What do you think?
Rate this book
When Evil Wakes : An Anthology of The Macabre
An anthology of fantasy and horror stories edited by American writer August Derleth. It was first published by Souvenir in 1963.
Contents
"The Eye and the Finger", by Donald Wandrei
"The Feasting Dead", by John Metcalfe
"Death Waters", by Frank Belknap Long
"An Invitation to the Hunt", by George Hitchcock
"The Tsanta in the Parlour", by Stephen Grendon
"Moonlight-Starlight", by Virginia Layefiky
"The Kite", by Carl Jacobi
"Sweets to the Sweet", by Robert Bloch
"A Thin Gentlemen With Gloves, by Simon West
"The Horror at Red Hook", by H. P. Lovecraft
"The Triumph of Death", by H. Russell Wakefield
"The Lips", by Henry S. Whitehead
"A Piece of Linoleum", by David H. Keller
"The Seed From the Sepulchre", by Clark Ashton Smith
"Canavan's Back Yard", by Joseph Payne Brennan
"The Shuttered Room", by H. P. Lovecraft & August Derleth
Contents
"The Eye and the Finger", by Donald Wandrei
"The Feasting Dead", by John Metcalfe
"Death Waters", by Frank Belknap Long
"An Invitation to the Hunt", by George Hitchcock
"The Tsanta in the Parlour", by Stephen Grendon
"Moonlight-Starlight", by Virginia Layefiky
"The Kite", by Carl Jacobi
"Sweets to the Sweet", by Robert Bloch
"A Thin Gentlemen With Gloves, by Simon West
"The Horror at Red Hook", by H. P. Lovecraft
"The Triumph of Death", by H. Russell Wakefield
"The Lips", by Henry S. Whitehead
"A Piece of Linoleum", by David H. Keller
"The Seed From the Sepulchre", by Clark Ashton Smith
"Canavan's Back Yard", by Joseph Payne Brennan
"The Shuttered Room", by H. P. Lovecraft & August Derleth
223 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1963
1 person is currently reading
30 people want to read
About the author
August Derleth
885 books295 followersAugust William Derleth was an American writer and anthologist. Though best remembered as the first book publisher of the writings of H. P. Lovecraft, and for his own contributions to the Cthulhu Mythos and the Cosmic Horror genre, as well as his founding of the publisher Arkham House (which did much to bring supernatural fiction into print in hardcover in the US that had only been readily available in the UK), Derleth was a leading American regional writer of his day, as well as prolific in several other genres, including historical fiction, poetry, detective fiction, science fiction, and biography
A 1938 Guggenheim Fellow, Derleth considered his most serious work to be the ambitious Sac Prairie Saga, a series of fiction, historical fiction, poetry, and non-fiction naturalist works designed to memorialize life in the Wisconsin he knew. Derleth can also be considered a pioneering naturalist and conservationist in his writing
[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augus...]
A 1938 Guggenheim Fellow, Derleth considered his most serious work to be the ambitious Sac Prairie Saga, a series of fiction, historical fiction, poetry, and non-fiction naturalist works designed to memorialize life in the Wisconsin he knew. Derleth can also be considered a pioneering naturalist and conservationist in his writing
[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augus...]
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
March 17, 2017
WHEN EVIL AWAKES is a splendid collection of pulp horror fiction, collected by one of my very favourite anthologists, August Derleth. Most of the tales are classics from the pages of WEIRD TALES, although there are one or two others included.
Donald Wandrei's THE EYE AND THE FINGER is as good a place as any to start the horrors, an altogether unpleasant ghost story with some very weird apparitions. It's sickening without resorting to gore, and has an excellent use of pace. John Metcalfe's THE FEASTING DEAD is even better, a story about a psychic vampire loaded with entertainment value. It's long enough to class as a novella, and despite the slow pacing the story is never dull. DEATH WATERS sees Frank Belknap Long writing of a South American snake curse, which is workmanlike but nonetheless entertaining.
AN INVITATION TO THE HUNT is by George Hitchcock tackles fox hunting in a brief and predictable way. THE TSANTA IN THE PARLOUR is by Derleth himself, writing under a pseudonym, and quite excellent with it. A pure piece of Southern Gothic, it details a cursed shrunken head and is actually deeply frightening. Virginia Layefsky's MOONLIGHT-STARLIGHT is an old-fashioned ghost story set at a Halloween party and one that runs pretty deep. Carl Jacobi's THE KITE is another one about modern man versus primitive magic, containing elements of genuine nastiness designed to abhor the reader.
SWEETS TO THE SWEET is a simple thing about an evil child, written by Robert Bloch and filmed as part of the Amicus anthology THE HOUSE THAT DRIPPED BLOOD. Simon West's A THIN GENTLEMAN WITH GLOVES is a little like THE CASTING OF THE RUNES and suitably scary as well as entertaining. Next up, Lovecraft's HORROR AT RED HOOK sees the author adding to his mythos with some dank and brooding urban-set horror. Some complain that the story is racist and it's hard to deny that, although it's still superbly written. H. Russell Wakefield's THE TRIUMPH OF DEAD is a rare dud from the usually exemplary author, a traditional haunted house story without much freshness.
THE LIPS, by Henry S. Whitehead, is another foreign-themed tale of one man's descent into disease and madness and suitably disturbing with it. David H. Keller's A PIECE OF LINOLEUM is an anecdotal read and more everyday than most of the stories collected here. It lacks bite but offers a change to pace to the usual fare. Clark Ashton Smith's THE SEED FROM THE SEPULCHRE is an all-time classic of malignant vegetation and splendid in every respect, a real favourite of mine. Joseph Payne Brennan's CANAVAN'S BACK YARD is about a guy discovering a tunnel to Hell in his own garden, heavy on the atmosphere and sheer terror of the premise. Finally, Lovecraft and Derleth combine for THE SHUTTERED ROOM, a first-rate story that recalls THE DUNWICH HORROR and is occasionally nearly as good; Cthulhu Mythos fans will be delighted with it.
Donald Wandrei's THE EYE AND THE FINGER is as good a place as any to start the horrors, an altogether unpleasant ghost story with some very weird apparitions. It's sickening without resorting to gore, and has an excellent use of pace. John Metcalfe's THE FEASTING DEAD is even better, a story about a psychic vampire loaded with entertainment value. It's long enough to class as a novella, and despite the slow pacing the story is never dull. DEATH WATERS sees Frank Belknap Long writing of a South American snake curse, which is workmanlike but nonetheless entertaining.
AN INVITATION TO THE HUNT is by George Hitchcock tackles fox hunting in a brief and predictable way. THE TSANTA IN THE PARLOUR is by Derleth himself, writing under a pseudonym, and quite excellent with it. A pure piece of Southern Gothic, it details a cursed shrunken head and is actually deeply frightening. Virginia Layefsky's MOONLIGHT-STARLIGHT is an old-fashioned ghost story set at a Halloween party and one that runs pretty deep. Carl Jacobi's THE KITE is another one about modern man versus primitive magic, containing elements of genuine nastiness designed to abhor the reader.
SWEETS TO THE SWEET is a simple thing about an evil child, written by Robert Bloch and filmed as part of the Amicus anthology THE HOUSE THAT DRIPPED BLOOD. Simon West's A THIN GENTLEMAN WITH GLOVES is a little like THE CASTING OF THE RUNES and suitably scary as well as entertaining. Next up, Lovecraft's HORROR AT RED HOOK sees the author adding to his mythos with some dank and brooding urban-set horror. Some complain that the story is racist and it's hard to deny that, although it's still superbly written. H. Russell Wakefield's THE TRIUMPH OF DEAD is a rare dud from the usually exemplary author, a traditional haunted house story without much freshness.
THE LIPS, by Henry S. Whitehead, is another foreign-themed tale of one man's descent into disease and madness and suitably disturbing with it. David H. Keller's A PIECE OF LINOLEUM is an anecdotal read and more everyday than most of the stories collected here. It lacks bite but offers a change to pace to the usual fare. Clark Ashton Smith's THE SEED FROM THE SEPULCHRE is an all-time classic of malignant vegetation and splendid in every respect, a real favourite of mine. Joseph Payne Brennan's CANAVAN'S BACK YARD is about a guy discovering a tunnel to Hell in his own garden, heavy on the atmosphere and sheer terror of the premise. Finally, Lovecraft and Derleth combine for THE SHUTTERED ROOM, a first-rate story that recalls THE DUNWICH HORROR and is occasionally nearly as good; Cthulhu Mythos fans will be delighted with it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 19, 2025
A strange little tale of a man who comes home to find a severed hand and an eye lying, waiting for him. With the eye fixed firmly on him. He seeks help from a psychiatrist, then things take a drastic turn once they find out the eye and the hand are real.
I enjoyed the writing in this next story, although the plot had some disturbing and slow burning occurrences, it was ultimately a little boring with an ending which did not deliver in any way. I began to see a slow pattern forming based on the man's son and his strange behaviour being drawn to his neighbours and the strange French man. I could see an ending in which the boy was to become a vessel for the dead man's ghost. But the ending was no where near as good as what I pictured it could be.
These two and many other stories involving ghosts and strange plants which grow inside people causing a disturbing death and horrific creatures and more fill this book. A fun little read
I enjoyed the writing in this next story, although the plot had some disturbing and slow burning occurrences, it was ultimately a little boring with an ending which did not deliver in any way. I began to see a slow pattern forming based on the man's son and his strange behaviour being drawn to his neighbours and the strange French man. I could see an ending in which the boy was to become a vessel for the dead man's ghost. But the ending was no where near as good as what I pictured it could be.
These two and many other stories involving ghosts and strange plants which grow inside people causing a disturbing death and horrific creatures and more fill this book. A fun little read
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews