# What is the best Shirley Jackson short story collection?

> Only one of these came out while she was alive. The rest were pieced together from drawers and archives, and fans still argue over which holds her sharpest work.

*By YPB Team · Published November 1, 2026 · https://youpick.best/ranking/what-is-the-best-shirley-jackson-short-story-collection*

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## Current results (no votes yet)

1. **The Lottery and Other Stories** — score 1000/1000
   Jackson's only story collection published in her lifetime (1949), anchored by the infamous title story.
2. **Let Me Tell You** — score 666/1000
   A 2015 volume of unseen stories, essays and humor pieces edited by her son and biographer.
3. **Just an Ordinary Day** — score 0/1000
   A 1996 gathering of more than fifty previously uncollected and unpublished stories found by her children.
4. **Dark Tales** — score 0/1000
   A 2016 Penguin Modern Classics selection of her most unsettling stories, from suburban menace to quiet hauntings.

Tags: books, horror, fiction, short stories, shirley jackson