As many specialists have shown, the haunting quality of the short-story is to be found in its literary genre itself : not only does it frighten the reader but it may also haunt him after the reading process. The form of the short story is indeed powerful as it is a suggestive form of literature but it can also be powerful when it comes to its fictional genre. Oneof the favorite fictional genres amongst short-stories' writers seems to be the gothic one and this paper aims at demonstrating that a break from this kind of fiction is needed in order to help the reader to fully appreciate his reading. Focusing on Edgar Allan Poe and Roald Dahl's short-stories, this article will first attempt to give a definition of the gothic genre in order to better situate our readers. Then, the second part of this study will endeavor to show that although it may not seem initially obvious, the works of the two authors under study share not only one but many characteristics, especially gothic ones. Finally, the present study will try to demonstrate that authors need to use some «procédés de distanciation »(according to Vincent Jouve's terms) in order to encourage the reader to take a critical distance from the fiction and remind him that what he is reading is just fiction.