The Black Monk (1894) is one of Chekhov’s most mysterious and unsettling stories. A scholar suffering from a breakdown begins to see a phantom monk — and the hallucination brings with it a terrifying ecstasy and sense of grandeur that proves more seductive than sanity. The story has been interpreted as psychological case study, spiritual allegory, and autobiographical confession.
The other stories in this collection are equally rewarding. Download the free EPUB to read Chekhov in a more shadowy and complex register than his reputation for gentle realism might suggest.