The short story 'The Necklace' by Guy de Maupassant is also well - known for its twist. A woman borrows what she thinks is an expensive necklace for a party. She loses it and spends years in poverty trying to replace it. In the end, she discovers that the original necklace was a fake, which completely changes the way we view her whole ordeal.
One good one is 'The Gift of the Magi' by O. Henry. In this story, a young couple is very poor. The wife has long, beautiful hair and the husband has a precious pocket watch. For Christmas, the wife sells her hair to buy a chain for the watch, and the husband sells his watch to buy combs for her hair. It's a sweet and unexpected twist.
Another one is 'An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge' by Ambrose Bierce. The story seems to be about a man who is about to be hanged on a bridge during the Civil War. As he is falling, he imagines escaping and making his way back home. The twist comes at the end when it is revealed that all of his escape was just a hallucination in the split second before his death. It gives a shock to the reader who has been following his supposed escape journey.
One great short story with a twist ending is 'The Gift of the Magi' by O. Henry. In this story, a young couple is very poor. The wife cuts and sells her long, beautiful hair to buy a chain for her husband's pocket watch. Meanwhile, the husband sells his watch to buy combs for his wife's hair. It's a touching and unexpected twist on their selfless love.
Another one is 'The Necklace' by Guy de Maupassant. A woman borrows what she thinks is an expensive necklace for a ball. She loses it and spends years in poverty trying to replace it. In the end, she discovers the original necklace was a fake. It shows how one small misjudgment can have a huge impact on a life, and the plot twist is both shocking and thought - provoking.
One characteristic is the element of surprise. For example, in 'The Lottery' by Shirley Jackson, the readers are led to believe it's a normal small - town lottery until the very end when it's revealed that the 'winner' will be stoned to death. Another characteristic is that they often make the reader re - evaluate the whole story. In a story with a twist ending, the events leading up to the end suddenly take on a different meaning. Also, they tend to be concise. Since they need to hold the reader's attention until the big reveal, they usually don't have a lot of unnecessary fluff.
Surprise. The ending should catch the reader off - guard. For example, in 'The Lottery' by Shirley Jackson, the reader initially thinks the lottery is a positive thing, but then it turns out to be a brutal stoning ritual. It's completely unexpected.
One of the top twist ending novels is 'Gone Girl' by Gillian Flynn. The story takes many unexpected turns as the relationship between the two main characters, Nick and Amy, unfolds in a very complex and unforeseen way.
One is 'The Lottery' by Shirley Jackson. At first, it seems like a normal small - town lottery event. But the plot twist is that the 'winner' of the lottery is actually stoned to death as a sacrifice. It's a very dark and unexpected turn.
Another is 'An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge' by Ambrose Bierce. A man is about to be hanged on a bridge during the Civil War. As he falls, he seems to escape and makes a long journey homeward. But in the end, it turns out that all of his escape was just a hallucination in the split second before his death. It's a really mind - boggling plot twist.
One is 'The Lottery' by Shirley Jackson. In a small town, every year they have a lottery. People seem normal about it at first. But the plot twist is that the 'winner' of the lottery is stoned to death as a sacrifice for a good harvest. It's a really chilling story that shows how blindly following tradition can be very dangerous.