Fantasy | shortsonline

The Sand Castle

shortsonline — Sun, 14 Apr 2024 21:00:24 +0000

Grade 5-6 Story by Alma Luz Villanueva. Set in the future, Earth has warmed so much that direct exposure to sunlight or seawater can be deadly. A woman persists in taking her grandchildren on monthly excursions to the beach. This time they are going to build their first sand castle.

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The Diamond as Big as the Ritz

shortsonline — Fri, 19 Jan 2024 21:00:08 +0000

Novelette by F. Scott Fitzgerald. A school “friend” invites a young man to holiday at his luxurious family home deep in the Montana Mountains. The narcissistic family’s wealth comes from a secret diamond mine, which is so rich that strangers who enter their hidden valley can never leave.

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The Centaur

shortsonline — Fri, 24 Nov 2023 21:00:43 +0000

Short Story by Jose Saramago. A mythical Centaur survives into the 20th century. The only one of its kind, it has wandered the wilderness for thousands of years. The horse and human side have different needs, which often require compromise. There are some human needs, however, that can’t be met.

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The Kugelmass Episode

shortsonline — Thu, 24 Nov 2022 21:00:31 +0000

Short Story by Woody Allen. Kugelmass, bored with his “oafish” wife, wants a lustful extra-marital affair with no commitments. His wish comes true when a failed magician offers him a chance to seduce any woman from world literature. His first choice begins well, but ends badly; his second proves disastrous.

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Chivalry

shortsonline — Sun, 09 Jan 2022 22:27:12 +0000

Short Story by Neil Gaiman. Mrs. Whitaker is a nice old lady with nice friends, who lives in a nice house in a nice neighborhood. She was also living a nice, peaceful life until Sir Galahad interrupted her routine on his quest to find the Holy Grail.

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The Snow Child

shortsonline — Wed, 15 May 2019 08:54:05 +0000

Quick Read by Angela Carter. A powerful, dominating and lustful Count humiliates his wife by wishing for a young girl and clothing her in the vain Countess’s furs. His masculinity and dignity are then stripped away as he weeps while defiling the child’s dead body.

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Snow, Glass, Apples

shortsonline — Fri, 10 May 2019 00:03:14 +0000

Short Story by Neil Gaiman. Yet another re-invention of the Snow White tale, told from the perspective of the much-maligned Queen. She knows a little magic (enough to glimpse the future and enchant the King), but not enough to match her evil, vampiric, sexually depraved stepdaughter.

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The Magic Shop

shortsonline — Thu, 22 Mar 2018 00:07:01 +0000

Short Story by H. G. Wells. A father and son enter a strange Magic Shop. The shopkeeper appears and entertains them with some ‘magic’. As the pair moves further into the store, they witness additional, seemingly impossible wonders. The father becomes increasingly uncomfortable, suspecting the presence of unnatural forces.

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The Chaser

shortsonline — Thu, 15 Mar 2018 03:53:15 +0000

Quick Read by John Collier. On the surface, this is a light-hearted story about a young man who wants to buy a love potion to enchant the woman of his dreams. However, the shop-keeper’s ominous final words suggest that he expects the young man to return for a “chaser”.

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Bears Discover Fire

shortsonline — Wed, 10 Jan 2018 03:27:52 +0000

Short Story by Terry Bisson. A sixty-one-year-old man does his best for his dying mother. With only a TV for company at her nursing home, she has given up on life. She quietly passes away sitting with family in front of a fire tended by a group of friendly bears.

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