#Short fiction stories online for free#

Barringer and Gemma Files (2010)Д®asily one of the best stories IвЂ™ve ever read. вЂњeach thing i show you is a piece of my deathвЂќ by Stephen J. My first George Saunders story but definitely not my last. Prisoners being experimented on by shady government officials. A hell of a blend of horror and science fiction. вЂњEscape from SpiderheadвЂќ by George Saunders (2010) One of its several definitions went something like, вЂњa youth, particularly a homosexual one, kept by a tramp.вЂќ So thereвЂ™d been a time and place in which tramps commonly kept boys for sexual purposes-so commonly that there was a word for it? I immediately wanted to set a story there, and to tell it from the point of view of a gunsel.ДЇrom there I jumped to Hansel and Gretel simply because вЂњgunselвЂќ sounded similar to вЂњHansel.вЂќ Most of the energy of a short story comes from the challenge of fitting two disparate things together, and the idea of cramming a gunsel into the structure of вЂњHansel and GretelвЂќ certainly gave off sparks for me.ДЎ3. What drew me to вЂњHansel and GretelвЂќ was a Yiddish word, вЂњgunsel,вЂќ that I happened upon in the dictionary. From the author in a Nightmare Magazine interview: Prepare yourself for the most fucked-up reimagining of вЂњHansel and GretelвЂќ youвЂ™ve ever read. I dare you to read this without letting it consume you with dread. Joe Hill and Paul Tremblay recently described this as вЂњThe Ultimate Halloween StoryвЂќ and itвЂ™s hard to disagree with them. вЂњWhere Are You Going, Where Have You Been?вЂќ by Joyce Carol Oates (1966) Sharing the same morbid dark humor as Re-Animator, this short story deals with life after death, mad scientists, and vengeful wives. You may be surprised to learn that he also wrote his share of adult horror stories, and вЂњWilliam and MaryвЂќ might be one of his best. Most people recognize Roald DahlвЂ™s name from the many fantastical childrenвЂ™s books he penned throughout the second half of the twentieth century. I love all of her work, but this one here takes the cake. With an ending thatвЂ™ll leave you feeling haunted years after reading it, Flannery OвЂ™ConnorвЂ™s вЂњA Good Man is Hard to FindвЂќ is pretty much perfect. вЂњA Good Man is Hard to FindвЂќ by Flannery OвЂ™Connor (1953) вЂњThe LotteryвЂќ by Shirley Jackson (1948)ДЄ classic! Even if you havenвЂ™t read it, you probably already know the twist.

#Short fiction stories online for free#

I love the story so much I even reprinted it in my anthology, Lost Signals, but you can read it for free over on Wikisource.ДЎ8. вЂњThe Night WireвЂќ deals with two graveyard-shift radio operators and a strange, unknown town in the process of being swallowed by fog. Try googling the author, youвЂ™re not going to find much information about him. Arnold except for the fact that he wrote what is considered one of the most famous stories ever to be published in Weird Tales. Go insane with its tortured narrator and read it here.ДЎ9. This is probably one of the most reprinted horror stories of all time, and for good reason. вЂњThe Yellow Wall-PaperвЂќ by Charlotte Perkins Gilman (1892) And hey, maybe buy a couple of the books linked below each entry. You have no excuse not to take a look at every single one of these. ItвЂ™s Halloween, so letвЂ™s celebrate by reading some spooky stories available online for free.