Roarings from Further Out: Four Weird Novellas by Algernon Blackwood

by Algernon Blackwood

From one of the greatest and most prolific authors of 20th century weird fiction come four of the very best strange stories ever told.
In "The Willows" two men become stranded on an island in the Danube delta, only to find that they might be in the domain of some greater power from beyond the limits of human experience.
"The Wendigo" features a hunting party in Ontario who begin to fear that they are being stalked by an entity thought to be confined to legend.
In "The Man Whom the Trees Loved" a couple is driven apart as the husband is enthralled by the possessive and jealous spirits dwelling in the nearby forest.
And lastly, in conversation with the occult detective and physician Dr. John Silence, a traveler relates his nightmarish visit to a strange town in Northern France, and the maddening secret from his past revealed by its inhabitants, in "Ancient Sorceries."

Genres: Horror, Short Stories, Fiction, Fantasy, Weird Fiction, Mystery, Classics

286 pages, Paperback

First published October 3, 2019

About the author

Algernon 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.

Reviews

[Alasdair · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't know if my time working at a train station WHSmiths has jaded me, but I can only imagine a modern version of The Man Whom The Trees Loved expressed through the medium of a 50p supernatural magazine headline: 'My Hubby Had An Emotional Affair With The Collective Consciousness Of A Forest!!!' accompanied by a shocked looking 30-something stock image model.

Enjoyed the stories overall but think I still prefer the shorter stuff I've read of Blackwood in other compilations (The Kit Bag, Ancient Lights).

The Willows and The Wendigo probably the better two of the four stories, but I did enjoy how unsubtle and silly Ancient Sorceries got, especially towards the end.

[Delphine · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is more to our relationship with this earth than meets the eye: Blackwoods literary message in a nutshell. This collection contains four novellas, three superb ones and a rather less perfect one , ‘Ancient sorceries’.

In it, human beings are struck with awe and terror by a sublime nature force, a force not necessarily friendly to us. In ‘The willows’, two adventurers on a canoe trip get stranded on a deserted island, haunted by ever approaching willows at night that produce their own gong sound. In ‘The wendigo’, a guide on a Canadian moose hunt gets kidnapped by the yeti-like creature, returning as an emanciated, near-empty shell.

Blackwood uses the filter of human consciousness, he shows how people lose their selves in an unfamiliar state of consciousness, this psychological aspect is alluring. His writing is immaculate, every word well-chosen, his narrative pace is exquisite. It’s hard to believe that such a talented writer doesn’t get the recognition he deserves. His supernatural tales are perfectly crafted.

[Catherine McCarthy]

Okay, let me begin by saying that I had to put aside the racism (particularly in The Wendigo) and sexism (particularly in The Man Whom the Trees Loved) due to the fact that they were written more than a century ago, when the world was a very different place. However, I still cringed in parts, but IMO it's learning from the past that matters most. Enough said.
So now that's out of the way, I'd like to talk about my enjoyment of the book.
Roarings from Further Out is a collection of four novellas, only one of which I had read previously (The Willows).
What I love about Blackwood's work is his subtle use of horror, the way in which he invokes the horror inherent in nature while at the same time praising it, and the psychological drip feed of terror through atmosphere. This is my kind of horror.
The Willows in particular is something I wish everyone would read, it's that good, that gripping, and having read all four it remains my favourite.
Second favourite for me is The Man Whom the Trees Loved for the reasons I mentioned above. For David Bittacy (MC) nature, and trees in particular, are God whereas his wife is a worshipper of the Christian God to her core, hence the disparity in their relationship. As a self-confessed tree hugger, I get where Bittacy is coming from, and yet I found the relationship between the couple utterly sweet and loved the fact that they were getting on in age before this difference in their personalities showed through. It was quite an emotional read in truth, the fact that she felt her husband slippping away from her, giving himself over to something she could not feel or understand, and I couldn't help but wonder about the messages here. I've said it before and I'll say it again - there aren't enough stories that feature middle or older aged MCs. I finished reading this one a few days ago, but the mood it created has not yet left me.
My third favourite was Ancient Sorceries, mainly because of its witchy/supernatural characters and setting and the fact that it reminded me very much of a little town we stayed in deep in the French countryside some years ago. It was easy to picture that town as I read.
My least favourite of the four was The Wendigo. I know it's a classic, but I found it a chore and parts of it a bit silly. Kind of a disappointment, because I have only ever heard great things, but there we go. It goes to prove how subjective reading taste is.
Still, a great collection and one I'm very glad to own.

[Ben · Rating 5 out of 5]

All superb, with 'The Wendigo' being , in my opinion, the finest 'weird tale' ever written.

[Austin Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a collection of four novellas by Algernon Blackwood. This was my first time reading anything by this author and what led me to seek out his work was the high praise Lovecraft had given him. Apparently Blackwood was an influence for Lovecraft's writing, and as a fan of the latter, how could I not check these stories out?

The Willows: 5 / 5
From what I've read this is Blackwood's best known story and the one Lovecraft deemed as the greatest "weird" tale ever written. (Paraphrasing)
I was certainly surprised by it.
Two men undertake an expedition by means of canoeing down a river into the vast wilderness. What starts out as a fun, peaceful trip, turns harrowing as they discover they might not be as isolated as they think.
This story was truly amazing. It's very reminiscent to Lovecraft's style of storytelling and I can see how it might have influenced him. There's a lot of creepy atmosphere and ambiguity as to what exactly is going on. There's never any clear answers to some of the things that happen to our characters, and it is, perhaps, the "unknown" that is the most terrifying of all.
What fascinated me about this story is that it's really an effective study of fear and what it does, or can do, to the psyche. At first in our story, there's really no reason for the narrator to be afraid (he is apprehensive, anyway), and he finds that the more he gives into this uncertainty and nervousness, the more it begins to grow and manifests itself in a more tangible sense.
This story provides not only thrills, but an awesome commentary on these aforementioned emotions and how fear will control us if we give it a foothold in our lives. Of course, it's not always a mental battle, and sometimes there really are other forces that seek our demise...
Five out of five for this excellent novella.

Ancient Sorceries: 4 / 5
This one was also really good. The story is told in past tense by our narrator relaying his trip to a small, mysterious town where its inhabitants behave quite strangely.
This one was slow going at first, but it held my interest and the reveal of the townsfolk and the cause of their strange behavior was more than worth it. This story also has some interesting subtext and commentary - my own interpretation of it is that of one experiencing temptation and pressure to conform to society or culture. In this story, our man character is drawn to this "evil" that the townsfolk participate in, before even fully realizing what has happened. He resists, though, once the secret is out - but can he escape, or has he already become a part of them?
A great, eerie story with plenty of themes to analyze as well. Four out of five for this one.

The Wendigo: 2.5 / 5
This one is, unfortunately, my least favorite of the bunch. The idea seems intriguing enough: Four men venture into the vast Canadian wilderness on a hunting expedition, only to encounter the mythical "Wendigo" creature. I love a good spooky story rooted in ancient folklore and "campfire" type stories. Sadly, this story was too long-winded (even as a novella) and wordy for my tastes. There's a lot of overly-descriptive passages and not enough action. As a more classic, straight-forward horror story (as compared to the rest in this collection) I would have liked it to have been a bit more eventful - instead what we get, is a similar formula used in The Willows. It's a bit of a slow-burn with lots of ambiguity and we never even really get any scenes with the actual Wendigo. This story explores some of the same themes as The Willows, but handled much less tactfully. This one was a bit of a disappointment for me. Two and a half stars.

The Man Whom The Trees Loved: 3 / 5
The final story in the collection didn't really impress me all that much, either. If anything, I enjoyed it the most for it's interesting themes and subtext that Blackwood expertly weaves into the story. Unfortunately, the story itself is one that, at surface level, feels a bit weak. Our main character is obsessed with trees, and his wife, a "good Christian woman", detests his unusually overt fascination with the trees. She also senses that there is something evil about them, that they truly are alive, as her husband believes, and that they are drawing him away from her.
This one just didn't really grab me all that much, but again, I did enjoy interpreting the apparently varied meanings in this story. There's a lot of spiritual and religious sentiment in this one, though it's never clearly conveyed whether or not these elements are considered the opposing, or allied forces.
Thought-provoking, but not entirely effective as the first two stories of the collection. Three stars out of five.

Overall this was a decent novella, though The Willows was really the only major highlight, and the only story I could see myself returning to in the future. I'm glad I can say I've read another classic author now, though, and it's fun tracing back the roots of modern horror and discovering these influential stories.
If you can find a way to read just The Willows, I highly, highly recommend it.

[KDS · Rating 5 out of 5]

Four excellent novellas, but The Willows and The Wendigo are perhaps the most influential and will stay with me for a long time. I was surprised how good and overlooked Ancient Sorceries and the Man Who Trees Loved were, although the latter is the least horror infused of the four as it focuses more on the conflict of belief systems between a couple affected by the "soul" of a looming forest.

Anyone with an interest in weird horror or horror in nature, will find this one of the most important collections in the genre and the entire Tales of the Weird catalogue

[Danika Christensen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Can you imagine a more perfect name for writing weird fiction than Algernon Blackwood? Talk about nominative determinism.

Anyways, Viggo got me to read this book, absolutely a strange and weird and terrifying book, well done. Did strange, otherworldly horror before Lovecraft (what is it with horror authors and names?), but in more a revering way than Lovecraft's disdainful way. You can definitely tell that Blackwood belongs to the outdoors, he's camped for a day or two. The way he describes nature is amazing, very powerfully described, in that kind of beautiful but sinister way.

I don't really have any critique, it's just flat out a good read, go read more Blackwood girlies

[Max Bowman · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Willows: 4/5
Ancient Sorceries: 2/5
The Wendigo: 5/5
The Man Whom the Trees Loved: 3/5

[Rick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Four stories by horror writer Algernon Blackwood—a link between Poe and Lovecraft. Blackwood was a Theosophist, and he draws on a philosophical pantheism for his horror. Here, his beasts aren’t cosmic entities, like Cthulhu, but mysteries of the natural world impervious to science. And Cat People—he invented cat people.

The two standouts are his anthologized tales “The Willows” and “The Wendigo.” I greatly preferred the former—a horrifying tale of a doomed boat trip down the Danube. The pacing, usually a problem for tales of this vintage, is impeccable. Blackwood leads the reader to the awe of floating down the Danube during a flood—when the river’s own path becomes illusory and any misstep means a lonely death miles from any other human. Trapped on a small island, the protagonists tremble at the implacable wind and its “great, flat blows of immense power,” pondering “the sounds a planet must make, could we only hear it, driving along through space.” No big surprise, but that wind wasn’t friendly.

“The Wendigo,” also immerses you in the loneliness of a great woods. Today’s readers might question the pasting-on of a half-understood Native American folktale (and the marginal use of the one Native character), but the story works just the same without it. A member of a hunting party encounters a forest spirit and becomes transformed into a tortured parody of himself—or does he?

“Ancient Sorceries,” the aforementioned Cat People tale, and “The Man the Trees Loved” both have flaws. The former had cat people, which is great, but it took its time getting to the reveal (that the cat people were not just people . . . but cat people!) all the while going on about how catlike all the people were. The latter has some fine musings on plant consciousness but suffers from poor pacing and weak characterization. The protagonist is ineffably connected to the spirits of the forest but is kept in the human world by his dull, religious wife. Most of the story is told through her eyes, but her character is utterly inert. As Blackwood writes, she, “like many women…never really thought at all, but merely reflected the images of others’ thinking that she learned to see.” Fix the misogyny, tighten the narrative, and you’ve got a winner. A real missed opportunity.

[Al Wright · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fine collection of novellas that's interesting enough both for its historical interest and a gateway into weird fiction, though Blackwood unfortunately suffers from similar pacing issues as, oftentimes, Stephen King: the build up of suspense is masterfully achieved and the atmosphere is well worth meandering through in and of itself, yet the payoff is either lacking or non-existant.
Ancient Sorceries was definitely my favourite, with some beautifully written passages that provided both levity and relatability. Yet The Willows feels quite literally unfinished, ending right when it feels it's about to get interesting. That being said, The Wendigo is an excellent mashup of character and slow burn horror, with phonetic dialogue and subtle use of the titular monster making this one a certified classic of the genre.
In the famous words of Meatloaf: "Two outta three ain't bad"
What of The Man Whom The Trees Loved then? I hear you ask. To be honest I found this one quite middle of the road and overstaying of its welcome, I'm sure for its time it was a much more engaging read but for me it felt like the more forgettable of the stories here.
A mixed bag with more good than bad, but one more suited to the realm of study and essay on horror rather than casual enjoyment.

[Marileen · Rating 3 out of 5]

3/4 stories are pretty good! Each have their own thing that makes them good but not great either. Enjoyable and sometimes nicely tense or even thrilling on a few pages. Loved the way nature (mostly the woods) plays a roll in each of these stories.

One story though. Is crazy psychotic and I hated reading it but now looking back it's also iconic how much I could feel (all negatieve) because of a story. I couln't look away but also it was horrible to read. So in a weird bizarre (not the good kind) way, it was iconic. But you also just read fanfiction by 12 year old girls who are writing for the first time to get that experience in a much nicer way :)

Oh and the way women are writting isn't really like they are equals to men. So. Yeh...

I liked The Outcasts: and other dark tales by E.F. Benson much better (also from The Britisch Library)

[Alex Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'd already read The Willows (dense but obviously influential) and The Wendigo (great) included in this collection.

Of the other two, I found Ancient Sorceries to be fine but a little monotonous, whereas The Man Whom the Trees Loved was brilliantly eerie and perfectly captured my feelings towards forests.

[Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

3 of these 4 short stories capture the presence of nature that you only feel when you are out camping somewhere remote - all 4 are excellent reads but highly recommend for anyone enjoying horror rooted in old folktales

[ClareT · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book of weird fiction from the start of the 20th century republished by the British Library. This is a collection of four novellas in the weird genre;
The Willows
Ancient Sorceries
The Wendigo
The Man Whom the Trees Loved,
with an excellent introduction by Xavier Aldana Reyes
The Willows I would rate at 5 stars and it was my favourite of the novellas. In this two men are on a canoeing trip and stop to camp on a small island. The river is getting higher, and is eating away at the island. Their sleep is disturbed, they hear things in the night, and see strange occurrences. Are there spirits in the trees, are they being prevented from leaving? In this novella Algernon Blackwood certainly knows how to create some tension without having much explicit horror - it is all about what the situation does to the mental state of the men rather than the things going bump in the night.
Ancient Sorceries was not quite as good, but definitely a 4 star. When a young man gets off a train in a small village and goes to the only hotel in the town he starts to notice strange things. And feels as though he is being watched or monitored constantly. Will he leave, will he be allowed to leave? It gets more difficult to guess the longer he stays there, especially with the pull of the attractive and enigmatic daughter of the hotel owner.
The Wendigo is another solid 4 star novella - more in the same vein as The Willows but this time set in the wilds of Canada with a hunting party looking for moose. Whilst there one of their guides disappears, and then later reappears but in a much altered state after having run through the tree tops with the Wendigo, not allowed to stop... It is much creepier than I have made it sound and again, Blackwood is the master of atmosphere.
The Man Whom the Trees Loved is probably the only one that is a let down and probably 2 stars. In this tale there is a growing unease on the part of the wife of the man, as she feels hemmed in by the nearby forest. Her husband spending more and more time out with the trees to the point where he decides he no longer wants to leave and go on their usual extended stay by the sea. The tension is less in this novella, although I have read a lot worse, it is a bit of a disappointment after the other three crackling reads.

[Alex Marsh · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would give this 4.5 stars if I could.

These four stories by Algernon Blackwood display his ability to tell a weird/scary story almost through the setting and atmosphere alone. The setting is a character itself in three of the four stories, and in the other one (The Wendigo), the setting contributes to the spook. Blackwood’s ability to bring the environment to life through words alone is incredible. Blackwood’s use of nature also connects these stories to a primal understanding that we’ve lost in the modern world that there are things out there older than us which we don’t understand. I loved all four stories; all for different reasons.

I found Ancient Sorceries to be my favorite story in a “traditional” sense (enjoyed the plot, characters, etc).

The Willows is very atmospheric, and you can feel the two character’s sense of dread very quickly into it. The fact that neither character has a name makes the reader feel as if this could happen to them.

The Wendigo was probably my least favorite, maybe because I was familiar with the folklore of the Wendigo. However, it still was a thrilling tale that I enjoyed, I just didn’t find anything spectacular.

The Man Whom the Trees Loved was by far the most different. I’m not exactly sure it was even a scary story, rather a weird story. However, the ending was definitely unsettling. I loved the use of capitalization as the story developed to contrast the different “deities” and show that the Forest and trees were actual characters. I particularly loved his contrast of the animal kingdom and the “vegetable kingdom” and easily saw his influence on HP Lovecraft with some of the ocean imagery in a dream near the end of the story.

The only reason I didn’t give it five stars is because the writing can be difficult to read at times. While I loved every story, I wasn’t necessarily excited to start reading after I had put the book down for a bit. The flowery language used to describe the settings and the use of metaphor required some mental effort at times. However, as soon as I started reading and put the effort in to understanding the prose, I thoroughly enjoyed each read.

[Undomiel Books · Rating 1 out of 5]

1.5*

Honestly, I just did not vibe with this collection at all. As someone who usually loves classic tales of the weird, these were disappointing. I think Blackwood has a great writing style, almost reminiscent of Romanticism at times, but it just didn't work for creating a weird, or scary atmosphere for me. Not once did I feel chills, or even a slight inkling of discomfort.

It sounds harsh, but I was bored throughout. I got my hopes up about 2/3 of the way through "The Wendigo" as it seemed as though stuff was about to kick off, but even then it didn't really amount to much.

Some may argue that it's because I'm from a younger generation, who are very desensitised, and reliant on very graphic horror and jumpscares, but honestly I'm a sucker for the classics, and so I don't think this was the case here. It just felt like Blackwood held so much back through fear of scaring people too much, perhaps, at a time when weird tales like this were less mainstream? Anytime the stories remotely picked up, they just diluted out again a page or so later.

Unfortunately, this just really wasn't for me, but I'm glad to see other people rating this highly and enjoying Blackwood's work; it just didn't work for me personally.

[Abe Ziesing · Rating 5 out of 5]

Consisting of four all-time great horror novellas collected in one volume, ROARINGD FROM FURTHER OUT is a timeless read, and the perfect introduction for the Algernon Blackwood novice. If you're looking for spooky, creepy, weird fiction with the timeless feel of Poe and Lovecraft, then Blackwood is your author. Despite the stories being over 100 years old, they are very easy to read even for the most jaded modern reader... so don't be put off by their age because these truly stand the test of time.

The stories are unconnected, but stand seamlessly side-by-side, both thematically and atmospherically. The darker side of Mother Nature's mysteries is prevalent throughout, with heavy anthropomorphism and zoomorphism - characters taking on plant and animal characteristics, and vice versa. Blackwood is a master at setting a mood of impending, and slowly building danger and tension. The stories all begin with the calm before the dark storm that creeps up on you, surrounds you, and then erupts with climaxes that are closely followed by clever conclusions that will leave you eager to start the next adventure. His descriptions of scenery, plants, animals, and eerie hybrids are second to none.

Overall, this is probably my favorite collection of short horror and weird tales.

[Romuald · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second Blackwood's anthology I've read, and yet again it is quite a decent one. The pace might appear way too slow for a modern reader, but if one has patience by letting oneself to slowly immerse in Blackwood world, the result is an enchanting envelopment inside a folk-horror universe of weird fiction.

My ratings for each story:

☆☆☆☆☆ (excellent):
The Willows

☆☆☆☆ (good):
The Wendigo
Ancient sorceries

☆☆☆ (ok):
The man whom the trees loved

[Rob · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's fun to look at the novel impressions of classic horror, without any context of modern ideas or genre tropes and Blackwood gets sufficiently weird. He has a deep love of the natural world that comes through in every title and excels at setting the scene and getting absorbed in the setting. The stories themselves though are almost too dated to parse and many misogynistic or outdated philosophical meanderings stick out and sour the mysteries. It's also true that little happens, and while you can feel the vibes, sometimes it's not enough

[p. · Rating 4 out of 5]

it is easy to see why algernon blackwood has been awarded a special place in british literature. his work is creepy and creative and atmospheric to a quality that few have achieved.

this collection of four novellas, as the introduction of the book itself says, is a skillful representation of several of the major themes of his work. the occult, man's relationship with (hostile) nature, the natural as a character. among them my favourite was "the willows", followed by "ancient sorceries".

[RJ Hanson · Rating 5 out of 5]

all four stories here are all timers. the willows and the wendigo truly deserve their reputation and are some of the most accomplished horror stories i have ever read. ancient sorceries got a bit silly in a very endearing way, while also managing to chill. the man whom the trees loved was a strange tale of a wife losing her husband to the forest. i loved how much the environment and landscapes played a role in each story, totally inseparable from the dread created within

[Persy · Rating 4 out of 5]

“The horror certainly remained.”

Blackwood is a true master of his craft and there isn’t a bad story in the bunch here. I’ve yet to find a horror writer that can dazzle me with his writing while simultaneously giving me the shivers the way Blackwood can.

My standouts are definitely The Willows and The Man Whom the Trees Loved. Talk about creeping, atmospheric horror. Oh, baby.

++++++++

INDIVIDUAL REVIEWS

++++++++

The Wendigo - ⭐️⭐️⭐️
“Out there, in unreclaimed wilderness, they had surely witnessed something crudely and essentially primitive.”

Overall, the atmosphere of this novella had the quintessential Blackwood creep factor that I’ve come to expect from his work, but the actual presentation of the wendigo myth left a bit to be desired.

I don’t know how much research Blackwood did into the Indigenous myth, but it didn’t feel complete in its conception. I’ve also just read a lot of great Indigenous literature recently so I’m feeling EXTRA snobby in my view of Native American horror and folk tales.

Is this my favorite Blackwood piece? No. Did I like it more as a teenager? Yes. Do I still love Blackwood to pieces? Double yes.

+++

Ancient Sorceries - ⭐️⭐️⭐️
“Have they the souls of night-things, and is the whole blessed town in the hands of the cats?”

An unsettling fantasy that hits the reader a bit hard over the head with its messaging. Overall, I enjoyed it and suspect it was a very innovative work for its time period (1910). I know other books and film have taken inspiration from this piece and we have Blackwood to thank for that.

This isn’t as elegantly written as his other works, which was a bit disappointing. We get it. The townsfolk were feline-like. Please stop using the word cat. 🐈‍⬛

+++

The Man Whom the Trees Loved - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
"But while she slept the wind continued roaring in the Forest further out. The sound came closer—sometimes very close indeed.”

This story found a way to make trees, these gargantuan immovable things, beyond eerie and creepy.

In the time period this piece was written, much was still unknown about the forest and forest life. Trees were a mystery, and there still existed a fear of the forest as a place where devils and spirits had free reign. This story contrasts the old world view of religion as the dominant spiritual view, with a more modern view coming to fruition in respecting and worshiping living things.

A rigidly Christian wife watches with mounting horror as her husband becomes more and more infatuated with the forest outside their home. She believes the trees have their own agenda to keep him for themselves and get rid of anything that may stand in their way, including herself.

"Her husband loved the trees... They had become aware of it... They would take him from her in the end..."

+++

The Willows - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
“The elements are always the true immortals.”

Blackwood is the undisputed master of crafting teeth-clenching horror through setting. The Willows is justly one of his most highly-regarded (and terrifying) works and should at once be read by any fan of creeping, atmospheric horror.

It’s no wonder H.P. Lovecraft found him to be such a huge inspiration. Blackwood is a master.

[Vasil · Rating 5 out of 5]

They don't make them like they used to... :)
A great collection of four classic weird stories, each one a five star in its own right.
If you want to experience horror, but also a sense of awe, wonder and exultation before the strange, the outer and the other, this is the book to pick up.
Publishers, take note: We need more Algernon Blackwood in print! ;)

[Bryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyed this collection. Although probably much more terrifying when first published (in part due to some of the dialogue being outdated and not very creepy) they still have an eerie almost desolate quality to them that’s hard to find in more modern tales. (One of the main reasons I prefer these older stories)

Solid 4/5

[Tom Lewis · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic collection of weird fiction. Blackwood uses extensive natural, almost Romantic, description to create a truly unsettling atmosphere throughout these stories.

Humans have never seemed so powerless against the forces of the (super)natural world. This really is a thrilling read.

[Muaz Jalil · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved Willows, Wendigo and especially Ancient Sorceries. The Man whom trees loved, 4th story in the book was 3* material. But the rest were just splendid, the atmosphere breathtaking! One of my fav Tales of the Weird series!

[Sabrina Burton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this introduction to Agernon Blackwood's writing! The writing is wonderfully evocative and I love how they all focus on ancient knowledge and nature despite being the "weird" in the stories. I really look forward to reading more by the author.

[C. Chambers · Rating 5 out of 5]

A shining example of the era. A snapshot of the creeping unknown built upon a time of distinct colonization and prosperity.

The woods are dark and vast, but in the eyes of Blackwood they are never lonely.

5/5 stars.

[Julian Alexander · Rating 4 out of 5]

Strange towns harbour stranger inhabitants, an alien world is uncovered amongst looming willow trees, a group is stalked through the Canadian wilderness by a wicked spirit, and a powerful, all-consuming natural force drives a wedge between a husband and wife.

Blackwood's work is trailblazing, engrossing, and still goose flesh-inducing over 100 years after its publication.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jollygood, might re-read soon