Public Domain Stories
Mysteries
The Mystery of Hunter’s Lodge
Agatha Christie: Roger Havering’s uncle Harrington Pace is murdered at their hunting lodge on the Derbyshire moors.
The Secret Garden
G.K. Chesterton: Father Brown must discover how a dead man got into the garden of Aristide Valentin, Chief of the Paris Police.
The Million Dollar Bond Robbery
Agatha Christie: The fiancée of Philip Ridgeway asks Poirot to prove his innocence of stealing a million dollars in company bonds.
The Disappearance of Mr Davenheim
Agatha Christie: Poirot agrees to a five-pound bet with Inspector Japp that he could solve the case of a missing banker within a week without moving from his chair.
Humor: PG Wodehouse
From AmericanLiterature.com: English humorist best known to modern readers for the Jeeves and Blandings Castle novels and short stories. His prolific writing career lasted more than seventy years, including novels, short stories, poems, plays, articles and even song lyrics. His butler character Jeeves became so iconic it earned an entry in the Oxford English Dictionary.
Jeeves in the Springtime
Bertie’s friend Bingo has fallen in love again. It’s time to call Jeeves!
The Clicking of Cuthbert
What’s a golfer to do when he falls in love with a girl who loves poetry?
A Bit of Luck for Mabel
“If things had not happened as they did I might now be a man of tremendous importance, looked up to and respected by all in Singapore.”
Horror: Edgar Allan Poe
Poe was one of the earliest American writers to focus on the short story and is credited with inventing the detective fiction genre. But it is for his horror stories that he is world famous today.
The Cask of Amontillado
Injuries must be borne, but insult requires revenge.
The Fall of the House of Usher
I know not how it was–but, with the first glimpse of the building, a sense of insufferable gloom pervaded my spirit.
Twists
Tales with a bit of a twist at the end.
After Twenty Years
O. Henry: It’s all right officer. I’m just waiting for a friend. It’s an appointment made twenty years ago.
Head and Shoulders
F. Scott Fitzgerald: Horace is busy explaining literature when life reaches in, seizes him, handles him, stretches him, and unrolls him like a piece of Irish lace on a Saturday-afternoon bargain-counter.
Babes in the Jungle
O. Henry: Two low-lives from the west go to New York with plans to relieve the fool inhabitants of their cash.
Miscellaneous
A collection of stories from a variety of authors, genres and styles.
The Reluctant Dragon
A boy must convince St. George not to destroy the Dragon, a fellow poet.
To Build a Fire
A man and dog struggle in the deep cold.
The Necklace
Convinced that her beauty and charm would guarantee her the wealthy lifestyle she dreamt of, Mathilde Loisel spends her days dreaming about the incredible life she’s not having.
The Canterville Ghost
A ghost is the victim of pranks.
The Open Window
Mr. Nuttel meets his 15 year-old neighbor for the first time and learns the reason for the open window.
Federigo's Falcon
Squandering his wealth in an attempt to gain the affection of a beautiful woman, Federigo degli Alberighi is left with only a small farm and a magnificent falcon.
External Links
While we try to contain every referenced story within the site, there are a few other sites where you can find some great short stories. Because these sites are external, we cannot guarantee that all of the stories abide by the same standards as this site in regards to profanity or content.
Madame Eulalie - Early P.G. Wodehouse
Lighthearted reading
Feel Good Stories
Early American short stories
American Humorous Short Stories
Old but humorous short stories provided by Gutenberg.org
The best American humorous short stories, A Project Gutenberg eBook
Victorian Courtship Stories
Some stories are longer than others, but all reflect a more formal system than today’s superficial romances.
Icelandic Stories
For a unique different culture, try these short stories from Iceland. There’s a long introduction before the stories that you can read or scroll past.
The Project Gutenberg eBook of Seven Icelandic Short Stories
Short Stories of Various Types
A collection of short stories showing a range of experiences and creativity.
The Project Gutenberg eBook of Short Stories of Various Types