Fantasy | Lecturia

Edgar Allan Poe: Morella

“Morella” is a short story by Edgar Allan Poe, published in April 1835 in the Southern Literary Messenger. A man marries Morella, a woman of great erudition and a marked inclination toward metaphysics and mystical knowledge. Although he initially feels deeply attached to her, over time he experiences a growing detachment and an inexplicable aversion toward his wife, a feeling that intensifies as she languishes and her presence becomes increasingly disturbing.

Julio Cortázar: A Yellow Flower

“A Yellow Flower” is a short story by Julio Cortázar, published in 1956 in the collection Final del juego. In a Paris bistro, a drunken man claims to have made an extraordinary discovery: we are immortal. As he tells it, the revelation came to him on a bus, when he recognized in a thirteen-year-old boy named Luc an exact replica of himself at that age—the same face, the same gestures, the same shyness, the same voice. Determined to investigate, he insinuates himself into the boy’s life: he visits his home and meets his family. As he learns more about Luc’s story, he finds astonishing parallels between their two lives, as though existence were repeating itself in endless cycles.

Gabriel García Márquez: I Sell My Dreams

“I Sell My Dreams” (Me alquilo para soñar) is a short story by Gabriel García Márquez, published in 1992 in the collection 12 cuentos peregrinos. It recounts the author’s own experiences with a mysterious woman he met in Vienna. A tragic event that took place in Havana serves García Márquez as the occasion to evoke this fascinating character, who possesses a very special gift: the ability to foresee the future through dreams. The story moves between the fantastic and the journalistic, and also includes a delightful anecdote involving Pablo Neruda.

Jorge Luis Borges: Funes, His Memory

“Funes, His Memory” (Funes el memorioso) is a short story by Jorge Luis Borges, first published in June 1942 in the newspaper La Nación, and later included in the book Ficciones (1944). It recounts the story of Ireneo Funes, a young man who, after an accident, acquires a prodigious memory: he can recall every detail of his life and surroundings with absolute precision. The narrator, an alter ego of Borges, reflects on the implications of this ability. Far from turning Funes into a sage, his perfect memory renders him incapable of abstraction or generalization, trapping him in a world of overwhelming details. Borges thus offers a profound meditation on the limits of knowledge and memory, suggesting that forgetting, to a certain extent, is necessary in order to think and to live.

Lord Dunsany: The Hoard of the Gibbelins

“The Hoard of the Gibbelins” is a short story by Lord Dunsany, first published on January 25, 1911, in the magazine The Sketch, and later collected in The Book of Wonder (1912). At the world’s edge, beyond an ancient river, rises the tower of the gibbelins—monstrous beings who hoard fabulous riches to lure men to their doom and devour them. Alderic, a knight, studies for years the means of stripping the gibbelins of their treasure, until one day, mounted on a dragon, he embarks upon the perilous venture.

Bram Stoker: Gibbet Hill

“Gibbet Hill” is a short story by Bram Stoker, published on December 17, 1890, in the Daily Express of Dublin. On an autumn day, a traveler explores the hills of Surrey. As he admires the beauty of the place, three figures catch his attention: two girls of exotic appearance, who seem to have come from India, and a fair-haired boy with an angelic smile. After speaking with them, they climb together to the summit of Gibbet Hill, a place of breathtaking views where a cross stands in memory of the execution of a former criminal. Intoxicated by the landscape, the traveler wanders into a wood and falls into a brief sleep. Upon waking, he will witness a disturbing scene.