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The Robert E. Howard Library #6
Trails in Darkness
A collection of stories places early American characters in strange and fantastical settings, from a gunfighter who is stalked by the vengeful ghost of his victim to a brash treasure-hunter who desecrates a native burial ground and unleashes an evil force. Original.
240 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 1996
121 people want to read
About the author
Robert E. Howard
3,042 books2,690 followersRobert Ervin Howard was an American pulp writer of fantasy, horror, historical adventure, boxing, western, and detective fiction. Howard wrote "over three-hundred stories and seven-hundred poems of raw power and unbridled emotion" and is especially noted for his memorable depictions of "a sombre universe of swashbuckling adventure and darkling horror."
He is well known for having created—in the pages of the legendary Depression-era pulp magazine Weird Tales—the character Conan the Cimmerian, a.k.a. Conan the Barbarian, a literary icon whose pop-culture imprint can only be compared to such icons as Tarzan of the Apes, Count Dracula, Sherlock Holmes, and James Bond.
—Wikipedia
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
He is well known for having created—in the pages of the legendary Depression-era pulp magazine Weird Tales—the character Conan the Cimmerian, a.k.a. Conan the Barbarian, a literary icon whose pop-culture imprint can only be compared to such icons as Tarzan of the Apes, Count Dracula, Sherlock Holmes, and James Bond.
—Wikipedia
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
February 12, 2025
Being in Texas and stopping in Cross Plains to visit the Robert E. Howard house, I thought I would read some of REH's stories on the trip. This book is an anthology of stories set in America, particularly Howard's Texas. The best of all is one that I have read twice before-"The Horror from the Mound." In this story, a down-on-his-luck cowboy breaks into an Indian burial mound and releases an evil that had been trapped there for centuries...Pure Howard!
January 27, 2016
Robert E. Howard is my all time favorite writer, but for many years much of his work was heavily edited. This is another of the heavily edited collections of Robert E. Howard's stories. I am a purist when it comes to a writers works. I know some of these stories are no longer PC but they should be read as Howard wrote them and understood that he wrote in another time period. Don't read this book unless you just can't find any others of Howard's unedited books to read. Message me if you need a list of what is good from this awesome fantasy and action writer.
July 28, 2008
This is a collection of Howard's horror stories. There are some really good ones here, but also some that are just so so. Overall, though, they all have the Howard touch and it's good one.
May 18, 2023
Trails in Darkness had the same pulp action storytelling as the other Robert E Howard short story collections, this time themed to the late 19th/early 20th century West. They had ties to native American and black former slave magic and occult beliefs, but also were wrapped up in REH's personal beliefs on race, which, while strongly impacted by the time period and place he grew up in, were still his own views - not everyone of that era shared them, even if they were common, and while there's certainly worse views people had then, and now, the casual racism which infused most of these stories made them a lot harder to enjoy than REH's other work which weren't as tied to real world events and prejudices.
In addition to this, the stories on the whole weren't his best. The two which stood out as memorable and highly entertaining ("The Valley of the Lost" and "The Hoofed Thing") veered more into the realm of horror than most of his action adventure and were more Lovecraftian than typical Howard fantasy stories. The other stories were either tainted by the views injected into them, or simply not very innovative or exciting to read taken as pulp action stories. Definitely the weakest of the set, but the two good stories made the collection overall average, rather than below average. If you're a REH completist and want to see all sides of his writing, still worth reading, but otherwise, I'd probably advise to pass on this one.
In addition to this, the stories on the whole weren't his best. The two which stood out as memorable and highly entertaining ("The Valley of the Lost" and "The Hoofed Thing") veered more into the realm of horror than most of his action adventure and were more Lovecraftian than typical Howard fantasy stories. The other stories were either tainted by the views injected into them, or simply not very innovative or exciting to read taken as pulp action stories. Definitely the weakest of the set, but the two good stories made the collection overall average, rather than below average. If you're a REH completist and want to see all sides of his writing, still worth reading, but otherwise, I'd probably advise to pass on this one.
October 6, 2024
A collection of horror and weird western tales.
“The Dead Remember” Told in a series of letters, we learn of the fate of Jim Gordon after killing a black couple shortly after the Civil War.
“Black Canaan” Saul Stark, a juju man has come to Blackl Canaan. He is there to stir an uprising. Kirby Buckner warns the local residents and sets out to confront Saul Stark. He comes under the grip of Stark’s alluring, unnamed, temptress.
“Kelly The Conjure Man” “He had come in mystery, in mystery he had lived and in mystery he went and no man knew the road of his going.”
“The Valley of the Lost” The Reynolds and McCrills have been feuding for generations. John Reynolds carries the torch, set on avenging the death of his brother at their hands. That is, until he discovers a a cave in which the Little People live.
“The Man on the Ground” The story of the longstanding feud between Cal Reynolds & Esau Brill. After killing Brill, he finds another body.
‘Black Hound of Death” Kirby Garfield is after Tope Braxton, a black man who has killed the sheriff and several local blacks. He goes through a local forest warning people of the danger. He comes upon the Brent farm. Brent betrayed and abandoned a friend, Adam Grimm, long ago. He is back for vengeance and is out of his mind.
“For the Love of Barbara Allen” A short tale of sending off an old woman who lost her love long ago in the War.
“The Hoofed Thing” Also called “Usurp the Night.” (A Cthulu story) The narrator visits a newcomer, old Mr. Stark, and hears small sounds coming from an upstairs room. Meanwhile, small animals and pets go missing. Then his fiancé goes missing. He visits Stark again and hears the noise again, only, now it is much louder.
“Moon of Zambebwei” Bristol McGrath receives a telegram from an enemy who insists the woman they both loved is still alive.
“The Horror from the Mound” Steve Brill is a starving farmer in the Old West. He becomes curious about an old Indian burial mound on the border of his property. His neighbor Lopez warns against it. Ignoring Lopez, he digs into the mound releasing an ancient menace.
Howard consistently writes especially well of the terror and anxiety his characters feel when faced with the demons and places in his stories.
“The Dead Remember” Told in a series of letters, we learn of the fate of Jim Gordon after killing a black couple shortly after the Civil War.
“Black Canaan” Saul Stark, a juju man has come to Blackl Canaan. He is there to stir an uprising. Kirby Buckner warns the local residents and sets out to confront Saul Stark. He comes under the grip of Stark’s alluring, unnamed, temptress.
“Kelly The Conjure Man” “He had come in mystery, in mystery he had lived and in mystery he went and no man knew the road of his going.”
“The Valley of the Lost” The Reynolds and McCrills have been feuding for generations. John Reynolds carries the torch, set on avenging the death of his brother at their hands. That is, until he discovers a a cave in which the Little People live.
“The Man on the Ground” The story of the longstanding feud between Cal Reynolds & Esau Brill. After killing Brill, he finds another body.
‘Black Hound of Death” Kirby Garfield is after Tope Braxton, a black man who has killed the sheriff and several local blacks. He goes through a local forest warning people of the danger. He comes upon the Brent farm. Brent betrayed and abandoned a friend, Adam Grimm, long ago. He is back for vengeance and is out of his mind.
“For the Love of Barbara Allen” A short tale of sending off an old woman who lost her love long ago in the War.
“The Hoofed Thing” Also called “Usurp the Night.” (A Cthulu story) The narrator visits a newcomer, old Mr. Stark, and hears small sounds coming from an upstairs room. Meanwhile, small animals and pets go missing. Then his fiancé goes missing. He visits Stark again and hears the noise again, only, now it is much louder.
“Moon of Zambebwei” Bristol McGrath receives a telegram from an enemy who insists the woman they both loved is still alive.
“The Horror from the Mound” Steve Brill is a starving farmer in the Old West. He becomes curious about an old Indian burial mound on the border of his property. His neighbor Lopez warns against it. Ignoring Lopez, he digs into the mound releasing an ancient menace.
Howard consistently writes especially well of the terror and anxiety his characters feel when faced with the demons and places in his stories.
January 27, 2020
Horror stories set in the American West. Cowboys versus zombies, cowboys versus werewolves, cowboys versus vampires, cowboys versus dwellers under the Earth, cowboys versus ghosts, cowboys versus Voodoo priests, cowboys versus African Juju men, cowboys versus demons from beyond. REH's cowboys aren't always the smartest, nor the bravest, but they are toughest. Very atmospheric, suspenseful, not overly complicated stories. Many of these stories first appeared in "Weird Tales" and it is certainly weird to have classic monster movie creatures show up in a John Ford setting. REH demonstrates his knowledge of west Texas and its surrounds, and he is quite good at bringing to life Lovecraftian monstrosities, though unlike Lovecraft these monsters can actually be killed. Good quality entertainment.
January 2, 2026
If you enjoy Howard these are largely first rate tales of adventure in the face of horror. Not for those sensitive to the racial caricature common in Howard’s day, though.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews