The Collector’s Game: A Thrilling Short Horror Story

Ravi was a clever art thief. He had stolen many things before, but tonight was different. He broke into a rich man’s gallery and took a strange painting. People said it was cursed. The painting showed five dark figures standing in a burning field. Their eyes seemed alive, even on canvas.

Ravi laughed at the stories. “A curse cannot touch me,” he thought. He carried the painting home and placed it against the wall of his small apartment.

At midnight, Ravi woke up to a sound. The air was heavy. He looked around and froze. The five figures from the painting were standing in his room. Their eyes glowed red. Their bodies were made of smoke and fire.

One figure spoke in a deep voice: “Return what you have taken.”

Ravi’s heart raced. “It is only a painting,” he whispered.

Another figure stepped closer. “It is more than paint. It is our prison. You have broken the seal.”

The room grew hotter. The walls shook. Ravi tried to run, but the door would not open. The figures surrounded him.

“You cannot keep us,” they said together. “The curse is real. The Collector’s Game has begun.”

Ravi begged, “I will return it! Please!”

The figures pointed to the painting. It was no longer empty. His own face now appeared inside the burning field. He was trapped in the artwork, screaming silently.

The next morning, the rich man’s gallery was quiet. The painting was back in its place. But now, six figures stood in the burning field.