Earth's Holocaust (From "Mosses from an Old Manse")

by Nathaniel Hawthorne

"Earth's Holocaust (From "Mosses from an Old Manse")" by Nathaniel Hawthorne is a short story published in 1844. This allegorical tale appears in Hawthorne's collection *Mosses from an Old Manse*, works known for exploring the darker aspects of human nature. Like other stories in the collection, it carries Hawthorne's characteristic "blackness of darkness" beneath any surface brightness. The story exemplifies the author's complex allegorical style—writings whose meanings even Hawthorne himself later admitted he wasn't entirely sure he comprehended.