Horace Elisha Scudder (1838 – 1902) was a prolific American man of letters and editor.
He is now best known for his children's books and the editorship he held of The Atlantic Monthly. He was also an essayist, and produced large quantities of journalism that was printed anonymously. He was a correspondent of Hans Christian Andersen, and biographer of James Russell Lowell. He edited also The Riverside Magazine.
He was series editor for the extensive American Commonwealths series for Houghton Mifflin.
He was born into a Boston family, David Colt Scudder and Samuel Hubbard Scudder being brothers. He was educated at Williams College.