Shows
LitReading - Original Short Stories and Classic TalesThe Castaway — A Classic Short Story by W.W. JacobsAnother perfect Summer Story from Litreading.A sailor given up for drowned walks back through his own shop door, three years gone, with a fresh scar and a long story about shipwreck, islands, and rescue. His wife weeps with joy. His mother-in-law only sniffs. And across town an old fortune-teller waits with a little china bowl and a great deal to say about where the man has really been. "The Castaway" is W.W. Jacobs at his lightest, a small seaside comedy of belief, suspicion, and a homecoming that goes nowhere near the way anyone planned...
2026-06-3031 min
LitReading - Original Short Stories and Classic TalesMiss Brill — A Classic Short Story by Katherine MansfieldOn a bright Sunday afternoon in a French public garden, a lonely English teacher lifts her treasured fox fur from its box, settles onto her usual bench, and quietly borrows the lives going on around her. Katherine Mansfield's "Miss Brill," first published in 1920, is a small marvel, barely two thousand words that somehow hold an entire life up to the light. The band plays, the season has begun, the crowd parades, and Miss Brill, watching, decides she too has a part in the great Sunday performance. It is warm and observant and quietly shattering, modernist storytelling at its most...
2026-06-0215 min
LitReading - Original Short Stories and Classic TalesThe Crevice — An Original Short Story by Don McDonaldIn April, 2026, an American F-15E Strike Eagle went down over western Iran. The weapons officer ejected into the Zagros Mountains and was eventually recovered, in an operation whose full scope remains classified, but which is understood to have involved the destruction of hundreds of millions of dollars in American aircraft on the ground rather than risk leaving them, or him, behind.The Crevice is a work of fiction built on the bones of that event. The names are invented. The mountain is invented. The man wedged into the rock is invented. But the cost was r...
2026-04-2841 min
LitReading - Original Short Stories and Classic TalesThe Telegram That Shouldn't Exist – An Original Short StoryDuring the Civil War, the military's telegraph network was run by civilians. Teenagers, some of them. Elias Murrow was nineteen, careful, and precise. He trusted the procedure because the procedure had never failed him. Then two messages arrived that couldn't both be real, and he did exactly what he was trained to do.This story is being presented on Litreading for limited time to help build the audience for its eventual primary home, New Tales Told part of Short Storyverses. New Tales Told is made up of totally original modern stories written with the feel of...
2026-04-1416 min
LitReading - Original Short Stories and Classic TalesThe Committee Committee – An Original Short Story by Don McDonaldThe Committee Committee is a parable set in a village where things run smoothly—because they always have.Problems are addressed. Responsibilities are shared. And when questions arise, there is a structure in place to handle them.Over time, that structure has grown more refined, more comprehensive… and more complete.This story is being presented on Litreading for limited time to help build the audience for its eventual primary home, New Tales Told part of Short Storyverses. New Tales Told is made up of totally original modern stories written with the...
2026-03-3116 min
LitReading - Original Short Stories and Classic TalesThe Rips – An Original Short Story by Don McDonaldThere are things we expect from the world.Walls stay still. Rooms hold their shape. The spaces we live in behave.And when they don’t, we look for explanations.Old houses settle. Pipes shift. Light plays tricks.But sometimes the world doesn’t explain itself.When an answer can’t be seen, that doesn’t mean there isn’t one.There is something.Something all too real.Something beyond frightening.This story is b...
2026-03-1731 min
LitReading - Original Short Stories and Classic TalesThe Arrangement - An Original Short Story by Don McDonaldEvery crime begins as a solution. At least to someone. This is a story about a solution. A rented room. A promise. And a man who believes he is doing what’s necessary.This story is being presented on Litreading for limited time to help build the audience for its eventual primary home, New Tales Told part of Short Storyverses. New Tales Told is made up of totally original modern stories written with the feel of classic short stories (suitable for all ages). There are now fourteen original stories so please check start listening and subscribing to...
2026-03-0311 min
LitReading - Original Short Stories and Classic TalesCivic Duty - An Original Short Story by Don McDonaldThis story is not about the America we live in.It’s about an America that could exist—slowly, legally, and quietly—if people stop asking questions.Civic Duty follows a retired teacher whose life is reduced to data points, compliance scores, and administrative decisions.A speculative warning about what happens when systems replace judgment and loyalty becomes measurable.This story is being presented on Litreading for limited time to help build the audience for its eventual primary home, New Tales Told part of Short Storyverses. New Tales...
2026-02-1714 min
New Tales Told – Original Short StoriesThe Eternal Code – An Original Sci-Fi Story by Don McDonaldNo one remembers the first human thought.But it remembers us.We tell ourselves that memory lives in bones, in blood, in history books and hard drives. But memory is older than all of that. Memory is the original technology. And once it learned how to survive us, it never stopped evolving.The Eternal Code is a story about inheritance that has nothing to do with money and everything to do with continuity. About the quiet arrogance of believing we are the end of the line. About a signal so deeply e...
2026-01-0636 min
New Tales Told – Original Short StoriesNew Tales Told–Original Short StoriesBefore there were screens, there was a fire, a voice, and a story. Narrator and author, Don McDonald invites listeners back to humanity’s oldest tradition—listening. New Tales Told features original fiction inspired by the timeless tales that made us human—stories written for adults, but you won’t need to cover the kids’ ears. Gather by the fire—or more likely, on your walk or in your car—and rediscover the power of a story well told. You never outgrow good stories. New Tales Told is part of the "Short Storyverses" podcast network. If you love stories...
2026-01-0101 min
LitReading - Original Short Stories and Classic TalesLitreading – Classic Short Stories Live OnEvery story you've ever loved learned it from somewhere. The plot twist, the heartbreak, the monster in the dark—somebody wrote it first. Narrator Don McDonald brings classic literature back to life, read out loud the way it was meant to be heard. Dickens. Poe. Twain. Wharton. Doyle. Names you know. Stories you think you know—until you actually hear them. Some built entire genres. Some broke every rule. Some are just flat-out better than they have any right to be after a hundred years. No class. No test. Just your ears and a little time. Because the classics aren...
2026-01-0100 min
Season's Readings – Christmas Stories and Holiday TalesUncle Richard's New Year Dinner – A Classic Short Story by Lucy Maud Montgomery.Uncle Richard’s New Year Dinner is a tender, early-20th-century family story about estrangement, reconciliation, and the quiet power of kindness. Set over the course of a single winter evening, it explores how long-standing rifts are rarely healed by grand speeches—but sometimes by a warm stove, a shared table, and a willingness to begin again. It’s a story of kindness, humanity, and hope that arrives without ceremony.Lucy Maud Montgomery (1874–1942) was a Canadian author best known for her enduring novel Anne of Green Gables. Writing with warmth, wit, and deep emotional intelligence, Montgomery captured th...
2025-12-3010 min
LitReading - Original Short Stories and Classic TalesUncle Richard’s New Year Dinner – A Classic Short Story by Lucy Maud MontgomeryUncle Richard’s New Year Dinner is a tender, early-20th-century family story about estrangement, reconciliation, and the quiet power of kindness. Set over the course of a single winter evening, it explores how long-standing rifts are rarely healed by grand speeches—but sometimes by a warm stove, a shared table, and a willingness to begin again. It’s a story of kindness, humanity, and hope that arrives without ceremony.Lucy Maud Montgomery (1874–1942) was a Canadian author best known for her enduring novel Anne of Green Gables. Writing with warmth, wit, and deep emotional intelligence, Montgomery captured th...
2025-12-3010 min
New Tales Told – Original Short StoriesThe Star – An Original Christmas Story by Don McDonaldFrank has reasons for not decorating anymore. Christmas is quieter now. Darker. Easier to ignore.Then a new neighbor moves in next door—six years old, endlessly curious. What starts as a simple conversation turns into a small act of defiance against grief, routine, and the belief that some lights, once turned off, should stay that way.The Star is a gentle story about unexpected persuasion, borrowed wonder, and how the smallest voices sometimes know exactly where the switch is.If you enjoy short stories, there are dozens more just wa...
2025-12-2304 min
LitReading - Original Short Stories and Classic TalesThe Boy with the Box – A Classic Christmas Story by Mary Griggs Van VoorhisThis holiday story will only be available for a limited time on Litreading, but will always be available on our holiday story podcast, Season's Readings.First published in 1905, “The Boy with the Box” is a gentle Christmas story about childhood pride, unexpected generosity, and the quiet ways kindness reshapes a heart. It captures a winter world of skates and shop windows, family love and small sacrifices—where the true gift arrives not in a box, but in understanding.Mary Griggs Van Voorhis (1876–1938) was an American writer whose short stories often focused on children, family l...
2025-12-2319 min
Season's Readings – Christmas Stories and Holiday TalesThe Boy with the Box – A Classic Christmas Story by Mary Griggs Van VoorhisFirst published in 1905, “The Boy with the Box” is a gentle Christmas story about childhood pride, unexpected generosity, and the quiet ways kindness reshapes a heart. It captures a winter world of skates and shop windows, family love and small sacrifices—where the true gift arrives not in a box, but in understanding.Mary Griggs Van Voorhis (1876–1938) was an American writer whose short stories often focused on children, family life, and moments of quiet moral awakening. Writing in the early twentieth century, she was known for her warm realism and her ability to find emotional truth in every...
2025-12-2219 min
Season's Readings – Christmas Stories and Holiday TalesThe Star – An Original Short, Short Christmas Story by Don McDonaldThis is a special Christmas bonus episode for Season's Readings listeners.Frank has reasons for not decorating anymore. Christmas is quieter now. Darker. Easier to ignore.Then a new neighbor moves in next door—six years old, endlessly curious. What starts as a simple conversation turns into a small act of defiance against grief, routine, and the belief that some lights, once turned off, should stay that way.The Star is a gentle story about unexpected persuasion, borrowed wonder, and how the smallest voices sometimes know exactly where the switch is...
2025-12-1804 min
LitReading - Original Short Stories and Classic TalesA Visit from St. Nicholas or 'Twas the Night Before Christmas - A Classic Christmas VerseYou've heard it dozens of times, so why not once more. Here's a Visit from St. Nicholas, was it penned by Clement Moore? We are expanding our universe of short story podcasts on our new podcast channel, Short StoryVerses. Listen to some of Don's new, original short stories on the "New Tales Told" podcast. Look it up on your favorite podcast player. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
2025-12-1704 min
LitReading - Original Short Stories and Classic TalesOn Christmas Day in the Morning – A Classic Christmas Story by Grace S. RichmondThis story is only available here during the holidays, but can be heard year-round at Season's Readings, a part of Short Storyverses at shortstoryverses.comOn Christmas Day in the Morning is a story about family—not as it is imagined, but as it is lived—and the gifts that arrive without wrapping. It was written with music already echoing between its lines. The traditional song of the same name appears directly in the story, assumed to be familiar to its original readers.For this performance, the music is included not as embellishment, but a...
2025-12-1636 min
Season's Readings – Christmas Stories and Holiday TalesOn Christmas Day in the Morning – A Classic Christmas Story by Grace S. RichmondOn Christmas Day in the Morning is a story about family—not as it is imagined, but as it is lived—and the gifts that arrive without wrapping. It was written with music already echoing between its lines. The traditional song of the same name appears directly in the story, assumed to be familiar to its original readers.For this performance, the music is included not as embellishment, but as part of the text itself— the way it may have lived in the reader’s mind when the story was first published.Grace S. Richmo...
2025-12-1636 min
LitReading - Original Short Stories and Classic TalesJimmy Scarecrow's Christmas by Mary E. Wilkins FreemanWhile this is primarily a story for children, Christmas is the perfect time to explore our inner child and share that spirit with today’s kids. This story originally appeared on my Readastorus podcast.Being a scarecrow is a hard enough job in the best of times, but when winter comes, it can be miserable. Yet, for one scarecrow, a frosty Christmas brought a wonderful opportunity.Mary Eleanor Wilkins Freeman started writing children’s stories as a teenager to help support her family. She went on to become one of the premier female authors of the...
2025-12-1515 min
LitReading - Original Short Stories and Classic TalesA Kidnapped Santa Claus by L. Frank Baum - A Classic Christmas StorySanta and his friends face the most challenging Christmas in their long history as Santa is kidnapped. We are expanding our universe of short story podcasts on our new podcast channel, Short StoryVerses. Listen to some of Don's new, original short stories on the "New Tales Told" podcast. Look it up on your favorite podcast player. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
2025-12-1223 min
LitReading - Original Short Stories and Classic TalesChristmas Every Day by William Dean PowellsFor many children, Christmas is the best day of the year. Yet, often it’s for selfish reasons. Some kids like it so much that they might wish that Christmas day might never end. One little girl father explains what it might be like if it was “Christmas Every Day” by William Dean Howells.William Dean Howells was a proponent of literary realism. Called “The Dean of American Letters’” he was a playwright, author, critic andThe Atlantic magazine’s third editor. We are expanding our universe of short story podcasts on our new podcast ch...
2025-12-1117 min
Season's Readings – Christmas Stories and Holiday TalesThe Santaverse – An Original Christmas Story by Don McDonaldBE AWARE: This is a family-friendly work of speculative fiction that asks: what if Santa Claus were something far stranger, and more wonderful, than we ever imagined? THose looking for a traditional Santa story may be disappointed.In Santaverse, a brilliant researcher completes a quantum experiment that opens a door she never meant to find. What begins as a scientific breakthrough quickly turns into something stranger—and far more personal. On the other side of the connection is a presence that shouldn’t exist, a figure woven from equal parts myth, memory, and physics. And once conta...
2025-12-1125 min
LitReading - Original Short Stories and Classic TalesA Stolen Christmas by Mary E. Wilkins Freeman - A Classic Christmas StorySometimes we fall so far that we are tempted to cross lines we never would have in better times. Feelings of inadequacy can become particularly acute during the holiday season, when we see so much apparent happiness. Our next story about one woman’s fall from grace and her Christmas redemption.Brilliant short story author, Mary E. Wilkins Freeman ’s "A Stolen Christmas" was published in Harper's Bazaar on December 24, 1887 We are expanding our universe of short story podcasts on our new podcast channel, Short StoryVerses. Listen to some of Don's new, orig...
2025-12-1031 min
Season's Readings – Christmas Stories and Holiday TalesThe Cure for Holiday StressSeason’s Readings is just one corner of the Short Storyverses Multiverse, created for anyone who enjoys a thoughtful pause and a well-told tale. You can explore the rest of the multiverse at shortstoryverses.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
2025-12-0900 min
LitReading - Original Short Stories and Classic TalesA Chaparral Christmas Gift – Classic Western Christmas Story by O. HenryThis story is only available here during the holidays, but can be heard year-round at Season's Readings, a part of Short Storyverses at shortstoryverses.comOut on the western chaparral, Christmas doesn’t soften the land so much as sharpen what’s already waiting there—old grudges, old loves, and old wounds that never healed quite right. Madison Lane and Rosita McMullen have built a life together in the years since their wedding was interrupted by a jealous suitor… and a bullet. But Christmas Eve has a long memory in the Frio country, and something—or someone—ma...
2025-12-0914 min
Season's Readings – Christmas Stories and Holiday TalesA Chaparral Christmas Gift - Classic Western Christmas Story by O. HenryOut on the western chaparral, Christmas doesn’t soften the land so much as sharpen what’s already waiting there—old grudges, old loves, and old wounds that never healed quite right. Madison Lane and Rosita McMullen have built a life together in the years since their wedding was interrupted by a jealous suitor… and a bullet. But Christmas Eve has a long memory in the Frio country, and something—or someone—may be riding back through the brush. O. Henry’s tale unfolds with warmth, tension, and a frontier kind of mercy that arrives in a shape no one expects.
2025-12-0914 min
LitReading - Original Short Stories and Classic TalesReginald's Christmas Revel by SakiThis holiday tale features Reginald, a fictional young-man born to the Victorian upper crust in England, who finds himself at a stuffy family Christmas party and tries to liven things up a bit.Saki, the pen name of British author H.H. Munroe, loved skewering the upper class, wielding the weapon of character’s like Reginald, who appeared in several of his short stories. We are expanding our universe of short story podcasts on our new podcast channel, Short StoryVerses. Listen to some of Don's new, original short stories on the "New Ta...
2025-12-0808 min
LitReading - Original Short Stories and Classic TalesChristmas at Red Butte by Lucy Maud Montgomery - A Classic Christmas StoryThis story is only available here during the holidays, but can be heard year-round at Season's Readings, a part of Short Storyverses at shortstoryverses.comWhen a bad harvest on the Canadian prairie means no Christmas for her cousins, a young woman does the only thing she can to rescue their holiday.We are expanding our universe of short story podcasts on our new podcast channel, Short StoryVerses. Listen to some of Don's new, original short stories on the "New Tales Told" podcast. Look it up on your favorite podcast player. Hosted...
2025-12-0517 min
LitReading - Original Short Stories and Classic TalesThe Gospel According to Joan by Mary E. Wilkins FreemanThis story is only available here during the holidays, but can be heard year-round at Season's Readings, a part of Short Storyverses at shortstoryverses.comWhen does the end justify the means and who gets to decide? One person's definition of morality may not be shared by others.We are expanding our universe of short story podcasts on our new podcast channel, Short StoryVerses. Listen to some of Don's new, original short stories on the "New Tales Told" podcast. Look it up on your favorite podcast player. Hosted on Acast. See acast...
2025-12-0442 min
LitReading - Original Short Stories and Classic TalesThe Gift Of The Magi by O. Henry - A Classic Christmas StoryThis story is only available here during the holidays, but can be heard year-round at Season's Readings, a part of Short Storyverses at shortstoryverses.comHow many times have you read “A Christmas Carol” or seen it performed. Every year millions of families rewatch classic Christmas movies like “It a Wonderful Life,” "A Christmas Story" or even "Christmas Vacation?"For some reason these traditions never get old and create a sense of comfort in their ritual. There are a few short stories that occupy a similar place in our hearts. Like this special holiday...
2025-12-0314 min
LitReading - Original Short Stories and Classic TalesThe Burglar's Christmas – A Classic Holiday Tale by Elizabeth L. SeymourThis story is only available here during the holidays, but can be heard year-round at Season's Readings, a part of Short Storyverses at shortstoryverses.comThe Burglar’s Christmas is Willa Cather’s deeply human Christmas tale—published under the pseudonym Elizabeth L. Seymour—about a young man who has utterly failed in life and reached the end of his rope on a slushy Chicago Christmas Eve. Hungry, cold, and convinced he has squandered every opportunity he ever had, he turns to theft as a last act of survival.But the home he slips int...
2025-12-0228 min
New Tales Told – Original Short StoriesThe Long Echo – An Original Short Story by Don McDonald“The Long Echo” follows a man sorting through his late father’s belongings when he discovers journals and letters from generations he never knew. As he reads, he begins to notice something startling—tiny inherited patterns that have traveled through his family for more than a century. A gesture. A habit. A way of thinking. The story becomes a meditation on continuance through lineage, showing how every life leaves traces that outlast the body. Nothing is permanent, but nothing is entirely lost. What we are does not vanish; it moves forward through the people who come after us.We...
2025-12-0240 min
Season's Readings – Christmas Stories and Holiday TalesThe Burglar's Christmas – A Classic Christmas Story by Elizabeth L. SeymourThe Burglar’s Christmas is Willa Cather’s deeply human Christmas tale—published under the pseudonym Elizabeth L. Seymour—about a young man who has utterly failed in life and reached the end of his rope on a slushy Chicago Christmas Eve. Hungry, cold, and convinced he has squandered every opportunity he ever had, he turns to theft as a last act of survival.But the home he slips into isn’t just any home. It’s the place where his past—and his pain—wait in the shadows. What follows is a moving story of recognition, forg...
2025-12-0228 min
LitReading - Original Short Stories and Classic TalesA Set of Poe – A Classic Christmas Story by George AdeThis story is only available here during the holidays, but can be heard year-round at Season's Readings, a part of Short Storyverses at shortstoryverses.comThis seasonal story features a theme that will resonate with most couple’s in the weeks leading up to Christmas.Beginning his writing career as a newspaper reporter George Ade went on the become a nationally syndicated columnist, playwright, humorist and popular author in the early 20th century. Ade is best know for his series of fables based on American slang.We are expanding our universe of...
2025-12-0111 min
FRIGHTLY! Scary Stories and Tales of TerrorThe Diary of a Madman – A Classic Tale of Terror by Guy de MaupassantThere is a special horror in hearing a mind unravel from the inside. In The Diary of a Madman, Guy de Maupassant pulls us into the private writings of a man who can no longer trust his own thoughts. His diary entries begin quietly enough—simple observations, small disturbances—until each page edges closer to something darker, something unmoored, something deeply and intimately wrong.This is the slow, suffocating terror of a mind turning against itself.Guy de Maupassant, one of France’s great masters of psychological horror, wrote with an uncanny instinct for the...
2025-11-2614 min
FRIGHTLY! Scary Stories and Tales of TerrorThe Tell-Tale Heart – A Classic Tale of Terror by Edgar Allan PoeA man insists he is calm… reasonable… even kind. Yet something small and ordinary, something most people would ignore, begins to consume him. It creeps into his thoughts, scrapes against his nerves, and finally drives him toward an act he believes is both necessary and brilliant. But the mind doesn’t stay quiet for long. As the story tightens, the world around him narrows to a single sound he cannot escape. Poe’s tale is a descent told from inside the fall—where the truth comes knocking long before anyone else does.Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849) reshaped American lit...
2025-11-2614 min
LitReading - Original Short Stories and Classic TalesThree Thanksgiving Kisses – A Classic Holiday Story by Edward Payson RoeThis story is only available here during the holidays, but can be heard year-round at Season's Readings, a part of Short Storyverses at shortstoryverses.comUnlike Christmas stories Thanksgiving stories are sparse. To celebrate the season, here is the tale of a proper New England celebration combined with a classic love story.The 19th century novels and stories of Edward Payson Roe were very popular in their day. Being a Presbyterian minister, his works had a religious and moral foundation. One of his greatest criticism were the sermonly characteristics of his stories which...
2025-11-2642 min
LitReading - Original Short Stories and Classic TalesThe Purple Dress – A Classic Holiday Story by O. HenryThis story is only available here during the holidays, but can be heard year-round at Season's Readings, a part of Short Storyverses at shortstoryverses.comO. Henry often found the heart of a story in the everyday moments most people overlook. The Purple Dress is one of those pieces — a small, vivid glimpse into life in early-1900s New York, told with his familiar mix of humor, warmth, and gentle surprise.William Sydney Porter, or O. Henry, wrote more than six hundred short stories marked by humor, warmth, and his famous twist endings. His...
2025-11-2510 min
Season's Readings – Christmas Stories and Holiday TalesThe Purple Dress – A Classic Holiday Story by O. HenryO. Henry often found the heart of a story in the everyday moments most people overlook. The Purple Dress is one of those pieces — a small, vivid glimpse into life in early-1900s New York, told with his familiar mix of humor, warmth, and gentle surprise.William Sydney Porter, or O. Henry, wrote more than six hundred short stories marked by humor, warmth, and his famous twist endings. His work captures the daily lives of ordinary Americans — especially the clerks and shopgirls of early-20th-century New York — with compassion and insight.About Short Storyver...
2025-11-2510 min
LitReading - Original Short Stories and Classic TalesTwo Thanksgiving Day Gentlemen – A Classic Holiday Story by O. HenryThis story is only available here during the holidays, but can be heard year-round at Season's Readings, a part of Short Storyverses at shortstoryverses.com.Somewhere there’s a great story for almost every holiday, even the decidedly American tradition of Thanksgiving and who better to tell such a story than one of America’s finest authors, O. Henry.We are expanding our universe of short story podcasts on our new podcast channel, Short StoryVerses. Listen to some of Don's new, original short stories on the "New Tales Told" podcast. Look...
2025-11-2413 min
FRIGHTLY! Scary Stories and Tales of TerrorThe Pale Man–a Classic Scary Story by Julius LongJulius Long’s The Pale Man is a masterclass in quiet dread—an intimate journal of a traveler who becomes aware of a strange newcomer haunting the corridors of his hotel. Nothing overt happens, nothing jumps out, yet the sense of creeping inevitability grows with every page. Its power lies in what we notice… and what we don’t want to.Julius Long (1907–1955) was an American author best known for short, tightly constructed tales of mystery and the macabre. Though he never became a household name, his work appeared in popular pulp magazines of the era, where reader...
2025-11-2016 min
FRIGHTLY! Scary Stories and Tales of TerrorThe Judge's House – A Classic Ghost Story by Bram StokerSome houses advertise their menace. Others wait. In The Judge’s House, Bram Stoker gives us a quiet old home with a history no one wants to speak aloud. A university student, seeking absolute solitude to study, leases the abandoned residence of a long-dead magistrate known for his severity—and for something darker. At first, it is only the silence that unnerves him. Then comes the persistent scurrying of a single gray rat. Then the eyes. And finally, the feeling that the judgment passed in this house never truly ended.Bram Stoker (1847–1912) was an Irish writer whose w...
2025-11-1948 min
FRIGHTLY! Scary Stories and Tales of TerrorThe Furnished Room – a Classic Haunted Tale by O. HenryIn “The Furnished Room,” O. Henry trades his usual light touch for something far more haunting. A weary young man arrives at a shabby New York boarding house, desperately searching for the woman he loves. The room he rents feels strangely steeped in old emotions… and in secrets the landlady would rather not discuss. As he follows faint traces of her presence—a perfume, a song, a whispered memory—the line between the living and the dead begins to blur. This is O. Henry at his darkest: a tale of obsession, despair, and a rented room that holds on to its tra...
2025-11-1617 min
FRIGHTLY! Scary Stories and Tales of TerrorThe Cask of Amontillado - A Classic Scary Story by Edgar Allan PoeBeneath the streets of old Italy, where carnival laughter drowns out good judgment, Edgar Allan Poe takes us into one of literature’s most unsettling descents. The Cask of Amontillado is a cold, precise story of pride, manipulation, and a man who knows exactly how far he’s willing to go to avenge an unnamed insult. What begins as a simple invitation to taste a rare wine turns into a slow walk into the darkness—brick by brick, step by chilling step. Poe doesn’t rush. He lets the dread spread, flicker, and settle in the reader’s bones. This is one...
2025-11-1417 min
Season's Readings – Christmas Stories and Holiday TalesA Visit from St. Nicholas – a Classic Holiday Short StoryOne of the most beloved Christmas poems of all time, A Visit from St. Nicholas — better known as ’Twas the Night Before Christmas — first appeared anonymously in 1823. Fourteen years later, it was credited to Clement Moore. This classic tale of a father’s midnight encounter with Santa Claus remains one of the most cherished holiday stories ever written.For nearly two centuries, debate has surrounded the true authorship of A Visit from St. Nicholas. Though Clement Moore is credited, some literary scholars argue that the style and spirit better match Major Henry Livingston Jr. Regardless of who wrot...
2025-11-1405 min
Season's Readings – Christmas Stories and Holiday TalesJimmy Scarecrow's Christmas – A Classic Holiday Story by Mary E. Wilkins FreemanA quiet winter story about something overlooked… and the gentle miracle of being seen.A tale with soft edges, stillness, and a bit of warmth where you least expect it.Season’s Readings is part of Short Storyverses — find more holiday tales at ShortStoryverses.com.Season’s Readings is just one corner of the Short Storyverses Multiverse, created for anyone who enjoys a thoughtful pause and a well-told tale. You can explore the rest of the multiverse at shortstoryverses.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
2025-11-1415 min
Season's Readings – Christmas Stories and Holiday TalesChristmas at Red Butte – a Classic Christmas Story by Lucy Maud MontgomeryOn a cold prairie Christmas Eve, a small family waits for something more than presents: the return of a brother who left home to seek his own way. Christmas at Red Butte is a gentle, reflective story about hope, forgiveness, and the way love can knit together what once felt lost. It’s the kind of tale that reminds us that even in the quiet corners of winter, miracles still find their way home.Lucy Maud Montgomery (1874–1942) was a Canadian writer best known for Anne of Green Gables and its many sequels. Growing up on Prince Edward I...
2025-11-1417 min
Season's Readings – Christmas Stories and Holiday TalesA Kidnapped Santa Claus – a Classic Christmas Story by L. Frank BaumOn Christmas Eve, four mischievous imps decide the world has grown far too cheerful. The source of all that bothersome joy, of course, is Santa Claus himself. So they sneak into his cozy workshop in the Valley of the Laughing Bells and whisk him away. What follows is a struggle between gloom and gladness as Santa’s friends rally to rescue him and restore Christmas. It’s a fantastical little tale filled with whimsy, gentle suspense, and a reminder that delight often needs defending.L. Frank Baum (1856–1919) is best remembered as the creator of The Wonderful Wizard...
2025-11-1423 min
Season's Readings – Christmas Stories and Holiday TalesChristmas Every Day – A Timeless Holiday Tale by William Dean HowellsWhat if Christmas didn’t come just once a year—but every single day? In William Dean Howells’ charming tale, a young girl makes a wish that the holiday spirit might last forever. At first it’s magical: endless presents, feasts, carols, and cheer. But soon the town begins to sag under the weight of too many fruitcakes, too many toys, and far too much goodwill. The joy wears thin. The tinsel droops. Even Santa looks tired. This light-hearted fable reminds us that what makes Christmas meaningful is the anticipation—and the pause—between celebrations.William Dean Howells...
2025-11-1417 min
Season's Readings – Christmas Stories and Holiday TalesA Set of Poe – a Classic Holiday Tale by George AdeGeorge Ade’s A Set of Poe follows Mr. Waterby, a man who wants just one indulgence: a beautifully bound set of Edgar Allan Poe. When his wife discourages the purchase, he spirals inward, convincing himself she must be selfish and unloving. The small misunderstanding blossoms into resentment, silent punishment, and wounded pride — until Christmas morning reveals an entirely different truth. A gentle, funny, and deeply human portrait of how love can be hidden beneath our worst assumptions.George Ade was an American humorist at the turn of the twentieth century, best known for stories that reveal...
2025-11-1411 min
Season's Readings – Christmas Stories and Holiday TalesThe Gift of the Magi – A Classic Christmas Story by O. HenrySome gifts arrive quietly, without ribbons, tags, or spectacle. They’re born in that private space between two people who love each other more than they love their own comfort. The Gift of the Magi is a story about that kind of love. Not the glossy holiday sort, but the kind that hurts a little… because it asks something of you.Two young newlyweds, short on money and long on devotion, each set out to give the other a perfect Christmas gift. What happens next has been retold for more than a century for one reason: the en...
2025-11-1414 min
Season's Readings – Christmas Stories and Holiday TalesA Stolen Christmas – A Classic Holiday Tale by Mary E. Wilkins FreemanIn a small New England village, Christmas can be measured in curtains and lace, in who has a tree and who doesn’t, in who seems to live just one notch above everyone else. And Marg’ret Poole has always felt that notch.She is raising three bright, restless children on almost nothing — sewing, scraping, stretching every little thing — while across the road her neighbor displays beauty like a banner. A tree. Ribboned lace. Comfort. Admiration. And the more Marg’ret pretends not to look, the more she does.One evening, too-tired hope gives way...
2025-11-1430 min
Season's Readings – Christmas Stories and Holiday TalesReginald's Christmas Revel – a Classic Christmas Tale by SakiA holiday gathering, a knowing smile, and a narrator who sees more than he lets on. Reginald’s Christmas Revel blends elegance and humor in that unmistakable Saki way—light as champagne, sharp as its bubbles. A perfect seasonal listen.If you enjoy this story, you’ll find more like it at ShortStoryverses.com, home of Litreading, New Tales Told, Season’s Readings, and more.Saki (Hector Hugh Munro) balanced elegance and satire with effortless skill. His stories continue to resonate for their humor, subtle bite, and perfect brevity. If you enjoyed this performance...
2025-11-1208 min
Season's Readings – Christmas Stories and Holiday TalesThe Gospel According to Joan – a Warm Holiday Story by Mary E. Wilkins FreemanIn a quiet New England village where everyone knows everyone else’s business, Joan stands out for her fierce devotion and unshakable certainty. She believes she’s been called to serve a higher purpose, and with clear-eyed conviction she begins to reshape the life of her small town—one doorstep, one neighbor, one soul at a time. Mary E. Wilkins Freeman invites us into the delicate line between faith and fervor, charity and pride, and the complicated ways good intentions ripple through a community. This is not a sermon. It’s a study of the heart—its hopes, its blind spot...
2025-11-1243 min
Season's Readings – Christmas Stories and Holiday TalesThree Thanksgiving Kisses – A Classic Holiday Short Story by William Dean HowellsSeason’s Readings is your fireside refuge from life’s troubles — a curated collection of timeless holiday tales read by Don McDonald.In this episode, we feature Three Thanksgiving Kisses by William Dean Howells, a tender 19th-century story about love, humility, and gratitude in a small New England home.Discover more classic and original stories at ShortStoryverses.com — a universe of stories for every season.Three Thanksgiving Kisses was written by William Dean Howells (1837–1920), the “Dean of American Letters.” As editor of The Atlantic Monthly and a lifelong friend of Mark Twain, Howells cham...
2025-11-1242 min
Season's Readings – Christmas Stories and Holiday TalesTwo Thanksgiving Gentlemen – A Classic Holiday Short Story by O. HenryIn this beloved O. Henry tale, two men meet every Thanksgiving to share a meal — a tradition rooted in charity, pride, and an unexpected twist of fate. “Two Thanksgiving Gentlemen” is both humorous and touching, a timeless reminder that generosity often runs deeper than appetite.This story was performed by voice actor, Don McDonald for “Season’s Readings” — classic and original holiday stories read with warmth and heart. Make sure to check out of other “Short Storyverses” podcast at shortstoryverses.comO. Henry (William Sydney Porter, 1862–1910) was an American short-story writer celebrated for his wit, warmth, and...
2025-11-1213 min
LitReading - Original Short Stories and Classic TalesHills Like White Elephants – A Classic Short Story by Earnest HemingwayErnest Hemingway’s “Hills Like White Elephants” is one of the most celebrated short stories ever written — a masterclass in subtext, restraint, and emotional tension.Set at a train station in Spain, it captures a quiet conversation between two lovers waiting for a train — a moment in which everything that matters lies between the lines.Presented by Litreading, part of Short Storyverses — where classic and original tales are read with depth and heart.We are so honored to have been featured by Apple Podcasts as a great source for summer stories. If you don't want...
2025-11-1111 min
LitReading - Original Short Stories and Classic TalesThe Tell Tale Heart-A Classic Horror Story by Edgar Allan PoeHalloween is the season of the macabre and one the greatest authors of dark frightening fiction was Edgar Allen Poe. You can cover the body. Hide the blood. Swear you’re sane. But you can’t silence the sound. Beneath the floorboards… something still beats.Considered to be the finest American Gothic writer of all time, Edgar Allen Poe loved to pen short stories. Of course, his best known tales are his darkest. This makes sense as Poe himself stated that he often suffered from bouts of depression and madness.We are ex...
2025-10-2914 min
LitReading - Original Short Stories and Classic TalesThe Hanging Stranger–a Retro Sci-Fi Horror Story by Philip K. DickThis is one of those scary stories that sneaks up on you. It looks like just another day in small-town America, sometime around the early 1950s. But then, something is wrong. Something is hanging there. And what’s most unsettling isn’t the horror itself — it’s how calmly everyone else reacts.Philip K. Dick wrote The Hanging Stranger in 1953, and it remains one of his most chilling short stories. It’s about paranoia, conformity, and the terrifying idea that maybe you’re the only one who sees the truth.Philip K. Dick (1928–1982) was one of the...
2025-10-2838 min
LitReading - Original Short Stories and Classic TalesThe Haunted Mind–a Scary Season Story by Nathaniel HawthorneSince the dawn of our species, we have been bewildered by about that strange period of altered consciousness that occurs just before, during, and at the end of our daily slumber.Our next story expressively explores this activity that we all share and which still eludes understanding.This piece was more of an observational essay than a classic short story. Its author, Nathaniel Hawthorne was one of the young United States most brilliant fiction writers. Even today, his tales retain as much power as they had all most two centuries ago. His most famous novels were published...
2025-10-2713 min
LitReading - Original Short Stories and Classic TalesDiary Of A Madman–a Classic Tale of Terror by Guy de MaupassantIn this truly chilling tale, we explore the darkest parts of the human mind - the hidden recesses where derangement resides.A word of caution: this tale is very dark and is not suitable for younger children. We are expanding our universe of short story podcasts on our new podcast channel, Short StoryVerses. Listen to some of Don's new, original short stories on the "New Tales Told" podcast. Look it up on your favorite podcast player. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
2025-10-2415 min
LitReading - Original Short Stories and Classic TalesThe Cats of Ulthar-a Classic Scary Story by H. P. LovecraftEvery October, we creep into the scary season on Litreading, digging deep into the trove of classic horror tales from around the world. Some of the most frightening stories of all time were penned more than 100 years ago by authors like Mary Shelly and Edgar Allen Poe. One of the greats of the early 20th century was H.P. Lovecraft, and this is one of his earliest tales.In a distant land where shadows stretch long and justice is rarely served, one ancient law stands above all: no man may kill a cat. But this wasn’t al...
2025-10-2310 min
LitReading - Original Short Stories and Classic TalesYuki-Onna–a Scary Season Story by Lafcadio HearnGhost stories have been told around the world and are often based on mythical creatures or spirits. Those living in the cold, snowy regions of Japan created the legend of a winter spirit called Yuki-Onna (or snow woman) whose beauty allows her to prey on those lost in brutal winter storms.We are expanding our universe of short story podcasts on our new podcast channel, Short StoryVerses. Listen to some of Don's new, original short stories on the "New Tales Told" podcast. Look it up on your favorite podcast player. Hosted on Acast. See acast...
2025-10-2210 min
LitReading - Original Short Stories and Classic TalesMurder of Crows – an Original Short Story by Don McDonaldPlease note: "Murder of Crows" is one of the early episodes of my new podcast, New Tales Told. I published it here to share it with my large Litreading audience. However, it will eventually only be available on New Tales Told. If you haven't yet done so, please search for New Tales Told on this podcast service or visit shortstoryverses.com to listen to this and my other original stories.There’s a reason crows gather in cemeteries. They remember. They watch. And sometimes, they wait. Murder of Crows isn’t a tale borrowed from...
2025-10-2127 min
LitReading - Original Short Stories and Classic TalesThe Black Cat–a Classic Scary Story by Edgar Allen PoeHere is one of the greatest gothic horror stories of all time, originally produced for Litreading in 2019.As Halloween approaches, our tales of horror grow more grisly with a classic scary story, The Black Cat by one of America’s greatest devisers of dread, Edgar Allen PoeWe are expanding our universe of short story podcasts on our new podcast channel, Short StoryVerses. Listen to some of Don's new, original short stories on the "New Tales Told" podcast. Look it up on your favorite podcast player. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/pr...
2025-10-1725 min
LitReading - Original Short Stories and Classic TalesEmpire of the Ants–a Classic Scary Sci-Fi Story by H.G. WellsWhat is the scary season without a classic monster story? Like the campy creature features of the 50s and 60s, this story features a tiny annoyance turned into a killing machine. First published in 2020, this story returns to send chills down your spine.Late 19th and early 20th-century science fiction writers were fascinated with the wild and relatively unknown regions of the world, from which they imagined all manner of invaders from insects to lizards, even giant apes.H.G. Wells was a master of using our irrational fears of the unknown to...
2025-10-1541 min
LitReading - Original Short Stories and Classic TalesLuella Miller–A Chilling Classic Short Story by Mary E. Wilkins FreemanEveryone in town has a story about Luella Miller. She never seems to lift a hand, yet somehow, help is always at her side. And those who give it—well, they never quite look the same afterward. Some tales of horror are loud and bloody. This one is quiet, gentle… and suffocating. Mary E. Wilkins Freeman spins a ghostly puzzle where the most dangerous thing may be a smile too sweet to resist.Mary E. Wilkins Freeman wasn’t known for monsters or gore. She wrote about the quiet corners of New England life—where duty, repressi...
2025-10-1435 min
LitReading - Original Short Stories and Classic TalesThe Boarded Window—a Scary Season Story by Ambrose BierceWhat led a man to live an isolated life at his ramshackle cabin, with a boarded up window, in the former American wilderness? What is the tragic story that led him to this doleful existence? Here is his traumatic tale.We are expanding our universe of short story podcasts on our new podcast channel, Short StoryVerses. Listen to some of Don's new, original short stories on the "New Tales Told" podcast. Look it up on your favorite podcast player. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
2025-10-1313 min
LitReading - Original Short Stories and Classic TalesA Haunted House–a Classic Ghost Story by Virginia WoolfAs the owner of a 19th-century home, I often think about those lives lived here before us and what they must have been like. As our homes are so much a part of us, those who have gone before us leave traces of their lives and loves behind. Here is a very short, yet poignant tale of just such an old house.It seems that the author experienced the feeling of something lurking at the edge of human senses, feelings, and powerful emotions. This unique story straddles prose and poetry, as does much of Virginia Woolf’s wo...
2025-10-1008 min
LitReading - Original Short Stories and Classic TalesThe Monkey's Paw–a Classic tale of Terror by W.W. JacobsHumans are rarely content with their lot in life. We long for something more and, all too often, believe that, given the right opportunity, our lives can be made better in an instant through some fortunate event, like winning a lottery.We are expanding our universe of short story podcasts on our new podcast channel, Short StoryVerses. Listen to some of Don's new, original short stories on the "New Tales Told" podcast. Look it up on your favorite podcast player. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
2025-10-0925 min
LitReading - Original Short Stories and Classic TalesThe Pale Man–a Classic Scary Story by Julius LongHere is a relatively obscure tale of suspense for the scary season.After checking into a small hotel to convalesce for the summer, a man becomes curious about an enigmatic guest who has taken up residence and the other end of the hall. About the story:As I can only read stories in the public domain, you might wonder about the reference to a Hitler mustache. That’s because this story was published in 1934 and the copyright was not renewed.Julius Long was a lawyer and author of a few horror an...
2025-10-0816 min
LitReading - Original Short Stories and Classic TalesThe Judge's House–a Classic Ghost Story by Bram StokerWhen a young man seeks the perfect place to study for his universitymathematics exams, he finds an isolated house that seems ideal—too ideal. The locals whisper about the Judge's House and about the cruel magistrate who once lived there. But he is a man of science, dismissive of superstition. He believes in mathematical theorems, not ghost stories. As rats scurry through the ancient walls and something enormous watches from the shadows, he'll discover that some equations have solutions that rational minds aren't prepared to accept. From the master of Gothic horror, Bram Stoker, comes a tale where academic ar...
2025-10-0748 min
LitReading - Original Short Stories and Classic TalesThe Damned Thing–a Classic Scary Story by Ambrose BierceAs Halloween approaches, here is the story of a mysterious death in the 19th-century American wilderness.We are expanding our universe of short story podcasts on our new podcast channel, Short StoryVerses. Listen to some of Don's new, original short stories on the "New Tales Told" podcast. Look it up on your favorite podcast player. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
2025-10-0620 min
LitReading - Original Short Stories and Classic TalesA Wireless Message–a Classic Frightening Story by Ambrose BierceAs Halloween approaches we begin a time for scarier stories. For this short tale with a chilling twist we turn to prolific 19th century stories Ambrose Bierce for "A Wireless Message."Ambrose Bierce is considered one of the 19th Century finest authors of shockingly realistic short stories. His most famous tale “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” is one of our favorites and can be heard at Litreading. We are expanding our universe of short story podcasts on our new podcast channel, Short StoryVerses. Listen to some of Don's new, original short stor...
2025-10-0306 min
LitReading - Original Short Stories and Classic TalesThe Furnished Room–a Classic Short Story by O. HenryRather than your typical October horror story, This chilling tale is a unique variation on your run-of-the-mill ghost story with a wicked twist at the end from the master of narrative misdirection, O. Henry.O. Henry, whose real name was William Sydney Porter, is considered one of the all-time masters of the short story. Known for his inventive twists, his work spanned many genres from comedy to horror. His short variegated life as draftsman, banker, and even federal convict, gave him a trove of experiences to weave into his tales. We are expanding...
2025-10-0217 min
LitReading - Original Short Stories and Classic TalesThe Cask of Amontillado–a Chilling Short Story by Edgar Allan PoeWhile Halloween is the season for scary stories, their popularity is timeless. That is why this dark tale of revenge still send chills down listeners spines after almost two centuries.The Cask of Amontillado was first published in the November 1946 issue “Godey’s Lady’s Book” which demonstrates the universal fascination with scary stories. Poe understood humanity’s greatest fears and exploited them masterfully, making him the all-time master of the horror genre. We are expanding our universe of short story podcasts on our new podcast channel, Short StoryVerses. Listen to some of Don's new...
2025-10-0117 min
LitReading - Original Short Stories and Classic TalesThe Man with Two Lives—a Scary Season Story by Ambrose BierceHere’s a taste of the classic tales coming your way this October during Scary Story Season on Litreading.Here is the perfect story for those times when you need to fill a few minutes with entertainment. This tale is a surreal story of a 19th century soldier traversing a dangerous section of the the Great Plains on foot to deliver dispatches from one Old West fort to another.Having served in the Union Army, Ambrose Bierce was one of the greatest authors of short war stories and macabre tales. We feature a nu...
2025-09-2907 min
LitReading - Original Short Stories and Classic TalesForecast: Scary Story Season Coming October 1 on LitreadingOn October 1, Litreading unlocks the crypt with Scary Season Stories—a chilling collection of timeless tales that whisper through the centuries. These aren’t slasher screams or jump-scares… they’re the kind of stories that linger—in your mind, in your dreams, and in the dark corners of quiet rooms. From Poe to M.R. James, classic horror returns to haunt a new generation. No tricks. Just trembling.We are expanding our universe of short story podcasts on our new podcast channel, Short StoryVerses. Listen to some of Don's new, original short stories on the "New Tales Told" podcast...
2025-09-2900 min
LitReading - Original Short Stories and Classic TalesA Chance of Death–a Modern Short Story by Don McDonaldPlease note: "A Chance of Death" is the inaugural episode of my new podcast, New Tales Told. I published it here first to share it with my large Litreading audience. However, it will eventually only be available on New Tales Told. If you haven't yet done so, please search for New Tales Told on this podcast service or visit shortstoryverses.com to listen to this and my other original stories.Publishing this story has been one of the scarier things I’ve done in my life. Reading the works of others is far different th...
2025-09-2326 min
LitReading - Original Short Stories and Classic TalesFour Men In A Cave-a Classic Short Story by Stephen CraneMankind has always loved to explore sometimes crossing great wildernesses, but more often just poking around in our own backyards. This light-hearted tale is about a group of men who decide to investigate a local cave and literally stumble across a huge surprise.Stephen Crane was born years after the US Civil War ended, but is best known for his stirring 1895 Civil War novel, The Red Badge of Courage. Crane was also a prolific writer of short stories, many of which ranged from actual war stories to the more personal battles of people against the wilderness or themselves.
2025-09-1712 min
LitReading - Original Short Stories and Classic TalesThe Mark on the Wall - a Classic Short Story by Virginia WoolfVirginia Woolf demonstrates how simply focusing on one thing has the power to unleash torrents of thoughts and memories.Born Adeline Virginia Stephen in 1882, British author Virginia Woolf went on to become an icon of modern 20th century literature. We are so honored to have been featured by Apple Podcasts as a great source for summer stories. If you don't want to miss our future stories, please Follow or Subscribe. Also, we have over 100 stories in our back catalog. Enough stories to keep you entertained for weeks.Looking for even more stories...
2025-09-1421 min
LitReading - Original Short Stories and Classic TalesThe McWilliamses And The Burglar Alarm - a Classic Short Story by Mark TwainWe aren't the first generation to be frustrated by advancing technology. More than a century ago, new fangled products were making people crazy like this gentleman who supposedly related our next hilarious tale Mark Twain.Mark Twain (the pen name of Samuel Clemens) had an unmatched knack for taking a normal story and turning it into a hilariously funny tall tale. We are so honored to have been featured by Apple Podcasts as a great source for summer stories. If you don't want to miss our future stories, please Follow or Subscribe. Also, we have...
2025-09-1216 min
LitReading - Original Short Stories and Classic TalesThe Widow's Cruise–a Classic Short Story by Frank StocktonWe have been sharing stories with each other since the beginning of time. On occasion these tales have been known to grow a bit tall, as was the case when four elderly seamen spent an evening with a widow sharing a variety of yarns each one wilder than the next. Then the wood adds a tale of her own.Frank Stockton was a 19th century author and humorist with an uncanny knack for poking fun a human failings. One of his most famous stories was "The Lady or the Tiger." We are so honored to...
2025-09-1129 min
LitReading - Original Short Stories and Classic TalesThe Log - a Classic Short Story by Guy de MaupassantThe lure of an illicit affair is not a new facet of human nature. People have been both tempting and tempted throughout time. But for a sudden twist of fate, our next story might have ended badly for everyone involved.Henri René Albert Guy de Maupassant was a 19th-century French author considered one the era greatest short storyist spinning realistic tales of the human condition We are so honored to have been featured by Apple Podcasts as a great source for summer stories. If you don't want to miss our future stories, please Follow or S...
2025-09-1012 min
LitReading - Original Short Stories and Classic TalesSherlock Holmes: The Adventure of the Bruce-Partington Plans–A Classic Short Story by Sir Arthur Conan DoyleWhen the plans for a top-secret British defense project are stolen and the apparent thief is found dead, the government turns to legendary detective Sherlock Holmes to solve the mystery and find the documents. We are so honored to have been featured by Apple Podcasts as a great source for summer stories. If you don't want to miss our future stories, please Follow or Subscribe. Also, we have over 100 stories in our back catalog. Enough stories to keep you entertained for weeks.Looking for even more stories? Check out all out narrative podcasts at...
2025-09-0659 min
LitReading - Original Short Stories and Classic TalesHermann the Irascible–A Classic Short Story by SakiHow times have changed. Just over a century ago, women were still fighting for the right to vote and the prevailing belief among men was that they were too emotional and fragile to do so. Our next story takes place, ironically, in a fictional Britain in the wake of a great plague. Join me as we travel back to a very different world in Hermann the Irascible by SakiSaki was the nome de plume of British author, H.H. Munro who was a prolific short story writer around the turn of the twentieth century. His wit, insight...
2025-09-0507 min
LitReading - Original Short Stories and Classic TalesThe Yellow Wallpaper–A Classic Short Story by Charlotte Perkins GilmanWomen’s health issues have long been explained away as emotional issues due to their role as the “weaker sex.” Serious illnesses were diagnosed as nothing more than hysteria and rest was prescribed. This ignorance of women’s real health problems is brilliantly portrayed in this haunting tale of a woman driven to the brink.The author, Charlotte Perkins Gilman actually suffered a horrible case of post partum depression for which she was treated in a similar condescending manner. We are so honored to have been featured by Apple Podcasts as a great source for summer s...
2025-09-0536 min
LitReading - Original Short Stories and Classic TalesTobermory–a Classic Short Story by SakiHere is a biting satire of Victorian Era British upper class from the perspective of the family cat who gains a startling new skill.Saki was the pen name of British author, H.H. Munro who was one of true masters of the short story.We are so honored to have been featured by Apple Podcasts as a great source for summer stories. If you don't want to miss our future stories, please Follow or Subscribe. Also, we have over 100 stories in our back catalog. Enough stories to keep you entertained for weeks.
2025-08-2917 min
LitReading - Original Short Stories and Classic TalesPoor, Dear Margaret Kirby–a Classic Short Story by Kathleen NorrisHappiness has always been elusive, usually found in unexpected places and, often, in the wake of the worst life eventsIn this heart-warming story, an affluent couple discovers what is truly important in life in the wake of both a fiscal and physical tragedy.Kathleen Norris was, for a time, the highest paid female writer in early 20th-century America. We are so honored to have been featured by Apple Podcasts as a great source for summer stories. If you don't want to miss our future stories, please Follow or Subscribe. Also, we have...
2025-08-2226 min
LitReading - Original Short Stories and Classic TalesMemoirs of a Yellow Dog–a Classic Short Story by O. HenryI am a big fan of dogs and am fascinated with their non-verbal communication skills. I also enjoy dog stories and the writing of O. Henry, so what could be better to end season two of Litreading than a dog story written by O. Henry. We are so honored to have been featured by Apple Podcasts as a great source for summer stories. If you don't want to miss our future stories, please Follow or Subscribe. Also, we have over 100 stories in our back catalog. Enough stories to keep you entertained for weeks.
2025-08-1912 min
LitReading - Original Short Stories and Classic TalesMy Financial Career–a Classic Short Story by Stephen LeacockWe all have our particular foibles and phobias. Today’s humorous short story focuses on one whose greatest fear is of banks. Would that be ripiaphobia? We are so honored to have been featured by Apple Podcasts as a great source for summer stories. If you don't want to miss our future stories, please Follow or Subscribe. Also, we have over 100 stories in our back catalog. Enough stories to keep you entertained for weeks.Looking for even more stories? Check out all out narrative podcasts at shortstoryverses.com Hosted on...
2025-08-1906 min
LitReading - Original Short Stories and Classic TalesJimmy Rose–a Classic Short Story by Herman MelvilleLife can deal any of us some terrible blows. In this semi-auto biographical tale we explore the life of a once wealthy merchant, Jimmy Rose We are so honored to have been featured by Apple Podcasts as a great source for summer stories. If you don't want to miss our future stories, please Follow or Subscribe. Also, we have over 100 stories in our back catalog. Enough stories to keep you entertained for weeks.Looking for even more stories? Check out all out narrative podcasts at shortstoryverses.com Hosted on...
2025-08-1927 min
LitReading - Original Short Stories and Classic TalesThe Enchanted Bluff–a Classic Short Story by Willa CatherHere is a wonderfully nostalgic tale of a time when boys could enjoy a taste of freedom, share ideas, and let’s their imaginations run wild, before the responsibilities of life overrode such fancies. You're invited to get lost at the foot of "The Enchanted Bluff."Willa Cather published "The Enchanted Bluff" in "Harper's Magazine" in 1909 during a period when her writing skills were blossoming in stories about her experiences living on the Nebraska prairie. Her efforts culminated in a Pulitzer Prize for her book, "One of Ours." Her work was loved by some of the best authors of...
2025-08-1822 min
LitReading - Original Short Stories and Classic TalesNevada Funeral - Scotty Briggs and the Clergyman–a Classic Short Story by Mark TwainIn the 19th century, the United States was as diverse from region to region as were the country’s of Europe, except for the fact that we spoke some semblance of the same language. However, the language divide between proper Easern American English and that of the the inhabitants of the West could, at times be vast.Samuel Clemens was born in Florida in 1835, but it wasn’t until 27 years later that his alter ego, Mark Twain, came into being in Carson City, Nevada. He credited the many extreme characters of Nevada’s early mining days with jump starti...
2025-08-1811 min
LitReading - Original Short Stories and Classic TalesA Jury of Her Peers–a Classic Short Story by Susan GlaspellIn the early 19th century country a farmer is murdered in his home. While investigated, local authorities task a local women with gathering a few things for the wife who was arrested for the crime. Susan Glaspell wrote a one-act play which she adapted into "A Jury of Her Peers” It is loosely based on a murder covered while working as a reporter for the Des Moines Daily News. We are so honored to have been featured by Apple Podcasts as a great source for summer stories. If you don't want to miss our future st...
2025-08-1844 min
LitReading - Original Short Stories and Classic TalesGentle Hand–a Classic Short Story by Mary Roberts RinehartDuring these stressful times, forced into close quarters with those we love. we may find ourselves growing angry when a softer approach tends to me far more effective as is illustrated in this story.Mary Roberts Rinehart is yet another fine example of a talented early 20th Century authors. Known as The American Agatha Christie, she is best known for her mystery stories. A character in her 1920 play “The Bat” was the inspiration for Bob Kane’s comic book character “Batman.” We are so honored to have been featured by Apple Podcasts as a great source for...
2025-08-1813 min
LitReading - Original Short Stories and Classic TalesNobodys Story–a Classic Short Story by Charles DickensCharles Dickens was a constant observer of the plight of his fellows and critical of the divisions between humanity’s strata. In this deep and poignant parable of mankind’s need to be recognized by others he arrives at the conclusion that in the end, despite our apparent differences, we are all same.Dickens wrote "Nobody’s Story" to honor those who toil in anonymity and suffer quietly. It was originally published in 1853 as part of a Volume of Christmas stories, but felt more appropriate for today. We are so honored to have been featured by Apple...
2025-08-1814 min
LitReading - Original Short Stories and Classic TalesThe Boston Massacre–a Classic Short Story by Nathaniel HawthorneWhat began as a street brawl on a winter evening in Boston, became one the biggest sparks to help ignite the American revolution. 250 years ago, on March 5th 1770, anger over the British housing troops among civilians in Massachusetts boiled over into what the British called the Incident on King Street but was referred to my early Americans as "The Boston Massacre."To commemorate the 250th anniversary of the seminal event in early American history, we present Nathaniel Hawthorne's unique narrative account of this fascinating tale. We are so honored to have been featured by Apple...
2025-08-1812 min