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The Spook House: Terrifying Tales of the Macabre
A little boy is lost in the wilderness with nothing but his wooden toy knife to protect him, when he comes across a ghastly spectacle of unspeakable terror. Two travellers caught in a storm one night take shelter in a deserted plantation house and discover a room filled with the dead. An old man suspected of murder gets a grisly comeuppance...
These are just some of the countless victims for whom all hope is lost in Ambrose Bierce's chilling stories of death, delusion and the supernatural.
"A combination of careful detail with grotesque and extraordinary incidents" Independent
These are just some of the countless victims for whom all hope is lost in Ambrose Bierce's chilling stories of death, delusion and the supernatural.
"A combination of careful detail with grotesque and extraordinary incidents" Independent
234 pages, Paperback
First published July 7, 1889
12 people are currently reading
319 people want to read
About the author
Ambrose Bierce
2,428 books1,300 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 - 30 of 31 reviews
October 20, 2019
An old planters' house has the reputation of being haunted. When two travellers pass it by one of them thinks he's seen several dead persons in the room. Who are they and what about his friend? A typical Bierce story. I would liked to have more details on the spook house and a more eerier episode with the ghosts. Otherwise as nearly every Bierce story, recommended!
October 6, 2020
AHH!! SPOOKTOBER!!
fulfilling my shortie Spooktober challenge to read one spooky short story a day.
Day one: The Magic Shop by H.G. Wells
Day two: Everything's Fine by Matthew Pridham
Day three: It Came From Hell and Smashed the Angels by Gregor Xane
Day four: Sometimes They Come Back by Stephen King
Day five: The Curse of Yig by H.P. Lovecraft
This is a very short, spooky, gothic tale from Ambrose Bierce, who was, at one time, one of my favorite classic short story authors. It tells the tale of a lawyer and a judge in the American militia finding sanctuary an old abandoned Plantation House known as the Spook House to escape a coming storm. Unbeknownst to our two heroes, whisperings of Spook House permeate the area, as the entire family who lived there vanished without a trace one evening, leaving all their possessions behind. Our two heroes will be forever changed by what they find there.
I appreciate the straightforward tone of the story and the almost journalistic approach to writing it. However, I feel as if the story is just too short to truly be effective. There are fantastic hints of a story that I really want more of, but this really was just slightly more than flash fiction. There was not a lot of shock value here, rather subtle hints of something more macabre, and something which makes the reader think long after the story has concluded.
3.5. stars.
Booksource: Free online here: http://www.online-literature.com/bier...
fulfilling my shortie Spooktober challenge to read one spooky short story a day.
Day one: The Magic Shop by H.G. Wells
Day two: Everything's Fine by Matthew Pridham
Day three: It Came From Hell and Smashed the Angels by Gregor Xane
Day four: Sometimes They Come Back by Stephen King
Day five: The Curse of Yig by H.P. Lovecraft
This is a very short, spooky, gothic tale from Ambrose Bierce, who was, at one time, one of my favorite classic short story authors. It tells the tale of a lawyer and a judge in the American militia finding sanctuary an old abandoned Plantation House known as the Spook House to escape a coming storm. Unbeknownst to our two heroes, whisperings of Spook House permeate the area, as the entire family who lived there vanished without a trace one evening, leaving all their possessions behind. Our two heroes will be forever changed by what they find there.
I appreciate the straightforward tone of the story and the almost journalistic approach to writing it. However, I feel as if the story is just too short to truly be effective. There are fantastic hints of a story that I really want more of, but this really was just slightly more than flash fiction. There was not a lot of shock value here, rather subtle hints of something more macabre, and something which makes the reader think long after the story has concluded.
3.5. stars.
Booksource: Free online here: http://www.online-literature.com/bier...
December 5, 2015
I just wrote a slightly longer review, but accidentally clicked on the wrong link and lost it. Damn it.
Anyway, I would say this is one of Bierce's creepiest stories.
Anyway, I would say this is one of Bierce's creepiest stories.
January 15, 2012
This book was not too bad, but a bit monotonous, I'm afraid.
Short and sometimes very short Gothic-like stories about haunted houses, people appearing and disappearing out of the blue mostly in the US but also in the UK.
Just like Edgar Allan Poe, Ambrose Bierce was a very interesting fellow, but he somehow fails to impress me here with just a few remarkable exceptions.
All in all, these miniatures of horror short stories are what I consider a decent reading before going to bed. A few possible nightmares could be included in the following sleeping hours but never that spooky.
Think about Henry David Thoreau camping with Edgar Allan Poe in some desolate spot of the American Bible Belt in the 19th century roasting sausages at the bonfire and telling each other boy scout thrilling tales and there you are: Ambrose Bierce "The Spook House".
Short and sometimes very short Gothic-like stories about haunted houses, people appearing and disappearing out of the blue mostly in the US but also in the UK.
Just like Edgar Allan Poe, Ambrose Bierce was a very interesting fellow, but he somehow fails to impress me here with just a few remarkable exceptions.
All in all, these miniatures of horror short stories are what I consider a decent reading before going to bed. A few possible nightmares could be included in the following sleeping hours but never that spooky.
Think about Henry David Thoreau camping with Edgar Allan Poe in some desolate spot of the American Bible Belt in the 19th century roasting sausages at the bonfire and telling each other boy scout thrilling tales and there you are: Ambrose Bierce "The Spook House".
October 24, 2022
Was nogal droge kost...
May 26, 2018
Haunting or apparition; obsession or reality? After death, what would happen in the world of terror: a tormented body would wander without a soul, charging only hate? Or would a cursed soul exist without the body?
And the people who had contact with these supernatural beings, could they be touched by them, or would they die because their hysteria or hallucinations?
These somber themes are present in these stories of Bierce, in atmospheres of haunted houses, lost in wild forests and ancestral cemeteries, where an owl's peep or a rustling of a tree means more than we might suspect.
And the people who had contact with these supernatural beings, could they be touched by them, or would they die because their hysteria or hallucinations?
These somber themes are present in these stories of Bierce, in atmospheres of haunted houses, lost in wild forests and ancestral cemeteries, where an owl's peep or a rustling of a tree means more than we might suspect.
July 31, 2011
Seems this Gothic horror collection by Penguin is mostly collections of short stories. This one though, barely has stories, one's a page long. They're the typical Victorian mix of ghosts and what not. What sets this one apart though is Bierce skips the annoying patter that marred the previous collections I reviewed, and is more content to wallow in the gore and grotesque. Makes it much more interesting except...
The stories are just too damned short! Many of them are incredibly confusing to read since they blaze by so fast. And because they have 200 pages to fill, there's just too damned many stories that they get quite repetitive. So despite a strong start, this one too ended up being a real plod to get through when read cover to cover. Not too mention there were a couple that had little horror in them.
So not a terrible read, but not one I'll revisit again. I'll stick to Lovecraft for these types of stories. He was clearly influenced by this guy, but he did the genre better.
The stories are just too damned short! Many of them are incredibly confusing to read since they blaze by so fast. And because they have 200 pages to fill, there's just too damned many stories that they get quite repetitive. So despite a strong start, this one too ended up being a real plod to get through when read cover to cover. Not too mention there were a couple that had little horror in them.
So not a terrible read, but not one I'll revisit again. I'll stick to Lovecraft for these types of stories. He was clearly influenced by this guy, but he did the genre better.
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August 2, 2019What a disappointment this was!
The first half of the book up to "An Unfinished Race" were indeed tales of the macabre, but due to marketing reasons the cover wasn't honest. Those were not terrifying stories, those were terrifyingly boring stories. Especially the law court story, "The Famous Gilson Bequest", worst story of this collection. I bought this book in order to scare myself, with the macabre, with terror, with bewilderment, but instead many stories were annoyingly vague with abrupt endings that left me wondering, what the hell was going on. So besides a few exceptions this collection of stories was boring, repetitive, vague and honestly I wanted to finish this book, not because I wanted to read the ending of each story but because I wanted simply to finish it! And as the subtitle at the back of the book (almost) says "Boredom awaits them all ..."
The first half of the book up to "An Unfinished Race" were indeed tales of the macabre, but due to marketing reasons the cover wasn't honest. Those were not terrifying stories, those were terrifyingly boring stories. Especially the law court story, "The Famous Gilson Bequest", worst story of this collection. I bought this book in order to scare myself, with the macabre, with terror, with bewilderment, but instead many stories were annoyingly vague with abrupt endings that left me wondering, what the hell was going on. So besides a few exceptions this collection of stories was boring, repetitive, vague and honestly I wanted to finish this book, not because I wanted to read the ending of each story but because I wanted simply to finish it! And as the subtitle at the back of the book (almost) says "Boredom awaits them all ..."
October 10, 2014
A collection of 37 very short stories by Ambrose Bierce, mostly first published around the 1890s and 1900s, but published for the first time in this collection in 2008. The cover describes the stories as ‘terrifying tales of the macabre’ which is a bit of an exaggeration, because whilst they are certainly macabre, they are not terrifying. There are some recurring themes, such as haunted houses and the American Civil War, the latter not surprising as he took part in that conflict. Bierce’s sardonic style shows itself here quite a lot, in what are otherwise fairly typical of their time. I had only ever come across four of the stories in other anthologies over the years, so it was mostly quite new to me. An enjoyable collection, as you do not often see any of Bierce’s work in print.
December 13, 2013
An enjoyable set of supernatural stories from Ambrose Bierce circling round the sense of the other in nineteenth century America. The ghosts of the frontier terrorise the present. For the vapid, reading Bierce reminds us that Americans had a definite sense of their own history, as newcomers and as migrants with homes abandoned, towns desolate and cemeteries untended by the living....
The stories of this slim tome do tend to merge together in style and substance. One or two alone give the flavour of the author.
The stories of this slim tome do tend to merge together in style and substance. One or two alone give the flavour of the author.
May 23, 2018
Often in fantastic reality tales, doors or portals appear that take the characters to other realities or dimensions. There are dozens of examples from the old tales to the most modern ones: from Alice's rabbit hole , to the Narnian closet, or Potter's train station.
Of these, what may be more likely to this tale is the house of Gaiman's Coraline. Although in the story of Bierce, the portal is frighteningly ghostly and full of corpses that not only surprise but have a supernatural power over living souls.
Of these, what may be more likely to this tale is the house of Gaiman's Coraline. Although in the story of Bierce, the portal is frighteningly ghostly and full of corpses that not only surprise but have a supernatural power over living souls.
April 3, 2010
Judging by the tendency of people in Bierce's stories to die or go mad at the sudden reappearance of a former lover, its perhaps fortunate that this tendency of older ghost stories hasn't continued, or there might be a lot of corpses about the place. The other theme is of disappearances, usually unexplained. Not particularly scary, but there are some moments of powerful writing.
December 6, 2013
Short, sweet and spine-tingling.
March 20, 2015
A phantasmagorical festival of freak outs.
November 14, 2015
Nothing wrong with some 19th century classical ghost stories :)
December 3, 2017
An entertaining compendium of spooky stories.
November 27, 2021
Subtle and more plausible than one would like to think. H.P. Lovecraft appreciated its importance.
February 14, 2023
Die Kurzgeschichten sind vom Ablauf und den Handlungswendungen her alle recht ähnlich und in keinem Fall so raffiniert wie die von Edgar Allan Poe, mit denen sie im Vorwort verglichen werden. Des Weiteren sind sie weder besonders fesselnd noch vielschichtig oder tiefgründig, waren anscheinend jedoch gut genug, um Leser des 19. Jahrhunderts zu gruseln, die sich wohl bereits durch die bloße Erwähnung von Untoten und Ereignisverläufen, die darin resultieren, dass der Hauptcharakter schon seit Anbeginn der Geschichte tot ist, unsaglich erschreckten. Anders lässt es sich jedenfalls nicht erklären, dass Ambrose Bierce nicht in Vergessenheit geriet und seine Kurzgeschichten in der Welt der Horrorliteratur noch bedeutend genug sind, um mehr als ein Jahrhundert später neu aufgelegt zu werden.
September 24, 2019
Some of the tales seem a little tame by today's standards, or occasionally to retread similar themes to others in the book, but the writing is sumptuous and most all of the stories at least manage to conjure up a powerful atmosphere.
I don't want to play favourites or spoil anything, but at least one of 'em managed to shock even one so desensitised as I - not bad for a bunch of stories that are at least a century old!
I don't want to play favourites or spoil anything, but at least one of 'em managed to shock even one so desensitised as I - not bad for a bunch of stories that are at least a century old!
March 25, 2022
Collection of short horror stories, some very short (like 2 pages) and almost all dealing with (spoiler alert!) people who are alive who you thought were dead, people dead who you thought were alive, ghosts and mistaken identities. Stories mostly involve older, white, confused men or some white, young apprentice/clerk/acquaintance. Almost all relied on a last paragraph twist or revelation, but after the tenth story saying "be he was already dead" it grows tiresome.
October 22, 2022
3.5⭐
This is a Gothic style short story of a haunted house. According to H. P. Lovecraft, the story is "told with a severely homely air of journalistic verisimilitude" yet, "conveys terrible hints of shocking mystery." from H. P. Lovecraft's essay Supernatural Horror in Literature (1927).
This is a Gothic style short story of a haunted house. According to H. P. Lovecraft, the story is "told with a severely homely air of journalistic verisimilitude" yet, "conveys terrible hints of shocking mystery." from H. P. Lovecraft's essay Supernatural Horror in Literature (1927).
December 8, 2020
I liked the length, the setting and the idea of it. Made me want to know more. The ghostly parts were very unsettling and appropriate for the era.
October 23, 2022
4.25⭐
The Isle of Pines 5⭐
A Fruitless Assignment 4⭐
A Vine on a House 4.25⭐
At Old Man Eckert’s 4⭐
The Spook House 3.5⭐
The Other Lodgers 4⭐
The Thing at Nolan 4.5⭐
The Isle of Pines 5⭐
A Fruitless Assignment 4⭐
A Vine on a House 4.25⭐
At Old Man Eckert’s 4⭐
The Spook House 3.5⭐
The Other Lodgers 4⭐
The Thing at Nolan 4.5⭐
November 1, 2019
31 Classic Horror Stories Every Fan Should Read in October: A Literary Advent Calender for Halloween: Day 31
https://www.oldstyletales.com/single-...
https://www.oldstyletales.com/single-...
November 1, 2019
Not my favorite outing on this list, but a well told way to close out October.
May 25, 2018
A selection of tales about haunted houses, one of Bierce's favorite themes. Often in his stories these places appear in dark forests. Sometimes they are abandoned, without doors and windows or blocked by wooden paving, the roofs are covered by mosses. Other houses in the city have a strange architecture.
All of them have terrifying stories inside and mysterious characters who suffered the pain and cruelty of their lives and already died, but can still "live" in these places .
Unexpected visitors come to these dwellings, humans, ghosts or creepy animals. But even if one does not notice their presence, a simple strange tree or the sound of the worn wood of some wall can symbolize that it is time to flee from there.
The tale that I like most is the Boarder Window.
All of them have terrifying stories inside and mysterious characters who suffered the pain and cruelty of their lives and already died, but can still "live" in these places .
Unexpected visitors come to these dwellings, humans, ghosts or creepy animals. But even if one does not notice their presence, a simple strange tree or the sound of the worn wood of some wall can symbolize that it is time to flee from there.
The tale that I like most is the Boarder Window.
July 6, 2012
Like a lot of short story collections, didn't really do it for me - I gave up about five stories
September 25, 2020
Meh, this story was alright.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews