Maupassant | shortsonline

The Horla

shortsonline — Tue, 09 Sep 2025 21:51:07 +0000

Novelette by Guy de Moupassant. A man slowly descends into madness, convinced that an invisible being is draining his life force. Unable to flee, he traps it in his bedroom and burns his house to the ground. When this doesn’t work, he contemplates an even more extreme solution.

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Diary of a Madman

shortsonline — Fri, 09 Jun 2023 21:00:10 +0000

Short Story by Guy de Maupassant. The madman (and in this case thrill killer) is a highly respected magistrate who sentences an innocent man to death for one of his own gruesome murders. Later, he gets an additional thrill from witnessing the poor man’s execution.

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An Uncomfortable Bed

shortsonline — Mon, 15 Mar 2021 12:26:26 +0000

Quick Read by Guy de Moupassant. A man holidaying with friends becomes suspicious when they seem more jovial than usual one evening. They often play practical jokes on one another, but he doesn’t find anything in his room, The next day, they all have a good laugh at his expense.

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Idyll

shortsonline — Mon, 01 Apr 2019 00:22:54 +0000

Short Story by Guy de Maupassant. A man and woman share a train carriage. She is in great pain. A wet-nurse, she has not had a baby to her breast in the last two days. The man offers to help, which in turn solves a problem of his own.

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Was it a Dream?

shortsonline — Sat, 01 Apr 2017 03:49:40 +0000

Short Story by Guy de Maupassant. The question in the title could refer to two things: the blissful year the protagonist shared with his lover before her unexpected death, or the vision of a message her ghost wrote on her tombstone as he was visiting her grave.

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A Vendetta

shortsonline — Tue, 31 Mar 2015 21:06:13 +0000

Short Story by Guy de Maupassant. A widow living alone in a small village in Southern Italy swears a vendetta against her son’s killer. She comes up with a plan where she, a weak old woman with no man to help her, can carry out her promise.

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The Piece of String

shortsonline — Sat, 24 May 2014 23:11:27 +0000

Short Story by Guy de Maupassant. A frugal farmer’s reputation is forever tarnished after being falsely accused of finding and failing to return a lost pocketbook. No matter how much he denies, it nobody will believe him. This weighs heavily on the proud man’s mind, leading to his early death.

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The (Diamond) Necklace

shortsonline — Sun, 31 Mar 2013 20:36:21 +0000

Short Story by Guy de Maupassant. A beautiful woman is unhappy because her husband, who has a secure government job, is just a “little” clerk. An invitation to a ball and borrowed necklace teach her not only how lucky she was, but also what it means to be very poor.

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The Jewels / False Gems

shortsonline — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 00:43:38 +0000

Short Story by Guy de Maupassant. A widowed man of modest means learns that his seemingly perfect wife had been living a decadent secret life. When he discovers that her “fake” jewels are real, he enjoys a night of "gay frolic" that leads to a new life of much sorrow.

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The Devil

shortsonline — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 12:48:30 +0000

Short Story by Guy de Maupassant. A heartless old washerwoman has a side job nursing fellow villagers as they approach death. She normally charges by the day, but when forced into agreeing to a flat fee she has a 'devilish' way of helping her patients move along a little sooner.

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