Books

The Jaunt

I remember in high school our text book had some paragraphs from various literature books. One of the books was called zombie (or zombies) so of course I checked it out, even if the teacher skipped it. The section was just a description or something, nothing particular, but I decided to borrow the book at the library anyway, and the full story was basically (spoilers ahead, it's gory):

I wonder if somebody did it as an Easter egg or what

I don't know about scary, but I would assign Teddy by J. D. Salinger.

Also, An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge by Ambrose Bierce.

Another one I really like that I feel like nobody else has ever read is: After I Was Thrown in the River and Before I Drowned by Dave Eggers (it's written from a dog's POV)

I guess this is more "short stories that I like" lol

Lord of the flies

We had to read 'Der Vorleser' in which a 15 year old boy gets into a relationship with a 36 year old woman. A strange choice to force kids about that age to read (we were a bit older than 15, I think. But still...)

Come and See by Soviet Union

Random shitposts on the internet have wiped away all the trauma I got from anything I read in school.

The king in yellow

Maybe not disturbing enough, but the short story that really stuck with me was: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lamb_to_the_Slaughter

The Cold Equations by Tom Godwin

https://archive.org/details/coldequationsoth0000godw

Or

The Veldt by Ray Bradbury

https://archive.org/details/the-veldt

There Will Come Soft Rains by Ray Bradbury

We had to read this book called A Prayer for Owen Meany in school. Lots of weird stuff in that one. Main thing that stood out to me was a part where the mc is tied up to his girl cousin and gets an erection

I Am The Cheese by Robert Cormier

Copy-pasta deserves a unit in my classroom, the Russian sleep experiment

High school teacher had us read Survivor Type - thus began my love for stephen king

I try to not remember The Veldt but I still liked it as a good read. I also hated Harrison Bergeron but I think I was suppose to?

!shortstories@literature.cafe

Whatever you choose, post right there 😭

Asimov's Breeds There a Man ...?

A suicidal genius figures out the relationship between his brilliance and his mental health.

The Dweller in the Gulf by Clark Ashton Smith.

Recommend me one fellas

Was a full, but short, novel that I think was summer reading: The Chocolate Wars.

Not traumatizing as much as just a shit message. Don't quietly try to opt out of what the public wants, don't rock the boat, or you'll be executed publicly as a spectacle while your peers cheer.

Kid doesn't want to participate in his high school chocolate selling fundraiser, bunch of other things happen in between, and then his classmates organize a rigged boxing match between him and the biggest school bully where they all cheer while the bully beats the main character to death. And it just hard cuts, ends there.

What a garbage book.

A classic: https://quirogatranslated.wordpress.com/2014/06/20/the-feather-pillow/

I've always remembered H. G. Wells' The Red Room, altho it's shorter than most mentioned here I think. Just loved it. So unsettling. So evocative and creepy. It's been maybe thirteen years. 😂

guy maupassant? e.g. the necklace

It isn't a short story, but it might as well have been.

In my high school senior level English class, they had us read "On the Beach." The class as a whole did not like it. We told the teacher that we would not be reading further and would not be engaging on the book any more. It took a week and they moved us on to "Wuthering Heights" which was far easier to read.