Whirligigs, a collection of short stories by O. Henry released in 1910, includes the well-known tale "The Ransom of Red Chief." This story revolves around two men who kidnap a boy so troublesome that they soon find themselves offering to pay his parents to take him back. The story has been adapted into films and frequently appears in anthologies.

O. Henry: A Biography of William Sydney Porter, authored by David Stuart and published by Doubleday in 1987, provides a contemporary examination of O. Henry's life.

"The Open Window," from Saki's 1914 collection Beasts and Super-Beasts, is a short story that embodies many traits typical of O. Henry's work, such as conciseness and an unexpected ending.

Ambrose Bierce's "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge," featured in his 1891 collection Tales of Soldiers and Civilians, is a gripping narrative about a man's final moments before his execution, concluding with a grim twist.

The 1938 play Our Town by Thornton Wilder includes a narrator who observes and reflects on the lives of the play's ordinary, small-town characters, serving a largely symbolic role.

Damon Knight's science fiction story "To Serve Man"—first published in Galaxy magazine in 1950, later adapted into an episode of the television show Twilight Zone, and frequently anthologized—skillfully employs a surprise ending.