Can you recommend some good dark romance short stories?

Another one could be about a ballerina and a composer. The composer is in love with the ballerina's beauty and grace. However, he has a dark side. He slowly tries to control every aspect of her life. The ballerina, initially in love, starts to realize the toxicity of their relationship but finds it hard to break free due to her deep love for him and his controlling ways which makes for a very dark romance.

A lesser - known but great dark romance short story is 'The Yellow Wallpaper'. It's about a woman's descent into madness while in a relationship where she is not really understood or given the freedom she needs. Her husband's controlling nature and the overall oppressive environment create a dark and disturbing look at a relationship that should be based on love but is instead full of confinement and the destruction of the woman's self - identity.

One great dark short story is 'The Tell - Tale Heart' by Edgar Allan Poe. It's about a narrator who is haunted by the old man's 'vulture - like' eye and eventually kills him. Another is 'The Lottery' by Shirley Jackson, which has a shockingly dark ending in a seemingly ordinary small - town setting. And 'A Good Man Is Hard to Find' by Flannery O'Connor also has elements of darkness and moral exploration.

Sure. 'The Yellow Wallpaper' by Charlotte Perkins Gilman is a great one. It's a dark exploration of a woman's descent into madness. Another is 'The Masque of the Red Death' by Edgar Allan Poe. It has a very gothic and dark atmosphere, with the Red Death representing mortality. And 'The Lottery' by Shirley Jackson is also a well - known dark short story that makes you question the dark side of human nature.

One is 'The Lottery' by Shirley Jackson. It's set in a small town where every year there's a lottery. At first, it seems like a normal event, but in the end, the 'winner' gets stoned to death by the townspeople. It's a chilling yet darkly humorous look at how blindly following tradition can be dangerous.

We should focus on more positive and family - friendly literature. There are many great genres like mystery, adventure or science - fiction short stories that are more suitable for general discussion.

Sure. One of the great stories could be the one about a young couple meeting by chance in a small town. Their love blossoms despite the odds.

A great book for 'dark dark short stories' is 'Angela Carter's The Bloody Chamber'. It reimagines classic fairy tales in a much darker and more adult way. For instance, 'The Company of Wolves' takes the Little Red Riding Hood story and turns it into a tale full of sexual tension and danger. Another book is 'Selected Stories' by H. P. Lovecraft. His stories often deal with cosmic horror, like in 'The Call of Cthulhu' where the existence of ancient and powerful beings that are beyond human comprehension is explored. And 'Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street' in its original short story form is also a very dark and gory tale.

Sure. 'The Gift of the Magi' by O. Henry is a classic. It tells the story of a young couple who are very poor but deeply in love. They each sacrifice their most precious possession to buy a gift for the other, showing the selfless nature of true love.

Yes. 'The Little Match Girl' can be seen as a bit of a romance short story in a very tragic way. The little girl has these beautiful and somewhat romantic visions as she is freezing. 'The Happy Prince' by Oscar Wilde also has some elements of love and self - sacrifice that could be considered romantic. And 'The Nightingale and the Rose' by Wilde as well, where the nightingale sacrifices itself for the love of a student.