Looking for short stories for adults in PDF? We've gathered 23 free short stories covering gothic horror, classic literary fiction, and adventure by authors like Edgar Allan Poe, Anton Chekhov, and Ernest Hemingway.
These stories explore fear, guilt, survival, and what it means to be human. From Lovecraft's cosmic horror to Maupassant's sharp irony, this collection covers the best of classic short fiction.
Browse by genre or scroll through the full list. Every story is free to read online or download as PDF.
Gothic and Horror Short Stories
From Poe's tales of revenge and madness to Lovecraft's alien terrors, these stories get under your skin. Eight classics of gothic and horror fiction, free to read.
Poe's narrator insists on his sanity while confessing to murder. A masterclass in unreliable narration and psychological horror, told with unbearable tension in just a few pages.
Poe's tale of cold-blooded revenge. A man lures his rival into underground tunnels with the promise of rare wine, then walls him in alive. One of the most chilling revenge stories ever written.
Poe's gothic masterpiece about a visitor to a decaying mansion and its doomed inhabitants. A story of madness, death, and the collapse of a cursed family line.
A meteorite crashes on a New England farm, bringing an indescribable color that poisons everything it touches. Lovecraft's favorite of his own stories, blending cosmic horror with rural decay.
Robert Louis Stevenson's chilling tale of medical students, grave robbing, and murder in 19th-century Edinburgh. Inspired by the real Burke and Hare case.
A railway signal-man is haunted by a spectral figure that appears before each fatal accident. Dickens' atmospheric ghost story explores isolation, duty, and the uncanny.
A family receives a cursed monkey's paw that grants three wishes, each with devastating consequences. W.W. Jacobs' 1902 horror classic defined the 'be careful what you wish for' genre.
A professor's experiment in mesmerism goes wrong when his soul swaps with a student's. Conan Doyle's darkly comic tale mixes supernatural horror with academic satire.
The best of 19th and early 20th century fiction. Stories by Chekhov, Joyce, Maupassant, Oscar Wilde, and Herman Melville that shaped how we think about love, class, and identity.
Tragedy, satire, and quiet moments of truth. These are the stories that made short fiction an art form.
A woman's descent into madness while confined to a room by her husband. Charlotte Perkins Gilman's pioneering feminist story explores isolation, autonomy, and the dismissal of women's mental health.
Melville's haunting tale of a Wall Street copyist who simply refuses to work, replying to every request with 'I would prefer not to.' A profound meditation on passive resistance and alienation.
Kate Chopin's devastating story about race, identity, and betrayal in antebellum Louisiana. A young wife is rejected after suspicions about her baby's racial heritage lead to a shocking revelation.
Chekhov's masterpiece about an extramarital affair at a Black Sea resort that becomes unexpected real love. Widely considered one of the greatest short stories ever written.
Nikolai Gogol's absurdist masterpiece about a barber who finds a nose in his bread, and the nose's owner who discovers it living a life of its own. A cornerstone of satirical fiction.
Oscar Wilde's tragic fairy tale about a Spanish princess and a dwarf who dances for her birthday. A meditation on beauty, cruelty, and the distance between social classes.
Washington Irving's classic about a man who sleeps for 20 years and wakes to a changed world. This illustrated 1863 edition includes historical notes and period artwork.
A woman borrows a diamond necklace for a party, loses it, and spends ten years repaying the debt. Maupassant's ironic twist ending made this one of the most famous short stories in world literature.
Maupassant's breakthrough novella about a prostitute sacrificed by her hypocritical traveling companions during the Franco-Prussian War. This scholarly edition includes a parallel French text and translation notes.
A young couple each secretly sells their most prized possession to buy a gift for the other. O. Henry's beloved Christmas story is a timeless lesson about love and sacrifice.
James Joyce's debut collection of 15 interconnected stories capturing Dublin's middle-class life. Includes masterpieces like 'The Dead,' 'Araby,' and 'Eveline.'
Survival, danger, and split-second decisions. Five stories that move fast and hit hard, from Jack London's frozen Yukon to Hemingway's Chicago underworld.
A big-game hunter stranded on a remote island discovers the owner hunts humans for sport. Richard Connell's 1924 thriller remains one of the most anthologized short stories in English.
Jack London's survival story about a man and his dog facing lethal cold in the Yukon. A stark tale about human arrogance against the indifferent power of nature.
Four men struggle to survive in a small boat after a shipwreck off the Florida coast. Crane's story, based on his own experience, is a powerful study of endurance and indifference of nature.
Two hitmen walk into a diner looking for a boxer who double-crossed someone in Chicago. Hemingway's sparse dialogue and restrained violence defined the hard-boiled genre.
A Confederate sympathizer is hanged from a bridge during the Civil War. As the rope tightens, time seems to stop. Bierce's twist ending has influenced storytelling for over a century.
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