Ambrose Bierce doesn't give you a straightforward plot to follow. Instead, 'Can Such Things Be?' is a series of short, sharp shocks—a collection of tales where the normal world cracks open. Soldiers encounter phantom armies, travelers stumble into towns that shouldn't exist, and ordinary people are confronted with events that defy all logic. The 'conflict' is never just man versus monster; it's a character's entire understanding of reality wrestling with something they cannot explain.

Why You Should Read It

Bierce is the king of the unsettling question mark. He rarely gives you a neat ending. Instead, he leaves you hanging, wondering if what you just read was supernatural, a trick of the mind, or something even stranger. His prose is clean and direct, which makes the weird stuff hit even harder. There's no flowery language to hide behind. You get the facts, however impossible they seem, and you're left to sit with them. Reading Bierce feels like having a brilliant, slightly sinister friend tell you a 'true' story he swears happened, just to watch you squirm.

Final Verdict

This book is perfect for readers who find modern horror too obvious. If you love the eerie quiet of Shirley Jackson or the psychological twists of Edgar Allan Poe, Bierce is your essential, grumpy uncle. It's also a great pick for anyone interested in American folklore and the ghost stories that haunted the 19th century. Just don't expect to sleep soundly after a few chapters. Bierce's brand of horror sticks with you, quietly unraveling your certainty about the world.