An anonymous reviewer in the Boston Daily Advertiser, however, noted that the stories in the collection were of "unequal merit" and preferred "the grace and sweetness of such papers as 'Little Annie's Ramble,' or 'A Rill from the Town-pump,' to those of a more ambitious cast, and in which the page glows with a wider and more fearful interest, like 'The Minister's Black Veil' and 'Dr. Heidegger's Experiment.'" Edgar Allan Poe reviewed the second edition of the collection in 1842 and wrote that "Dr. Heidegger's Experiment" was "exceedingly well imagined and executed with surpassing ability.
A critic in the Boston Daily Advertiser, who remained unnamed, commented on the disparity in quality among the stories in the collection, favoring those with a more subtle tone, such as 'Little Annie's Ramble' or 'A Rill from the Town-pump,' over those with a more complex and ominous narrative, like 'The Minister's Black Veil' and 'Dr. Heidegger's Experiment.' Edgar Allan Poe reviewed the second edition of the collection in 1842 and praised "Dr. Heidegger's Experiment" for its imaginative and skillful execution.