Top 50 Classic Short Stories

A short story that remembers Mothers

What does an old man do when confronted with a danger? He remembers what he is, he remembers his oath to "fight all enemies, foreign and domestic." The story title says it all.

This is an old man's last rant to an anonymous visitor. You probably shouldn't read it.

An old warrior is honored for his sacrifice.

The old veteran was feeble and frail. Would his final dream ever come true? I could make it happen. Would I take the time? Would those tired old eyes ever sparkle again?

Father's been away 3 years. His young family's meeting him at the airport. --- Bad Fred, said --- It's poignant, and you hit the right notes. If I didn't know it was your story and trust you, I would have drifted away in the first few paragraphs. It moved slowly. It was lovely, but it wasn't hitting my "what happens next?" buttons. Well, until the end when it all comes together. Readers who stick with it will be rewarded. Set in Australia.

Max Wagner, former carpenter, lives on the streets of San Francisco. His only goal is the next mug of moonshine. Fate intervenes in the persons of a famous singer and a friendly young widow, but then Max has to prove himself in the face of a catastrophe.

Man's wife reminises about their life together during his posthumus induction to baseball's Hall of Fame. An often humorous, always piognant look at the differances between his public baseball life and their private family life.

The Ghost Reporter of the local newspaper is at the finish line of the 20 km City Fun Run. What he sees and reports moves his column from page three to the front page. Set in Australia.

Gordy and Weena (4)
Gordy and Weena visit the Hollisters in Queensland and encounter nasty insects and public health problems.

This is a very short story, more of a cameo. If I was to say anything more, there would be little point in anyone reading it.

A Story in the The Trilogy and More Western Universe
A tale of the old west in the turbulent times following the Civil War. A young man sort of follows in his father's footsteps.

The lovely woman sitting next to Jack on the plane shocked him when she told him her name was Felina. He was intrigued with the mystery presented by the proposition that maybe Faleena didn't die in the shootout behind Rosa's Cantina. Please read "El Paso - Jake Rivers" first.

Terrorists attack the Mall of America.

A Christmas Story
A grouchy old man is about to spend another Christmas alone,until there is a knock at the door. Is there a second chance for Christmas joy?

A short tale -- very loosely -- based on an encounter I had with a childhood friend in that beautiful city one summer about ten or fifteen years ago; okay maybe a little longer. Only my encounter - whilst extremely enjoyable for both of us -- had a completely different outcome, neither of us are widowed.

A Sailor Steve Costigan Story
Nobody gets away with kicking Steve's bull dog Mike. First appeared in the magazine Fight Stories February 1930. In the public domain.

Some love endures beyond the grave, no matter what the cynics tell us. Sarah gave me something her husband couldn't buy with all his wealth. Sarah gave me Sarah.

A Dark Wars Tale
Edgar Laetham had enough. He had spent enough time shedding blood and losing friends for Queen and country. A chance encounter with an old friend from Australia while recovering from a wound in Bahrain a year after the First Gulf War sent his life on a different path. How different he would not know until one fateful, rain-soaked day while driving his new charge through the streets of Harrow. After that day, he knew life with Dame Alice Spencer-Killdare would never be the same. Or boring!

Five short stories, entries in a contest for stories under 100 words with a twist on the end. See if you can guess the twist before you get to it.

Danny comes home from 'Nam and when he see his buddy's girl he knows she's the one he wants. The fun starts when he tells his friend, "She's the cutest girl I've ever seen, I'll tell you face to face I mean to steal her from you." Joe was not pleased by this.

Just the ups and downs of one man's life. One of my older stories, and the first of mine that was posted widely on the internet.

Tis is a quick look at the last days of a proud man felled by a stroke.

A Justiceman Episode (2)
Part of the The Post Sickness World of Phoenicia universe
In the post-Sickness Arizona territory, rape and murder are not uncommon. If you're going to commit these acts, though, you'd best be careful who your victims are. Bad guys are not always the baddest guys around.

If you're guilty, you better hope you don't come before the hanging judge

A Story in the The Trilogy and More Western Universe
Johnny Rawlings is in jail waiting for The Hangman

After Billy humiliates Jenny in an Ugly Girl contest, what happens to him? Can the Marines make him a man? Maybe a stint at Khe Sanh would help.

Gordy and Weena (10)
Patrick feels alone. Mary has died; Rob is very depressed; Weena is upset; Rachel is in Japan with her grandparents. It's a time of transition and growing into middle-school.

Charlie's gig as a department store Santa Claus doesn't go so well. Can he find redemption?

Meet the girl, love the girl, protect the girl

Two super-smart guys do the impossible.

A Story in the Spider and Fly Universe
A little wander through realms of improbability, concerning a confused young man and his interactions with one particular member of female of our species. Of course it is possible that the young lady in question, had just came up with a novel approach to solving the problem of "not" being noticed, by her intended pray.

Four men attempt to do something evil. They picked the wrong man as a victim.

A young man has no choice in the matter of facing a fierce and deadly dragon threatening himself and everyone. He must go up into its mountain and do battle with the creature, or is it one?

An old man walks through a odd city with his grandson sent to keep an eye on him by his mother. The mother, daughter of a bard, married into the family of an Oligarch. As such, she hates when stories of her father entertaining in pubs filter to her in-laws. Pzerra is there to prevent that. His grandfather takes him to his favorite pub for lunch. A strange man walks in, causing the patrons to eye him hostilely. After he leaves, the boy asks the old man why they hate him so. Thus begins the story!

When Jerry's wife, Cindy, told him to "give it away," he couldn't. Would she ever come to him and ask him to "give it back?" This is a sequel to "Give It Away" please read that story first.

Some smart people invent a way to dispose of rubbish, and a few other things. The CIA want their technology, and they won't hand it over. Things heat up. Set in Australia.

Home invaders aren't prepared for the homeowner's response.

This is a short story about a man who has a pretty good life, you might even say a rich life. He has things and yet he is lonely. Like most of us he doesn't realize that he is missing something. This is also a story about a young woman who is also missing something in her life. Well to say more would be to give you too much information.

Grandpa Jones - An Experiment
Another Grandpa Jones Story. God decides to pull the plug on mankind. His angels remind him that he needs to follow the rules before destroying Man. God has to interview a human before he can destroy Man. The selection process is onerous, but they finally settle on Grandpa Jones. Does God know what he's in for?

Big Jim Morris gets dumped by his wife. Can he find happiness with a lonely woman in the back street bar under those city lights?

It wasn't revenge: It was justice

A Rage Story (4)
After a hard night at Exposé, dancer Candy goes home and has a sexily strange dream that leaves her sweat-covered and worried. Going into work that night, she learns Angus never showed up at opening after being wounded the night before and the police are now looking for him, worried he might be missing. Candy sets out to discover what happened to Angus by searching his apartment only to discover the weirdness from the night before hasn't ended but only expanded to engulf her.