First published in 1874, &ldquo;Cobwebs from an Empty Skull&rdquo; is a collection of incredible fables, philosophical discussions and surprising stories by American short story writer Ambrose Bierce. Bierce was a prolific and versatile writer regarded as one of the most influential journalists in the United States, and as a pioneering writer of realist fiction. For his horror writing, Michael Dirda ranked him alongside Edgar Allan Poe and H. P. Lovecraft.<br /><br />&ldquo;Cobwebs from an Empty Skull&rdquo; is divided into three sections: &quot;<b>Fables of Zambri, the Parsee</b>,&quot; an assortment of over 100 fables; &quot;<b>Brief Seasons of Intellectual Dissipation</b>,&quot; discussions between a fool and a philosopher, a doctor and a soldier, respectively; and &quot;<b>Divers Tales</b>,&quot; 28 different stories of an eclectic nature, including <i>The Grateful Bear</i>, <i>Dr. Deadwood</i>, <i>I Presume</i>, <i>Mrs. Dennison&#39;s Head</i>, and <i>Jim Beckwourth&#39;s Pond</i>.