Release date is 2003-08-01

Present at a hanging -- A cold greeting -- A wireless message -- An arrest -- A man with two lives -- Three and two are one -- A baffled ambuscade -- Two military executions -- The Isle of Pines -- A fruitless assignment -- A vine on a house -- At old man Eckert's -- The Spook House -- The other lodgers -- The thing at Nolan -- The difficulty of crossing a field -- An unfinished race -- Charles Ashmore's trail -- Science to the front.

Transcribed from the 1918 Boni and Liveright’s “Can Such Things Be?” edition by David Price

"Present at a Hanging and Other Ghost Stories" by Ambrose Bierce is a collection of short stories that delves into the macabre and supernatural, written in the late 19th century. Known for its dark humor and philosophical insights, the book explores themes of death, the afterlife, and the eerie occurrences that often accompany tragedy. With Bierce's signature sardonic wit, this compilation captures the reader's imagination while manipulating the boundaries between reality and the supernatural. The collection features various narratives, such as "Present at a Hanging," which recounts a murder mystery involving a peddler and a tragic apparition. Other stories, like "Charles Ashmore's Trail," center around a mysterious disappearance, immersing readers in a sense of unsettling mystery and horror. Bierce's characters often find themselves inexplicably drawn into encounters with the other side, whether through ghostly apparitions or haunting memories, revealing the macabre nature of existence and the lingering effects of past deeds. Each tale combines Bierce's clever constructs with a sense of dread and introspection, making the collection an engaging read for those intrigued by the eerie and unknown. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

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