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A Watcher by the Dead

Ambrose Bierce

First published 1891
Type Short Fiction
Length Short Story

Three physicians test their theories about fear by getting a man to sit all night beside a corpse.

First published in the San Francisco Examiner, December 29, 1889.

Date Publication Publisher Type Page
1891 Cover Tales of Soldiers and Civilians E. L. G. Steele Collection 165
1892 In the Midst of Life: Tales of Soldiers and Civilians Chatto & Windus Collection 145
1898 In the Midst of Life: Tales of Soldiers and Civilians G. P. Putnam's Sons Collection 183
1909 Cover In the Midst of Life: Tales of Soldiers and Civilians The Neale Publishing Company Collection 290
1910 In the Midst of Life: Tales of Soldiers and Civilians Chatto & Windus Collection 145
1918 In the Midst of Life: Tales of Soldiers and Civilians Boni & Liveright Collection 290
1918 In the Midst of Life: Tales of Soldiers and Civilians Boni & Liveright Collection 290
1930 In the Midst of Life: Tales of Soldiers and Civilians Chatto & Windus Collection 145
1937 Cover The Second Century of Creepy Stories Hutchinson Anthology 339
1941 In the Midst of Life: Tales of Soldiers and Civilians Chatto & Windus Collection 145
1943 Cover Tales of Soldiers and Civilians Heritage Press Collection 165
1945 Seven More Strange Stories Art & Educational Publishers Anthology 72
1945 Cover Twenty-Two Strange Stories Art & Educational Publishers Anthology 272
1947 Cover Terror at Night Avon Book Co. Anthology 146
1947 Cover La gerbe noire La Sixaine Anthology
1948 Cover Appointment with Fear Fenmore Publications Anthology 25
September 1954 Cover The Stakes Are High Pennant Books Collection 129
1957 Cover Best Horror Stories Faber and Faber Anthology 36
1961 Cover Spine Chillers: An Anthology of Mystery and Horror Elek Books Anthology 114
1961 Cover Panik: Gruselgeschichten aus England und Amerika von R. L. Stevenson bis Ernest Hemingway Diogenes Anthology 51
1962 Cover Best Horror Stories Faber and Faber Anthology 36
1962 Cover The Curse of Dracula and Other Terrifying Tales Horwitz Anthology
1963 Cover Mein Lieblingsmord Insel Collection
1964 Cover Ghost and Horror Stories of Ambrose Bierce Dover Publications Collection
October 1966 Cover Summoned from the Tomb: Great Tales of Horror Brown, Watson Anthology 112
1967 Cover The Edge of the Chair Harper & Row Anthology 109
1967 Cover Dat vervloekte ding en andere griezelverhalen Meulenhoff Collection 31
1968 Die besten klassischen und modernen Gruselgeschichten von Poe bis Hemingway Diogenes Anthology 51
1969 Cover Das Spukhaus Insel Collection 152
August 1969 Cover Skeleton Keys: Tales from the Edge of the Chair Dell Anthology 126
1970 Cover The Complete Short Stories of Ambrose Bierce Doubleday Collection 72
1971 Cover Tales of Soldiers and Civilians The Easton Press Collection 165
1973 Cover Povestiri stranii: pagini antologice din literatura Anglo-saxonă Editura Dacia Anthology
January 1973 Cover Summoned from the Tomb: Great Tales of Horror Sidgwick & Jackson Anthology 70
1974 Cover Un călăreț prin cer și alte povestiri Cartea Românească Collection
1974 Cover Ambrose Bierce: Master of the Macabre Listening Library Collection |5
1976 Cover Die besten klassischen und modernen Gruselgeschichten von Poe bis Hemingway Diogenes Anthology 51
November 1976 Cover Beyond Midnight Berkley Medallion Anthology 197
1977 Cover Dat vervloekte ding en andere griezelverhalen Het Spectrum Collection 31
January 1977 Cover Das Spukhaus Suhrkamp Collection 144
June 1981 Cover Racconti senza respiro. Volume primo Mondadori Anthology 219
1984 Cover The Complete Short Stories of Ambrose Bierce University of Nebraska Press Collection 72
1984 The Best of Ambrose Bierce Castle / Book Sales Omnibus 132
January 1984 Cover La gerbe noire Néo Anthology [7]
October 1987 Cover Le mort et son veilleur Néo Collection 101
December 1987 Cover The Devil's Advocate: An Ambrose Bierce Reader Chronicle Books Omnibus 155|155.2
1988 Cover The Collected Writings of Ambrose Bierce Picador / Pan Books Omnibus 132
June 1988 Cover La valle degli spiriti Fanucci Editore Collection 83
September 2005 Cover Die Augen des Panthers Audiobuch Collection |3
December 2007 Cover Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine, December 2007 Dell Magazines MAGAZINE 128
2009 Cover Bierce After Dark: 30 Strange Tales by Ambrose Bierce Coachwhip Publications Collection 38
July 2012 Cover Ambrose Bierce: Masters of the Weird Tale Centipede Press Collection
November 2012 Cover A Watcher by the Dead Baker Press Chapbook
April 2023 Cover The Ways of Ghosts: And Other Dark Tales British Library Publishing Collection 96