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1Present at a Hanging and Other Ghost Stories

By Ambrose Bierce

Ambrose Bierce (1842 - 1914?), satirist, critic, poet, short story writer and journalist. His fiction showed a clean economical style often sprinkled with subtle cynical comments on human behaviour. Nothing is known of his death, as he went missing while an observer with Pancho Villa’s army in 1913/14. <br /> (Summaries by Peter Yearsley)<br /> <br /> <em><b>The Ways of Ghosts</b></em>: Stories of encounters with the ghosts of the dead and dying. The spirits of the dead reach out to the living, to pass on a message or to pursue a killer.<br /> Contents (with beginning time): <ul> <li>Present at a Hanging (02:06) </li> <li>A Cold Greeting (07:07) </li> <li>A Wireless Message (11:15) </li> <li>An Arrest (17:04)</li> </ul> <br /><em><b>Soldier Folk</b></em>: Oddities of death and life; from a man who finds that his death is uncertain, through the effects of war on the family, duty that survives death, to the memory of revenge.<br /> Contents (with beginning time): <ul> <li>A Man with Two Lives (00:31) </li> <li>Three and One are One (06:23) </li> <li>A Baffled Ambuscade (14:18) </li> <li>Two Military Executions (19:45)</li> </ul> <br /><em><b>Some Haunted Houses - Part One</b></em>: Encounters of the living with the spirits of the dead who have been bound into buildings. An old man revenges himself; a journalist investigates a haunted house; and the quivering vine that tangles the face of a deserted home.<br /> <br />Contents (with beginning time): <ul> <li>The Isle of Pines (00:31) </li> <li>A Fruitless Assignment (10:39) </li> <li>A Vine on a House (17:54)</li> </ul> <br /><em><b>Some Haunted Houses - Part Two</b></em>: Houses where the living are never seen again, memories of the mortuary live on, and a murdered man wanders through. <br /> Contents (with beginning time): <ul> <li>At Old Man Eckert’s (00:30) </li> <li>The Spook House (06:36) </li> <li>The Other Lodgers (16:04) </li> <li>The Thing at Nolan (21:50)</li> </ul> <br /><em><b>Mysterious Disappearances</b></em>: Three short tales of men who have vanished living their ordinary lives, sometimes in full view of witnesses; plus a short, probably fictional, description of a theory to partly explain these events.<br />Contents (with beginning time): <ul> <li>The Difficulty of Crossing a Field (00:32) </li> <li>An Unfinished Race (05:18) </li> <li>Charles Ashmore’s Trail (07:50) </li> <li>Science to the Front (12:23)</li> </ul>

2Parenticide Club

By Ambrose Bierce

Ambrose Bierce (1842 - 1914?), best known as journalist, satirist and short story writer. Cynical in outlook, economical in style; Bierce vanished while an observer with Pancho Villa's army.<br /><br />Four grotesque short stories about murder within the family, seen through the gently innocent eyes of family members ... usually the murderer himself.<br /> (Summary written by Peter Yearsley)

3Devil's Dictionary

By Ambrose Bierce

Ambrose Bierce (1842 - 1914?), satirist, critic, poet, short story writer and journalist. His fiction showed a clean economical style often sprinkled with subtle cynical comments on human behaviour. In the Devil's Dictionary, he let his sense of humour and his cynical outlook on life colour a collection of dictionary-like definitions. (Summary by Peter)

4Write it Right

By Ambrose Bierce

Witty, opinionated alphabetical examples of what Bierce considered poor (American) English and advice on alternatives - entertaining, thought-provoking, occasionally outdated but so interesting to see how style and taste have changed. Summary by Philippa.

LibriVox volunteers bring you 17 recordings of <em>Business</em> by Ambrose Bierce. This was the weekly poetry project for August 2nd, 2009.

6Monk and the Hangman's Daughter

By Ambrose Bierce and Adolphe Danziger de Castro

A tragic but very captivating tale of a monk in the 17th century.

At the outset of the American Civil War, [the writer Ambrose] Bierce enlisted in the Union Army's 9th Indiana Infantry Regiment....In February 1862 he was commissioned First Lieutenant, and served on the staff of General William Babcock Hazen as a topographical engineer, making maps of likely battlefields. Bierce fought at the Battle of Shiloh (April 1862), a terrifying experience that became a source for several later short stories and the memoir, "What I Saw of Shiloh". In June 1864, he sustained a serious head wound at the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain, and spent the rest of the summer on furlough, returning to active duty in September. He was discharged from the army in January 1865. (Summary by Wikipedia)

8In the Midst of Life; Tales of Soldiers and Civilians

By Ambrose Bierce

These stories detail the lives of soldiers and civilians during the American Civil War. This is the 1909 edition. The 1909 edition omits six stories from the original 1891 edition; these six stories are added to this LibriVox recording (from an undated English edition). The 1891 edition is entitled <i>In The Midst Of Life; Tales Of Soldiers And Civilians</i>. The Wikipedia entry for the book uses the title <i>Tales of Soldiers and Civilians</i>. <br><br> Ambrose Gwinnett Bierce (June 24, 1842 – after December 26, 1913) was an American editorialist, journalist, short story writer, fabulist and satirist. Today, he is best known for his short story, "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" and his satirical lexicon, <i>The Devil's Dictionary</i>. The sardonic view of human nature that informed his work – along with his vehemence as a critic, with his motto "nothing matters" – earned him the nickname "Bitter Bierce." Despite his reputation as a searing critic, however, Bierce was known to encourage younger writers, including poet George Sterling and fiction writer W. C. Morrow. Bierce employed a distinctive style of writing, 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. In 1913, Bierce traveled to Mexico to gain a first-hand perspective on that country's ongoing revolution. While traveling with rebel troops, the elderly writer disappeared without a trace. Since the book is a compilation of short stories, there is not an overarching plot. However, there are literary elements, or plot devices, that are shared throughout. Bierce's stories often begin mid-plot, with relevant details withheld until the end, where the dramatic resolution unfolds differently than expected, to a degree where most are considered twist endings. His characters were described by George Sterling as: "His heroes, or rather victims, are lonely men, passing to unpredictable dooms, and hearing, from inaccessible crypts of space, the voices of unseen malevolencies."... Bierce served as a union soldier during the Civil War and his experiences as a soldier served as an inspiration for his writing, particularly for the Soldiers section. In this way, Bierce's war treatments anticipate and parallel Ernest Hemingway's later arrival, whereas the civilian tales later influence horror writers. (Summary by Wikipedia and David Wales)

9Can Such Things Be?

By Ambrose Bierce

24 short stories in fairly typical Bierce fashion - ghostly, spooky, to be read (or listened to) in the dark, perhaps with a light crackling fire burning dimly in the background. Stories of ghosts, apparitions, and strange, inexplicable occurrences are prevalent in these tales, some of which occur on or near Civil War fields of battle, some in country cottages, and some within urban areas. Can Such Things Be? implies and relates that anything is possible, at any time. (Summary by Roger Melin)

10Interpretation

By Ambrose Bierce

LibriVox volunteers bring you 8 recordings of An Interpretation by Ambrose Bierce. This was the Weekly Poetry project for September 22, 2013.

11Cynic Looks At Life

By Ambrose Bierce

Civilization, Immortality, the Death Penalty, these are just a few of the essays enclosed in this collection, A Cynic Looks At Life. Written by Ambrose Bierce, these essays continue to be thought provoking, offering a valid outlook on life. Summary by DaveC.

12Son of the Gods and A Horseman in the Sky

By Ambrose Bierce

Two short stories from the American Civil War by Ambrose Bierce. The first story is about a brave soldier who follows orders and risks his life without question. The second is about a soldier who falls asleep on guard duty. A mistake punishable by death in Civil War times. - Summary by Bill2147

13Cobwebs from an Empty Skull

By Ambrose Bierce

Ambrose Bierce's collection of short parables, published under the pen name of Dod Grile, is similar to Aesop's Fables. This compilation is comprised of "Fables of Zambri, the Parsee," "Brief Seasons of Intellectual Dissipation" and the "Divers Tales," all of which were first serialized in the magazine "FUN." A great read for any lover of short stories or poetry with faraway lands, talking animals and supernatural occurrences! Summary by Mary Kay

14Fiend's Delight

By Ambrose Bierce

This book, the fiend’s delight, was published in 1873, during the lifetime of author Ambrose Bierce, 1842-1914, pseudonym Dod Grile. It is a collection of short stories which cover many subjects. Dependent upon the reader the stories may seem callous, entertaining or some of the stories even just weird. The author has been known to have a penchant for being macabre as some of his works have displayed. Ambrose Bierce served in the Civil War so he did have personal experience with having seen just how horrid some lives were. He also had a family: a wife whom he divorced in 1904 and 3 children, 2 sons and a daughter. Difficult times followed for him as the sons died before Ambrose died, with his ex wife dying 1 year after their divorce. Ambrose himself was known to have had lifelong asthma & brain injuries from the war which caused him to faint & become irritable. His daughter did live 65 years, dying in 1940. She spent time searching for her father, whom she did not think was dead. Possibly his family is why some of his writings were not so macabre? Unfortunately that answer is not known. Leaving to visit his civil war grounds had him traveling into Mexico were there was revolution in 1913. There he joined Pancho Villa’s army as an observer where he disappeared. Many theories existed as to how his disappearance happened, most of which were unreliable. It was determined his final fate was unknown & referred to as a mystery. April Reynolds

15Best Ghost Stories

By E. F. Benson, Ambrose Bierce, Algernon Blackwood, Edward Bulwer-Lytton, Ellis Parker Butler, Daniel Defoe, M. R. James, Rudyard Kipling, Leopold Kompert, Brander Matthews, Vincent O'Sullivan, Arthur B. Reeve and Various

Collected together here by master anthologist Joseph Lewis French are some of the finest ghost stories ever to be put to paper. From the early influential tales of Daniel Defoe and Edward Bulwer-Lytton to more contemporary masters of the terror tale such as M. R. James, Algernon Blackwood and E. F. Benson, this collection brings together a bounty of riches sure to keep you awake into the dark, dreadful night! - Summary by Ben Tucker

16Fantastic Fables

By Ambrose Bierce

A collection of 245 short funny fables - Summary by Inkell