Ambrose Bierce is an American writer and journalist, one of the originators of “tales from the crypt.” In his 1927 article “The Supernatural Horror in Literature,” H. P. Lovecraft called the writer “the great maker of shadows” and emphasized that it was precisely thanks to Bierce’s grim, cruel, and unbelievably authentic stories that Bierce became a classic of American literature. “Merciless Bierce creates a terrifying atmosphere in simple words, and most of his nightmares appear before readers in a new transformation—never seen before.” This volume includes 17 stories by the author.