The Middle Toe of the Right Foot

Ambrose Gwinnett Bierce (1842–circa 1914) was born in Ohio in 1842, the tenth of thirteen children in a poor but educated family. He left home in his teens, studied at a military academy, and went on to serve with distinction in the Union Army during the Civil War. His battlefield experience would deeply influence his writing for the rest of his life. After the war, Bierce became a journalist and began publishing fiction. His stories often explore death, illusion, madness, and the cruelty of fate—obsessions rooted in his wartime past. An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge remains his best-known tale: a powerful blend of suspense and psychological depth. Stories like Chickamauga, The Death of Halpin Frayser, and The Middle Toe of the Right Foot showcase his gift for eerie atmosphere and sharp moral insight. As a columnist for The San Francisco Examiner, Bierce was notorious for his sarcasm and fearless commentary. His Devil's Dictionary offered cynical definitions of common words, exposing the absurdities of politics, religion, and society. In 1913, Bierce traveled to Mexico during the revolution and disappeared without a trace. His fate remains one of literature's great unsolved mysteries. Ambrose Bierce was a sharp-tongued realist, a dark visionary, and a writer who defied convention. His work continues to unsettle and fascinate—proof that shadows cast by the past can still fall across the present.