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A Curious Dream

Mark Twain

First published November 1967
Type Short Fiction
Length Short Story

In a dream, a man encounters a procession of crumbling skeletons carrying their decaying shrouds, dilapidated caskets, and worn headstones; one stops to rest, and chats about how poorly maintained and decrepit their once fine cemetery has become, to the point that the residents have decided to pack up and find lodging more suitable to their station.

First published in The Century, January 1882. Technically non-genre, since it takes place in a dream.

Date Publication Publisher Type Page
November 1967 Cover Terribly Strange Tales Macrae Smith Company Anthology 243
November 1967 Cover Terribly Strange Tales Macrae Smith Company Anthology 243
February 1991 Cover Haunted America: Star-Spangled Supernatural Stories GuildAmerica Books / SFBC Anthology 113
1993 Cover 100 Hair-Raising Little Horror Stories Barnes & Noble Books Anthology 91
April 1994 100 Hair-Raising Little Horror Stories Michael O'Mara Books Anthology 91
1995 Cover 100 Hair-Raising Little Horror Stories Barnes & Noble Books Anthology 91
1997 Cover 100 Hair-Raising Little Horror Stories Barnes & Noble Books Anthology 91
2003 Cover 100 Hair-Raising Little Horror Stories Sterling Publishing Anthology 91
2004 Cover 100 Hair-Raising Little Horror Stories Barnes & Noble Books Anthology 91
October 2010 Cover The Book of the Living Dead Berkley Books Anthology 334