Providence After Dark and Other Writings

by T.E.D. Klein

T.E.D. Klein has become a legend in contemporary weird fiction, precisely because his output is so seemingly small. Known largely for a single novel (The Ceremonies, 1984) and a single short story collection (Dark Gods, 1985), Klein joins Ramsey Campbell and Thomas Ligotti as one of the pioneering writers of weird fiction in his time.

But Klein has written numerous essays over the course of his long career. The history and theory of weird fiction has been a persistent interest, and his lengthy essay “Dr. Van Helsing’s Handy Guide to Ghost Stories” is his answer to Lovecraft’s “Supernatural Horror in Literature.” Klein has also championed the work of a wide array of writers ranging from Arthur Machen to David J. Schow, and he has also written essays on such figures as Frank Belknap Long, Ramsey Campbell, Robert Aickman, and Donald Wandrei.

H. P. Lovecraft—the subject of his honors thesis at Brown University—is of perennial fascination for Klein, and this volume includes many of his writings on the Providence writer, including his long introduction to Dagon and Other Macabre Tales (1986) and his recollections of the First World Fantasy Convention, which largely focused on Lovecraft.

Klein wrote numerous pieces while editor of Twilight Zone (1981–85) as well as pungent editorials for Crime Beat magazine. He also wrote several searing articles in the 1970s exposing animal cruelty in films, leading the film industry to curtail this barbaric practice. As a book reviewer, he has dissected the works of Christopher Priest, Ruth Rendell, William Peter Blatty, and other writers.

In this volume T.E.D. Klein reveals his skill as an essayist and reviewer, covering a remarkably wide range of topics with perspicacity and elegance.


Table of Contents

I. On Lovecraft

Providence After Dark
The United Amateur
A Dreamer’s Tales
Remembering Arkham House
The Festival
The Old Gent
T.E.D. Klein: Master of Ceremonies

II. On Other Authors

Arthur Machen
Ramsey Campbell: An Appreciation
Slow
An Afternoon with Aickman
A Haunted House
Frank Belknap Long
Dr. Van Helsing’s Handy Guide to Ghost Stories.
Introduction to Dark Love
Introduction to David Schow’s Seeing Red
Whiskey, Popcorn, and Gold
Gaspard de la Nuit
A Connecticut Yankee
The Ceremonies, edition: A Note from the Author
A Conversation with T.E.D. Klein

III. The Twilight Zone

Stories from the Twilight Zone
Twilight Zone Magazine
The Most Terrifying Horror Stories
The Book of Hieronymus Bosch
Twilight Zone: The Movie
Horrors! An Introduction to Writing Horror Fiction
Standing Behind the Curtains: A Conversation with T.E.D. Klein

IV. On Film

They Kill Animals and They Call It Art
Animals in Movies— The Abuse Gets Worse
On Cutting Up Movie Classics
How I Flopped as a Paramount Script Reader
Annie Hall
Star Wares
Master of a Lost Art
And Many Happy Returns
T.E.D. Klein Interview

V. On Other Topics

Where Do We Go from Here?
Charles Manson, B.M.O.C.
The Joy of Losing
Working for the Brown Daily Herald
CrimeBeat
Crime and Punishment
A Higher Standard
A Couple of Letters on . . . Antarctica!
Quotation & Misquotation
Silenced Voices
Three Letters to Brown
Spalding Gone Gray
Lament of an Aging English Instructor
Reassuring Words: An Interview with T.E.D. Klein

VI. Reviews

Legion by William Peter Blatty
The Face That Must Die and Incarnate by Ramsey Campbell
The Suburbs of Hell by Randolph Stow
More Books
The Glamour by Christopher Priest
Collected Stories by Ruth Rendell
The Terrors of Ice and Darkness by Christoph Ransmayr
Bring Me Children by David Martin
A Curate’s Egg
Sci-Fi Entertainment
A Swedish Podcast

Genres: Nonfiction

592 pages, Paperback

Published November 1, 2019

Reviews

[Steven · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting ruminations

There are some fairly good pieces, op-eds, and opinionated reviews. You don't necessarily have to agree with him. One or two interesting interviews, but other two were repetitive in my humble opinion. Still, want to read more Klein, go ahead.

[Sue · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed quite a few of the entries in this collection, especially those related to Twilight Zone Magazine, to HPL himself, and to pieces on other legendary authors. There were other pieces that just lost my interest, so I will admit that I skimmed several chunks of this book. It's definitely something I'll return to in the future to more fully absorb those sections I skimmed. All in all, I enjoyed it.

[Max Z · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5

[Ronald Wise · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book rose to the top of my reading list after my enjoyment of Klein’s short stories “The Events at Poroth Farm”, “Children of the Kingdom” and “Ladder”. I purchased it on Kindle, and on first opening it found that instead of a collection of crime and horror stories taking place in Providence, it is a collection of sixty pieces of writings from throughout his career.

Organized into six sections which roughly follow the progression of his career, most of the pieces are enjoyable and interesting. There is a stretch in Section V where I feared he was becoming an irascible old man. Perhaps he was overly focused on crime while editing CrimeBeat. The next and final section contain almost entirely book reviews, culminating in a lengthy, but very enjoyable, sampling of “Bookshelf”, the column he wrote for ten years at Si-Fi Entertainment, the magazine printed as a companion to television’s Sci-Fi Channel.

Overall, these writings and their important explanatory footnotes provide a unique insider view of the literary and cinematic horror genre as an art form and business in the 20th-century.

[robyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

SUPER wordy. But you just have to relax into it and let it happen. The writer is in no hurry, and neither can you be.

I appreciate Lovecraft more having read these essays. I've added some writers to my mental stable based on his reviews. I also highly enjoyed a few pieces on 'cons of the 70s, which it appears EVERYbody who was anybody in the fantasy and horror field attended, including Manly Wade Wellman and Gahan Wilson. I imagine it's how a modern-day hippy feels, reading about Woodstock, and knowing those days will never come again.

[Nick Chianese · Rating 4 out of 5]

Coming from someone who thinks T.E.D. Klein is the best writer of weird fiction since H.P. Lovecraft, Providence After Dark only raised my opinion of him.

Did the book need to be this long? No. Was the "Sci-Fi Entertainment" section absurdly lengthy and pointless? Yes. But as a non-fiction book on everything ranging from writing advice to crime, politics, a love of movies, and a passion for his horror predecessors, it's great.

[steven duane · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection of his writ and various interviews

If you are into finding out a little more about an author's views then this book may be for you. Not bad.

[Elizabeth Byrd · Rating 1 out of 5]

Providence after dark

Did not appreciate this book expected short stories not. Authors opinions. Not interesting to me felt misled and did notlike

[Miktam · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must-read for a Klein completionist.