Call of Cthulhu: best 'scary' one shot?

[Nilbog]

I've just managed to pick up CoC 7e starter set, and I like the looks of it, and would like to run a one shot for Halloween (a way off, I know but currently deep in my PF2E campaign)

And while I like the adventures in the box set, they don't feel right for what I want, paper chase is for 1 - 2 players (our group is 5), Edge of darkness falls more heavily into the investigation side (at least on my reading) and dead man stomp advises playing one of the previous two.

So are there any good one shots out there that are really good for the horror side of things?

 

[kronovan]

A CoC adventure I played in which was short (IIRC our Keeper chose an option which shortened it), is The Secret Of Castronegro. It was written in the early days of CoC and is intially set in New Mexico and if I remember correctly it was scary. It's now included in the Cthulhu Companion, which has some interesting content like a couple of essays, some rules options, a small bestiary, as well as 3 other adventures including the Paper Chase which you already have. It also has a few of Lovecrafts poems. The Companion is on sale for a about $3, so it won't exactly bust your wallet.

 

[aco175]

Anything with politics. You choose which side.

Anything with children that crawl around like spiders.

 

[Jorren]

Not sure if you are ok with modern scenarios or ones with pre-gens, but here are some ideas:

‘Bleak Prospect’ from Nameless Horrors
‘Mr. Corbitt’ from Mansions of Madness
‘In Media Res’ from the Unspeakable Oath #10
‘The Burning Stars’ from Terrors from Beyond
‘Grace under Pressure’ from The Resurrected Volume One
‘Tatterdemalion’ from Fatal Experiments
‘The Travesty’ from Of Keys & Gates
‘Separation Anxiety’ from Fear’s Sharp Little Needles

I would recommend Separation Anxiety myself, as it is simple, has little investigation, and has a bit of a halloween theme.

 

[overgeeked]

Edge of darkness falls more heavily into the investigation side

The vast majority of Call of Cthulhu scenarios will be investigative-horror. Very few, if any, will just be pure horror.

I'd suggest grabbing one or more of the anthology books of scenarios, or at least reading up on them.

Doors to Darkness, 5 scenarios. Mansions of Madness, 5 scenarios. These are both books of full-length scenarios for regular 4-6 hour sessions of play.

Gateways to Terror, 3 scenarios. This is a short books with short scenarios meant for convention play so fit within 2-3 hours sessions.