The Devil Of The Marsh

by H.B. Marriott Watson, James Doig (Editor)

H[enry] B[rereton] Marriott Watson (1863–1921) was one of the more prolific authors of his day, turning out novels and collections of short stories which won him a reputation as one of the better, and better-known, writers of his time. Although he was best known for his tales of swashbuckling adventure and historical romance, he occasionally turned his hand to the weird, the supernatural, and the horrific, scattering these tales throughout his seventeen collections of short stories.

The most famous of his supernatural stories is 'The Stone Chamber', a traditional vampire tale, and one of the first, and best, such stories to appear in the immediate wake of Dracula. Today Marriott Watson's reputation as a writer of weird fiction rests largely on this story and 'The Devil of the Marsh', a nightmarish vision of possession and sorcery. Yet he was more than casually interested in the genre, as the stories in this collection show. Watson was able to write tales of Gothic terror and early science fiction, of horror in foreign lands, and chilling accounts of thwarted love and cruel vengeance. In his introduction, editor James Doig discusses Marriott Watson's life and influences, and the real tragedies which may have influenced and inspired the author's excursions into a world of madness, death, and supernatural horror.

CONTENTS: Introduction by James Doig; Point Despair; The Devil of the Marsh; The Thing in the Copse; The Brazen Cross; The Sword of the Kadi; A Resurrection; The Stone Chamber; A Soldier of Fortune; The Vixen; The Kid; Giovanna; The Instrument; Over the Wire; The Mill House; The Séance; Appendix: The Dead Immortals; Sources/Acknowledgments

Genres: Horror, Short Stories, 19th Century, Gothic

218 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 12, 2012

About the author

Henry Brereton Marriott Watson, known by his pen name H.B. Marriott Watson, was an Australian-born British novelist, journalist, playwright, and short-story writer. He worked for the St. James Gazette, was assistant editor of the Black and White and Pall Mall Gazette, and staff member on W.E. Henley's National Observer.

Marriott Watson was a popular author during his lifetime, best known for his swashbuckling, historical and romance fiction, and had over forty novels published between 1888 and 1919; these included seventeen short story collections and one collection of essays. He was a longtime resident of New Zealand, living there from 1872 to 1885, and often used his childhood home as the setting for many of his novels.

He and his common law wife, English poet Rosamund Marriott Watson, were well known in Britain's literary circles and were associated with many fellow writers of the period including J.M. Barrie, Stephen Crane, Thomas Hardy, Henry James and H.G. Wells among others. Their first and only son, Richard Marriott Watson, was also a noted poet and one of many sons of literary figures killed during the First World War. Marriott Watson was a member of J.M. Barrie's amateur cricket team, the Allahakbarries.

Although now largely forgotten, Marriott Watson was also one of the most prolific Gothic horror writers of the Victorian era. His vampire novel The Stone Chamber (1898) was published only a year after Bram Stoker's Dracula and many other stories were published in various books of short stores such as Diogenes of London (1893) and The Heart of Miranda (1898).

Reviews

[Michael Adams · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice short ghost story set in an eerie swamp. Not terribly much to it, but it evokes a mood quite well

[Edit Burla · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short, eerie, entertaining, ghostly fun.

[Tash · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very quick read (always a winner for me) and such a spooky, well developed world in such a short space of time.

Definitely would love to read more of this story!

[LilMouseWarrior · Rating 3 out of 5]

F r o g m a n

Listened to this through The Insomnium podcast as narrated by Ethan Goodmansen.

[BookishDramas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short story packed quite a punch when I first read it as a schoolboy. Made an impression.

[Denise · Rating 2 out of 5]

The narrator of this story has been asked by his lady love to meet him in the marsh. He sees it as a test of his loyalty, a way to win her over. Something croaking follows him...

Please read the rest of the review here.