Classic Mystery Short Stories

Professor Van Dusen solves a variety of different mysteries together with his friend, Hutchinson Hatch, a reporter for a fictional newspaper called The Daily New Yorker. The professor is known as the "Thinking Machine", and he solves problems by the remorseless application of logic. In this story, he thinks his way out of a maximum-security prison.

Possibly the scariest horror story of all time. Captured and condemned to death by the Inquisition at Toledo, the narrator finds that his captors have devised a dungeon for him which exposes him to the most dreadful and drawn out psychological terror before certain death finally catches him. Every time he manages to escape one of their petrifying devices, another even more gruesome mode of execution is deployed.

The Blockade Runners is a classic account of The American civil war conspiracy which centers on the exploits of James Playfair who must stop the Federalist blockade of the harbor of Charleston in South Carolina harbor to deal supplies for cotton and, later in the book, to save the father of a young girl held prisoner by the Confederates. Verne's tale was motivated by reality as various ships were actually lost while acting as Blockade runners in and around Charleston in the early eighteen sixties.

The Secret of the Barbican is the story of a small-town solicitor who on a chance visit to a local museum in a distant town discovers a set of rare siege coins. He instantly recognizes them as the set of coins which had been stolen from his own town corporation many years previously. He immediately sets out to investigate...and the thief's trail takes him to some quite extraordinary places....

This is a story from The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes II collection. In this collection are four of the finest cases of Mr. Sherlock Holmes, narrated by his faithful friend and admirer Dr. Watson. What was the mystery of the engineer's thumb? What was behind the disappearance of the race horse? Why did masked royalty walk up to see Holmes in Baker Street? These and other puzzles are solved in this collection by this bloodhound of a genius.

A man convicted of being a saboteur for the Confederacy during the American Civil War stands on Owl Creek Bridge with a noose around his neck. As the procedures for his hanging are carried out, he seizes an opportunity to escape.

This is a story from The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes II collection. In this collection are four of the finest cases of Mr. Sherlock Holmes, narrated by his faithful friend and admirer Dr. Watson. What was the mystery of the engineer's thumb? What was behind the disappearance of the race horse? Why did masked royalty walk up to see Holmes in Baker Street? These and other puzzles are solved in this collection by this bloodhound of a genius.

Watson visits Sherlock Holmes at Christmastime and finds him contemplating a battered old hat, brought to him by the commissionaire Peterson after it and a Christmas goose had been dropped by a man in a scuffle with some street ruffians. Peterson takes the goose home to eat it, but comes back later with a precious carbuncle that his wife found in the bird's crop.

This unique collection of lesser-known tales and poems from a master of the macabre demonstrates Poe's literary range. From the title story, which examines the behavior of an old man walking through Baltimore, to the beautiful poetry in "The Sleeper" and "Annabel Lee," these often hard-to-find works are superbly narrated by Ralph Cosham. Also included in the collection is "MS. Found in a Bottle" (one of Poe's first major works), the account of a man who boards the Flying Dutchman; "Eleonora," a tale of a vow of love; "The Oval Portrait," in which a young artist literally captures the life force of his new bride; "Berenice," about a premature burial - with a particularly unnerving effect; "The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar," about a macabre experiment in hypnotism; and "The System of Doctor Tarr and Professor Fether" and "The Man That Was Used Up," 2 stories that demonstrate Poe's humor.

"Bartleby, the Scrivener: A Story of Wall Street" is a short story by the American writer Herman Melville, first serialized anonymously in two parts in the November and December 1853 issues of Putnam's Magazine, and reprinted with minor textual alterations in his The Piazza Tales in 1856. A Wall Street lawyer hires a new clerk who, after an initial bout of hard work, refuses to make copy and any other task required of him, with the words "I would prefer not to".

The dark strains of madness that permeate many of the works of Edgar Allan Poe make their way through this macabre story. This memorable short story bears a resemblance to Poe's Tell Tale Heart. In both stories guilt leaves a murderer with a singular choice.

Forbidden love in name baronial estate. An evil man dies with an evil smile upon his face believing his evil secret is going with him to the grave. And there it remains until the lovers creep into the crypt shortly after the stroke of midnight. An erie tale certain to creep you out and keep you in suspense.

"Gentlemen, I am here to represent the interest of Henry Bank & Trust. We would like to resolve the situation quickly and quietly, so that all the investors can move forward with a minimum of anxiety. Holmes sat across from her, studying her with a nonplussed air. "I must admit; he said, that I do not know how to assist you. Inspector Lestrade was here earlier, and it appears that you are missing nothing and they have no thieves in custody. When the bank emptied today, everything was in place, except for the criminals."

Edgar Allan Poe, American poet and master of the horror tale, is also credited by many with inventing the American mystery story. "The Gold Bug" is one of his most famous stories. It was first published in the Philadelphia Dollar Newspaper in June 1843, after Poe had won a competition held by the paper and received a prize of $100.

While capturing anacondas in the jungles of South America, adventurer Wandering Smith spies an orchid hunter fleeing from a troupe of angry natives spewing poisoned arrows. But when this orchid hunter joins the hunting expedition, it becomes clear that he thirsts for something other than rare orchids - he is also collecting the jewels used to adorn shrunken heads.

Arthur Conan Doyle ranked "The Red-Headed League" second in his list of his 12 favorite Sherlock Holmes stories. It is one of Holmes' most intriguing cases, in which he has to solve a problem caused by a strange society in which the only criteria for admission is bright red hair!

Though Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is best known for his detective stories, he also wrote other short stories that are masterpieces of mystery and suspense. In some stories, a supressed uneasiness gradually builds up and evolves into sheer horror; in others, the story line unexpectedly changes and comes to an unlikely conclusion.

In "The New Catacomb", deceit and revenge are buried in the deep recesses of a Roman archeological site.

Three compelling Sherlock Holmes Mysteries in one book narrated by Mark Deakins. Set in the late 19th century, no fictional character is more renowned for his powers of thought and observation than Sherlock Holmes.

A phantom haunts The Pole-Star, a whaling ship stranded in the north Atlantic ice, as the ship's captain slips into madness....

Story One: Bumbling Caper on the Swiss Alps. "Watson! Watson!" I shouted in dismay, thinking I was close to the surface. Alas, I could not find my way out of the snow, packed thick and heavy all around me. My legs were pinned in place, and I could scarcely breathe with each passing moment.