Short stories | Lecturia

Guy de Maupassant: Fear (First Version)

“Fear” (La Peur) is a short story by Guy de Maupassant, whose first version was published in October 1882 in Le Gaulois. Aboard a ship sailing the Mediterranean, a group of passengers discusses the nature of fear. A mysterious traveler challenges the common understanding, defining true terror as a sensation that rends the soul—something quite different from mere anxiety in the face of danger. To illustrate his point, the man recounts two chilling experiences from his own life: one in the African desert and another in a French forest. These tales, tense and haunting, offer a disturbing reflection on fear and its effects on the human psyche.

Guy de Maupassant: The Inn

“The Inn” (L’auberge) is a short story by Guy de Maupassant, first published on September 1, 1886, in the magazine Les Lettres et les Arts. Set in the Swiss Alps, it tells the story of Ulrich Kunsi and Gaspard Han, two mountain guides who become isolated during the winter in a remote lodge, tasked with watching over it until spring. Surrounded by a hostile, silent landscape—snow blocking every access and solitude as their only companion—the men face prolonged confinement, boredom, fear, and an invisible threat that gradually closes in on them, enveloping them in an atmosphere of mounting psychological tension.

Katherine Mansfield: Poison

Synopsis: “Poison” is a short story by Katherine Mansfield, published in 1924 in the collection Something Childish and Other Stories. The story follows a couple living in a house in the south of France: she, who has had two husbands, moves confidently and fills every space; he, younger, is caught in the grip of an intense love. The morning is warm and bright. They talk about trivial matters, while she shows slight impatience at the postman’s delay. Everything seems calm, yet a shadow of unease begins to creep in.

Franz Kafka: A Report to an Academy

“A Report to an Academy” (Ein Bericht für eine Akademie) is a short story by Franz Kafka, first published in 1917 in the magazine Der Jude and later included in the book Ein Landarzt (1920). A peculiar ape who has adopted human behaviors is summoned before an academic assembly to give an account of his former life in the wild. Captured on the Gold Coast and locked in a cage aboard a ship, he recounts in detail the harsh conditions of his captivity and the reasons that led him to seek escape through imitation of the men around him. His narrative reconstructs the beginning of a forced adaptation that would forever shape the course of his existence.

Julio Cortázar: The Other Heaven

“The Other Heaven” (El otro cielo) is a short story by Julio Cortázar, published in 1966 in the collection All Fires the Fire (Todos los fuegos el fuego). It tells the story of a man divided between his routine life in 1940s Buenos Aires and an imaginary, twilight Paris made of covered passages and gaslight. While he fulfills the obligations of the present (work, family, stability), Josiane awaits him in that other world—an enigmatic woman with whom he shares a freer, more secret existence, whose intensity threatens to eclipse everything that binds him to his real life.

Jane Rice: The Idol of the Flies

“The Idol of the Flies” is a short story by Jane Rice, published in June 1942 in Unknown Worlds magazine. It tells the story of Pruitt, a cruel and manipulative orphaned boy who lives under the care of his aunt and takes perverse delight in tormenting those around him. While his governess and the servants struggle to endure his whims, Pruitt indulges in sadistic games and disturbing rituals in which flies play a central role.