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The Complete Short Stories of Ambrose Bierce Volume I: The World of Horror
Here is every tale of horror ever spun by the master satirist and storyteller, strange stories from an even stranger imagination. Sparked by satanic wit and a fascination with the terrifying, they range from simple ghost stories to intricate tales of horrible revenge.
--------------- from the back cover.
--------------- from the back cover.
297 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1970
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39 people want to read
About the author
Ambrose Bierce
2,422 books1,296 followersdied perhaps 1914
Caustic wit and a strong sense of horror mark works, including In the Midst of Life (1891-1892) and The Devil's Dictionary (1906), of American writer Ambrose Gwinett Bierce.
People today best know this editorialist, journalist, and fabulist for his short story, An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge and his lexicon.
The informative sardonic view of human nature alongside his vehemence as a critic with his motto, "nothing matters," earned him the nickname "Bitter Bierce."
People knew Bierce despite his reputation as a searing critic, however, to encourage younger poet George Sterling and fiction author W.C. Morrow.
Bierce employed a distinctive style especially in his stories. This style often embraces an abrupt beginning, dark imagery, vague references to time, limited descriptions, the theme of war, and impossible events.
Bierce disappeared in December 1913 at the age of 71 years. People think that he traveled to Mexico to gain a firsthand perspective on ongoing revolution of that country.
Theories abound on a mystery, ultimate fate of Bierce. He in one of his final letters stated: "Good-bye. If you hear of my being stood up against a Mexican stone wall and shot to rags, please know that I think it is a pretty good way to depart this life. It beats old age, disease, or falling down the cellar stairs. To be a Gringo in Mexico--ah, that is euthanasia!"
Caustic wit and a strong sense of horror mark works, including In the Midst of Life (1891-1892) and The Devil's Dictionary (1906), of American writer Ambrose Gwinett Bierce.
People today best know this editorialist, journalist, and fabulist for his short story, An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge and his lexicon.
The informative sardonic view of human nature alongside his vehemence as a critic with his motto, "nothing matters," earned him the nickname "Bitter Bierce."
People knew Bierce despite his reputation as a searing critic, however, to encourage younger poet George Sterling and fiction author W.C. Morrow.
Bierce employed a distinctive style especially in his stories. This style often embraces an abrupt beginning, dark imagery, vague references to time, limited descriptions, the theme of war, and impossible events.
Bierce disappeared in December 1913 at the age of 71 years. People think that he traveled to Mexico to gain a firsthand perspective on ongoing revolution of that country.
Theories abound on a mystery, ultimate fate of Bierce. He in one of his final letters stated: "Good-bye. If you hear of my being stood up against a Mexican stone wall and shot to rags, please know that I think it is a pretty good way to depart this life. It beats old age, disease, or falling down the cellar stairs. To be a Gringo in Mexico--ah, that is euthanasia!"
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
January 12, 2025
'Moxon's Master' and 'The Death of Halpin Frayser' are very good, 'An Inhabitant of Carcosa', 'The Realm of the Unreal', and 'The Spook House' are good, I enjoyed scattered images from 'The Man and the Snake', 'The Damned Thing', 'A Vine on a House', and 'Beyond the Wall'. The stories weren't my thing otherwise.
October 30, 2020
Ambrose Gwinnett Bierce was an American short story writer, journalist, poet, and Civil War veteran whose book, The Devil's Dictionary, was named as one of "The 100 Greatest Masterpieces of American Literature" by the American Revolution Bicentennial Administration. While his name may not be very well known by many contemporary readers, his story "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" has been described as "one of the most famous and frequently anthologized stories in American literature" and has inspired one of the best, classic Twilight Zone episodes.
He is regarded as one of a pioneering writer of realist fiction and some rank his horror writing alongside Edgar Allan Poe and H. P. Lovecraft. He is one of America's greatest satirists and what one factor that sets his horror writing apart from others is that many are permeated with his satirical observations of American class (un)consciousness.
His life 'ended' in mysterious circumstances fitting of his fiction when, in December 1913, he traveled to Chihuahua, Mexico, to gain first-hand experience of the Mexican Revolution where he disappeared, and was rumored to be traveling with rebel troops. He was never seen again.
I bought this collection's first printing back in 1971 for all of .95 cents! I was in High School, devouring horror, fantasy and science fiction by folks like Poe, Lovecraft, Dunsany, Hodgson, LeGuinn, MacDonald, Silverberg and many more. I remember being very impressed and affected by these stories. Re-reading now, almost 50 years later, I have to admit that outside of one story, I didn't experience as much as a shudder. The writing seems at times turgid and dated, which I guess is to be expected, but I don't experience the same "datedness" in the writing of Poe.
I believe Bierce is an important figure in American letters, but I don't see many contemporary readers finding themselves spooked by mostly obvious and folk-tale-like ghost stories. But, maybe that's just me....
He is regarded as one of a pioneering writer of realist fiction and some rank his horror writing alongside Edgar Allan Poe and H. P. Lovecraft. He is one of America's greatest satirists and what one factor that sets his horror writing apart from others is that many are permeated with his satirical observations of American class (un)consciousness.
His life 'ended' in mysterious circumstances fitting of his fiction when, in December 1913, he traveled to Chihuahua, Mexico, to gain first-hand experience of the Mexican Revolution where he disappeared, and was rumored to be traveling with rebel troops. He was never seen again.
I bought this collection's first printing back in 1971 for all of .95 cents! I was in High School, devouring horror, fantasy and science fiction by folks like Poe, Lovecraft, Dunsany, Hodgson, LeGuinn, MacDonald, Silverberg and many more. I remember being very impressed and affected by these stories. Re-reading now, almost 50 years later, I have to admit that outside of one story, I didn't experience as much as a shudder. The writing seems at times turgid and dated, which I guess is to be expected, but I don't experience the same "datedness" in the writing of Poe.
I believe Bierce is an important figure in American letters, but I don't see many contemporary readers finding themselves spooked by mostly obvious and folk-tale-like ghost stories. But, maybe that's just me....
September 20, 2024
Superb American Classic Gothic Horror and Weirdness from America's Master Short Fiction Genius
I am reading the 1984 Omnibus Edition of the complete Works of Ambrose Bierce. I just completed Part 1, The World of Horror, which includes all of Bierce's "weird fiction." Most of it is horror of some sort but others are hard to pigeonhole, eerie, creepy, occultish, mysterious... "weird." Bierce was a journalist and Civil War Veteran. But he was also a bit of a "weird" character himself, writing stories of supreme irony in a realistic, journalistic style that makes even the weirdest tales seem like they are straight from the internet world of mystery podcasts and youtubers. At the end of his life, he would travel through Mexico to South America in search of one last great adventure and disappear for good. Bierce disliked novels which he considered short stories with padding. And most of his fiction is very short indeed--19th century flash fiction. Bierce was so thoroughly modern in his sensibilities that he has been called "ahead of his time" for over 100 years now. He virtually invented the weird fiction that characterized the pulps, the short fiction of flash fiction, the ironic tale, the mockumentary, yadda yadda. Enough to say he was a genius. Unfortunately, academics always favored his contemporary, Edgar Allen Poe, and to him was given the laurels for creating "mystery fiction" and "horror fiction." But Poe sounds verbose, dusty and... well... boring compared to Bierce. Bierce virtually created the journalistic style of fiction that simplified a story and brought it to the core of plot, simplicity of character development, and the tone of realism. Later novelists like Stephen Crane, Ernest Hemingway, and Stephen King (his short fiction) owe much to the style of Bierce. But he also managed to create the eeriness of an HP Lovecraft and an M.R. James without being anachronistically wordy. Bierce's fiction is also important because, more than any other writer, he captured the essence of life in post-Civil War California. Every American should be required to read Ambrose Bierce (as opposed to trashy "literary" garbage like "The Catcher in the Rye"). I am on to Part 2, The World of War, now. I'll let you know how it goes...
I can't wait.
I am reading the 1984 Omnibus Edition of the complete Works of Ambrose Bierce. I just completed Part 1, The World of Horror, which includes all of Bierce's "weird fiction." Most of it is horror of some sort but others are hard to pigeonhole, eerie, creepy, occultish, mysterious... "weird." Bierce was a journalist and Civil War Veteran. But he was also a bit of a "weird" character himself, writing stories of supreme irony in a realistic, journalistic style that makes even the weirdest tales seem like they are straight from the internet world of mystery podcasts and youtubers. At the end of his life, he would travel through Mexico to South America in search of one last great adventure and disappear for good. Bierce disliked novels which he considered short stories with padding. And most of his fiction is very short indeed--19th century flash fiction. Bierce was so thoroughly modern in his sensibilities that he has been called "ahead of his time" for over 100 years now. He virtually invented the weird fiction that characterized the pulps, the short fiction of flash fiction, the ironic tale, the mockumentary, yadda yadda. Enough to say he was a genius. Unfortunately, academics always favored his contemporary, Edgar Allen Poe, and to him was given the laurels for creating "mystery fiction" and "horror fiction." But Poe sounds verbose, dusty and... well... boring compared to Bierce. Bierce virtually created the journalistic style of fiction that simplified a story and brought it to the core of plot, simplicity of character development, and the tone of realism. Later novelists like Stephen Crane, Ernest Hemingway, and Stephen King (his short fiction) owe much to the style of Bierce. But he also managed to create the eeriness of an HP Lovecraft and an M.R. James without being anachronistically wordy. Bierce's fiction is also important because, more than any other writer, he captured the essence of life in post-Civil War California. Every American should be required to read Ambrose Bierce (as opposed to trashy "literary" garbage like "The Catcher in the Rye"). I am on to Part 2, The World of War, now. I'll let you know how it goes...
I can't wait.
February 4, 2021
Two hundred fifty pages of ghost stories, which I found predictable and un-interesting.
One hundred fifty pages of war stories, which I found predictable and un-interesting.
One hundred pages of tall tales, which I found predictable and mostly un-interesting.
I had heard of Ambrose Bierce and thought that perhaps he wrote pithy aphorism-filled stories, but I was mistaken.
OK, not completely. In "The Realm of the Unreal", the narrator had been felt to compel himself to introduce Dr. Dorrimore to the ladies:
"By them he was evidently held in favor. What could I say? I knew absolutely nothing to his discredit. His manners were those of a cultivated and considerate gentleman; and to women a man's manner is the man."
One hundred fifty pages of war stories, which I found predictable and un-interesting.
One hundred pages of tall tales, which I found predictable and mostly un-interesting.
I had heard of Ambrose Bierce and thought that perhaps he wrote pithy aphorism-filled stories, but I was mistaken.
OK, not completely. In "The Realm of the Unreal", the narrator had been felt to compel himself to introduce Dr. Dorrimore to the ladies:
"By them he was evidently held in favor. What could I say? I knew absolutely nothing to his discredit. His manners were those of a cultivated and considerate gentleman; and to women a man's manner is the man."
May 15, 2024
This collection of horror stories by Ambrose Bierce, written mostly in the 1880s are full of murderous ghosts, haunted houses, pirates, supernatural events, and terrifying mysteries.
I don't think I really enjoyed any of them. The style of writing is a little dated, so I'm hesitant to critique his style, but Poe was writing like 50 years before Bierce and I like Poe's stories much better.
And one thing I definitely noticed about Bierce's stories is that they're all told in an extremely objective point of view, as if we're counted by a reporter. This does distance the reader from the story a little bit.
I don't think I really enjoyed any of them. The style of writing is a little dated, so I'm hesitant to critique his style, but Poe was writing like 50 years before Bierce and I like Poe's stories much better.
And one thing I definitely noticed about Bierce's stories is that they're all told in an extremely objective point of view, as if we're counted by a reporter. This does distance the reader from the story a little bit.
November 27, 2024
A collection of forty-five of San Franciscan journalist and satirist Ambrose Bierce‘s best stories of the weird, the ghostly and the horrific. Famous for his wit as much as his misanthropy, Bierce‘s dark view of human nature informs most of his tales about vacant and eerie cabins, invisible monsters and dead men arisen.
July 21, 2020
Bierce is certainly an eloquent writer, but he's no storyteller. In terms of plot, his stories read like parodies of M. Night Shyamalan tales ("Lady in the Water" or "The Happening" Shyamalan, not "Sixth Sense" or "Signs" Shyamalan...).
November 16, 2022
Little to put a scare in you, but a delight to read. It will increase your vocabulary. Sadness, cynicism, and more for a rainy night or several dozen.
May 10, 2016
San Francisco uncanny
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews