Five Stories with Zoos, Aquariums, and Pet Stores
by H.J. Dutton
Considering all the settings and topics the horror genre doesn’t explore as much as it should, I think zoos, aquariums, and pet stores sit at the top of my list. Stories that feature them exist, sure, but the search for them is often long and frustrating. I can count the number of zoo-centric stories I know of on my fingers, almost half of which I’d have to devote to tales I mention below.
The relative absence of such places from the genre might stem from the false sense of control they exude. Zoos and aquariums are the ultimate symbols not only of humanity’s dominion over nature but its deliberate separation from nature. It’s this separation – be it through glass or cage bars – that makes forgetting that we are just as much a part of the natural order as the creatures on the other side of the barrier so easy. Our conceit has resulted in real-life tragedies that wouldn’t feel out of place in horror fiction..
In 1987, a group of boys snuck into Brooklyn’s Prospect Park Zoo after hours. Their target was the polar bear enclosure. As part of a dare, one of the boys entered the enclosure, seeking to swim in its surrounding mote while the bears slept. The two bears were, of course, not asleep. Police arrived on the scene after nearby residents reported hearing the screams of children (Young 1987).
In 2012, a mother visiting the Pittsburgh Zoo allowed her two-year-old son to stand atop the guard rail of an observation deck overlooking a pack of African painted dogs. Losing balance, the toddler fell into the enclosure below. The dogs tore him apart (Memmott 2012).
The brutal manner in which captive creatures can break our illusions of control informs some of the little horror about zoos and similar facilities that we have. Enjoy these selections…
“Axolotl” – Julio Cortazar (1956)
During his visits to the Jardin de Plantes zoo, an anonymous narrator becomes obsessed with the axolotls on display. The fixation escalates into supernatural territory, culminating in a twist that is as somber as it is haunting. Cortazar demonstrates his ability to weave spectacle with profound meditations on identity and consciousness.
“Don’t Clean the Aquarium!” – Jeffrey Osier (2011)
In the house the protagonist is watching sits a fish tank, one he has explicit instructions not to clean. Heeding the strange demand, he watches as the tank’s water grows more and more filthy. As the story progresses, the mundane phenomenon escalates into a surreal, Lovecraftian nightmare that spills beyond the tank’s glass.
“Tubby’s Big Swim” – T.E. Grau (2015)
After visiting a sketchy pet store in his neighborhood, a boy takes home an unknown species of octopus. The more he observes the cephalopod inside its tank, the more it reveals itself as far more bizarre than he previously thought.
“Lions, Tigers, and Bears” – Andrew Harmon (2017)
As they patrol a zoo after-hours, two security guards observe a change in the animals that grows more widespread each night. When they discover the source, the subtle unease of the scenario escalates into an wonderfully rendered exercise in quiet dread. Arguably the scariest of the five.
“The African Painted Dog” – Catriona Ward (2025)
Set in the world of Stephen King’s The Stand (1978), it follows the titular animal as she witnesses the initial outbreak of the devastating Captain Trips virus. When her keepers die, she and her pack break out of the zoo and must learn to survive in an environment never built for their kind.
For more animal horror, check out the following stories in our archive:
Read H.J. Dutton’s short story “Family of Four” in Horrific Scribes September 2025.
Description: A single father’s kids bring something home with them.
Read Tracy Fritz‘s short story “Mr. Ears Comes to Dinner” in Horrific Scribes July 2025.
Description: A successful businesswoman turned homemaker finds purpose in feeding a pathetic raccoon—only to discover that the creature is not what he seems.
Read Shawn Montgomery‘s short story “Web” in Horrific Scribes, March 2026.
Description: Gregory Sampson thought he had been through hell. Spiraling down into the pit of despair, alcoholism, and depression, he convinces himself that it couldn’t be worse. But he soon discovers there are worse fates than his addiction.
Read Andrew Nadolny‘s short story “She Is Our Warmth, She Is Our Shelter” in Horrific Scribes May 2026.
Description: Sometimes that animal running out into the street has more to it than meets the eye.
Read Bryan Stubbles‘s short story “The Crimson Gull, or My Morning Walk on May 31, 2024” in Horrific Scribes June 2026.
Description: What starts as a daily constitutional becomes a battle for survival against giant bloodsucking seagulls.
Sources:
Young, Gayle. “Two Polar Bears Kill 11-Year-Old – UPI Archives.” Two Polar Bears Kill 11-Year-Old, 20 May 1987, www.upi.com/Archives/1987/05/20/Two-polar-bears-kill-11-year-old/9511548481600/.
Memmott, Mark. “Boy Killed in Dog Exhibit at Zoo: Onlookers’ Screams ’just Kept Coming’ : The Two-Way : NPR.” NPR, 5 Nov. 2012, www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2012/11/05/164333846/boy-killed-by-dogs-at-pittsburgh-zoo-onlookers-screams-just-kept-coming.