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underrated. its more than just prose or poetry but not as much of a longform commitment as a novel. sometimes a story only needs 10 or 20 or 30 pages. great for people to practice writing, great to write for the sake of writing, can read one in a car ride, so much freedom in short stories. I resent the sentiment that they’re somehow lesser or lower brow than poetry or novel.
specific ones I recommend, at least to start:
The Fall of the House of Usher (or anything by Poe, he’s kinda the goat)
The Scarlet Ibis
The Metamorphosis
The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas
The Lottery
The Most Dangerous Game
Sep 3, 2024
Related Recs
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Novels are great and all but a regular habit of bite sized short stories can get you right in a pinch
Jan 21, 2024
It really tingles the brain when you read a good story. I like short stories, memoirs and surrealism. and science fiction.
Short stories by Tsjechov
Elephant vanishes by Murakami
Exhalation by Ted Chiang
What do you recommend?
Apr 19, 2024
Magical realism/general spookiness is the perfect genre for short stories, mystery lends itself to brevity.
We Have Always Lived in the Castle - Shirley Jackson (158 pages)
Our Wives Under the Sea - Julia Armfield (232 pages)
Annihilation - Jeff Vandermeer (195 pages)
Pirasesi by susanna clarke (245 pages)
The Magic Toyshop - Angela Carter (200 pages)
(Or even short Angela Carter’s Love which is 120 pages)
Jan 4, 2025
Top Recs from @bisonspider
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study the folklore and myth of your actual local region. live your daily life under the logic of fairytales. communicate as heavily as possible in proverbs and riddles. humans are a storytelling creature and there is a reason these archetypes and motifs appear to humans across times/cultures/places
Feb 13, 2024
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Substack that emails you the entirety of Bram Stoker’s Dracula in real time. since the novel is composed of diary entries, it sends you the diary entries day by day so you can read it on the same timeline in which it takes place. it started earlier this month but it’s not too late to catch up!! or you could wait until next may. classics can be intimidating but this gives you the opportunity to read it in daily segments in your email and follow along in an immersive way :)
May 20, 2024
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lots of great recs here, but if you want horror that is more based in storytelling and has a bit more on its mind than just slashers or gore you should check out folk horror or older horror films from the 60s/70s. as others have recommended, The Wicker Man (1973) is a must. Rosemary’s Baby (1968) is also a classic. The VVitch (2015) is also fantastic as an intro to more conceptual horror. you said you wanted deeper cuts, so check out Viy (1967) or Alucarda (1977), both of which i’ve posted more detailed recs for on my profile. also!!!! i don’t know how you feel about silent/b&w films but Nosferatu (1922) is an all-time genre mainstay that still holds up. Ari Aster’s work is great but it’s probably more gruesome than you’re looking for. have fun!!!
Apr 24, 2024