“A Horseman in the Sky” is a short story that can be considered an example of both Realism and Gothic literature. Realist literature seeks to capture the realities of a certain time period. In the story, for example, Bierce takes pains to capture the brutal realities of the Civil War. He clearly pulls from his real-life experience as a Union soldier when describing military tactics and strategies in the story. Bierce’s specific experience as a topographical engineer who mapped the terrain of potential battlefields likely also influenced his descriptions of the landscape.
The story is also an example of Gothic or horror literature, which comes across in its more haunting elements. For example, Bierce describes the appearance of the horseman in such a way that readers are left wondering if he is really there or merely a ghost-like apparition. The way in which the horseman seems to “fly” from the cliff after Druse shoots the horse also offers some horror-esque apocalyptic imagery. That Druse knowingly kills his own father also is meant to horrify and unsettle readers.
“A Horseman in the Sky” is also an example of war literature, as it is centered on depicting the realities of the American Civil War. It is notable that, while some war literature is devoid of a political orientation, Bierce certainly approached his war stories from an anti-war angle, trying to demonstrate the suffering and devastation he experienced first-hand in the war. This comes across in the way that Druse has to choose between fulfilling his “duty” as a Union soldier and killing his own father—just one type of lose-lose decision that war forces people to make.
