Dr. Heidegger's Experiment
Old Dr. Heidegger invites four elderly friends to his dusty study and pours them water from the Fountain of Youth.
Nathaniel Hawthorne was a 19th-century American writer whose stories often explore guilt, moral choices, and the mysteries of the past. Here you’ll find his tales of imagination and consequence, from “Young Goodman Brown” to stories retelling Greek myths. Every story is free to read or listen to, with any story available in a natural read-aloud voice.
The Minister's Black Veil
One Sunday the Reverend Mr. Hooper walks into church with a black veil over his face, and he never takes it off again, not even for the woman he is to marry.
Young Goodman Brown
At sunset, young Goodman Brown leaves his new wife, Faith, in Salem village and walks into the dark forest for a meeting he has promised to keep.
Pandora's Box
Long ago, when the world was young, there was no sickness, no work and no sorrow.
The Golden Touch
King Midas loves gold more than anything, even his little daughter Marygold, until a stranger grants his wish that everything he touches will turn to gold.
Ethan Brand
A lime-burner tends his kiln at night when Ethan Brand, who once kept that same fire, comes back after eighteen years of searching the world for the Unpardonable Sin.
The Great Stone Face
A boy in a mountain valley grows up gazing at a great face formed by the rocks, and waiting for the man foretold to come there one day and look exactly like it.
Feathertop
A witch makes a scarecrow from a broomstick, a pumpkin and old clothes, then puffs life into his pipe and sends him to the town as a fine gentleman to court the…
The Gorgon's Head
Young Perseus is sent to fetch the head of Medusa, whose look turns people to stone.
The Artist of the Beautiful
Owen Warland is a watchmaker too delicate for his trade, and he spends years trying to make a mechanical butterfly that is truly alive.
Theseus and the Minotaur
Every year Athens must send seven young men and seven maidens to Crete, to be eaten by the Minotaur in the Labyrinth.
Rappaccini’s Daughter
A young student in Padua watches a beautiful girl tending flowers in the garden of her father, a doctor who grows poisonous plants.
The Pomegranate Seeds
Little Proserpina is gathering flowers by the sea when King Pluto carries her off to his underground palace.
The Golden Fleece
Young Jason arrives in his uncle's kingdom wearing one sandal, just as the prophecy warned.
Where can I read Nathaniel Hawthorne stories for free?
You can read Hawthorne’s stories for free on Pagehush, with no ads. You can also read on your phone.
Can I listen to Nathaniel Hawthorne stories?
Yes. Pagehush can read any story aloud in a natural voice, for free.