Short stories | Lecturia

Oscar Wilde: The Canterville Ghost

“The Canterville Ghost” is a short story by the Irish writer Oscar Wilde, originally published in 1887 in The Court and Society Review. It tells the story of Mr. Hiram B. Otis, an American diplomat who buys Canterville Chase, an English country house, despite warnings that it is haunted. When the Otis family moves in, they confront the specter, known as Sir Simon, without fear and with pragmatic humor, even though he has terrorized the house’s inhabitants for centuries. The encounter between the modern American family and the ancient English ghost gives rise to a series of amusing and unexpected situations.

Isaac Asimov: I’m in Marsport Without Hilda

“I’m in Marsport Without Hilda” is a short story by American writer Isaac Asimov, published in November 1957 in Venture Science Fiction Magazine. Max, an agent of the Galactic Service, arrives in Marsport for a three-day stopover before returning to Earth. The occasion seems perfect: his wife, Hilda, will not be able to join him, leaving him free to call Flora, a former lover. But just when everything seems to be leading toward the long-awaited encounter, Rog Crinton, an official of the Service on Mars, assigns him an urgent mission: to discover which one of three important passengers is carrying a dangerous contraband substance capable of threatening space travel.

Richard Matheson: Third from the Sun

“Third from the Sun” is a short story by American writer Richard Matheson, published in October 1950 in Galaxy Science Fiction magazine. In the early morning, a man and his wife silently prepare for a journey of no return. Together with their two young children and the neighboring family, they will board the spaceship that he, a test pilot, knows inside out. The threat of an imminent war and the conviction that their world is doomed drive them to flee toward another solar system, all while trying to say goodbye to everything without arousing suspicion.

Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer: The Miserere

“The Miserere” (El miserere) is a short story by the Spanish writer Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer, published on April 17, 1862, in the newspaper El Contemporáneo. During a visit to the Abbey of Fitero, a man discovers an old, unfinished musical manuscript covered in strange annotations in German that appear to have been written by a madman. Intrigued by its origin, he hears from an old man the story of a wandering musician who, tormented by past guilt, seeks to compose a Miserere so sublime that it perfectly expresses his repentance and allows him to attain divine forgiveness. That obsessive quest leads him to a remote church in ruins, shrouded in a disturbing legend.

Charles Dickens: A Madman’s Manuscript

“A Madman’s Manuscript” is a short story by Charles Dickens, published in 1836 as part of The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club. Presented as a manuscript found in an asylum, it tells the story of a man who describes his gradual descent into madness. A descendant of a family plagued by insanity, he is obsessed with the idea of inheriting the same fate. This fear consumes him, isolating him from the world and trapping him in a spiral of paranoia and despair. As his obsession grows, his reality becomes distorted, and his worst fears begin to take shape.

Shirley Jackson: The Intoxicated

“The Intoxicated” is a short story by Shirley Jackson, published in 1949 in The Lottery, or, The Adventures of James Harris. During a party, a slightly drunk man slips into the kitchen to escape the noise and sober up a little. There he finds Eileen, the hosts’ teenage daughter, who offers him coffee. Somewhat uncomfortable, the man strikes up a conversation he intends to keep trivial. Gradually, however, the exchange takes a disturbing turn when the girl begins to reveal her dark vision of the world’s future.