Short stories | Lecturia

Richard Matheson: Dress of White Silk

In “Dress of White Silk” by Richard Matheson, a young girl under the care of her grandmother is obsessed with her deceased mother’s white silk dress. The grandmother forbids her to enter her mother’s room, but the girl constantly disobeys to feel a connection to her mother through the dress. One day, her friend Mary Jane challenges her to prove the existence of the dress. When the girl finally shows it, a confrontation erupts, triggering a disturbing event.

Richard Matheson: Blood Son

Blood Son is a disturbing short story by Richard Matheson published in Imagination in April 1951. The story follows Jules, a strange and lonely boy who, from birth, proves to be different: his appearance, behavior, and obsession with darkness baffle his surroundings. His fascination with vampires arises after watching a Dracula movie, which leads him to immerse himself in a dangerous fixation with the idea of becoming one. As Jules seeks to make sense of his obsession, his life turns dark and disturbing, reflecting his struggle to belong in a world he doesn’t understand.

Jorge Luis Borges: Death and the Compass

“Death and the Compass” is a short story by Jorge Luis Borges, first published in May 1942 in the magazine Sur and later included in the collection Ficciones (1944). Dr. Marcelo Yarmolinsky, a delegate to the Third Talmudic Congress, is found dead in his room at the Hôtel du Nord. At the crime scene, a mysterious message is discovered, linked to the first letter of the Name of God. Convinced that behind this death—and those that follow—there lies a mystical and symbolic pattern, the detective Erik Lönnrot ventures into a sinuous labyrinth of clues, determined to uncover who, or who all, is responsible for these murders.

Isaac Asimov: The Ultimate Crime

The Ultimate Crime (1976) is a story by Isaac Asimov that is part of More Tales of the Black Widowers. The story takes place during one of the monthly dinners of the exclusive Black Widowers Club, where the conversation revolves around Sherlock Holmes and his nemesis, Professor Moriarty. A guest, a member of the Baker Street Irregulars, poses an intriguing literary conundrum related to Moriarty’s fictional treatise entitled The Dynamics of an Asteroid. The evening becomes a brilliant exchange of ideas where club members explore theories connecting science, literature, and the criminal mind, revealing the group’s fascinating collective ingenuity.

Jorge Luis Borges: The Library of Babel

“The Library of Babel,” a fascinating story by Jorge Luis Borges included in ‘The Garden of Forking Paths (1941)’, imagines a universe composed of an infinite library of hexagonal galleries containing all possible books. In this chaotic and vast cosmos, librarians are engaged in an endless search for absolute knowledge or a book that gives meaning to their existence. Borges explores philosophical and metaphysical concepts such as infinity, the arbitrariness of language, and the human desire to understand an essentially incomprehensible universe. This story is a meditation on the obsession with knowledge and the ultimate meaning of life in a world where everything is already written and yet nothing can be fully understood.

Jack London: The Mexican

The Mexican, a short story by Jack London, published on August 19, 1911, in The Saturday Evening Post, narrates the arrival of Felipe Rivera to a revolutionary cell fighting against the dictatorship of Porfirio Díaz in Mexico. At first, Rivera, an enigmatic, reserved young man with an implacable look, generates distrust among the veterans, who relegate him to the most humble and degrading tasks. However, his unwavering dedication to the cause soon becomes evident. Rivera, marked by a mysterious past, seems willing to sacrifice to contribute to the revolutionary dream.