Genre: Horror
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The Perfect Pet
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Genre: HorrorSetting: ModernNew Vocabulary: Allergy, Bite, Blood, Butcher, Covered in, Guinea pig, Lock, Mean (unkind), Named after, Pee, Scratch, SocialWord Count: 1424Original Author: Ariel GoodbodyRory has always wanted a pet, but his parents don’t like animals. When Rory finishes university, he decides to get a pet. First, he gets a dog, but then things start going wrong…
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A Holiday Gone Wrong
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Genre: HorrorSetting: JapanNew Vocabulary: Chopsticks, Cicada, Crow, Curse, Guts, Incense, Jet lag, Mecca, Ritual, Shinto shrineWord Count: 2620Original Author: Ariel GoodbodyI flew several feet into the air, still unable to scream, and I landed precisely on my right leg. CRACK Pain exploded through me, and now the screaming came. It felt like my leg had been torn apart, and when I looked down, I saw the white flash of bone. I immediately rolled over and threw up, which was worse, because it put more pressure on my leg.
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The Crying Woman
Once, there was a woman called Inmaculada. Her friends called her Inma. She lived in a village in Mexico. Inmaculada was indigenous, and her mother and father died when she was very young. She was poor, and she washed clothes for other people in the village. She wanted to leave the village and travel the world, but she thought it would never happen.
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Put the Lid Back On!
Once, a poor man was coming home at night. All he had was a gun and a single silver coin. He was riding a horse, but both he and the horse were very tired. They saw a graveyard, and the grass there was very long. So they stopped, the horse ate the grass, and the man lay down on one of the graves. He tried to sleep, but he could not sleep at all.
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The Curse of the Clock
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Genre: HorrorSetting: MedievalNew Vocabulary: Apprentice, Astronomical clock, Blind, Curse, Master, Mayor, Mechanics, Mysterious, Put back together, Take apartWord Count: 1369Original Author: Czech MythsToday in Prague there is the astronomical clock, a great and mysterious clock. It brings in tourists from around the world. But many do not know that the clock has a dark history. It happened over 500 years ago…
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The Boy Who Knew No Fear (Pre-Intermediate)
Once there was a father with two sons. The older son, Hugh, was smart and sensible, and could do everything, but the younger son, Anders, was stupid and understood nothing. Whenever the father needed help, it was always the older son who helped him.
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The Pit and the Pendulum
I was sick, sick with the feeling of death. I heard the mutter of those who had questioned me, the Inquisitors. I saw the lips of the black-robed judges, and they were whiter than the paper that I am writing this on. They were thin, and tight, and they whispered things I could not hear. I saw seven candles on a table beside me, and they shone like angels, but I knew there was nobody…
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Love is Worth a Bit of Pain
She knew what she was doing was wrong. She had known the moment she saw him. But love didn’t care about what side of a wall you were on, even if she was on the side of the palace gardens and he was stood in the ruined fields. The war had gone on for years, but it only took a moment for her to lose to his eyes. They stared at her through a hole…
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The Black Cat
I don’t expect you to believe what I am going to tell you, but hopefully you will understand. I’m not sure I believe or understand it myself. I’m not mad, and this is not a dream—it is stranger and more horrible than any dream I have ever had. But maybe a clever reader will see my story, and find an answer to the madness. That is all I can hope for.
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The Heart That Told the Truth
Listen, and I will tell you what happened. Then you can judge how healthy my mind is. You see, my body is strong. My hearing has become much stronger. I can hear sounds far and near. I am not weak, like a crazy man.