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Christopher Stanley
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Christopher Stanley lives on a hill in England with three sons who share a birthday but aren't triplets. He is the author of numerous prize-winning flash fictions, the darkest of which can be found spreading misery and mayhem in his debut collection, 'The Lamppost Huggers and Other Wretched Tales' (The Arcanist, June 2020). He’s also the author of the horror novelette, 'The Forest is Hungry' (Demain Publishing, April 2019). Christopher Stanley lives on a hill in England with three sons who share a birthday but aren't triplets. He is the author of numerous prize-winning flash fictions, the darkest of which can be found spreading misery and mayhem in his debut collection, 'The Lamppost Huggers and Other Wretched Tales' (The Arcanist, June 2020). He’s also the author of the horror novelette, 'The Forest is Hungry' (Demain Publishing, April 2019). ...more
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The Third Corona Book of Horror Stories
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Christopher Stanley (Goodreads Author),
John Haas (Goodreads Author)
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The Forest is Hungry
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The Singularity: 50 Science Fiction Tales of Our Future History
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Richie Brown (Goodreads Author)
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The Lamppost Huggers and Other Wretched Tales
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You Are Not Alone
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2020
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The Arcanist: Year One
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Josh Hrala (Editor),
Andie Fullmer (Editor),
Patrick Morris (Editor)
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Unbecoming Me, & Other Interruptions
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Exercise Log Book: Fitness & Strength Journal Workout Progress Tracking
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Christopher The Beautiful People
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Corruption and Political Affliction in Nigeria: Causes, Election Biased, and Reform
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Weird Tales: 32 Unearthed Terrors presents a single story from every year of the magazine's existence. Rather than a 'best of', this 1988 anthology presents the cream of tales that, for whatever reason, haven't been widely collected elsewhere. As the
Weird Tales: 32 Unearthed Terrors presents a single story from every year of the magazine's existence. Rather than a 'best of', this 1988 anthology presents the cream of tales that, for whatever reason, haven't been widely collected elsewhere. As the introduction states, "A good story bears retelling." The stories all start with an illustration and short, helpful biography. Anthony M. Rud, "A Square of Canvas" (1923) The opening story is a tale of art and death, which treads similar ground to Poe’s The Oval Portrait. In Rud's tale, the artist finds his inspiration in the spilling of blood, with events escalating somewhat predictably towards the conclusion. Interesting in that it tackles a question that’s still relevant today: can you love the art and not the artist? 3/5 C. M. Eddy, "The Loved Dead" (1924) The controversial tale of a man and his love for corpses, which may or may not have caused copies of Weird Tales to be withdrawn from sale in certain places. As with the previous tale, it benefits from not being overly graphic. 3/5 At the end of 1924, Farnsworth Wright replaced Edwin Baird as the editor of Weird Tales, championing the wide mix of fantasy, horror and science fiction stories for which the magazine is remembered today. Nictzin Dyalhis, "When the Green Star Waned" (1925) A science fiction tale about a planet invaded by 'evil intelligences' from the dark side of the 'Moun'. Yes, all the planets and satellites in this tale have names that are variations on those in our own solar system, which sounds cringeworthy but was actually helpful. Very readable, but not really my thing. 3/5 R. Anthony, "The Parasitic Hand" (1926) A strange appendage growing from a man's ribcage. X-rays that reveal a further anomaly. I enjoyed this body horror, but there was an opportunity here to explore the psychological elements, and particularly the bond between twins, more deeply. The second half was unexpected, but I wanted it to go further. 3/5 Edmond Hamilton, "Evolution Island" (1927) A machine that accelerates evolution. An uninhabited island in the West Indies. An experiment that threatens all of mankind. I'm not a scientist, but I'm confident the science in this tale is bonkers. And why not? This was an enjoyable, well-paced yarn that works as long as you don't think about it too much (or at all). 3/5 H. Warner Munn, "The Chain" (1928) A crippled cuckold. An arrogant lover. A rat-filled pit. Reminiscent of Poe's The Pit and the Pendulum, this was a dark, sadistic tale of torture and revenge. My third Munn short story and, like the others, it didn't disappoint. Climb! 4/5 Robert E. Howard, "The Shadow Kingdom" (1929) Snake-headed men. A secret invasion. And Kull, the barbarian king of Valusia. Howard created the sword and sorcery subgenre with this tale of a barbarian battling supernatural beings. Three years later, he would rewrite a rejected Kull story, turning it into The Phoenix on the Sword and introducing readers to his new character, Conan. Not my thing, but undoubtedly an important work in the history of Weird Tales. 3/5 Henry S. Whitehead, "The Shut Room" (1930) An old coaching inn. The legend of a notorious highwayman. The mystery of the disappearing leather. This was a relatively conventional British ghost story, which is a shame as Whitehead is known for his voodoo tales, having lived in the West Indies for the best part of a decade. 2/5 Seabury Quinn, "Satan's Stepson" (1931) A car crash on an icy night. An hysterical scream. A woman, back from the dead. I'm a fan of Quinn's mystery-solving doctors, and this novelette, reprinted for the first time, is one of the reasons I purchased this anthology. Sadly, it didn't live up to expectations. After a promising start, the two doctors are largely removed from the action as we're subjected to the lengthy stories of several secondary characters, which grew tedious. A missed opportunity. 2/5 Jack Williamson, "The Wand of Doom" (1932) The search for two brothers who've disappeared in the bayou swamps outside of New Orleans. Strange machinery and an acute fear of spiders. This sci-fi tale was in a similar vein to Evolution Island - daft but well-paced fun. 3/5 Clark Ashton Smith, "The Isle of Torturers" (1933) A swift and fatal plague. A magical ring. A doomed sea crossing. This tale leaned too far into fantasy for my tastes, and was predictable from a few pages in, but the writing was evocative and ultimately satisfying. 3/5 C. L. Moore, "Dust of Gods" (1934) Moore wasn't a fan of this sci-fi tale, the title of which came from a typo (she missed the 'l' when typing 'gold dust') - but when are artists ever truly satisfied with their work? Northwest Smith and his Venusian sidekick, Yarol, explore a cave on Mars in search of the titular god dust. Entertaining enough, although it would have worked just as well (and arguably better) as an Earth-based horror. 3/5 Laurence J. Cahill, "Charon" (1935) Written in the clipped voice of a hard-boiled detective story, this tale of a journalist on the trail of The Gray One - a mysterious man who eases the dying into death - rattled along at a decent pace. The ending was a little contrived and over-explained, but otherwise enjoyable. 3/5 Arthur J. Burks, "The Room of Shadows" (1936) A mysterious bellhop, a multitude of nippy 'sleeve dogs' (small Pekingese), and a protagonist whose sense of alarm is always dialled up to eleven - exclamation mark, exclamation mark! I might have given this story an extra point for being comically bad if the protagonist hadn't been so unlikeable. Burks wrote somewhere in the region of 800 stories for pulp magazines in the 1930s. Based on this, I think I'll give the other 799 a miss. 1/5 Mary Elizabeth Counselman, "The Black Stone Statue" (1937) A confessional letter from a struggling sculptor. An explorer who was thought to have died after his plane crashed in Brazil. A boxed secret that promises fame and riches. Another of Counselman's stories, The Three Marked Pennies was one of the most popular stories ever published in Weird Tales. I can see why. 4/5 Gans T. Field, "The Hairy Ones Shall Dance" (1938) A séance, a murder, and the 'ectoplasmic theory of lycanthropy'. This cracking novella, written by Manly Wade Wellman under the pseudonym 'Gans T. Field', features one of Wellman's recurring characters (Judge Pursuivant). Possibly inspired by Algernon Blackwood's The Camp of the Dog (referenced within the novella). This was very enjoyable, with a decent pace, well-crafted characters and enough twists to justify its length. 4/5 Robert Barbour Johnson, "Far Below" (1939) A subway train crash, a covert war, and the price that must be paid for spending too long underground. This tale was inspired by Barbour's father, who was part of the railroad's undercover police service, and possibly a painting in the Lovecraft story, Pickman's Model. In 1953, readers voted it the best story ever published in Weird Tales magazine, making it an odd but welcome choice for this anthology. 5/5 1940 was a year of significant change for Weird Tales, with Farnsworth Wright departing the magazine for health reasons and being replaced by Dorothy McIlwraith, who had previously edited Short Stories magazine. McIlwraith ushered in the writers who would shape the magazine over the next decade, including Ray Bradbury, Robert Bloch, Margaret St. Clare and Fritz Lieber. Fritz Lieber, "The Automatic Pistol" (1940) A prohibition era tale featuring booze-runners named Inky, Glasses, No Nose and Larson, and the titular weapon with a hair trigger. Something about this reminded me of early Stephen King. Great atmosphere, fun characters, and just a whiff of the supernatural. 4/5 H. P. Lovecraft, "The Case of Charles Dexter Ward" (1941) Published posthumously across two issues of Weird Tales, Lovecraft wasn't happy with this novel and never prepared it for publication. Did I enjoy it? Not really. Despite Lovecraft's formidable imagination, we're kept at arm's length from the characters and the drama, so it's difficult to invest. And some of the descriptive passages are tedious. This said, the scene where the doctor explores the catacombs was terrifying - a glimpse of what could have been. Too long, and too remote. 2/5 Henry Kuttner, "Masquerade" (1942) A husband and wife on their second honeymoon turn up at a former mental asylum on a stormy night, only to encounter the weird and murderous owners. It sounds like the stuff of pulp fiction, and it is, but right from the opening exchange it's clear there's something special going on. Predictable? Maybe, but I enjoyed every word of this comedy horror. Kuttner was married to C. L Moore (see Dust of Gods above). 5/5 Robert Bloch, "Black Barter" (1943) Mythological beings, witchcraft, and a bemused judge (named 'Numbottom') collide in this comedy of misadventures - something I hadn't expected from the famed author of Psycho. The pace never lets up and the whole thing is just so damned silly. A fun read. 3/5 Frank Belknap Long, "The Peeper" (1944) What happens if we murder (metaphorically or otherwise) our younger, more idealistic selves? This tale of a famous newspaper columnist scores highly in the weirdness stakes, and continues to surprise to the very end. I've read a couple of Long's other stories and, from memory, one was great and one was a mess. This one hit the spot nicely. 4/5 Carl Jacobi, "Carnaby's Fish" (1945) The lakeside property no one wants to rent. The former tenant who died mysteriously in the storm. And the ripples on the water, even on windless days. This was a satisfying tale, created around weird elements but never letting them surface for too long. I'd like to read more by this author. 4/5 Ray Bradbury, "Let's Play Poison" (1946) Bradbury must be one of Weird Tales' most famous and enduring alumni, despite having arrived late in the magazine's classic run. His novel, Something Wicked This Way Comes is one of the best things I've read in recent years. This tale, which also has children at its heart, deftly spins and weaves ideas to a broadly satisfying conclusion. Not a bad story, but it could have been longer, and I would like to have cared more about the protagonist - a teacher suffering from PTSD who dislikes and distrusts children. 3/5 C. Hall Thompson, "The Will of Claude Ashur" (1947) Thompson wrote four stories for Weird Tales, including two associated with Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos. The Will of Claude Ashur is one of these. The influence is obvious, from references to the Miskatonic University and the Necronomicon, to the preference for dense, descriptive prose. Despite this, Thompson's novelette of mad relatives and possession brings us close enough to the characters to be engaging, even if the pace is sometimes a little slow. 4/5 Theodore Sturgeon, "The Professor's Teddy Bear" (1948) A 'hungering' monster that speaks with its ear. A boy who dreams of accidents. A professor trying to remember. This was weird and kind of tragic and unlike anything I've read. In the 1950s, Sturgeon's stories were anthologised more than any other author's. 5/5 Fredric Brown, "Come and Go Mad" (1949) Amnesia. Paranoia. Delusion. Dementia praecox (schizophrenia). Brown's sci-fi novelette of a journalist sent to investigate an asylum gives us plenty of time to get acquainted with the protagonist so we fully experience his descent(?) into madness. Bonkers, but brilliantly done. 5/5 Isaac Asimov and James MacCreigh, "Legal Rites" (1950) A haunted mansion, an evicted ghost, and the courtroom drama that follows. This satirical novelette, written by Fred Pohl (under the pen name James MacCreigh) and Isaac Asimov, explores what happens when rigid American property rights law collides with the supernatural. Notable for being Asimov's only contribution to Weird Tales (published by Pohl after Asimov had forgotten about it), and a rare foray into fantasy by the famed science fiction author. 4/5 August Derleth, "Something From Out There" (1951) A disorientated man clutching a star-shaped stone. "Dark things" done at Oxford (the university, presumably). The thing in the caves beneath the ruined priory. This Cthulhu Mythos short story (fan fiction?) moved at a decent pace and didn't outstay its welcome, although the characters were thinly drawn. In 1988, this story was unique for being the only story Derleth had not included in any of his collections. Make of this what you will. 3/5 Joseph Payne Brennan, "The Green Parrot" (1952) A straightforward ghost story, devoid of atmosphere, by an author who doesn't seem to have found his voice. Literary critic S. T. Yoshi said Brennan had good ideas "but an utter deficiency of literary talent to execute [them] competently." Not bad, but not good either. 2/5 Richard Matheson, "Slaughter House" (1953) Another ghost story, this time of the haunted house variety. I started reading this atmospheric novelette shortly after midnight, and I'm ashamed to say I quit half way through when the wind picked up outside and the lights started flickering. Dripping with menace, this tale of two brothers moving in to the long-abandoned Slaughter House would have benefited from a good final edit to pare back some of the descriptive passages. A strangely routine tale for Weird Tales, but enjoyable nonetheless. 4/5 Everil Worrell, "Call Not Their Names" (1954) A clash of cultures, of East meets West, and a tragic love story that transcends generations. There were moments in this final novelette that were gripping and surprising, and I'm sure there's a fantastic story in it somewhere, but for the most part it was too long and hard to follow. 3/5 Overall, Weird Tales: 32 Unearthed Terrors is a treasure. In addition to the stories, biographies and illustrations, there's a real sense of history unfolding, of writing styles evolving across decades. It's hard not to appreciate the importance of the unique magazine, and the lasting contribution it's made to our culture. Not all the stories have aged well, and there are typos throughout (were they preserved from the original texts?), but these are momentary distractions in an anthology of this size. And best of all, I now have a list of other Weird Tales stories by the featured authors that I want to check out. Highly recommended. Check out my other Weird Tales anthology reviews: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... ...more |
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This slender anthology represents “some of the best—and often, some of the least known” stories from Weird Tales’ first year of publication (1923), and it’s perfect for a long weekend. Stories with an asterisk are ones I've read before. Orville R. Em This slender anthology represents “some of the best—and often, some of the least known” stories from Weird Tales’ first year of publication (1923), and it’s perfect for a long weekend. Stories with an asterisk are ones I've read before. Orville R. Emerson, “The Grave” Buried alive in a dugout during the war. A glimpse of freedom that keeps getting further away. I’m not sure this tale is weird, but the horror felt very real. A solid start to the anthology. 3/5 Herbert J. Mangham, “The Basket” A room in the basement and the solitary recluse who calls it home. This tale is curious, sad and a little weird, but like its subject, it failed to make much of a ripple. 2/5 J. Paul Suter, “Beyond the Door” The diary of a dead man feels like solid Weird Tales territory. What happened to the girlfriend? What is it that haunts the creepy, bug-filled house? And why does the scientist feel the well in the cellar calling to him at night? Very effective. 4/5 Lyle Wilson Holden, “The Devil Plant” I like a revenge plot as much as the next reader, but I struggled to feel this one, despite the giant pineapple and the broadly satisfying conclusion. 2/5 Herman Sisk, “The Purple Heart” The tale of a haunted cabin, which is visited every year on the anniversary of the father’s murder. Very strange, and not what I expected. There were ample opportunities here, and I liked that it avoided anything obvious, but sadly I wasn’t convinced. 2.5/5 Julian Kilman, “The Well” The second tale to feature a well, although this story of a land dispute between neighbouring famers is bloodier than Suter’s Beyond the Door. The protagonist’s guilt and descent into madness are nicely done. 4/5 Valma Clark, “The Two Men Who Murdered Each Other” My favourite title in this anthology. This novelette tells the tale of two archaeologists who become rivals when they discover two halves of a history-changing artefact, and the misadventures that follow. No one gets away cleanly. 4/5 P. D. Gog, “The Dead-Naming of Lukapehu” There’s not enough meat on the bones of this Hawaiian sorcerer tale for it to be satisfying, even with the suggestion that it could be true. 1/5 James L. Ravenscroft, “The Bloodstained Parasol” Love plus vivisection equals madness. Or something like that. Not my thing. 2/5 Frank Owen, ”The Man Who Owned the World“ More madness, and another story that’s little more than an idea. 2/5 Farnsworth Wright, “An Adventure in the Fourth Dimension” Some light relief in the form of visiting Jupiterians whose teeth are covered in ears and whose ears carry ‘a quizzical eye’. I enjoyed this comical tale, but I’m not sure the visitors deserved their fates. 3/5 H. P. Lovecraft, “Dagon”* Lovecraft’s undeniable gift for the weird sets him apart from many of his contemporaries, although his tales tend to be either the best or worst in an anthology, depending on the purpleness of his prose. This story of a man adrift at sea, who finds himself stranded in a slimy black mire where he encounters a monster, packs a lot into relatively few words. 4/5 John D. Swain, “Lucifer” A crippled boy and a father who will do anything to make him ‘whole’. A sweaty little Luciferian, and the price that must be paid. The final tale in the anthology is certainly cruel. The poor boy. 3/5 ...a few observations Many of the tales in this anthology are very short, and many of these spend a page or two describing the setting in which the tale is to be told, leaving very little space for the story to develop, which is a shame as there are some great ideas here, worthy of further exploration. The anthology would have benefited from a good proofread, and in the September section, Kaye promises us Otis Adelbert Kline’s The Cup of Blood, although sadly it’s not included. Overall, this was an enjoyable read, especially given that 1923 wasn’t the magazine’s finest year. It’s a shame we won’t be treated to further anthologies in this series. Other Weird Tales anthology reviews: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... ...more |
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Weird Tales: 32 Unearthed Terrors presents a single story from every year of the magazine's existence. Rather than a 'best of', this 1988 anthology presents the cream of tales that, for whatever reason, haven't been widely collected elsewhere. As the
Weird Tales: 32 Unearthed Terrors presents a single story from every year of the magazine's existence. Rather than a 'best of', this 1988 anthology presents the cream of tales that, for whatever reason, haven't been widely collected elsewhere. As the introduction states, "A good story bears retelling." The stories all start with an illustration and short, helpful biography. Anthony M. Rud, "A Square of Canvas" (1923) The opening story is a tale of art and death, which treads similar ground to Poe’s The Oval Portrait. In Rud's tale, the artist finds his inspiration in the spilling of blood, with events escalating somewhat predictably towards the conclusion. Interesting in that it tackles a question that’s still relevant today: can you love the art and not the artist? 3/5 C. M. Eddy, "The Loved Dead" (1924) The controversial tale of a man and his love for corpses, which may or may not have caused copies of Weird Tales to be withdrawn from sale in certain places. As with the previous tale, it benefits from not being overly graphic. 3/5 At the end of 1924, Farnsworth Wright replaced Edwin Baird as the editor of Weird Tales, championing the wide mix of fantasy, horror and science fiction stories for which the magazine is remembered today. Nictzin Dyalhis, "When the Green Star Waned" (1925) A science fiction tale about a planet invaded by 'evil intelligences' from the dark side of the 'Moun'. Yes, all the planets and satellites in this tale have names that are variations on those in our own solar system, which sounds cringeworthy but was actually helpful. Very readable, but not really my thing. 3/5 R. Anthony, "The Parasitic Hand" (1926) A strange appendage growing from a man's ribcage. X-rays that reveal a further anomaly. I enjoyed this body horror, but there was an opportunity here to explore the psychological elements, and particularly the bond between twins, more deeply. The second half was unexpected, but I wanted it to go further. 3/5 Edmond Hamilton, "Evolution Island" (1927) A machine that accelerates evolution. An uninhabited island in the West Indies. An experiment that threatens all of mankind. I'm not a scientist, but I'm confident the science in this tale is bonkers. And why not? This was an enjoyable, well-paced yarn that works as long as you don't think about it too much (or at all). 3/5 H. Warner Munn, "The Chain" (1928) A crippled cuckold. An arrogant lover. A rat-filled pit. Reminiscent of Poe's The Pit and the Pendulum, this was a dark, sadistic tale of torture and revenge. My third Munn short story and, like the others, it didn't disappoint. Climb! 4/5 Robert E. Howard, "The Shadow Kingdom" (1929) Snake-headed men. A secret invasion. And Kull, the barbarian king of Valusia. Howard created the sword and sorcery subgenre with this tale of a barbarian battling supernatural beings. Three years later, he would rewrite a rejected Kull story, turning it into The Phoenix on the Sword and introducing readers to his new character, Conan. Not my thing, but undoubtedly an important work in the history of Weird Tales. 3/5 Henry S. Whitehead, "The Shut Room" (1930) An old coaching inn. The legend of a notorious highwayman. The mystery of the disappearing leather. This was a relatively conventional British ghost story, which is a shame as Whitehead is known for his voodoo tales, having lived in the West Indies for the best part of a decade. 2/5 Seabury Quinn, "Satan's Stepson" (1931) A car crash on an icy night. An hysterical scream. A woman, back from the dead. I'm a fan of Quinn's mystery-solving doctors, and this novelette, reprinted for the first time, is one of the reasons I purchased this anthology. Sadly, it didn't live up to expectations. After a promising start, the two doctors are largely removed from the action as we're subjected to the lengthy stories of several secondary characters, which grew tedious. A missed opportunity. 2/5 Jack Williamson, "The Wand of Doom" (1932) The search for two brothers who've disappeared in the bayou swamps outside of New Orleans. Strange machinery and an acute fear of spiders. This sci-fi tale was in a similar vein to Evolution Island - daft but well-paced fun. 3/5 Clark Ashton Smith, "The Isle of Torturers" (1933) A swift and fatal plague. A magical ring. A doomed sea crossing. This tale leaned too far into fantasy for my tastes, and was predictable from a few pages in, but the writing was evocative and ultimately satisfying. 3/5 C. L. Moore, "Dust of Gods" (1934) Moore wasn't a fan of this sci-fi tale, the title of which came from a typo (she missed the 'l' when typing 'gold dust') - but when are artists ever truly satisfied with their work? Northwest Smith and his Venusian sidekick, Yarol, explore a cave on Mars in search of the titular god dust. Entertaining enough, although it would have worked just as well (and arguably better) as an Earth-based horror. 3/5 Laurence J. Cahill, "Charon" (1935) Written in the clipped voice of a hard-boiled detective story, this tale of a journalist on the trail of The Gray One - a mysterious man who eases the dying into death - rattled along at a decent pace. The ending was a little contrived and over-explained, but otherwise enjoyable. 3/5 Arthur J. Burks, "The Room of Shadows" (1936) A mysterious bellhop, a multitude of nippy 'sleeve dogs' (small Pekingese), and a protagonist whose sense of alarm is always dialled up to eleven - exclamation mark, exclamation mark! I might have given this story an extra point for being comically bad if the protagonist hadn't been so unlikeable. Burks wrote somewhere in the region of 800 stories for pulp magazines in the 1930s. Based on this, I think I'll give the other 799 a miss. 1/5 Mary Elizabeth Counselman, "The Black Stone Statue" (1937) A confessional letter from a struggling sculptor. An explorer who was thought to have died after his plane crashed in Brazil. A boxed secret that promises fame and riches. Another of Counselman's stories, The Three Marked Pennies was one of the most popular stories ever published in Weird Tales. I can see why. 4/5 Gans T. Field, "The Hairy Ones Shall Dance" (1938) A séance, a murder, and the 'ectoplasmic theory of lycanthropy'. This cracking novella, written by Manly Wade Wellman under the pseudonym 'Gans T. Field', features one of Wellman's recurring characters (Judge Pursuivant). Possibly inspired by Algernon Blackwood's The Camp of the Dog (referenced within the novella). This was very enjoyable, with a decent pace, well-crafted characters and enough twists to justify its length. 4/5 Robert Barbour Johnson, "Far Below" (1939) A subway train crash, a covert war, and the price that must be paid for spending too long underground. This tale was inspired by Barbour's father, who was part of the railroad's undercover police service, and possibly a painting in the Lovecraft story, Pickman's Model. In 1953, readers voted it the best story ever published in Weird Tales magazine, making it an odd but welcome choice for this anthology. 5/5 1940 was a year of significant change for Weird Tales, with Farnsworth Wright departing the magazine for health reasons and being replaced by Dorothy McIlwraith, who had previously edited Short Stories magazine. McIlwraith ushered in the writers who would shape the magazine over the next decade, including Ray Bradbury, Robert Bloch, Margaret St. Clare and Fritz Lieber. Fritz Lieber, "The Automatic Pistol" (1940) A prohibition era tale featuring booze-runners named Inky, Glasses, No Nose and Larson, and the titular weapon with a hair trigger. Something about this reminded me of early Stephen King. Great atmosphere, fun characters, and just a whiff of the supernatural. 4/5 H. P. Lovecraft, "The Case of Charles Dexter Ward" (1941) Published posthumously across two issues of Weird Tales, Lovecraft wasn't happy with this novel and never prepared it for publication. Did I enjoy it? Not really. Despite Lovecraft's formidable imagination, we're kept at arm's length from the characters and the drama, so it's difficult to invest. And some of the descriptive passages are tedious. This said, the scene where the doctor explores the catacombs was terrifying - a glimpse of what could have been. Too long, and too remote. 2/5 Henry Kuttner, "Masquerade" (1942) A husband and wife on their second honeymoon turn up at a former mental asylum on a stormy night, only to encounter the weird and murderous owners. It sounds like the stuff of pulp fiction, and it is, but right from the opening exchange it's clear there's something special going on. Predictable? Maybe, but I enjoyed every word of this comedy horror. Kuttner was married to C. L Moore (see Dust of Gods above). 5/5 Robert Bloch, "Black Barter" (1943) Mythological beings, witchcraft, and a bemused judge (named 'Numbottom') collide in this comedy of misadventures - something I hadn't expected from the famed author of Psycho. The pace never lets up and the whole thing is just so damned silly. A fun read. 3/5 Frank Belknap Long, "The Peeper" (1944) What happens if we murder (metaphorically or otherwise) our younger, more idealistic selves? This tale of a famous newspaper columnist scores highly in the weirdness stakes, and continues to surprise to the very end. I've read a couple of Long's other stories and, from memory, one was great and one was a mess. This one hit the spot nicely. 4/5 Carl Jacobi, "Carnaby's Fish" (1945) The lakeside property no one wants to rent. The former tenant who died mysteriously in the storm. And the ripples on the water, even on windless days. This was a satisfying tale, created around weird elements but never letting them surface for too long. I'd like to read more by this author. 4/5 Ray Bradbury, "Let's Play Poison" (1946) Bradbury must be one of Weird Tales' most famous and enduring alumni, despite having arrived late in the magazine's classic run. His novel, Something Wicked This Way Comes is one of the best things I've read in recent years. This tale, which also has children at its heart, deftly spins and weaves ideas to a broadly satisfying conclusion. Not a bad story, but it could have been longer, and I would like to have cared more about the protagonist - a teacher suffering from PTSD who dislikes and distrusts children. 3/5 C. Hall Thompson, "The Will of Claude Ashur" (1947) Thompson wrote four stories for Weird Tales, including two associated with Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos. The Will of Claude Ashur is one of these. The influence is obvious, from references to the Miskatonic University and the Necronomicon, to the preference for dense, descriptive prose. Despite this, Thompson's novelette of mad relatives and possession brings us close enough to the characters to be engaging, even if the pace is sometimes a little slow. 4/5 Theodore Sturgeon, "The Professor's Teddy Bear" (1948) A 'hungering' monster that speaks with its ear. A boy who dreams of accidents. A professor trying to remember. This was weird and kind of tragic and unlike anything I've read. In the 1950s, Sturgeon's stories were anthologised more than any other author's. 5/5 Fredric Brown, "Come and Go Mad" (1949) Amnesia. Paranoia. Delusion. Dementia praecox (schizophrenia). Brown's sci-fi novelette of a journalist sent to investigate an asylum gives us plenty of time to get acquainted with the protagonist so we fully experience his descent(?) into madness. Bonkers, but brilliantly done. 5/5 Isaac Asimov and James MacCreigh, "Legal Rites" (1950) A haunted mansion, an evicted ghost, and the courtroom drama that follows. This satirical novelette, written by Fred Pohl (under the pen name James MacCreigh) and Isaac Asimov, explores what happens when rigid American property rights law collides with the supernatural. Notable for being Asimov's only contribution to Weird Tales (published by Pohl after Asimov had forgotten about it), and a rare foray into fantasy by the famed science fiction author. 4/5 August Derleth, "Something From Out There" (1951) A disorientated man clutching a star-shaped stone. "Dark things" done at Oxford (the university, presumably). The thing in the caves beneath the ruined priory. This Cthulhu Mythos short story (fan fiction?) moved at a decent pace and didn't outstay its welcome, although the characters were thinly drawn. In 1988, this story was unique for being the only story Derleth had not included in any of his collections. Make of this what you will. 3/5 Joseph Payne Brennan, "The Green Parrot" (1952) A straightforward ghost story, devoid of atmosphere, by an author who doesn't seem to have found his voice. Literary critic S. T. Yoshi said Brennan had good ideas "but an utter deficiency of literary talent to execute [them] competently." Not bad, but not good either. 2/5 Richard Matheson, "Slaughter House" (1953) Another ghost story, this time of the haunted house variety. I started reading this atmospheric novelette shortly after midnight, and I'm ashamed to say I quit half way through when the wind picked up outside and the lights started flickering. Dripping with menace, this tale of two brothers moving in to the long-abandoned Slaughter House would have benefited from a good final edit to pare back some of the descriptive passages. A strangely routine tale for Weird Tales, but enjoyable nonetheless. 4/5 Everil Worrell, "Call Not Their Names" (1954) A clash of cultures, of East meets West, and a tragic love story that transcends generations. There were moments in this final novelette that were gripping and surprising, and I'm sure there's a fantastic story in it somewhere, but for the most part it was too long and hard to follow. 3/5 Overall, Weird Tales: 32 Unearthed Terrors is a treasure. In addition to the stories, biographies and illustrations, there's a real sense of history unfolding, of writing styles evolving across decades. It's hard not to appreciate the importance of the unique magazine, and the lasting contribution it's made to our culture. Not all the stories have aged well, and there are typos throughout (were they preserved from the original texts?), but these are momentary distractions in an anthology of this size. And best of all, I now have a list of other Weird Tales stories by the featured authors that I want to check out. Highly recommended. Check out my other Weird Tales anthology reviews: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... ...more |
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Weird Tales: 32 Unearthed Terrors presents a single story from every year of the magazine's existence. Rather than a 'best of', this 1988 anthology presents the cream of tales that, for whatever reason, haven't been widely collected elsewhere. As the
Weird Tales: 32 Unearthed Terrors presents a single story from every year of the magazine's existence. Rather than a 'best of', this 1988 anthology presents the cream of tales that, for whatever reason, haven't been widely collected elsewhere. As the introduction states, "A good story bears retelling." The stories all start with an illustration and short, helpful biography. Anthony M. Rud, "A Square of Canvas" (1923) The opening story is a tale of art and death, which treads similar ground to Poe’s The Oval Portrait. In Rud's tale, the artist finds his inspiration in the spilling of blood, with events escalating somewhat predictably towards the conclusion. Interesting in that it tackles a question that’s still relevant today: can you love the art and not the artist? 3/5 C. M. Eddy, "The Loved Dead" (1924) The controversial tale of a man and his love for corpses, which may or may not have caused copies of Weird Tales to be withdrawn from sale in certain places. As with the previous tale, it benefits from not being overly graphic. 3/5 At the end of 1924, Farnsworth Wright replaced Edwin Baird as the editor of Weird Tales, championing the wide mix of fantasy, horror and science fiction stories for which the magazine is remembered today. Nictzin Dyalhis, "When the Green Star Waned" (1925) A science fiction tale about a planet invaded by 'evil intelligences' from the dark side of the 'Moun'. Yes, all the planets and satellites in this tale have names that are variations on those in our own solar system, which sounds cringeworthy but was actually helpful. Very readable, but not really my thing. 3/5 R. Anthony, "The Parasitic Hand" (1926) A strange appendage growing from a man's ribcage. X-rays that reveal a further anomaly. I enjoyed this body horror, but there was an opportunity here to explore the psychological elements, and particularly the bond between twins, more deeply. The second half was unexpected, but I wanted it to go further. 3/5 Edmond Hamilton, "Evolution Island" (1927) A machine that accelerates evolution. An uninhabited island in the West Indies. An experiment that threatens all of mankind. I'm not a scientist, but I'm confident the science in this tale is bonkers. And why not? This was an enjoyable, well-paced yarn that works as long as you don't think about it too much (or at all). 3/5 H. Warner Munn, "The Chain" (1928) A crippled cuckold. An arrogant lover. A rat-filled pit. Reminiscent of Poe's The Pit and the Pendulum, this was a dark, sadistic tale of torture and revenge. My third Munn short story and, like the others, it didn't disappoint. Climb! 4/5 Robert E. Howard, "The Shadow Kingdom" (1929) Snake-headed men. A secret invasion. And Kull, the barbarian king of Valusia. Howard created the sword and sorcery subgenre with this tale of a barbarian battling supernatural beings. Three years later, he would rewrite a rejected Kull story, turning it into The Phoenix on the Sword and introducing readers to his new character, Conan. Not my thing, but undoubtedly an important work in the history of Weird Tales. 3/5 Henry S. Whitehead, "The Shut Room" (1930) An old coaching inn. The legend of a notorious highwayman. The mystery of the disappearing leather. This was a relatively conventional British ghost story, which is a shame as Whitehead is known for his voodoo tales, having lived in the West Indies for the best part of a decade. 2/5 Seabury Quinn, "Satan's Stepson" (1931) A car crash on an icy night. An hysterical scream. A woman, back from the dead. I'm a fan of Quinn's mystery-solving doctors, and this novelette, reprinted for the first time, is one of the reasons I purchased this anthology. Sadly, it didn't live up to expectations. After a promising start, the two doctors are largely removed from the action as we're subjected to the lengthy stories of several secondary characters, which grew tedious. A missed opportunity. 2/5 Jack Williamson, "The Wand of Doom" (1932) The search for two brothers who've disappeared in the bayou swamps outside of New Orleans. Strange machinery and an acute fear of spiders. This sci-fi tale was in a similar vein to Evolution Island - daft but well-paced fun. 3/5 Clark Ashton Smith, "The Isle of Torturers" (1933) A swift and fatal plague. A magical ring. A doomed sea crossing. This tale leaned too far into fantasy for my tastes, and was predictable from a few pages in, but the writing was evocative and ultimately satisfying. 3/5 C. L. Moore, "Dust of Gods" (1934) Moore wasn't a fan of this sci-fi tale, the title of which came from a typo (she missed the 'l' when typing 'gold dust') - but when are artists ever truly satisfied with their work? Northwest Smith and his Venusian sidekick, Yarol, explore a cave on Mars in search of the titular god dust. Entertaining enough, although it would have worked just as well (and arguably better) as an Earth-based horror. 3/5 Laurence J. Cahill, "Charon" (1935) Written in the clipped voice of a hard-boiled detective story, this tale of a journalist on the trail of The Gray One - a mysterious man who eases the dying into death - rattled along at a decent pace. The ending was a little contrived and over-explained, but otherwise enjoyable. 3/5 Arthur J. Burks, "The Room of Shadows" (1936) A mysterious bellhop, a multitude of nippy 'sleeve dogs' (small Pekingese), and a protagonist whose sense of alarm is always dialled up to eleven - exclamation mark, exclamation mark! I might have given this story an extra point for being comically bad if the protagonist hadn't been so unlikeable. Burks wrote somewhere in the region of 800 stories for pulp magazines in the 1930s. Based on this, I think I'll give the other 799 a miss. 1/5 Mary Elizabeth Counselman, "The Black Stone Statue" (1937) A confessional letter from a struggling sculptor. An explorer who was thought to have died after his plane crashed in Brazil. A boxed secret that promises fame and riches. Another of Counselman's stories, The Three Marked Pennies was one of the most popular stories ever published in Weird Tales. I can see why. 4/5 Gans T. Field, "The Hairy Ones Shall Dance" (1938) A séance, a murder, and the 'ectoplasmic theory of lycanthropy'. This cracking novella, written by Manly Wade Wellman under the pseudonym 'Gans T. Field', features one of Wellman's recurring characters (Judge Pursuivant). Possibly inspired by Algernon Blackwood's The Camp of the Dog (referenced within the novella). This was very enjoyable, with a decent pace, well-crafted characters and enough twists to justify its length. 4/5 Robert Barbour Johnson, "Far Below" (1939) A subway train crash, a covert war, and the price that must be paid for spending too long underground. This tale was inspired by Barbour's father, who was part of the railroad's undercover police service, and possibly a painting in the Lovecraft story, Pickman's Model. In 1953, readers voted it the best story ever published in Weird Tales magazine, making it an odd but welcome choice for this anthology. 5/5 1940 was a year of significant change for Weird Tales, with Farnsworth Wright departing the magazine for health reasons and being replaced by Dorothy McIlwraith, who had previously edited Short Stories magazine. McIlwraith ushered in the writers who would shape the magazine over the next decade, including Ray Bradbury, Robert Bloch, Margaret St. Clare and Fritz Lieber. Fritz Lieber, "The Automatic Pistol" (1940) A prohibition era tale featuring booze-runners named Inky, Glasses, No Nose and Larson, and the titular weapon with a hair trigger. Something about this reminded me of early Stephen King. Great atmosphere, fun characters, and just a whiff of the supernatural. 4/5 H. P. Lovecraft, "The Case of Charles Dexter Ward" (1941) Published posthumously across two issues of Weird Tales, Lovecraft wasn't happy with this novel and never prepared it for publication. Did I enjoy it? Not really. Despite Lovecraft's formidable imagination, we're kept at arm's length from the characters and the drama, so it's difficult to invest. And some of the descriptive passages are tedious. This said, the scene where the doctor explores the catacombs was terrifying - a glimpse of what could have been. Too long, and too remote. 2/5 Henry Kuttner, "Masquerade" (1942) A husband and wife on their second honeymoon turn up at a former mental asylum on a stormy night, only to encounter the weird and murderous owners. It sounds like the stuff of pulp fiction, and it is, but right from the opening exchange it's clear there's something special going on. Predictable? Maybe, but I enjoyed every word of this comedy horror. Kuttner was married to C. L Moore (see Dust of Gods above). 5/5 Robert Bloch, "Black Barter" (1943) Mythological beings, witchcraft, and a bemused judge (named 'Numbottom') collide in this comedy of misadventures - something I hadn't expected from the famed author of Psycho. The pace never lets up and the whole thing is just so damned silly. A fun read. 3/5 Frank Belknap Long, "The Peeper" (1944) What happens if we murder (metaphorically or otherwise) our younger, more idealistic selves? This tale of a famous newspaper columnist scores highly in the weirdness stakes, and continues to surprise to the very end. I've read a couple of Long's other stories and, from memory, one was great and one was a mess. This one hit the spot nicely. 4/5 Carl Jacobi, "Carnaby's Fish" (1945) The lakeside property no one wants to rent. The former tenant who died mysteriously in the storm. And the ripples on the water, even on windless days. This was a satisfying tale, created around weird elements but never letting them surface for too long. I'd like to read more by this author. 4/5 Ray Bradbury, "Let's Play Poison" (1946) Bradbury must be one of Weird Tales' most famous and enduring alumni, despite having arrived late in the magazine's classic run. His novel, Something Wicked This Way Comes is one of the best things I've read in recent years. This tale, which also has children at its heart, deftly spins and weaves ideas to a broadly satisfying conclusion. Not a bad story, but it could have been longer, and I would like to have cared more about the protagonist - a teacher suffering from PTSD who dislikes and distrusts children. 3/5 C. Hall Thompson, "The Will of Claude Ashur" (1947) Thompson wrote four stories for Weird Tales, including two associated with Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos. The Will of Claude Ashur is one of these. The influence is obvious, from references to the Miskatonic University and the Necronomicon, to the preference for dense, descriptive prose. Despite this, Thompson's novelette of mad relatives and possession brings us close enough to the characters to be engaging, even if the pace is sometimes a little slow. 4/5 Theodore Sturgeon, "The Professor's Teddy Bear" (1948) A 'hungering' monster that speaks with its ear. A boy who dreams of accidents. A professor trying to remember. This was weird and kind of tragic and unlike anything I've read. In the 1950s, Sturgeon's stories were anthologised more than any other author's. 5/5 Fredric Brown, "Come and Go Mad" (1949) Amnesia. Paranoia. Delusion. Dementia praecox (schizophrenia). Brown's sci-fi novelette of a journalist sent to investigate an asylum gives us plenty of time to get acquainted with the protagonist so we fully experience his descent(?) into madness. Bonkers, but brilliantly done. 5/5 Isaac Asimov and James MacCreigh, "Legal Rites" (1950) A haunted mansion, an evicted ghost, and the courtroom drama that follows. This satirical novelette, written by Fred Pohl (under the pen name James MacCreigh) and Isaac Asimov, explores what happens when rigid American property rights law collides with the supernatural. Notable for being Asimov's only contribution to Weird Tales (published by Pohl after Asimov had forgotten about it), and a rare foray into fantasy by the famed science fiction author. 4/5 August Derleth, "Something From Out There" (1951) A disorientated man clutching a star-shaped stone. "Dark things" done at Oxford (the university, presumably). The thing in the caves beneath the ruined priory. This Cthulhu Mythos short story (fan fiction?) moved at a decent pace and didn't outstay its welcome, although the characters were thinly drawn. In 1988, this story was unique for being the only story Derleth had not included in any of his collections. Make of this what you will. 3/5 Joseph Payne Brennan, "The Green Parrot" (1952) A straightforward ghost story, devoid of atmosphere, by an author who doesn't seem to have found his voice. Literary critic S. T. Yoshi said Brennan had good ideas "but an utter deficiency of literary talent to execute [them] competently." Not bad, but not good either. 2/5 Richard Matheson, "Slaughter House" (1953) Another ghost story, this time of the haunted house variety. I started reading this atmospheric novelette shortly after midnight, and I'm ashamed to say I quit half way through when the wind picked up outside and the lights started flickering. Dripping with menace, this tale of two brothers moving in to the long-abandoned Slaughter House would have benefited from a good final edit to pare back some of the descriptive passages. A strangely routine tale for Weird Tales, but enjoyable nonetheless. 4/5 Everil Worrell, "Call Not Their Names" (1954) A clash of cultures, of East meets West, and a tragic love story that transcends generations. There were moments in this final novelette that were gripping and surprising, and I'm sure there's a fantastic story in it somewhere, but for the most part it was too long and hard to follow. 3/5 Overall, Weird Tales: 32 Unearthed Terrors is a treasure. In addition to the stories, biographies and illustrations, there's a real sense of history unfolding, of writing styles evolving across decades. It's hard not to appreciate the importance of the unique magazine, and the lasting contribution it's made to our culture. Not all the stories have aged well, and there are typos throughout (were they preserved from the original texts?), but these are momentary distractions in an anthology of this size. And best of all, I now have a list of other Weird Tales stories by the featured authors that I want to check out. Highly recommended. Check out my other Weird Tales anthology reviews: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... ...more |
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Christopher Stanley
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Weird Tales: 32 Unearthed Terrors presents a single story from every year of the magazine's existence. Rather than a 'best of', this 1988 anthology presents the cream of tales that, for whatever reason, haven't been widely collected elsewhere. As the
Weird Tales: 32 Unearthed Terrors presents a single story from every year of the magazine's existence. Rather than a 'best of', this 1988 anthology presents the cream of tales that, for whatever reason, haven't been widely collected elsewhere. As the introduction states, "A good story bears retelling." The stories all start with an illustration and short, helpful biography. Anthony M. Rud, "A Square of Canvas" (1923) The opening story is a tale of art and death, which treads similar ground to Poe’s The Oval Portrait. In Rud's tale, the artist finds his inspiration in the spilling of blood, with events escalating somewhat predictably towards the conclusion. Interesting in that it tackles a question that’s still relevant today: can you love the art and not the artist? 3/5 C. M. Eddy, "The Loved Dead" (1924) The controversial tale of a man and his love for corpses, which may or may not have caused copies of Weird Tales to be withdrawn from sale in certain places. As with the previous tale, it benefits from not being overly graphic. 3/5 At the end of 1924, Farnsworth Wright replaced Edwin Baird as the editor of Weird Tales, championing the wide mix of fantasy, horror and science fiction stories for which the magazine is remembered today. Nictzin Dyalhis, "When the Green Star Waned" (1925) A science fiction tale about a planet invaded by 'evil intelligences' from the dark side of the 'Moun'. Yes, all the planets and satellites in this tale have names that are variations on those in our own solar system, which sounds cringeworthy but was actually helpful. Very readable, but not really my thing. 3/5 R. Anthony, "The Parasitic Hand" (1926) A strange appendage growing from a man's ribcage. X-rays that reveal a further anomaly. I enjoyed this body horror, but there was an opportunity here to explore the psychological elements, and particularly the bond between twins, more deeply. The second half was unexpected, but I wanted it to go further. 3/5 Edmond Hamilton, "Evolution Island" (1927) A machine that accelerates evolution. An uninhabited island in the West Indies. An experiment that threatens all of mankind. I'm not a scientist, but I'm confident the science in this tale is bonkers. And why not? This was an enjoyable, well-paced yarn that works as long as you don't think about it too much (or at all). 3/5 H. Warner Munn, "The Chain" (1928) A crippled cuckold. An arrogant lover. A rat-filled pit. Reminiscent of Poe's The Pit and the Pendulum, this was a dark, sadistic tale of torture and revenge. My third Munn short story and, like the others, it didn't disappoint. Climb! 4/5 Robert E. Howard, "The Shadow Kingdom" (1929) Snake-headed men. A secret invasion. And Kull, the barbarian king of Valusia. Howard created the sword and sorcery subgenre with this tale of a barbarian battling supernatural beings. Three years later, he would rewrite a rejected Kull story, turning it into The Phoenix on the Sword and introducing readers to his new character, Conan. Not my thing, but undoubtedly an important work in the history of Weird Tales. 3/5 Henry S. Whitehead, "The Shut Room" (1930) An old coaching inn. The legend of a notorious highwayman. The mystery of the disappearing leather. This was a relatively conventional British ghost story, which is a shame as Whitehead is known for his voodoo tales, having lived in the West Indies for the best part of a decade. 2/5 Seabury Quinn, "Satan's Stepson" (1931) A car crash on an icy night. An hysterical scream. A woman, back from the dead. I'm a fan of Quinn's mystery-solving doctors, and this novelette, reprinted for the first time, is one of the reasons I purchased this anthology. Sadly, it didn't live up to expectations. After a promising start, the two doctors are largely removed from the action as we're subjected to the lengthy stories of several secondary characters, which grew tedious. A missed opportunity. 2/5 Jack Williamson, "The Wand of Doom" (1932) The search for two brothers who've disappeared in the bayou swamps outside of New Orleans. Strange machinery and an acute fear of spiders. This sci-fi tale was in a similar vein to Evolution Island - daft but well-paced fun. 3/5 Clark Ashton Smith, "The Isle of Torturers" (1933) A swift and fatal plague. A magical ring. A doomed sea crossing. This tale leaned too far into fantasy for my tastes, and was predictable from a few pages in, but the writing was evocative and ultimately satisfying. 3/5 C. L. Moore, "Dust of Gods" (1934) Moore wasn't a fan of this sci-fi tale, the title of which came from a typo (she missed the 'l' when typing 'gold dust') - but when are artists ever truly satisfied with their work? Northwest Smith and his Venusian sidekick, Yarol, explore a cave on Mars in search of the titular god dust. Entertaining enough, although it would have worked just as well (and arguably better) as an Earth-based horror. 3/5 Laurence J. Cahill, "Charon" (1935) Written in the clipped voice of a hard-boiled detective story, this tale of a journalist on the trail of The Gray One - a mysterious man who eases the dying into death - rattled along at a decent pace. The ending was a little contrived and over-explained, but otherwise enjoyable. 3/5 Arthur J. Burks, "The Room of Shadows" (1936) A mysterious bellhop, a multitude of nippy 'sleeve dogs' (small Pekingese), and a protagonist whose sense of alarm is always dialled up to eleven - exclamation mark, exclamation mark! I might have given this story an extra point for being comically bad if the protagonist hadn't been so unlikeable. Burks wrote somewhere in the region of 800 stories for pulp magazines in the 1930s. Based on this, I think I'll give the other 799 a miss. 1/5 Mary Elizabeth Counselman, "The Black Stone Statue" (1937) A confessional letter from a struggling sculptor. An explorer who was thought to have died after his plane crashed in Brazil. A boxed secret that promises fame and riches. Another of Counselman's stories, The Three Marked Pennies was one of the most popular stories ever published in Weird Tales. I can see why. 4/5 Gans T. Field, "The Hairy Ones Shall Dance" (1938) A séance, a murder, and the 'ectoplasmic theory of lycanthropy'. This cracking novella, written by Manly Wade Wellman under the pseudonym 'Gans T. Field', features one of Wellman's recurring characters (Judge Pursuivant). Possibly inspired by Algernon Blackwood's The Camp of the Dog (referenced within the novella). This was very enjoyable, with a decent pace, well-crafted characters and enough twists to justify its length. 4/5 Robert Barbour Johnson, "Far Below" (1939) A subway train crash, a covert war, and the price that must be paid for spending too long underground. This tale was inspired by Barbour's father, who was part of the railroad's undercover police service, and possibly a painting in the Lovecraft story, Pickman's Model. In 1953, readers voted it the best story ever published in Weird Tales magazine, making it an odd but welcome choice for this anthology. 5/5 1940 was a year of significant change for Weird Tales, with Farnsworth Wright departing the magazine for health reasons and being replaced by Dorothy McIlwraith, who had previously edited Short Stories magazine. McIlwraith ushered in the writers who would shape the magazine over the next decade, including Ray Bradbury, Robert Bloch, Margaret St. Clare and Fritz Lieber. Fritz Lieber, "The Automatic Pistol" (1940) A prohibition era tale featuring booze-runners named Inky, Glasses, No Nose and Larson, and the titular weapon with a hair trigger. Something about this reminded me of early Stephen King. Great atmosphere, fun characters, and just a whiff of the supernatural. 4/5 H. P. Lovecraft, "The Case of Charles Dexter Ward" (1941) Published posthumously across two issues of Weird Tales, Lovecraft wasn't happy with this novel and never prepared it for publication. Did I enjoy it? Not really. Despite Lovecraft's formidable imagination, we're kept at arm's length from the characters and the drama, so it's difficult to invest. And some of the descriptive passages are tedious. This said, the scene where the doctor explores the catacombs was terrifying - a glimpse of what could have been. Too long, and too remote. 2/5 Henry Kuttner, "Masquerade" (1942) A husband and wife on their second honeymoon turn up at a former mental asylum on a stormy night, only to encounter the weird and murderous owners. It sounds like the stuff of pulp fiction, and it is, but right from the opening exchange it's clear there's something special going on. Predictable? Maybe, but I enjoyed every word of this comedy horror. Kuttner was married to C. L Moore (see Dust of Gods above). 5/5 Robert Bloch, "Black Barter" (1943) Mythological beings, witchcraft, and a bemused judge (named 'Numbottom') collide in this comedy of misadventures - something I hadn't expected from the famed author of Psycho. The pace never lets up and the whole thing is just so damned silly. A fun read. 3/5 Frank Belknap Long, "The Peeper" (1944) What happens if we murder (metaphorically or otherwise) our younger, more idealistic selves? This tale of a famous newspaper columnist scores highly in the weirdness stakes, and continues to surprise to the very end. I've read a couple of Long's other stories and, from memory, one was great and one was a mess. This one hit the spot nicely. 4/5 Carl Jacobi, "Carnaby's Fish" (1945) The lakeside property no one wants to rent. The former tenant who died mysteriously in the storm. And the ripples on the water, even on windless days. This was a satisfying tale, created around weird elements but never letting them surface for too long. I'd like to read more by this author. 4/5 Ray Bradbury, "Let's Play Poison" (1946) Bradbury must be one of Weird Tales' most famous and enduring alumni, despite having arrived late in the magazine's classic run. His novel, Something Wicked This Way Comes is one of the best things I've read in recent years. This tale, which also has children at its heart, deftly spins and weaves ideas to a broadly satisfying conclusion. Not a bad story, but it could have been longer, and I would like to have cared more about the protagonist - a teacher suffering from PTSD who dislikes and distrusts children. 3/5 C. Hall Thompson, "The Will of Claude Ashur" (1947) Thompson wrote four stories for Weird Tales, including two associated with Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos. The Will of Claude Ashur is one of these. The influence is obvious, from references to the Miskatonic University and the Necronomicon, to the preference for dense, descriptive prose. Despite this, Thompson's novelette of mad relatives and possession brings us close enough to the characters to be engaging, even if the pace is sometimes a little slow. 4/5 Theodore Sturgeon, "The Professor's Teddy Bear" (1948) A 'hungering' monster that speaks with its ear. A boy who dreams of accidents. A professor trying to remember. This was weird and kind of tragic and unlike anything I've read. In the 1950s, Sturgeon's stories were anthologised more than any other author's. 5/5 Fredric Brown, "Come and Go Mad" (1949) Amnesia. Paranoia. Delusion. Dementia praecox (schizophrenia). Brown's sci-fi novelette of a journalist sent to investigate an asylum gives us plenty of time to get acquainted with the protagonist so we fully experience his descent(?) into madness. Bonkers, but brilliantly done. 5/5 Isaac Asimov and James MacCreigh, "Legal Rites" (1950) A haunted mansion, an evicted ghost, and the courtroom drama that follows. This satirical novelette, written by Fred Pohl (under the pen name James MacCreigh) and Isaac Asimov, explores what happens when rigid American property rights law collides with the supernatural. Notable for being Asimov's only contribution to Weird Tales (published by Pohl after Asimov had forgotten about it), and a rare foray into fantasy by the famed science fiction author. 4/5 August Derleth, "Something From Out There" (1951) A disorientated man clutching a star-shaped stone. "Dark things" done at Oxford (the university, presumably). The thing in the caves beneath the ruined priory. This Cthulhu Mythos short story (fan fiction?) moved at a decent pace and didn't outstay its welcome, although the characters were thinly drawn. In 1988, this story was unique for being the only story Derleth had not included in any of his collections. Make of this what you will. 3/5 Joseph Payne Brennan, "The Green Parrot" (1952) A straightforward ghost story, devoid of atmosphere, by an author who doesn't seem to have found his voice. Literary critic S. T. Yoshi said Brennan had good ideas "but an utter deficiency of literary talent to execute [them] competently." Not bad, but not good either. 2/5 Richard Matheson, "Slaughter House" (1953) Another ghost story, this time of the haunted house variety. I started reading this atmospheric novelette shortly after midnight, and I'm ashamed to say I quit half way through when the wind picked up outside and the lights started flickering. Dripping with menace, this tale of two brothers moving in to the long-abandoned Slaughter House would have benefited from a good final edit to pare back some of the descriptive passages. A strangely routine tale for Weird Tales, but enjoyable nonetheless. 4/5 Everil Worrell, "Call Not Their Names" (1954) A clash of cultures, of East meets West, and a tragic love story that transcends generations. There were moments in this final novelette that were gripping and surprising, and I'm sure there's a fantastic story in it somewhere, but for the most part it was too long and hard to follow. 3/5 Overall, Weird Tales: 32 Unearthed Terrors is a treasure. In addition to the stories, biographies and illustrations, there's a real sense of history unfolding, of writing styles evolving across decades. It's hard not to appreciate the importance of the unique magazine, and the lasting contribution it's made to our culture. Not all the stories have aged well, and there are typos throughout (were they preserved from the original texts?), but these are momentary distractions in an anthology of this size. And best of all, I now have a list of other Weird Tales stories by the featured authors that I want to check out. Highly recommended. Check out my other Weird Tales anthology reviews: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... ...more |
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Weird Tales: 32 Unearthed Terrors presents a single story from every year of the magazine's existence. Rather than a 'best of', this 1988 anthology presents the cream of tales that, for whatever reason, haven't been widely collected elsewhere. As the
Weird Tales: 32 Unearthed Terrors presents a single story from every year of the magazine's existence. Rather than a 'best of', this 1988 anthology presents the cream of tales that, for whatever reason, haven't been widely collected elsewhere. As the introduction states, "A good story bears retelling." The stories all start with an illustration and short, helpful biography. Anthony M. Rud, "A Square of Canvas" (1923) The opening story is a tale of art and death, which treads similar ground to Poe’s The Oval Portrait. In Rud's tale, the artist finds his inspiration in the spilling of blood, with events escalating somewhat predictably towards the conclusion. Interesting in that it tackles a question that’s still relevant today: can you love the art and not the artist? 3/5 C. M. Eddy, "The Loved Dead" (1924) The controversial tale of a man and his love for corpses, which may or may not have caused copies of Weird Tales to be withdrawn from sale in certain places. As with the previous tale, it benefits from not being overly graphic. 3/5 At the end of 1924, Farnsworth Wright replaced Edwin Baird as the editor of Weird Tales, championing the wide mix of fantasy, horror and science fiction stories for which the magazine is remembered today. Nictzin Dyalhis, "When the Green Star Waned" (1925) A science fiction tale about a planet invaded by 'evil intelligences' from the dark side of the 'Moun'. Yes, all the planets and satellites in this tale have names that are variations on those in our own solar system, which sounds cringeworthy but was actually helpful. Very readable, but not really my thing. 3/5 R. Anthony, "The Parasitic Hand" (1926) A strange appendage growing from a man's ribcage. X-rays that reveal a further anomaly. I enjoyed this body horror, but there was an opportunity here to explore the psychological elements, and particularly the bond between twins, more deeply. The second half was unexpected, but I wanted it to go further. 3/5 Edmond Hamilton, "Evolution Island" (1927) A machine that accelerates evolution. An uninhabited island in the West Indies. An experiment that threatens all of mankind. I'm not a scientist, but I'm confident the science in this tale is bonkers. And why not? This was an enjoyable, well-paced yarn that works as long as you don't think about it too much (or at all). 3/5 H. Warner Munn, "The Chain" (1928) A crippled cuckold. An arrogant lover. A rat-filled pit. Reminiscent of Poe's The Pit and the Pendulum, this was a dark, sadistic tale of torture and revenge. My third Munn short story and, like the others, it didn't disappoint. Climb! 4/5 Robert E. Howard, "The Shadow Kingdom" (1929) Snake-headed men. A secret invasion. And Kull, the barbarian king of Valusia. Howard created the sword and sorcery subgenre with this tale of a barbarian battling supernatural beings. Three years later, he would rewrite a rejected Kull story, turning it into The Phoenix on the Sword and introducing readers to his new character, Conan. Not my thing, but undoubtedly an important work in the history of Weird Tales. 3/5 Henry S. Whitehead, "The Shut Room" (1930) An old coaching inn. The legend of a notorious highwayman. The mystery of the disappearing leather. This was a relatively conventional British ghost story, which is a shame as Whitehead is known for his voodoo tales, having lived in the West Indies for the best part of a decade. 2/5 Seabury Quinn, "Satan's Stepson" (1931) A car crash on an icy night. An hysterical scream. A woman, back from the dead. I'm a fan of Quinn's mystery-solving doctors, and this novelette, reprinted for the first time, is one of the reasons I purchased this anthology. Sadly, it didn't live up to expectations. After a promising start, the two doctors are largely removed from the action as we're subjected to the lengthy stories of several secondary characters, which grew tedious. A missed opportunity. 2/5 Jack Williamson, "The Wand of Doom" (1932) The search for two brothers who've disappeared in the bayou swamps outside of New Orleans. Strange machinery and an acute fear of spiders. This sci-fi tale was in a similar vein to Evolution Island - daft but well-paced fun. 3/5 Clark Ashton Smith, "The Isle of Torturers" (1933) A swift and fatal plague. A magical ring. A doomed sea crossing. This tale leaned too far into fantasy for my tastes, and was predictable from a few pages in, but the writing was evocative and ultimately satisfying. 3/5 C. L. Moore, "Dust of Gods" (1934) Moore wasn't a fan of this sci-fi tale, the title of which came from a typo (she missed the 'l' when typing 'gold dust') - but when are artists ever truly satisfied with their work? Northwest Smith and his Venusian sidekick, Yarol, explore a cave on Mars in search of the titular god dust. Entertaining enough, although it would have worked just as well (and arguably better) as an Earth-based horror. 3/5 Laurence J. Cahill, "Charon" (1935) Written in the clipped voice of a hard-boiled detective story, this tale of a journalist on the trail of The Gray One - a mysterious man who eases the dying into death - rattled along at a decent pace. The ending was a little contrived and over-explained, but otherwise enjoyable. 3/5 Arthur J. Burks, "The Room of Shadows" (1936) A mysterious bellhop, a multitude of nippy 'sleeve dogs' (small Pekingese), and a protagonist whose sense of alarm is always dialled up to eleven - exclamation mark, exclamation mark! I might have given this story an extra point for being comically bad if the protagonist hadn't been so unlikeable. Burks wrote somewhere in the region of 800 stories for pulp magazines in the 1930s. Based on this, I think I'll give the other 799 a miss. 1/5 Mary Elizabeth Counselman, "The Black Stone Statue" (1937) A confessional letter from a struggling sculptor. An explorer who was thought to have died after his plane crashed in Brazil. A boxed secret that promises fame and riches. Another of Counselman's stories, The Three Marked Pennies was one of the most popular stories ever published in Weird Tales. I can see why. 4/5 Gans T. Field, "The Hairy Ones Shall Dance" (1938) A séance, a murder, and the 'ectoplasmic theory of lycanthropy'. This cracking novella, written by Manly Wade Wellman under the pseudonym 'Gans T. Field', features one of Wellman's recurring characters (Judge Pursuivant). Possibly inspired by Algernon Blackwood's The Camp of the Dog (referenced within the novella). This was very enjoyable, with a decent pace, well-crafted characters and enough twists to justify its length. 4/5 Robert Barbour Johnson, "Far Below" (1939) A subway train crash, a covert war, and the price that must be paid for spending too long underground. This tale was inspired by Barbour's father, who was part of the railroad's undercover police service, and possibly a painting in the Lovecraft story, Pickman's Model. In 1953, readers voted it the best story ever published in Weird Tales magazine, making it an odd but welcome choice for this anthology. 5/5 1940 was a year of significant change for Weird Tales, with Farnsworth Wright departing the magazine for health reasons and being replaced by Dorothy McIlwraith, who had previously edited Short Stories magazine. McIlwraith ushered in the writers who would shape the magazine over the next decade, including Ray Bradbury, Robert Bloch, Margaret St. Clare and Fritz Lieber. Fritz Lieber, "The Automatic Pistol" (1940) A prohibition era tale featuring booze-runners named Inky, Glasses, No Nose and Larson, and the titular weapon with a hair trigger. Something about this reminded me of early Stephen King. Great atmosphere, fun characters, and just a whiff of the supernatural. 4/5 H. P. Lovecraft, "The Case of Charles Dexter Ward" (1941) Published posthumously across two issues of Weird Tales, Lovecraft wasn't happy with this novel and never prepared it for publication. Did I enjoy it? Not really. Despite Lovecraft's formidable imagination, we're kept at arm's length from the characters and the drama, so it's difficult to invest. And some of the descriptive passages are tedious. This said, the scene where the doctor explores the catacombs was terrifying - a glimpse of what could have been. Too long, and too remote. 2/5 Henry Kuttner, "Masquerade" (1942) A husband and wife on their second honeymoon turn up at a former mental asylum on a stormy night, only to encounter the weird and murderous owners. It sounds like the stuff of pulp fiction, and it is, but right from the opening exchange it's clear there's something special going on. Predictable? Maybe, but I enjoyed every word of this comedy horror. Kuttner was married to C. L Moore (see Dust of Gods above). 5/5 Robert Bloch, "Black Barter" (1943) Mythological beings, witchcraft, and a bemused judge (named 'Numbottom') collide in this comedy of misadventures - something I hadn't expected from the famed author of Psycho. The pace never lets up and the whole thing is just so damned silly. A fun read. 3/5 Frank Belknap Long, "The Peeper" (1944) What happens if we murder (metaphorically or otherwise) our younger, more idealistic selves? This tale of a famous newspaper columnist scores highly in the weirdness stakes, and continues to surprise to the very end. I've read a couple of Long's other stories and, from memory, one was great and one was a mess. This one hit the spot nicely. 4/5 Carl Jacobi, "Carnaby's Fish" (1945) The lakeside property no one wants to rent. The former tenant who died mysteriously in the storm. And the ripples on the water, even on windless days. This was a satisfying tale, created around weird elements but never letting them surface for too long. I'd like to read more by this author. 4/5 Ray Bradbury, "Let's Play Poison" (1946) Bradbury must be one of Weird Tales' most famous and enduring alumni, despite having arrived late in the magazine's classic run. His novel, Something Wicked This Way Comes is one of the best things I've read in recent years. This tale, which also has children at its heart, deftly spins and weaves ideas to a broadly satisfying conclusion. Not a bad story, but it could have been longer, and I would like to have cared more about the protagonist - a teacher suffering from PTSD who dislikes and distrusts children. 3/5 C. Hall Thompson, "The Will of Claude Ashur" (1947) Thompson wrote four stories for Weird Tales, including two associated with Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos. The Will of Claude Ashur is one of these. The influence is obvious, from references to the Miskatonic University and the Necronomicon, to the preference for dense, descriptive prose. Despite this, Thompson's novelette of mad relatives and possession brings us close enough to the characters to be engaging, even if the pace is sometimes a little slow. 4/5 Theodore Sturgeon, "The Professor's Teddy Bear" (1948) A 'hungering' monster that speaks with its ear. A boy who dreams of accidents. A professor trying to remember. This was weird and kind of tragic and unlike anything I've read. In the 1950s, Sturgeon's stories were anthologised more than any other author's. 5/5 Fredric Brown, "Come and Go Mad" (1949) Amnesia. Paranoia. Delusion. Dementia praecox (schizophrenia). Brown's sci-fi novelette of a journalist sent to investigate an asylum gives us plenty of time to get acquainted with the protagonist so we fully experience his descent(?) into madness. Bonkers, but brilliantly done. 5/5 Isaac Asimov and James MacCreigh, "Legal Rites" (1950) A haunted mansion, an evicted ghost, and the courtroom drama that follows. This satirical novelette, written by Fred Pohl (under the pen name James MacCreigh) and Isaac Asimov, explores what happens when rigid American property rights law collides with the supernatural. Notable for being Asimov's only contribution to Weird Tales (published by Pohl after Asimov had forgotten about it), and a rare foray into fantasy by the famed science fiction author. 4/5 August Derleth, "Something From Out There" (1951) A disorientated man clutching a star-shaped stone. "Dark things" done at Oxford (the university, presumably). The thing in the caves beneath the ruined priory. This Cthulhu Mythos short story (fan fiction?) moved at a decent pace and didn't outstay its welcome, although the characters were thinly drawn. In 1988, this story was unique for being the only story Derleth had not included in any of his collections. Make of this what you will. 3/5 Joseph Payne Brennan, "The Green Parrot" (1952) A straightforward ghost story, devoid of atmosphere, by an author who doesn't seem to have found his voice. Literary critic S. T. Yoshi said Brennan had good ideas "but an utter deficiency of literary talent to execute [them] competently." Not bad, but not good either. 2/5 Richard Matheson, "Slaughter House" (1953) Another ghost story, this time of the haunted house variety. I started reading this atmospheric novelette shortly after midnight, and I'm ashamed to say I quit half way through when the wind picked up outside and the lights started flickering. Dripping with menace, this tale of two brothers moving in to the long-abandoned Slaughter House would have benefited from a good final edit to pare back some of the descriptive passages. A strangely routine tale for Weird Tales, but enjoyable nonetheless. 4/5 Everil Worrell, "Call Not Their Names" (1954) A clash of cultures, of East meets West, and a tragic love story that transcends generations. There were moments in this final novelette that were gripping and surprising, and I'm sure there's a fantastic story in it somewhere, but for the most part it was too long and hard to follow. 3/5 Overall, Weird Tales: 32 Unearthed Terrors is a treasure. In addition to the stories, biographies and illustrations, there's a real sense of history unfolding, of writing styles evolving across decades. It's hard not to appreciate the importance of the unique magazine, and the lasting contribution it's made to our culture. Not all the stories have aged well, and there are typos throughout (were they preserved from the original texts?), but these are momentary distractions in an anthology of this size. And best of all, I now have a list of other Weird Tales stories by the featured authors that I want to check out. Highly recommended. Check out my other Weird Tales anthology reviews: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... ...more |
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Christopher Stanley
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Weird Tales: 32 Unearthed Terrors presents a single story from every year of the magazine's existence. Rather than a 'best of', this 1988 anthology presents the cream of tales that, for whatever reason, haven't been widely collected elsewhere. As the
Weird Tales: 32 Unearthed Terrors presents a single story from every year of the magazine's existence. Rather than a 'best of', this 1988 anthology presents the cream of tales that, for whatever reason, haven't been widely collected elsewhere. As the introduction states, "A good story bears retelling." The stories all start with an illustration and short, helpful biography. Anthony M. Rud, "A Square of Canvas" (1923) The opening story is a tale of art and death, which treads similar ground to Poe’s The Oval Portrait. In Rud's tale, the artist finds his inspiration in the spilling of blood, with events escalating somewhat predictably towards the conclusion. Interesting in that it tackles a question that’s still relevant today: can you love the art and not the artist? 3/5 C. M. Eddy, "The Loved Dead" (1924) The controversial tale of a man and his love for corpses, which may or may not have caused copies of Weird Tales to be withdrawn from sale in certain places. As with the previous tale, it benefits from not being overly graphic. 3/5 At the end of 1924, Farnsworth Wright replaced Edwin Baird as the editor of Weird Tales, championing the wide mix of fantasy, horror and science fiction stories for which the magazine is remembered today. Nictzin Dyalhis, "When the Green Star Waned" (1925) A science fiction tale about a planet invaded by 'evil intelligences' from the dark side of the 'Moun'. Yes, all the planets and satellites in this tale have names that are variations on those in our own solar system, which sounds cringeworthy but was actually helpful. Very readable, but not really my thing. 3/5 R. Anthony, "The Parasitic Hand" (1926) A strange appendage growing from a man's ribcage. X-rays that reveal a further anomaly. I enjoyed this body horror, but there was an opportunity here to explore the psychological elements, and particularly the bond between twins, more deeply. The second half was unexpected, but I wanted it to go further. 3/5 Edmond Hamilton, "Evolution Island" (1927) A machine that accelerates evolution. An uninhabited island in the West Indies. An experiment that threatens all of mankind. I'm not a scientist, but I'm confident the science in this tale is bonkers. And why not? This was an enjoyable, well-paced yarn that works as long as you don't think about it too much (or at all). 3/5 H. Warner Munn, "The Chain" (1928) A crippled cuckold. An arrogant lover. A rat-filled pit. Reminiscent of Poe's The Pit and the Pendulum, this was a dark, sadistic tale of torture and revenge. My third Munn short story and, like the others, it didn't disappoint. Climb! 4/5 Robert E. Howard, "The Shadow Kingdom" (1929) Snake-headed men. A secret invasion. And Kull, the barbarian king of Valusia. Howard created the sword and sorcery subgenre with this tale of a barbarian battling supernatural beings. Three years later, he would rewrite a rejected Kull story, turning it into The Phoenix on the Sword and introducing readers to his new character, Conan. Not my thing, but undoubtedly an important work in the history of Weird Tales. 3/5 Henry S. Whitehead, "The Shut Room" (1930) An old coaching inn. The legend of a notorious highwayman. The mystery of the disappearing leather. This was a relatively conventional British ghost story, which is a shame as Whitehead is known for his voodoo tales, having lived in the West Indies for the best part of a decade. 2/5 Seabury Quinn, "Satan's Stepson" (1931) A car crash on an icy night. An hysterical scream. A woman, back from the dead. I'm a fan of Quinn's mystery-solving doctors, and this novelette, reprinted for the first time, is one of the reasons I purchased this anthology. Sadly, it didn't live up to expectations. After a promising start, the two doctors are largely removed from the action as we're subjected to the lengthy stories of several secondary characters, which grew tedious. A missed opportunity. 2/5 Jack Williamson, "The Wand of Doom" (1932) The search for two brothers who've disappeared in the bayou swamps outside of New Orleans. Strange machinery and an acute fear of spiders. This sci-fi tale was in a similar vein to Evolution Island - daft but well-paced fun. 3/5 Clark Ashton Smith, "The Isle of Torturers" (1933) A swift and fatal plague. A magical ring. A doomed sea crossing. This tale leaned too far into fantasy for my tastes, and was predictable from a few pages in, but the writing was evocative and ultimately satisfying. 3/5 C. L. Moore, "Dust of Gods" (1934) Moore wasn't a fan of this sci-fi tale, the title of which came from a typo (she missed the 'l' when typing 'gold dust') - but when are artists ever truly satisfied with their work? Northwest Smith and his Venusian sidekick, Yarol, explore a cave on Mars in search of the titular god dust. Entertaining enough, although it would have worked just as well (and arguably better) as an Earth-based horror. 3/5 Laurence J. Cahill, "Charon" (1935) Written in the clipped voice of a hard-boiled detective story, this tale of a journalist on the trail of The Gray One - a mysterious man who eases the dying into death - rattled along at a decent pace. The ending was a little contrived and over-explained, but otherwise enjoyable. 3/5 Arthur J. Burks, "The Room of Shadows" (1936) A mysterious bellhop, a multitude of nippy 'sleeve dogs' (small Pekingese), and a protagonist whose sense of alarm is always dialled up to eleven - exclamation mark, exclamation mark! I might have given this story an extra point for being comically bad if the protagonist hadn't been so unlikeable. Burks wrote somewhere in the region of 800 stories for pulp magazines in the 1930s. Based on this, I think I'll give the other 799 a miss. 1/5 Mary Elizabeth Counselman, "The Black Stone Statue" (1937) A confessional letter from a struggling sculptor. An explorer who was thought to have died after his plane crashed in Brazil. A boxed secret that promises fame and riches. Another of Counselman's stories, The Three Marked Pennies was one of the most popular stories ever published in Weird Tales. I can see why. 4/5 Gans T. Field, "The Hairy Ones Shall Dance" (1938) A séance, a murder, and the 'ectoplasmic theory of lycanthropy'. This cracking novella, written by Manly Wade Wellman under the pseudonym 'Gans T. Field', features one of Wellman's recurring characters (Judge Pursuivant). Possibly inspired by Algernon Blackwood's The Camp of the Dog (referenced within the novella). This was very enjoyable, with a decent pace, well-crafted characters and enough twists to justify its length. 4/5 Robert Barbour Johnson, "Far Below" (1939) A subway train crash, a covert war, and the price that must be paid for spending too long underground. This tale was inspired by Barbour's father, who was part of the railroad's undercover police service, and possibly a painting in the Lovecraft story, Pickman's Model. In 1953, readers voted it the best story ever published in Weird Tales magazine, making it an odd but welcome choice for this anthology. 5/5 1940 was a year of significant change for Weird Tales, with Farnsworth Wright departing the magazine for health reasons and being replaced by Dorothy McIlwraith, who had previously edited Short Stories magazine. McIlwraith ushered in the writers who would shape the magazine over the next decade, including Ray Bradbury, Robert Bloch, Margaret St. Clare and Fritz Lieber. Fritz Lieber, "The Automatic Pistol" (1940) A prohibition era tale featuring booze-runners named Inky, Glasses, No Nose and Larson, and the titular weapon with a hair trigger. Something about this reminded me of early Stephen King. Great atmosphere, fun characters, and just a whiff of the supernatural. 4/5 H. P. Lovecraft, "The Case of Charles Dexter Ward" (1941) Published posthumously across two issues of Weird Tales, Lovecraft wasn't happy with this novel and never prepared it for publication. Did I enjoy it? Not really. Despite Lovecraft's formidable imagination, we're kept at arm's length from the characters and the drama, so it's difficult to invest. And some of the descriptive passages are tedious. This said, the scene where the doctor explores the catacombs was terrifying - a glimpse of what could have been. Too long, and too remote. 2/5 Henry Kuttner, "Masquerade" (1942) A husband and wife on their second honeymoon turn up at a former mental asylum on a stormy night, only to encounter the weird and murderous owners. It sounds like the stuff of pulp fiction, and it is, but right from the opening exchange it's clear there's something special going on. Predictable? Maybe, but I enjoyed every word of this comedy horror. Kuttner was married to C. L Moore (see Dust of Gods above). 5/5 Robert Bloch, "Black Barter" (1943) Mythological beings, witchcraft, and a bemused judge (named 'Numbottom') collide in this comedy of misadventures - something I hadn't expected from the famed author of Psycho. The pace never lets up and the whole thing is just so damned silly. A fun read. 3/5 Frank Belknap Long, "The Peeper" (1944) What happens if we murder (metaphorically or otherwise) our younger, more idealistic selves? This tale of a famous newspaper columnist scores highly in the weirdness stakes, and continues to surprise to the very end. I've read a couple of Long's other stories and, from memory, one was great and one was a mess. This one hit the spot nicely. 4/5 Carl Jacobi, "Carnaby's Fish" (1945) The lakeside property no one wants to rent. The former tenant who died mysteriously in the storm. And the ripples on the water, even on windless days. This was a satisfying tale, created around weird elements but never letting them surface for too long. I'd like to read more by this author. 4/5 Ray Bradbury, "Let's Play Poison" (1946) Bradbury must be one of Weird Tales' most famous and enduring alumni, despite having arrived late in the magazine's classic run. His novel, Something Wicked This Way Comes is one of the best things I've read in recent years. This tale, which also has children at its heart, deftly spins and weaves ideas to a broadly satisfying conclusion. Not a bad story, but it could have been longer, and I would like to have cared more about the protagonist - a teacher suffering from PTSD who dislikes and distrusts children. 3/5 C. Hall Thompson, "The Will of Claude Ashur" (1947) Thompson wrote four stories for Weird Tales, including two associated with Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos. The Will of Claude Ashur is one of these. The influence is obvious, from references to the Miskatonic University and the Necronomicon, to the preference for dense, descriptive prose. Despite this, Thompson's novelette of mad relatives and possession brings us close enough to the characters to be engaging, even if the pace is sometimes a little slow. 4/5 Theodore Sturgeon, "The Professor's Teddy Bear" (1948) A 'hungering' monster that speaks with its ear. A boy who dreams of accidents. A professor trying to remember. This was weird and kind of tragic and unlike anything I've read. In the 1950s, Sturgeon's stories were anthologised more than any other author's. 5/5 Fredric Brown, "Come and Go Mad" (1949) Amnesia. Paranoia. Delusion. Dementia praecox (schizophrenia). Brown's sci-fi novelette of a journalist sent to investigate an asylum gives us plenty of time to get acquainted with the protagonist so we fully experience his descent(?) into madness. Bonkers, but brilliantly done. 5/5 Isaac Asimov and James MacCreigh, "Legal Rites" (1950) A haunted mansion, an evicted ghost, and the courtroom drama that follows. This satirical novelette, written by Fred Pohl (under the pen name James MacCreigh) and Isaac Asimov, explores what happens when rigid American property rights law collides with the supernatural. Notable for being Asimov's only contribution to Weird Tales (published by Pohl after Asimov had forgotten about it), and a rare foray into fantasy by the famed science fiction author. 4/5 August Derleth, "Something From Out There" (1951) A disorientated man clutching a star-shaped stone. "Dark things" done at Oxford (the university, presumably). The thing in the caves beneath the ruined priory. This Cthulhu Mythos short story (fan fiction?) moved at a decent pace and didn't outstay its welcome, although the characters were thinly drawn. In 1988, this story was unique for being the only story Derleth had not included in any of his collections. Make of this what you will. 3/5 Joseph Payne Brennan, "The Green Parrot" (1952) A straightforward ghost story, devoid of atmosphere, by an author who doesn't seem to have found his voice. Literary critic S. T. Yoshi said Brennan had good ideas "but an utter deficiency of literary talent to execute [them] competently." Not bad, but not good either. 2/5 Richard Matheson, "Slaughter House" (1953) Another ghost story, this time of the haunted house variety. I started reading this atmospheric novelette shortly after midnight, and I'm ashamed to say I quit half way through when the wind picked up outside and the lights started flickering. Dripping with menace, this tale of two brothers moving in to the long-abandoned Slaughter House would have benefited from a good final edit to pare back some of the descriptive passages. A strangely routine tale for Weird Tales, but enjoyable nonetheless. 4/5 Everil Worrell, "Call Not Their Names" (1954) A clash of cultures, of East meets West, and a tragic love story that transcends generations. There were moments in this final novelette that were gripping and surprising, and I'm sure there's a fantastic story in it somewhere, but for the most part it was too long and hard to follow. 3/5 Overall, Weird Tales: 32 Unearthed Terrors is a treasure. In addition to the stories, biographies and illustrations, there's a real sense of history unfolding, of writing styles evolving across decades. It's hard not to appreciate the importance of the unique magazine, and the lasting contribution it's made to our culture. Not all the stories have aged well, and there are typos throughout (were they preserved from the original texts?), but these are momentary distractions in an anthology of this size. And best of all, I now have a list of other Weird Tales stories by the featured authors that I want to check out. Highly recommended. Check out my other Weird Tales anthology reviews: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... ...more |
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