Short Story Sunday

The Yellow Wall Paper
by Charlotte Perkins Gilman

A woman suffering from "temporary nervous depression" is moved into an old, long unoccupied manor house by her physician husband "to get plenty of air." She spends all her days in the top floor nursery that is covered in a horrendous yellow wall paper. Slowly but surely the wall paper drives her insane and the reader comes along for the ride as we read her secret diary.

I was intrigued by Eva's review of this short story two weeks ago. I totally agree with her that it was fascinating and creepy. I loved that a disease that was originally thought to be all in her head becomes more "all in her head" the more her husband insists that she's improving. And the final diary entry is the icing on the cake. Highly recommend!

The Striding Place
by Gertrude Atherton

A man wonders in his woods contemplating the strange disappearance of his closest friend just a few days before. As he comes to a "Strid" in a stream, a narrow passage between precipitous rocks or banks, which looks as if it might be crossed at a stride but is often dangerous, he makes an anxious discovery.

This story is apparently known for it's final sentence. I hadn't heard of it before, nor had I heard of it's author. I found the story a bit disjointed; certainly not the smooth reading that The Yellow Wall Paper was. But the last sentence was what makes it a spooky tale. I was left stunned.