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.

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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