradition of 'first footing' is supposed to bring luck and prosperity.
For Tamsin, it brings only terror.
Looking for some holiday themed horror?
Want to plummet into a sea of existential dread?
Haven't quite met your reading goal?
SHE WAITS is the story for you!
TINY TERRIBLE TALES is a series of standalone, one-sitting horror shorts from indie horror author Sarah Jules.
SHE WAITS is the third release.*
These bite-sized horror stories will sink their teeth into you and refuse to let go.
With regular new releases, there's always something terrible waiting around the corner.
*They can be read in any order and are not interlinked.
PRAISE FOR TINY TERRIBLE
"Masterfully chilling with a gut-wrenching kick. Sarah Jules knows how to take your fears and use them against you." - Elizabeth J. Brown, author of The Laughing Policeman.
"Sarah Jules has already established herself as one of the top authors for all things creepy! Yet another fantastic story from the Tiny Terrible Tales series... How the author manages to fit so much dread and horror into such a short story is truly amazing!" - Justin Boote, author of Soul Searchers.
"For such a short story, this was richly plotted and full of enough backstory to make it feel incredibly well-rounded and realised. It was also full of some sumptuous and scary writing... had my skin crawling." - Dave Musson, author of One More Around the Sun, and owner of the 'Dave Reads King' YouTube channel.
"Did somebody say NEW HORROR SHORT by the inimitable Sarah Jules?!" - Leigh Kenny, author of Hush, My Darling.
"A gripping little short horror story, I really enjoy Sarah's writing it has a way of being gripping, vivid and enjoyable while feeling accessible... A fun chilling little read and I will forever recommend Sarah's writing." - Wyatt Creed Reads.
20 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 29, 2025
About the author
Sarah Jules
11 books171 followersSarah Jules is an indie horror author from Yorkshire. She is a self-professed accidental hipster (who refuses to apologise for this). She is also the owner of Sarah Jules Writing Services, a job that allows her to work in her pyjamas, which she is immensely grateful for.
She has written four novels - YOU INVITED IT IN, YOU NEED TO LEAVE, DON'T LIE & FOUND YOU - edited BLOODY HELL: An Anthology of UK Indie Horror, and has co-edited GOOD FOR HER (alongside Shauna Mc Eleney and TC Parker of Nefarious Bat Press).
If Sarah isn’t working (or writing), you can find her with her nose stuck in a book, travelling with her partner, or sweating it out in the gym. She is a mental health advocate, coffee-addict, and loves all things spooky and/or creepy.
Sarah blogs (super-hipster, she knows) about all things books, writing and publishing on both her Instagram (@sarahjuleswriting) and on her website www.sarahjuleswriting.com.
She has written four novels - YOU INVITED IT IN, YOU NEED TO LEAVE, DON'T LIE & FOUND YOU - edited BLOODY HELL: An Anthology of UK Indie Horror, and has co-edited GOOD FOR HER (alongside Shauna Mc Eleney and TC Parker of Nefarious Bat Press).
If Sarah isn’t working (or writing), you can find her with her nose stuck in a book, travelling with her partner, or sweating it out in the gym. She is a mental health advocate, coffee-addict, and loves all things spooky and/or creepy.
Sarah blogs (super-hipster, she knows) about all things books, writing and publishing on both her Instagram (@sarahjuleswriting) and on her website www.sarahjuleswriting.com.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
January 13, 2026
Having read and loved "You Invited It In" by Sarah Jules late last year, I was excited to recently download and tuck into her Tiny Terrible Tales series, a collection of three short stories.
"Creepy Little Bastards" is told in epistolary style, a series of correspondences from an unnamed narrator in which he details his growing suspicion that there's something sinister behind the sudden popularity of a new toy. At first, it seems humorous, the way everyone seems to be carrying one of the ugly things around. However, it becomes less and less funny because the damn things are everywhere, and the narrator can't help but notice how the people who own them seem...different somehow.
In "The Things in the Woods," a young man feigns an interest in horror movies and ghost stories in the hopes of endearing himself to a new girlfriend. The ploy works -- with unexpected and terrible consequences.
And in "She Waits," a family's festive New Year's ritual takes on horrifying undertones as year after year, a young woman watches the slow but steady approach of her ghostly doppelganger.
As with her longer works, in this trio, Jules expertly layers tension and dread as the plots develop. They're short, but she doesn't skimp on the scares. Her writing is top-notch, and each of these has its unique style and creates its own distinctive atmosphere. For example, there are moments of dark humor and playfulness in "Creepy Little Bastards," while "She Waits" evokes liminal feelings and a sense of melancholic longing. Of them, "Creepy Little Bastards" was my favorite, but it's difficult to choose because it's hard to compare them. They're all brilliantly written, wildly different, and highly recommended.
"Creepy Little Bastards" is told in epistolary style, a series of correspondences from an unnamed narrator in which he details his growing suspicion that there's something sinister behind the sudden popularity of a new toy. At first, it seems humorous, the way everyone seems to be carrying one of the ugly things around. However, it becomes less and less funny because the damn things are everywhere, and the narrator can't help but notice how the people who own them seem...different somehow.
In "The Things in the Woods," a young man feigns an interest in horror movies and ghost stories in the hopes of endearing himself to a new girlfriend. The ploy works -- with unexpected and terrible consequences.
And in "She Waits," a family's festive New Year's ritual takes on horrifying undertones as year after year, a young woman watches the slow but steady approach of her ghostly doppelganger.
As with her longer works, in this trio, Jules expertly layers tension and dread as the plots develop. They're short, but she doesn't skimp on the scares. Her writing is top-notch, and each of these has its unique style and creates its own distinctive atmosphere. For example, there are moments of dark humor and playfulness in "Creepy Little Bastards," while "She Waits" evokes liminal feelings and a sense of melancholic longing. Of them, "Creepy Little Bastards" was my favorite, but it's difficult to choose because it's hard to compare them. They're all brilliantly written, wildly different, and highly recommended.
January 1, 2026
New Year is a time of celebration- of seeing out the old year and welcoming the new. Of following traditions and superstitions to ensure the coming year is a good one. So what happens when there's someone outside, waiting when the clock strikes 12? Sarah Jules has this incredible way of taking a very short story and infusing it with so much character that you're instantly transported to that moment. I'm pleased i left it a day to read this spooky tale!
December 30, 2025
As a Scot, New Year’s Eve traditions are more important than Christmas to many of us as celebrating Xmas was declared illegal in Scotland in 1640 and wasn’t recognised as a public holiday until 1958, so this creepy little tale on the tradition of First Footing had me on edge.
I don’t think I’ll answer the door this year 😱
I don’t think I’ll answer the door this year 😱
January 31, 2026
I unfortunately did not enjoy my first read of the year. “SHE WAITS” by Sarah Jules is a horror yet I wasn’t scared I didn’t even find it creepy or spooky. I was unfortunately bored. I gave it 2 stars⭐️⭐️
January 5, 2026
A new tiny tale by Sarah Jules is always a treat! This time it's a doppelgänger tale, weird, creepy, and brimming with existential dread. The way Jules brings the holiday spirit and the New Year's First Footing tradition into the tale is simply marvelous: palpable horror and suspense packaged in a such a delicious morsel of family joy - only a door keeping out the horror, the terrifying, personalized menace known only to the narrator. The threshold theme is employed brilliantly, that feeling of being watched from outside skillfully enmeshed in a celebration of the new, the lost, the abandoned. Recommended!
December 31, 2025
Jules finds terror in tradition here, taking a family NYE ritual and making it bone-chilling. There's something about the idea of seeing someone, or something, that looks exactly like you that gets under my skin - and if you're the only one who can see them? Another short but effective story in this series, which I hope will continue for many new scares to come.
Happy new year!
Happy new year!
January 1, 2026
As New Year approaches, a family prepares for their annual tradition of bringing them luck, first footing. So why then at the stroke of midnight, does the knock at the door bring one family member such dread? A brilliant, tension packed, seasonal gem.
January 8, 2026
Creepy
I like how the book has no build up just takes you right into it! This was cool, like stuck in a loop. People having doubts about the new year and then you have to deal with her aswell... joys
I like how the book has no build up just takes you right into it! This was cool, like stuck in a loop. People having doubts about the new year and then you have to deal with her aswell... joys
January 11, 2026
I love these short stories from this author. So fun. Keep em coming!
January 19, 2026
Fun, short and dark! I definitely could have read more.
January 30, 2026
Short and creepy
April 27, 2026
Creepy AF
May 3, 2026
Great tiny tale. A very quick read, that reminded me of the short stories by Blair Daniels
May 20, 2026
This one really got me. Something about the situation just got right under my skin.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews