There are handful of short stories that live inside you once you read them, they are undeniable, there forever. I may not remember the whole story, every character's name, every plot detail, but I remember that moment where it became indelible and what happened in the story to make it so.
There's a great post from Terrie Moran over at Criminal Element about the life and works of Shirley Jackson. Jackson is probably best know for her short story The Lottery where townspeople gather each year to stone one of their own to death. I read it in school many years ago, and it made such an impression it's still with me. You can read The Lottery here.
In fact, while watching the movie 'Hunger Games' The Lottery came back to me, as did my second selection for an indelible short story, The Most Dangerous Game by Richard Connell.
In that story a big game hunter becomes the big game. You can see how easily Hunger Games ties the two themes together to create a completely different but compelling story that tugs on our psyche.
The third story is called Jigsaw Man by Larry Niven. You can find it in the short story compilations, DANGEROUS VISIONS edited by Harlan Ellison ( it is not available in the public domain as the other two stories are. Jigsaw Man paints a future where humans can live forever as long as they continue to have organ transplants. Convicts organs are harvested to help meet the need, but demand grows larger than the prison population so society starts punishing smaller and smaller infractions with death and the harvesting of your organs. I won't tell you how it ends so you can go enjoy for yourself.
What are your indelible short stories?
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