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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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

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 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.

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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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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Reveal for the 8th Best Horror Short Story 1800-1849

My pick for the 8th best horror short story from 1800-1849 is "The Severed Hand" by Wilhelm Hauff. You can read the Top 12 in my recently published The Best Horror Short Stories 1800-1849. The book is a classic horror anthology with photos of the authors, story background and annotations. Tomorrow I will post the creepy book trailer video for the anthology.

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

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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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.