*Title: The Secret of Macarger’s Gulch by Ambrose Bierce
Date Read: 23 October 2008
Available Online?: YES
Briefly: A hunter beds down for the night in an abandoned shack on the slope of Macarger’s Gulch. His growing paranoia of (mainly) bears and (partly) ghosts gives way to sleep and a vivid dream. He awakens to discover that his paranoia in relation to ghosts may not have been so unfounded.
Afterthoughts: I loved this creepy tale and it is indeed one that is genuinely scary. It’s the first time I’ve read Bierce and I’ve got to say I really like his style. Very readable.
Notable Quote: “Every one who has had experience in the matter must have observed that one confronts the actual and imaginary perils of the night with far less apprehension in the open air than in a house with an open doorway. I felt this now as I lay on my leafy couch in a corner of the room next to the chimney and permitted my fire to die out. So strong became my sense of the presence of something malign and menacing in the place, that I found myself almost unable to withdraw my eyes from the opening, as in the deepening darkness it became more and more indistinct. “
Rating: 
*Story read as part of the 31 Tales of Terror reading challenge.
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