Short For Teens

In "The Pit And The Pendulum" author Edgar Allan Poe weaves the story of a prisoner of the Spanish Inquisition, tried and condemned to death and locked in a horrific torture chamber to meet his doom at the hands of his sadistic keepers.

On a dark and stormy night, three strangers seek shelter at a young girl's christening party. Thomas Hardy was an English poet, novelist, and short story writer. He is famous for his depictions of Wessex, an imaginary county. Many of his stories also reflected his sense of the tragedy in human life.

Something stirs beneath the ice-locked tundra of Snowdonia National Park. An ancient force of unspeakable evil scrabbles at the boundaries between worlds. Its servants creep from sunless caverns and crave the taste of warm human flesh. Ithaqua summons his children home. A new age approaches. Gibbering monsters and nameless horrors await, and a blend of man and beast is needed to show the Great Old Ones the way. Dwellers in the deep. Fields of quivering flesh.

Though Richard Peck is best known as a novelist, he has been writing short stories - rousing, provocative, and thoroughly entertaining - throughout his career. Compiled for the first time, here are all of Richard Peck's stories: eleven previously published tales and two brand-new ones. He has also written engaging notes about the stories, an informative introduction about the genre, and tips on how to write short stories, including "Five Helpful Hints" that will be a valuable aid to aspiring authors.

In her people-smart way, Kimberly Willis Holt introduces us to a Louisiana family: touching, lyrical, and always intriguing, their stories reveal the powerful connections between four generations. The journey begins in 1939 with Rose, who moves with her mother and siblings from rural Texas to live with their estranged grandfather in the Louisiana bayou.

This humorous story was "a flight of fancy" for H. G. Wells. A man is given the power to perform miracles but with very unexpected results.

During the American Civil War, a man stands on a railroad bridge about to be hanged. At the last minute, the rope breaks - or does it? This much-anthologized short story was adapted into one of the most popular episodes of The Twilight Zone.

"What's Happened to Me?": Sarah finds herself in a strange place, and she can recall only one thing - her name. A young man, Heath de Charon, explains to Sarah that he found her unconscious on the grounds of his family's estate and has been caring for her. "When the Clock Chimes": Drake Iverson lands a summer job on Sandstone Mountain. There are no computers; he has to do all the work by hand in a large leather-bound book. He doesn't mind, as long as he can be near Gina, who is pretty and kind. "The Mysteries of Chance": Dylan Sorenson offers his help to a girl who seems to be in distress.

Rebellious teenager Allyson has broken the rules one time too many, and her mother sends her to stay with her cousins in New Mexico. The LeFebres' highly religious, conservative, rural lifestyle is shocking to Allyson, and one of their strangest superstitions is a belief in a local boogeyman called the Bice. But it's only a superstition, right?

Der dicke Elmer kauft sich Spielkameraden mit Süßigkeiten - doch am Ende findet er auf ganz andere Weise einen Freund. Maria kidnappt Olle, weil sie unbedingt ihren ersten Kuss will - und Olle gefällt das gar nicht so schlecht. Winnie findet auf der Raststätte einen Hamster und will ihn unbedingt behalten - oder soll er ihn doch seiner nervigen kleinen Schwester schenken? Acht wunderbare Geschichten über Freundschaft, Geschwister, erste Liebe und die Sehnsucht danach, einen Platz in der Welt zu finden.

In her classic ghost story "Kerfol", Edith Wharton tells the tale of Anne de Barrigan, a young Frenchwoman convicted of murdering her husband, the jealous Yves de Cornault. The elderly lord was found dead on the stairs, apparently savaged by a pack of dogs, though there were no dogs no live dogs at Kerfol that day. In this remarkable collection of intertwining short stories, Deborah Noyes takes us back to the haunted manor and tells us Anne de Barrigan's story through the sympathetic eyes of her servant girl.

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!

Mary Eleanor Wilkins Freeman (October 31, 1852¿March 13, 1930) was a prominent 19th century American author. Up until recently she was known primarily as a "feminist" writer, for her classic stories like "A New England Nun" and "The Revolt of Mother". However, she also wrote many well-crafted supernatural stories which have only recently begun to attract appreciative critical attention. These stories combine pragmatism and supernaturalism and are very much in the tradition of an "Americanized" Gothic.

Guy de Maupassant is considered one of the fathers of the modern short story. His narratives are characterized by an economy of style and the efficient way in which the various threads are neatly resolved. In "The False Jewels", a man who dotes on his wife is crushed by her unexpected death and then astounded by a revelation about her costume jewelry.

Esme tells us about the night she and her mother became "egg vigilantes" against an illegally parked car; her freewheeling first school, where kids sat on sofas instead of at desks and could choose disco dancing instead of math; her dangerous neighborhood, which her father made seem friendly and wondrous; the Passover dinner when she stole a matzoh right out from under a rabbi; the awe-inspiring, life-threatening Chicago snowstorms; and lessons about love from tea-reading gypsies and Popeye cartoons.

Which One Are You? is a collection of 19 short stories that deal with a variety of topics, including family, life, friends, and making choices. The stories are told from a variety of perspectives, and they offer insights into the human condition that are both thought-provoking and inspiring.

Here is one of London's famous stories of the Klondike, where men had to battle the elements, and often each other, to survive.

Two friends decide to meet again after a 20-year separation - with very unexpected results.

Funny Business is based around the theme of - what else - humor, and if you’re familiar with Jon and Guys Read, you already know what you’re in store for: an hilarious story.

Listen to each 5 Minute Mystery carefully, and select which clues either incriminate or exonerate each suspect. Select the guilty suspect from the list once you've found all of the clues.