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The October Game by Ray Bradbury Short Story Study
“The October Game” (1948) is a short Hallowe’en horror story by American author Ray Bradbury. It has the plot of an urban legend with the characterisation of a written narrative.
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The Ways Of Ghosts (An Arrest) by Ambrose Bierce Short Story Analysis
“The Ways Of Ghosts”, also called “An Arrest”, is a very short ghost story by American writer Ambrose Bierce, first published in October 1905. Perfect for a 1905 Hallowe’en?
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Gallatin Canyon by Thomas McGuane Short Story Analysis
“Gallatin Canyon” is a short, grim road trip story by American author Thomas McGuane. This story served as the title of McGuane’s 2006 collection. In 2021, Deborah Treisman and Téa Obreht discussed its merits on the New Yorker fiction podcast. SYNOPSIS A man and a woman drive through Gallatin Canyon, toward Idaho, where the narrator (the man) intends to use…
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Stephen King’s The Mist Story Analysis
When you encounter mist in real life, what do you recall? Stephen King’s novella? Frank Darabont’s 2007 adaptation of Stephen King’s novella? The 2017 TV series adaptation of Stephen King’s novella?
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In A Dark, Dark Room And Other Scary Stories
In A Dark, Dark Room and Other Scary Stories written by Alvin Schwartz was first published in 1971 for emergent readers ready for scary… but not too scary. I recently looked closely at a modern picture book called Creepy Carrots, another excellent example of a ‘scary’ story perfectly pitched at 4-6 year olds. This collection is for emergent readers and…
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Arthur’s Eyes by Marc Brown Analysis
Arthur’s Eyes (1979) by Marc Brown is an early story of the popular Arthur series, about an ambiguously animal creature (only after looking it up do I understand he’s a brown aardvark) who lives with his nuclear family in an American suburb. This is a well-crafted story and really speaks to its young audience. The book is now over 40…
