+12 | Lecturia

Edgar Allan Poe: Some Words with a Mummy

“Some Words with a Mummy” is a short story by the American writer Edgar Allan Poe, published in April 1845 in the American Review. At the home of Dr. Ponnonner, a group of people gathers to witness the examination of an Egyptian mummy that has remained intact in a museum for years. After opening its successive coffins, the attendees discover that the body is exceptionally well-preserved and lacks the usual incisions made during embalming. Fascinated by the discovery, they decide to subject the corpse to the action of a voltaic pile, which triggers an unexpected reaction in the mummy.

Ray Bradbury: The Lake

“The Lake” is a short, moving story by Ray Bradbury, published in May 1944 in Weird Tales magazine. The story follows Harold, a boy who makes his last visit to Lake Michigan before moving to the western United States. During that visit, he wanders away from his mother to remember his friend Tally, who disappeared in the lake a year earlier. Years later, Harold, now an adult and married, returns to the place of his childhood with his wife, unaware that fate has an unsettling and revealing experience in store for him.

Ursula K. Le Guin: The White Donkey

The White Donkey is a short story by Ursula K. Le Guin, published in 1980 in the magazine TriQuarterly. The story follows Sita, a young woman who takes her goats to graze in the forest, where she discovers a mysterious white donkey with a horn on its forehead. Fascinated by its elegance and uniqueness, Sita visits it daily, offering flowers and sharing moments of silent companionship. As her bond with the animal grows stronger, at Sita’s home, her parents decide her fate.

O. Henry: The Gift of the Magi

The Gift of the Magi is a short story by O. Henry, first published in The New York Sunday World on 10 December 1905. The narrative revolves around Delia and Jim, a young couple residing in a modest apartment. On Christmas Eve, with only a meagre sum of barely a dollar and eighty-seven cents to her name, Delia finds herself in a desperate situation, striving to procure a suitable gift for her husband. Driven by a profound sense of affection, she makes a decision that entails significant personal deprivation. The poignant and straightforward account illuminates the value of altruistic love and the sacrifices one is willing to make for those they hold most dear.

Algernon Blackwood: The Empty House

“The Empty House” is a haunting short story by Algernon Blackwood, first published in 1906. The tale delves into the terror emanating from a place that appears harmless yet harbors a dark past. Jim Shorthouse accompanies his aunt Julia—an avid enthusiast of the supernatural—on a nocturnal investigation inside a house rumored to be cursed. Though the dwelling itself seems unremarkable, those who enter it are gripped by an inexplicable dread. As the pair ventures deeper into their exploration, the atmosphere grows increasingly oppressive, and the strange phenomena they encounter not only defy their reason but also threaten to shatter their courage.

Isaac Asimov: A Statue For Father

“A Statue for Father” is a science fiction short story by Isaac Asimov published in Satellite Science Fiction in February 1959. Through the voice of the son of a visionary scientist, it tells the fascinating story of an accidental discovery that revolutionized humanity. The father, a stubborn physicist passionate about time travel, works tirelessly on his research, facing ridicule and disinterest from the scientific community. Although the chronotunnels do not work as he had hoped, a stroke of luck brings about something extraordinary: a bridge between the past and the present. This finding, which initially seems like a modest step forward, changes history unexpectedly.