Tales of the Supernatural

by Algernon Blackwood

Algernon Blackwood holds a very special position among the great writers of supernatural fiction. His range of subjects extends from sheer terror to gentle fantasy and chilling ghost stories, but he excels above all in the world of the supernatural, the haunting and disturbing moment when nature begins to assert a psychic power over the ways of men. As Mike Ashley writes in his introduction, "Blackwood's whole world revolved around Nature". He had led an adventurous life as a traveller in Canada and elsewhere, and only became a writer in his late thirties. This volume contains a selection of the best of his work, including such classics as "The Willows" and "The Wendigo".

Genres: Horror, Fantasy

240 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1983

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

[M.R. Dowsing · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bit of a mixed bag this one, but mostly good... The best story is probably the first, 'The Willows' which, along with 'The Sea Fit' (featured later in the book), shows how Blackwood influenced HP Lovecraft. The second story, 'The Wendigo' is another good one, if totally bonkers ('Oh! My burning feet of fire!'). After these two classics set in the wilderness, we move indoors for 'The Other Wing', another strong tale. The two shorter tales which follow, 'First Hate' and 'The Destruction of Smith' are good but not great, but next we have 'The Occupant of the Room', a kind of ghost story with a difference and a chilling twist. 'The Terror of the Twins' is perhaps the weakest story here, but I enjoyed 'The Man who was Mulligan', about a man who becomes obsessed with an old Chinese painting. Blackwood admits during the course of the story that he stole it from Lafcadio Hearn. 'The Wings of Horus' is so completely absurd I wasn't sure what to make of it. 'Violence' is an odd little tale also about madness. Unfortunately, the last story in the collection, 'A Touch of Pan', made little sense to me and showed Blackwood at his worst with its horribly overwritten prose. But two or three lemons out of a total of 12 is not a bad average, so on the whole I can definitely recommend this book to fans of Lovecraft, Arthur Machen and MR James.

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.19⭐

Introduction • A Touch of Pan • Mike Ashley 5⭐
The Willows • (1907) 5⭐
The Wendigo • (1910) 4.25⭐
The Other Wing • (1915) 4.5⭐
First Hate • (1920) • Algernon Blackwood and Wilfred Wilson 4.25⭐
The Destruction of Smith • (1912) 3.5⭐
The Occupant of the Room • (1909) 4.5⭐
The Terror of the Twins • (1909) 3.25⭐
The Man Who Was Milligan • (1923) 5⭐
The Wings of Horus • (1914) 3.25⭐
The Sea Fit • (1910) 4⭐
Violence • (1913) 4⭐
The Touch of Pan • (1917) 4⭐

[Connor Hassan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Wendigo, The Willows, The Man Who Was Milligan, and The Other Wing were standouts, but all were enjoyable reads. Blackwood's prose is easy to follow and entertaining to read.

[Saara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had no particular expectations when starting on this collection, but did end up liking it quite a bit. My favourite stories in the volume were probably "The Wendigo" and "The Occupant of the Room".