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John Silence #1-2
The Supernatural Mysteries of Dr. John Silence: Complete Collection
Algernon Blackwood's John Silence is a masterful compilation of supernatural tales that explore the mysterious and uncanny. Blackwood's literary style is characterized by a unique blend of horror, the supernatural, and the psychological, creating an atmosphere of tension and unease that grips readers from the first page to the last. Set in the early 20th century, these stories provide a glimpse into a world where the boundaries between the natural and the supernatural blur, leaving readers questioning the nature of reality and the unseen forces that shape our lives. Each story is a carefully crafted masterpiece of suspense and intrigue, showcasing Blackwood's unparalleled skill as a storyteller.
Algernon Blackwood was a prolific writer of supernatural fiction, known for his ability to evoke a sense of dread and wonder in his readers. His fascination with the unknown and the unexplained led him to explore themes of the supernatural, the occult, and the subconscious mind in his works. Through his John Silence stories, Blackwood invites readers to confront their deepest fears and contemplate the mysteries of the universe.
This volume contains six John Silence stories. In A Psychical Invasion Silence is summoned to a house apparently haunted by former tenants. In Ancient Sorceries, he encounters a man who tells of strange experiences in a small French town; and in Secret Worship, an ill-starred character is rescued from spiritual and perhaps physical death. The Nemesis of Fire, The Camp of the Dog, and A Victim of Higher Space conclude this collection of spellbinding tales, which will delight any devotee of "weird" literature.
Algernon Blackwood was a prolific writer of supernatural fiction, known for his ability to evoke a sense of dread and wonder in his readers. His fascination with the unknown and the unexplained led him to explore themes of the supernatural, the occult, and the subconscious mind in his works. Through his John Silence stories, Blackwood invites readers to confront their deepest fears and contemplate the mysteries of the universe.
This volume contains six John Silence stories. In A Psychical Invasion Silence is summoned to a house apparently haunted by former tenants. In Ancient Sorceries, he encounters a man who tells of strange experiences in a small French town; and in Secret Worship, an ill-starred character is rescued from spiritual and perhaps physical death. The Nemesis of Fire, The Camp of the Dog, and A Victim of Higher Space conclude this collection of spellbinding tales, which will delight any devotee of "weird" literature.
174 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1908
84 people are currently reading
1771 people want to read
About the author
Algernon Blackwood
1,345 books1,177 followersAlgernon 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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 141 reviews
September 10, 2019
This collection includes all five stories featuring Blackwood's psychic detective, John Silence, M.D., and--except for the brief "A Victim of Higher Space," a mere bagatelle--each of the tales is compelling in the way all good Blackwood is compelling: each features a leisurely exposition followed by a slow series of incremental complications which both inform and disarm the mesmerized reader until he is prepared for the well-executed conclusion.
The two best stories included here are the much anthologized "Ancient Sorceries" and "Secret Worship." If you do not know them already, you should certainly read them, even if you're not a great fan of terror tales. The other three stories, however, are also effective and unique.
"A Psychical Invasion" is unusual in that, drawing upon the notion that dogs resist ghostly phenomena and cats explore them, it allots 30 pages and 8,000 words (roughly 40% of the story) to a detailed description of the behaviors of one cat and one dog on one particular night. I know this sounds boring, but it isn't. (I became quite absorbed in interpreting the animals' actions, and, while I was doing so, I had no doubt whatsoever that Blackwood's ghost was real.) "The Nemesis of Fire" begins conventionally with a local haunting on the grounds of an English Country estate, but--after a few twists and turns--concludes with a battle against the darkest magic of Ancient Egypt. "The Camp of the Dog" realistically creates the atmosphere of a camping trip to a remote Northern island, its comforts and its terrors (Blackwood was an avid camper), but its most notable feature is the way it resolves the problem of a rather decent sort of werewolf chap who is trapped by his sincere repressed love into a psychic spiral of lustful--and hairy--transformations.
All of these stories are worth reading. Oh, and--by the way--since you've gone this far, you might as well read "A Victim of Higher Space" too. It is short, with one or two good laughs in it, and contains a really cool description of John Silence's consulting room, including his little tricks and gadgets.
January 1, 2024
"A man of power is among us! A man of God!"
What a pleasure to return to one of my favorite authors, Algernon Blackwood. It has been a while since I've read more than one story by him in a row. I love his prose, formal but never stodgy, always serious, with the occasional stylized flourish when depicting hysteria. I love his rich imagery. His interests in spiritualism and naturalism are given free reign in these stories and novellas featuring the psychic investigator, Dr. John Silence. This thoughtful, pipe-smoking physician is not just an accomplished telepath, empath, clairvoyant, astral projector, animal-lover, gun-hater, and filled with touchy-feely kindness (John Silence is very much a hands-on, close-talking kind of fellow), he also apparently radiates a psychic field of manly wholesomeness that dominates everyone around him with the power of his overwhelming goodness. Quite a character!
As always, Blackwood is more interested in unveiling the strange dimensions that coexist beside humanity, rather than creating moments of horror (although those do appear, frequently). He's all about the 'awe' in awesome, the old definition of that word. These may be tales of ghosts, witches, Satanists, elementals, werewolves, and mummies, but they are far from monster stories. The author's focus is always on the higher planes of existence, and the dangers and wonders of those places.
"A Psychical Invasion" - 4 stars. A writer of comedies suddenly loses his sense of humor. Although perhaps not the most compelling of set-ups, what follows is a very absorbing and lengthy scene of psychic investigator versus evil spirits in a cottage. The story amused in its depiction of marijuana as a gateway drug for psychical experiences (although the strain used is indica; one would think sativa to be more effective for such activities). That said, what made this tale idiosyncratic, surprisingly high-stakes, and eventually very satisfying was Dr. Silence's deployment of two assistants: his cat and his dog! The scene of his loyal, evil-hating dog losing a battle with malevolent spirits was heartrending (*spoiler alert* the dog lives) while the image of his, let's say, more chaotic-neutrally inclined cat prancing about enjoying the company of these dead decadents was both eerie and, to a cat aficionado like myself, fully expected. Fortunately, cat comes to its senses and attempts to rescue best friend dog, and Dr. Silence eventually rescues both. Whew!
"Ancient Sorceries" - 5 stars. One of the more famous Blackwood stories, this one only slightly involving the good doctor investigating mysteries. Instead, the reader is immersed in the perspective of one Arthur Vezin, strangely compelled to stop and then stay on in a remote provincial French village. This story depicts the behaviors of cats and witches, first one then the other, almost like two layers beneath an idyllic surface. The first layer, cats, is wonderfully bizarre as Vezin describes being in an ostensibly pleasant town where all of its residents act like, well, cats. This cat-like behavior is even stranger than it sounds, with townsfolk busy pretending to do things while keeping careful track of his movements, suddenly disappearing and reappearing, looking idle and only vaguely interested while still giving the vague impression that they are just about to pounce and toy with their human plaything. The second layer, witches, goes in a surprisingly trippy direction, with a love story, reincarnations, shapeshifting, dreamscapes, and witchy revels in service of His Satanic Majesty all mixed in an almost psychedelic stew. I always knew the French were both cats and witches!
"The Nemesis of Fire - 4 stars. Although confined to a single place - an English manor and its surrounding property - this novella is almost a tour of haunted settings. First, the manor itself, dark and gloomy and unaccountably, uncomfortably warm. Then an equally haunted forest, too close-by, then a stone Roman "laundry" and finally a claustrophobic tunnel leading to a makeshift Egyptian tomb. Likewise, the threat itself changes shape as understanding dawns on Dr. Silence, his assistant Hubbard, and the old Colonel who has brought them to investigate certain disturbing occurrences involving fire and burning. From an eerie presence that announces itself with lightning streaks of energy, to a raging fire elemental, to an ancient sorcerer now mummified, to a mummy's curse claiming a sadly sympathetic victim. It all flowed seamlessly from one point to the next, dread escalating at each turn, reaching its most bizarre point with a séance and possession. The only cacophonous note in this smooth display of Blackwood's storytelling powers is the narrator, Hubbard. The guy just goes on and on about Dr. Silence! Drool much, Hubbard? The reader has certainly come to realize that John Silence is a spiritual hunk of the highest order, no need to remind us every other paragraph of how lost you get in those dazzling astral eyes of his. Back off Hubbard, he's mine.
"Secret Worship" - 5 stars. Dr. Silence to the rescue again! But not until we are fully acquainted with Harris the silk merchant and his particular problem: nostalgia. This man of silk takes a sentimental voyage to his old school, a monastery in the German hills; en route, the reader journeys with him into his past life as he fondly recalls his austere lifestyle with his fellow students, the stoic Brothers who ordered their lives, the lovely natural surroundings. Harris feels so fondly about his past life because his prosaic adult life of buying & selling lacks any vestige of spirituality, and way back when, spirituality was all his young soul was concerned with contemplating. Unlike Harris, the reader senses his sentiments are rather misplaced, as this past life does not come across as the most healthy of experiences. The full depth of the monastery's lack of health is eventually made apparent during his actual visit to his old stomping grounds - much to his dismay, much to his danger. I loved Blackwood's perspective on the blinding quality of nostalgia and the near-inchoate yearning for something higher. Blackwood understands while he cautions. The story also features a fascinating portrait of a very mournful but still very diabolical Asmodeus. Fortunately, ghosts of the past and even Asmodeus himself are no match for that gentle-eyed man of tweed and servant of God, Dr. John Silence!
"The Camp of the Dog" - 4 stars. Blackwood is at his most evocative when writing about his one true love: Nature. In this novella, a small party of campers travels to the islands of the Baltic Sea for a two-month summer retreat. The descriptions of this wilderness are so vivid and expressive, so immersive. The author's intense love for such settings is profound. It instantly made me want to go camping, of course. His descriptive powers are just as skillful when describing the changes that the campers go through when in touch with their non-city selves; in particular, one young man eventually connects with and lets loose his inner savage. This is a story about lycanthropy as a kind of astral projection made physical; the Double that embodies emotions becomes a hunter seeking its deepest connection. And so it is also a love story. The girl finds something deeply disturbing even 'creepy' about the boy that distances her from him, during the day. The boy grows strangely more attractive, more virile, the more his secret self frees itself to roam at night. Fascinating stuff! And it was nice to see Dr. Silence become a kind of spiritual matchmaker. And also interesting to read his perspective on the Scandinavian islands: they are soulless to him, outcroppings of rock from sea, devoid of humanity and so can only encourage the descent of interlopers into a more primal state. The only thing I could have done without were the ongoing references to "Red Indians" as noble savages; that said, Blackwood is always culturally sensitive, and those moments annoyed rather than offended.
"A Victim of Higher Space" - 4 stars. Slight but very engaging. The good doctor's patient is prone to traveling into the 4th dimension and beyond, quite against his will. The story includes a brief dive into tesseracts and the mathematical study of overlapping dimensions. We also spend time in the doctor's "green study" which comes complete with peephole to contemplate his patients unobserved, a chair nailed in place to reduce his patient's fidgeting, and several discreet buttons that allow the doctor to introduce a calming narcotic into the air. And we meet a new servant, whom Dr. Silence is training to only think positive, affectionate thoughts when welcoming his psychically fragile patients into his study. Like, say, a man winking in & out of existence. It was all so enjoyable. Especially when doctor and patient start finishing each other's sentences because to these two uplifted souls, linear time is meaningless and matter is but a trapping, a projection even, of our fuller selves. I'm so glad these two met - I can tell you from experience, it's often lonely being a trans-dimensional, psychically empathetic supernumerary!
4.5 stars for the collection, rounded up to a higher plane.
What a pleasure to return to one of my favorite authors, Algernon Blackwood. It has been a while since I've read more than one story by him in a row. I love his prose, formal but never stodgy, always serious, with the occasional stylized flourish when depicting hysteria. I love his rich imagery. His interests in spiritualism and naturalism are given free reign in these stories and novellas featuring the psychic investigator, Dr. John Silence. This thoughtful, pipe-smoking physician is not just an accomplished telepath, empath, clairvoyant, astral projector, animal-lover, gun-hater, and filled with touchy-feely kindness (John Silence is very much a hands-on, close-talking kind of fellow), he also apparently radiates a psychic field of manly wholesomeness that dominates everyone around him with the power of his overwhelming goodness. Quite a character!
As always, Blackwood is more interested in unveiling the strange dimensions that coexist beside humanity, rather than creating moments of horror (although those do appear, frequently). He's all about the 'awe' in awesome, the old definition of that word. These may be tales of ghosts, witches, Satanists, elementals, werewolves, and mummies, but they are far from monster stories. The author's focus is always on the higher planes of existence, and the dangers and wonders of those places.
"A Psychical Invasion" - 4 stars. A writer of comedies suddenly loses his sense of humor. Although perhaps not the most compelling of set-ups, what follows is a very absorbing and lengthy scene of psychic investigator versus evil spirits in a cottage. The story amused in its depiction of marijuana as a gateway drug for psychical experiences (although the strain used is indica; one would think sativa to be more effective for such activities). That said, what made this tale idiosyncratic, surprisingly high-stakes, and eventually very satisfying was Dr. Silence's deployment of two assistants: his cat and his dog! The scene of his loyal, evil-hating dog losing a battle with malevolent spirits was heartrending (*spoiler alert* the dog lives) while the image of his, let's say, more chaotic-neutrally inclined cat prancing about enjoying the company of these dead decadents was both eerie and, to a cat aficionado like myself, fully expected. Fortunately, cat comes to its senses and attempts to rescue best friend dog, and Dr. Silence eventually rescues both. Whew!
"Ancient Sorceries" - 5 stars. One of the more famous Blackwood stories, this one only slightly involving the good doctor investigating mysteries. Instead, the reader is immersed in the perspective of one Arthur Vezin, strangely compelled to stop and then stay on in a remote provincial French village. This story depicts the behaviors of cats and witches, first one then the other, almost like two layers beneath an idyllic surface. The first layer, cats, is wonderfully bizarre as Vezin describes being in an ostensibly pleasant town where all of its residents act like, well, cats. This cat-like behavior is even stranger than it sounds, with townsfolk busy pretending to do things while keeping careful track of his movements, suddenly disappearing and reappearing, looking idle and only vaguely interested while still giving the vague impression that they are just about to pounce and toy with their human plaything. The second layer, witches, goes in a surprisingly trippy direction, with a love story, reincarnations, shapeshifting, dreamscapes, and witchy revels in service of His Satanic Majesty all mixed in an almost psychedelic stew. I always knew the French were both cats and witches!
"The Nemesis of Fire - 4 stars. Although confined to a single place - an English manor and its surrounding property - this novella is almost a tour of haunted settings. First, the manor itself, dark and gloomy and unaccountably, uncomfortably warm. Then an equally haunted forest, too close-by, then a stone Roman "laundry" and finally a claustrophobic tunnel leading to a makeshift Egyptian tomb. Likewise, the threat itself changes shape as understanding dawns on Dr. Silence, his assistant Hubbard, and the old Colonel who has brought them to investigate certain disturbing occurrences involving fire and burning. From an eerie presence that announces itself with lightning streaks of energy, to a raging fire elemental, to an ancient sorcerer now mummified, to a mummy's curse claiming a sadly sympathetic victim. It all flowed seamlessly from one point to the next, dread escalating at each turn, reaching its most bizarre point with a séance and possession. The only cacophonous note in this smooth display of Blackwood's storytelling powers is the narrator, Hubbard. The guy just goes on and on about Dr. Silence! Drool much, Hubbard? The reader has certainly come to realize that John Silence is a spiritual hunk of the highest order, no need to remind us every other paragraph of how lost you get in those dazzling astral eyes of his. Back off Hubbard, he's mine.
"Secret Worship" - 5 stars. Dr. Silence to the rescue again! But not until we are fully acquainted with Harris the silk merchant and his particular problem: nostalgia. This man of silk takes a sentimental voyage to his old school, a monastery in the German hills; en route, the reader journeys with him into his past life as he fondly recalls his austere lifestyle with his fellow students, the stoic Brothers who ordered their lives, the lovely natural surroundings. Harris feels so fondly about his past life because his prosaic adult life of buying & selling lacks any vestige of spirituality, and way back when, spirituality was all his young soul was concerned with contemplating. Unlike Harris, the reader senses his sentiments are rather misplaced, as this past life does not come across as the most healthy of experiences. The full depth of the monastery's lack of health is eventually made apparent during his actual visit to his old stomping grounds - much to his dismay, much to his danger. I loved Blackwood's perspective on the blinding quality of nostalgia and the near-inchoate yearning for something higher. Blackwood understands while he cautions. The story also features a fascinating portrait of a very mournful but still very diabolical Asmodeus. Fortunately, ghosts of the past and even Asmodeus himself are no match for that gentle-eyed man of tweed and servant of God, Dr. John Silence!
"The Camp of the Dog" - 4 stars. Blackwood is at his most evocative when writing about his one true love: Nature. In this novella, a small party of campers travels to the islands of the Baltic Sea for a two-month summer retreat. The descriptions of this wilderness are so vivid and expressive, so immersive. The author's intense love for such settings is profound. It instantly made me want to go camping, of course. His descriptive powers are just as skillful when describing the changes that the campers go through when in touch with their non-city selves; in particular, one young man eventually connects with and lets loose his inner savage. This is a story about lycanthropy as a kind of astral projection made physical; the Double that embodies emotions becomes a hunter seeking its deepest connection. And so it is also a love story. The girl finds something deeply disturbing even 'creepy' about the boy that distances her from him, during the day. The boy grows strangely more attractive, more virile, the more his secret self frees itself to roam at night. Fascinating stuff! And it was nice to see Dr. Silence become a kind of spiritual matchmaker. And also interesting to read his perspective on the Scandinavian islands: they are soulless to him, outcroppings of rock from sea, devoid of humanity and so can only encourage the descent of interlopers into a more primal state. The only thing I could have done without were the ongoing references to "Red Indians" as noble savages; that said, Blackwood is always culturally sensitive, and those moments annoyed rather than offended.
"A Victim of Higher Space" - 4 stars. Slight but very engaging. The good doctor's patient is prone to traveling into the 4th dimension and beyond, quite against his will. The story includes a brief dive into tesseracts and the mathematical study of overlapping dimensions. We also spend time in the doctor's "green study" which comes complete with peephole to contemplate his patients unobserved, a chair nailed in place to reduce his patient's fidgeting, and several discreet buttons that allow the doctor to introduce a calming narcotic into the air. And we meet a new servant, whom Dr. Silence is training to only think positive, affectionate thoughts when welcoming his psychically fragile patients into his study. Like, say, a man winking in & out of existence. It was all so enjoyable. Especially when doctor and patient start finishing each other's sentences because to these two uplifted souls, linear time is meaningless and matter is but a trapping, a projection even, of our fuller selves. I'm so glad these two met - I can tell you from experience, it's often lonely being a trans-dimensional, psychically empathetic supernumerary!
4.5 stars for the collection, rounded up to a higher plane.
December 22, 2023
"..finora non mi sono mai imbattuto in un problema che non fosse naturale. È solo questione di quel che uno sa... ed è disposto ad ammettere"
Il dottor John Silence è uno psichico, un investigatore dell'occulto. In questi racconti non avrete indagini minuziose e didascaliche ne assassini incalliti da acciuffare, avrete invece un narratore esterno che racconta i casi, vere e proprie avventure fuori dal normale, che il buon dottore avrà l'opportunità di affrontare e risolvere.
Occulto e presenze maligne, antiche stregonerie dal passato, gatti neri e sabba. Niente orrore con sangue e sbudellamenti beceri, qui è il non visto che rende il terrore un' emozione viva.
Pubblicati nel 1908 rivestono un indubbio valore aggiunto per aver dato vita all'archetipo dell' investigatore dell'occulto ripreso poi da altri scrittori: John Constantine, Dylan Dog, Ichabod Crane, i fratelli Winchester, Harry Dresden ed altri.
Racconti di una raffinatezza estetica d'altri tempi, quasi poetica. Dove la narrazione prevale il mostrato senza affievolire l' impatto emotivo.
- Un' invasione psichica: ⭐⭐⭐
Fusa di gatto ed oscure presenze in una casa infestata. Uno spinello e una mente propensa evocano il male assopito.
- Antiche stregonerie:⭐⭐⭐⭐
Ancora gatti neri...e il sentirsi osservati. Il torpore della volontà negata. Antiche memorie e un' atmosfera claustrofobica con rivelazione finale.
- La nemesi di fuoco:⭐⭐⭐⭐😎
Le nebbie della memoria nascondono incubi indicibili. Un bosco silenzioso come un cimitero tradisce il calore interiore della mente. Gli elementi inquieti reclamano vendetta.
- Culto segreto:⭐⭐⭐
Ritorno ad un luogo avvolto dai ricordi giovanili. Una scuola di solitudine e rimpianto. Quanto sarà cambiata nel tempo?
- Il campo del cane:⭐⭐
Isole deserte e senz'anima nascondono la fame e il desiderio inespresso.
- Una vittima dello spazio superiore:⭐⭐⭐⭐
Alcune volte tre dimensioni sono poche e basta poco per spingersi oltre e perdersi del tutto.
------------------------------------------------
"..so far I have never come across a problem that wasn't natural. It's just a question of what one knows... and is willing to admit"
Dr. John Silence is a psychic, an investigator of the occult. In these stories you will not have meticulous and didactic investigations or hardened murderers to catch, instead you will have an external narrator who tells the cases, real adventures out of the ordinary, which the good doctor will have the opportunity to face and solve.
Occult and evil presences, ancient witchcraft from the past, black cats and sabbats. No horror with blood and vulgar disembowelments, here it is the unseen that makes terror a living emotion.
Published in 1908, they have an undoubted added value for having given life to the archetype of the occult investigator later taken up by other writers: John Constantine, Dylan Dog, Ichabod Crane, the Winchester brothers, Harry Dresden and others.
Stories of an aesthetic refinement of times gone by, almost poetic. Where the narrative prevails over what is shown without weakening the emotional impact.
- A psychic invasion: ⭐⭐⭐
Cat purring and dark presences in a haunted house. A joint and a bent mind evoke dormant evil.
- Ancient witchcraft:⭐⭐⭐⭐
More black cats... and feeling observed. The torpor of denied will. Ancient memories and a claustrophobic atmosphere with final revelation.
- The Fire Nemesis:⭐⭐⭐⭐😎
The mists of memory hide unspeakable nightmares. A forest as silent as a cemetery betrays the inner warmth of the mind. The restless elements demand revenge.
- Secret cult:⭐⭐⭐
Return to a place surrounded by youthful memories. A school of loneliness and regret. How much will it have changed over time?
- The dog field:⭐⭐
Deserted and soulless islands hide hunger and unexpressed desire.
- A victim of upper space:⭐⭐⭐⭐
Sometimes three dimensions are few and it doesn't take much to go further and get completely lost.
Il dottor John Silence è uno psichico, un investigatore dell'occulto. In questi racconti non avrete indagini minuziose e didascaliche ne assassini incalliti da acciuffare, avrete invece un narratore esterno che racconta i casi, vere e proprie avventure fuori dal normale, che il buon dottore avrà l'opportunità di affrontare e risolvere.
Occulto e presenze maligne, antiche stregonerie dal passato, gatti neri e sabba. Niente orrore con sangue e sbudellamenti beceri, qui è il non visto che rende il terrore un' emozione viva.
Pubblicati nel 1908 rivestono un indubbio valore aggiunto per aver dato vita all'archetipo dell' investigatore dell'occulto ripreso poi da altri scrittori: John Constantine, Dylan Dog, Ichabod Crane, i fratelli Winchester, Harry Dresden ed altri.
Racconti di una raffinatezza estetica d'altri tempi, quasi poetica. Dove la narrazione prevale il mostrato senza affievolire l' impatto emotivo.
- Un' invasione psichica: ⭐⭐⭐
Fusa di gatto ed oscure presenze in una casa infestata. Uno spinello e una mente propensa evocano il male assopito.
- Antiche stregonerie:⭐⭐⭐⭐
Ancora gatti neri...e il sentirsi osservati. Il torpore della volontà negata. Antiche memorie e un' atmosfera claustrofobica con rivelazione finale.
- La nemesi di fuoco:⭐⭐⭐⭐😎
Le nebbie della memoria nascondono incubi indicibili. Un bosco silenzioso come un cimitero tradisce il calore interiore della mente. Gli elementi inquieti reclamano vendetta.
- Culto segreto:⭐⭐⭐
Ritorno ad un luogo avvolto dai ricordi giovanili. Una scuola di solitudine e rimpianto. Quanto sarà cambiata nel tempo?
- Il campo del cane:⭐⭐
Isole deserte e senz'anima nascondono la fame e il desiderio inespresso.
- Una vittima dello spazio superiore:⭐⭐⭐⭐
Alcune volte tre dimensioni sono poche e basta poco per spingersi oltre e perdersi del tutto.
------------------------------------------------
"..so far I have never come across a problem that wasn't natural. It's just a question of what one knows... and is willing to admit"
Dr. John Silence is a psychic, an investigator of the occult. In these stories you will not have meticulous and didactic investigations or hardened murderers to catch, instead you will have an external narrator who tells the cases, real adventures out of the ordinary, which the good doctor will have the opportunity to face and solve.
Occult and evil presences, ancient witchcraft from the past, black cats and sabbats. No horror with blood and vulgar disembowelments, here it is the unseen that makes terror a living emotion.
Published in 1908, they have an undoubted added value for having given life to the archetype of the occult investigator later taken up by other writers: John Constantine, Dylan Dog, Ichabod Crane, the Winchester brothers, Harry Dresden and others.
Stories of an aesthetic refinement of times gone by, almost poetic. Where the narrative prevails over what is shown without weakening the emotional impact.
- A psychic invasion: ⭐⭐⭐
Cat purring and dark presences in a haunted house. A joint and a bent mind evoke dormant evil.
- Ancient witchcraft:⭐⭐⭐⭐
More black cats... and feeling observed. The torpor of denied will. Ancient memories and a claustrophobic atmosphere with final revelation.
- The Fire Nemesis:⭐⭐⭐⭐😎
The mists of memory hide unspeakable nightmares. A forest as silent as a cemetery betrays the inner warmth of the mind. The restless elements demand revenge.
- Secret cult:⭐⭐⭐
Return to a place surrounded by youthful memories. A school of loneliness and regret. How much will it have changed over time?
- The dog field:⭐⭐
Deserted and soulless islands hide hunger and unexpressed desire.
- A victim of upper space:⭐⭐⭐⭐
Sometimes three dimensions are few and it doesn't take much to go further and get completely lost.
March 22, 2014
Primero fue el doctor Martin Hesselius de Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu. Más tarde, el profesor Van Helsing del 'Drácula' de Bram Stoker. Y después tenemos al doctor John Silence de Algernon Blackwood, experto en ocultismo y fenómenos psíquicos y paranormales; sin olvidarnos de Carnacki, el cazador de fantasmas creado por William Hope Hodgson, aparecido con posterioridad. Todos ellos tienen en común su habilidad para detectar y poner fin las actividades extrañas y extraordinarias a la que tienen que hacer frente.
Fue en 1908 cuando Algernon Blackwood ideó al personaje de John Silence, convirtiéndose al momento en un éxito. La peculiaridad del doctor Silence estriba en su capacidad, si no para leer los pensamientos, sí para detectar parte de las intenciones de las personas que le rodean, siendo esta especial percepción producto de horas y horas de entrenamiento. Además de esta percepción, es un erudito en ciencias ocultas y ocultismo. Al parecer, Blackwood se inspiró en un personaje real, un ocultista famoso de la época, para caracterizar a su personaje. Otro punto importante en los relatos de John Silence, es su parecido con otro "detective" famoso por aquellos años, Sherlock Holmes, tanto en su manera de acometer los casos, como por tener igualmente un compañero fiel, remedo del buen doctor Watson, que le acompaña en algunos casos y nos cuenta posteriormente el caso. Otra característica de John Silence, es que se dedica a ayudar a sus clientes de manera altruista, ya que vive en una posición acomodada. Únicamente desea hacer el bien y encontrar y dar solución casos extraordinarios para su posterior estudio.
Estos son los seis relatos que incluye el volumen 'John Silence, investigador de lo oculto':
Una investigación psíquica (A Phychical Invasion). (****) A la consulta del doctor Silence llega una mujer preocupada por su marido, escritor humorista, ya que desde hace un tiempo actúa de manera nada normal, como si sintiese un terror inexplicable; pero lo más extraño es que ha perdido su sentido del humor. Muy buen relato, tanto en su exposición, punto fuerte de Blackwood en todos sus relatos, como en la parte final del mismo, absolutamente terrorífico.
Antiguas brujerías (Ancient Sorceries). (****) Arthur Vezin es una persona anodina, tanto en su manera de ser como en sus actos; y sin embargo, le ha sucedido una historia extraordinaria, justamente a él. Arthur regresa en tren a Londres desde Francia, cuando decide de repente bajar en una parada de un pueblecito francés, un pueblo en el que se suceden las cosas más misteriosas, y donde todo le parece que está relacionado con los gatos. Uno de los mejores relatos de Blackwood, por el ambiente que logra crear alrededor del protagonista.
La Némesis de fuego (The Nemesis of Fire). (*****) John Silence y Hubbard viajan a las tierras del coronel Wragge. Allí se han producido extraños incendios, tanto en la mansión como en el bosque cercano, que según dicen está embrujado. Uno de los mejores relatos del libro, que va in crescendo hasta un final sorprendente.
Culto secreto (Secret Worship). (*****) Harris es un comerciante de sedas que se encuentra de viaje por Alemania, y al encontrarse por estos parajes ha empezado a rememorar el periodo que pasó en un colegio cercano cuando tenía quince años. Recuerda a los hermanos que le daban clases, tan estrictos, a sus compañeros… De tal manera que decide visitar el lugar para verlo con sus propios ojos. Se trata de un relato indispensable en la obra de Blackwood, donde destacan las descripciones y sensaciones del protagonista.
El campamento del perro (The Camp of the Dog). (***) Hubbard, amigo de Silence, se encuentra de viaje por tierras del Norte con unos compañeros, un profesor, su mujer y su hija, y un joven estudiante. Su intención es acampar en una pequeña isla, y todo parece que transcurrirá sin percances. Pero Hubbard no puede quitarse de la cabeza la frase con la que le despidió Silence: “Nos veremos el día 15 en Berlín… si no me manda llamar antes.” ¿Acaso su amigo ha presentido algo anormal en su futuro? Curioso relato, donde lo mejor es la puesta en escena.
Una víctima del Espacio Superior (A Victim of Higher Space). (****) El doctor Silence recibe en su casa a un extraordinario personaje, un hombre con unas cualidades muy particulares. Gran relato que trata sobre las distintas dimensiones y su visión a través de ellas.
Fue en 1908 cuando Algernon Blackwood ideó al personaje de John Silence, convirtiéndose al momento en un éxito. La peculiaridad del doctor Silence estriba en su capacidad, si no para leer los pensamientos, sí para detectar parte de las intenciones de las personas que le rodean, siendo esta especial percepción producto de horas y horas de entrenamiento. Además de esta percepción, es un erudito en ciencias ocultas y ocultismo. Al parecer, Blackwood se inspiró en un personaje real, un ocultista famoso de la época, para caracterizar a su personaje. Otro punto importante en los relatos de John Silence, es su parecido con otro "detective" famoso por aquellos años, Sherlock Holmes, tanto en su manera de acometer los casos, como por tener igualmente un compañero fiel, remedo del buen doctor Watson, que le acompaña en algunos casos y nos cuenta posteriormente el caso. Otra característica de John Silence, es que se dedica a ayudar a sus clientes de manera altruista, ya que vive en una posición acomodada. Únicamente desea hacer el bien y encontrar y dar solución casos extraordinarios para su posterior estudio.
Estos son los seis relatos que incluye el volumen 'John Silence, investigador de lo oculto':
Una investigación psíquica (A Phychical Invasion). (****) A la consulta del doctor Silence llega una mujer preocupada por su marido, escritor humorista, ya que desde hace un tiempo actúa de manera nada normal, como si sintiese un terror inexplicable; pero lo más extraño es que ha perdido su sentido del humor. Muy buen relato, tanto en su exposición, punto fuerte de Blackwood en todos sus relatos, como en la parte final del mismo, absolutamente terrorífico.
Antiguas brujerías (Ancient Sorceries). (****) Arthur Vezin es una persona anodina, tanto en su manera de ser como en sus actos; y sin embargo, le ha sucedido una historia extraordinaria, justamente a él. Arthur regresa en tren a Londres desde Francia, cuando decide de repente bajar en una parada de un pueblecito francés, un pueblo en el que se suceden las cosas más misteriosas, y donde todo le parece que está relacionado con los gatos. Uno de los mejores relatos de Blackwood, por el ambiente que logra crear alrededor del protagonista.
La Némesis de fuego (The Nemesis of Fire). (*****) John Silence y Hubbard viajan a las tierras del coronel Wragge. Allí se han producido extraños incendios, tanto en la mansión como en el bosque cercano, que según dicen está embrujado. Uno de los mejores relatos del libro, que va in crescendo hasta un final sorprendente.
Culto secreto (Secret Worship). (*****) Harris es un comerciante de sedas que se encuentra de viaje por Alemania, y al encontrarse por estos parajes ha empezado a rememorar el periodo que pasó en un colegio cercano cuando tenía quince años. Recuerda a los hermanos que le daban clases, tan estrictos, a sus compañeros… De tal manera que decide visitar el lugar para verlo con sus propios ojos. Se trata de un relato indispensable en la obra de Blackwood, donde destacan las descripciones y sensaciones del protagonista.
El campamento del perro (The Camp of the Dog). (***) Hubbard, amigo de Silence, se encuentra de viaje por tierras del Norte con unos compañeros, un profesor, su mujer y su hija, y un joven estudiante. Su intención es acampar en una pequeña isla, y todo parece que transcurrirá sin percances. Pero Hubbard no puede quitarse de la cabeza la frase con la que le despidió Silence: “Nos veremos el día 15 en Berlín… si no me manda llamar antes.” ¿Acaso su amigo ha presentido algo anormal en su futuro? Curioso relato, donde lo mejor es la puesta en escena.
Una víctima del Espacio Superior (A Victim of Higher Space). (****) El doctor Silence recibe en su casa a un extraordinario personaje, un hombre con unas cualidades muy particulares. Gran relato que trata sobre las distintas dimensiones y su visión a través de ellas.
August 14, 2022
Licantropi in campeggio e mummie poco tranquille
"Questo luogo ha qualcosa di strano. Ha una grazia superficiale, apparente, quasi senz'anima.
Esatto, ha il pittoresco del palcoscenico...Non è né reale né vivo. Sembra il paesaggio di un pittore diligente, ma privo d'immaginazione. Senz'anima..."
"Vedo il nero dell'Egitto dinnanzi a me...Dalle ombre escono loro...Ho visto il mio divino padre, Osiride. Ho disperso le tenebre della notte. Sono fuoriuscito dalla terra per ritornare nella volta celeste. Ricordo il mio nome nella casa del Fuoco..."
Agente segreto di Sua Maestà la regina durante la prima guerra mondiale, esploratore incallito, provetto alpinista e primo volto apparso durante le trasmissioni sperimentali della BBC nel 1950: tutto questo è Algernon Blackwood, autore di riferimento del genere horror, attivo soprattutto nella prima metà del '900.
John Silence e altri incubi recupera i sei casi dell'omonimo indagatore dell'occulto, precursore di una sfilza di personaggi futuri - Martyn Mystere, Dylan Dog, i fratelli Winchester - accomunati dall'esplorazione del sovrannaturale in ogni sua disparata forma.
Blackwood riprende alcuni topoi del genere, comprese certe figure iconiche che non necessitano di presentazioni, e li rielabora fino a ottenere soluzioni narrative incredibilmente originali; il tutto narrato con una prosa raffinata capace di dipingere atmosfere dall'indubbio fascino.
"Questo luogo ha qualcosa di strano. Ha una grazia superficiale, apparente, quasi senz'anima.
Esatto, ha il pittoresco del palcoscenico...Non è né reale né vivo. Sembra il paesaggio di un pittore diligente, ma privo d'immaginazione. Senz'anima..."
"Vedo il nero dell'Egitto dinnanzi a me...Dalle ombre escono loro...Ho visto il mio divino padre, Osiride. Ho disperso le tenebre della notte. Sono fuoriuscito dalla terra per ritornare nella volta celeste. Ricordo il mio nome nella casa del Fuoco..."
Agente segreto di Sua Maestà la regina durante la prima guerra mondiale, esploratore incallito, provetto alpinista e primo volto apparso durante le trasmissioni sperimentali della BBC nel 1950: tutto questo è Algernon Blackwood, autore di riferimento del genere horror, attivo soprattutto nella prima metà del '900.
John Silence e altri incubi recupera i sei casi dell'omonimo indagatore dell'occulto, precursore di una sfilza di personaggi futuri - Martyn Mystere, Dylan Dog, i fratelli Winchester - accomunati dall'esplorazione del sovrannaturale in ogni sua disparata forma.
Blackwood riprende alcuni topoi del genere, comprese certe figure iconiche che non necessitano di presentazioni, e li rielabora fino a ottenere soluzioni narrative incredibilmente originali; il tutto narrato con una prosa raffinata capace di dipingere atmosfere dall'indubbio fascino.
September 24, 2025
Interesante toda la idea de un detective psíquico, aunque creo que lo que menos me gustó fue el detective. Lo demás, bastante bueno: la atmósfera, la ambientación y el desarrollo de las historias. En total le pongo 4 estrellas.
August 14, 2025
Conjunto de relatos o novelas cortas de lo paranormal cuyo protagonista o secundario es el Dr. Silence.
Valoración de los relatos:
- Una invasión psíquica 6.5/10.
- Antiguas brujerías 5.5/10.
- La Némesis de fuego 8/10.
- Culto Secreto 6.85/10.
- El campamento del perro 6/10.
- Una víctima del espacio superior 5.75/10.
Valoración global: 6.4/10
En líneas generales crea unas grandes ambientaciones, pero luego por lo general el relato va perdiendo fuerza, y no hay un final dramático en ninguno de ellos.
Sinopsis: basándose en la personalidad de un correligionario ocultista al que dedica el libro, su más lograda creación, el médico psíquico e investigador de lo oculto John Silence, que da a conocer por primera vez en la colección de relatos John Silence, Physician Extraordinary (1908), cuyas extraordinarias aventuras publicamos hoy en la colección Gótica. El éxito de John Silence, «el personaje más misterioso de la ficción moderna», según eslogan publicitario de la época, se debe en buena medida a la habilidad de Blackwood para combinar y dosificar una trama de suspense detectivesco con elementos de horror sobrenatural que convierten a su personaje en el patrón de los «cazafantasmas» modernos. Sus sorprendentes e infalibles métodos de investigación -las invocaciones mágicas, el pentáculo protector, la percepción extrasensorial de gatos y perros...- y su prestigio como erudito en ciencias ocultas le convierten en el especialista más solicitado en casos extraños y paranormales.
Valoración de los relatos:
- Una invasión psíquica 6.5/10.
- Antiguas brujerías 5.5/10.
- La Némesis de fuego 8/10.
- Culto Secreto 6.85/10.
- El campamento del perro 6/10.
- Una víctima del espacio superior 5.75/10.
Valoración global: 6.4/10
En líneas generales crea unas grandes ambientaciones, pero luego por lo general el relato va perdiendo fuerza, y no hay un final dramático en ninguno de ellos.
Sinopsis: basándose en la personalidad de un correligionario ocultista al que dedica el libro, su más lograda creación, el médico psíquico e investigador de lo oculto John Silence, que da a conocer por primera vez en la colección de relatos John Silence, Physician Extraordinary (1908), cuyas extraordinarias aventuras publicamos hoy en la colección Gótica. El éxito de John Silence, «el personaje más misterioso de la ficción moderna», según eslogan publicitario de la época, se debe en buena medida a la habilidad de Blackwood para combinar y dosificar una trama de suspense detectivesco con elementos de horror sobrenatural que convierten a su personaje en el patrón de los «cazafantasmas» modernos. Sus sorprendentes e infalibles métodos de investigación -las invocaciones mágicas, el pentáculo protector, la percepción extrasensorial de gatos y perros...- y su prestigio como erudito en ciencias ocultas le convierten en el especialista más solicitado en casos extraños y paranormales.
September 8, 2024
For English author Algernon Blackwood, success as a writer came fairly late in life. Although today deemed one of the 20th century's greatest purveyors of supernatural and "weird" fiction, Blackwood evinced little interest in the field until he was in his mid-30s. Up till that time, he had tried his hand in numerous professions--from a dairy farmer in Canada to a NYC journalist, from hotel operator to model, from personal secretary to bartender. It wasn't until Blackwood turned 37 that his first short-story collection, "The Empty House and Other Ghost Stories," was released in 1906. The book sold only moderately well, and its follow-up, "The Listener and Other Stories" (1907), fared little better. But then things changed drastically for the author. Blackwood's third collection, "John Silence: Physician Extraordinary," was a tremendous success. Released in 1908, when Blackwood was already 39, the book was a bona fide smash, abetted by an aggressive advertising campaign, and allowed the author to move to Switzerland and there create some of his most memorable works.
"John Silence" was one of the first Blackwood titles that I ever experienced, all of 25 years ago. I just loved it back then, and have been wanting to reread it for some time now. The book led me to explore many more Blackwood titles over the years, to the point where he has become one of my favorite writers. When originally released by the British publisher Eveleigh Nash in 1908 as a hardcover edition, the book contained five John Silence adventures. It would be another nine years before Blackwood penned a sixth Silence tale, which appeared in his 1917 collection "Day and Night Stories." For those readers desirous of reading all six tales, I can recommend my Dover edition, "The Complete John Silence Stories," which was released in 1997 and contains a wonderfully erudite introduction by S. T. Joshi. Another option for readers today: the Stark House Press edition, which not only includes all six tales, but also Blackwood's 1916 novel of Egyptian reincarnation, "The Wave," as well.
But who, or what, is John Silence, I can almost hear you asking yourself at this point. Well, I suppose that, on a superficial level, Silence is still another in the long line of Victorian/Edwardian supernatural detectives; something on the order of William Hope Hodgson's "Carnacki, The Ghost-Finder" (1913) and Alice and Claude Askew's Aylmer Vance stories of 1914. Silence, it seems, is a doctor of the supernatural; a healer of the psychically troubled; an expert in "genuine cases of spiritual distress and out-of-the-way afflictions of a psychic nature." We are told that Silence had at one time vanished for five years and immersed himself in "long and severe training, at once physical, mental and spiritual." The results include the slim, bearded doctor being able to divine others' thoughts, to practice psychometry (learning about the history of inanimate objects by touching them), to see in the dark, and to have a working knowledge of ancient religions, magics, and arcane lore. The six tales presented here to the reader cover a wide range of subject matter: a traditionally haunted house, a French town full of feline shapeshifters, an Egyptian fire elemental, devil worship, a nontraditional werewolf, and multidimensional space. Each of the six tales--some of them of novelette length--is exquisitely written and just dripping with mood and sensuous atmosphere...not to mention the slow buildup of suspense and dread that Blackwood so excelled at. And each of the six stories is quite eerie and oh-so chilling. Blackwood would go on to create over 150 short stories and 14 novels before his passing in 1951, at age 82, but for this reader, these six tales are some of his very finest. Some of the stories are told by an omniscient narrator; some by Silence's assistant, Hubbard; some related to the good doctor by one of his patients. But all are fascinating exercises in the outré and the macabre.
As for the stories themselves, the collection opens in a very big way with "A Psychical Invasion," in which Silence comes to the aid of one Felix Pender, a writer of humorous stories. But lately, Pender's writing had begun to take a rather dark turn, and after blithely experimenting with a liquid preparation of Cannabis indica (!), he'd become aware of a malevolent presence in his home...a woman of "appallingly evil" nature. Thus, Silence investigates the Pender home during the course of one long and foggy night, accompanied by two highly sensitive animals, the cat Smoke and the collie Flame. I've got to tell you, of all the tales in this collection, this is the one that most effectively showcases Blackwood's startling ability to engender mood and suspense. It is a bravura display of the author ratcheting up tension to the breaking point, while Blackwood's descriptions of the cold dark study in which Silence and the two animals ensconce themselves, of the crackling fire on the hearth and the bizarre reactions of Smoke and Flame, will linger long in the memory. This is a traditional haunted-house story done to a turn, and serves as a wonderful introduction to John Silence and his methods.
"Ancient Sorceries," the next story up, is one in which Silence is not in the spotlight much at all. Rather, the strange tale is related to him by a patient, mild-mannered milquetoast Arthur Vezin, after which Silence offers an explanation of sorts. Vezin, it seems, had been traveling through France and had impulsively decided to leave his oppressively stifling train and stay over in some nameless little town. From the first, he'd felt that the town's strangely catlike residents were secretly observing him, and yet he'd grown more and more spellbound there, and unable to leave. And this reluctance to depart had become even more pronounced when he'd begun to fall in love with a young woman named Ilse, who had urged Vezin to join the townsfolk in one of their sacred rites. A rather surprising ending comes courtesy of John Silence's subsequent investigations. This story, at first blush, would seem to be related by an omniscient narrator, but ultimately we learn that it had rather been given to us by one of Silence's assistants, presumably Hubbard. It is another beautifully told and genuinely creepy tale that yet ends on a note of sadness.
One of the collection's longest stories, the novelette-length "The Nemesis of Fire," follows, and it just might be the finest horror exhibition in this collection. Here, Hubbard narrates, and we learn of how one Colonel Wragge had called upon Silence and his assistant to aid him in a very terrible matter. Years earlier, his brother had been burnt beyond recognition by...something, and now globes of fire had been spotted in the woods close to the colonel's country home, and a sensation of heat had pervaded the area. Thus, Silence arrives on the scene, and soon uncovers a case of a violated Egyptian mummy, an ancient wizard and fire elementals! Highlights of this masterful horror tale include Silence's pursuit of a fire elemental through the woods, a séance of sorts utilizing freshly spilled pig's blood, and the discovery of that entombed and desecrated mummy. And oh my goodness, what lovely writing here! To wit:
"...The dainty messengers of coming hoar-frost were already in the air, a search for permanent winter quarters. From the wide moors that everywhere swept up against the sky, like a purple sea splashed by the occasional grey of rocky clefts, there stole down the cool and perfumed wind of the west. And the keen taste of the sea ran through all like a master-flavour, borne over the spaces perhaps by the seagulls that cried and circled high in the air...."
All this, plus a shockingly downbeat ending, result in a horror story that comes close to being a Blackwood masterpiece.
Another man who spontaneously exits his train only to find himself in major-league trouble is found in this collection's next offering, "Secret Worship." Here, the man is a successful, middle-aged silk merchant named Harris, who abruptly decides to switch trains in Strasbourg and visit the monks in his boyhood school, in the Black Forest region of southern Germany. (The author, Joshi reminds us in his intro, had spent some years of his own childhood at a school run by the Moravian Brothers, in Konigsfeld.) But when he arrives in the dead of night, he is astonished to find that many of the monks therein are the ones he remembered from 30+ years before; brothers who now gaze at him with evil, suggestive leers. And as it turns out, these monks now worship something far, far different than they had three decades earlier! Once again, Blackwood increases the tension level to the snapping point, and John Silence's advent on the scene almost comes as a miraculous salvation of sorts. A wonderful three-word sentence caps this truly shivery exercise in horror; one without a bit of flab to be found. I suggest you have a good German dictionary at hand before venturing in, however.
Another masterful novelette is to be found in "The Camp of the Dog," one more tale narrated by Hubbard. Here, Silence's assistant and four others--the Reverend Timothy Maloney with his wife and daughter, as well as one of his students--go on a two-month camping trip on one of the lonely, uninhabited islands in the Baltic. The primitive environment, however, has the effect of making the quintet progressively more uninhibited, and indeed, begins to turn one of them--no, I won't say whom--into nothing less than a semimaterial werewolf! It is only when Maloney's daughter, Joan, is attacked in her tent that Hubbard sends for John Silence's assistance. Blackwood's very first story, "A Haunted Island" (1899), was set in the Canadian backwoods in which the author used to camp, and this later tale finds him once again reveling in the outdoor life and extolling the beauty and awesome splendor of Nature. Not surprisingly, the tale is beautifully written, and eventually evolves into a love story the likes of which you have probably never run across before. But make no mistake: The monstrous beast that prowls this lonely Baltic island is a dangerous one, and even Silence's great abilities are here put to the test.
And finally, we have the short story "A Victim of Higher Space"; the John Silence tale that was written almost a decade after the other ones, and that serves as a sort of coda to this collection. I suppose that Silence himself is a decade older here; at least, he has a new assistant, a clairvoyant Cockney named Barker. But at bottom this is the story of a little mathematician with the curious and unlikely handle of Racine Mudge, who arrives one day at Silence's London office in fairly desperate straits. Mudge, apparently, had been investigating the fourth, fifth and other dimensions, with the result that he had actually found a way to enter into those horrifying zones. The only problem is that now Mudge has been entering the zones more and more often...and not of his own volition! This tale allows us to learn more about Silence's ingenious office setup than any of the others, and happily ends with the good doctor actually finding a cure for his patient's predicament, as it also brings down the curtain on this stunning group of tales.
Trust me...when you turn over the final page of this Blackwood book, it will be with a pang of regret that the author didn't write many more stories featuring Dr. John Silence. When I first read this book 25 years ago, it was over the course of a week of chilly October evenings, for which it was the perfect accompaniment. This time, however, I read it while flying to Amsterdam in the summer, and then during the quiet moments of a cruise to Scotland and Iceland. And you know what? It made for perfect company once again. I would thus urge all fans of astonishingly well-written and intelligently presented supernatural horror to pounce on this one, and most likely become fans of "The Ghost Man," Algernon Blackwood, themselves....
(By the way, this review originally appeared on the FanLit website at https://fantasyliterature.com/ ... a most ideal destination for all fans of Algernon Blackwood....)
"John Silence" was one of the first Blackwood titles that I ever experienced, all of 25 years ago. I just loved it back then, and have been wanting to reread it for some time now. The book led me to explore many more Blackwood titles over the years, to the point where he has become one of my favorite writers. When originally released by the British publisher Eveleigh Nash in 1908 as a hardcover edition, the book contained five John Silence adventures. It would be another nine years before Blackwood penned a sixth Silence tale, which appeared in his 1917 collection "Day and Night Stories." For those readers desirous of reading all six tales, I can recommend my Dover edition, "The Complete John Silence Stories," which was released in 1997 and contains a wonderfully erudite introduction by S. T. Joshi. Another option for readers today: the Stark House Press edition, which not only includes all six tales, but also Blackwood's 1916 novel of Egyptian reincarnation, "The Wave," as well.
But who, or what, is John Silence, I can almost hear you asking yourself at this point. Well, I suppose that, on a superficial level, Silence is still another in the long line of Victorian/Edwardian supernatural detectives; something on the order of William Hope Hodgson's "Carnacki, The Ghost-Finder" (1913) and Alice and Claude Askew's Aylmer Vance stories of 1914. Silence, it seems, is a doctor of the supernatural; a healer of the psychically troubled; an expert in "genuine cases of spiritual distress and out-of-the-way afflictions of a psychic nature." We are told that Silence had at one time vanished for five years and immersed himself in "long and severe training, at once physical, mental and spiritual." The results include the slim, bearded doctor being able to divine others' thoughts, to practice psychometry (learning about the history of inanimate objects by touching them), to see in the dark, and to have a working knowledge of ancient religions, magics, and arcane lore. The six tales presented here to the reader cover a wide range of subject matter: a traditionally haunted house, a French town full of feline shapeshifters, an Egyptian fire elemental, devil worship, a nontraditional werewolf, and multidimensional space. Each of the six tales--some of them of novelette length--is exquisitely written and just dripping with mood and sensuous atmosphere...not to mention the slow buildup of suspense and dread that Blackwood so excelled at. And each of the six stories is quite eerie and oh-so chilling. Blackwood would go on to create over 150 short stories and 14 novels before his passing in 1951, at age 82, but for this reader, these six tales are some of his very finest. Some of the stories are told by an omniscient narrator; some by Silence's assistant, Hubbard; some related to the good doctor by one of his patients. But all are fascinating exercises in the outré and the macabre.
As for the stories themselves, the collection opens in a very big way with "A Psychical Invasion," in which Silence comes to the aid of one Felix Pender, a writer of humorous stories. But lately, Pender's writing had begun to take a rather dark turn, and after blithely experimenting with a liquid preparation of Cannabis indica (!), he'd become aware of a malevolent presence in his home...a woman of "appallingly evil" nature. Thus, Silence investigates the Pender home during the course of one long and foggy night, accompanied by two highly sensitive animals, the cat Smoke and the collie Flame. I've got to tell you, of all the tales in this collection, this is the one that most effectively showcases Blackwood's startling ability to engender mood and suspense. It is a bravura display of the author ratcheting up tension to the breaking point, while Blackwood's descriptions of the cold dark study in which Silence and the two animals ensconce themselves, of the crackling fire on the hearth and the bizarre reactions of Smoke and Flame, will linger long in the memory. This is a traditional haunted-house story done to a turn, and serves as a wonderful introduction to John Silence and his methods.
"Ancient Sorceries," the next story up, is one in which Silence is not in the spotlight much at all. Rather, the strange tale is related to him by a patient, mild-mannered milquetoast Arthur Vezin, after which Silence offers an explanation of sorts. Vezin, it seems, had been traveling through France and had impulsively decided to leave his oppressively stifling train and stay over in some nameless little town. From the first, he'd felt that the town's strangely catlike residents were secretly observing him, and yet he'd grown more and more spellbound there, and unable to leave. And this reluctance to depart had become even more pronounced when he'd begun to fall in love with a young woman named Ilse, who had urged Vezin to join the townsfolk in one of their sacred rites. A rather surprising ending comes courtesy of John Silence's subsequent investigations. This story, at first blush, would seem to be related by an omniscient narrator, but ultimately we learn that it had rather been given to us by one of Silence's assistants, presumably Hubbard. It is another beautifully told and genuinely creepy tale that yet ends on a note of sadness.
One of the collection's longest stories, the novelette-length "The Nemesis of Fire," follows, and it just might be the finest horror exhibition in this collection. Here, Hubbard narrates, and we learn of how one Colonel Wragge had called upon Silence and his assistant to aid him in a very terrible matter. Years earlier, his brother had been burnt beyond recognition by...something, and now globes of fire had been spotted in the woods close to the colonel's country home, and a sensation of heat had pervaded the area. Thus, Silence arrives on the scene, and soon uncovers a case of a violated Egyptian mummy, an ancient wizard and fire elementals! Highlights of this masterful horror tale include Silence's pursuit of a fire elemental through the woods, a séance of sorts utilizing freshly spilled pig's blood, and the discovery of that entombed and desecrated mummy. And oh my goodness, what lovely writing here! To wit:
"...The dainty messengers of coming hoar-frost were already in the air, a search for permanent winter quarters. From the wide moors that everywhere swept up against the sky, like a purple sea splashed by the occasional grey of rocky clefts, there stole down the cool and perfumed wind of the west. And the keen taste of the sea ran through all like a master-flavour, borne over the spaces perhaps by the seagulls that cried and circled high in the air...."
All this, plus a shockingly downbeat ending, result in a horror story that comes close to being a Blackwood masterpiece.
Another man who spontaneously exits his train only to find himself in major-league trouble is found in this collection's next offering, "Secret Worship." Here, the man is a successful, middle-aged silk merchant named Harris, who abruptly decides to switch trains in Strasbourg and visit the monks in his boyhood school, in the Black Forest region of southern Germany. (The author, Joshi reminds us in his intro, had spent some years of his own childhood at a school run by the Moravian Brothers, in Konigsfeld.) But when he arrives in the dead of night, he is astonished to find that many of the monks therein are the ones he remembered from 30+ years before; brothers who now gaze at him with evil, suggestive leers. And as it turns out, these monks now worship something far, far different than they had three decades earlier! Once again, Blackwood increases the tension level to the snapping point, and John Silence's advent on the scene almost comes as a miraculous salvation of sorts. A wonderful three-word sentence caps this truly shivery exercise in horror; one without a bit of flab to be found. I suggest you have a good German dictionary at hand before venturing in, however.
Another masterful novelette is to be found in "The Camp of the Dog," one more tale narrated by Hubbard. Here, Silence's assistant and four others--the Reverend Timothy Maloney with his wife and daughter, as well as one of his students--go on a two-month camping trip on one of the lonely, uninhabited islands in the Baltic. The primitive environment, however, has the effect of making the quintet progressively more uninhibited, and indeed, begins to turn one of them--no, I won't say whom--into nothing less than a semimaterial werewolf! It is only when Maloney's daughter, Joan, is attacked in her tent that Hubbard sends for John Silence's assistance. Blackwood's very first story, "A Haunted Island" (1899), was set in the Canadian backwoods in which the author used to camp, and this later tale finds him once again reveling in the outdoor life and extolling the beauty and awesome splendor of Nature. Not surprisingly, the tale is beautifully written, and eventually evolves into a love story the likes of which you have probably never run across before. But make no mistake: The monstrous beast that prowls this lonely Baltic island is a dangerous one, and even Silence's great abilities are here put to the test.
And finally, we have the short story "A Victim of Higher Space"; the John Silence tale that was written almost a decade after the other ones, and that serves as a sort of coda to this collection. I suppose that Silence himself is a decade older here; at least, he has a new assistant, a clairvoyant Cockney named Barker. But at bottom this is the story of a little mathematician with the curious and unlikely handle of Racine Mudge, who arrives one day at Silence's London office in fairly desperate straits. Mudge, apparently, had been investigating the fourth, fifth and other dimensions, with the result that he had actually found a way to enter into those horrifying zones. The only problem is that now Mudge has been entering the zones more and more often...and not of his own volition! This tale allows us to learn more about Silence's ingenious office setup than any of the others, and happily ends with the good doctor actually finding a cure for his patient's predicament, as it also brings down the curtain on this stunning group of tales.
Trust me...when you turn over the final page of this Blackwood book, it will be with a pang of regret that the author didn't write many more stories featuring Dr. John Silence. When I first read this book 25 years ago, it was over the course of a week of chilly October evenings, for which it was the perfect accompaniment. This time, however, I read it while flying to Amsterdam in the summer, and then during the quiet moments of a cruise to Scotland and Iceland. And you know what? It made for perfect company once again. I would thus urge all fans of astonishingly well-written and intelligently presented supernatural horror to pounce on this one, and most likely become fans of "The Ghost Man," Algernon Blackwood, themselves....
(By the way, this review originally appeared on the FanLit website at https://fantasyliterature.com/ ... a most ideal destination for all fans of Algernon Blackwood....)
May 19, 2022
4.5
Unos relatos de ritmo lento, escritos con maestría, que, lejos de ser trepidantes, carecen de grandes giros: la descripción y la atmósfera prima sobre las vueltas de tuerca. Entre ellos hay historias de brujerías, casas encantadas, licantropía…
Me han llamado la atención dos cosas: la primera es que los métodos psíquicos de los que se vale John Silence para resolver los casos casi no se describen; la segunda, que este investigador es, en varios relatos, un actor secundario, incluso en el cuento «Antiguas Brujerías» ―mi relato preferido― un mero oyente.
Unos relatos de ritmo lento, escritos con maestría, que, lejos de ser trepidantes, carecen de grandes giros: la descripción y la atmósfera prima sobre las vueltas de tuerca. Entre ellos hay historias de brujerías, casas encantadas, licantropía…
Me han llamado la atención dos cosas: la primera es que los métodos psíquicos de los que se vale John Silence para resolver los casos casi no se describen; la segunda, que este investigador es, en varios relatos, un actor secundario, incluso en el cuento «Antiguas Brujerías» ―mi relato preferido― un mero oyente.
January 7, 2021
"It's seeing people and objects in their weird entirety, in their true and complete shapes, that is so distressing. It introduces me to a world of monsters."
I found the last story, "A Victim of Higher Space," to be much superior to the five tales that preceded it. I will go even farther and say it would be one of my absolute favourite short stories were it not for the ending, which I thought was not as breath-taking as the body of the story required.
The length of some of the stories and Balckwood's verbosity result, in the long run, quite annoying, and I confess I fell asleep multiple times while reading this at night. Also, I should warn potential future readers that the fifth story, "The Camp of the Dog," makes prominent use of racial stereotypes.
All in all, the collection is interesting for how a number of pseudosciences such as psychometry are treated as if they were actual scientific disciplines. I was also captivated by the fact that Dr Silence's occult adventures often, if not always, boil down to a drama of perceptions: all originates from the patients or clients, and even Silence's secretary, who tells some of these stories in the first person, experiencing strange distortions of the senses or bizarre sensations, a peculiarity announced in the very first story, in which a comic writer laments being haunted by an indelible sense of oppression which, clearly, prevents him from writing his comic pieces. Recommended if you're into the occult detective genre and want to find out a bit about its roots.
I found the last story, "A Victim of Higher Space," to be much superior to the five tales that preceded it. I will go even farther and say it would be one of my absolute favourite short stories were it not for the ending, which I thought was not as breath-taking as the body of the story required.
The length of some of the stories and Balckwood's verbosity result, in the long run, quite annoying, and I confess I fell asleep multiple times while reading this at night. Also, I should warn potential future readers that the fifth story, "The Camp of the Dog," makes prominent use of racial stereotypes.
All in all, the collection is interesting for how a number of pseudosciences such as psychometry are treated as if they were actual scientific disciplines. I was also captivated by the fact that Dr Silence's occult adventures often, if not always, boil down to a drama of perceptions: all originates from the patients or clients, and even Silence's secretary, who tells some of these stories in the first person, experiencing strange distortions of the senses or bizarre sensations, a peculiarity announced in the very first story, in which a comic writer laments being haunted by an indelible sense of oppression which, clearly, prevents him from writing his comic pieces. Recommended if you're into the occult detective genre and want to find out a bit about its roots.
October 30, 2013
Around the turn of he century, psychic detectives were all the rage in England. There was Max Carnacki, the creation of William Hope Hodgson, and also John Silence by Algernon Blackwood. His The Complete John Silence Stories is an admirable collection for the days and weeks approaching Halloween.
Rather than attempting to find a rational explanation for everything, which in the end would become merely annoying, Blackwood takes psychic phenomena as a given, but one that can be worked with using a combination of reason and deep empathy. All six of the stories in the collection are worth reading, though my favorites are "The Nemesis of Fire" and "Ancient Sorceries."
In this collection is a werewolf, a man who inhabits multi-dimensional worlds much to his chagrin, a purloined mummy, a haunting brought about by the ingestion of hasheesh, a dismaying invitation to a witches' sabbath, and an old school that has -- so to speak -- gone to the devil. And there is that Blackwood style, which is admirably suited to his subject matter:
The most famous Blackwood story is the novelette entitled "The Willows," followed not far behind by "The Wendigo"; but I am beginning to think that from the best Blackwood to the worst is not so great a distance. There are few prolific authors about whom that could be said truthfully.
Rather than attempting to find a rational explanation for everything, which in the end would become merely annoying, Blackwood takes psychic phenomena as a given, but one that can be worked with using a combination of reason and deep empathy. All six of the stories in the collection are worth reading, though my favorites are "The Nemesis of Fire" and "Ancient Sorceries."
In this collection is a werewolf, a man who inhabits multi-dimensional worlds much to his chagrin, a purloined mummy, a haunting brought about by the ingestion of hasheesh, a dismaying invitation to a witches' sabbath, and an old school that has -- so to speak -- gone to the devil. And there is that Blackwood style, which is admirably suited to his subject matter:
Personally, I was glad to be in the open air, for the atmosphere of the house was heavy with presentiment. The sense of impending disaster hung over all. Fear stalked the passages, and lurked in the corners of every room. It was a house haunted, but really haunted; not by some vague shadow of the dead, but by a definite though incalculable influence that was actively alive, and dangerous.There is some mummery, such as holding a letter to one's forehead to see if there is a feeling of heat. And there are some slips, such as a half moon following a day or two after a full moon. Still, these are mere cavils.
The most famous Blackwood story is the novelette entitled "The Willows," followed not far behind by "The Wendigo"; but I am beginning to think that from the best Blackwood to the worst is not so great a distance. There are few prolific authors about whom that could be said truthfully.
January 1, 2018
Algernon Blackwood is one of those weird tale writers who impress and disappoint me by turns. Several of these stories show Blackwoods' talent for evoking the power and mystery of the natural world; particularly, The Camp of the Dog, and demonstrating the spiritual interconnections he believed to be inherent between all elements of nature. Similarly, his character, John Silence, who always manages to make his mark on the narrative despite appearing only briefly in some stories, is a credit to Blackwoods' creativity. What disappoints me, almost to the extent of spoiling his work, is that he does far too much explaining and repeating, and indeed the narrative often transforms into a sermon of his spiritual viewpoint. In this way, a gripping tale of weird fiction in which the tension is built slowly, strangely, and steadily, loses its power to hold the reader. In addition, and although this may be counter-intuitive, Blackwood's belief in the existence of lycanthropes and elemental demons, as indicated in these tales, renders the suspension of disbelief impossible. In some of his other work, including "The Willows", the subtler and more removed approach is far more effective in capturing the reader's sensibilities.
October 9, 2009
Tales about John Silence, 'physician extraordinary'. Silence is a doctor who has become very wealthy through unspecified means and now only takes up cases of a very special kind. He has spent years learning about the supernatural and developing spiritual powers. He assists people who face some sort of supernatural crisis - the humour writer who loses his sense of humour after a cannabis trip awakens a slumbering spirit in his house, a businessman who returns to the monastic school of his youth to find that the pious brothers harboured a very dark secret, island campers who are plagued by a lycanthrope and so forth.
These stories are very much influenced by the spiritualism of the late Victorian era and as such offer a strange mix of rationalised explanations of the supernatural and a great deal of credulous fascination with hermetic esoterica.
Blackwood's tales are very well structured, building up a vivid, nightmarish vision of horror through his evocative, vivid language. There is always something original and distinctive in the way the horror in his stories is deployed or combated. A wide variety of settings and characters are vividly brought to life and a number of highly effective supernatural premises explored in gripping, satisfying tales. My favourites are ANCIENT SORCERIES, where Silence is only a peripheral figure, and THE NEMESIS OF FIRE, a particularly effective tale that ends with ancient Egyptian evil being confronted in a mouldy underground cavern in the south of England. But they're all worth reading; just be prepared for a tone and pace of reading that belongs to an era that is almost a century past now.
These stories are very much influenced by the spiritualism of the late Victorian era and as such offer a strange mix of rationalised explanations of the supernatural and a great deal of credulous fascination with hermetic esoterica.
Blackwood's tales are very well structured, building up a vivid, nightmarish vision of horror through his evocative, vivid language. There is always something original and distinctive in the way the horror in his stories is deployed or combated. A wide variety of settings and characters are vividly brought to life and a number of highly effective supernatural premises explored in gripping, satisfying tales. My favourites are ANCIENT SORCERIES, where Silence is only a peripheral figure, and THE NEMESIS OF FIRE, a particularly effective tale that ends with ancient Egyptian evil being confronted in a mouldy underground cavern in the south of England. But they're all worth reading; just be prepared for a tone and pace of reading that belongs to an era that is almost a century past now.
January 22, 2021
Autore forse poco conosciuto in Italia, Algernon Blackwood ci porta alla scoperta del mondo dell'occulto, di cui egli stesso era uno studioso.
Il modus operandi di John Silence, la spalla che lo accompagna (e che ne riferisce, ammirata, le gesta) e l'impostazione strutturale del testo ricordano il famosissimo detective inglese Sherlock Holmes, ma in chiave horror. La reale conoscenza dell'argomento da parte dell'autore riesce a immergere verosimilmente il lettore: vi troverete talmente intrappolati nelle storie che quando ritornerete alla realtà, farete fatica a distinguerne i contorni. Le "sue" teorie sono molto interessanti e vengono spiegate con efficacia, suscitando curiosità e mettendo in discussione la realtà stessa.
Molto interessante è lo stile dello scrittore: descrittivo, certo, ma a tratti evocativo e poetico. Per citare alcuni passaggi:
Forse quella che colpisce di più è "Un'invasione psichica": non saprei dire se perchè è ambientata in una casa vittoriana, per l'argomento o perchè, semplicemente, è la prima, ma è quella con cui sono riuscita ad estraniarmi meglio, credendo di essere lì con i protagonisti ad assistere in prima persona a quei fenomeni paranormali.
La seconda, "Antiche stregonerie", ha una base interessante, ma uno sviluppo non troppo convincente. Rimangono comunque buone le spiegazioni del fenomeno, particolarmente dettagliate.
Con "La nemesi di fuoco" si viaggia (con la mente) in terre lontane, avvicinando ancora di più l'occulto alla realtà e innalzando nuovamente la qualità della storia.
Blackwood non delude nemmeno con il clichè del monastero sperduto tra le montagne, ne "Culto segreto", anzi, la descrizione dei boschi e della natura sembra presa direttamente dal regno onirico, e la vicenda tiene incollati fino alla risoluzione finale (forse troppo brusca).
Chiude la raccolta "Il campo del cane", nel quale i protagonisti vengono isolati nella natura più selvaggia e si trovano a fronteggiare uno degli elementi folkloristici più amati del genere horror.
Il modus operandi di John Silence, la spalla che lo accompagna (e che ne riferisce, ammirata, le gesta) e l'impostazione strutturale del testo ricordano il famosissimo detective inglese Sherlock Holmes, ma in chiave horror. La reale conoscenza dell'argomento da parte dell'autore riesce a immergere verosimilmente il lettore: vi troverete talmente intrappolati nelle storie che quando ritornerete alla realtà, farete fatica a distinguerne i contorni. Le "sue" teorie sono molto interessanti e vengono spiegate con efficacia, suscitando curiosità e mettendo in discussione la realtà stessa.
Molto interessante è lo stile dello scrittore: descrittivo, certo, ma a tratti evocativo e poetico. Per citare alcuni passaggi:
Nel cielo rimase una polvere dorata fino a quando si alzò la luna, e allora un vento fievole d'argento si sparse silenzioso tra la terra e le stelle. Harris vedeva scintillare le cime degli abeti, li udiva mormorare, mentre la brezza volgeva i loro aghi verso il chiarore. L'aria di montagna era indescrivibilmente dolce. La strada riluceva come la spuma di un fiume nell'oscurità. Qua e là, falene bianche gli attraversavano la via come pensieri silenziosi, e cento profumi lo salutavano dalle grotte della foresta, attraverso gli anni.
Si udiva soltanto il canto fievole e spettrale, inseparabile dai pini anche nella giornata più immobile, un lungo suono frusciante, come se il vento avesse una chioma e la trascinasse su tutto il mondo.
Forse quella che colpisce di più è "Un'invasione psichica": non saprei dire se perchè è ambientata in una casa vittoriana, per l'argomento o perchè, semplicemente, è la prima, ma è quella con cui sono riuscita ad estraniarmi meglio, credendo di essere lì con i protagonisti ad assistere in prima persona a quei fenomeni paranormali.
La seconda, "Antiche stregonerie", ha una base interessante, ma uno sviluppo non troppo convincente. Rimangono comunque buone le spiegazioni del fenomeno, particolarmente dettagliate.
Con "La nemesi di fuoco" si viaggia (con la mente) in terre lontane, avvicinando ancora di più l'occulto alla realtà e innalzando nuovamente la qualità della storia.
Blackwood non delude nemmeno con il clichè del monastero sperduto tra le montagne, ne "Culto segreto", anzi, la descrizione dei boschi e della natura sembra presa direttamente dal regno onirico, e la vicenda tiene incollati fino alla risoluzione finale (forse troppo brusca).
Chiude la raccolta "Il campo del cane", nel quale i protagonisti vengono isolati nella natura più selvaggia e si trovano a fronteggiare uno degli elementi folkloristici più amati del genere horror.
February 24, 2019
Blackwood risulta, per idee e stile, incredibilmente moderno.
Unico neo la prolissità e in particolare la tendenza a ribadire lo stesso concetto più volte.
Un’invasione paranormale 3★
Antichi sabba 5★ (racconto dalla potenza descrittiva pazzesca)
Culti segreti 4★
Un licantropo in campeggio 4★
La nemesi del fuoco 3★
Una vittima dello “spazio superiore” 5★
Due casi di Jim Shorthouse:
Uno strano origliare 2★
La casa vuota 2★
Unico neo la prolissità e in particolare la tendenza a ribadire lo stesso concetto più volte.
Un’invasione paranormale 3★
Antichi sabba 5★ (racconto dalla potenza descrittiva pazzesca)
Culti segreti 4★
Un licantropo in campeggio 4★
La nemesi del fuoco 3★
Una vittima dello “spazio superiore” 5★
Due casi di Jim Shorthouse:
Uno strano origliare 2★
La casa vuota 2★
October 31, 2017
Ha llovido mucho en el tiempo que intentaba adquirir esta novela. La más ansiada por mí de todos los libros publicados que ya no están y Valdemar me concedió ese deseo: su reedición.
Y tenía razón, es uno de ESOS libros inmortales.
De por sí el tema de detectives paranormales me gusta. Aunque este detective es la escusa de presentarnos situaciones raras en los ámbitos más atractivos: casa encantada, bosques con monstruos, pueblos solitarios con habitantes extraños y una isla perdida con algo que acecha a los que se adentran. Decirme que no atrae estos temas. Pues cada relato de este libro trata uno, con una pluma y atmosfera exquisita. El desarrollo no es menor, la tensión todo el tiempo presente pues en cada 100 páginas escasas que ocupa cada historia, ni un párrafo sobra.
Yo bautizo a este libro con la palabra que implica 5 estrellas: JOYA.
Y tenía razón, es uno de ESOS libros inmortales.
De por sí el tema de detectives paranormales me gusta. Aunque este detective es la escusa de presentarnos situaciones raras en los ámbitos más atractivos: casa encantada, bosques con monstruos, pueblos solitarios con habitantes extraños y una isla perdida con algo que acecha a los que se adentran. Decirme que no atrae estos temas. Pues cada relato de este libro trata uno, con una pluma y atmosfera exquisita. El desarrollo no es menor, la tensión todo el tiempo presente pues en cada 100 páginas escasas que ocupa cada historia, ni un párrafo sobra.
Yo bautizo a este libro con la palabra que implica 5 estrellas: JOYA.
September 26, 2014
Went through this quickly...more quickly than I would have liked, lots of skimming and in the end skipping. I received 10 books from the library at once...and another inter-library loan book is waiting. You put them on hold, and they all show up at once.
These are good (though dated) stories. (I know some will get some laughs as in the first story the victim living in the house becomes aware of the overwhelming evil in the house when he takes an extract of "cannabis indica")... But, put your head in the stories and you will enjoy them. I may get them out again, when I don't have as many other library books out at once. It would be difficult to find for purchase I suppose, I saw it used on Amazon from a third party seller for a little over $5... maybe.
John Silence is a "psychic" doctor who has made a study of "unusual" things and only takes "unusual" cases that interest him. He never takes fees as he's well off "mysteriously", and is a true philanthropist. He helps those who aren't poor enough to get actual charity, nor are they rich...at least that's his story. :) He's the guy to call if you're having psychic (he hates the word occult) troubles, and of course, it's an interesting case.
I will say that I'm not quite as taken with the John Silence stories as I am with some of Blackwood's non-related short stories, but they are enjoyable.
These are good (though dated) stories. (I know some will get some laughs as in the first story the victim living in the house becomes aware of the overwhelming evil in the house when he takes an extract of "cannabis indica")... But, put your head in the stories and you will enjoy them. I may get them out again, when I don't have as many other library books out at once. It would be difficult to find for purchase I suppose, I saw it used on Amazon from a third party seller for a little over $5... maybe.
John Silence is a "psychic" doctor who has made a study of "unusual" things and only takes "unusual" cases that interest him. He never takes fees as he's well off "mysteriously", and is a true philanthropist. He helps those who aren't poor enough to get actual charity, nor are they rich...at least that's his story. :) He's the guy to call if you're having psychic (he hates the word occult) troubles, and of course, it's an interesting case.
I will say that I'm not quite as taken with the John Silence stories as I am with some of Blackwood's non-related short stories, but they are enjoyable.
March 21, 2017
Fatico a credere di averlo finito. Mi ha affascinata così tanto che ora mi sento abbandonata, sia dal meraviglioso Blackwood che dall'editoria internazionale (che non gli riserva le dovute attenzioni). Un Genio-scrittore mi si è rivelato in tutta la sua magnificenza ma non mi verrà a trovare una seconda volta. Ebbene sì, il più grande scrittore che io abbia letto è fuori catalogo sia in Italia che all'estero, a parte questa raccolta.
INDICE: 1) Un’invasione paranormale; 2) Antichi sabba; 3) Culti segreti; 4) Un licantropo in campeggio; 5) La nemesi del fuoco; 6) Una vittima dello «Spazio superiore».
Più 2 extra di Jim Shorthouse.
INDICE: 1) Un’invasione paranormale; 2) Antichi sabba; 3) Culti segreti; 4) Un licantropo in campeggio; 5) La nemesi del fuoco; 6) Una vittima dello «Spazio superiore».
Più 2 extra di Jim Shorthouse.
March 31, 2022
Blackwood has a stunning talent of imaginative description. He can describe spiritualism and occult notions that are objectively far-fetched and ludicrous to us in the 21th century so poignantly that they end up dominating the narrative and instilling it with their mystical and foreboding aspects. John Silence's stories effectively transport the reader from the safety of the 'now' to the eerie, natural danger of the 'what if then'. What if one decided to forgo civilization and travel to a Swedish fjord and its wild islands of sparse fauna and flora? What if one persisted in visiting the school of his boyhood in a derelict church of a remote countryside village? Still, we could use with some further explanation of John Silence's messianic capabilities. The character, for all the stories he is included in, remains a mystery at large, and it would be interesting if some of his backstory were to be expanded upon. Alas, we may never know.
July 23, 2019
A parte l’ottima (ed elegante) edizione UTET e l’impeccabile cura di Flavio Santi, questi racconti di Algernoon Blackwood lasciano - secondo la mia modesta opinione - lievemente insoddisfatto il lettore contemporaneo. Per assaporare appieno queste narrazioni, che sono spesso condizionate da una lingua e un ritmo non propriamente dinamici, bisognerebbe essere curiosi fruitori di inizio ‘900, lettori pazienti nel lasciare dipanare la storia con le sue fascinose minuziosità e i suoi tempi inattuali, e il suo notevole sostrato di riferimenti esoterici e sottili allusioni. Per me, che ho letto tanti racconti dell’occulto, del weird, di fantasmi, molte tematiche ricorrenti in queste pagine risultano poco originali, ma l’atmosfera che Blackwood riesce spesso ad allestire, soprattutto nelle avventure che coinvolgono il famoso detective dell’occulto, il medico John Silence, è un pregio inoppugnabile della penna dello scrittore inglese, definito “maestro della suspense”. Ho impiegato diversi mesi a terminare il libro, ma ogni tanto ritorno con la mente a certi passaggi, a certe cupe ambientazioni, che mi avevano irretito nel corso della lettura; per questo il caro, raffinato Algernoon qualche peculiare qualità può certo vantarla. Da approfondire
November 30, 2009
The next time you pack your suitcase, tuck in a copy of John Silence's psychic mysteries. You may see yourself hauntingly reflected in these ghastly tales, many involving innocent travelers who meet more than fellow passengers on the road. Each of the five tales in this collection is set in a different locale: London, France, southwestern England, Germany, and the islands of Sweden. The source of the horror is just as varied, ranging from a simple ghostly haunting, to antiquarian thaumaturgy, to necromancy, and finally to shape shifters and a werewolf. Like the best of Blackwood's supernatural fiction, these stories are long, averaging about 70 pages per case; and they're slow moving, building their terror on a broad foundation of seeming normalcy that begins to crumble and totter in the face of unexplicable occurences.
John Silence, physician extraordinary, remains almost as elusive and inscrutable as the phenomena he investigates. He says little, giving us only slight hints as to how he has come across his extraordinary psychic powers, and often shows up very late in the tale. In fact, he doesn't even play a part in one of the most charming, "Ancient Sorceries." He considers only "psychical afflictions," cases that are truly extraordinary and usually dangerous. His Watson is a fairly inobtrusive amanuensis named Hubbard, who faithfully pens his cases without revealing much about himself besides a love for the outdoors and a surprising incredulity in the odd and ghastly.
But don't expect a Sherlock-Holmes-as-ghostbuster knockoff. Blackwood doesn't develop his detective as well as Conan Doyle did. He deliberately creates flat, usually obtuse characters, so that he can focus on other facets of horror writing. What I found most compelling was the undeniable pleasure of feeling the terror build slowly, sometimes excruciatingly slowly, at first and then reach an awful, nerve-wracking crescendo. Read Blackwood for his pacing and mood. He's absorbing, and he can trim hours off a long trip.
John Silence, physician extraordinary, remains almost as elusive and inscrutable as the phenomena he investigates. He says little, giving us only slight hints as to how he has come across his extraordinary psychic powers, and often shows up very late in the tale. In fact, he doesn't even play a part in one of the most charming, "Ancient Sorceries." He considers only "psychical afflictions," cases that are truly extraordinary and usually dangerous. His Watson is a fairly inobtrusive amanuensis named Hubbard, who faithfully pens his cases without revealing much about himself besides a love for the outdoors and a surprising incredulity in the odd and ghastly.
But don't expect a Sherlock-Holmes-as-ghostbuster knockoff. Blackwood doesn't develop his detective as well as Conan Doyle did. He deliberately creates flat, usually obtuse characters, so that he can focus on other facets of horror writing. What I found most compelling was the undeniable pleasure of feeling the terror build slowly, sometimes excruciatingly slowly, at first and then reach an awful, nerve-wracking crescendo. Read Blackwood for his pacing and mood. He's absorbing, and he can trim hours off a long trip.
July 4, 2022
Los relatos de Algernon Blackwood en torno a la figura de John Silence son maravillosos. Este investigador de lo oculto en verdad se enfrenta a cosas de lo más atemorizantes.
Las descripciones de Blackwood sobre el ambiente donde suceden las historias son detalladas, pero no cansinas y logra construir imágenes por medio de símiles muy bellos y evocadores, sobre todo en el relato "El campamento del perro" y en menor medida en "Antiguas brujerías".
Las descripciones de los sucesos paranormales están construidas de una forma tan genial, realmente crea una atmósfera llena de horror y fascinación, sobre todo en el relato "Una invasión psíquica", donde lo vemos en mayor acción enfrentando entidades malignas.
Ahora, sobre su personaje, John Silence es un gran personaje,a pesar de ser construido con simples pinceladas, no tanto por sus grandes conocimientos de lo oculto, sino desde su postura desde la cual combate a estos seres, sonará raro, pero lo hace desde la ternura. Esto provoca que en ocasiones parezca realmente frustrado por no poder hacer algo por las almas atormentadas.
Una grata lectura que se complementó muy bien con mi lectura de Swamp Thing.
Las descripciones de Blackwood sobre el ambiente donde suceden las historias son detalladas, pero no cansinas y logra construir imágenes por medio de símiles muy bellos y evocadores, sobre todo en el relato "El campamento del perro" y en menor medida en "Antiguas brujerías".
Las descripciones de los sucesos paranormales están construidas de una forma tan genial, realmente crea una atmósfera llena de horror y fascinación, sobre todo en el relato "Una invasión psíquica", donde lo vemos en mayor acción enfrentando entidades malignas.
Ahora, sobre su personaje, John Silence es un gran personaje,a pesar de ser construido con simples pinceladas, no tanto por sus grandes conocimientos de lo oculto, sino desde su postura desde la cual combate a estos seres, sonará raro, pero lo hace desde la ternura. Esto provoca que en ocasiones parezca realmente frustrado por no poder hacer algo por las almas atormentadas.
Una grata lectura que se complementó muy bien con mi lectura de Swamp Thing.
December 18, 2017
Es una novela de paso lento. El lector no se encuentra con sucesos que le mantengan al borde de la silla.
La obra cuenta con varios relatos, que constituyen diversos casos que involucran al doctor John Silence, que si bien es médico, también se ha especializado en el arte de lo oculto.
Lo que me ha gustado de este libro es que las explicaciones de los fenómenos paranormales son bastante acertadas; no hay ninguna suposición que escapa de lo asimilable, y eso me sorprendió gratamente.
Lo que no me ha gustado tanto, es que el autor inserta con bastante frecuencia expresiones del tipo "y desde ahí, todo se volvió una pesadilla", o "así comenzó el delirio del horror", cuando lo que, efectivamente sucedía en la a continuación no era -a mi juicio-, para nada terrorífico. Creo que sin estas constantes advertencias que me preparaban para un episodio mucho más intenso, la lectura no me habría hecho sentir el sabor a decepción que me quedaba luego de leer el supuesto momento álgido.
La obra cuenta con varios relatos, que constituyen diversos casos que involucran al doctor John Silence, que si bien es médico, también se ha especializado en el arte de lo oculto.
Lo que me ha gustado de este libro es que las explicaciones de los fenómenos paranormales son bastante acertadas; no hay ninguna suposición que escapa de lo asimilable, y eso me sorprendió gratamente.
Lo que no me ha gustado tanto, es que el autor inserta con bastante frecuencia expresiones del tipo "y desde ahí, todo se volvió una pesadilla", o "así comenzó el delirio del horror", cuando lo que, efectivamente sucedía en la a continuación no era -a mi juicio-, para nada terrorífico. Creo que sin estas constantes advertencias que me preparaban para un episodio mucho más intenso, la lectura no me habría hecho sentir el sabor a decepción que me quedaba luego de leer el supuesto momento álgido.
September 18, 2021
John Silence, Investigador De Lo Oculto.- Algernon Blackwood
"Ha probado con sacerdotes y otra gente religiosa, pero ellos "saben" tan poco y muestran una compasión tan carente de inteligencia… La mayoría están muy ocupados haciendo equilibrios sobre sus propios pedestales."
Antología compuesta por seis historias del taciturno Dr. Silence, este investigador que valiéndose de su conocimiento paranormal y de su propio vínculo con lo oculto, ayuda a la gente que no encuentra solución a sus problemas (o al menos una explicación de ellos) en manos de doctores tradicionales o en la religión.
Los relatos incluidos son:
*Una Invasión Psíquica
*Antiguas Brujerías
*La Némesis Del Fuego
*Culto Secreto
*El Campamento Del Perro
*Una Víctima Del Espacio Superior
Posesiones mentales, un poblado en el que abundan gatos y simpatizantes de la brujería y nigromancia, gente que muere de quemaduras inexplicables, colegios perturbadores, una isla en dónde no se observan animales (aunque se escuchan aullidos) y una exploración a otra dimensión; son los desafíos a los que se enfrentará John Silence con el correr de las páginas.
De tener que elegir uno de los relatos, me quedo con Culto Secreto, la sensación de incomodidad y de peligro acechante que transmite Blackwood en esta narración es increíble, aunque la resolución de la historia y la casi nula participación de Silence en el desarrollo le bajen un punto.
Si ya leyeron Los Sauces y El Wendigo, obras maestras del terror escritas por el autor, y les gustó el estilo de Blackwood, pueden seguir con esta antología de los relatos de John Silence y seguir descubriendo a este autor al que Lovecraft admiraba… y algo sabía este señor.
🤘🤘🤘
"Ha probado con sacerdotes y otra gente religiosa, pero ellos "saben" tan poco y muestran una compasión tan carente de inteligencia… La mayoría están muy ocupados haciendo equilibrios sobre sus propios pedestales."
Antología compuesta por seis historias del taciturno Dr. Silence, este investigador que valiéndose de su conocimiento paranormal y de su propio vínculo con lo oculto, ayuda a la gente que no encuentra solución a sus problemas (o al menos una explicación de ellos) en manos de doctores tradicionales o en la religión.
Los relatos incluidos son:
*Una Invasión Psíquica
*Antiguas Brujerías
*La Némesis Del Fuego
*Culto Secreto
*El Campamento Del Perro
*Una Víctima Del Espacio Superior
Posesiones mentales, un poblado en el que abundan gatos y simpatizantes de la brujería y nigromancia, gente que muere de quemaduras inexplicables, colegios perturbadores, una isla en dónde no se observan animales (aunque se escuchan aullidos) y una exploración a otra dimensión; son los desafíos a los que se enfrentará John Silence con el correr de las páginas.
De tener que elegir uno de los relatos, me quedo con Culto Secreto, la sensación de incomodidad y de peligro acechante que transmite Blackwood en esta narración es increíble, aunque la resolución de la historia y la casi nula participación de Silence en el desarrollo le bajen un punto.
Si ya leyeron Los Sauces y El Wendigo, obras maestras del terror escritas por el autor, y les gustó el estilo de Blackwood, pueden seguir con esta antología de los relatos de John Silence y seguir descubriendo a este autor al que Lovecraft admiraba… y algo sabía este señor.
🤘🤘🤘
June 14, 2023
Recensione originale: https://sonnenbarke.wordpress.com/202...
Torno al mio antico amore, Algernon Blackwood, dopo un po’ di tempo, ritrovandolo sempre brillante, sebbene questi racconti non mi abbiano coinvolta come tanti altri suoi.
Ho trovato questa raccolta su Project Gutenberg quando ancora funzionava anche in Italia; ora se volete accedere al sito dovete usare una VPN, ma comunque troverete questo libro anche su altri siti che raccolgono libri di pubblico dominio. In italiano, invece, è stato tradotto nel 2010 come John Silence e altri incubi per UTET e nel 2022 come John Silence: Detective dell'occulto per Fanucci. Ho scoperto con disappunto che le storie con protagonista John Silence sono sei, mentre il libro di Project Gutenberg ne raccoglie solo cinque.
La qualità dei racconti di Blackwood è sempre alta, purtroppo però in questo caso non li ho trovati memorabili. Sarà però il tempo a dire se mi resteranno impressi nella memoria oppure no.
Il protagonista di questa raccolta è John Silence, un medico un po’ particolare che si occupa di occulto, quindi di tutti quei casi in cui il soprannaturale prende il sopravvento e nei quali un normale detective non saprebbe dove mettere le mani.
Il racconto che mi è piaciuto di più è “Secret Worship”. Un inglese torna in Germania, nei luoghi dove ha studiato da ragazzino, e decide di visitare la sua vecchia scuola che gli evoca ancora tanti piacevoli ricordi. Al paese lo avvisano che niente è più come prima, ma lui non ci vuole credere. La troverà, in effetti, un po’ cambiata. E senza l’intervento di John Silence sarebbe andata a finire molto male.
Mi è piaciuto molto anche “The Camp of the Dog”, sebbene il finale me lo abbia fatto scadere molto, purtroppo. Un piccolo gruppo di amici trascorre le vacanze in un’isola svedese disabitata. Le descrizioni del paesaggio e dell’avvicinarsi della minaccia incombente sono nel migliore stile di Blackwood, che quando si immerge in questo tipo di letteratura naturalistica “dark” fa scintille. L’isola è disabitata ma a un certo punto la ragazza del gruppo, Joan, inizia a sentire la presenza notturna di un cane. Non dico di più per non rovinarvi la lettura.
Gli altri tre racconti sono belli, ma è mancato l’effetto “wow”. Non consiglio di iniziare la conoscenza di Blackwood con questo libro, ma piuttosto con gli altri suoi racconti, in particolare i racconti lunghi (o romanzi brevi) Wendigo e I salici.
Torno al mio antico amore, Algernon Blackwood, dopo un po’ di tempo, ritrovandolo sempre brillante, sebbene questi racconti non mi abbiano coinvolta come tanti altri suoi.
Ho trovato questa raccolta su Project Gutenberg quando ancora funzionava anche in Italia; ora se volete accedere al sito dovete usare una VPN, ma comunque troverete questo libro anche su altri siti che raccolgono libri di pubblico dominio. In italiano, invece, è stato tradotto nel 2010 come John Silence e altri incubi per UTET e nel 2022 come John Silence: Detective dell'occulto per Fanucci. Ho scoperto con disappunto che le storie con protagonista John Silence sono sei, mentre il libro di Project Gutenberg ne raccoglie solo cinque.
La qualità dei racconti di Blackwood è sempre alta, purtroppo però in questo caso non li ho trovati memorabili. Sarà però il tempo a dire se mi resteranno impressi nella memoria oppure no.
Il protagonista di questa raccolta è John Silence, un medico un po’ particolare che si occupa di occulto, quindi di tutti quei casi in cui il soprannaturale prende il sopravvento e nei quali un normale detective non saprebbe dove mettere le mani.
Il racconto che mi è piaciuto di più è “Secret Worship”. Un inglese torna in Germania, nei luoghi dove ha studiato da ragazzino, e decide di visitare la sua vecchia scuola che gli evoca ancora tanti piacevoli ricordi. Al paese lo avvisano che niente è più come prima, ma lui non ci vuole credere. La troverà, in effetti, un po’ cambiata. E senza l’intervento di John Silence sarebbe andata a finire molto male.
Mi è piaciuto molto anche “The Camp of the Dog”, sebbene il finale me lo abbia fatto scadere molto, purtroppo. Un piccolo gruppo di amici trascorre le vacanze in un’isola svedese disabitata. Le descrizioni del paesaggio e dell’avvicinarsi della minaccia incombente sono nel migliore stile di Blackwood, che quando si immerge in questo tipo di letteratura naturalistica “dark” fa scintille. L’isola è disabitata ma a un certo punto la ragazza del gruppo, Joan, inizia a sentire la presenza notturna di un cane. Non dico di più per non rovinarvi la lettura.
Gli altri tre racconti sono belli, ma è mancato l’effetto “wow”. Non consiglio di iniziare la conoscenza di Blackwood con questo libro, ma piuttosto con gli altri suoi racconti, in particolare i racconti lunghi (o romanzi brevi) Wendigo e I salici.
August 24, 2013
Absolutely love this collection of Algernon Blackwood stories.. With his psychic version of Sherlock Holmes "John Silence", trying to diagnose and decipher the strange ailments and afflictions his "patients" brought to his door.. The imagination he must have used to create the extraordinary characters and events in these tales are beyond comprehension, ahead of his time!
October 8, 2025
My thoughts on the Complete John Silence Stories by Algernon Blackwood::::::::
John Silence is a psychic doctor. If you've got something weird and metaphysical ailing you, he'll fix it. He of course can take care of bleeding and bruising as well. He's an all around wiz in every area. He knows everything and can read your thoughts.
Blackwood created him as an extension of his own beliefs in the occult and spiritual realms. He's the modern day equivalent of Merlin. An everyman that all people trust with their lives. He can do no wrong.
Here we have 6 stories that range in degrees of subject matter and creepiness. The first story is about a writer that is being haunted after he gets too high on weed. The second story is about a town inhabited by strange folks with a dark secret. The third is about a fire elemental tormenting a family. The fourth is about a guy going to visit his childhood school and it's kind of become the most haunted place on Earth now. The fifth is about a werewolf in Sweden. The last story is about a man that has become unstuck in space and time.
These stories are fun as hell. Also real creepy at times. John Silence is a lovable character. Algernon Blackwood not only has the coolest name in literary history, he was one hell of a writer. I urge you to read his story 'The Willows' as well. So good.
He wrote from a very positive yet reasonable stand point. His stories may be fantastical but they always feel like they're on the edge of being real. He's a very persuasive man.
He wasn't without his faults. The werewolf story isn't the most politically correct thing you'll ever read. It's the only story here with a bit of false stereotyping in it. It's also the weakest story out of the bunch.
Werewolves seem the most difficult mythical monster to get right. Although the transformation details Blackwood comes up with here are pretty cool.
Great stuff to read for the season of the witch.
John Silence is a psychic doctor. If you've got something weird and metaphysical ailing you, he'll fix it. He of course can take care of bleeding and bruising as well. He's an all around wiz in every area. He knows everything and can read your thoughts.
Blackwood created him as an extension of his own beliefs in the occult and spiritual realms. He's the modern day equivalent of Merlin. An everyman that all people trust with their lives. He can do no wrong.
Here we have 6 stories that range in degrees of subject matter and creepiness. The first story is about a writer that is being haunted after he gets too high on weed. The second story is about a town inhabited by strange folks with a dark secret. The third is about a fire elemental tormenting a family. The fourth is about a guy going to visit his childhood school and it's kind of become the most haunted place on Earth now. The fifth is about a werewolf in Sweden. The last story is about a man that has become unstuck in space and time.
These stories are fun as hell. Also real creepy at times. John Silence is a lovable character. Algernon Blackwood not only has the coolest name in literary history, he was one hell of a writer. I urge you to read his story 'The Willows' as well. So good.
He wrote from a very positive yet reasonable stand point. His stories may be fantastical but they always feel like they're on the edge of being real. He's a very persuasive man.
He wasn't without his faults. The werewolf story isn't the most politically correct thing you'll ever read. It's the only story here with a bit of false stereotyping in it. It's also the weakest story out of the bunch.
Werewolves seem the most difficult mythical monster to get right. Although the transformation details Blackwood comes up with here are pretty cool.
Great stuff to read for the season of the witch.
October 23, 2024
Mi primer acercamiento al autor ha sido muy gratificante.
Las historias incluídas me han gustado mucho, en especial ANTIGUAS BRUJERÍAS.
Un autor imprescindible para todos los amantes del género.
Ya lo puedo tachar de la lista de pendientes 😅
Las historias incluídas me han gustado mucho, en especial ANTIGUAS BRUJERÍAS.
Un autor imprescindible para todos los amantes del género.
Ya lo puedo tachar de la lista de pendientes 😅
October 31, 2018
Me quedo con Carnacki de Hodgson.
June 8, 2025
Great fun!!
A Psychical Invasion 3/5
Ancient Sorceries 4/5 this was my fave! A little let down by the ending perhaps
Secret Worship 4/5 I had no idea how this was going to turn out!
The Nemesis of Fire 3/5
The Camp of the Dog 3/5
A Victim of Higher Space 4/5
A Psychical Invasion 3/5
Ancient Sorceries 4/5 this was my fave! A little let down by the ending perhaps
Secret Worship 4/5 I had no idea how this was going to turn out!
The Nemesis of Fire 3/5
The Camp of the Dog 3/5
A Victim of Higher Space 4/5
Displaying 1 - 30 of 141 reviews