Now that my book The Best Werewolf Short Stories 1800-1849: A Classic Werewolf Anthology is published, I am back to focus on the horror countdown. Below is a rundown of horror short stories 40 through 13 that I have posted so far in my countdown of the Top 40 scary short stories from 1800 to 1849. You will notice some familiar names and some that may be new. With so many fine scary short stories that have appeared on the countdown already, it is hard to believe that much better ones await. If you want to read any of these stories, simply scroll back through my blog archive.
40. 1839 Running the Gauntlet by Anonymous
39. 1823 The Mutiny by William Harrison Ainsworth
38. 1836 The Wedding Knell by Nathaniel Hawthorne
37. 1842 Ben Blower's Story; or How to Relish a Julep by Charles Feno Hoffman
36. 1827 The Bohemian by Anonymous
35. 1831 Singular Passage in the Life of the Late Henry Harris, Doctor in Divinity by Richard Harris Barham
34. 1830 Confessions of a Reformed Ribbonman by William Carleton
33. 1820 The Field of Terror by Baron Friedrich Heinrich Karl De la Motte Fouquâe
32. 1837 Cousin Mattie by James Hogg
31. 1844 Rappaccini’s Daughter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
30. 1821 The Man in the Bell by William Maginn
29. 1836 The Legend of the Bell Rock by Captain Frederick Marryat
28. 1849 Hop-Frog by Edgar Allan Poe
27. 1832 Gabriel Lindsay by William Mudford
26. 1835 The Fiery Vault by Reithra
25. 1837 The Involuntary Experimentalist by Samuel Ferguson
24. 1831 The Lonely Man of the Ocean by Anonymous
23. 1843 Ko-rea-ran-neh-neh; or, The Flying Head by Charles Feno Hoffman
22. 1846 The Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allan Poe
21. 1837 Dr. Heidegger's Experiment by Nathaniel Hawthorne
20. 1823 A Scots Mummy by James Hogg
19. 1835 The Story of the Greek Slave by Captain Frederick Marryat
18. 1843 The Black Cat by Edgar Allan Poe
17. 1834 The Singular Trial of Francis Ormiston by George Sloane
16. 1842 The Masque of the Red Death by Edgar Allan Poe
15. 1827 Le Revenant by Henry Thomson
14. 1841 A Descent into the Maelstrom by Edgar Allan Poe
13. 1830 The Elixir of Life by Honore de Balzac
This is the list to date for my countdown of the best horror stories from 1800-1849. What horror tales will appear in the Top 12? I will soon be publishing all of them in my new book: The Best Horror Short Stories 1800-1849: A Classic Horror Anthology. In my next post I will show the cover!
