“The Sign in the Sky” is a story by Agatha Christie selected by Jorge Luis Borges and Adolfo Bioy Casares for their anthology “The Best Police Stories” (1962). The plot revolves around Mr. Satterthwaite, who, after witnessing a trial in which Martin Wylde is convicted of the murder of Vivian Barnaby, harbors doubts about the … Read more
“Man from the South,” a Roald Dahl short story published in 1948, tells about an unusual bet that takes place in a hotel in Jamaica. The story begins when a man enjoys the hotel’s ambiance and talks with a peculiar older man. Later, an American naval cadet and a young Englishwoman join the group. During the chat, the cadet brags that his lighter always works. In response, the older man proposes a challenge: if the lighter works ten times in a row, he will win a Cadillac; if it fails just once, the cadet must give him the little finger of his left hand.
“The Brazilian Cat,” a short story by Arthur Conan Doyle, published in 1898, tells the story of Marshall King, a man who, due to his dissipated life, faces severe economic problems. Although he is the direct heir of Lord Southerton, one of the wealthiest aristocrats in England, he receives no help from him or the … Read more
“The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar,” a short story by Edgar Allan Poe, published in 1845, explores the boundaries of life and death through hypnosis. The story’s protagonist, a hypnotism expert, decides to experiment with Mr. Valdemar, who is on his deathbed. Since Valdemar is seriously ill and has no relatives in America who could object, he voluntarily agrees to the test. The plot unfolds in Valdemar’s room, where the protagonist and other witnesses observe the effects of the hypnotism applied just as Valdemar is about to pass away. Their discoveries are surprising.
In ” Silly Asses,” a story by Isaac Asimov written in 1957, Naron, an imposing and ancient member of the Rigelian race, is in charge of maintaining the galactic annals that record the intelligent civilizations of the universe. One day, he is informed that a new group of organisms, hailing from a distant planet known … Read more
“The Mark of the Beast,” a short story by Rudyard Kipling published in 1890, plunges into the depths of mysticism and cultural tensions in colonial India. The story recounts the experience of Fleete, an Englishman newly arrived in India, who, while under the influence of alcohol during a New Year’s Eve celebration, desecrates a temple of Hanuman, the monkey god. His disrespectful and mocking action towards the sacred provokes supernatural revenge when he is branded on the chest by a mysterious leper known as the Silver Man. As the mark on Fleete’s chest transforms, he changes alarmingly, displaying animalistic behaviors and appetites. His friends are then embroiled in a desperate attempt to understand and remedy his condition, facing the clash between Western rationality and the inexplicable forces of an ancient local faith.