Five Sports Stories

by H.J. Dutton

In 1989, St. Louis Blues member Steve Tuttle collided with rival team goaltender Clint Malarchuck. His skate slashed across Malarchuck’s jugular, severing his carotid artery. Widespread panic ensued among spectators. Despite the injury, Malarchuck survived (“Zednik’s Injury”). 

In 1993, tennis world champion Monica Seles was in a quarterfinal match in Hamburg, Germany. Attending the event was Gunter Parche, a superfan of Seles’s rival, Steffi Graf. Midway through the match, Parche broke from the crowd and stabbed Seles in the back. The attack triggered worldwide changes in sports event security (Isaacson). 

In 2005, retired SEAL David Goggins participated in the San Diego One Day Ultramarathon, a notoriously brutal 24-hour race. Goggins, despite his military background, had no prior ultramarathon training. By the end of the ordeal, Goggins had suffered dual fractures in his legs, muscle damage, severe tendonitis, and kidney failure resulting in bloody urine (Weller). 

The third tale – though an especially grisly example – features a theme that echoes across hundreds of similar athlete stories: the pursuit of greatness at the expense of the body. It is as prevailing a theme in life as it is in fiction, in this case the niche of sports horror. Though not universal within the category, themes of sacrifice and obsession inform some of its most thoughtful stories. Death Race 2000 (1975), 2010’s Black Swan (yes ballet is a sport), and The Novice (2021). 2025’s HIM could be counted among these titles if it didn’t abandon its most vital themes less than halfway through its runtime. 

Sports horror is relatively unexplored in long-form fiction, which might be one reason why it’s even less common in short fiction. Below I’ve compiled a small list of short horror stories centered around athletics.

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“Blockade Billy” – Stephen King (2010)

Ex-baseball equipment manager George Grantham, nicknamed “Granny,” recites to King himself the story of baseball’s most infamous star – one whose deeds had him erased from history.

“The Stallion” – Jon Bois (2018)

A pitcher discovers, after consecutive throws, that he’s trapped in an unending count. Things only get worse for him when the Devil himself appears and offers him the only way out of his predicament. 

“The Biggest Fan” – James Dator (2018)

Desperate to relive the adoration he enjoyed during his glory days, an ex college basketball star begins a romantic relationship with a superfan named Abigail. He comes to regret his decision when the girl’s infatuation with him escalates.

“A Ghost of Gnats” – Seth Rosenthal (2018)

On a middle school basketball court, a player named Reef performs a dunk that should, by all logic, be physically impossible. This random fluke in reality never returns, and its absence sends the character on a downward spiral of obsession and depression.

“Flesh Without Blood” – Nadia Bulkin (2018)

In the far future, a new competitive sport has taken center stage. Its competitors are compelled – by both the crowd and their devotion to the game – to drive past their physical limits in a literal and metaphorical sacrifice. It’s a blunt yet grim commentary on the world of pro sports.

If you’re craving more horror about play, consider the following stories in the Horrific Scribes archive: 

Read Sam Arlington‘s short story “Best Seats in the House” in Horrific Scribes June 2025.

Description: A precocious little girl with a strong sense of justice is dismayed to find her beloved baseball corrupted with impunity by thuggish outsiders. Seeing no one willing to speak up, she sets out to make things right in her own unique and colorful way.

Read Devin James Leonard‘s short story “King of Hearts” in Horrific Scribes, June 2025.

Description: King of Hearts… a children’s card game with adult—and inhumane—repercussions.

Read Harley Carnell‘s short story “Guilt” in Horrific Scribes July 2025.

Description: When innocence turns to guilt.

Works Cited

Isaacson, Melissa. “Stabbing Stole Monica Seles’ Career.” ESPN, 30 Apr. 2013, www.espn.com/espnw/news-commentary/story/_/id/9226901/espnw-stabbing-stole-monica-seles-tennis-career. 

Weller, Chris. “A Navy SEAL Who Finished a 100-Mile Race with Broken Bones and Peeing Blood Shares His 2 Strategies for Building Mental Toughness.” Yahoo Finance, 24 July 2017, finance.yahoo.com/news/navy-seal-finished-100-mile-173707735.html.

“Zednik’s Injury Brings Malarchuk’s Own Nightmare Back to Surface.” ESPN, 12 Feb. 2008, www.espn.com/nhl/news/story?id=3242226.