Ambrose Bierce

Ambrose Gwinnett Bierce (born June 24, 1842, Horse Cave Creek, Meigs County, Ohio, USA – date of death uncertain, possibly December 1913 or early 1914, presumably in Mexico) was an American satirist, critic, poet, short story writer, editor and journalist.

Bierce in popular culture

Robert W. Chambers borrowed several terms and fictional locations (including, for instance, Carcosa and Hastur) from Bierce, for use in his book of horror short stories, The King in Yellow. The horror writer H.P. Lovecraft later incorporated these into his own work, as did other authors who later extended Lovecraft's characters and themes, collectively creating the Cthulhu Mythos.

Related Topics:
Robert W. Chambers - Carcosa - Hastur - The King in Yellow - H.P. Lovecraft - Cthulhu Mythos

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At least three films have been made of Bierce's story "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge". A silent movie version was made in the 1920s. A French version called "La Rivière du Hibou", directed by Robert Enrico, was released in 1962 (available as at 2005). This is a black and white film, faithfully recounting the original narrative using voice-over. Another version, directed by Brian James Egan, was released in 2005.

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Mexican novelist Carlos Fuentes wrote Gringo Viejo (The Old Gringo), a fictionalized account of Bierce's disappearance. Fuentes's keenly observed novel was later adapted as a motion picture, with Gregory Peck in the title role.

Related Topics:
Mexican - Novelist - Carlos Fuentes - Motion picture - Gregory Peck

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Bierce appears as a character in the 2000 movie From Dusk Till Dawn 3: The Hangman's Daughter (set in 1913, a prequel to the original From Dusk Till Dawn). While traveling to join up with Villa, Bierce is first attacked by bandits, and then trapped in a bar filled with vampires bent on killing all the humans inside. This clearly fictional adventure also portrayed Bierce as an alcoholic. In that movie Ambrose Bierce was played by Michael Parks.

Related Topics:
2000 - Prequel - From Dusk Till Dawn - Michael Parks

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Bierce appears as a character in Robert Heinlein's novella Lost Legacy, (published in the short story collection Assignment in Eternity). In the story, Bierce is one of a league of humans who have learned to use the unused portions of their brains and have advanced mental powers.

Related Topics:
Robert Heinlein - Lost Legacy - Assignment in Eternity

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Bierce appears as the main character and narrator in the story "The Oxoxoco Bottle" by Gerald Kersh. The bulk of the story purports to be a manuscript written by Bierce on his last journey in Mexico, and relates a very strange adventure. The manner of his death, however, remains a mystery at the end.

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Bierce is depicted as a detective in series of mystery novels by Oakley Hall, including "Ambrose Bierce and the Queen of Spades" and "Ambrose Bierce and the Death of Kings".

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In DC Comics's miniseries Stanley and His Monster, Bierce (or at least a character claiming to be Bierce) appears as a sardonic trenchcoat-clad adventurer into the supernatual, very similar to John Constantine; although Bierce derides Constantine as a "clown," he admits that he and Constantine are but two of several trenchcoated occult adventurers at large in the world, perhaps an implication by the writer that the archetype of the sarcastic commentator on the occult, exemplified by Constantine, can be traced back to Bierce as narrator of his own horror stories. When the comic book Bierce learns that the boy Stanley's friend, the nameless Monster, is a demon, he considers vanquishing him but soon realizes that the Monster is a benevolent demon and instead helps Stanley and his friend against other demons.

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