10 Unsettling Science Fiction Reads That Will Leave You Disturbed For Days

Recently someone asked, “What is the most disturbing science fiction story you've ever read? It's probably I Have No Mouth, And I Must Scream by Harlan Ellison for me.”

“For those, who aren't familiar with it, the Americans, Russians, and Chinese had constructed supercomputers to manage their militaries. One became sentient, assimilated the other two, and obliterated humanity.”

“Only five humans survive, and the Computer makes them immortal so that he can torture them for eternity. His existence is an incredible anguish, so he's seeking revenge on humanity for his construction.” Here are the top-voted replies. 

“This book honestly haunts me at least once a week, and it's been a year since I finished it. So I couldn't bring myself to read the sequel,” one person admitted. “Man, that book has stuck with me like few others. That ending is bleak,” another confessed.

The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell

One user mentioned, “If you've ever been addicted to hard drugs or seen others in its grips, you'd probably really find A Scanner Darkly by Philip K. Dick pretty disturbing and emotionally moving; I know I did.”

A Scanner Darkly by Philip K. Dick

“Mine is There Will Come Soft Rains by Ray Bradbury. It's a short story, and I know it's not “disturbing” in an upfront way. But the slow realization of what was happening in the story was sobering for teenage me,” one person confessed.

There Will Come Soft Rains by Ray Bradbury

“For me, it's Stephen King‘s The Jaunt; one person expressed, “The implications are horrifying.” “I played this for my wife when we were doing a long drive. She was irrationally angry with me after. She still holds a grudge that I would do such a thing to her,” shared another. 

The Jaunt by Stephen King

“Oh, Jesus. I read The Veldt (in The Illustrated Man's book of short stories) when I was 13, then again a few years ago. I'm 67 now. That freaking story has haunted me for 54 years, and I'm not kidding,” claimed one user.

The Veldt by Ray Bradbury

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