What are some examples of twist endings for stories?

One good twist ending could be that the person the protagonist has been helping throughout the story is actually the villain who has been manipulating events all along. For example, in a story where a detective is helping a seemingly innocent witness, at the end it's revealed that the witness set up the whole crime just to get revenge on someone and used the detective to cover their tracks.

One example is 'The Gift of the Magi'. A young couple is very poor. The wife cuts off her long hair to buy a chain for her husband's watch. Meanwhile, the husband sells his watch to buy combs for his wife's beautiful hair. Another is 'The Necklace'. A woman borrows what she thinks is an expensive necklace for a ball. She loses it and spends years in poverty to replace it, only to find out later that the original necklace was a fake.

In 'We Were Liars' by E. Lockhart, the big twist at the end that Cadence's memories are false and she was the cause of the accident on the island is a great example. 'The Prestige' has an amazing twist too. When it's revealed that each magician has been sacrificing a clone of themselves to perform their trick, it's a wild turn of events. Then there's 'The Kite Runner', where the discovery that Hassan was actually the half - brother of Amir is a very emotional and unexpected twist at the end.

In the world of novels with great twist endings, 'The Murder of Roger Ackroyd' by Agatha Christie stands out. Christie was a master of the surprise ending, and this book is a prime example. 'Shutter Island' by Dennis Lehane also has a brilliant and thought - provoking twist at the end. And 'Before I Go to Sleep' by S. J. Watson. The ending is so unexpected that it makes you want to reread the whole book to pick up on the clues you missed.

One example is 'Cinderella'. In the end, Cinderella marries the prince and lives happily ever after. Another is 'The Little Mermaid' where after going through many hardships, the mermaid gets a soul and finds her place in the world.

A story where a young girl adopts a stray cat. As the days pass, she starts to notice strange behavior from the cat. One night, she wakes up to find the cat sitting on her chest, staring at her with glowing eyes and a low growl. Then she realizes the cat has led all the other strays in the neighborhood to surround her bed, and she is trapped. This ending plays on the fear of the unknown and the idea that something seemingly innocent can turn into a threat.

In a psychological thriller, the ending might show that the main character, who has been trying to solve a mystery all along, discovers that they were the cause of all the problems unknowingly. Their mind shatters as they come to this realization, leaving them in a state of complete despair. For instance, they find out that their own repressed memories led to the strange events around them, and now they have to live with this horrible truth.

One example is in 'Romeo and Juliet'. The tragic ending where both lovers die is extremely dramatic. It shows the futility of the feud between their families.

Sure. One example is when the detective has been chasing a suspect throughout the story. At the end, it turns out the detective was actually the one being manipulated all along by the suspect's twin who no one knew about. And then the story just ends, leaving the reader shocked.

The little girl smiled as she held her new doll. But then the doll's eyes started to follow me around the room. It was as if it had a life of its own.