The Book of Sand (El libro de arena), a story by Jorge Luis Borges published in 1975, tells the story of a man who, in exchange for a valuable Bible and money, acquires a mysterious book of unknown origin and strange characters that seem to have infinite content. As the man tries to understand the nature of the book, he becomes obsessed and isolates himself, which will seriously affect his life.
The Salem Horror is a short story by Henry Kuttner, published in May 1937 in the magazine Weird Tales. It tells the story of Carson, a writer who rents an old house in Salem to find peace and finish his novel. Soon, he discovers strange noises in the basement and a disturbing presence in the house, linked to an ancient witch named Abigail Prinn. Moved by curiosity, Carson finds a hidden room full of arcane symbols, unaware of the dark power that still dwells there. As he delves deeper into his discovery, he finds himself trapped in unimaginable horror.
“The Mortal Immortal,” a short story by Mary Shelley, tells the story of Winzy, a young apprentice of the alchemist Cornelius Agrippa, madly in love with Bertha, a haughty and ambitious woman. In a desperate attempt to free himself from Bertha’s emotional spell, Winzy accidentally drinks an elixir prepared by Agrippa, obtaining immortality. As the years pass, Winzy faces loneliness and isolation, reflecting on the true nature of her condition and questioning whether immortality is a gift or a curse.
In “Luvina,” a story published in El llano en llamas (1953), Juan Rulfo describes an inhospitable village lashed by the constant wind and the aridity of its surroundings. Through the memories of a man who narrates his experience in it, a place is presented where nature and time seem to have stopped, leaving only the echo of loneliness and sadness. The inhabitants, marked by resignation, live a hard and monotonous life tied to the barren land and the weight of their dead. In the middle of this desolate landscape, the narrator shares his melancholy reflection on the futile struggle against an implacable destiny.
Synopsis: The Two-Centimeter Demon is a short story by Isaac Asimov, published in 1988 as part of the Azazel collection. In it, a writer (Asimov’s alter ego) tells how he met George Bitternut, an eccentric man who claims to possess a little demon named Azazel. This tiny being, barely two centimeters tall, has supernatural powers that George uses, he argues, to help others. With a humorous and satirical tone, Asimov weaves a plot where attempts to “improve” the lives of others through magic trigger unexpected and often ironic results.
“The Premature Burial” is a short story by Edgar Allan Poe, published on July 31, 1844, in the Dollar Newspaper. Written in a style that lies midway between fiction and journalistic reportage, it tells the story of a man obsessed with the possibility of being buried alive. Drawing on documented cases of premature interments in various places, it argues that such events occur with disturbing frequency. He himself, prone to attacks of catalepsy and overwhelmed by fear, takes a series of precautions to avoid becoming a victim of that horrific fate.