Short Story Collections

Our most popular collection — 100 stories voted on and ranked by readers. From Poe to Hemingway, these are the stories people come back to again and again.

• The Tell-Tale Heart
• The Gift of the Magi
• The Lottery

Browse our hand-picked favorites organized by author — from O. Henry and Chekhov to Twain, Chopin, and Poe. Each author card includes curated story picks.

• The Ransom of Red Chief — O. Henry
• The Bet — Chekhov
• The Story of an Hour — Chopin

Hundreds of chilling tales — gothic horror, ghost stories, weird fiction, and the macabre. From Poe and Lovecraft to M.R. James, these stories will keep you up at night.

• The Black Cat — Poe
• The Monkey's Paw — Jacobs
• The Yellow Wallpaper — Gilman

A focused anthology of the finest stories by American authors — from Hawthorne and Irving to Fitzgerald and Hemingway. Perfect for a deep dive into the American literary tradition.

• The Celebrated Jumping Frog — Twain
• An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge — Bierce
• To Build a Fire — London

Heartwarming stories that restore your faith in humanity — tales of kindness, generosity, and the best of the human spirit. Guaranteed to leave you smiling.

• An Angel in Disguise — Arthur
• The Selfish Giant — Wilde
• The Happy Prince — Wilde

Hundreds of stories, fables, fairy tales, and nursery rhymes for young readers — from Aesop and Hans Christian Andersen to Mother Goose and the Brothers Grimm.

• Hans Christian Andersen
• The Three Little Pigs
• Mother Goose Nursery Rhymes

Timeless moral tales that have taught life lessons for over 2,500 years — animals that talk, tricksters outwitted, and wisdom disguised as simple stories for all ages.

• The Tortoise and the Hare
• The Ants and the Grasshopper
• The Boy Who Cried Wolf

Explore futures imagined by the great science fiction writers — space travel, alien worlds, time machines, and the consequences of technology. From Wells and Verne to Bradbury and Dick.

• The Veldt — Bradbury
• A Martian Odyssey — Weinbaum
• The Variable Man — Dick

Cautionary visions of the future — totalitarian states, technological control, and societies gone wrong. Essential reading for understanding our world through literature.

• The Machine Stops — Forster
• Harrison Bergeron — Vonnegut
• Pillar of Fire — Bradbury

Flash fiction and micro stories — complete tales you can read in under five minutes. Perfect for a quick literary escape between classes or on a short commute.

• The Eyes Have It — Dick
• The Aged Mother — Basho
• Wit Inspirations of the 'Two-Year-Olds' — Twain

Classic mystery and detective fiction — whodunits, locked rooms, and brilliant deductions. From Poe's Dupin to Doyle's Sherlock Holmes, these stories defined the genre.

• The Murders in the Rue Morgue — Poe
• The Red-Headed League — Doyle
• A Jury of Her Peers — Glaspell

Over 50 classic Christmas stories, poems, and carols — from Dickens and O. Henry to beloved children's favorites. Rediscover the spirit of the season.

• A Christmas Carol — Dickens
• The Gift of the Magi — O. Henry
• Children's Christmas Stories

Scary stories perfect for Halloween — tales of haunted houses, restless spirits, and things that go bump in the night. Great for reading aloud around a campfire.

• The Legend of Sleepy Hollow — Irving
• The Masque of the Red Death — Poe
• Sredni Vashtar — Saki

Stories, poems, and history celebrating the Thanksgiving tradition — tales of gratitude, family, and the American harvest. Classics for every age.

• Ann Mary; Her Two Thanksgivings
• Two Thanksgiving Day Gentlemen — O. Henry
• Browse All Thanksgiving Stories

100 of the greatest poems ever written — from Shakespeare and Dickinson to Frost and Whitman. Love poems, nature poems, and verse that has shaped the English language.

• A Red, Red Rose — Burns
• How Do I Love Thee? — Browning
• She Walks in Beauty — Byron

15 novels with chapter-by-chapter study tools — flashcards, vocabulary, quizzes, and FAQ for every chapter. Free for teachers and students.

• To Kill a Mockingbird — Lee
• The Great Gatsby — Fitzgerald
• 1984 — Orwell

Focused study tools for AP Literature — prose analysis, poetry analysis, and literary argument practice with the novels and stories already on our site.

• The Scarlet Letter — Hawthorne
• The Awakening — Chopin
• Invisible Man — Ellison