The Art of Misdirection O. Henry’s The Last Leaf is a masterclass in narrative sleight of hand. Published in 1907, this deceptively simple tale demonstrates how a skilled writer can…
Isaac Asimov called “The Last Question” his favourite story of all those he had written. Published in Science Fiction Quarterly in November 1956, this 4700-word masterpiece tackles nothing less than…
When Henry Slesar’s Examination Day appeared in Playboy magazine in February 1958, readers thought they’d be getting a straightforward coming-of-age story about a boy’s first intelligence test. By the final…
When Edgar Allan Poe published The Oval Portrait in 1842, he created one of literature’s most chilling meditations on art, obsession and the price of creation. In fewer than 1,500…
When Ray Bradbury published Marionettes, Inc. in 1949, he crafted what might be the perfect science fiction horror story: a tale that uses futuristic technology to examine the timeless human…
Classic Shorts As well as entertaining us, great short stories actually teach us how fiction really works. In Classic Shorts we take a closer look at the stories that have stuck around,…
When W.W. Jacobs published The Monkey’s Paw in 1902, he created what might be the perfect horror story template: take an ordinary family, introduce one seemingly magical object, and watch…
On the Fringes of Reality is a collection of contemporary horror stories that explore the unsettling spaces where our ordinary world reveals its true nature. Each tale examines the familiar through a darker lens, finding terror in technology, relationships, and the everyday moments that suddenly turn strange.
