The following is a list of short stories which have become iconic because of their style, subject matter, themes, unreliable narrators, etc. Check them out for free, online, using the links. Or feel free to read any classic short story you want!

A Sound of Thunder by Ray Bradbury - In the future, a company sells time-travel safari tickets which allow hunters to go back and kill dinosaurs. There are strict rules in place to stop people negatively affecting the future, but can the characters stick to them?

The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allen Poe - the story of a murder, recounted from a jail cell. This narrator is truly memorable, and the story has been referenced across pop culture for years.

Vendetta by Guy de Maupassant - when her son is callously murdered, the widow Saverini decides to avenge his death. She's elderly and has no weapons. But she does have a dog...

The Lottery by Shirley Jackson -  the story is about a village where an annual lottery is drawn. However, the fate of the person who draws the 'winning' slip is only revealed at the end of the story in a dark twist.

A Good Man is Hard to Find by Flannery O'Connor -  the story of a family of six which, on its way driving to Florida, encounters an escaped convict who calls himself "the Misfit".

Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka - salesman Gregor Samsa, who wakes one morning to find himself inexplicably transformed into an insect.

The Monkey's Paw - W. W. Jacobs - a friend of the White family visits and gives them an object which will grant three wishes. It is a monkey's paw - allegedly cursed - and he warns them never to use it...

The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin -  Louise Mallard, a woman in a traditional Victorian marriage, learns that her husband was killed in an accident. After her grief subsides, she begins to see opportunity and freedom in her future. 

The Veldt by Ray Bradbury - A 1950s family lives in an 'automated house' and the nursery provides everything their children can need and want. Unfortunately, the children want some dangerous things...