Short stories | Lecturia

H. G. Wells: The Story of the Late Mr. Elvesham

“The Story of the Late Mr. Elvesham” is a short story by H. G. Wells, first published in May 1896 in The Idler magazine. Edward Eden, a young medical student, is approached in the street by an elderly stranger who invites him to lunch and proposes making him his heir. Intrigued and tempted by the offer, Eden agrees to undergo a series of medical examinations the old man requires as a condition for sealing the deal. What seems like a providential opportunity soon turns into the threshold of a disturbing fate.

Ray Bradbury: Skeleton

“Skeleton” is a short story by Ray Bradbury, first published in Weird Tales magazine in September 1945. It tells the story of Mr. Harris, a somewhat hypochondriac man who, convinced that he suffers from mysterious health problems, seeks the help of an alternative medicine specialist named M. Munigant. The doctor offers a psychological explanation for his ailments, suggesting that they stem from an apparent disconnection with his own skeleton. As the story unfolds, Harris becomes increasingly obsessed with his bones, leading him into a series of surreal and disturbing events that plunge him into a spiral of fear and paranoia.

Fritz Leiber: The Dreams of Albert Moreland

“The Dreams of Albert Moreland” is a short story by Fritz Leiber, published in 1945 in The Acolyte magazine. Albert Moreland is a solitary and talented chess player who makes a living by playing games for a few cents in a Manhattan recreation hall. One night, he confides to his boardinghouse companion that he dreams every night of the same endless match, played on a gigantic and unfamiliar board, with strange pieces and incomprehensible rules. This dreamlike game, seemingly unfolding beyond time and space, soon turns into a disturbing obsession that consumes him entirely.

Henry Kuttner: The Graveyard Rats

Synopsis: “The Graveyard Rats” is a horror short story by Henry Kuttner, first published in Weird Tales magazine in March 1936. The story follows Masson, the caretaker of an old and neglected cemetery in Salem, where huge, ravenous rats dig tunnels among the graves to steal freshly buried corpses. Their activity threatens Masson’s grim side business—grave robbing. One night, while trying to exhume a body, he discovers that the rats have gotten there first. What follows is a frantic and terrifying chase through the underground tunnels, leading Masson to confront horrors beyond imagination.

Robert Louis Stevenson: Thrawn Janet

“Thrawn Janet” is a short story by Robert Louis Stevenson, first published in October 1881 in The Cornhill Magazine. A young minister, Reverend Soulis, arrives in the Scottish village of Balweary to take charge of the parish. Ignoring the warnings of the locals, he hires Janet M’Clour as his housekeeper—a woman of ill repute, accused of witchcraft. After a tense confrontation with the village women, Janet publicly swears to renounce the devil. From that moment on, something disturbing begins to manifest around her, and the manse becomes shrouded in an atmosphere of growing fear and mystery.

Fredric Brown: Don’t Look Behind You

“Don’t Look Behind You” is a short story by Fredric Brown, published in May 1947 in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine. It tells the story of Justin Dean, a modest engraver working at a printing shop in Ohio, whose life changes when he meets Harley Prentice, a handsome, refined, and enigmatic man. Fascinated by his elegance and confidence, Justin agrees to join him in a risky business venture that promises fortune. But beneath the appearance of success lie unsettling secrets that will drag them toward an increasingly ominous and uncertain fate.