Middle Unearthed

Before there was a lovable green ogre called Shrek and a bespeckled wizard named Harry Potter, there were the best fantasy short stories published in English during the first half of the nineteenth century.

These 10 excellent stories were uncovered by awarding-winning editor Andrew Barger from old magazines and forgotten journals. Andrew provides a list, at the back of the collection, of the stories considered for the anthology. Andrew further includes background introductions to each story and author photos, where available. But his treatment of some of the earliest stories in the genre gets even better with annotations of the stories, which allows readers to peek behind the stories.

Read the best fantasy short stories by some of the world's greatest authors, including Mary Shelley, Charles Dickens and Washington Irving.

1836 "The Story of the Goblins Who Stole a Sexton"
(Charles Dickens)

1839 "The Kelpie Rock"
(Joseph Holt Ingraham)

1831 "Transformation"
(Mary Shelley)

1819 "Rip Van Winkle"
(Washington Irving)

1824 "Lilian of the Vale"
(George Darley)

1835 "The Doom of Soulis"
(John MacKay Wilson)

1827 "The Dwarf Nose"
(Wilhelm Hauff)

1829 "Seddik Ben Saad the Magician"
(D.C.)

1845 "The Witch Caprusche"
(Elizabeth F. Ellet)

1837 "The Pale Lady"
(George Soane)

Fantasy Short Stories Considered