Showing results by author "Ambrose Bierce" in All Categories

Short stories have always been a sort of instant access into an author’s brain, their soul and heart. They can lift our lives into locations, people and experiences with a sweep of landscape, narration, feelings and emotions that is difficult to achieve elsewhere. The plains of the American Mid-West are home to some very fine exponents of the literary craft. Throughout this vast landscape stories seem to be everywhere offering their experiences as works just awaiting the final touches and flourishes of these famed authors. They deliver in very talented ways.

Short stories have always been a sort of instant access into an author’s brain, their soul and heart. They can lift our lives into locations, people and experiences with a sweep of landscape, narration, feelings and emotions that is difficult to achieve elsewhere. For America, as the century closes, she is becoming less isolated. Her industrial might, her rising military power are pulling her ever closer into the entangled globe of nations. Her authors flex ideas and lexicons with riveting tales of this astonishing society.

This collection comprises another 40 stories by and inspired by the originators of weird fiction. From White's seminal body-shocker, Lukundoo, through to Howard's dastardly Pigeons from Hell, and Benson's nightmarish The Room in The Tower. Time immemorial; worlds unimaginable.

In the depths of human imagination lies a realm where ancient gods stir in their slumbers, where forbidden knowledge teeters on the edge of consciousness, and where cosmic horror casts its suffocating veil over reality. This is the world of the Cthulhu Mythos, a tapestry woven from the mind of one of the most enigmatic and influential writers of the 20th century, H. P. Lovecraft.

Fasten your seat belts for an anthology of turbulent tales curated by Stephen King and Bev Vincent. This exciting new collection includes an original introduction and story notes for each story by Stephen King, and brand-new stories from Stephen King and Joe Hill.

Life has the capacity of great moments and attainment, of lives well lived, fulfilling for ourselves and for those we touch. But for others life is arduous. There is no spark to ignite the curiosity, to explore and achieve a stability and a growth to their lives. Indeed their lives, in their own eyes, become almost meaningless, their sense of themselves subsumed under a myriad of problems, whether real or imagined. Seismic events in a life might crush them; the loss of a loved one for instance. Coping is difficult, support hard to find and isolation abounds.

Prepare yourself for the shocking, the strange, and the terrifying in Ambrose Bierce’s 1893 story collection Can Such Things Be? One of the greatest masters of horror brings you 25 tales of the supernatural and the unexplained. Whether in stories of ghosts sending desperate warnings to their human counterparts, psychics attempting to bridge unknown dimensions, howling werewolves, or a robot who takes on a life of his own, Bierce plumbs the depths of fear and fascination.

A masterful collection of horror fiction by widely acclaimed authors whose contributions to the genre have been lost in the shadow of Poe. Edgar Allan Poe did not invent the tale of terror. There were American, English, and continental writers who preceded Poe and influenced his work. Similarly, there were many who were in turn influenced by Poe's genius and produced their own popular tales of supernatural literature.

CONTENTS: 1. The Imp of the Perverse [Poe], 2. The Devil in the Belfry [Poe], 3. The Crawling Chaos [Lovecraft], 4. Aunt Joanna [Sabine Baring-Gould], 5. The Outsider [Lovecraft], 6. The Hound [Lovecraft], 7. The Disinterment [Lovecraft], 8. The Horror At Martin's Beach [Lovecraft], 9. The Tree On The Hill [Lovecraft], 10. The Outgoing of The Tide [John Buchan], 11. The Curse of Yig [Lovecraft], 12. The Haunter Of The Dark [Lovecraft], 13. Berenice [Poe], 14. The Angel Of The Odd [Poe], 15. Black Ram [Baring-Gould], 16. The Cask Of Amontillado [Poe], 17. Dracula's Guest [Bram Stoker].

Not merely stories of suspense and horror, these are stories of honor and the struggle for justice. Howard Levy's original music complements these horror stories.

This choice collection of spine tingling tales runs the gamut from slightly spooky to "I'm sleeping with all the lights on tonight!" A splendid grouping of tales from the pens of some of the great writers of the past. Enjoy these classic stories alone or with a friend, whenever your ears are free.

Sixteen thrilling and chilling stories by some of the greatest writers of horror and the supernatural.

The American literary tradition has, in a far shorter span of time than others throughout history, achieved a glowing and glittering reputation. From its transatlantic roots it has absorbed the sons and daughters of other cultures, other lands and made them part of her own. Within this melting pot of styles, genres and wordplay one fact stands out: In the American short story, Literary tradition has a strong, vibrant and almost inclusive history, if you know where to look.

Critically acclaimed audiobook reader Barnaby Edwards (Doctor Who, The Voyage of the Beagle, Space Danger) performs 11 tales of ghostly gothic spookiness. From tales of vampyres and spirits to devil’s deals and ethereal coachmen. Short but oh so sweet, these 11 stories from some of the most lauded authors of the Gothic period prove that you need only a few pages to tell a truly terrifying tale.

Welcome to Doug Bradley's Spinechillers, Volume Six, part of the world's largest collection of high-quality, classic horror audiobooks. Are you ready for our latest installment of enthralling horror masterpieces? Good, then we'll begin with Doug's well researched and passionate introduction to the authors and stories in this volume. This is closely followed by his literary majesty, Edgar Allen Poe, with the well known classic tale "The Pit and the Pendulum".

Sixteen classic stories from masters of the genre: "The Judge's House", by Bram Stoker; "A Jug of Sirup", by Ambrose Bierce; "The Reconciliation", by Lafcadio Hearn; "The Woman With a Candle" by W. Bourne Cooke; "The Ebony Frame", by E. Nesbit; "On the Northern Ice", by Elia W. Peattie; "The Haunted Doll's House", by M. R. James; "The Old House in Vauxhall Walk", by Charlotte Riddell; "The Underground Ghost", by John Berwick Harwood; "Haunted", by Anon (from Tinsley's Annual); plus five more....

A chilling tale of terror.

Carcosa is a fictional land that first appeared in Bierce’s 1886 story “An Inhabitant of Carcosa” (included in this collection), and later is appeared Robert W. Chambers’s The King in Yellow. It has since been used by many other fantasy and horror writers and poets. This collection explores Carcosa and other fictional cities found in nineteenth-century poetry and short stories. The works of these classic and innovative writers are given new life, and a new generation of listeners will have the chance to voyage to Carcosa … and beyond.

Volume 7 starts off with Edgar Allan Poe's story of a gifted boy hounded by his shadow, "William Wilson". We take to the sky's with a pilots investigation into unexplainable events thousands of feet above ground in Arthur Conan Doyle's "A Horror of the Heights". Next up, Ambrose Bierce plays with time in "The Suitable Surroundings".

Tales of the Unexpected is a collection of timeless short stories, which surprise and engage with a twist. This audiobook features the classic tales "The Story of an Hour", by Kate Chopin; "The Gift of the Magi", by O. Henry; "Miss Bril", by Katherine Mansfield; "A Horseman in the Sky" and "An Occurence at Owl Creek Bridge", by Ambrose Bierce; and "The Necklace", by Guy de Maupassant.