The paper analyzes the short story “Obsession” written by Maxim Gorky in Nizhny Novgorod period of his work, which has been given little attention philological works. On one hand, author himself defined its genre as a Christmas tale; on other this work cannot be brought into line with tales and novels Gogol Dostoyevsky, since Gorky’s story, no miracle occurs. However, small text still deserves ...