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"J. Habakuk Jephson's Statement" is an 1884 short story by young Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in the form of a first-person testimony by a survivor of the Marie Celeste, a fictionalized version of the tale of the Mary Celeste, a ship found abandoned and adrift in the Atlantic Ocean in 1872.

"John Huxford's Hiatus" is a short story by Arthur Conan Doyle first published anonymously in The Cornhill Magazine in 1888. It is about John Huxford who left London for Canada and would send for his fiancée when he found work. But the message never came.

"A Convert of the Mission" is about a California minister in need of rehabilitation to regain the health of his body and spirit. He follows the orders of his doctor to go somewhere and change his habits and way of life. And he succeeds in his quest, but in a way that displeases his former brothers in the faith.

Honoré Willsie is best known for her well-researched novels like With Malice Toward None (1928) and The Last Full Measure (1930). "Afraid of the Dark" is an inspirational story of a young girl who is forced to conquer her fear in order to save a life.

Tolstoy wrote this fascinating story in 1903. It is a parable about God ‘s creation of work, death, and sickness in order to make mankind happier. Finally, God saw that mankind did not really want to be happy, so he left them alone.

A short story by the Russian author and moral philosopher Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy, known as Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910). The story, first published in 1912 as "Notes of a Madman", is written from the perspective of an individual who seemed to not be quite sane, and who was examined by doctors. The opinions of the doctors were divided; they argued among themselves and came at last to the conclusion that he was not mad. But this was due to the fact that he tried hard during the examination not to be himself.

"Landor’s Cottage" is a characteristically vivid and detailed description of Poe’s family home and the surrounding valley. Poe describes the natural beauty of the setting with elegance and emotion and gives us the opportunity to delve deeper into Poe as a person as he writes candidly about the beauty that surrounds him.

What is considered an autographical piece, the story centers around a young couple in love in a wonderful and isolated valley of beauty, until illness changes everything and the valley, too, begins to lose its luster.

A couple was promised a $30,000 inheritance from a rich relative on condition that it remains a secret. Through the years, they invest money, accumulating sizable assets, until they lose it all in a stock market crash. One day, they find out that the relative had died penniless, which means they yearned for an illusion their whole life long.

American author Nathaniel Hawthorne has astounded critics and the public alike for well over a century with his tales of horror, mystery, darkness, and romance. The short story, "The Haunted Mind", first published in 1835, is a perfect example of Hawthorne delving into the unknown in interesting and unexpected ways. Hawthorn referred to the state between sleep and wakefulness as The Haunted Mind, and discusses the strange, obscure, and mysterious feelings and experiences we have all had in this state or similar somnambulant phases.

Charlotte Perkins Gilman (1860-1935) was an influential feminist author. This short story, "If I Were a Man" reveals the subconscious thoughts of Mollie Mathewson, a young woman who yearns to become a man. Then suddenly she becomes her husband, Gerald, and experiences various strange and different perspectives.

The short story focuses on two lovers torn apart by the American Civil War and the locket that inexorably binds them together.

Set in mid-15th-century Paris, the tale centers around Francis Villon, a man with poetic sensibilities, long since driven to crime out of desperation and poverty. After fleeing from a tavern along with all other patrons after a grisly murder is committed on premises, Villon desperately visits a series of one-time acquaintances hoping to find shelter from the cold weather and certain death. Along the way, Villon ruminates on morality, honor, and poverty.

"The Californian's Tale" is the story of a man, Henry, waiting for his wife to come home. The narrator, a stranger to the town, knows nothing of the circumstances. He discovers the tragic truth at a party thrown by Henry’s friends at his house.

"The Domain of Arnheim" is a short tale about a man of great means named Ellison who builds a castle with a garden of breathtaking beauty called Arnheim. In "The Domain of Arnheim", Poe delves deep into the human mind, creative imagination, the soul, and the nature of beauty.

Two drunken sailors, Hugh and Legs, find themselves in a part of London quarantined due to the plague. Passing by one of the buildings, they are lured inside by loud noises and discover a party of people around a table and a cellar full of liquor. A quarrel ensues, a barrel of punch is knocked over, and everyone but the sailors and two of the women drown in the deluge of liquor.

"To Kill a Man" by Jack London (1876-1916) is a story about an intruder being caught by one of the inhabitants of a house. An interesting conversation ensues. At the end, the intruder shames the woman who had held him captive for a while.

"The Invalid’s Story", an example of Mark Twain’s frontier-style humor, describes the misadventures of two men - Thompson and the narrator - on a train who mistake a gunbox and a rotting cheese for a corpse in a coffin. Thompson does not know much but his wild imagination has a strong influence on the naïve narrator. In the end, this situation leads to disaster.

This is a story within a story by Mark Twain. The one within is the tale of the gambler Jim Smiley and his jumping frog Dan’l. After many winning bets on Dan’l’s jumping ability, a cunning stranger comes along and that day Jim loses.

Ambrose Bierce, American Civil War veteran, poet, essayist, and short story writer was known as ‘Bitter Bierce’ for his caustic sense of humour and biting wit. In his short story, "One Summer Night", Bierce lives up to his nickname. The story centers around a man who has been buried alive, as well as a pair of medical students and a cemetery caretaker who are about to unwittingly dig him up. This short and effective tale is full of intriguing characters, dark humor, and unexpected turns and is a great example of the severely underrated Ambrose Bierce’s writing.