The Damned Thing

Hugh Morgan's corpse lays savaged on the floor of a wood cabin, and becomes the subject of an inquest into how he perished. No evidence that can be found explains how he died, however. His friend claims that he suffered convulsions, while Morgan's diary indicates insanity - a claim only strengthened by his obsession with “the damned thing -“ but perhaps there is more to Morgan's ramblings than is realised at first...

By THE light of a tallow candle, which had been placed on one end of a rough table, a man was reading something written in a book. It was an old account book, greatly worn; and the writing was not, apparently, very legible, for the man sometimes held the page close to the flame of the candle to get a stronger light upon it. The shadow of the book would then throw into obscurity a half of the room, darkening a number of faces and figures; for besides the reader, eight other men were present. Seven of them sat against the rough log walls, silent and motionless, and, the room being small, not very far from the table. By extending an arm any one of them could have touched the eighth man, who lay on the table, face upward, partly covered by a sheet, his arms at his sides. He was dead.

This early work by Ambrose Bierce was originally published in 1894 and we are now republishing it with a brand new introductory biography as part of our Cryptofiction Classics series. 'The Damned Thing' is a short story of an inquest into a mysterious death possibly caused by unseen natural forces. Ambrose Gwinnett Bierce was born in Meigs County, Ohio, United States in 1842. He was the tenth of thirteen children, and left home aged fifteen to become a 'printer's devil' (a printing apprentice) at a small Ohio newspaper. Many of his short stories - such as 'An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge', 'The Boarded Window', 'Killed at Resaca' and 'Chickamauga', all of which are penned in 'Pure English' - are held among the best of the 19th century. Bierce's writings are also generally regarded as some of the best war writings of all time.

First published in the year 1893, famous American writer, journalist Ambrose Bierce's 'The Damned Thing' is a horror short story. This story is written in four parts with separate subtitles (that are comical) to each. These subtitles adds a synical impact to the gothic imagery created inside the story.

William Harker is the only witness to the death of his friend, Hugh Morgan. Morgan’s body suggests that he has died traumatically, but when Harker tries to explain what he saw of his friend’s last moments, the men in charge of determining Morgan’s cause of death find his testimony too bizarre to be true. Written by Ambrose Bierce, “The Damned Thing” is a story of the paranormal that was once loosely adapted for an episode of the television series Masters of Horror. HarperPerennial Classics brings great works of literature to life in digital format, upholding the highest standards in ebook production and celebrating reading in all its forms. Look for more titles in the HarperPerennial Classics collection to build your digital library.

DigiCat Publishing presents to you this special edition of "The Damned Thing" (1898, From "In the Midst of Life") by Ambrose Bierce. DigiCat Publishing considers every written word to be a legacy of humankind. Every DigiCat book has been carefully reproduced for republishing in a new modern format. The books are available in print, as well as ebooks. DigiCat hopes you will treat this work with the acknowledgment and passion it deserves as a classic of world literature.

"The Damned Thing" is a horror short story written by American Civil War soldier, wit, and writer Ambrose Bierce. It first appeared in Tales from New York Town Topics on December 7, 1893.[1]Summary"The Damned Thing" is written in four parts, each with a comical subtitle. The story begins in Hugh Morgan's cabin, where local men have gathered around the battered corpse of Hugh Morgan to hold an inquest concerning his death. William Harker, a witness to the death, enters and is sworn in by the coroner to relate the circumstances. William reads a prepared statement about a hunting and fishing outing undertaken with Morgan

A bone-chilling collection of uncanny tales from one of the great masters of the short story 'The genuineness and artistry of his dark imitations are always unmistakable, so that his greatness is in no danger of eclipse' H.P. LOVECRAFT '['An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge' is] the greatest American short story... It is a flawless example of American genius' KURT VONNEGUT 'The most powerful American writer of horror fiction between Poe and Lovecraft' NEW YORK TIMES __________ A murder is relived from three startling perspectives... A hunter is driven out of his mind by an invisible, malevolent entity... A man meets a terrifying end in an abandoned house... A werepanther creeps through a window in the dead of night... Any lover of the dark and unsettling tale will be enthralled by the stories in this collection, all from the pen of the great Ambrose Bierce. Contains: The Damned Thing; The Moonlit Road; An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge; The Death of Halpin Frayser; The Suitable Surroundings; The Middle Toe of the Right Foot; Moxon's Master; An Adventure at Brownville; The Eyes of the Panther; The Spook House; An Inhabitant of Carcosa