Thursday, September 16, 2010

ETA Hoffmann is the Author of the 11th Best Horror Short Story 1800-1849

E.T.A. Hoffmann--the ground-breaking German author of ghost, fantasy and horror short stories--is the author of the 11th best horror short story for the first half of the nineteenth century. Tomorrow I will post the title of it as I continue to countdown the best horror stories for this vital period in the horror genre. The top 12 are contained in my horror book: The Best Horror Short Stories 1800-1849: A Classic Horror Anthology
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Tuesday, September 14, 2010

The 12th Best Horror Short Story 1800-1849 is The Old Man's Tale About the Queer Client



Yesterday I revealed the surprise author for what I believe is the 12th best horror story from 1800-1849 as being Charles Dickens. In The Old Man's Tale About the Queer Client he has penned a devilish horror story of revenge that is unmatched for this period. You can read the story and the background I provide for it in The Best Horror Short Stories 1800-1849: A Classic Horror Anthology. Tomorrow I will announce the author of the 11th best horror story.


Monday, September 13, 2010

Author of the 12th Best Horror Story 1800-1849 is Charles Dickens

When considering horror stories for the first half of the nineteenth century, Charles Dickens usually does not come to mind unless it is in the context of his ghost tales. For those following this blog you know that I excluded ghost stories from The Best Horror Short Stories 1800-1849: A Classic Horror Anthology because they belong in a genre all their own. Tomorrow I will provide the name of Dickens's horror story. Hint: It's from The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club.

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Friday, September 10, 2010

Countries for the Authors in The Best Horror Short Stories 1800-1849: A Classic Horror Anthology



Yesterday I posted a list of the authors in The Best Horror Short Stories 1800-1849. In reviewing the list, I see that I left out Wilhelm Hauff, the brilliant German writer of scary short stories who died much too young. For those of you counting at home, here is another list of the authors who have scary stories in my classic horror anthology AND their respective countries.

Honore de Balzac (France)
Charles Dickens (UK)
Wilhelm Hauff (Germany)
E.T.A. Hoffmann (Germany)
Nathaniel Hawthorne (US)
Edgar Allan Poe (US)
George Soane (UK)
Samuel Warren (UK)

The UK is represented by the most authors (3) in my best horror stories book for the first half of the nineteenth century. Now let's look at it from a different angle--from the number of horror stories by country. 

Honore de Balzac (France) (Stories in horror anthology: 2)
Charles Dickens (UK) (Stories in horror anthology: 1)
Wilhelm Hauff (Germany) (Stories in horror anthology: 1)
E.T.A. Hoffmann (Germany) (Stories in horror anthology: 1)
Nathaniel Hawthorne (US) (Stories in horror anthology: 1)
Edgar Allan Poe (US) (Stories in horror anthology: 4)
George Soane (UK) (Stories in horror anthology: 1)
Samuel Warren (UK) (Stories in horror anthology: 1)

By this you will see that the US has 5 of the 12 horror stories, the UK has 3, Germany and France have 2 each. To me this is interesting. Please keep in mind that only stories translated into the English language were considered for the horror anthology. Next week I will start counting down these Top 12. Have a great weekend.

Buy The Best Horror Short Stories 1800-1849 at Amazon
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Website: www.AndrewBarger.com

Thursday, September 9, 2010

List of Authors in The Best Horror Short Stories 1800-1849: A Classic Horror Anthology

I am nearly finished with my countdown of the best horror stories from 1800-1849. I have published 40-13 and the final 12 stories are contained in my new book: The Best Horror Short Stories 1800-1849: A Classic Horror Anthology. Next I will start counting down these Top 12, but first I want to tease you a bit by listing the authors whose horror stories made the anthology:

Honore de Balzac
Charles Dickens (Surprise!)
E.T.A. Hoffmann
Nathaniel Hawthorne
Edgar Allan Poe (No surprise)
George Soane (Who?)
Samuel Warren

It's easy to see that some of these classic horror authors have multiple stories in the anthology. See if you can guess what horror stories by these authors made the Top 12 for the first half of the nineteenth century. Tomorrow I will list the countries where the authors are from. Enjoy.

Website: www.AndrewBarger.com

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Thursday, September 2, 2010

New Cover for The Best Horror Short Stories 1800-1849: A Classic Horror Anthology



It has been a while since I have posted to my blog and I have been hearing about it! I was forced to pause my countdown of the best scary short stories from 1800-1849 to launch another book I edited: The Best Werewolf Short Stories 1800-1849. That book has gotten off to a good start in both the US and UK. I was also finalizing the cover for The Best Horror Short Stories 1800-1849 and here it is! Now, I don't want to hear any jokes about that being a picture of me on the cover. I look much worse than that after a late night of writing. Overall, I am pleased with the cover. It gives the book a classic horror feel without blood and gore. There is little of either in the 12 scary stories I picked as the best ones for this period, yet nothing is lost in their fright factor. The horror book has 250 pages and it is available at all major Internet retailers such as The Best Horror Short Stories at Amazon.com and The Best Horror Short Stories at Barnes & Noble. Over the next two weeks I will reveal the 12 horror stories I have chosen for the book to finish out the countdown.

Saturday, August 21, 2010

Midwest Book Review Gives The Best Werewolf Short Stories 1800-1849 a 5 Star Review

Great reviews keep coming in for the werewolf book I edited called The Best Werewolf Short Stories 1800-1849: A Classic Werewolf Anthology. This one is by the Midwest Book Review:

"Knowledgeably compiled and deftly edited by Andrew Barger, "The Best Werewolf Short Stories 1800-1849: A Classic Werewolf Anthology" is a 170-page literary compendium covering a fifty year span from 1800 to 1849 and identifying famous and not-so-well known authors who wrote werewolf stories that range from Edgar Allan Poe and Nathaniel Hawthorne, to Honore de Balzac and James Hogg. After an informed and informative introduction on the subject by Andrew Barger, five of these stories are presented in full, followed by a listing of short stories considered from 1800 to 1849, along with an index of Real Names. A seminal work of impressive scholarship, "The Best Werewolf Short Stories 1800-1849: A Classic Werewolf Anthology" is highly recommended reading for fantasy fans, and a valued addition to academic library Literary Studies reference collections."

Whether you call them lycans, shapeshifters or werewolves, if you are interested in classic werewolf stories then this is the werewolf book for you.

Website: www.AndrewBarger.com
Blog: www.scary-short-stories.blogspot.com

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