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Rating: 
Summary: An American original...
Review: Ambrose Bierce is an American original. His tales of ghosts and horror are like no other, and one story in particular, "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge," is considered to be, in some circles, a classic.
Bierce's writings are also an acquired taste -- one gets the impression that he knew a bit about what he wrote: inner torment and a feeling of unsettlement. The preface to the book is very illuminating, giving us some insight into his personal life, which was then translated into these tales. Personally, I find them fascinating, but others may not. It's up to you to decide.
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Summary: Horror Stories by Ambrose Bierce (1842-1913)
Review: Anyone that enjoys a good ghost story will certainly like these tales. In contrast, the author himself, Ambrose Bierce, was apparently unlikable. He was described as vindictive, rancorous, and even malevolent. Nonetheless, his stories remain popular a century later, perhaps proving something profound. Bierce's literary style is occasionally too concise, too factual, possibly reflecting his long years as a journalist in San Francisco in the late 1800s. However, this factual approach sometimes works to Bierce's advantage by lending authenticity to his stories. These twenty-four tales, titled Ghost and Horror Stories of Ambrose Bierce, offer a wide range of supernatural topics. Bierce's prophetic theme in Moxon's Master, that of man versus machine, remains a staple of modern science fiction today. His handling of The Man and the Snake is surprisingly mature for an early psychological thriller. His classic, The Moonlit Road, tells a ghost story from three perspectives, including that of the dead victim. Unless my memory fails me, Bierce's startling story An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge was vividly portrayed years ago on the Twilight Zone. Other favorites include The Death of Halpin Frayser, The Eyes of the Panther, and The Middle Toe of the Right Foot. Three stories - The Ways of Ghosts, Some Haunted Houses, and Mysterious Disappearances - are in themselves collections of short tales, reported from a journalistic perspective. The cumulative effect of these short accounts adds credence to them. One's skepticism begins to fade. Despite Bierce's rather unpleasant disposition, a sense of humor surfaces in some stories. A Jug of Syrup, The Haunted Valley, A Watcher by the Dead, and the section titles in The Damned Thing are examples of Bierce's sometimes misplaced humor. Other accounts like The Secret of Macarger's Gulch, The Night Doing's at Deadman's, and Beyond the Wall are more conventional ghost stories, albeit with a little flavoring from Bierce. The final entry, Visions of the Night, recounts particularly vivid nightmares remembered by Ambrose Bierce himself. The solid introduction by E. F. Bleiler provides a fascinating biographical sketch of the irascible Ambrose Bierce and examines the characteristics of Bierce's unique style. This Dover collection was first published in 1964 and remains in print. Don't confuse this larger collection with a shorter Dover edition titled The Moonlit Road and Other Ghost and Horror Stories by Ambrose Bierce. The short Thrift Edition contains only twelve stories. All twelve are quite good; however, nine of the stories are found in the larger Dover edition reviewed above.
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Summary: Careful - it bites
Review: Bierce ranks with Poe and Lovecraft as one of the greatest American writers of horror stories. This collection presents a selection of his supernatural tales, leaving out the Civil War stories for which he is perhaps better known. The first story, "The Death of Halpin Frayser", is a genuine nightmare, and well worth the price of the volume on its own. But the book also includes Bierce's genre-bending experiments with science fiction, "Moxon's Master" and "The Damned Thing"; the cynical Rashomon precursor "The Moonlit Road"; the apocalyptic "An Inhabitant of Carcosa" and "The Eyes of the Panther", a lycanthrope story (maybe) which grows more unsettling the more you think about it, as well as a number of minor works which may be hard to find elsewhere. The only real flaw is E F Bleiler's sanctimonious introduction, which seems to attempt to escape the satiric snap of Bierce's work by repeating unpleasant (and largely unreliable) opinions of the writer. Watch out for this book - even the cover is scary.
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Summary: unfinished mastery
Review: let me first say: some of these stories are truly great. the collection clearly shows great imagination, great writing, and a vide variety of original stories. yet, there is something... I don't know. many of the stories seem so unfinished. too abrupt, too short, too lame descriptions. again and again stories seem to lack one quality, destroying it, or simply having just a little bit to little to recommend it. i don't know. just didn't quite get into it i guess. perhaps it's just me.
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Summary: Ambrose Bierce's Ghost and Horror Stories
Review: This book should be considered a classic for all that it offers (and for such an unbelievably low price!) Better than today's masters of macabre, Bierce goes deep into the mind of macabre. His stories make you contemplate the truth of the existence of what he writes about. If you want truly "deep" horror, I would highly suggest the works of Bierce and this book is a great place to start.
Rating:
Summary: Ambrose Bierce's Ghost and Horror Stories
Review: This book should be considered a classic for all that it offers (and for such an unbelievably low price!) Better than today's masters of macabre, Bierce goes deep into the mind of macabre. His stories make you contemplate the truth of the existence of what he writes about. If you want truly "deep" horror, I would highly suggest the works of Bierce and this book is a great place to start.
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Summary: Just not my type
Review: To be as fair as possible, my bias in ghost or horror stories runs toward New England and old England. I just don't find the West ... scary. In addition, Bierce's style is very no-nonsense, straight-forward, factual reporting (which he can hardly be faulted for, since that was his job). Finally, the foreword was surprisingly negative, both about the author and his work. It colored my reading of the rest of this book, and I am amazed that the editor chose to allow it. My recommendation is to read the book, and then the foreword last, so that it doesn't color your impression of the rest of the stories. "An Incident at Owl Creek Bridge" is the canard that almost everyone has read in school at some time or another.
"Beyond the Wall," about a man who breaks an unusual relationship for spite and is haunted by the outcome, is somewhat famous, as is "The Damned Thing," possibly for its ironic chapter titles.
"The Man and the Snake" also has appeared in anthologies before, being somewhat of a psychological study. My favorites were
"The Ways of Ghosts," "Mysterious Disappearances," and "Some Haunted Houses" are short, factual tellings of supernatural incidents, which showcase Bierce's writing style and produce an air of authenticity.
"The Suitable Surroundings" was another interesting tale dealing with newspapers, another area where I expected Bierce to shine. In short, Bierce has a particular style that seems to me to not carry over well to terror/horror writing. Sometimes a particular story will resonate with his abilities, and then you are glad to be reading the book.
Rating:
Summary: Just not my type
Review: To be as fair as possible, my bias in ghost or horror stories runs toward New England and old England. I just don't find the West ... scary. In addition, Bierce's style is very no-nonsense, straight-forward, factual reporting (which he can hardly be faulted for, since that was his job). Finally, the foreword was surprisingly negative, both about the author and his work. It colored my reading of the rest of this book, and I am amazed that the editor chose to allow it. My recommendation is to read the book, and then the foreword last, so that it doesn't color your impression of the rest of the stories. "An Incident at Owl Creek Bridge" is the canard that almost everyone has read in school at some time or another.
"Beyond the Wall," about a man who breaks an unusual relationship for spite and is haunted by the outcome, is somewhat famous, as is "The Damned Thing," possibly for its ironic chapter titles.
"The Man and the Snake" also has appeared in anthologies before, being somewhat of a psychological study. My favorites were
"The Ways of Ghosts," "Mysterious Disappearances," and "Some Haunted Houses" are short, factual tellings of supernatural incidents, which showcase Bierce's writing style and produce an air of authenticity.
"The Suitable Surroundings" was another interesting tale dealing with newspapers, another area where I expected Bierce to shine. In short, Bierce has a particular style that seems to me to not carry over well to terror/horror writing. Sometimes a particular story will resonate with his abilities, and then you are glad to be reading the book.
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