The Moonlit Road

by Ambrose Bierce

*short story

Genres: Horror, Short Stories, Fiction, Audiobook, Gothic, Literature

Unknown Binding

First published January 1, 1907

About the author

died perhaps 1914

Caustic wit and a strong sense of horror mark works, including In the Midst of Life (1891-1892) and The Devil's Dictionary (1906), of American writer Ambrose Gwinett Bierce.

People today best know this editorialist, journalist, and fabulist for his short story, An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge and his lexicon.

The informative sardonic view of human nature alongside his vehemence as a critic with his motto, "nothing matters," earned him the nickname "Bitter Bierce."

People knew Bierce despite his reputation as a searing critic, however, to encourage younger poet George Sterling and fiction author W.C. Morrow.

Bierce employed a distinctive style especially in his stories. This style often embraces an abrupt beginning, dark imagery, vague references to time, limited descriptions, the theme of war, and impossible events.

Bierce disappeared in December 1913 at the age of 71 years. People think that he traveled to Mexico to gain a firsthand perspective on ongoing revolution of that country.

Theories abound on a mystery, ultimate fate of Bierce. He in one of his final letters stated: "Good-bye. If you hear of my being stood up against a Mexican stone wall and shot to rags, please know that I think it is a pretty good way to depart this life. It beats old age, disease, or falling down the cellar stairs. To be a Gringo in Mexico--ah, that is euthanasia!"

Reviews

[mark monday · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 perspectives: the son, the husband, the murdered wife. Bierce's irony and cruelty is in full effect. the mediocre and depressing "lives" of ghosts is discussed. in the end, love shall conquer death but shall bring death as well.

and who was that intruder on the stairs, the man in the night? surely not Nemesis; these fools have done nothing to deserve a nemesis. except to be born, to live, and then to die, as foolish humans.

read this bleak and mordant tale for free:
http://www.eastoftheweb.com/short-sto...

[George Ilsley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a ghost story told from three perspectives — including that of the ghost.

This helps to bring the reader into the story, because otherwise so much would've been left a mystery.

Twists and turns, tragedy and paranoia, a trap laid that snares an unexpected victim.

And yet one mystery remains: who was the figure the father saw leaving the house? Or was it is a figment of his paranoia-fuelled imagination?

[Tom · Rating 5 out of 5]

In Bierce's ghost story, The Moonlit Road "the protagonists fall victim to their own failures of apprehension, having run up against a reality that exceeds their imagination. Like William James, [an American philosopher, historian, and psychologist] who wrote in the same period of the flow of consciousness, Bierce implies that it is not so much the truth of events that matters, but how they are perceived, and the difference that they make to the perceiver. Even quite absurd superstitious beliefs may have devastating effects and prove to be true - in a sense." The Handbook to Gothic Literature (ed. Marie Mulvey-Roberts). New York University Press, 1998. (pp. 23-24)

[derdeluch · Rating 4 out of 5]

kochani macie halucynacje od pleśni w waszych ścianach 💞

[Cynthia Rodrigues · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story is written in three PoVs, Joel Hetman Jr., son of Joel and Julia Hetman; a man who calls himself Caspar Grattan, a name he gave himself after he was released from the asylum to which he was admitted when he lost his mind, and the ghost of Julia Hetman, the murdered woman, speaking through a medium.

The story is beautiful. I felt a sense of pity for each of the three characters. The poor creature whose presence in the house is responsible for precipitating the tragedy plays a minor, yet important, role.
Each PoV advances the action forward. It is only after we read the last account, that of the ghost, that we get a sense of the tragedy that has unfolded, and the injustice done to the woman.

You get a sense of life in the asylum: "Gibbering obscenity, peals of joyless laughter, the clang of iron doors."
The story is significant also because of how the author seeks to bear witness to the plight of ghosts, those who have passed on from this world but have yet to find peace.

[Kow · Rating 2 out of 5]

"Fear has no brains; it is an idiot."

"We know this well, we who have passed into the Realm of Terror, who skulk in eternal dusk among the scenes of our former lives, invisible even to ourselves and one another, yet hiding forlorn in lonely places; yearning for speech with our loved ones, yet dumb, and as fearful of them as they of us. Sometimes the disability is removed, the law suspended: by the deathless power of love or hate we break the spell—we are seen by those whom we would warn, console, or punish. What form we seem to them to bear we know not; we know only that we terrify even those whom we most wish to comfort, and from whom we most crave tenderness and sympathy."

"You think that we are of another world. No, we have knowledge of no world but yours, though for us it holds no sunlight, no warmth, no music, no laughter, no song of birds, nor any companionship. O God! what a thing it is to be a ghost, cowering and shivering in an altered world, a prey to apprehension and despair!"

[Meghan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked this story told through the perspectives of three characters, each somehow involved in the death of Julia. First, you have the complete outside observer with little awareness of what's happening, establishing the plot and characters. Then, you have the possible murderer and their guilt and dread consuming them - enough that they miss the intent of their wife's appearance, mistakenly believing it for vengeance. And finally, you have Julia recalling the night of her death and her plea to comfort and contact her husband and son. Each piece brought you a little further along in the story.

[Divia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ambrose Bierce wrote the experience of the murdered Julia Hetman really well. I think her part was very interesting and it is noteworthy that she did not realise who killed her. A close second is her son's point of view. It is a mystery that is intriguing. Her husband's point of view is revealing: he is the killer. He metaphorically dies since he flees upon seeing his wife's ghost and changes his name to an identity he is uncomfortable with. Guilt must eat away at him for him to flee like that and then recount his betrayal and murder of his wife.

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Audible/podcast version narrated by Tony Walker. This is also available in many ghost story compilations. This short story is told in an interesting manner with multiple viewpoints from multiple narrators. While not in the least spooky it is nonetheless a ghost story worth checking out.

[Turtle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Didn’t enjoy this story that much

While the three part perspective is interesting and I like how the author lets us puzzle the truth together, I feel like this story leaves a lot to be desired

A more complicated ghost story

2.5/5

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the use of the three narrators who all have pieces of the puzzle--but not the whole picture!

[Andy Hickman · Rating 3 out of 5]

The moonlit road – Excellent retelling of an event from three POVs. “.. and lay trembling and silent, unable to shriek, forgetful to pray.”

[William · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to this as part of the Classic Tales of Horror - 500+ Stories. It was very enjoyable 2023

[Malachi · Rating 3 out of 5]

My entry from Otto Penzler's Big Book of Ghost Stories

[summer · Rating 2 out of 5]

bizim bu adamla kimyamız uyuşmuyo. dümdüz ghosty story yazıyomuş gibi geliyo... hâlbuki bunu çok dikkatli okudum ama yine olmadı. belki dersten sonra yükseltirim ama şimdilik bu mlsf.

[Chloe · Rating 3 out of 5]

but who was the man on the stairs?

[Pokotilo · Rating 3 out of 5]

5/10

[Dope Ghost Library · Rating 5 out of 5]

A ghost story AND murder mystery told from three individual perspectives. Ambrose Bierce's experimentation with his stories has sold me again!

[Pharmacdon · Rating 3 out of 5]

A ghost story by Ambrose

[Klowey · Rating 3 out of 5]

A murder told from three points of view, similar to Rashomon. Bierce has always just the right amount of unclear. And again in this story.

[DJ Linick · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quasi-modernist ghost story, this piece leaves the reader with an incomplete picture of the events surrounding and leading up to a ghastly murder of a woman. We are left with little, if any, closer, alongside a bleak imagining of the realm of the afterlife.

Quintessential Bierce! Bravo!

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked the different perspectives of the same event.