What do you think?
Rate this book
The Macabre Reader
Most of these are classics, from the 1930s and even earlier. 222 pages of ghouls and ghosties and Things that go Bump in the crawling horror / Thorp McClusky --The opener of the way / Robert Bloch --In Amundsen's tent / John Martin Leahy --The thing on the doorstep / H. P. Lovecraft --The hollow man / Thomas Burke --It will grow on you / Donald Wandrei --The hunters from beyond / Clark Ashton Smith --The curse of Yig / Zealia Brown Bishop --The cairn of the headland / Robert E. Howard --The trap / Henry S. Whitehead.
- GenresHorrorShort Stories
Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1959
76 people want to read
About the author
Donald A. Wollheim
295 books34 followersDonald Allen Wollheim was a science fiction writer, editor, publisher and fan. He published his own works under pseudonyms, including David Grinnell.
A member of the Futurians, he was one of the leading influences on the development of science fiction and science fiction fandom in the 20th century United States.
In 1937, Wollheim founded the Fantasy Amateur Press Association. The first mailing was distributed in July of that year and included this statement from Wollheim: "There are many fans desiring to put out a voice who dare not, for fear of being obliged to keep it up, and for the worry and time taken by subscriptions and advertising. It is for them and for the fan who admits it is his hobby and not his business that we formed the FAPA."
Wollheim was also a member of the New York Science Fiction League, one of the clubs established by Hugo Gernsback to promote science fiction. When Wollheim published a complaint of non-payment for stories against Gernsback, Gernsback dissolved the New York chapter of the club.
Wollheim's first story, "The Man from Ariel," was published in the January 1934 issue of Wonder Stories when Wollheim was nineteen. Wollheim was not paid for the story and when he began to look into the situation, he learned that many other authors had not been paid for their work, publishing his findings in the Bulletin of the Terrestrial Fantascience Guild. Gernsback eventually settled the case with Wollheim and other authors out of court for $75, but when Wollheim submitted another story to Gernsback, under the pseudonym "Millard Verne Gordon," he was again not paid. One of Wollheim's short stories, "Mimic" was made into the feature film of the same name, which was released in 1997.
He left Avon Books in 1952 to work for A. A. Wyn at Ace Books. In 1953 he introduced science fiction to the Ace lineup, and for 20 years edited their renowned sf list. Ace was well known for the Ace Doubles series which consisted of pairs of books, usually by different authors, bound back-to-back with two "front" covers. Because these paired books had to fit a fixed total page-length, one or both were usually heavily abridged to fit, and Wollheim often made many other editorial alterations and title changes — as witness the many differences between Poul Anderson's Ace novel War of the Wing-Men and its definitive revised edition, The Man Who Counts. It was also during the 1950s he bought the book Junk by William S. Burroughs, which, in his inimitable fashion, he retitled Junkie.
In 1965 Wollheim published an unauthorized Ace edition of The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien in three volumes — the first mass-market paperback edition of Tolkien's epic. This was done because Wollheim believed the Houghton Mifflin hardcover editions failed to properly assert copyright. In a 2006 interview, Wollheim's daughter claimed that Tolkien had angered her father by saying that his magnum opus would never be published in so ‘degenerate a form’ as the paperback book. However, Tolkien had previously authorized a paperback edition of The Hobbit in 1961, and eventually supported paperback editions of The Lord of the Rings and several of his other texts. In any case, Ace was forced to cease publishing the unauthorized edition and to pay Tolkien for their sales following a grass-roots campaign and boycott by Tolkien's U.S. fans. In 1993 a court found that the copyright loophole suggested by Ace Books was incorrect and their paperback edition found to have been a violation of Tolkien's copyright under US law.
After leaving Ace he founded DAW Books in 1971, named by his initials, which can claim to be the first mass market specialist science fiction and fantasy fiction publishing house. In later years, when his distributors, New American Library, threatened to withhold distribution of Thomas Burnett Swann's Biblical fantasy How are the Mighty Fallen (1974) because of its homosexual con
A member of the Futurians, he was one of the leading influences on the development of science fiction and science fiction fandom in the 20th century United States.
In 1937, Wollheim founded the Fantasy Amateur Press Association. The first mailing was distributed in July of that year and included this statement from Wollheim: "There are many fans desiring to put out a voice who dare not, for fear of being obliged to keep it up, and for the worry and time taken by subscriptions and advertising. It is for them and for the fan who admits it is his hobby and not his business that we formed the FAPA."
Wollheim was also a member of the New York Science Fiction League, one of the clubs established by Hugo Gernsback to promote science fiction. When Wollheim published a complaint of non-payment for stories against Gernsback, Gernsback dissolved the New York chapter of the club.
Wollheim's first story, "The Man from Ariel," was published in the January 1934 issue of Wonder Stories when Wollheim was nineteen. Wollheim was not paid for the story and when he began to look into the situation, he learned that many other authors had not been paid for their work, publishing his findings in the Bulletin of the Terrestrial Fantascience Guild. Gernsback eventually settled the case with Wollheim and other authors out of court for $75, but when Wollheim submitted another story to Gernsback, under the pseudonym "Millard Verne Gordon," he was again not paid. One of Wollheim's short stories, "Mimic" was made into the feature film of the same name, which was released in 1997.
He left Avon Books in 1952 to work for A. A. Wyn at Ace Books. In 1953 he introduced science fiction to the Ace lineup, and for 20 years edited their renowned sf list. Ace was well known for the Ace Doubles series which consisted of pairs of books, usually by different authors, bound back-to-back with two "front" covers. Because these paired books had to fit a fixed total page-length, one or both were usually heavily abridged to fit, and Wollheim often made many other editorial alterations and title changes — as witness the many differences between Poul Anderson's Ace novel War of the Wing-Men and its definitive revised edition, The Man Who Counts. It was also during the 1950s he bought the book Junk by William S. Burroughs, which, in his inimitable fashion, he retitled Junkie.
In 1965 Wollheim published an unauthorized Ace edition of The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien in three volumes — the first mass-market paperback edition of Tolkien's epic. This was done because Wollheim believed the Houghton Mifflin hardcover editions failed to properly assert copyright. In a 2006 interview, Wollheim's daughter claimed that Tolkien had angered her father by saying that his magnum opus would never be published in so ‘degenerate a form’ as the paperback book. However, Tolkien had previously authorized a paperback edition of The Hobbit in 1961, and eventually supported paperback editions of The Lord of the Rings and several of his other texts. In any case, Ace was forced to cease publishing the unauthorized edition and to pay Tolkien for their sales following a grass-roots campaign and boycott by Tolkien's U.S. fans. In 1993 a court found that the copyright loophole suggested by Ace Books was incorrect and their paperback edition found to have been a violation of Tolkien's copyright under US law.
After leaving Ace he founded DAW Books in 1971, named by his initials, which can claim to be the first mass market specialist science fiction and fantasy fiction publishing house. In later years, when his distributors, New American Library, threatened to withhold distribution of Thomas Burnett Swann's Biblical fantasy How are the Mighty Fallen (1974) because of its homosexual con
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
January 13, 2010
My father and his co-workers used to try to find the scariest story collections they could. One evening when he came home from work he handed me this book, saying "This is the roughest one we've found so far." I was 14 years old and a precocious reader, and I devoured this. All the stories were previous publications in the classic pulp magazine, Weird Tales. They represent some of the greatest horror authors of the early part of the century: Robert Bloch, Clark Ashton Smith, H.P. Lovecraft, and others all here at something near their peak form. Long out of print, the book is well worth the hunt to find a copy. It's one of the best collections from the great anthologist Donald A. Wollheim, whose name alone will take you on the right path to good reading.
April 12, 2010
Is there anything better than a musty paperback of pulp-era horror? I doubt it. Don Wollheim’s THE MACABRE READER, from 1959, is a perfect example of that genre. You only have to read the blurb to know whether you’re going to love this or not:
“Here are the stories of terror from all climes and all times; from the lingering horrors of ancient Egypt to the unnamed monsters of the frigid cold and the tropic jungle. Here are the amorphous haunts of modern cities and the reptilian shadows of the forgotten past.”
I’m in the former camp, and here are my thoughts:
THE PHANTOM-WOOER by Thomas Lovell Beddoes: A short poem, romantic and beautiful, written with skill and love.
THE CRAWLING HORROR by Thorp McClusky: A cracking pulp horror yarn that moves along at a lightning pace. Yet again it’s another version of the ‘blob’ story – you know, about the glutinous mass that devours everything – but McClusky goes to some lengths to retain atmosphere and build suspense.
THE OPENER OF THE WAY by Robert Bloch: Bloch’s evocation of a Lovecraftian atmosphere (without stealing any of his monsters) is spot on here, in a story of ancient Egyptian horrors set in a rank tomb deep below the ground. The atmosphere is strong and gripping, the chilly climax uses imagination instead of gruesomeness, and is all the better for it.
NIGHT GAUNTS by H. P. Lovecraft: Another poem, evocative as only Lovecraft knows how.
IN AMUNDSEN’S TENT by John Martin Leahy: Horror unnatural and alien is alive and well in the Antarctic, in this superb pulp work which covers much the same ground as Lovecraft’s AT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS. However, Leahy’s tale is perhaps even more effective because, in its short narrative, it never shows the alien menace; it just hints at the creature, building suspense and tension and tons of horror. The final extracts may be clichéd but they work here better than anywhere else. Grand and disturbing stuff that’ll put you off tents for life!
THE THING ON THE DOORSTEP by H. P. Lovecraft: A really strong Lovecraftian horror piece, packed with tons of references for the fans and a great storyline to recommend it. Once again the loathsome, fishy folk from Innsmouth are back, but this time around the theme of the story is soul transference and the horrors that result from it. Lovecraft’s writing is fresh, dramatic and invigorating, with plenty of excellent horror which keeps bubbling over – building from a slow start to a gruesome, grand guignol climax! Check out the opening sentence, which may be the most intriguing ever.
THE HOLLOW MAN by Thomas Burke: Dispensing with traditional narrative, spooky chills and in-your-face gore and the grotesque, Burke instead here crafts a subtle chiller in which the thrills are all underlying and left unsaid. This story is so different that to read it, is spellbinding. The “hollow man” of the title is spooky, disturbing and most importantly sympathetic, and the evocative descriptions used by Burke are first-rate.
IT WILL GROW ON YOU by Donald Wandrei: The old ‘malignant growth’ storyline is a frequently-plowed furrow, but Wandrei invests his pulpish yarn with plenty of well-structured style, making it an entirely readable and grotesquely entertaining piece. The idea of a miniature person is a nightmarishly ghoulish one, the resulting tale both supremely weird and really rather ghastly.
THE HUNTERS FROM BEYOND by Clark Ashton Smith: An insightful look into the world of the sculptor, thanks to Smith’s own standing in the profession. The gift of language is present here as in other tales, even if the overwhelming air of horror isn’t quite as gruesome or disturbing as in other of his stories. Still, the idea of a portal into another dimension is a solid one and the subject matter suitably grotesque.
THE CURSE OF YIG by Zealia Bishop: Lovecraft leaves his mythos behind him to co-author this really rather good and solid pulp fiction. The idea of ancient evil manifesting itself on modern humanity is familiar, but the wilderness and isolation of the settler’s dwelling helps add plenty to the atmosphere. Add to this a horrendously ghoulish set-piece in a log cabin and an unpleasant twist, and you have a solid horror outing.
GREEGREE by Ray H. Zorn: A grisly little poem about a voodoo doll.
THE CAIRN ON THE HEADLAND by Robert E. Howard: More ancient horrors from Howard’s night-tipped pen, here mingling together many of his favourite themes : the modern day rivalry and death-hatred between men; the ancient and time-honoured battles between barbarian tribes; a link between a present life and that of the past; Gods entering the human realms; and, of course, a horrible demon-creature to show up at the finale. Howard uses Norse mythology as the basis for his horrors, and the result is a fine, deeply atmospheric story that holds together extremely well, remaining unpredictable throughout.
THE TRAP by Henry S. Whitehead: Haunted mirror fare, an interesting concept but largely overwritten. Worth a look, if you’re not expecting too much.
THE DWELLER by H. P. Lovecraft: The entire substance of the author’s career is summed up in this one, exceptional poem. Excavators uncover an ancient underground cavern and are startled when they hear inhuman footsteps approaching from below. As chilly and entertaining as it sounds.
“Here are the stories of terror from all climes and all times; from the lingering horrors of ancient Egypt to the unnamed monsters of the frigid cold and the tropic jungle. Here are the amorphous haunts of modern cities and the reptilian shadows of the forgotten past.”
I’m in the former camp, and here are my thoughts:
THE PHANTOM-WOOER by Thomas Lovell Beddoes: A short poem, romantic and beautiful, written with skill and love.
THE CRAWLING HORROR by Thorp McClusky: A cracking pulp horror yarn that moves along at a lightning pace. Yet again it’s another version of the ‘blob’ story – you know, about the glutinous mass that devours everything – but McClusky goes to some lengths to retain atmosphere and build suspense.
THE OPENER OF THE WAY by Robert Bloch: Bloch’s evocation of a Lovecraftian atmosphere (without stealing any of his monsters) is spot on here, in a story of ancient Egyptian horrors set in a rank tomb deep below the ground. The atmosphere is strong and gripping, the chilly climax uses imagination instead of gruesomeness, and is all the better for it.
NIGHT GAUNTS by H. P. Lovecraft: Another poem, evocative as only Lovecraft knows how.
IN AMUNDSEN’S TENT by John Martin Leahy: Horror unnatural and alien is alive and well in the Antarctic, in this superb pulp work which covers much the same ground as Lovecraft’s AT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS. However, Leahy’s tale is perhaps even more effective because, in its short narrative, it never shows the alien menace; it just hints at the creature, building suspense and tension and tons of horror. The final extracts may be clichéd but they work here better than anywhere else. Grand and disturbing stuff that’ll put you off tents for life!
THE THING ON THE DOORSTEP by H. P. Lovecraft: A really strong Lovecraftian horror piece, packed with tons of references for the fans and a great storyline to recommend it. Once again the loathsome, fishy folk from Innsmouth are back, but this time around the theme of the story is soul transference and the horrors that result from it. Lovecraft’s writing is fresh, dramatic and invigorating, with plenty of excellent horror which keeps bubbling over – building from a slow start to a gruesome, grand guignol climax! Check out the opening sentence, which may be the most intriguing ever.
THE HOLLOW MAN by Thomas Burke: Dispensing with traditional narrative, spooky chills and in-your-face gore and the grotesque, Burke instead here crafts a subtle chiller in which the thrills are all underlying and left unsaid. This story is so different that to read it, is spellbinding. The “hollow man” of the title is spooky, disturbing and most importantly sympathetic, and the evocative descriptions used by Burke are first-rate.
IT WILL GROW ON YOU by Donald Wandrei: The old ‘malignant growth’ storyline is a frequently-plowed furrow, but Wandrei invests his pulpish yarn with plenty of well-structured style, making it an entirely readable and grotesquely entertaining piece. The idea of a miniature person is a nightmarishly ghoulish one, the resulting tale both supremely weird and really rather ghastly.
THE HUNTERS FROM BEYOND by Clark Ashton Smith: An insightful look into the world of the sculptor, thanks to Smith’s own standing in the profession. The gift of language is present here as in other tales, even if the overwhelming air of horror isn’t quite as gruesome or disturbing as in other of his stories. Still, the idea of a portal into another dimension is a solid one and the subject matter suitably grotesque.
THE CURSE OF YIG by Zealia Bishop: Lovecraft leaves his mythos behind him to co-author this really rather good and solid pulp fiction. The idea of ancient evil manifesting itself on modern humanity is familiar, but the wilderness and isolation of the settler’s dwelling helps add plenty to the atmosphere. Add to this a horrendously ghoulish set-piece in a log cabin and an unpleasant twist, and you have a solid horror outing.
GREEGREE by Ray H. Zorn: A grisly little poem about a voodoo doll.
THE CAIRN ON THE HEADLAND by Robert E. Howard: More ancient horrors from Howard’s night-tipped pen, here mingling together many of his favourite themes : the modern day rivalry and death-hatred between men; the ancient and time-honoured battles between barbarian tribes; a link between a present life and that of the past; Gods entering the human realms; and, of course, a horrible demon-creature to show up at the finale. Howard uses Norse mythology as the basis for his horrors, and the result is a fine, deeply atmospheric story that holds together extremely well, remaining unpredictable throughout.
THE TRAP by Henry S. Whitehead: Haunted mirror fare, an interesting concept but largely overwritten. Worth a look, if you’re not expecting too much.
THE DWELLER by H. P. Lovecraft: The entire substance of the author’s career is summed up in this one, exceptional poem. Excavators uncover an ancient underground cavern and are startled when they hear inhuman footsteps approaching from below. As chilly and entertaining as it sounds.
May 11, 2011
An amazing collection of literary giants: Bloch, Lovecraft, Ashton Smith, Robert Howard, etc., the TRUE heroes of horrific weird tales!
January 24, 2018
My father is a flea market haunter; collecting all things pulp horror, sci-fi, and fantasy from the days gone by. This is one of those he found in a store for a quarter that was in the original binding and yellowed with age, so when he was done with it, the book came my way. Some of the tales (The Thing on the doorstep and The Curse of Yig) I had read before, but when pooled with the other stories in this collection, you can get a feel for how readers of fantastical and weird fiction had been terrified at them back in the twenties and thirties. The sense that parts the world were still unexplored, tribes of men unconquered by western civilization, and the dark really holding imagined foes was still very real.
If you are into the weird, the macabre, and the fantastical from a time before Wikipedia (when Britannica was queen!) and the world could not be seen on a Google map, than this is for you.
4.5 of 5 skulls
If you are into the weird, the macabre, and the fantastical from a time before Wikipedia (when Britannica was queen!) and the world could not be seen on a Google map, than this is for you.
4.5 of 5 skulls
March 14, 2022
I owned this paperback very long ago and found the stories top-notch examples of a vintage horror. More or less in the Lovecraft vein, and there is one of HPL's great stories included. Some of these stories have haunted me for decades. They're all recommendable, but "In Amundsen's Tent" really got to me, as did "The Hunters from Beyond". If you can find a copy, buy it by all means, though by now it's withering and yellowing with age. Very creepy stuff. If you don't find a copy of this collection, search for the stories by title; most have been published more than once, and some are in audio form on Youtube.
July 7, 2016
These ten tales could be said to be about "things that should not be." It had a few authors I'd heard of: Robert Bloch, Robert E. Howard, and H.P. Lovecraft; a number of authors I might have to seek out. Like many collections, when the stories are good, they are great and to be honest, for a group of stories primarily from the 1930s, they have aged remarkably well...At least the plots have. There are a few of these stories which I found difficult to get through because of the style of writing, that style being one where I am pretty sure they were paid by the word. When it takes three pages for the narrator to come to the conclusion that maybe, they should just let the events speak for themselves, someone is stretching for length.
The good: "The Crawling Horror" by Thorp McClusky and "It Will Grow on You" by Donald Wandrei (both of which genuinely creeped me out). "The Hunters from Beyond" by Clark Ashton Smith and "The Trap" by Henry S. Whitehead were also fun.
The bad: Some of the language and style is a bit of a slog.
The ugly: The book is out of print and the copy I got a hold of is falling apart.
The good: "The Crawling Horror" by Thorp McClusky and "It Will Grow on You" by Donald Wandrei (both of which genuinely creeped me out). "The Hunters from Beyond" by Clark Ashton Smith and "The Trap" by Henry S. Whitehead were also fun.
The bad: Some of the language and style is a bit of a slog.
The ugly: The book is out of print and the copy I got a hold of is falling apart.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews