1. "The Devil's Dictionary by Ambrose Bierce"
Posted by kimberly on Jul-7th-03 at 11:31 PM
My "Haunted America Update" arrived today & that got me
to browsing at http://www.prairieghosts.com & that brought
up Ambrose Bierce & I searched to find out more about him
and came across http://www.alcyone.com/max/lit/devils/ --
I swear, I have laughed all day! I really love:
HUSBAND, n.
One who, having dined, is charged with the care of the
plate.
JEALOUS, adj.
Unduly concerned about the preservation of that which
can be lost only if not worth keeping.
FRIENDLESS, adj.
Having no favors to bestow. Destitute of fortune.
Addicted to utterance of truth and common sense.
ACCUSE, v.t.
To affirm another's guilt or unworth; most commonly as
a justification of ourselves for having wronged him.
ADMIRATION, n.
Our polite recognition of another's resemblance to
ourselves.
It is fun being a pessimist & a cynic. Mostly because it
is so annoying to others.
Wow! I clicked on "T". That was more than I could take in!
I didn't know this Bierce guy was responsible for that GREAT story about the boy who disappears in the field and they can hear his voice for a long time after but never see him again or find him.
That was a really good story.
It always reminded me of a Twilight Zone episode, which of course Is true, of the little girl who falls through her bedroom wall into another dimension and they hear her in the walls and try to get her out. They have to find the portal, and it is fast closing....(Sounds like the movie "Poltergeist". That's a misnomer)
I have a Lot of ghost books but have not bought any in a long time.
Thanks for the links!
Nice you are posting again.
(Message last edited Jul-8th-03 1:43 AM.)
"The Devil's Dictionary" has long been a favorite of mine. I once found a bunch of paperbooks on the remainder table, bought 'em, and gave one to everybody I cared about for several years. While reading the recent obituaries of Gregory Peck, I was reminded that he portrayed Bierce (or a Bierce-like character) in the movie, "The Old Gringo." I dunno about that casting...Peck seemed too nice.
Didn't Bierce himself vanish under mysterious circumstances? Maybe he's out there in another dimension...
He was reallyreallyreally hated back then -- but it sure
looks like he was telling the truth. That is probably what
bothered people the most.
The Ambrose Bierce Appreciation Society
http://www.biercephile.com/
The Ambrose Bierce House (B & B)
http://www.ambrosebiercehouse.com/
The Quotations Page (always fun)
http://www.quotationspage.com/quotes/Ambrose_Bierce/
I found this link to some online works by Bierce & Edgar
Allan Poe, Bram Stoker & Mary Shelley among others -- it is
called the Literature of the Fantastic:
http://www.sff.net/people/DoyleMacdonald/lit.htm