Part II of The Best Horror Short Stories Interview by Andrew Barger

This is part II of the ten question  interview I did for The Best Horror Short Stories 1800-1849: A Classic Horror Anthology. I hope you find it interesting.

Q6: Did you find any obscure horror story from these periodicals that made your list of the best horror stories? Sort of a one-hit wonder?

A6: There is one unknown horror story: The Lighthouse by George Soane. I included it in the collection. It is the best lighthouse horror story to come out of this period. I say this knowing that Poe never got a chance to finish his horror story titled The Lighthouse. George Soane, the son of the famous architect John Soane, is the most underrated writer of short horror stories to come out of this fifty year period. He is not a one-hit wonder.

Q7: Edgar Allan Poe wrote his horror short stories during this time period and you edited Edgar Allan Poe Annotated and Illustrated Entire Stories and Poems. How many of his made the list?

A7: Four. It my view he penned one third of the best horror short stories from 1800-1849. That is amazing. 

Q8: How many horror stories are in the book?

A8: Twelve: The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar by Edgar Allan Poe; The Severed Hand by Wilhelm Hauff; The Thunder-Struck and the Boxer by Samuel Warren; The Deserted House by Ernst T. A. Hoffmann; The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe; El Verdugo (The Executioner) by Honoré de Balzac; The Minister’s Black Veil by Nathaniel Hawthorne; The Pit and the Pendulum by Edgar Allan Poe; The Mysterious Mansion by Honoré de Balzac; The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe; The Old Man’s Tale About the Queer Client by Charles Dickens; and The Lighthouse by George Soane.

Q9: What is your favorite horror story from the anthology?

A9: That’s tough. They are all great in their own devious ways. If I have to pick, I would say The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe. The story has some of Poe's best character generation and is rife with fear. The horror story builds to a crescendo and still maintains a high literary quality. The writing is top notch. For this period it is tough to top this story on almost any level.

Q10: Where can a person buy this book assuming they want to be scared out of their mind?

A10: The best place to start is by clicking on this best horror short stories path to the book’s page on my Website where I provide links to buy the book (or ebook) online. It can be purchased at all major online retailers including The Best Horror Short Stories 1800-1849 at Amazon.com and The Best Horror Short Stories 1800-1849 at Barnes & Noble.

Part I of The Best Horror Short Stories Interview by Andrew Barger

This is part I of the ten question  interview I did for The Best Horror Short Stories 1800-1849: A Classic Horror Anthology. I hope you find it interesting
 

Q1: Andrew, there are many horror anthologies out there. Why did you decide to edit a book of the best horror short stories from 1800-1849?

A1: In my view, classic horror anthologies have given us a disappointing selection of stories. Many times scant background information is provided about the horror stories and their authors. This is frustrating.

Q2: So the editors were light on horror short story content?

A2: In a number of ways. So to those editors of the gigantics, the colossals, the monstrous, the huge, the huger, the bigs, the really bigs, the even biggers—these portly books of collected horror—you have made my literary waistline bloated with quantity over quality. You have hardened my literary arteries. I was full when pushing back from your table only to be hungry a few hours later. The “greatest” horror anthologies have been greatly disappointing. I have spent time with the “fantastic” and was fantastically used. I have been calmed by the “terrifying” and under-whelmed by the “incredible.” The “mammoth” books have left me feeling wooly inside. [Smiles]

Q3: Are there any other reasons you compiled The Best Horror Short Stories 1800-1849?

A3: I have never seen one that addresses this 50 year period by itself. This is when the horror short story genre began thanks to Edgar Allan Poe, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Honoré de Balzac and so many others. I felt that the best stories of these great horror writers needed to be compared and that is best accomplished when they are put shoulder-to-shoulder. And part of it was my curiosity to see just how good—how groundbreaking—Poe was in telling his horror stories. I was also frustrated reading anthologies that do not disclose what horror stories were considered when compiling them. It’s like declaring a beauty pageant winner without showing the other contestants. I want to know what literary wheat got separated from the chaff. This would answer many questions for my inquisitive mind. Rare is the short horror story anthology that has shown the world what tales were actually considered in making the compilation. In this case I have tried to stem this tide of literary attrition. All of the short horror stories are listed that I reviewed for this anthology, along with their respective author and earliest publication date, if available.

Q4: How does this compare to the best werewolf short stories of 1800-1849 that you edited?

A4: There were only a handful of werewolf short stories published in the English language from 1800-1849. With the horror short stories I had exponentially more to pick from and picking the best was much harder.

Q5: How many horror short stories from the first half of the nineteenth century did you read?

A5: I read over 300 horror short stories. Many of the obscure ones came from key periodical magazines such as Blackwood’s and Atkinson’s Casket. My horror anthology includes background information for each story and photograph of the author. Annotations are included for difficult or antiquated terms.

Reveal of the 5th Best Horror Short Story 1800-1849

I pick the 5th best horror short story from 1800-1849 to be Honore de Blazac's "El Verdugo." This is his famous beheading story and the title means "The Executioner" in English. It is one of the first horror stories that forced a female character to commit a horrific act. You can read it in its entirety in my new book, The Best Horror Short Stories 1800-1849: A Classic Horror Anthology just in time for Halloween. At my Website (www.AndrewBarger.com) the haunting video book trailer for it.

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Author of the 5th Best Horror Short Story 1800-1849 is Honoré de Balzac

Honore de Balzac (1799-1850), that portly French writer of romance and horror, appears at number 5 on my countdown of the Top 40 horror short stories from 1800-1849. This weekend I will post the title of his haunting short horror story that is the first to make the Top 5. You can read the Top 12 in my new book: The Best Horror Short Stories 1800-1849: A Classic Horror Anthology.

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Reveal for the 6th Best Horror Short Story 1800-1849

The Pit and the Pendulum by Edgar Allan Poe is picked as the 6th best horror story from 1800-1849. In my recent book: The Best Horror Short Stories 1800-1849: A Classic Horror Anthology you can read this horror tale along with my thoughts and annotations for difficult terms. Tomorrow I will post the next author in my countdown.

www.AndrewBarger.com

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Author of the 6th Best Horror Short Story 1800-1849 is Edgar Allan Poe

Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849) has appeared many times on my countdown of the Top 40 horror short stories for the first half of the nineteenth century. Most recently he appeared at spot 9 with The Tell-Tale Heart. Tomorrow I will reveal his story that appears at the sixth spot.

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Review of The Best Horror Short Stories 1800-1849: A Classic Horror Anthology

The first professional review for The Best Horror Short Stories 1800-1849: A Classic Horror Anthology has been posted by one of Amazon.com's Top Ten Reviewers. For those not familiar with Amazon's top reviewers or how one becomes a top reviewer, they are a group of people who are highly sought out by sellers to review their products. Amazon Top Ten Reviewers are the top 10 people who have reviewed the most products listed for sale on Amazon. Grady Harp, who has held this title for a number of years, was kind enough to review The Best Horror Short Stories 1800-1849 that I edited and he gave it 5 stars. Here's what he had to say: 

"Andrew Barger is rapidly becoming recognized as an authority on scary things. Two of his previous books, 'Edgar Allan Poe Annotated and Illustrated Entire Stories and Poems by Edgar Allan Poe and Andrew Barger', and 'The Best Werewolf Short Stories 1800-1849: A Classic Werewolf Anthology by Andrew Barger', have demonstrated not only his obsession with things frightening but also with his keen sense of research and curatorial gifts. This current volume, 'THE BEST HORROR SHORT STORIES 1800-1849' will likely become a best seller, seeing the public interest continuing to grow for things frightful. 

For this volume Barger went beyond his choice of King of the Horror short stories - Edgar Allan Poe, hands down the leader - and combed through some 300 possible entries from around the world. From these entries he selected according to three guiding principles: fear, empathy with the protagonist, and the level of writing. In a very entertaining and informative introduction Barger explains his process and his choices of the final twelve winning short stories. The authors include of course Edgar Allen Poe (4), Nathaniel Hawthorne, ETA Hoffmann, Balzac (2), Dickens, Wilhelm Hauff, Samuel Warren, and George Soane. Some of these writers may be new to the reader of this anthology and some of the stories will be very well known to most. 

What makes this collection (of truly terrifying tales!) so satisfying is the presence of a brief introduction before each story, sharing some comments about the writer and elements of the tale. It is, after all, an annotated version. Barger has once again whetted our appetites for fright, spent countless hours making these twelve stories accessible and available, and has provided in one book the best of the best of horror short stories. It is a winner."

  

Reveal for the 7th Best Horror Short Story 1800-1849

The Lighthouse by George Soane is my pick for the 7th best horror short story for the period in question. It is the best lighthouse horror story for the first half of the nineteenth century. I say this knowing that Edgar Allan Poe never finished the lighthouse story he was penning at his death. My research did not uncover The Lighthouse by George Soane as being collected in any horror anthology. Where can you read it then? The best way is in the recent book I have edited, The Best Horror Short Stories 1800-1849: A Classic Horror Anthology. Tomorrow I will post the first review of the horror book. Cheers! 

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Author of the 7th Best Scary Short Story 1800-1849 is George Soane

It is extremely rare for George Soane (1789-1860) to be mentioned when scholars discuss the best horror short story writers for the first half of the nineteenth century. In my view he is one of the most largely overlooked horror story writers for this period. Tomorrow I will reveal his scary short story that is 7 on my countdown of the Top 40 from 1800-1849 and is contained in my new book: The Best Horror Short Stories 1800-1849: A Classic Horror Anthology.

Video Book Trailer for The Best Horror Short Stories 1800-1849: A Classic Horror Anthology

You can buy my scary short stories book at these links or other Internet retailers:

Amazon: The Best Horror Short Stories 1800-1849: A Classic Horror Anthology

Barnes & Noble: The Best Horror Short Stories 1800-1849: A Classic Horror Anthology

Website: AndrewBarger.com