American Gothic Tales
Encyclopedia
American Gothic Tales - is an anthology of "gothic" American short fiction. Edited and with an Introduction by Joyce Carol Oates
, it was published by Plume in 1996. It featured contributions by Washington Irving
, Nathaniel Hawthorne
, Edgar Allan Poe
, Stephen King
, Anne Rice
and others, and included over 40 stories.
Joyce Carol Oates
Joyce Carol Oates is an American author. Oates published her first book in 1963 and has since published over fifty novels, as well as many volumes of short stories, poetry, and nonfiction...
, it was published by Plume in 1996. It featured contributions by Washington Irving
Washington Irving
Washington Irving was an American author, essayist, biographer and historian of the early 19th century. He was best known for his short stories "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" and "Rip Van Winkle", both of which appear in his book The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. His historical works...
, Nathaniel Hawthorne
Nathaniel Hawthorne
Nathaniel Hawthorne was an American novelist and short story writer.Nathaniel Hawthorne was born in 1804 in the city of Salem, Massachusetts to Nathaniel Hathorne and the former Elizabeth Clarke Manning. His ancestors include John Hathorne, a judge during the Salem Witch Trials...
, Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe was an American author, poet, editor and literary critic, considered part of the American Romantic Movement. Best known for his tales of mystery and the macabre, Poe was one of the earliest American practitioners of the short story and is considered the inventor of the detective...
, Stephen King
Stephen King
Stephen Edwin King is an American author of contemporary horror, suspense, science fiction and fantasy fiction. His books have sold more than 350 million copies and have been adapted into a number of feature films, television movies and comic books...
, Anne Rice
Anne Rice
Anne Rice is a best-selling Southern American author of metaphysical gothic fiction, Christian literature and erotica from New Orleans, Louisiana. Her books have sold nearly 100 million copies, making her one of the most widely read authors in modern history...
and others, and included over 40 stories.
American Gothic Tales
- Introduction
- Excerpt from introduction: "My original intention in assembling American Gothic Tales was to provide an historic overview of "gothicism" in our literature and, of course, to bring together favorite, distinctive stories. As the months passed and I immersed myself in reading, particularly in the burgeoning contemporary field, I discovered that frank eroticism and female-male relations are no longer taboo in gothic tales (see Lisa Tuttle'sLisa TuttleLisa Tuttle is an American-born science fiction, fantasy, and horror author. She has published over a dozen novels, five short story collections, and several non-fiction titles, including a reference book on feminism. She has also edited several anthologies and reviewed books for various...
ominous "Replacements"Replacements (short story)"Replacements" is a short story written by Lisa Tuttle. It features a husband's insecurities surfacing while a wife's independence strengthens as she claims a vampire pet for her very own.- Summary :...
and Kathe Koja's and Barry N. Malzberg's lyrically sadomasochistic "Ursus Triad, Later"); and that an older classic like Ray Bradbury's "The Veldt" has acquired, in our age of children's and adolescents' video games, a terrifying prescience..."
- Charles Brockden BrownCharles Brockden BrownCharles Brockden Brown , an American novelist, historian, and editor of the Early National period, is generally regarded by scholars as the most ambitious and accomplished US novelist before James Fenimore Cooper...
- Wieland; or, the TransformationWieland (novel)Wieland: or, The Transformation: An American Tale, usually simply called Wieland, is the first major work by Charles Brockden Brown. First published in 1798, it distinguishes the true beginning of his career as a writer. Wieland is the first - and most famous - American Gothic novel. It has often...
- Washington IrvingWashington IrvingWashington Irving was an American author, essayist, biographer and historian of the early 19th century. He was best known for his short stories "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" and "Rip Van Winkle", both of which appear in his book The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. His historical works...
- The Legend of Sleepy HollowThe Legend of Sleepy Hollow"The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" is a short story by Washington Irving contained in his collection The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent., written while he was living in Birmingham, England, and first published in 1820...
- Nathaniel HawthorneNathaniel HawthorneNathaniel Hawthorne was an American novelist and short story writer.Nathaniel Hawthorne was born in 1804 in the city of Salem, Massachusetts to Nathaniel Hathorne and the former Elizabeth Clarke Manning. His ancestors include John Hathorne, a judge during the Salem Witch Trials...
- The Man of AdamantThe Man of Adamant"The Man of Adamant" is a short story written by Nathaniel Hawthorne. It was first published in the 1837 edition of The Token and Atlantic Souvenir, edited by Samuel Goodrich...
, Young Goodman BrownYoung Goodman Brown"Young Goodman Brown" is a short story by American writer Nathaniel Hawthorne. The story takes place in 17th century Puritan New England, a common setting for Hawthorne's works, and addresses the Calvinist/Puritan belief that humanity exists in a state of depravity, exempting those who are born in...
- Herman MelvilleHerman MelvilleHerman Melville was an American novelist, short story writer, essayist, and poet. He is best known for his novel Moby-Dick and the posthumous novella Billy Budd....
- The Tartarus of MaidsParadise of Bachelors and Tartarus of Maids"The Paradise of Bachelors and the Tartarus of Maids" is a short story written by American writer Herman Melville in April 1855. Best known for his novel Moby-Dick, Melville wrote numerous books and short stories...
-- A paradox of a heaven, Paradise, and a hell, Tartarus, hidden in a valley called "Devil's Dungeon".
- Edgar Allan PoeEdgar Allan PoeEdgar Allan Poe was an American author, poet, editor and literary critic, considered part of the American Romantic Movement. Best known for his tales of mystery and the macabre, Poe was one of the earliest American practitioners of the short story and is considered the inventor of the detective...
- The Black CatThe Black Cat (short story)"The Black Cat" is a short story by Edgar Allan Poe. It was first published in the August 19, 1843, edition of The Saturday Evening Post. It is a study of the psychology of guilt, often paired in analysis with Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart"...
-- Gouging Pluto's eye out with a pen-knife, this was the beginning of the end!
- Charlotte Perkins GilmanCharlotte Perkins GilmanCharlotte Perkins Gilman was a prominent American sociologist, novelist, writer of short stories, poetry, and nonfiction, and a lecturer for social reform...
- The Yellow WallpaperThe Yellow Wallpaper"The Yellow Wallpaper" is a short story by the American writer Charlotte Perkins Gilman, first published in January 1892 in The New England Magazine. It is regarded as an important early work of American feminist literature, illustrating attitudes in the nineteenth century toward women's physical...
- Henry JamesHenry JamesHenry James, OM was an American-born writer, regarded as one of the key figures of 19th-century literary realism. He was the son of Henry James, Sr., a clergyman, and the brother of philosopher and psychologist William James and diarist Alice James....
- The Romance of Certain Old ClothesThe Romance of Certain Old ClothesThe Romance of Certain Old Clothes was written by Henry James in February 1868 and was first published in The Atlantic Monthly. The original debut was in Volume 21, Issue 124. This short fictional story can be considered Gothic Literature due to its ghostly nature, social and contemporary issues...
- Ambrose BierceAmbrose BierceAmbrose Gwinnett Bierce was an American editorialist, journalist, short story writer, fabulist and satirist...
- That Damned ThingThe Damned Thing (Short Story)"The Damned Thing" is a short story written by Ambrose Bierce. It first appeared in Tales from New York Town Topics on December 7, 1893. This story focuses on how the human race takes their views of nature for granted and how there are things in the natural world the human eye cannot see or the...
-- "....there are things in the natural world the human eye cannot see or the human ear could hear."
- Edith WhartonEdith WhartonEdith Wharton , was a Pulitzer Prize-winning American novelist, short story writer, and designer.- Early life and marriage:...
- AfterwardAfterward (short story)Afterward is a short story by Edith Wharton. It was first published in the 1910 edition of The Century Magazine and in her books, The Collected Short Stories of Edith Wharton and Tales of Men and Ghosts, 1910. It is an ironic ghost story about greed and retribution...
-- "You won't know till long, long afterward."
- Gertrude AthertonGertrude AthertonGertrude Franklin Horn Atherton was an American writer.-Early Childhood:Gertrude Franklin Horn was born on October 30, 1857 in San Francisco to Thomas Ludovich Horn and his wife, the former Gertrude Franklin...
- The Striding PlaceThe Striding PlaceThe Striding Place is a short story written by Gertrude Atherton. The story was first published in 1896 under the title, The Twins. After revamping the story, Atherton renamed the story and republished it in The Bell in the Fog in 1905....
-- "...A heavy rain had made the moor so spongy..."
- Sherwood AndersonSherwood AndersonSherwood Anderson was an American novelist and short story writer. His most enduring work is the short story sequence Winesburg, Ohio. Writers he has influenced include Ernest Hemingway, William Faulkner, John Steinbeck, J. D. Salinger, and Amos Oz.-Early life:Anderson was born in Clyde, Ohio,...
- Death in the WoodsDeath in the WoodsDeath in the Woods is a short story by Sherwood Anderson first published in 1924 and reprinted in 1933. "Death in the Woods" is a "retelling" of events from the narrator's childhood, as he attempts to explain a death and its relationship to other lives....
- H. P. LovecraftH. P. LovecraftHoward Phillips Lovecraft --often credited as H.P. Lovecraft — was an American author of horror, fantasy and science fiction, especially the subgenre known as weird fiction....
- The OutsiderThe Outsider (short story)"The Outsider" is a short story by American horror writer H. P. Lovecraft. Written between March and August 1921, it was first published in Weird Tales, April 1926. In this work, a mysterious man who has been living alone in a castle for as long as he can remember decides to break free in search...
- William FaulknerWilliam FaulknerWilliam Cuthbert Faulkner was an American writer from Oxford, Mississippi. Faulkner worked in a variety of media; he wrote novels, short stories, a play, poetry, essays and screenplays during his career...
- A Rose for EmilyA Rose for Emily"A Rose for Emily" is a short story by American author William Faulkner first published in the April 30, 1930 issue of Forum. This story takes place in Faulkner's fictional city, Jefferson, Mississippi, in the fictional county of Yoknapatawpha County...
- August DerlethAugust DerlethAugust William Derleth was an American writer and anthologist. Though best remembered as the first publisher of the writings of H. P...
- The Lonesome PlaceThe Lonesome PlaceThe Lonesome Place is a short story written by famed Science Fiction writer August Derleth. The story is part of a compilation of short stories in the book Lonesome Places...
- E. B. WhiteE. B. WhiteElwyn Brooks White , usually known as E. B. White, was an American writer. A long-time contributor to The New Yorker magazine, he also wrote many famous books for both adults and children, such as the popular Charlotte's Web and Stuart Little, and co-authored a widely used writing guide, The...
- The Door
- Shirley JacksonShirley JacksonShirley Jackson was an American author. A popular writer in her time, her work has received increasing attention from literary critics in recent years...
- The Lovely HouseThe Lovely House"The Lovely House" is a short story by Shirley Jackson published in 1950 that involves the conflict of real versus surreal and is full of ambiguity. Jackson forces her readers to use suspension of disbelief and analyze the text in order to understand the full extent of the complex story.- Author...
- Paul BowlesPaul BowlesPaul Frederic Bowles was an American expatriate composer, author, and translator.Following a cultured middle-class upbringing in New York City, during which he displayed a talent for music and writing, Bowles pursued his education at the University of Virginia before making various trips to Paris...
- AllalAllal"Allal" is a short story written by American writer, composer, and world traveler Paul Bowles. This story was first published in Rolling Stone Magazine on January 27, 1977 and since has been included in many compilation short story books. "Allal" is about an outcast boy and his fascination with a...
- Isaac Bashevis SingerIsaac Bashevis SingerIsaac Bashevis Singer – July 24, 1991) was a Polish Jewish American author noted for his short stories. He was one of the leading figures in the Yiddish literary movement, and received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1978...
- The ReencounterThe Reencounter"The Reencounter" is a short story by Isaac Bashevis Singer. The story takes place in New York City and deals with death and the idea of an afterlife.-Plot summary:The story begins with Dr. Max Greitzer waking to the sound of his telephone...
- William GoyenWilliam GoyenCharles William Goyen was an American novelist, short story writer, playwright, poet, editor, and teacher. Born in a small town in East Texas, these roots would influence his work for his entire life....
- In the Icebound HothouseIn the Icebound HothouseIn the Icebound Hothouse by William Goyen is a favorite short story included in American Gothic Tales edited by Joyce Carol Oates'.- Plot summary :...
- John CheeverJohn CheeverJohn William Cheever was an American novelist and short story writer. He is sometimes called "the Chekhov of the suburbs." His fiction is mostly set in the Upper East Side of Manhattan, the Westchester suburbs, old New England villages based on various South Shore towns around Quincy,...
- The Enormous RadioThe Enormous RadioThe Enormous Radio is a short story written by John Cheever in 1947. It first appeared in the May 17, 1947 issue of The New Yorker and was later collected in The Enormous Radio and Other Stories...
- Ray BradburyRay BradburyRay Douglas Bradbury is an American fantasy, horror, science fiction, and mystery writer. Best known for his dystopian novel Fahrenheit 451 and for the science fiction stories gathered together as The Martian Chronicles and The Illustrated Man , Bradbury is one of the most celebrated among 20th...
- The VeldtThe Veldt"The Veldt" is a short story written by Ray Bradbury that was published originally as "The World the Children Made" in the September 23, 1950 issue of The Saturday Evening Post, later republished in the anthology The Illustrated Man in 1951...
- W. S. MerwinW. S. MerwinWilliam Stanley Merwin is an American poet, credited with over 30 books of poetry, translation and prose. During the 1960s anti-war movement, Merwin's unique craft was thematically characterized by indirect, unpunctuated narration. In the 1980s and 1990s, Merwin's writing influence derived from...
- The Dachau Shoe, The Approved, Spiders I Have Known, Postcards from the Maginot Line
- Sylvia PlathSylvia PlathSylvia Plath was an American poet, novelist and short story writer. Born in Massachusetts, she studied at Smith College and Newnham College, Cambridge before receiving acclaim as a professional poet and writer...
- Johnny Panic and the Bible of DreamsJohnny Panic and the Bible of DreamsJohnny Panic and the Bible of Dreams is a collection of short stories by deceased poet and writer Sylvia Plath. It was initially published in 1977 as a collection of thirteen short stories, including the title story....
- Robert CooverRobert CooverRobert Lowell Coover is an American author and professor in the Literary Arts program at Brown University. He is generally considered a writer of fabulation and metafiction.-Life and works:...
- In Bed One Night
- Ursula K. Le GuinUrsula K. Le GuinUrsula Kroeber Le Guin is an American author. She has written novels, poetry, children's books, essays, and short stories, notably in fantasy and science fiction...
- Schrodinger's CatSchrödinger's catSchrödinger's cat is a thought experiment, usually described as a paradox, devised by Austrian physicist Erwin Schrödinger in 1935. It illustrates what he saw as the problem of the Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics applied to everyday objects. The scenario presents a cat that might be...
- E. L. DoctorowE. L. DoctorowEdgar Lawrence Doctorow is an American author.- Biography :Edgar Lawrence Doctorow was born in the Bronx, New York City, the son of second-generation Americans of Russian Jewish descent...
- The Waterworks
- Harlan EllisonHarlan EllisonHarlan Jay Ellison is an American writer. His principal genre is speculative fiction.His published works include over 1,700 short stories, novellas, screenplays, teleplays, essays, a wide range of criticism covering literature, film, television, and print media...
- Shattered Like a Glass Goblin
- Don DeLilloDon DeLilloDon DeLillo is an American author, playwright, and occasional essayist whose work paints a detailed portrait of American life in the late 20th and early 21st centuries...
- Human Moments in World War III
- John L'Heureux - The Anatomy of DesireThe Anatomy of Desire"The Anatomy of Desire" is a short story by John L'Heureux, first published in L'Heureux's book, Desires, in 1981. It can also be read in American Gothic Tales edited by Joyce Carol Oates and Sudden Fiction edited by Richard Shapard. It is the story of a man with an unwavering need for more than...
- Raymond CarverRaymond CarverRaymond Clevie Carver, Jr. was an American short story writer and poet. Carver is considered a major American writer of the late 20th century and also a major force in the revitalization of the short story in the 1980s....
- Little ThingsLittle Things (short story)"Little Things" is a short story by Raymond Carver. It was first published in What We Talk About When We Talk About Love under the name "Popular Mechanics". It was then published in 1988 in Carver's collection Where I'm Calling From.-Plot summary:...
- Joyce Carol OatesJoyce Carol OatesJoyce Carol Oates is an American author. Oates published her first book in 1963 and has since published over fifty novels, as well as many volumes of short stories, poetry, and nonfiction...
- The TempleThe Temple (short story)"The Temple" is a short story written by H. P. Lovecraft in 1920, and first published in the pulp magazine Weird Tales in February 1925. It was the first story Lovecraft published in Weird Tales, and indeed was his first publication in any professional outlet.-Synopsis:The story is narrated as a...
- Anne RiceAnne RiceAnne Rice is a best-selling Southern American author of metaphysical gothic fiction, Christian literature and erotica from New Orleans, Louisiana. Her books have sold nearly 100 million copies, making her one of the most widely read authors in modern history...
- Freniere
- Peter StraubPeter StraubPeter Francis Straub is an American author and poet, most famous for his work in the horror genre. His horror fiction has received numerous literary honors such as the Bram Stoker Award, World Fantasy Award, and International Horror Guild Award, placing him among the most-honored horror authors in...
- A Short Guide to the CityA Short Guide to the City"A Short Guide to the City" is a 1990 short story by American horror writer Peter Straub collected in Houses Without Doors. It blends and fuses two disparate literary forms: a self congratulatory travel brochure published by a city's Chamber of Commerce and a news report about the murderous...
- Steven MillhauserSteven MillhauserSteven Millhauser is an American novelist and short story writer. He won the 1997 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for his novel Martin Dressler. The prize brought many of his older books back into print.-Life and career:...
- In the Penny ArcadeIn the Penny ArcadeIn the Penny Arcade is one of seven short stories written by Steven Millhauser and published in 1986. These seven short stories were previously published in the early 1980s in venues such as the New Yorker, Grand Street, Antaeus, and the Hudson Review. Like Mr...
- Stephen KingStephen KingStephen Edwin King is an American author of contemporary horror, suspense, science fiction and fantasy fiction. His books have sold more than 350 million copies and have been adapted into a number of feature films, television movies and comic books...
- The ReachThe ReachThe Reach is a short story by Stephen King. First published in Yankee in 1981 under the title "Do the Dead Sing?", it was later collected in King's 1985 collection Skeleton Crew. It was also included in American Gothic Tales in 1996....
- Charles R. JohnsonCharles R. JohnsonCharles R. Johnson is an American scholar and author of novels, short stories, and essays. Johnson, an African-American, has directly addressed the issues of black life in America in novels such as Middle Passage and Dreamer....
- Exchange ValueExchange valueIn political economy and especially Marxian economics, exchange value refers to one of four major attributes of a commodity, i.e., an item or service produced for, and sold on the market...
- John CrowleyJohn CrowleyJohn Crowley is an American author of fantasy, science fiction and mainstream fiction. He studied at Indiana University and has a second career as a documentary film writer...
- SnowSnow (short story)"Snow" is a neorealist short story by Ann Beattie.The story is told by an unnamed female narrator who recounts the story of the time she spent in the country with her former lover...
- Thomas LigottiThomas LigottiThomas Ligotti is a contemporary American horror author and reclusive literary cult figure. His writings are unique in style, have been noted as major continuations of several literary genres – most prominently Lovecraftian horror – and have overall been variously described as works of...
- The Last Feast of Harlequin
- Breece D'J PancakeBreece D'J PancakeBreece D'J Pancake was an American author of short fiction. Pancake was a native of West Virginia and published several stories in The Atlantic Monthly during his lifetime...
- "Time and AgainTime and Again (short story)"Time and Again" is a short story by Breece D'J Pancake which was published in 1977. This American Gothic tale includes a murder man whose poor victims end up being fed to his hogs. The short story appears in "American Gothic Tales" which is edited by Joyce Carol Oates.- Summary :The story opens...
"
- Lisa TuttleLisa TuttleLisa Tuttle is an American-born science fiction, fantasy, and horror author. She has published over a dozen novels, five short story collections, and several non-fiction titles, including a reference book on feminism. She has also edited several anthologies and reviewed books for various...
- ReplacementsReplacements (short story)"Replacements" is a short story written by Lisa Tuttle. It features a husband's insecurities surfacing while a wife's independence strengthens as she claims a vampire pet for her very own.- Summary :...
-- Stuart stomps and kills an ugly creature on the street only to find his wife is caring for one of these "things"!
- Melissa PritchardMelissa PritchardMelissa Pritchard is an American short story writer, novelist, essayist, and journalist.-Life:Melissa Pritchard was born on December 12 in San Mateo, California. She grew up in San Mateo, Burlingame and Menlo Park and attended the Convent of the Sacred Heart High School in Atherton, California...
- Spirit Seizures
- Nancy EtchemendyNancy EtchemendyNancy Elise Howell Etchemendy is a writer of science fiction, fantasy, and horror. Her novels, short fiction, and poetry have appeared regularly since 1980, both in the United States and abroad...
- Cat in Glass
-- "Is the sculpture in "Cat in Glass" an artistic masterpiece—or an evil idol, capable of murder?"
- Bruce McAllisterBruce McAllisterBruce McAllister is an American author of fiction, poetry and non-fiction.- Novels :Humanity Prime Dream Baby Bruce McAllister (born 1946) is an American author of fiction, poetry and non-fiction.- Novels :Humanity Prime (Ace Books, l971; Wildside Press, 2008)Dream Baby Bruce McAllister (born...
- The Girl Who Loved Animals
- Kathe KojaKathe KojaKathe Koja is an American writer. She was initially known for her intense speculative fiction for adults, but over the past few years has turned to writing young adult novels....
and Barry N. MalzbergBarry N. MalzbergBarry Nathaniel Malzberg is an American writer and editor, most often of science fiction and fantasy.-Overview:Initially in his post-graduate work Malzberg sought to establish himself as a playwright as well as a prose-fiction writer. His first two published novels were issed by Olympia Press...
- Ursus Triad, Later
- Katherine DunnKatherine DunnKatherine Dunn is a best-selling novelist, journalist, voice artist, radio personality, book reviewer, and poet from Portland, Oregon.- Personal life :...
- The Nuclear Family: His Talk, Her Teeth
- Nicholson BakerNicholson BakerNicholson Baker is a contemporary American writer of fiction and non-fiction. As a novelist, he often focuses on minute inspection of his characters' and narrators' stream of consciousness, and has written about such provocative topics as voyeurism and planned assassination...
- SubsoilSubsoil (short story)The short story Subsoil by Nicholson Baker first appeared in The New Yorker periodical on June 27, 1994. Subsoil is a terrifying, yet humorous tale of a man, Nyle T. Milner, who meets his doom after being assaulted and forced by attacking, sprouting potatoes that lure agriculturalists into their...