About Andrew

Andrew Barger

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Andrew is the award winning author of Coffee with Poe: A Novel of Edgar Allan Poe's Life and Mailboxes - Mansions - Memphistopheles: A Collection of Dark Tales. He edited the following annotated anthologies:

Crypt Classics: Best 19th Century Horror Stories Annotated

This annotated horror anthology delivers 13 haunting tales that will leave an indelible mark on your mind. Andrew read hundreds of horror short stories from long forgotten magazines to compile the 13 greatest of this crucial 100-year period for horror short stories. A number of the stories were published in leading periodicals of the day such as Blackwood's and Atkinson's Casket.

Witchcraft Classics: Best Witch Short Stories 1800-1849

The cradle of modern witch short stories began in the first half of the 19th century. This anthology unearths the very best of these stories. Andrew Barger, a leading voice in the Gothic literature space, searched forgotten magazines, newspapers, journals and scholarly articles, to uncover the best witch stories written in the English language over one hundred years after the horrific events of the Salem Witch Trials. They had a lasting effect in both the U.S. and Europe, as these publications reflect the many authors who penned witch stories in this genre. Andrew includes in his introduction to the collection, actual text from the Salem Witch Trials.

Shifters: Best Werewolf Short Stories 1800-1849

This classic werewolf anthology was picked as a Gothic Book Club Award Winner. In general, transformation of the werewolf in literature made its greatest strides in the 19th century when the shape-shifting monster leaped from poetry to the short story. It happened when this shorter form of literature was morphing into darker shapes thanks in no small part to Edgar Allan Poe, Honoré de Balzac, E. T. A. Hoffmann, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Prosper Mérimée, James Hogg, and so many others in Europe and the United States. The fifty year period between 1800 and 1849 is truly the cradle of all werewolf short stories.

The Divine Dantes: Squirt Guns in Hades (Book I of III)

If you’re actually going to waste your time reading this, I suppose you'll want to know answers to a bunch of squirrelly questions like the name of my band and who my girl is and why I don’t change my sorry name from Edward T. Nad to something rock-n-roll like Sting or Bono or Slash. The novel contains the characters of “The Inferno” and tracks their movements through Hades in modern times. Dante's Infernos: Squirt Guns in Hades is the first in a trilogy of novels that parallel “The Inferno,” “The Purgatorio,” and “The Paradiso” of Dante's The Divine Comedy through modern times.

6a66le: Best Horror Short Stories 1800-1849

This is a collection for anyone who loves a classic horror story. The horror anthology was a Next Generation Finalist in the Indie Book Awards. Thanks to Edgar Allan Poe, Honoré de Balzac, Nathaniel Hawthorne and others, the first half of the nineteenth century is the cradle of all modern horror short stories. Andrew Barger, the editor, read over 300 horror short stories and compiled the dozen best. A few have never been republished since they were first published in leading periodicals of the day such as Blackwood’s and Atkinson’s Casket. Andrew includes a list of all short stories he considered along with their dates of publication and the author, when available. He further includes background for each of the stories, author photos and annotations for difficult terminology.

Mailboxes - Mansions - Memphistopheles: A Collection of Dark Tales

A finalist in the International Book Awards, Andrew Barger’s first short story collection unleashes a blend of character-driven dark tales, which are sure to be remembered. In the collection Andrew unleashes a blend of character-driven dark tales, which are sure to be remembered.

Mesaerion: Best Science Fiction Stories 1800-1849

Looking for sci-fi stories that defined a genre? How about what is possibly the first science fiction tale by a female or the first steampunk short story? There is the first voyage to the moon and first sci-fi story with a lunar alien—Zuloc! What about a darkness machine and the first robotic insect? Andrew has searched old texts to find the very best science fiction stories from the period when the genre came to life, some of which are published for the first time in nearly 200 years.

Coffee with Poe: A Novel of Edgar Allan Poe’s Life

Coffee with Poe brings Edgar Allan Poe to life as never before. The book is filled with actual letters from his many romances and literary contemporaries. Orphaned at the age of two, Poe is raised by John Allan—his abusive foster father—who refuses to adopt him until he becomes straight-laced and businesslike. Poe, however, fancies poetry and young women. The contentious relationship culminates in a violent altercation, which causes Poe to leave his wealthy foster father’s home to make it as a writer. Poe tries desperately to get established as a writer but is ridiculed by the “Literati of New York.”

BlooDeath: Best Vampire Short Stories 1800-1849

Unearthed from long forgotten journals and magazines, Andrew Barger has found the very best vampire short stories from the first half of the 19th century. They are collected for the first time in this groundbreaking book on the origins of vampire lore. Included is the first vampire story originally written in English by John Polidori after a dare with Lord Byron and Mary Shelley. The book contains the first vampire story by an American who was a graduate of Columbia Law School. The book further includes the first vampire stories by an Englishman and German, including the only vampire stories by such renowned authors as Alexander Dumas, Théophile Gautier and Joseph le Fanu. As readers have come to expect from Andrew, he includes annotations, story backgrounds, author photos and a foreword titled “With Teeth.”

Phantasmal: Best Ghost Short Stories 1800-1849

Ghost stories became very popular in the first half of the nineteenth century and this collection contains the very scariest of them all. Some stories thought to be too horrific were published anonymously like “A Night in a Haunted House” and “The Deaf and Dumb Girl,” with the later being anthologized for the first time since its original publication in 1839.

The other ghost stories are by famous authors. “The Mask of the Red Death,” is by Edgar Allan Poe; “A Chapter in the History of a Tyrone Family,” by Joseph Sheridan le Fanu; “The Spectral Ship,” by Wilhelm Hauff; “The Old Maid in the Winding Sheet,” by Nathaniel Hawthorne; “The Adventure of the German Student,” and “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” by Washington Irving; as well as “The Tapestried Chamber,” by Sir Walter Scott. Andrew Barger has added his familiar scholarly touch to this collection by including annotations, story backgrounds, author photos and a foreword titled “All Ghosts Are Gray.”

Leo Tolstoy’s 20 Greatest Short Stories Annotated

Anna Karenina and War and Peace revealed Leo Tolstoy as one of the greatest writers in modern history. Few, however, have read his wonderful short stories. Now, in one collection, are the greatest short stories of Tolstoy, which give a snapshot of Russia and its people in the late 19th century. Annotations are included of difficult Russian terms. Read these short classics today.

A truly impressive anthology, “Leo Tolstoy’s 20 Greatest Short Stories” is especially recommended for acquisition by community and academic libraries, as well as the supplemental reading lists for students of Russian Literature.

MIDWEST BOOK REVIEW

Fright: Best Horror Short Stories 1850-1899

The best horror short stories from the last half of the nineteenth century are combined for the first time by Andrew Barger, award-winning author and editor of 6a66le: Best Horror Short Stories 1800-1849.

Andrew has meticulously researched the finest Victorian horror short stories and combined them into one undeniable collection. He has added his familiar scholarly touch by annotating the stories, providing story background information, author photos and a list of horror stories considered. Historic Horror. The best horror short stories from the last half of the 19th century include scary tales by Bram Stoker, Arthur Conan Doyle, Joseph Le Fanu, W. C. Morrow, H. G. Wells, Arthur Machen, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, and other early founders of the horror tale.

Specters: Best Ghost Short Stories 1850-1899

The best ghost stories from the last half of the 19th century have been meticulously compiled for this anthology. It includes shocking tales from popular American and Victorian authors including: Bram Stoker, M. R. James, Joseph Le Fanu, Charles Dickens, Elizabeth Nesbit, and Francis Marion Crawford. Boo!

Middle Unearthed: Best Fantasy Short Stories 1800-1849

Before there were lovable green ogres called Shrek and a kid wizard named Harry Potter, there were the ten best fantasy short stories published in English during the first half of the nineteenth century. In old magazines and forgotten journals, Andrew read well over 100 fantasy short stories and settled on the very best for this fantasy anthology. He provides a list, at the back of the collection, of the stories considered along with the author and year of publication. Andrew further includes background introductions to each story and author photos, where available.

Most of the time, however, I am a shiny-happy guy. I would love to start a band if only I could settle on a name for it. I live (and frequently get lost) in the vast world of my active imagination. It is a happy place. Really, it is. Thanks for your interest!