A Worn Path, The Test, and a story I haven’t been able to find about kids who go into a carnival fun house but it’s really set up to kill them (vats of acid, snakes hanging from the ceiling).
This was 6th grade. I seemed like all the short stories in middle school made the Tell Tale Heart seem cheerful.
And Bartleby, the Scrivener.
He’s a tow truck driver from the thin yellow line Chevy logo.