Can you recommend some of the best twist ending short stories?

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.

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 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 great story is 'The Gift of the Magi'. A young couple is very poor. The wife has long, beautiful hair and the husband has a precious pocket watch. For Christmas, the wife cuts and sells her hair to buy a chain for her husband's watch. Meanwhile, the husband sells his watch to buy combs for his wife's hair. It's a sweet and unexpected twist on their selfless love.

The element of surprise. When a short story has a twist ending, it catches the reader off - guard. For example, in 'The Lottery' by Shirley Jackson, the reader doesn't expect the brutal stoning at the end. It makes the story memorable.

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.

One characteristic is misdirection. The story often leads the reader to expect one thing and then suddenly changes direction. For example, in a mystery story, all the clues might point to one suspect, but in the end, it's someone completely different.

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.

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.