The Haunted Silence: 10 Supernatural Stories: Illustrated

by Algernon Blackwood

Step into a world where the natural and supernatural become entangled in eerie harmony. “The Haunted Silence” is a spellbinding anthology of Algernon Blackwood's most haunting and atmospheric stories. From remote forests to shadowy rivers, Blackwood explores the unseen forces that linger just beyond our understanding.This collection includes classics like "The Wood of the Dead", "The Empty House", and "The Willows", showcasing Blackwood's mastery in blending cosmic dread with a profound reverence for the natural world. Whether it's a ghostly presence in a desolate home or a chilling encounter in the wilderness, each tale brims with suspense, awe, and an uncanny sense of the unknown.Perfect for fans of classic supernatural fiction, this anthology captures Blackwood’s unparalleled ability to evoke fear and wonder in equal measure. Prepare to be enthralled—and unsettled—by the whispers of the unseen.This is an illustrated collection.

226 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 9, 2025

About the author

Algernon Henry Blackwood (1869–1951) was an English broadcasting narrator, journalist, novelist and short story writer, and among the most prolific ghost story writers in the history of the genre. The literary critic S. T. Joshi stated, "His work is more consistently meritorious than any weird writer's except Dunsany's" and that his short story collection Incredible Adventures (1914) "may be the premier weird collection of this or any other century".

Blackwood was born in Shooter's Hill (today part of south-east London, but then part of northwest Kent) and educated at Wellington College. His father was a Post Office administrator who, according to Peter Penzoldt, "though not devoid of genuine good-heartedness, had appallingly narrow religious ideas." Blackwood had a varied career, farming in Canada, operating a hotel, as a newspaper reporter in New York City, and, throughout his adult life, an occasional essayist for various periodicals. In his late thirties, he moved back to England and started to write stories of the supernatural. He was very successful, writing at least ten original collections of short stories and eventually appearing on both radio and television to tell them. He also wrote fourteen novels, several children's books, and a number of plays, most of which were produced but not published. He was an avid lover of nature and the outdoors, and many of his stories reflect this.

H.P. Lovecraft wrote of Blackwood: "He is the one absolute and unquestioned master of weird atmosphere." His powerful story "The Willows," which effectively describes another dimension impinging upon our own, was reckoned by Lovecraft to be not only "foremost of all" Blackwood's tales but the best "weird tale" of all time.

Among his thirty-odd books, Blackwood wrote a series of stories and short novels published as John Silence, Physician Extraordinary (1908), which featured a "psychic detective" who combined the skills of a Sherlock Holmes and a psychic medium. Blackwood also wrote light fantasy and juvenile books.

Reviews

[Mathew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Blackwood is always a macabre joy to read, and this collection of 10 tales is a fantastic showcase of various types of his work, It is also an interesting bridge that inspired many later writers.
One of the things that makes these tales so good is that Blackwood not only has a clear vibe that he's going for, but he can talk about the mysterious and the unknown while using precise clear language, and so is very easy to read.

Nature and the outdoors are heavy themes in these works, and I think he did a masterful job of conveying the wonder and awe of nature, but also the powerlessness and personal insignificance we can feel when surrounded by it. If you've gone hiking alone, experienced true isolation or done something where you know that if you get injured it will take hours/days for help to arrive, this book will strike all those trigger points. (in a fun way!)

I enjoyed the theme and execution of almost all of these stories, and now that I know a bit more about the author, it was fun to see echoes of his personal life in his work. I was only really disappointed in one of his tales, which ended in what I felt to be a cop-out. However, I highly recommend this very important and influential collection of work!

[크리스티 (Kristy) · Rating 4 out of 5]

A suspicious gift was my fave story