284 - ". . . on my 48th birthday, lying in bed that night beside my wife, with my children sleeping through all the other quiet moonlit rooms of my house, I thought: I will arise and go now and kill Ralph Underhill." Tuck in for Bradbury's mind-boggling story. (Warning: you will be disappointed if you're looking for sci-fi.)
283 - “He had been sent to the bank with Denny & Carson's deposit. There was nearly a thousand (dollars) which he had . . . quietly transferred to his pocket." Tuck in for the very dramatic conclusion.
281 - "How do we know what the family is keeping secret? Or if she was kidnapped by a homicidal maniac, why should he send a ransom note?" Tuck in for the conclusion from this cherished author.
280 - Her family is begging her to come home, but . . . what if she can't? Tuck in for another gem from the most requested author. (Conclusion next week!)
279 - "When she brought her glance back to the door . . . it had been opened and someone, obscured by the darkness, was looking at her intently." Tuck in for this very British, very ghostly, winter tale.
278 - "A warm, creeping movement over his flesh betrayed the unwelcome and highly resented presence of . . ." Tuck in for the --anything but -- ticklish tale from the World War I hero.
277 - Have you, too, suffered for love? Take heart and tuck into not one, but TWO tender love stories from the "young upstart" author.
276 - ". . . she was wishing heart and soul she was a man. And all of a sudden she was!" Tuck in for this mind-bending story.
275 - For his employer, Mr. Crabtree was the definition of a cat's-paw: a person used for the purposes of another; a tool. Tuck in for another perfectly-honed story from the skillful Mr. Ellin.
274 - "Then it happened. I stopped short . . . I had the whole brilliant magnificent plan worked out." Tuck in for Vengeance Is Mine, Inc., a powerhouse of a story.
273 - "It seemed to him as if the silence, the cold, the solitude, the winter death of these mountains were taking possession of him . . ." Tuck in for what is said to be the inspiration for Stephen King's The Shining.
272 - The sweet little boy in this week's story will grow up to write an infamously terrifying non-fiction novel that will change his life forever, but not before he will write its polar opposite. Tuck in for his gentle holiday tale, a loving tribute to the woman who raised him.
271 - A mother's love on Christmas . . . "To-night you have come back to me, just as you always did after you ran away . . . I never asked you where you had been then, nor will I now." Tuck in for Pulitzer Prize-winning Willa Cather's poignant story.
270 - It's a Wonderful Life . . . Frank Capra's magical movie is based on this heartening short story. Enjoy the story-behind-the-story as you tuck in for this talented author's gem.
269 - " 'But the law requires you to tell what you're going to use it for.' Miss Emily just stared at him . . . until he looked away and went and got the arsenic." Tuck in and along with the British rock group, The Zombies, you may fall victim to Emily, too.
268 - "Every Thanksgiving Day for nine years the Old Gentleman had come there to find Stuffy Pete on his seat. . . But now he looked up at the Old Gentleman's face with tears of suffering in his eyes." Tuck in for this poignant tale (and one other) from the author renowned for unexpected endings.
267 - "Met the divinest man. Danced with him six times, a divine dancer . . . and he is terribly, divinely good-looking," gushed the heiress. Tuck in for the disturbing, anonymous caller's opinion.
266 - "The good man was choking with indignation and fear. '. . . how can they tell such lies as that to slander an honest man?'" Tuck in for this heart-rending story and discover his fate.
265 - From the master of ghost stories: ". . . I saw that there was some one else in the room besides myself. A man's figure stood between me and the windows . . ." Tuck in for a very unusual tale.
263 - Is ten years too long to wait . . . for a tour of your favorite restaurant's kitchen? Our author didn't wait long to be published. Tuck in for his first, most acclaimed, and more than a little twisted short story.
262 - Our first story of the season: "Inexpressibly terrified, I struggled to my feet . . . and may heaven in mercy spare me from another sight like that." Tuck in for the (famously missing) author's favorite genre, horror.
261 - He was more than a hitchhiker . . . soooo much more.
260 - A beautiful, "battered" little creature, not in the least like the . . . average beggar, approaches wealthy Rosemary. Rosemary's reaction? "Hungry people are easily led." Tuck in for New Zealand's own and find out what happens next.
259 - This controversial author shied away from nothing, including the unrest of the 1960s. Tuck in for her intriguing "bus ride" of a tale.
258 - Tuck in for the creator of "magical realism" . . . "At night, we heard the steady murmur of her body, heavy, moving between two darknesses. Most times, we would stay awake in our beds, hearing her stealthy walk, using our ears to follow her through the whole house."
257 - She thought he was dead. Instead he had just . . . left her . . . for another woman. Tuck in for the poignant tale from Maine's beloved author.
256 - "He took her arm and ran her into a blind unlighted alley . . . " Tuck in for the the adventure and its startling ending. Content warning: emotional distress
254 - "Whut would yo' ma say if she knew you was out here in these spooky ol' woods lookin' for some ol' convict?" Truman Capote could do anything at any age. Tuck in for two soft-centered Southern tales from his early stories.
253 - It's 1972 and "cheating" on your spouse is not only common, it's expected. Tuck in for the conclusion of "Peace and Love," Joyce Carol Oates-style.
252 - No, this one is not by Chekhov, but like that version there is sex outside of marriage -- 1972 style along with the social movement that excused it. Content warning: suicide is brought up in this story. If you or someone you know is struggling, please call the U.S Crisis Hotline: 988 (24/7).
