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Harlan Ellison: “Repent, Harlequin!” Said the Ticktockman
“Repent, Harlequin!” Said the Ticktockman is a short story by Harlan Ellison, published in December 1965 in Galaxy Magazine, and winner of the Hugo and Nebula awards in 1966. Set in a society obsessed with punctuality and the control of time, the story follows the Harlequin, an eccentric rebel who…
Edgar Allan Poe: The Premature Burial
The Premature Burial is a story by Edgar Allan Poe, published on July 31, 1844, in the Dollar Newspaper, in which he reflects on the terror provoked by the idea of being buried alive. In a somber and captivating style, the protagonist describes a series of cases of people who…
D. H. Lawrence: The Rocking-Horse Winner
The Rocking-Horse Winner is a haunting and moving short story by D. H. Lawrence, published in July 1926 in Harper’s Bazaar magazine. It tells the story of an upper-middle-class family who, trapped by the need to keep up appearances, live under the constant pressure of economic scarcity. Paul, the eldest…
Richard Matheson: Dress of White Silk
In “Dress of White Silk” by Richard Matheson, a young girl under the care of her grandmother is obsessed with her deceased mother’s white silk dress. The grandmother forbids her to enter her mother’s room, but the girl constantly disobeys to feel a connection to her mother through the dress…
Richard Matheson: Blood Son
Blood Son is a disturbing short story by Richard Matheson published in Imagination in April 1951. The story follows Jules, a strange and lonely boy who, from birth, proves to be different: his appearance, behavior, and obsession with darkness baffle his surroundings. His fascination with vampires arises after watching a…
Jorge Luis Borges: Death and the Compass
Death and the Compass is a short story by Jorge Luis Borges, published in May 1942 in Sur magazine. It narrates the investigation of detective Erik Lönnrot into a series of apparently ritualistic crimes that seem to follow an intricate cabalistic logic. The story begins with the murder of a…
Isaac Asimov: The Ultimate Crime
The Ultimate Crime (1976) is a story by Isaac Asimov that is part of More Tales of the Black Widowers. The story takes place during one of the monthly dinners of the exclusive Black Widowers Club, where the conversation revolves around Sherlock Holmes and his nemesis, Professor Moriarty. A guest,…
Jorge Luis Borges: The Library of Babel
“The Library of Babel,” a fascinating story by Jorge Luis Borges included in ‘The Garden of Forking Paths (1941)’, imagines a universe composed of an infinite library of hexagonal galleries containing all possible books. In this chaotic and vast cosmos, librarians are engaged in an endless search for absolute knowledge…
