The Night Before Thanksgiving by Sarah Orne Jewett I. There was a sad heart in the low-storied, dark little house that stood humbly by the roadside under some tall elms. Small as her house was, old Mrs. Robb found it too large for herself alone; she only needed the kitchen and a tiny bedroom that…
What Five Dollars Paid by T. S. Arthur
What Five Dollars Paid by T. S. Arthur Mr. Herriot was sitting in his office, one day, when a lad entered, and handed him a small slip of paper. It was a bill for five dollars, due to his shoemaker, a poor man who lived in the next square. “Tell Mr. Grant that I will…
The Adventure of the Engineer’s Thumb by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
The Adventure of the Engineer’s Thumb by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Of all the problems which have been submitted to my friend, Mr. Sherlock Holmes, for solution during the years of our intimacy, there were only two which I was the means of introducing to his notice—that of Mr. Hatherley’s thumb, and that of Colonel…
MR. LITTLE SELECTS THE THANKSGIVING TURKEY Mary E. Wilkins
“I should think that was queer, the day before Thanksgivin’,” said Mrs. Little. She was examining the turkey critically. “I guess it’ll do,” she declared finally.
MY RED CAP by Louisa M. Alcott
MY RED CAP by Louisa M. Alcott “He who serves well need not fear to ask his wages.” I It was under a blue cap that I first saw the honest face of Joe Collins. In the third year of the late war a Maine regiment was passing through Boston, on its way to Washington….
Difficult People by Anton Chekhov
YEVGRAF IVANOVITCH SHIRYAEV, a small farmer, whose father, a parish priest, now deceased, had received a gift of three hundred acres
The White Ship by Howard Phillips Lovecraft
The White Ship by Howard Phillips Lovecraft I am Basil Elton, keeper of the North Point light that my father and grandfather kept before me. Far from the shore stands the grey lighthouse, above sunken slimy rocks that are seen when the tide is low, but unseen when the tide is high. Past that beacon…
The Alchemist by H. P. Lovecraft
The Alchemist by H. P. Lovecraft High up, crowning the grassy summit of a swelling mound whose sides are wooded near the base with the gnarled trees of the primeval forest, stands the old chateau of my ancestors. For centuries its lofty battlements have frowned down upon the wild and rugged countryside about, serving as…
A HAUNTED ISLAND by Algernon Blackwood
A HAUNTED ISLAND by Algernon Blackwood The following events occurred on a small island of isolated position in a large Canadian lake, to whose cool waters the inhabitants of Montreal and Toronto flee for rest and recreation in the hot months. It is only to be regretted that events of such peculiar interest to the…
THE GHOST OF ART by Charles Dickens
THE GHOST OF ART by Charles Dickens I AM a bachelor, residing in rather a dreary set of chambers in the Temple. They are situated in a square court of high houses, which would be a complete well, but for the want of water and the absence of a bucket. I live at the top…
BEARSKIN by Jacob Grimm and Wilhelm Grimm
BEARSKIN by Jacob Grimm and Wilhelm Grimm There was once upon a time a young fellow who enlisted for a soldier, and became so brave and courageous that he was always in the front ranks when it rained blue beans.1 As long as the war lasted all went well, but when peace was concluded he…
The Vanished Mummy by Charles Bump
The Vanished Mummy by Charles Bump In the detective headquarters in the Courthouse they have mistakenly built up a very high notion of my sleuth qualities. Personally I have always felt that such help as I have been able to render them in two or three different cases was most largely due to luck, and…
THE HOLLOW OF THE THREE HILLS by Nathaniel Hawthorne
THE HOLLOW OF THE THREE HILLS by Nathaniel Hawthorne In those strange old times when fantastic dreams and madmen’s reveries were realized among the actual circumstances of life, two persons met together at an appointed hour and place. One was a lady graceful in form and fair of feature, though pale and troubled and smitten…
A STORY OF RAVENNA By Boccaccio
A STORY OF RAVENNA By Boccaccio Ravenna being a very ancient city in Romagna, there dwelt sometime a great number of worthy gentlemen, among whom I am to speak of one more especially, named Anastasio, descended from the family of Onesti, who by the death of his father, and an uncle of his, was left…
THE HAUNTED MIND by Nathaniel Hawthorne
THE HAUNTED MIND by Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864) What a singular moment is the first one, when you have hardly begun to recollect yourself, after starting from midnight slumber! By unclosing your eyes so suddenly you seem to have surprised the personages of your dream in full convocation round your bed, and catch one broad glance…