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The Complete Supernatural Stories
Algernon Blackwood (1869-1951) was an English short story writer and novelist, one of the most prolific writers of ghost stories in the history of the genre. He was also a journalist and a broadcasting narrator. S. T. Joshi has stated that “his work is more consistently meritorious than any weird writer’s except Dunsany’s.” Though Blackwood wrote a number of horror stories, his most typical work seeks less to frighten than to induce a sense of awe.
1961 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 16, 2020
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About the author
Algernon Blackwood
1,348 books1,176 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 - 3 of 3 reviews
June 16, 2020
What a huge book! I had no idea Algernon Blackwood had written so many stories.
Firstly, it was very refreshing to discover what makes him distinct from so many of the other horror authors of his time. Firstly, 'supernatural' is an apposite description. Many of these stories are eerie, but only a fairly small portion are truly 'horror'. There is little in the way of monsters or demons in Blackwood's work. The spiritual forces he writes of are almost all ultimately human in origin, or elemental - he is very keen on the presence and power of nature in a very vivid and immanent sense.
Blackwood was a student of the Golden Dawn, so his writings are filled with references to mystical and psychic phenomena which are much more convincing and well researched than is normally the case in such literature. His speculations upon life, the soul and the cosmos which weave through his tales are thus fascinating and bear a mark of authenticity.
Some of these stories have been anthologised many times; others are hardly known. Some are just a few pages long, having evidently been written to muse upon a particular theme. As a result, some of the shorter stories are quite weak in terms of plot. But it has to be said that all remain very readable and at no point did I become tempted to set the book aside, incredibly long though it was.
There are themes and locales which recur many times throughout these stories and are evidently those Blackwood was familiar with and had been most stirred by in his years of travelling. There is London, of course, then France and the Alps - certain little villages are featured in several stories. Egypt is a regular location, indeed one particular town is revisited often, and of course the great wilderness area of Canadian lakes and forests.
It is easy to discover where Blackwood's heart lay when reading these stories, and by the end of the volume, you almost feel like you know him.
Firstly, it was very refreshing to discover what makes him distinct from so many of the other horror authors of his time. Firstly, 'supernatural' is an apposite description. Many of these stories are eerie, but only a fairly small portion are truly 'horror'. There is little in the way of monsters or demons in Blackwood's work. The spiritual forces he writes of are almost all ultimately human in origin, or elemental - he is very keen on the presence and power of nature in a very vivid and immanent sense.
Blackwood was a student of the Golden Dawn, so his writings are filled with references to mystical and psychic phenomena which are much more convincing and well researched than is normally the case in such literature. His speculations upon life, the soul and the cosmos which weave through his tales are thus fascinating and bear a mark of authenticity.
Some of these stories have been anthologised many times; others are hardly known. Some are just a few pages long, having evidently been written to muse upon a particular theme. As a result, some of the shorter stories are quite weak in terms of plot. But it has to be said that all remain very readable and at no point did I become tempted to set the book aside, incredibly long though it was.
There are themes and locales which recur many times throughout these stories and are evidently those Blackwood was familiar with and had been most stirred by in his years of travelling. There is London, of course, then France and the Alps - certain little villages are featured in several stories. Egypt is a regular location, indeed one particular town is revisited often, and of course the great wilderness area of Canadian lakes and forests.
It is easy to discover where Blackwood's heart lay when reading these stories, and by the end of the volume, you almost feel like you know him.
Currently reading
May 18, 2022Working my way through this slowly, so I'll try to record thoughts on stories as I finish them.
A Haunted Island (2 stars, 4 tentacles) - Creepily atmospheric, but the choice of spooky antagonist comes off as rather racist: . It sort of feels like that choice was meant to make the antagonists creepier in some undefinable sense, but for me it just made an otherwise good story fall flat. It might have helped if there'd been any sort of background given as to their origins, purpose, goals, etc.
A Case of Eavesdropping (3 stars, 2 tentacles) - My favorite part of this was probably how blase the landlady was about the whole thing. Storywise, eh. It was okay.
The Empty House (2 stars, 1 tentacle) - Strange pair (aunt and nephew) decide to hang out in a haunted house and are scared when ghosts appear, even though the ghosts do absolutely nothing to them other than hover ominously in their faces. They didn't even pay a price for hubris or anything. Just in, scary spooks for a bit, out. Boring.
Keeping His Promise (3 stars, 3 tentacles) - Mostly enjoyable tale of an unexpectedly fulfilled blood pact, but it just ends without actually resolving anything. The "reveal" at the end was heavily foreshadowed by the title, and didn't make for a reasonable stopping place, imo.
With Intent to Steal (3 stars, 3 tentacles) - Another mostly enjoyable one. It spends too much time setting up the conceit (with unintentionally amusing phrasing in some instances), and too little resolving it, but it's still a pretty solid creeper. I actually was expecting that , and was mildly disappointed this was not the case.
The Wood of the Dead (2.5 stars, 2 tentacles) - Well-written and interesting, but it's unclear why the narrator needed to be there at all. The initial structure made me think that Since that was not the case, his presence at the final event makes no sense. Also,
Smith: An Episode in a Lodging House (3 stars, 4 tentacles) - The best in the book so far, imo. It uses the detached narrator to reasonably good effect, and certain details make me wonder if Lovecraft read this before writing "From Beyond". Like most of these so far, it ends rather abruptly. Be warned that it does use Hebrew as a "magical language of power", or some rot.
A Suspicious Gift (1 star, 1 tentacle) - Ends with Somewhat interesting up to that point, but ruined by the ending.
The Strange Adventures of a Private Secretary in New York (2.5 stars, 2 tentacles) - So, yet another one where the POV character plays tourist in spookland. The setup is interesting, but the MC has no real stake in the matter and is, other than having a bad night, completely unaffected. Additionally, it really felt like the dinner was setting up for , which didn't happen, disappointingly. That would have been much more interesting, imo. Also, there is a Jewish butler who is, for all practical purposes, being used as a monster, because Jew. * sigh *
Skeleton Lake (3 stars, 1 tentacle) - Nothing here struck me as particularly supernatural. Atmospheric, sure. Maybe was supposed to have not been acting under his own willpower? But nothing in the text seems to require this, or even suggest it that strongly.
The Willows (4 stars, 5 tentacles) - Okay, this is the best so far (and also one that I'd read before). Digging up my prior review, I enjoyed it much more this time around. I think that's partly due to T. Kingfisher's The Hollow Places, and partly due to being in a different frame of mind. There's a lot of evocative language, and some of Blackwood's best writing up to this point (the anthology is in chronological order). Tbh, I don't think I got this one at all on my first read. Additionally, this is pre-Lovecraft, but still clearly veering into Cosmic Horror territory. Absolutely worth a read. This is also the first story in the book where the ending doesn't feel ridiculously abrupt (still a bit abrupt, but in a way that makes sense to me).
The Woman's Ghost Story (1 star, 1 tentacle) - Yeah, so, what could have been an interesting ghost story is marred by some rather bizarre ideas about women, bordering on misogyny, but possibly just stupidity/ignorance (some of it placed directly in the female character's lines).
The Dance of Death (3 stars, 1.5 tentacles) - Fairly tame ghost story, but it does contain the first non-ridiculous female character in the collection, and has some evocative moments.
The Old Man of Visions (4 stars, 1.5 tentacles) - There's a Lovecraft story with a similarly difficult to find location, which this vaguely reminds me of, but Blackwood's version is of a spiritual sanctuary, rather than some nascent horror. Quite well-written and evocative, though annoyingly vague in some aspects.
The Insanity of Jones (4 stars, 2.5 tentacles) - Sort of reminds me of some of Lovecraft's Dreamlands stories, but much better written. I like the ambiguity in this one, as it's deliberately left unclear if what Jones experienced was real or not.
The Listener (3 stars, 3 tentacles) - This one was super-frustrating, because it starts off so well. It was easily on its way to 4 or 5 stars. Then it ended without resolving anything, and with a SUPER-SHOCKING-REVEAL(tm) that made absolutely no sense. Thoughts on the reveal: Even if that reveal had made sense, there still needed to be a closing paragraph or sentence, like, "And so I left that domicile for good." Or the opposite. But SOME sort of resolution.
May Day Eve (4 stars, 3.5 tentacles) - The theme is mildly annoying (skeptic gets his comeuppance from the spirit world), but it's well-crafted, and, wonder of wonders for Blackwood, has an actual ending. One of the best so far.
Max Hensig (3 stars, 1 tentacle) - Not sure why this is even in this collection, as it's more SF than supernatural (fatal injectable germ). While decently written, I found it exceedingly tedious. It could have been cut down to half—or even a third—the length and been better for it. Journalist annoys killer on trial, who gets off and starts terrorizing the journalist.
Miss Slumbubble—and Claustrophobia (2 stars, 1 tentacle) Not as misogynistic as some of Blackwood's portrayals of women, but not much of a story, either. Lone woman goes on holiday, ghost makes her claustrophobic on the train, porter saves the day before she can jump out of the train.
Ancient Sorceries (2.5 stars, 2.5 tentacles) - This is strongly reminiscent of some of Lovecraft's "horrific lineage tales", except containing meaningful female figures (which Lovecraft almost never did). The setup of "ZOMG a boring guy had an adventure!!!" goes on a bit too long, imo. Also, the reaction of Vezin to his attraction to Ilse sounds an awful lot like a repressed gay person reacting to their attraction to someone of the same gender (not the first time Blackwood's writing has made me suspect he was a closet gay). I think I'd be more interested in the story if Vezin had abandoned himself to Ilse, tbh. As is, there was very little pay-off.
A Psychical Invasion (2.5 stars, 2.5 tentacles) - Drugs unlock latent psychic abilities, resulting in haunting. Dr. Silence saves the day. Very relieved Silence's pets were unharmed.
The Nemesis of Fire (4 stars, 2 tentacles) - Fire elemental brought from Egypt nearly burns down house, does kill , news at eleven.
Secret Worship (4 stars, 2 tentacles) - Old boarding school becomes font of devil-worship, nearly sacrifices nostalgic visitor. Some well-written passages, but not that interesting overall.
The Camp of the Dog
The Occupant of the Room
The Terror of the Twins
Entrance and Exit
You May Telephone from Here
The Wendigo
The Sea Fit
Old Clothes
Perspective
Carlton's Drive
The Lost Valley
The Man from the "Gods"
The Eccentricity of Simon Parnacute
The Price of Wiggin's Orgy
The Glamour of the Snow
The Deferred Appointment
The Return
The Transfer
Dream Trespass
The Man Whom the Trees Loved
The South Wind
The Messenger
The Attic
Sand
The Heath Fire
The Temptation of the Clay
Ancient Lights
Clairvoyance
The Golden Fly
Special Delivery
The Destruction of Smith
The Goblin's Collection
The Second Generation
The Man Who Found Out
The Tradition
Transition
Violence
The Doll
The Trod
Accessory Before the Fact
The House of the Past
The Sacrifice
The Damned
Wayfarers
The PIkestaffe Case
The Prayer
The Secret
Strange Disappearance of a Baronet
The Lease
Up and Down
Faith Cure on the Channel
The Invitation
Imagination
The Impulse
Her Birthday
Two in One
Let Not the Sun
Jimbo's Longest Day
News vs Nourishment
If the Cap Fits
Wind
Pines
The Winter Alps
A Victim of Higher Space
The Regeneration of Lord Ernie
A Descent into Egypt
The Falling Glass
The Other Wing
An Egyptian Hornet
The Touch of Pan
The Tryst
The Wings of Horus
Initiation
A Desert Episode
A Bit of Wood
H. S. H.
Cain's Atonement
The Little Beggar
Chinese Magic
The Valley of the Beasts
The Decoy
The Empty Sleeve
Running Wolf
First Hate
The Olive
The Wolves of God
The Tarn of Sacrifice
The Call
Egyptian Sorcery
Wireless Confusion
Confession
The Lane That Ran East and West
Vengeance is Mine
Lost!
The Man Who Was Milligan
Alexander Alexander
A Haunted Island (2 stars, 4 tentacles) - Creepily atmospheric, but the choice of spooky antagonist comes off as rather racist: . It sort of feels like that choice was meant to make the antagonists creepier in some undefinable sense, but for me it just made an otherwise good story fall flat. It might have helped if there'd been any sort of background given as to their origins, purpose, goals, etc.
A Case of Eavesdropping (3 stars, 2 tentacles) - My favorite part of this was probably how blase the landlady was about the whole thing. Storywise, eh. It was okay.
The Empty House (2 stars, 1 tentacle) - Strange pair (aunt and nephew) decide to hang out in a haunted house and are scared when ghosts appear, even though the ghosts do absolutely nothing to them other than hover ominously in their faces. They didn't even pay a price for hubris or anything. Just in, scary spooks for a bit, out. Boring.
Keeping His Promise (3 stars, 3 tentacles) - Mostly enjoyable tale of an unexpectedly fulfilled blood pact, but it just ends without actually resolving anything. The "reveal" at the end was heavily foreshadowed by the title, and didn't make for a reasonable stopping place, imo.
With Intent to Steal (3 stars, 3 tentacles) - Another mostly enjoyable one. It spends too much time setting up the conceit (with unintentionally amusing phrasing in some instances), and too little resolving it, but it's still a pretty solid creeper. I actually was expecting that , and was mildly disappointed this was not the case.
The Wood of the Dead (2.5 stars, 2 tentacles) - Well-written and interesting, but it's unclear why the narrator needed to be there at all. The initial structure made me think that Since that was not the case, his presence at the final event makes no sense. Also,
Smith: An Episode in a Lodging House (3 stars, 4 tentacles) - The best in the book so far, imo. It uses the detached narrator to reasonably good effect, and certain details make me wonder if Lovecraft read this before writing "From Beyond". Like most of these so far, it ends rather abruptly. Be warned that it does use Hebrew as a "magical language of power", or some rot.
A Suspicious Gift (1 star, 1 tentacle) - Ends with Somewhat interesting up to that point, but ruined by the ending.
The Strange Adventures of a Private Secretary in New York (2.5 stars, 2 tentacles) - So, yet another one where the POV character plays tourist in spookland. The setup is interesting, but the MC has no real stake in the matter and is, other than having a bad night, completely unaffected. Additionally, it really felt like the dinner was setting up for , which didn't happen, disappointingly. That would have been much more interesting, imo. Also, there is a Jewish butler who is, for all practical purposes, being used as a monster, because Jew. * sigh *
Skeleton Lake (3 stars, 1 tentacle) - Nothing here struck me as particularly supernatural. Atmospheric, sure. Maybe was supposed to have not been acting under his own willpower? But nothing in the text seems to require this, or even suggest it that strongly.
The Willows (4 stars, 5 tentacles) - Okay, this is the best so far (and also one that I'd read before). Digging up my prior review, I enjoyed it much more this time around. I think that's partly due to T. Kingfisher's The Hollow Places, and partly due to being in a different frame of mind. There's a lot of evocative language, and some of Blackwood's best writing up to this point (the anthology is in chronological order). Tbh, I don't think I got this one at all on my first read. Additionally, this is pre-Lovecraft, but still clearly veering into Cosmic Horror territory. Absolutely worth a read. This is also the first story in the book where the ending doesn't feel ridiculously abrupt (still a bit abrupt, but in a way that makes sense to me).
The Woman's Ghost Story (1 star, 1 tentacle) - Yeah, so, what could have been an interesting ghost story is marred by some rather bizarre ideas about women, bordering on misogyny, but possibly just stupidity/ignorance (some of it placed directly in the female character's lines).
The Dance of Death (3 stars, 1.5 tentacles) - Fairly tame ghost story, but it does contain the first non-ridiculous female character in the collection, and has some evocative moments.
The Old Man of Visions (4 stars, 1.5 tentacles) - There's a Lovecraft story with a similarly difficult to find location, which this vaguely reminds me of, but Blackwood's version is of a spiritual sanctuary, rather than some nascent horror. Quite well-written and evocative, though annoyingly vague in some aspects.
The Insanity of Jones (4 stars, 2.5 tentacles) - Sort of reminds me of some of Lovecraft's Dreamlands stories, but much better written. I like the ambiguity in this one, as it's deliberately left unclear if what Jones experienced was real or not.
The Listener (3 stars, 3 tentacles) - This one was super-frustrating, because it starts off so well. It was easily on its way to 4 or 5 stars. Then it ended without resolving anything, and with a SUPER-SHOCKING-REVEAL(tm) that made absolutely no sense. Thoughts on the reveal: Even if that reveal had made sense, there still needed to be a closing paragraph or sentence, like, "And so I left that domicile for good." Or the opposite. But SOME sort of resolution.
May Day Eve (4 stars, 3.5 tentacles) - The theme is mildly annoying (skeptic gets his comeuppance from the spirit world), but it's well-crafted, and, wonder of wonders for Blackwood, has an actual ending. One of the best so far.
Max Hensig (3 stars, 1 tentacle) - Not sure why this is even in this collection, as it's more SF than supernatural (fatal injectable germ). While decently written, I found it exceedingly tedious. It could have been cut down to half—or even a third—the length and been better for it. Journalist annoys killer on trial, who gets off and starts terrorizing the journalist.
Miss Slumbubble—and Claustrophobia (2 stars, 1 tentacle) Not as misogynistic as some of Blackwood's portrayals of women, but not much of a story, either. Lone woman goes on holiday, ghost makes her claustrophobic on the train, porter saves the day before she can jump out of the train.
Ancient Sorceries (2.5 stars, 2.5 tentacles) - This is strongly reminiscent of some of Lovecraft's "horrific lineage tales", except containing meaningful female figures (which Lovecraft almost never did). The setup of "ZOMG a boring guy had an adventure!!!" goes on a bit too long, imo. Also, the reaction of Vezin to his attraction to Ilse sounds an awful lot like a repressed gay person reacting to their attraction to someone of the same gender (not the first time Blackwood's writing has made me suspect he was a closet gay). I think I'd be more interested in the story if Vezin had abandoned himself to Ilse, tbh. As is, there was very little pay-off.
A Psychical Invasion (2.5 stars, 2.5 tentacles) - Drugs unlock latent psychic abilities, resulting in haunting. Dr. Silence saves the day. Very relieved Silence's pets were unharmed.
The Nemesis of Fire (4 stars, 2 tentacles) - Fire elemental brought from Egypt nearly burns down house, does kill , news at eleven.
Secret Worship (4 stars, 2 tentacles) - Old boarding school becomes font of devil-worship, nearly sacrifices nostalgic visitor. Some well-written passages, but not that interesting overall.
The Camp of the Dog
The Occupant of the Room
The Terror of the Twins
Entrance and Exit
You May Telephone from Here
The Wendigo
The Sea Fit
Old Clothes
Perspective
Carlton's Drive
The Lost Valley
The Man from the "Gods"
The Eccentricity of Simon Parnacute
The Price of Wiggin's Orgy
The Glamour of the Snow
The Deferred Appointment
The Return
The Transfer
Dream Trespass
The Man Whom the Trees Loved
The South Wind
The Messenger
The Attic
Sand
The Heath Fire
The Temptation of the Clay
Ancient Lights
Clairvoyance
The Golden Fly
Special Delivery
The Destruction of Smith
The Goblin's Collection
The Second Generation
The Man Who Found Out
The Tradition
Transition
Violence
The Doll
The Trod
Accessory Before the Fact
The House of the Past
The Sacrifice
The Damned
Wayfarers
The PIkestaffe Case
The Prayer
The Secret
Strange Disappearance of a Baronet
The Lease
Up and Down
Faith Cure on the Channel
The Invitation
Imagination
The Impulse
Her Birthday
Two in One
Let Not the Sun
Jimbo's Longest Day
News vs Nourishment
If the Cap Fits
Wind
Pines
The Winter Alps
A Victim of Higher Space
The Regeneration of Lord Ernie
A Descent into Egypt
The Falling Glass
The Other Wing
An Egyptian Hornet
The Touch of Pan
The Tryst
The Wings of Horus
Initiation
A Desert Episode
A Bit of Wood
H. S. H.
Cain's Atonement
The Little Beggar
Chinese Magic
The Valley of the Beasts
The Decoy
The Empty Sleeve
Running Wolf
First Hate
The Olive
The Wolves of God
The Tarn of Sacrifice
The Call
Egyptian Sorcery
Wireless Confusion
Confession
The Lane That Ran East and West
Vengeance is Mine
Lost!
The Man Who Was Milligan
Alexander Alexander
June 4, 2021
It paints a picture...
Where to start here? The best part of 2000 pages and the guy could set a tone, place and mood with a deft, skillful touch. Some fabulous prose evokes some strange places and he takes the reader with him seamlessly and without much to-do.
Where a collection like this falters however is in the repetition of theme and style over the course of a career. There are approx 122 short stories in this collection and read one after the other it soon becomes too much of a good thing. I suspect the experience is altogether better when read in smaller collections but opinions may differ there.
Overall it's a good read but a hefty volume at the same time. Possibly worth going out of your way to find a shorter collection of the greatest hits in this case.
Where to start here? The best part of 2000 pages and the guy could set a tone, place and mood with a deft, skillful touch. Some fabulous prose evokes some strange places and he takes the reader with him seamlessly and without much to-do.
Where a collection like this falters however is in the repetition of theme and style over the course of a career. There are approx 122 short stories in this collection and read one after the other it soon becomes too much of a good thing. I suspect the experience is altogether better when read in smaller collections but opinions may differ there.
Overall it's a good read but a hefty volume at the same time. Possibly worth going out of your way to find a shorter collection of the greatest hits in this case.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews