41 Short Stories for Middle School: FREE PDF Download (2024)

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A Strange Story

By O. Henry
A man goes out to pick up some medicine for his daughter and disappears. His eventual reappearance is strange and disturbing.

The Scholarship Jacket

By Marth Salinas
Martha spent years earning that jacket. But some teachers want to give it to a school board member’s daughter.

The Eyes Have It

By Philip K Dick
It was quite by accident I discovered this incredible invasion of Earth by lifeforms from another planet…

The Disciple

By Oscar Wilde
Everyone knows the story of Narcissus who wasted away staring at his reflection. But what about the pool’s point of view?

The Dinner Party

By Mona Gardner
A lovely and lively dinner party. A daring wager put to all in attendance. A cunning guest who knows more than she’s letting on.

The Terrible Old Man

By HP Lovecraft
Not all old men are as weak and helpless as they seem. This is a truth three misguided thieves discover all too late.

A Tent in Agony

By Stephen Crane
An encounter with the local wildlife goes horribly wrong when an old black bear walks into a tent looking for some food.

One of These Days

By Gabriel Garcia Marquez
A dentist must remove the tooth of the local Mayor, who happens to be a sworn enemy. He takes the job.

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The Story of the Bad Little Boy

By Mark Twain
Once there was a bad little boy named Jim — though, if you notice, you’ll find that bad little boys are nearly always called James…

Seventh Grade

By Gary Soto
A seventh grade boy finds himself trying to impress his crush and relying on the suspect advice of his friends.

Lamb to the Slaughter

By Roald Dahl
In a fit of rage, a wife murders her husband. Now what is she to do? How will she get rid of the evidence?

Adventure of the Speckled Band

By Arthur Conan Doyle
A classic mystery of a locked room murder, Doyle considered this to be the finest short story he ever wrote.

Three Tools of Death

By GK Chesterton
A troubled girl’s father is found dead, and Father Brown must unravel his mysterious murder by one of three deadly weapons.

Night Drive

By Will F Jenkins
Madge just wanted to pick up her husband, but an unexpected passenger leads to dark and terrible truth about the human soul.

The Cask of Amontillado

By Edgar Allan Poe
The all-time classic tale of the perfect revenge. Fortunato thinks he’s getting a rare taste of wine, but Montresor has other plans.

The Elevator

By William Sleator
Twelve year old Martin is afraid of the elevator in his new apartment building. He tries to avoid it. He should have tried harder.

The Monkey’s Paw

By WW Jacobs
The greatest tale ever told about being careful what you wish for, with one of the finest endings ever penned.

The Hitchhiker

By Lucille Fletcher
A radio play written by a master of the form about a man driving the lonely American highways, and the hitchhiker who appears time & again.

Dracula’s Guest

By Bram Stoker
Removed by Stoker from the novel, this tale serves as an excellent introduction to the greatest of all vampires: Count Dracula.

Wish You Were Here

By Frank Jones
Dorothy thought the lawn gnome was cute. But when it disappeared, she certainly didn’t expect to start receiving letters from it.

The Lottery

By Shirley Jackson
Perhaps the greatest twist ending in 20th Century fiction. A wicked tale of a small town lottery and the danger of tradition.

The Necklace

By Guy de Maupassant
One of the finest short stories by one of the great practitioners of the form, with a gut kick of a twist ending.

The Lady or the Tiger?

By Frank Stockton
Behind one door a beautiful lady. Behind the other a voracious and hungry tiger. Make your choice very carefully.

After 20 Years

By O. Henry
Two men agreed to meet again in one spot 20 years later. But when two strangers collide in that spot in the night, they discover the irony of fate.

The Interlopers

By Saki
Two sworn enemies who have hated each other for decades are trapped together deep in the woods. Can they make peace?

The Boar Hunt

By Jose Vasconcelos
A hunting party deep in the jungle believes they’ve come across the ultimate score. But the tables quickly turn.

The Treasure in the Forest

By HG Wells
Two ruthless treasure hunters have murdered a man for his treasure map. But what they find in the forest i smore than they imagined.

The Most Dangerous Game

By Richard Connell
A madman hunts human beings for sport on his private island. But with his latest “guest” he may have finally met his match.

Three Skeleton Key

By George Toudouze
My most terrifying experience? Well, one does have a few in thirty-five years of service in the Lights, although it’s mostly monotonous…

All Summer in a Day

By Ray Bradbury
On Venus, a group of kids waits to see the sun, which only appears out of the rain once every seven years, and only for an hour.

The 9 Billion Names of God

By Arthur C Clarke
A group of monks atop a mountain need a computer to help them write down all nine billion names of God.

The Veldt

By Ray Bradbury
The classic tale of the dangers of technology replacing reality and a critique of lackadaisical parenting.

Hey You Down There!

By Harold Rolseth
A wickedly humorous story about a couple digging a well who discover an unknown race deep underground.

Mars is Heaven

By Ray Bradbury
They land on Mars only to discover themselves in a town that looks exactly like one they left on Earth, and it’s filled with people they know.

Time Enough at Last

By Lynn Venable
All he wanted was a little time to read. Then the bombs fell, and he finally had all the time he could ever want.

The Friday That Changed Everything

By Anne Hart
A school teacher considers changing the rules, pitting the boys against the girls in a tale of power and jealousy.

The Storm

By McKnight Malmar
A woman arrives home alone on the eve of a great storm. Waiting for her husband, she believes she’s found a body in the cellar.

The Rocking Horse Winner

By DH Lawrence
A little boy believes that he can correctly guess the derby winners each time by riding his rocking horse.

An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge

By Ambrose Bierce
A man is to be hung at Owl Creek Bridge. But the rope snaps and he escapes. Or does he? One of the great twist endings of all time.

Lather & Nothing Else

By Hernando Tellez
A soldier comes in for a shave, but the barber is a revolutionary. Should the barber do his job, or cut the enemy’s throat?

The Chaser

By John Collier
A young man comes into a shop to buy a love potion. But the shop owner has many potions to sell, not all for the same price.