The Grimoire

by Montague Summers

Classic collection of weird fiction by the legendary Montague Summers, authority on vampires, witches, werewolves and other historical entities.

CONTENTS:

 Schalken the Painter (frontispiece) • (1851) • interior artwork by Phiz
vii • Introduction (The Grimoire and Other Supernatural Stories) • essay by Montague Summers
1 • The Vampyre • [Lord Ruthven] • novelette by Dr. John William Polidori (variant of The Vampyre: A Tale 1819)
23 • Leixlip Castle • (1825) • short story by Charles Maturin
38 • The Queen of Spades • (1927) • novelette by Александр Пушкин?
(trans. of Пиковая дама?
1834) [as by Alexander Pushkin]
67 • The Polish Jew • (1880) • novella by Alexandre Chatrian and Émile Erckmann?
(trans. of Le Juif polonais 1871) [as by Erckmann-Chatrian]
121 • Schalken the Painter • (1851) • novelette by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu
144 • Wicked Captain Walshawe, of Wauling • short story by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu [as by J. Sheridan Le Fanu]
159 • Dickon the Devil • [Martin Hesselius] • short story by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu [as by J. Sheridan Le Fanu]
171 • The Haunted House of Paddington • (1841) • short story by Charles Ollier (variant of The Haunted Manor-House of Paddington)
179 • Chantry Manor-House • (1876) • short story by Mrs. Hartley
196 • The Story of Salome • (1867) • short story by Amelia B. Edwards
219 • The Spectre Hand • (1895) • short story by James Grant [as by uncredited]
232 • The Tregethan's Curse: or, the Weird Woman • (1871) • short story by uncredited
253 • The Grimoire • short story by Montague Summers
276 • The Man on the Stairs • short story by Montague Summers [as by Anonymous]

Genres: Weird Fiction, Horror

Paperback

First published January 1, 1936

About the author

Augustus Montague Summers was an Anglican priest and later convert to Roman Catholicism known primarily for his scholarly work on the English drama of the 17th century, as well as for his studies on witches, vampires, and werewolves, in all of which he professed to believe. He was responsible for the first English translation, published in 1928, of the notorious 15th-century witch hunter's manual, the Malleus Maleficarum.

Reviews

[William Parham · Rating 5 out of 5]

Spoiler Alert: This review is probably longer than the book itself.

This is a lovely little chapbook of a single story by Montague Summers. It was a bonus addition to the first hardback edition of The Moons At Your Door: An Anthology of Strange Tales, a collection of weird fiction, Coptic and Sumerian translations, and other ephemera, collected by David Tibet.

The story is a decent little yarn of probably only average quality. However, seeing as it is a story about a collector of rare occult and alchemical texts, I am inclined to give it a bit more leeway. It is a solid little gothic tale rather similar in tone to Algernon Blackwood's "The Damned". Seeing as "The Damned" has always been a favorite of mine, I won't complain. Others might, however. These kind of slow stories about men of leisure visiting large old estates to read large old books, only to succumb to some spiritual, psychic, or darkly paranormal malady, are not for everyone.

If it were on story alone that I rated this book, it would be a weak 3- or 4-star affair. Nothing remarkable, but nothing I could complain about. This edition steps up the game by coming wrapped in four of David Tibet's paintings of Pazuzu. The spare white on black style that Tibet draws in usually doesn't do much for me, but these images are a perfect accompaniment to this story. The paper is also extremely thick and feels great in the hand. Strange Attractor Press has done a lovely job with this chapbook. I am glad to have it in my collection.

[Hsu Jui-Ting · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a tale of average proportions, as the other reviewer correctly stated, and comes as a bonus for having ordered the hardcover edition of The Moons at Your Door. Having said that, though, it's a beautiful edition - and addition - to the library that demonstrates David Tibet's own cultivated interests in the arcane.