Ambrose Bierce

Ambrose Bierce (1842–c. 1914) was an American writer, journalist, and satirist best known for his darkly ironic short stories and his scathing wit. A veteran of the American Civil War, Bierce drew on his battlefield experiences to craft haunting and psychologically complex fiction, most notably in Tales of Soldiers and Civilians (1891), which includes his most famous story, “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge.” He also authored The Devil’s Dictionary, a celebrated work of cynical humor and wordplay. Bierce disappeared in Mexico around 1914 while traveling to observe the revolution, and his fate remains one of American literature’s enduring mysteries.