Ambrose Bierce is probably best known for his cynical Devil's Dictionary, but 'Can Such Things Be?' shows his other, spookier side. This isn't a novel with one plot, but a gathering of his strangest short stories. Each one is a self-contained puzzle box of the paranormal. You'll meet soldiers haunted by more than just memories, travelers stumbling upon towns that shouldn't exist, and ordinary people confronted with events that break every rule. The settings range from Civil War battlefields to lonely country manors, but the feeling is always the same: a deep, quiet unease that something fundamental about the world is wrong.

Why You Should Read It

What I love about this collection is its intelligence. Bierce doesn't rely on gore or cheap jumps. His horror is psychological and philosophical. He presents these bizarre occurrences with a reporter's dry, matter-of-fact tone, which somehow makes them feel more real and more terrifying. The characters aren't just victims; they're often rational people trying to apply logic to the illogical, and watching that fail is half the fun. The book feels like a direct challenge from Bierce to the reader: You think you know how the world works? Think again. It’s a masterclass in atmosphere, where the scariest thing is often the implication, the thing left unsaid just beyond the edge of the page.

Final Verdict

This book is perfect for readers who find most ghost stories a bit too simple. If you enjoy the eerie, ambiguous tales of M.R. James or the unsettling cosmic questions in some of Lovecraft's better work, Bierce is your essential, earlier source. It's also great for fans of historical fiction who want a darker, weirder take on 19th-century America. Fair warning: the language is of its time, so it demands a bit more attention than a modern thriller. But give it that attention, and you'll be rewarded with some of the most uniquely chilling and thought-provoking stories ever written about the unknown.