The Nameless Offspring is a short story by Clark Ashton Smith published in June 1932 in the magazine Strange Tales of Mystery and Terror. It tells the story of Henry Chaldane, who, during a trip through the English countryside, happens upon Tremoth Hall, an old mansion shrouded in a dark family legend. There, he meets Sir John Tremoth, a man tormented by a terrible secret related to his lineage.
“All you zombies…” is a science fiction short story by Robert A. Heinlein, published in March 1959 in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction. The story follows a mysterious bartender who listens to the confession of a young writer nicknamed “Single Mother.” In a New York bar in 1970, the young man recounts his extraordinary life, marked by abandonment, transformation, and a desperate search for his identity. What begins as a simple conversation turns into a surprising revelation when the bartender offers him the opportunity to face his past, unleashing a unique and disturbing temporal paradox.
The Book of Sand (El libro de arena), a story by Jorge Luis Borges published in 1975, tells the story of a man who, in exchange for a valuable Bible and money, acquires a mysterious book of unknown origin and strange characters that seem to have infinite content. As the man tries to understand the nature of the book, he becomes obsessed and isolates himself, which will seriously affect his life.
The Salem Horror is a short story by Henry Kuttner, published in May 1937 in the magazine Weird Tales. It tells the story of Carson, a writer who rents an old house in Salem to find peace and finish his novel. Soon, he discovers strange noises in the basement and a disturbing presence in the house, linked to an ancient witch named Abigail Prinn. Moved by curiosity, Carson finds a hidden room full of arcane symbols, unaware of the dark power that still dwells there. As he delves deeper into his discovery, he finds himself trapped in unimaginable horror.
Synopsis: “Transformation,” a gothic tale by Mary Shelley, tells the story of Guido, a handsome, proud, and reckless young Genoese man who is engaged to Juliet, a beautiful and angelic young woman, daughter of his guardian and mentor, the Marquis Torella. After squandering his fortune, Guido asks for his fiancee back. However, the conditions imposed by Torella for the marriage to take place make the union impossible. Exiled, alone, and penniless, Guido thinks about improving his situation when he meets a mysterious being who offers him wealth and revenge that the ambitious young man cannot refuse.
In Mary Shelley’s The Dream, the young and beautiful Countess Constance de Villeneuve lives in solitude, grieving the loss of her father and brothers in the civil wars. Determined to enter a convent, her plans are challenged by the unexpected visit of the king and Gaspar de Vaudemont, an old love whose return awakens intense emotions in her heart. On a stormy night, Constance, seeking divine guidance, enters a sacred cave, where revelatory visions confront her with her love and destiny. In a struggle between duty and passion, Constance faces decisions that could change her life forever.