The Period of the Gruesome is the most extensive collection of stories written by the extraordinary 19th century journalist Lafcadio Hearn while he was a newspaper reporter in Cincinnati. It includes the only bibliography of Hearn's Cincinnati writings. The 54 stories presented in this study were selected from the 439 contributions Hearn made to three publications (The Cincinnati Enquirer, Ye Giglampz, and The Cincinnati Commercial) between November 1872 and April 1878. Presented chronologically, these stories were chosen for their uniqueness both in content and style.