November Night Tales

by Henry C. Mercer, Cory Amsler (Introduction)

Towards the end of his life, the eccentric archaeologist, historian, architect, and collector Henry Chapman Mercer (1856-1930) channeled his antiquarian interests and his love of Gothic literature into November Night Tales (1928), a volume of highly imaginative weird tales in the mode of M.R. James.

In "Castle Valley," unexpected consequences ensue when an artist gazes into an old crystal and sees visions of a Gothic castle. In "The Blackbirds," a flock of vultures may portend an ominous fate for a young man who has been warned that calamity will befall him on his birthday. "The Dolls' Castle" is a sinister place with a dark past that lays supernatural snares to catch unwary children. And in "The Wolf Book," a scholar visits a Transylvanian monastery where he discovers a mysterious manuscript that may be connected with a legendary werewolf.

This first-ever republication of Mercer's tales includes all six stories from the scarce first edition, plus an additional rare story, "The Well of Monte Corbo," discovered among Mercer's papers after his death, and a new introduction by Cory M. Amsler of the Mercer Museum.

Genres: Horror, Short Stories, Gothic, Weird Fiction, Fiction, American, Supernatural

236 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1928

About the author

Henry Chapman Mercer was an American archeologist, artifact collector, tile-maker, and designer of three distinctive poured concrete structures: Fonthill, his home, the Moravian Pottery and Tile Works, and the Mercer Museum. He also wrote a single collection of ghost stories titled November Night Tales.

Reviews

[Nancy Oakes · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this one. I liked it a LOT.

The back cover blurb of this book says that Mercer

"channeled his antiquarian interests and his love of Gothic literature into November Night Tales (1928), a volume of highly imaginative weird tales in the mode of M.R. James."

I went into the book as I normally do, without expectations, but it wasn't too long into the first story, "Castle Valley," when I started thinking "I've read something like this before." Sorting through all of the clutter in my head, I realized that in its own way, "Castle Valley" sort of reminded me of James' "View From a Hill." In James' story, an archaeologist gets a view of the past with the help of some rather sinister binoculars; here, a painter and his friend discover a scrying stone that does much the same. But this doesn't mean that November Night Tales is a James ripoff -- au contraire -- it is quite an original collection of stories that should be read and appreciated on its own merit. This book gathers together many facets of Mercer's personal interests: the natural landscape, local legends, mythology, and above all, castles. As the introduction notes,

"Indeed, to Mercer, the very presence of a castle suggested an almost infinite number of possibilities. 'Castles, Castles, Castles -- Where do their stories begin or end?"

As happens often with James (especially in his Antiquary stories), Mercer's characters tend to find themselves in the position of coming across something they probably shouldn't be messing with, but are all the same compelled to explore further in hopes of some sort of satisfactory, rational answer. In the process, these people end up discovering that there are often things that exist well beyond their understanding, but they also tend to realize something about themselves as well.

The table of contents is as follows (I won't go into each story here, since it's best to discover Mercer on one's own):

"Castle Valley"
"The North Ferry Bridge"
"The Blackbirds"
"The Wolf Book"
"The Dolls' Castle"
"The Sunken City"
"The Well of Monte Corbo"

I will say that while I thought all of the stories in this book were quite good, I found three I enjoyed just a bit more than the others. There's "The Dolls' Castle," a great gothic haunted-house sort of story that was just downright creepy, as was "The Wolf Book," which starts in an old monastery in the Carpathians. I don't know about anyone else, but the combination of old text, monastery and the Carpathians is a definite draw for me, a scenario I can't resist; there were other very cool historical bits in this story as well as a look at how local legends and myths can transform a community. "The North Ferry Bridge" was also quite fun, with a little dark, pulpy creeposity in the telling which was a definite plus for me; added to that aspect, I also got the horrific tale of an escaped madman, another story type that I can't not read. While these three elevated my heart rate for a while, all of the stories in November Night Tales were definitely "highly imaginative" and "weird," as promised. Then, of course, comes the added bonus of finding a previously-unknown (to me) author and reading his work ...

While the stories may not exactly scare the pants off of readers, they are highly intelligent, well written and they set the brain into high gear while reading them. These are dark tales for thinking people who don't need everything spelled out for them and frankly, they're just plain fun.

As always Valancourt, thanks for bringing the obscure back into the light.

[Canavan · Rating 2 out of 5]

✭✭

The publisher’s blurb for the Valancourt edition of this collection refers to the stories as being “in the mode of” M. R. James. Perhaps because I’m so thoroughly familiar with James, I tend to focus more on differences than similarities, but this comparison strikes me as just plain wrong. When considering the evolutionary timeline of the ghost story, I see James as more of an early modern writer. In contrast, Mercer seems to be looking backward; although published in the first part of the 20th century, the tales in his collection could (to my eye, at least) have easily been written in the mid-1800s. Specifically, they seem much more rooted in the Gothic and Romantic traditions of the ghost tale. Mercer’s stories are populated by mysterious Gypsies, madmen bent on nefarious schemes, castles situated on mountain tops, and the like.

The Valancourt edition also includes a fine introduction by Cory Amsler, the vice-president of the Mercer Museum. Mercer was an archeologist with rather wide-ranging interests that encompassed both architecture (specifically including tile-making) and writing. Amsler’s descriptions of the contents are pretty clear-eyed. He identifies some of the main themes that were of interest to Mercer — the metaphysical, the role of coincidence (or, as Mercer would probably see it, fate) in determining life’s events, and his fascination with castles, which seemed to Mercer to represent mystery, intrigue, and beauty. At one point, Amsler notes that the publication of this book seemed to have been an item on Mercer’s “bucket list”. In hindsight (and at the risk of reading too much into Amsler’s comment) this might be interpreted as a subtle warning to the potential reader that, while Mercer’s work isn’t bad, it might be perceived as the product of a fannish amateur.

Mercer’s stories often start out well and frequently manage to establish a promising premise from which to work. But the tales nearly always manage for various reasons to veer off the tracks as they proceed. What happens? Well, for one thing Mercer has a terrible sense of narrative pace. His stories frequently involve tedious excursions involving dead-end plot threads that contribute little or nothing to the overall story (e.g., “The Dolls’ Castle”, “The Blackbirds”). Perhaps more important, whereas Mercer has some facility in setting up a story, he has little when it comes to the moment where the author must inevitably pull the curtain aside to show the reader the promised climax; in the same vein, many of Mercer’s stories sort of limp to the finish line as if the the author were not quite clear on how to conclude a tale (e.g., “The Well of Monte Corbo”, “The Sunken City”). Finally, although Mercer himself doubtless wouldn’t regard this as a flaw (see above), readers might tire of the role that extraordinary coincidence plays in both setting in motion and resolving storylines (“The North Ferry Bridge”, “The Blackbirds”).

I’d emphasize that none of Mercer’s stories are so terrible that they’re unreadable and that the reader whose tastes run more towards the Gothic may appreciate them more than I did. It probably says something about the wide variations in taste that a writer like Peter Bell (whose stories I frequently admire and who wrote the introduction to the Swan River Press edition of November Night Tales ) can recommend Mercer’s stories with little or no reservation.

“Castle Valley” ✭½
“The North Ferry Bridge” ✭½
“The Blackbirds” ✭
“The Wolf Book” ✭✭✭
“The Dolls’ House” ✭✭✭
“The Sunken City” ✭½
“The Well of Monte Corbo” ✭✭

[Latasha · Rating 3 out of 5]

These stories were ok but tiresome. I didn't read the last 2. I'm just ready to move onto something else.

[Karl]

This is copy 25 of 100 numbered copies which includes a numbered postcard picturing the author .

[Ian Casey · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read November Night Tales in November, at night. And a teensy bit in the daytime. That's the sort of rebel I am.

Ahem. From the mind of one of those intriguingly polymathic Edwardian individuals, Henry C. Mercer, this is a solid and varied collection of 1920s horror short stories, most of which are quite traditionally supernatural and gothic, though some have more of a Weird Tales-esque pulp influence and/or sensibility.

The latter is especially apparent in 'The Sunken City', which is an adventure romp more in the vein of Robert E. Howard (or Indiana Jones, to be anachronistic). Otherwise, some would call this collection 'Jamesian' (Montague more so than Henry) and certainly the influence is strongly felt in some tales, though it's not a straight pastiche of any single author. Nor did Mercer seek to hide these influences.

'The Doll's Castle' is such a self-conscious ghost story that the characters openly discuss the spectral works of Dickens, Bulwer-Lytton and Collins. Apart from being a prime early example of the 'creepy doll' horror trope, it's a fascinating and deceptively complex story in which the physical geography of the location is crucial. This aspect is as much a Jamesian one as the occasional bouts of antiquarianism and clues hidden in old languages which are also to be found in this collection..

'The Wolf Book' is a particularly good compromise of these traditional and contemporary pulp styles, with a setting on the rivers of Europe heavily reminiscent of The Willows used as backdrop to a schlocky were-wolf yarn worthy of the pulps.

November Night Tales is undoubtedly a niche title which only those with an existing interest in the style are likely to discover. Nothing here is sufficiently original or brilliant to take it beyond that level, but it is nonetheless competent, engaging and worth the time of those sharing aforesaid interest.

p.s. I have one of three hundred un-numbered hardcover copies (with a separate illustration of the author), and the ebook. The former is worthwhile for its nifty black-and-white illustrations by Alisdair Wood, which are unfortunately absent from the ebook. I imagine they are in the paperback edition also.

[KDS · Rating 5 out of 5]

Written in 1928, Henry Chapman Mercer weaved his knowledge of archaeology, archiecture, antiquaries and historical legend into a superb set of gothic tales, which read like the combination of the supernatural or weird imaginings of such as M R James, Conan Doyle, Edgar Allen Poe & the occasional exotic adventure of early Sax Rohmer.

Mercer’s stories often feel a lot more lively than the drier style of many of his predecessors and contemporaries and that’s largely thanks to his experience and love of each historical influence he draws upon shining through, alongside a willingness to vary his settings. We read tales of a mad scientist plotting on gaslit riversides and warehouses; deadly spiritual customs and creepy avian nightmares; before travelling to the Carpathian mountains and its ancient monastic scrolls and early werewolf legends. We are even treated to parallels of Jason’s adventure to seek the Golden Fleece, a trip to the beautiful locales around Sicily and finally a wonderful mystery surrounding a forgotten piece of Italian art.

Sometimes Mercer’s enthusiastic informational flourishes divert a story off course as it does slightly in ‘The Blackbirds’ or in the even more indulgent ‘Sunken City’, and his occasional longer sentences are of an older era which will be slightly jarring to modern readers. But, these are minor quibbles. Once again Valancourt have brought back a fine collection of little known supernatural/weird tales to warm oneself with by the fire on any cold November night. Or even any night.

[Gina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Henry Chapman Mercer (1856-1930) was a man of numerous talents. He was a lawyer, archaeologist, antiquarian, ceramist, curator, author and historian, amongst other things. He was founder of the Mercer Museum, which houses Mercer's vast collection of objects from the pre-industrial age, and the Moravian Pottery and Tile Works, both of which are located in his hometown of Doylestown, Pennsylvania. He was also the author, at the end of his life, of an incredibly neglected book of uncanny stories, November Night Tales, which was first published by Walter Neale in 1928.

The collection has just been republished by Swan River Press, with the additional tale 'The Well of Monte Corbo', which was first published by the Bucks County Historical Society in 1930.

In 'Castle Valley', one fine summer day the narrator, Charlie Meredith, encounters his old friend Pryor, an artist whom he hasn't seen for years, painting in the vicinity of Castle Valley Hill. Pryor has painted a view of the hill, and upon the top of it he has placed a castle, without knowing that there once was one, or the beginnings of one at least, in that very spot. A few days later, the two men go exploring the site, and they spy something glittering in the brambles. The object turns out to be a large piece of rock crystal - a scrying stone. But using the crystal brings about unforeseen consequences.

In 'The North Ferry Bridge', the narrator is a young doctor only recently arrived in Bridgenorth. He occupies the house that was once tenanted by the great chemist Dr. Gooch, who killed his assistant, turned rats into cholera-carrying murder weapons, and vowed revenge upon the judge and the town who condemned and imprisoned him. This tale is the inspiration for the dust jacket design.

Pryor, the artist, reappears in 'The Blackbirds'. It is his birthday, but he's been warned by his spiritualist advisor that a calamity will befall him on this very day. Charles Carrington, a dramatist, and his friend Arthur Norton are surprised to bump into Pryor in the street, as they think he's fled town to avoid his calamity. The three men decide to head off to Deadlock Meadow together. But once there, poor old Pryor disappears.

'The Wolf Book', is the story of the discovery, by a certain professor, of a precious but unholy manuscript at the Monastery of Jollok in the Carpathian mountains. In search of lost treasures, the professor purchases what he thinks is a worthless farm ledger, contained within a two foot long cylinder. Upon opening the ledger, however, he discovers a second manuscript - a Wolf Book - which he then has sealed up in a tin for safekeeping. But the professor isn't the only one interested in this manuscript, and werewolves are said to be able to sniff them out... even if they are concealed inside tin cans.

Click here to read the rest of the review...

[Daniel Stainback · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not much for finishing a book of short stories, as I'm only ever after one or two of the stories it contains, but I took a liking to this author after reading up on him some and decided to give the whole thing a go. As far as the stories go, I felt most were a hit, with a few misses. But even the misses were well written and enjoyable enough.

[Riju Ganguly · Rating 2 out of 5]

Consider a situation.
Your physician has prescribed a brisk walk for your health. You also have a train to catch. Thinking of combining 'business' and 'pleasure' you commence a near-trot. And then the inevitable happens.
A geriatric septuagenarian starts walking right in front of you.
You can't push him off. So at first you merely forego thoughts of brisk walk as some kind of cardio exercise, and follow him. Then the situation becomes critical. You keep on looking at the watch in an uneasy, then anxious, finally panicked manner.
The old man doesn't care. His old bones have seen everything.
Fear of missing the train and facing sharp rebukes at your workplace create waves of anger within you. They radiate outwards, trying to envelop the senior citizen.
Nothing happens, except you miss the train.
That's EXACTLY what happened here. The author didn't care about the stories or our expectations as well as anticipations. He kept going at his own leisurely pace, eventually making me lose interest in EVERY story. That takes some sort of special skill, I must admit.
1. Castle Valley: Some beautiful gothic imagery sunk in descriptions.
2. The North Ferry Bridge: Descriptions everywhere. Not a drop of story to drink.
3. The Blackbirds: Fear of infection lost amidst overwritten prose.
4. The Wolf Book: How enamoured the author was with his own words! A story that could have been told in four thousand words max took 34 pages full of tiny prints!
5. The Doll's Castle: M.R. James had done it in a far smaller, and far better piece.
6. The Sunken City: The descriptions were so excessive that the story got lost there. Once again.
These six stories, apart from having the overwritten dullness lying over them like a shapeless uniform, also indicate the author;s fascination and fear with respect to fire. Perhaps an effect of sitting too close to the fireplace.
7. The Well of Monte Corbo: This rare addition is a saving grace, since it not only concentrates on a different subject, but also handles it in a different manner. That story alone adds a star.
Otherwise, this collection of overwritten novellas was pretty boring.

[Steven · Rating 4 out of 5]

Subtle Forces and other Architectural Adventures

If you're expecting a read of supernatural tales, you will only find three strongly supernatural even if it's a bit subtle for your taste. The tales were compared to Poe, Shelley, Stoker, and Doyle. I would extend a little bit more to Norah Lofts and MR James. Castle Valley, The Doll's Castle, and The Wolf Book are supernatural ones. The rest are written in mystery/suspense/adventure vein. The Sunken City is far more interesting when it came to treasure hunting and a nasty little rivalry between scholars. Mercer's writing style is straight forward even he disparages Hemingway. Whatever. These tales are definitely the stuff dreams are from, as Bogart would say.

[Ellen Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have a first edition of this book given to me by a family member who knew Dr. Mercer. I admit my evaluation is not without prejudice, as this book and its settings were part of my childhood. "Castle Valley" was a real, nearby place, and suffused with magic for me due to its association with the author's mythologized account. Other places are better disguised but easily recognized by anyone who has lived in the area and absorbed the local folklore. Certainly not as masterful as M. R. James, with whom the author is sometimes compared, he nevertheless acquits himself well and maintains a tone that is reminiscent of James's beset scholars.

[Brian Cohen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m surprised by the relatively low average rating, I couldn’t think of a reason not to give it five stars. The narrative voice and the protagonists in each story are very similar, but the plots are unique and thought provoking. The author is also such an interesting guy it’s fun to imagine him as an American setting out to write in this unmistakably British style. I guess my main criticism, while unusual, is that, the first paragraph, of some stories, have an excessive, and unnecessary, use of a multitude of commas, which, I suppose, is how the author set them down, and the editors let them go.

[Carrie Laben · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some of the tropes in this collection are now shopworn (to say nothing of the Orientalism) and Mercer never quite sticks the landings the way James or Lovecraft would've. Nevertheless, he has a way with creating atmosphere and dropping hints that suggest larger and darker machinations. Definitely of interest to the aficionado of the classic eerie tale, but unlikely to find a much wider audience.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

November Nights, by true American ‘Renaissance Man’ Henry C. Mercer (he is seriously worth doing a deep dive into), is a collection of early 20th century supernatural tales. Think M.R. James and Lovecraft without the cosmic horror. I really enjoyed my time with these stories, which really leaned into slow burn dread, like The Willows. Perfect for a late fall gothic itch.

[Derek · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun little collection of stories, almost M.R. James like in style, just without the ghosts who wander through James’s stories. Still, highly entertaining.

[Carrie Dalby · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this book at the Mercer Museum two years ago and finally got to it on my TBR stack. Great collection of short stories, all with a classic Gothic tone--some more subtle than others.

[Jay Fluellen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Intricate narratives beautifully and vividly told.

[Jay Rothermel]

Superb collection.