The Gift of the Magi
With only $1.87 for a Christmas gift, Della sells her beautiful hair to buy a platinum chain for her husband’s heirloom watch.
Stories with a twist ending
These stories build toward a surprise, a reversal, or a final detail that changes how everything before it feels. From the sly humor of “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County” to the eerie turn in “The Monkey’s Paw,” each offers a satisfying last moment. Every story is free to read or listen to on Pagehush.
The Red Room
A confident young man insists on spending a night alone in the castle's haunted red room.
After Twenty Years
Late one night, a police officer on his beat finds a man waiting in a dark doorway.
The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County
Ask old Simon Wheeler a simple question and you'll get the whole tale of Jim Smiley, who would bet on anything, and his frog Dan'l Webster.
A Case of Identity
Miss Mary Sutherland's fiancé vanished on the morning of their wedding, and she wants Holmes to find him.
The Adventure of the Empty House
Three years after Sherlock Holmes went over the Reichenbach Falls, a young nobleman is shot dead in a locked room.
The Cask of Amontillado
During carnival, Montresor lures the man who insulted him down into the family catacombs with the promise of a rare wine.
The Cop and the Anthem
Winter is coming, and Soapy, who lives on a park bench, wants three months in a warm prison.
The Emperor's New Clothes
Two swindlers promise a vain emperor a suit of cloth so fine that fools can't see it.
The Hammer of God
A wild, godless squire is struck dead outside his brother's church by a blow no ordinary man could strike.
The Open Window
A nervous man comes to the country for a rest cure and is entertained by a very self-possessed niece of fifteen, who tells him about the open window.
The Overcoat
Akaky, a poor, mocked government copying-clerk in St Petersburg, saves for months to buy a new overcoat.
The Ransom of Red Chief
Two small-time crooks kidnap a banker's son for ransom. The boy turns out to be a terror they can't control, and soon they're begging his father to take him back.
The Yellow Face
Grant Munro's wife has asked him for a hundred pounds without saying why, and she keeps slipping out to a cottage nearby where a strange yellow face looks out of the…
A Retrieved Reformation
Jimmy Valentine, the best safe-cracker in the business, comes out of prison and falls for a banker's daughter in a small town.
A Service of Love
A young painter and a young pianist marry and move to New York to chase their art.
An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge
During the American Civil War, a Southern planter stands on a railway bridge with a rope around his neck.
Désirée's Baby
In old Louisiana, a foundling marries a proud plantation owner, and they have a son.
Hearts and Hands
On a train to the East, a pretty young woman recognises an old friend.
Living or Dead?
Kadambini, a young widow, falls ill and seems to die. They carry her to the burning-ghat on a stormy night, and there she wakes.
Lord Arthur Savile’s Crime
Three days before his wedding, a fortune-teller reads Lord Arthur's palm and tells him he is going to commit a murder.
Right-Mind and Wrong-Mind
Two merchants’ sons find a thousand dinars and bury them under a tree.
The Almond Tree
A cruel stepmother kills her stepson, and his little sister buries his bones under the almond tree in the garden.
The Auspicious Vision
Kantichandra, a young widower who lives for hunting, glimpses a beautiful girl beside a lonely swamp and asks for her hand.
The Boarded Window
In the forests near Cincinnati, in 1830, a lonely settler lived in a cabin with one window, always boarded up.
The Debate in Signs
A scholar from a far-off land challenges the court to a debate without words, using only signs.
The False Gems
Monsieur Lantin's wife is perfect in every way, except for her love of the theatre and of cheap imitation jewellery.
The Furnished Room
A young man searching New York for the girl he loves rents a shabby furnished room, and smells mignonette, her favourite scent.
The Interlopers
Two men whose families have feuded for generations over a strip of forest meet on a stormy winter night, guns in hand.
The Last Leaf
In a Greenwich Village studio, a young painter sick with pneumonia decides she will die when the last ivy leaf falls from the wall outside.
The Lion-Makers
Three learned Brahmans and one with plain good sense find a heap of bones in the forest, and the scholars decide to show what their learning can do.
The Locket
Edmond, a young Confederate soldier, wears a locket with his sweetheart's picture.
The Lumber Room
Nicholas is left behind as punishment while the others go to the beach.
The Model Millionaire
Charming, penniless Hughie Erskine gives his last sovereign to a ragged old beggar posing for a painter friend.
The Necklace
Mathilde borrows a diamond necklace from a rich friend to look grand at a ball for one night.
The Purloined Letter
The Paris police have searched every inch of a minister's rooms for a stolen letter.
The Riddle Solved
Old Krishna Gopal, a famously pious zemindar, retires to Benares and leaves his estate to his strict modern son.
Where can I read stories with twist endings for free?
You can read these stories for free on Pagehush, with no ads.
Can I listen to stories with twist endings?
Yes. Any story on Pagehush can be read aloud, and you can read or listen on your phone.