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A Psychological Shipwreck
Unknowingly, a man lives two separate lives simultaneously on two different ships parted by a vast ocean.
*** FREE Download link of Companion Audio to this e-book is at the very end of the e-book following Audiobooks for sale by K. Anderson Yancy. :-) ***
*** FREE Download link of Companion Audio to this e-book is at the very end of the e-book following Audiobooks for sale by K. Anderson Yancy. :-) ***
26 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 30, 2010
2 people are currently reading
34 people want to read
About the author
Ambrose Bierce
2,441 books1,302 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 - 18 of 18 reviews
January 19, 2016
While on board a ship, a man takes ill and has all manner of hallucinations - hallucinations which turn out to be eerily true - of another ship. Really well-crafted, and quite spooky.
November 22, 2024
Meh.
Not the easiest delivery I've read by Bierce, nor the clearest. Shame, it was a solid idea. Kind of Bierce's version of Poe's Descent into the Maelstrom.
RTC.
It’s public domain, but couldn't find it on Gutenberg. Weird.
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PERSONAL NOTE :
[1880] [10p] [Fiction] [1.5] [Not Recommendable]
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★★★★☆ The Damned Thing.
★★★★☆ An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge. [3.5]
★★★☆☆ Un Habitante de Carcosa y otros Relatos de Terror.
★★★☆☆ Civil War Stories. [2.5]
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Meh.
No es la entrega más fácil que he leído de Bierce, ni la más clara. Una pena, era una idea sólida. Algo así como la versión de Bierce de Un Descenso al Maelström de Poe.
RTC.
Es dominio público, pero no lo pude encontrar en Gutenberg. Raro.
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NOTA PERSONAL :
[1880] [10p] [Ficción] [1.5] [No Recomendable]
-----------------------------------------------
Not the easiest delivery I've read by Bierce, nor the clearest. Shame, it was a solid idea. Kind of Bierce's version of Poe's Descent into the Maelstrom.
RTC.
It’s public domain, but couldn't find it on Gutenberg. Weird.
-----------------------------------------------
PERSONAL NOTE :
[1880] [10p] [Fiction] [1.5] [Not Recommendable]
-----------------------------------------------
★★★★☆ The Damned Thing.
★★★★☆ An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge. [3.5]
★★★☆☆ Un Habitante de Carcosa y otros Relatos de Terror.
★★★☆☆ Civil War Stories. [2.5]
-----------------------------------------------
Meh.
No es la entrega más fácil que he leído de Bierce, ni la más clara. Una pena, era una idea sólida. Algo así como la versión de Bierce de Un Descenso al Maelström de Poe.
RTC.
Es dominio público, pero no lo pude encontrar en Gutenberg. Raro.
-----------------------------------------------
NOTA PERSONAL :
[1880] [10p] [Ficción] [1.5] [No Recomendable]
-----------------------------------------------
February 10, 2017
This sailing story gave me the shivers. It would make a great Twilight Zone episode.
January 6, 2026
I didn't fully get this story. William Jarrett was with Janette Harford and then he got sick and then woke up with his friend, Gordon Doyle on another ship. I know there is something supernatural involved but I didn't like it and didn't really understand how it worked. Was it like a dream, a hallucination that turned out to be real? Was he really with Janette? Was he really with Doyle?
He has the book to prove he was with her and I thought that maybe he was rescued from that ship and she wasn't but that isn't the case. Somehow he had a fever dream of himself there with her and was there and then came back onto the ship. I felt confused after reading it.
He has the book to prove he was with her and I thought that maybe he was rescued from that ship and she wasn't but that isn't the case. Somehow he had a fever dream of himself there with her and was there and then came back onto the ship. I felt confused after reading it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 22, 2016
I have arranged my thoughts into a haiku:
"Subconsciously tied,
Asunder in fair weather,
Moored in lukewarm thoughts."
"Subconsciously tied,
Asunder in fair weather,
Moored in lukewarm thoughts."
January 10, 2026
This story feels like Bierce pushing scepticism to its logical extreme. The story dismantles not only trust, but the very idea that inner certainty is reliable.
Reading it, I felt the ground shift beneath what I thought was stable perception.
Bierce structures the story like an investigation into sanity, but refuses to provide a verdict. The narrator’s experience is presented with clarity, yet that clarity becomes suspect. What unsettled me was how methodical the descent feels. Nothing dramatic happens; doubt simply accumulates.
Bierce’s cruelty lies in implication. He doesn’t accuse the narrator of madness; he lets the possibility hover. That ambiguity forces the reader into complicity. We judge, then question our judgment.
What struck me most was Bierce’s hostility toward comfort. The story offers no stable authority—no doctor, no moral framework, no external validation. The mind becomes both witness and saboteur.
I found myself thinking about how fragile psychological coherence really is. Bierce seems to argue that sanity depends less on truth than on agreement. When that agreement dissolves, certainty becomes unbearable.
“A Psychological Shipwreck” stayed with me because it refuses to reassure. It exposes how easily the mind can turn against itself, and how little protection reason provides.
It’s not frightening in a conventional sense—but it is deeply corrosive.
Most recommended.
Reading it, I felt the ground shift beneath what I thought was stable perception.
Bierce structures the story like an investigation into sanity, but refuses to provide a verdict. The narrator’s experience is presented with clarity, yet that clarity becomes suspect. What unsettled me was how methodical the descent feels. Nothing dramatic happens; doubt simply accumulates.
Bierce’s cruelty lies in implication. He doesn’t accuse the narrator of madness; he lets the possibility hover. That ambiguity forces the reader into complicity. We judge, then question our judgment.
What struck me most was Bierce’s hostility toward comfort. The story offers no stable authority—no doctor, no moral framework, no external validation. The mind becomes both witness and saboteur.
I found myself thinking about how fragile psychological coherence really is. Bierce seems to argue that sanity depends less on truth than on agreement. When that agreement dissolves, certainty becomes unbearable.
“A Psychological Shipwreck” stayed with me because it refuses to reassure. It exposes how easily the mind can turn against itself, and how little protection reason provides.
It’s not frightening in a conventional sense—but it is deeply corrosive.
Most recommended.
May 22, 2018
Dream or premonition? Only the future, however uncertain it may seem, can prove the reality of fantasy, the hallucination or a daydream where time is overcome by a consciousness that challenges our understanding of space and linearity.
"It is given to all to be swallowed away and remain out of the body for a time, for, as with the rivers whose waters meet, so that the weakest is swallowed by the strongest, there is also a kind of relationship in the which paths intersect and souls keep company, while bodies go in opposite directions without knowing anything. "
"It is given to all to be swallowed away and remain out of the body for a time, for, as with the rivers whose waters meet, so that the weakest is swallowed by the strongest, there is also a kind of relationship in the which paths intersect and souls keep company, while bodies go in opposite directions without knowing anything. "
August 17, 2020
William Jarrett, travelling on a ship named Morrow meets a young lady . While on their journey they get very much acquainted with each other. But, suddenly the ship goes into shipwreck and William awakes on a steamer after few days.
William's friend informed him that William has been on a steamer for three weeks with him and never on a ship.
The mystery of the story is very good and the climax is riveting. I really liked the story.
William's friend informed him that William has been on a steamer for three weeks with him and never on a ship.
The mystery of the story is very good and the climax is riveting. I really liked the story.
June 27, 2017
I had to read a summary as this story makes no sense. Read the summary, it still made no sense.
July 7, 2025
5/10
July 20, 2025
Was he actually in a shipwreck or did he only see it in an illusion?
August 6, 2025
Original and entertaining - loved it!
May 10, 2021
Denneker's Meditations? Was Bierce referring to himself?
June 24, 2013
This was a decent short story. But, the premise is not unique. It is definitely worth checking out.
3 STARS
3 STARS
December 5, 2015
This is an entertaining short story. The reader must pay close attention to the details to understand what has happened and the secret meaning of the events in the tale.
September 30, 2021
1879. Two ships one man. 3 stars because I did not see this one coming. Audible edition narrated by Anthony Heald. This can be found in Can Such Things Be?
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews