an incomplete list of unsettling short stories I read in textbooks
the scarlet ibis
marigolds
the diamond necklace
the monkey’s paw
the open boat
the lady and the tiger
the minister’s black veil
an occurrence at owl creek bridge
a rose for emily
(I found that one by googling “short story corpse in the house,” first result)
the cask of amontillado
the yellow wallpaper
the most dangerous game
a good man is hard to find
some are well-known, some obscure, some I enjoy as an adult, all made me uncomfortable between the ages of 11-15
add your own weird shit, I wanna be literary and disturbed
The Tell-Tale Heart, The Gift of the Magi, The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calavaras County, Thank You Ma'am
the box social by james reaney. i remember we all had to silently read it in class, and you would hear the moment everyone reached the Part because some people would audibly go “what”
wHat did I just put my eyes on
“The Veldt” by Ray Bradbury
Not quite a short story, but read in class: “The Monsters are Due on Maple Street” from The Twilight Zone
Harrison Bergeron, Cat and the Coffee Drinkers
“Where are you going and where have you been” by Joyce carol oates
“The Pedestrian” by Ray Bradbury
the lottery by shirley jackson
i can’t believe Roald Dahl’s “The Landlady” wasn’t already mentioned and also it’s not so much unsettling as more absurdist but “The Leader” by Eugene Ionesco definitely made me go wtf
Ett halvt ark papper. I cried so much.
Ночь у мазара, А. Шалимов
A Sound of Thunder by Ray Bradbury
I Have no Mouth, and I Must Scream by Harlan Ellison
The Lottery by Shirley Jackson
All Summer in a Day by Ray Bradbury
Some of Us Had Been Threatening Our Friend Colby, by Donald Barthelme
I read Ray Bradbury’s “All Summer In A Day” in seventh grade (it wasn’t assigned, I was just going through my textbook for new stuff to read) and as a bullied kid with SAD, it Fucked Me Up.
An Ordinary Day with Peanuts, by Shirley Jackson
Eh, this was more like community college, but The Star by Arthur C. Clarke
Lamb to the Slaughter by Roald Dahl
and this story that I can’t remember the name of and can’t find, though it might be by O. Henry? it’s about a bunch of demons who want to stop Santa Claus from going through with Christmas, and he must travel through the mountains they inhabit to escape their vices? (good christ I can’t remember the name for the life of me)
Ok but the laughing man and a good day for bananafish but j.d. Salinger
The City (195) Ray Bradbury. An intense commentary on colonialism and space exploration. I read it for a sci fi survey class.
Another short story I read in that sci fi class was Vaster than Empires and More Slow (1971) by Ursula K. Le Guin. A commentary on humanity and how human we believe ourselves to be. Also, an interesting commentary on mental health.
In the Woods Beneath the Cherry Blossoms in Full Bloom, written in 1947 by Ango Sakaguchi. It made my skin crawl the first time I read it.
Also going to recommend For A Breath I Tarry by Roger Zelazny, a commentary on whether AI can become human in a future without humans: http://www.kulichki.com/moshkow/ZELQZNY/forbreat.txt
whoever posted “The Laughing Man” and “A Good Day For Bananafish” is Correct
the scarlet ibis
marigolds
the diamond necklace
the monkey’s paw
the open boat
the lady and the tiger (I assume you meant Stockton’s The lady or the tiger?)
the minister’s black veil
an occurrence at owl creek bridge
a rose for emily
the cask of amontillado
the yellow wallpaper
the most dangerous game
a good man is hard to find
The Tell-Tale Heart
The Gift of the Magi
The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calavaras County
Thank You Ma'am
The box social
The Veldt
The Monsters are Due on Maple Street
Harrison Bergeron
Cat and the Coffee Drinkers
Where are you going and where have you been
The Pedestrian” by Ray Bradbury
The lottery by shirley jackson
The Landlady
The Leader
Ett halvt ark papper.
Ночь у мазара, А. Шалимов
A Sound of Thunder
I Have no Mouth, and I Must Scream
All Summer in a Day
Some of Us Had Been Threatening Our Friend Colby
An Ordinary Day with Peanuts
The Star
Lamb to the Slaughter
The laughing man
A perfect day for bananafish
The City (link goes to compendium of short stories)
Vaster than Empires and More Slow (1971) by Ursula K. Le Guin.
In the Woods Beneath the Cherry Blossoms in Full Bloom
For A Breath I Tarry
All of Flannery O'Connor’s shorts.
I didn’t read it in a text book, but “I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream” haunted me for life.
Adding to the list of Bradbury: “There Will Come Soft Rains”
The Nine Billion Names of God by Arthur C. Clarke. (I never re-read it and suspect if I did, I’d find it had issues, but I still think about the ending.)
“W.S.” by L.P. Hartley
“Lost Hearts” by M.R. James
“The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar” by Edgar Allan Poe
The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas by Ursula K. Le Guin
My Father’s Hands by Calvin R. Worthington
In the Vault, by H. P. Lovecraft.
The Feather Pillow, by Horacio Quiroga
What a Thought! by Shirley Jackson
There Will Come Soft Rains - Ray Bradbury
Singing my Sister Down - Margo Lanagan
Flowers for Algernon and The Contents of a Dead Man’s Pockets were both in my junior high english textbook and they both made a huge impact. There was also some short story about a hitchhiker and a guy who was trying to drive across the country that was spooky as fuck
