An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge and Other Stories

An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge and Other Stories by Ambrose Bierce (1891)

A Confederate sympathizer stands on a bridge with a noose around his neck, about to be hanged by Union soldiers. The rope breaks, he plunges into the creek, escapes — or does he? The most anthologized American short story and one of literature's greatest twist endings.

Historical Significance:
Ambrose Bierce, a Civil War veteran who fought at Shiloh, published "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" in 1890. Its devastating final twist — which redefines everything the reader has just experienced — is the ancestor of every surprise ending in literature and film, from O. Henry to The Sixth Sense. Bierce's war stories, drawn from firsthand combat experience, are among the most realistic and psychologically acute in American literature. His collection also includes "Chickamauga" and "The Eyes of the Panther." Bierce disappeared into revolutionary Mexico in 1913 and was never seen again — one of literature's enduring mysteries.

This public domain classic was originally published in 1891. Free to read and share.