“Deep sadness is an artist of powers that affects people in different ways. To one it comes like the stroke of an arrow, shocking all the emotions to a sharper life. To another, it comes as the blow of a crushing strike.”

American journalist and short-story writer of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Bierce’s work blends dark satire and existential cynicism. He is best known for his collection *The Devil’s Dictionary*, a witty and mordant compendium of definitions, and his haunting, often ambiguous short stories.