Reveal for the 2nd Best Horror Short Story 1800-1849

For the second best short horror story of 1800-1849 I choose "The Mysterious Mansion" by Honore de Balzac (1799-1850). This horrific story of "entrapment" rises far above Edgar Allan Poe's best tale of a similar nature, "The Cask of Amontillado." You can read the story along with my annotations and story background in The Best Horror Short Stories 1800-1849: A Classic Horror Anthology.

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Author of the 2nd Best Horror Short Story 1800-1849 is Honoré de Balzac

Frenchman, Honoré de Balzac (1799-1850), has already appeared a number of times in my countdown of the Top 40 horror short stories for the first half of the nineteenth century. Most recently he appeared in the 5th spot with "The Executioner." In my next post I will reveal the classic horror tale that lofted him into 2nd place on the countdown. 

Website: www.AndrewBarger.com

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Reveal for the 3rd Best Horror Short Story 1800-1849

I am down to the Final Three in my countdown of the Top 40 horror short stories from 1800-1849. I pick Edgar Allan Poe's "The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar" as the third best horror tale for this period. You can read it along with my annotations and introduction in my newly published horror anthology. 

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

Edgar Allan Poe is the Author of the 3rd Best Horror Short Story 1800-1849

Edgar Allan Poe has already appeared many times on my countdown of the Top 40 horror short stories for the first half of the nineteenth century. He appears again in the third position. In my next post I will reveal the terrifying story that got him there. 

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Monster Librarian Review of The Best Werewolf Short Stories 1800-1849

A new review is out for The Best Werewolf Short Stories 1800-1849: A Classic Werewolf Anthology. This is one if by MonsterLibrarian.com. This is a snippet of what they had to say about the book:

"This scholarly collection of five classic short stories collected by Andrew Barger is impressive, and would be of interest for anyone fascinated with the history of the werewolf mythos.  Written in the 50 year period between 1800~1849, these stories represent the genesis of the werewolf in literature."

Click to read the entire werewolf book review. Thanks and happy Halloween!

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Review of The Best Horror Short Stories 1800-1849 at Bookgasm.com

The Halloween season is upon us and Bookgasm.com, one of the Web's best book review sites, has just published a review of The Best Horror Short Stories 1800-1849: A Classic Horror Anthology. Here is a snippet from the review: "Through his introduction and footnotes, Barger aims for readers both scholarly and casual, ensuring that the authors get their due while making the work accessible overall to the mainstream." Click to read the <a href="http://www.bookgasm.com/reviews/horror/the-best-horror-short-stories-1800-1849/

Reveal for the 4th Best Horror Short Story 1800-1849

Weighing in as the 4th best horror short story of 1800-1849 is The Thunder-Struck and the Boxer by Samuel Warren. This fine horror tale is included in The Best Horror Short Stories 1800-1849: A Classic Horror Anthology with background information and annotations. P.S. Halloween is only 6 days away!

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Author of the 4th Best Horror Short Story 1800-1849 is Samuel Warren

Barrister Samuel Warren (1807-1877) is the next author in my countdown of the best horror short stories for the first half of the nineteenth century. In my next post I will reveal his important horror story that appears at 4 on my Top 40 countdown of the best short horror stories for this period.  

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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.