Ghost and Horror Stories of Ambrose Bierce (Dover Literature: Gothic/Horror Short Stories)

While looking for ghost story collections, I was pleasantly surprised to find this book. I knew Ambrose Bierce penned _The Devil's Dictionary_ but hadn't seen or heard of an anthology of his supernatural tales. The editor, E. F. Bleiler, collects 24 of his best in this book, and also provides an excellent overview of Bierce's history and writing in the introduction. He includes well-known, often collected stories like "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge", "The Damned Thing", and "An Inhabitant of Carcosa."; this last story is quoted by Robert W. Chambers at the beginning of his short story "The King in Yellow." Bierce's supernatural themes also influenced the writings of H. P. Lovecraft.Drawing on his own experiences as a Civil War veteran and a San Franciscan journalist, Bierce uses the backdrop of the Civil War, the South and California as the setting in many of his tales. His highly intelligent, highly critical and biting personality comes through in the bizarre menagerie of characters populating his narratives, in the descriptions of their actions and in the world they inhabit. The story "A Watcher by the Dead" contains shady physicians who bet their associate that he can't spend a night locked in a room with a corpse. The main character in "The Death of Halpin Fraser" has an unnervingly intimate relationship with his mother which haunts his dreams. The craggy tavern keeper of "The Haunted Valley" condemns his Chinese laborer for his method of chopping down trees, while Mr. Beeson in "The Night-Doings at `Deadman's'" keeps the pigtail from his dead Chinese hand firmly nailed to his log cabin wall to prevent him from taking it back to the grave. The general store-keeper in "A Jug of Sirup" stays behind his counter throughout his life and after his death.Bierce creates many unusual situations that make for very unsettling stories: two men duel with knives in the pitch dark of a haunted house with a most unexpected result in "The Middle Toe of the Right Foot"; a man witnesses a confrontation between an inventor and his metal machine in "Moxon's Master"; a mysterious stranger reveals the fate of four cowboys surrounded by murderous Indians in "The Stranger". In one of the best stories in the collection "The Moonlit Road", reminiscent of Kurosawa's Rashomon, we hear a ghost story from three separate participant's perspectives, including that of the ghost. Bierce's writings reflect his remarkably striking and acerbic talent with words.In fact, it's Bierce's unique writing style which, for me, lessened the appeal of his stories. As demonstrated so skillfully in _The Devil's Dictionary_, Bierce employs highly original, ironic perspectives in his descriptions of people, places and events, which at his best make his stories exceptionally witty and memorable. It often, unfortunately, comes across as an intrusive, garrulous display of intellect, taking the reader out of the story.I found myself wading through tedious sections, too often at the stories' beginning, in hopes of finally reaching the spark of dreadfulness. "The Ways of Ghosts", "Some Haunted Houses" and "'Mysterious Disappearances'", each comprised of several frightful shorts, made my list of favorites because the ultra-quick length only allowed for Bierce's unique disturbing ideas without his cocky wordiness._The Ghost and Horror Stories of Ambrose Bierce_ is a great anthology of supernatural tales from a noteworthy author/journalist. I'm glad I've read it; I'm also glad I've finished reading it. Make sure you have a comfy couch to relax in during the long hours you'll spend reading this book.

Reread some of the classic horror and fantasy stories that got me hooked on speculative fiction back in 1970,these stories are as good as ever,"occurrence at owl creek bridge"is a perfect example of a horror story that seams to but apparently doesn't contain any elements of the supernatural,the "horror"is purely phychological, but Beirce,in playing on feelings scares the reader as much as any writer ever has.I could go on,read these stories,and be impressed!

Of course, most of us are familiar with "Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge." I hadn't heard of much of his other works, so I bought this book on a whim and found myself quite surprised."The Moonlit Road" is probably my favorite in this book. It is a story that is told from three different points of view of the same event... including a person who is deceased as told through a medium."Visions of the Night," the final story in the book, is filled with stark imagery of men with cut throats bleeding out into a marble pool, red skies in dark black burnt forests, and the narrator traveling though a massive tower, only to find his own corpse (or at least, a corpse with his eyes) lying in bed. It is, to date, the best description of the human mind's capability and reason for dreams and nightmares I have read in a book, and probably the most moving story in the collection.

Fun read! Most Ghost stories were set in California post Gold Rush era. My favorite story was "The Damned Thing".

Hello, Bierce ranks with Poe and Lovecraft as one of the greatest American writers of horror stories, I love his writing and find his style to be creative but he leaves a lot to th imagination, I love this collection because it tells you a lot about the author and he is a very interesting man and inspiring horror writers can learn a lot just from the introduction to this book if you like horror storys you should read ambrose bierce,I am a lot like him i wonder if I am him reincarnated :) take care all enjoy the book

its in older fashion writing so its not a quick read..it takes time unless your use to reading that kind of writing..im not..but it keeps your attention and it is entertaining.....i read the bio of the author and this is what drew his writing to me..

Amazing writer from late nineteenth, early twentieth century. Not really well known in the twenty first, but this guy was ahead of his contemporaries. A combination of Poe, and Hitchcock. Have your dictionary close by as you read this rascal, especially his "Owl Creek Bridge" story.

Bierce is a true original. His voice is compelling, eerie and chilling when needed. The stories will remain with you long after you have read them.

A most interesting but quick read. Written in the post Civil War era !

Bierce habe ich erst durch dieses Buch kennengelernt und war eigentlich ziemlich enttäuscht. Durch viele Geschichten habe ich mich durchgequält. Der Autor hat bei mir schon durch das Vorwort nicht gerade Sympathiepunkte gesammelt, vielleicht lag es auch ein bisschen daran.Im Vergleich zu Blackwood oder LeFanu kann er nicht mithalten.Übrigens: was ist eigentlich auf dem Cover abgebildet?