The Human Chord

by Algernon Blackwood

When Robert Spinrobin, drifting through life in a daydream, answers a newspaper ad asking for an imaginative tenor with a grasp of ancient languages, he soon finds himself travelling to rural Wales and the home of ex-clergyman, Philip Skale. Here Skale, the housekeeper Mrs. Mawle and her niece, Miriam, have been pursuing a new science, harnessing sound to discover the true names of people – and recording the uncanny phenomena and transformations that this naming ritual brings in the subject.

With possibilities of mind-melding and sublime spiritual awakenings already documented, it is not long before Skale pivots towards a grander master plan to intone a forbidden name beyond the preserve of humanity – while a gathering storm of disastrous cosmic consequences threatens to break...

Genres: Horror, Fiction, Classics, Fantasy, Weird Fiction, Literature, Science Fiction Fantasy

212 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1910

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

[mark monday · Rating 3 out of 5]

HUMAN CHORD ACTIVATE!
A Review Fantasia plus Spoilers in 3 Acts and a Prelude

♫

PRELUDE

SCENE:
A young man - ROBERT SPINROBIN - sensitive and effeminate in appearance, sits in a threadbare apartment in turn-of-the-century London, with a newspaper in his lap.

SPINROBIN (to the audience): "Alas! Where is adventure? Where is the expansion of my mind? I - who possess the mystical vision of a poet - cannot be content with lowly drudge-work in an office! Oh how I long for my imaginary childhood companion - little Winky! - to take me on some soul-expanding journey! Oh, Winky! I miss our adventures!

But what is this!" (He looks down towards his paper)

SPINROBIN (reading from the newspaper): "'Wanted, by Retired Clergyman, Secretarial Assistant with courage and imagination. Tenor voice and some knowledge of Hebrew essential; single; unworldly. Apply Philip Skale.'"

SPINROBIN (to the audience): "I have found my grand adventure!"

♫

ACT I

SCENE:
An empty rail station with a lonely but inspiring natural landscape looming in the background. Spinrobin stands waiting with his bags. A tall, imposing, heavily bearded man clad in knickerbockers - REVEREND SKALE - approaches.

SPINROBIN (to the audience): "Could this fearsome being be the Reverend Skale? My adventure approaches!"

SPINROBIN (to the approaching man): "Dear sir, I am at your service! Pray tell me what is required! My tenor is strong! My knowledge of Hebrew is improving! I have no woman! I am singularly unworldly! Tell me, Reverend Sir, are you leading me to some great adventure of the mind - indeed, of the very soul?"

SKALE: "Ahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahah! Sure!"

♫

ACT II

SCENE:
A dinner table inside of a gloomy mansion, lit by candlelight. The sound of moaning wind. At the head of the table sits Reverend Skale; on one side of him sits a nervous-looking Spinrobin and on the other side sits a young lady MIRIAM, who is staring at Spinrobin with a cow-like expression of - presumably - devotion and love. Standing behind Skale is an old woman and servant, MRS MAWLE, whose withered left arm is in a sling and who is holding an ear horn to her right ear.

SPINROBIN: "Dear Sir! Please tell me of the adventure that awaits us all! I understand it involves singing and the coming together of voices, the forming of some sort of "Human Chord"... but for what purpose? Pray tell!"

SKALE: "Night time sharpens, heightens each sensation
Darkness stirs and wakes imagination
Silently the senses abandon their defenses

Slowly, gently night unfurls its splendor
Grasp it, sense it, tremulous and tender
Turn your face away from the garish light of day
Turn your thoughts away from cold unfeeling light
And listen to the music of the night!"

The stage is suddenly darkened.

SKALE (in baritone, slowly increasing in volume: "Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa...
POWER OF HUMAN CHORD! ACTIVATE!"

There is a flash and then a spotlight focuses on the table and there appears a little dancing mannequin of Reverend Skale.

MANNIQUIN SKALE (in tiny, childlike voice): "See what I do! I become small! He-hehehehe!"

The spotlight goes off and footlights illuminate a huge puppet version of Skale looming in the background, face contorted in maniacal laughter.

GIANT PUPPET SKALE (in huge, booming voice): "See what I do! I become large! Ho-hohohoho!"

Light returns to the stage; the mannikin and the puppet have disappeared. Skale is smiling widely like a madman. So is Mrs. Mawle. Miriam is still mooning at Spinrobin, whose mouth is hanging open in surprise and fear.

MIRIAM (to Spinrobin): "Oh Spinrobin! You are so tender, so wise, so very sensitive! I am yours! You are my Master!"

SPINROBIN (nervously, to Skale): "Bu-bu-bu-but what is thi-thi-this? The human voice is capable of such unnatural wonders by simply uttering the right notes? By naming the unnameable? I have always imagined this to be so, even as a child when playing with my beloved imaginary companion, Winky! But what will our human chord provoke? And what shall happen if a human chord is sung... incorrectly? (He looks significantly at Mrs. Mawle's ear horn and withered arm). What is your ultimate goal, Reverend Sir? Into what shall we be transformed?"

SKALE: "We shall become GOD, you dullard!
AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHA! HAHAHA! HA-HA! HA!"

SPINROBIN: "Huh."

♫

ACT III

SCENE:
A forest. Spinrobin and Miriam lie huddled behind some bushes, gazing at the back of the stage. There in the background is a huge mansion engulfed in flames (painted backdrop) and the sounds of a woman's alto and man's baritone can be heard singing fervently. The singing voices suddenly turn into agonized shrieks before being drowned in the sounds of crackling flames and a mansion collapsing.

SPINROBIN: "So that didn't go as expected."

MIRIAM: "You carried me away! Oh brave Spinrobin, my beloved, my Master! We shall live happily ever after! (She laughs hysterically, then covers his face with kisses.) There are many things I can do for you that we couldn't do in Heaven! Oh my sweet darling... let me meet Mr. Winky!"

SPINROBIN: "Well I guess I really didn't want to become God anyway. Heaven can wait."

(Sound of flames crackling increase.)

♫

[END]

[Sandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

In his masterful collection of 1912 entitled "Pan's Garden," British author Algernon Blackwood clearly displayed his belief in the sentience and awareness of such facets of Nature as trees, snow, gardens, the wind, subterranean fires, the seas and the deserts, and of their transformative powers for those with the ability to discern them. One facet of Nature not dealt with in "Pan's Garden," however, was sound itself, and now that I have finally experienced Blackwood's novel of two years earlier, "The Human Chord," I believe I know why. The subject of sound, you see, and of its ability to transfigure and create, lies at the very heart of this novel, and is dealt with in a very in-depth manner. A fairly stunning amalgam of sci-fi, fantasy and horror, "The Human Chord" ultimately reveals itself to be a completely sui generis novel, and indeed, I don't believe that I've ever read another book quite like it.

The novel was Blackwood's third, and was originally released in 1910 by the London-based publisher Macmillan & Co., which firm would come out with several hardcover reprints; mine is the one from 1928. As far as I can tell, the book would then go OOPs (out of prints) till 2001, and since then has been reissued by no fewer than five publishers: House of Stratus, Wildside Press, CreateSpace, Stark House Press, and Pinnacle Press. So happily, laying your hands on a copy of this book should not pose too much difficulty for you. Blackwood was already 41 at the time of this novel's release, and had already come out, since 1906, with three story collections (out of an eventual 12), as well as the novels "Jimbo: A Fantasy" (1909) and "The Education of Uncle Paul" (also 1909). The author, clearly on a creative roll at this point in his prolific career, would, also in 1910, release the collection "The Lost Valley and Other Stories," and by 1934 come out with 11 more novels. "The Human Chord" deservedly received glowing reviews from the critics of the day, with "The Guardian" saying, "In his present novel Mr. Blackwood reaches a height not previously attained; he touches on deeper problems, and is perhaps more arresting than he has ever been." Blackwood's book is at once mystical, exciting, romantic and frightening, and can be seen as a precursor to the type of cosmic horror tale that H. P. Lovecraft (an admitted fan of Blackwood) specialized in. Personally, I could not read this book quickly enough.

"The Human Chord" introduces us to a young Londoner with the curious name of Robert Spinrobin, who, as a youth, had been a dreamy child wont to live in fantasy worlds of his own devising. Now an unattached soul at the age of 28, and having wandered from one meaningless and unfulfilling job to the next, Spinrobin decides to answer an ad in the newspaper from an ex-clergyman named Philip Skale. Skale, it seems, is looking for an assistant with a tenor voice, who must be knowledgeable of the Hebrew language, as well as single, courageous and imaginative. After some correspondence with the clergyman, "Spinny" travels to his lonely abode in the hills of Wales and finally meets his employer in person. To his surprise, Skale is not as he had envisioned, but is rather a big, bearded and booming individual, with a powerfully magnetic personality. The timid Spinny also meets the two other members of the household: elderly Mrs. Mawle, the deaf housekeeper with a withered arm, and her niece, Miriam, with whom Spinny falls pretty instantly in love. During his monthlong period of probation in the Skale residence, Spinny is put to several tests by the clergyman, and slowly learns what his employer has in mind for him. And Skale's programme is a rather audacious one, that almost beggars my poor powers of description. But let's give it a try.

The good clergyman, it seems, after several decades of study and preparation, has discovered that the intoning of a person's true name (as opposed to his/her assigned name at birth) can cause that person to have a spiritual awakening of sorts. Skale has also learned that all objects have a true name, and that it is possible to actually transform them materially by chanting their names and interpolating those sounds into their molecules. Moreover, he has learned that to chant someone's true name is to become as one with that person; to meld with that person, in a way. Thus, his current master project: Skale now hopes to commune with one of the universe's master powers (I really shouldn't mention which one here, but given Skale's former calling, you can probably guess) by intoning His true name. He has somehow, in the course of his investigations, discovered the first syllable of that name, which he hopes his quartet--he being the bass, Spinny the tenor, Mrs. Mawle the alto, and Miriam the soprano--will be able to summon and become as one with. In various wax-walled chambers in his abode, he has actually trapped the various sound segments of that syllable for study, and has now determined that Spinny must undergo some rigorous training in preparation for the main event. A miscalling of the Name fragment, you see, could have dire consequences, invoking unimaginable destruction on a universal scale. And, as the big day approaches, Spinny and Miriam, both of them in full harmonious love with the other, are faced with a terrible decision: Do they participate in Skale's adventure, and possibly evolve into a new kind of celestial being, or should they be content with their love here on this old mundane Earth?

"The Human Chord," in several ways, brings to mind Blackwood's remarkable novella "Sand," which would appear two years later in that "Pan's Garden" collection (a collection foreshadowed by the author telling us, of Spinny, "Out of doors the flutes of Pan cried to him to dance...."). In "Sand," Felix Henriot is reluctantly drawn into the schemes of an aunt-and-nephew team who are trying to conjure up the ka spirit of ancient Egypt. Henriot, though hugely curious to see the end results of the experiment, is yet ambivalent due to natural concerns for his very life. And in the 1910 novel, we find young Spinrobin facing a similar dilemma, although in his case, it is not so much his neck that he is worried about, but rather, the prospect of losing his lady love. In "Sand," Blackwood makes repeated use of the desert sands as both symbol and metaphor, whereas in "The Human Chord," he uses sound and music in much the same way. Spinny, thus, when describing his first sight of Miriam, says he "vibrated like music, like a string; as though when I passed her she had taken a bow and drawn it across the strings of my inmost being to make them sing." Miriam's name (not her real name, mind you, but "Miriam" itself) "continued on in his thoughts like a melody." Blackwood tells us that Spinny and Miriam's "two natures ran out to meet each other as naturally as two notes of music run to take their places in a chord," and that Spinny "thought of her as the melody to which he was the accompaniment." It should not come as a surprise to anyone, actually, that this is a beautifully written book, with any number of quotable lines that I was tempted to highlight (not that I'd ever dream of doing so, especially to a 1928 hardcover!), such as this one: "And life itself is not unlike some mighty telegram that seeks vainly to express, between the extremes of silence and excess, all that the soul would say...."

Blackwood, it will be remembered, had been brought up in a strictly religious home and later strayed from that upbringing by studying Buddhism and by joining several occult societies. "The Human Chord" demonstrates that its author was not only very well versed in his Bible--both Old and New Testaments--but in mysticism, the Kabbalah and other esoteric lore. Not only does he break the Second Commandment by taking God's name in vain, but by using that infraction as the basic hinge in his story line. His main characters--actually, pretty much the only characters in this book, other than Spinny's sister, who disappears after page 3--make for a fascinating quartet, particularly Skale, who may or may not be a blasphemous seeker after forbidden knowledge, as he attempts to scale the heights via his musical scales. Spinny and Miriam make for a cute and impossibly sweet couple, while the revelation of the cause of Mrs. Mawle's afflictions is surely one that will startle the reader. Blackwood peppers his novel with any number of remarkable scenes (not for nothing does Spinny, when thinking early on of the household in which he finds himself, conclude "It was astonishing. It was delightful. It was incredible!"), most notably a demonstration during which Sarah Mawle's real name is intoned, causing the old woman to change in form as her soul/essence is brought to the surface; the scene in which Spinrobin hears his own actual name intoned and has a transformative, spiritual experience; and the final, jaw-dropping sequence, as Skale conducts his audacious experiment. But perhaps best of all, and fully justifying Blackwood's being called the greatest British writer of supernatural fiction of the 20th century, is the two-part scene in which Spinny awakens in his bed at night, and notices several objects in his room stretching and morphing as he gazes upon them. Immediately after, a cat-sized something begins scurrying around his room and on top of his blankets, beneath which Spinny lies quaking in fright. It is a marvelous, bravura segment, brilliantly brought off by the author in a hugely atmospheric and outré manner. And things grow even wilder, if possible, in poor Spinny's bedroom after that, vindicating his earlier feeling that "it all seemed so romantic, mystical and absurd...."

Literate, spellbinding and more than a little mind-blowing, "The Human Chord" finds Blackwood in peak form, indeed. As the author himself writes at one point, "it strain[s] the possibilities of belief and the resources of the imagination," and yes, much of what Blackwood asks us to accept as possible here does seem rather far-fetched at first blush. But such is the author's descriptive skill, not to mention his clearly laid-out explanations, that even his most outrageous conceits come across with a patina of believability. To be succinct, this really is some very impressive work. As "The Daily Telegraph" said at the time, "The author has had, one may say, a stupendous idea, and he has carried it out with all the zeal and all the talent which is in him...." This reader could not agree more.

(By the way, this review originally appeared on the FanLit website at http://www.fantasyliterature.com/ ... a most ideal destination for all fans of Algernon Blackwood....)

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

More tales of the weird. A 1910 novella by Blackwood and the first of his novels I have read (I’ve read a few of his short stories). It’s helpful to consider what Blackwood meant to explore with his writing:
“My fundamental interest, I suppose, is signs and proofs of other powers that lie hidden in us all; the extension, in other words, of human faculty. So many of my stories, therefore, deal with extension of consciousness; speculative and imaginative treatment of possibilities outside our normal range of consciousness.... Also, all that happens in our universe is natural; under Law; but an extension of our so limited normal consciousness can reveal new, extra-ordinary powers etc., and the word "supernatural" seems the best word for treating these in fiction. I believe it possible for our consciousness to change and grow, and that with this change we may become aware of a new universe. A "change" in consciousness, in its type, I mean, is something more than a mere extension of what we already possess and know.”
That sets the background for this tale. It concerns Robert Spinrobin who is looking for some purpose (he is in his 20s) and he comes across and advert:
“WANTED, by Retired Clergyman, Secretarial Assistant with courage and imagination. Tenor voice and some knowledge of Hebrew essential; single; unworldly. Apply Philip Skale.”
The setting is a remote house in Wales. Skale is looking for 4 voices. He is bass, Spinrobin is tenor. His housekeeper Mrs Mawle is alto is alto and her niece Miriam is soprano (and also, predictably, the love interest). There are no other characters of any note. Skale has some rather esoteric ideas about sound and its nature and believes that certain combinations of sound can alter reality and reveal the true names of things. Skale has some big experiment in mind which might be potentially rather dangerous. It all seems a little far-fetched. This is a one idea novel based on the idea that the speaking of a name is in some way powerful:
“Sound,” he went on, the whole force of his great personality in the phrase, “was the primordial, creative energy. A sound can call a form into existence. Forms are the Sound-Figures of archetypal forces—the Word made Flesh.”
These ideas were promoted by Theosophy and Blackwood was a member of the Theosophical society, hence the interest.
The ending is a little predictable. It’s certainly rather odd and plays with concepts of knowing. Some of it is interesting, but there was a bit too much “Mills and Boon” romance stuff for me.

[Kathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I started this book, I couldn't help but think of The Island of Dr. Moreau. There are initial similarities, such as the seclusion and the main character's lack of understanding of everything around him. The obsession evident and necessary for the story to progress. This book ends up taking a different turn than Moreau, onto a metaphysical and religious road that had it been explained to me before reading, would have dashed any interest I had.

I should start by explaining that I am tone deaf. This does not mean that I do not appreciate music. On the contrary, if I am not reading, then I have music playing somewhere. I am simply unable to tell the difference between notes and chords, if I am even using those terms correctly. See, that is a perfect example of why I am too deficient in the basics of music to fully appreciate this story. But the music, though vital to the book as the essence of the story, is but a tool of a power-hungry man, which leads to a final decision, which is the point of the story.

I continue to flucuate between a 3 and 5 star rating, odd in my opinion. The idea was original and unlike anything I have ever read. The story was told in Blackwood's wonderfully dreadful voice. I believe certain passages were slightly redundant and wordy and the characters of typical stock material. I was not fond of the romance. I kind of found it to be creepy. The ending was far from shocking. But with a book like this, it is the journey to the ending and not any type of final reveal which is important and most enjoyable. I expected the ending as it was. If it had turned out the opposite, I think I would have loved the book even more. Picking apart that type of tragic ending would have been loads more fun.

In the end, this is a beautiful story which I highly recommend. I consider this to be a quotable book, with many pause-worthy passages and memorable descriptions.

Along those lines, compare these quotes. I love the mutual beliefs.

Frank Herbert, "Think you of the fact that a deaf person cannnot hear. Then, what deafness may we not all possess? What senses do we lack that we cannot see and cannot hear another world all around us?"

Blackwood in this book, "Knowing how limited is the world which the senses report, he saw nothing too inconceivable in the idea that certain persons might possess a peculiar inner structure of the spirit by which supersensuous things can be perceived."

[Marvin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Back when I was a music major in college, I took a class in chamber music. We formed a woodwind quartet and our professor was a stickler for tone. We would practice one note for an hour and a half every week, tuning and playing, tuning and playing. We were about to mutiny when all of a sudden as we played that one C note, another tone in perfect harmony (the third interval E for you musicians) resounded in our ears as clear at if it was being played externally. We knew we all heard it from the shocked looks on our faces. The professor jubilantly exclaims "Now that's what I was listening for!". We continued to play that one note for the rest of the session marveling in the harmonic sound. The realization that our ears could generate perfect harmony from the playing of one perfect pitch was like a spiritual revelation...one of those mysterious yet enlightening experiences we rarely get.

So you must forgive me if I do not find Algernon Blackwood's assertion that sound is the key to the mysteries of the universe in The Human Chord all that far fetched. Chanting certainly has been used throughout history to find enlightenment and to become one with nature. Also, that one's true name is all-powering or that the true name of the gods hold vast powers if you know it and can harness it is another hypothesis resonating since ancient times. Blackwood uses these ideas in this enchantingly dark novel that pits the main protagonist in the choice between being like the gods or fulfilling more humble joys in the world as he knows it. Of the early 20th century writers of horror fantasy, I find Blackwood to be the most original because his horror is based on the secrets of the universe being awe inspiring and world-changing rather than the "Unspeakable horrors" of Lovecraft's ancient ones or Machen's ideas of nature as evil and decadent. Blackwood's own fascination with the occult plays heavily here but so does his love of nature and his interest in Zen and Cabalist thought. This is the first novel I've read of Blackwood's but I have read many of his short stories. As always, Blackwood relies on atmosphere rather than pure scare to disorient the reader's perceptions. The author's characterizations are also central to his tale. The three main characters embody different parts of our humanity. Spinrobin is the everyman who is dissatisfied with his reality but doesn't know why, Miriam is the embodiment of innocence, and the Rev. Skale (Scales?? I'm sure the pun is intentional) is a version of Captain Ahab, an obsessive seeker of a goal that can easily destroy him as well as make him equal to the gods. The Human Chord can work on many levels beside just being a good fantasy tale which is the very definitive of a classic in horror or fantasy.

[KDS · Rating 5 out of 5]

This has become one of my favourite reissues in the Tales of the Weird series. A gripping, powerful and chilling novel of a group attempting to tap into the Word of God.

What impresses me most about Blackwood's writing is always how he marries an original, imaginative idea with slow build crescendo that is almost perfect in its craftmanship. The basic premise involves four people coming together under the leadership of the dominant personality of Reverend Slake who has discovered a way to divinely control all things by uttering their "true name". By bringing together four people who tune together as a "chord", they dare to capture even a part of the greatest of all powers. It's a big, bold idea and is told secondhand from the point of view of susceptible adventurer Robert Spinrobin, focusing strongly on the spectrum of emotions that he is put through.

In Blackwood's (shamefully) lesser known work here, it becomes largely clear early on the scope of where the book is leading such a group of disparate individuals to - even if it isn't apparent to themselves. That sort of character ignorance and idiocy is normally a bugbear of mine, but here the unreliable narrator plays its card well as the focus keeps on how Robert Spinrobin tries to describe aural concepts beyond our comprehension, whilst trying to balance his own conflicting emotions of increasing terror and divine aura of his companions - particularly towards his mentor Slake who he is both in awe of and yet afraid of due to increasingly manic, otherworldy behaviour.

As you'd expect with something dealing with both biblical mythology and pseudo-science, the imageries and explanations of how this system of divine magic works is steeped in dreamlike sentences which rely on plentiful supplies of metaphor and simile, but it helps offset the otherwise basic presentation of the ideas to produce something that is both legible and incomprehensible at the same time. It's what makes Blackwood such a great compositor of the weird that he can harmonise in this way and pull it off. It's not flawless, but his rich personal knowledge of the various subjects it explores provides credibility even when stretched to these levels.

With a pacing that is deliberate and builds slowly to its frightening crescendo, it wont chime with everyone who wants action or a slideshow of big events happening all around. I certainly think it suits this story much better in this way as I increasingly felt unable to turn away as each stage unfolded in teasing fashion. But readers of more modern styles may feel unsatisfied for much of the story.

For me though, this is a stunning ‘weird’ novel of the grandest scope that I didn't know previously existed, but has cemented a place firmly amongst my favourites in the genre.

[Irv · Rating 1 out of 5]

Thought it would be creepy/scary but it ended up just being weird. I guess there are some interesting mystical/existential ideas in there.

[K.S. Trenten · Rating 4 out of 5]

Algernon Blackwood’s work is a treasure I’ve been able to hoard since getting a Kindle. (Cost and shelf space preventing me from indulging previously. If I’d known how much I’d fall in love with his stories, I’d have tried to make room for both. Happily, having a Kindle means I don’t have to.)

The Human Chord, like so many of Blackwood’s tales feels like it was written just for me. It feels like it was crafted to enthrall me a reader and inspire me as a writer. This story is about sound, the pursuit of a combination of magic, enlightenment, and the divine through words, voices, and chords.

Spinrobin, the awkward, shy main character is especially sensitive to sound. This makes him alone and eccentric until he meets a man, who values Spinrobin’s sensitivity and his particular voice. This man, Skale finds a special purpose for Spinrobin’s chord. Seeking to complete his special quarter, Skale offers Spinrobin a place in his home among those he’s gathered together. In his home, Spinrobin meets Miriam, a maiden whose unique voice perfectly complements his own.

Growing closer to Miriam, Spinrobin finds himself torn between his growing harmony with her and being caught up in Skale’s grand vision.

This is a fascinating expression of music, magic, and voices through prose, the notion of touching the divine through sound. It’s also an intriguing rivalry over one young man’s soul, between the girl he brings joy to and the man he brings potential to. He’s their hope, both Miriam’s and Skale’s, yet their hopes end up heading in different direction, nearly tearing the young man in two when they do.

The story moved slowly, but it was a compelling slowness. It drew me as a reader into the depths of Spinrobin’s dilemma. The deeper he went, the more I was drawn in.

If you like reading about a unique sense of magic, a wonder experienced through sound, you might enjoy this one. If you enjoy reading about quests to reach the divine with a tragic twist, which promise happiness to those who enjoy the simpler things they have, give this story a second glance.

If you enjoy emotional love traingles which play out in unique, yet oddly classic ways, pick this book up. Take a closer look at it. Decide if its words draw you into its steady wonder the way it drew me.

[Patrick · Rating 2 out of 5]

What a strange book this is, and one I find myself reluctant to recommend unless you have (like me) an interest in this particular current of weird fiction. Algernon Blackwood became famous for his ghost stories in the late Victorian tradition, but this is something slightly different: it’s a novel concerning one Spinrobin, a young man who is drawn to a remote house in the Welsh hills to work with the Reverend Philip Skale, his housekeeper and a young woman called Miriam. Skale is working on a series of mysterious occult experiments in sound. Basically, he is convinced that every aspect of the physical world is a manifestation of sound waves at frequencies too distant for the human ears to sense, and he believes that if only he can find the right chord and the right words (in ancient Hebrew, no less) then he might be able to speak the ‘true names’ of any being, up to and including God himself.

The really peculiar thing about all this is that the book is written in such a way as you feel the author actually believed in what Skale was talking about. The fact that Blackwood himself was a member of the occult Order of the Golden Dawn may have had some influence here because what Skale preaches is essentially mysticism with a gloss of pseudoscience. Whereas a really well-written novel might immerse its own ideas in a destructive element (to paraphrase Conrad) to see how they stand up to scrutiny, the effect here is reminiscent of reading the output of someone who is directly convince the reader into believing something really odd and basically untrue. And I really don’t think that good novels should do that.

It’s not totally without merit – there are a couple of sequences which possess the gleeful spookiness of Blackwood’s best stories – but all things considered, the bombastic style and somewhat monotonous approach to its subject matter rather undermine the authority of what ought to be a much more involving novel.

[Dolf Wagenaar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Inmiddels heb ik aardig wat verhalen en boeken van Algernon Blackwood gelezen. Mijn reviews teruglezend is wel duidelijk dat deze verhalen duidelijke Blackwoodiaanse kenmerken hebben, al verschillen de bundels en novellen/romans onderling wel wat.
Om maar met een negatief kenmerk te beginnen: veel van zijn verhalen zijn behoorlijk langdradig. Er wordt door personages (of de verteller) veel getheoretiseerd en ervaren, maar uiteindelijk blijft vaag waar het nu om gaat. Ook in The Human Chord is dat het geval. Dit is echter een direct gevolg van het hoofdthema bij Blackwood dat het ‘onuitlegbare’ omhelst.

Zoals ik al eerder heb geschreven, was Blackwood een voorbeeld voor Lovecraft (volgens Lovecraft zelf). Ook in The Human Chord lijkt op het eerste gezicht de overeenkomst duidelijk, in bijvoorbeeld de volgende citaten:

‘It was unspeakably terrible.’

‘And the FORM, meanwhile, limned in the wonder of an undecipherable or at least untranslatable geometry, silently roaring, enthroned in the undiscoverable colors beyond the spectrum, swept towards them as he spoke.’

‘The language does not exist in which adventures so remote from normal experience can be clothed without straining the mind tot he verge of the unintelligible.’

Echter, alleen in Blackwoods debuut The Empty House and Other Stories zijn de angsten meer verbonden met xenofobie en directe angst of waanzin, zoals bij Lovecraft. Het ‘onuitsprekelijke’ bij Lovecraft heeft uiteindelijk een andere lading en uitwerking dan bij Blackwood, zoals ik bijvoorbeeld in mijn review over The Listener and Other Stories heb besproken. Bij Lovecraft gaat het om het letterlijk aanschouwen van tastbaarheden ‘die niet mogen zijn’, met een horroreffect als gevolg. Bij Blackwood gaat het om entiteiten die eigenlijk buiten het waarnemingsvermogen van de mens liggen, maar gevoelsmatig toch kunnen worden ervaren in een soort toestand van delirium; het gaat meer om ‘awe’ oftewel het ‘sublieme’.
Lovecraft laat zijn personages dingen zien die zij niet willen zien. Bij Blackwood is het in feite andersom: de personages hebben een existentialistische drang om het sublieme te zien, maar kunnen dat uiteindelijk meestal niet. Deze existentiële zoektocht heb ik al eerder besproken in mijn review over Incredible Adventures.
In bijvoorbeeld The Willows en de bundel The Lost Valley and Other Stories is dit sublieme duidelijk verbonden met de natuur. Maar in andere verhalen, waaronder zeker ook The Human Chord, worden deze krachten abstracter, meer ‘natuurkundig’. In The Human Chord zit het sublieme verstopt in geluidstrillingen die uiteindelijk een ontologische en scheppende kracht hebben, zoals het Woord van God.

Opvallend aan The Human Chord is dat er op het eerste gezicht een Macheniaans sausje overheen zit: het sublieme lijkt te liggen in het Christendom (en ook wel andere monotheïstische religies). De ‘magiër’ in dit verhaal gebruikt in elk geval christelijke termen en rituelen. Het moet echter de culturele invulling van deze ‘magiër’ zijn, Blackwoods eigen opvattingen kennend.
Al is er sprake van ‘awe’ en een soort natuurkrachten, toch is er zeker ook sprake van een gevaar voor de mens, of de ziel van de mens. De krachten hebben iets goddelijks, in die zin dat ze verboden terrein zijn voor de mens: mensen zoals de magiër in dit verhaal zetten hun ziel of zelfs leven(s) op het spel doordat de krachten te complex en groots voor hen zijn. Dit blijkt ook uit de vele slachtoffers in Blackwoods occulte detectivereeks John Silence. De intuïtie dat dat zo is, veroorzaakt daarom wel degelijk een grote angst bij het aanschouwen van een deel van dit sublieme:

‘… that this overwhelming and hierophantic man was actually in touch with cisterns of force so terrific as to be dangerous to what he had hitherto understood to be – life.’

‘But, with the noise, a terror that was no ordinary terror invaded the recesses of his soul. It was the fear of the Unknown, dreadfully multiplied.’

Maar het is een andere angst dan bij Lovecraft, een angst die voortkomt uit het sublieme en gepaard gaat met hypnotiserend gevoel van zuiverheid, een ervaring die de personages zelf opzoeken (en niet (direct) ontvluchten, zoals bij Lovecraft). Het lot van de magiër in The Human Chord die probeert de graal van het sublieme te beheersen en zo als een soort engel te leven in een astrale werkelijkheid, wordt eigenlijk nog het beste beschreven in het volgende citaat uit een ander verhaal van Blackwood, A Descent into Egypt:

‘The soul, indeed, could ‘choose its dwelling place; but to live elsewhere completely was the choice of madness, and to live divorced from all the sweet wholesome business of To-day involved an exile that was worse than madness. It was death.’

[Ella ☄️]

Interesting idea, "sound" as horror

[p. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read for completionist purposes, etc. etc. I liked the concept though, I thought it was a great twist on two familiar ideas of the supernatural / sci-fi.

[Nancy Butts · Rating 2 out of 5]

The opening lines of this story have the narrator speaking the theme that Blackwood works almost obsessively in every thing I’ve read by him: namely, that thought and imagination bring things into existence. It may not be a purely physical reality, but the fears and horrors of the mind can nonetheless come to life in a way that can have a devastating effect on the person thinking them.

This book dragged in the middle, and the ending was predictable, although the beginning kept my interest. This is a story that seemed almost Kabbalistic to me. The young narrator, Spinrobin, accepts a position in the remote Welsh mountains with a retired minister who looks like an Old Testament prophet and has a complex, perhaps insane, perhaps blasphemous belief in the interdependence of sound, vibration, color, and language. The Rev. Phillip Skale wants to have four people sound a chord which can intone the Tetragrammeton, the name of God, and hence usher primal powers into the world. "We shall be as gods," he keeps saying. Spinrobin is alternately entranced and repulsed, falling in love with Skale's impossibly perfect young ward, Miriam.

There is a faint whiff of Lovecraft in this book, too, with references to impossible geometries and spaces.

[J · Rating 2 out of 5]

The slow pacing didn't bother me too much, that's standard in most writings of this time period. I wasn't a big fan of the ways Blackwood puts himself into his work, his ideas about imagination and belief creating a "truer" reality keep coming up. When he threw in a line about that, it didn't even make sense in the story, it was like he just had to crowbar it in somewhere.

When it comes to horror, he's a master. Some parts of the book had great creepy buildups before fizzling out.

There was also a bit of my least favorite part of Lovecraft (which I was disappointed to find in Blackwood's writing because I thought he was better than that) where he describes something as "indescribable" and leaves it at that. The writer's job is to describe.

The reason I have it two stars instead of three (though some of the horror elements were really good) was because this story is, as a whole, a sappy love story of the worst type. Perhaps the worst thing to read is a story about a young couple in love. I was waiting for a tragedy that never came, it just got shmoopier.

[Karen H · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this one because it was also referenced in a Phil Rickman, Merrily Watkins book too--- I like the name Algernon Blackwood, I mean what a great name for someone who writes supernatural stories. The Human Chord was a strange little novel with an interesting premise. You can control anything by knowing it's proper name. Can't wait to read the Wendigo....

[Erik · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really liked the concept explored in this book. Unfortunately, not a lot happened overall and the description of the protagonist's feelings and experiences became redundant. The ending was only unpredictable in the sense that I thought "Nah...that would be too predictable and disappointing."

[apple · Rating 4 out of 5]

Note to self: Do not despair. There's life after Lovecraft. I was a bit disappointed the ending wasn't so scary like the Wendigo.

[Steven · Rating 3 out of 5]

Horror story about an elemental sound machine.

[rowan]

Why I read it: Ancient Sorceries was among the first books I reviewed on this account (peep the lack of detail haha). I remembered liking it, so when I saw a Blackwood in the British Library Tales of the Weird collection, of course I got it. It also seemed like a short one, so that was promising.

Thoughts: It is a short one, but it still took me nearly two weeks to get through it. What it lacks in page count, it makes up for in density of words and opaqueness of trains of thoughts, so it was...a lot to chew on. In many ways, I felt it could have been even shorter than it actually was. The protagonist, Spinrobin, felt impossibly dim. How many times does your mentor have to say "We're going to practice our Hebrew and our singing and our naming and when we hit the right chord, we shall become gods" before you catch on that the singular name you're looking to find and master and depose is the name of literally, actually, for realsies God?

Or maybe this one's on me. I've read a considerable amount of horror and suspense novels, and this is exactly the sort of thing I expected; maybe a less aware reader would be caught by surprise? But I honestly can't believe that. Rev. Skale is ominous from the get-go, and his hints and teachings and demonstrations are very...demonstrative and convincing. It's hard to believe Spinrobin just doesn't catch on. It made me think of the saying that goes something like "Keep an open mind, but not so open that your brain falls out." Spinrobin, in his enthusiasm to be part of the Reverend's experiment/music (and blinded by his instant love for Miriam), keeps an open mind, but at the cost of being surprised by something that should not have come as a surprise.

As you can tell, this is the greatest sticking point for me. I wish I could easily find something about how the novel was received and reviewed at the time. Just because it wasn't suspenseful or scary to me doesn't mean its initial audience didn't get a thrill out of it!

The rest of my reading experience, other than the having to deal with the slightly stuffy language/thought barrier I mentioned at the start, was enjoyable. As someone interested in language and words and names, I liked the "magic" system and wish it would have been developed further. I think the potential was there for that! The introduction by Mike Ashley covers Blackwood's background, his own beliefs about the powers of words and names, and his appartenance to the Theosophical Society and the Golden Dawn. It's clear to see the influence his beliefs and these societies had on Blackwood's writing -- The Human Chord is in alignment with their teachings, and the introduction also mentions several men who might have served as direct inspiration for Reverend Skale's character. I think Mike Ashley has also done a biography (or a bio-bilbiography) of Algernon Blackwood and I might try to get a copy of that as well, because I would definitely like to know more about him.

Here is another review of this novel that I agree with, and here is a humorous take on the story.

Would I read more from this author: Sure. I hope a future Blackwood experience will give me the chills I yearn for.

Would I recommend it: Hesitantly. To round out horror/weird fiction knowledge, for sure. Not to people who get bored quickly, though, because this moves along at a glacial pace (again, surprising! it's not that long but it's so slow!).

Would I reread it: Probably not. But at least it didn't make me so mad that I'm casting it upon the DONATE pile of books that lives in our garage.

[Ash D · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great premise, less so on the execution.

I'm not quite sure what genre to classify this as. Most of the time, I'm used to these types of stories falling under 'horror' but I don't think that label is quite right here. There is a sense that something will go wrong but we take a very long time to get there and even when we do, it is very short-lived. Spooky sections through the book were offset by a combination of an almost blind, manic, optimism from our protagonist Robert Spinrobin towards Skale and an equally blind, hopeless love from Spinrobin for Miriam. None of these characters were ever quite convincing for me. The effects of Skale's presence and charisma were mentioned many times but it was never clear what actions of his led to this and garnered any devotion. And on devotion, the romance between Spinrobin and Miriam was even harder to believe. All Spinrobin seems to have needed are doey, dark-grey eyes and a slight frame, and all Miriam seems to have needed is attention.
Characters aside, some of the writing was a little difficult to parse or pay attention to, though I think this in an artefact of the time this was written. We have strange Emphasis on objects of Importance through the book yet there was little follow up on Them. And the proper nouns we see rapidly switch, even though each has a different connotation, e.g. moving swiftly between Spinrobin, Spinny, the secretary.

With that aside however, I think there are interesting ideas being explored in this book, around sound and 'true names'. This version also came with a great introduction by Mike Ashley (barring some spoilers), that helped contextualise the story which I think is necessary to fully appreciate the tale.

If you're diving deep into weird fiction and want to read a classic, I think The Human Chord might be for you. But if you're happy to explore weird fiction more broadly, there are probably better options out there.

[SFD2343 · Rating 1 out of 5]

Having been a long time reader of the British Library Tales of the Weird series, I am finding myself increasingly tempted to cancel my subscription. Though their short story collections are generally very good, I have been severely disappointed with all of their novel selections so far, each one feeling like a colossal waste of time that could be far better spent reading something, anything, else. While I am a fan of Blackwood's short fiction, in particular The Wendigo and The Willows, the overarching romantic plot of The Human Chord is nauseating, the half-witted theological ramblings are infuriating, and the insultingly childish female protagonist is utterly hateful. Ultimately, each time I read a Tales of the Weird novel, I wonder if I actually like weird fiction, and then I think perhaps the book fell out of print for a good reason, and the only problem with me is that I'm the poor schmuck paying £10 a month for century-old literary castoffs that really should have stayed deep in the vaults where they belong.

[George K. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Τρίτη ιστορία του Άλτζερνον Μπλάκγουντ που διαβάζω, μετά τις καταπληκτικές Ιτιές που διάβασα το 2013 και το πάρα πολύ καλό Γουέντιγκο που διάβασα το 2015, αλλά αυτή τη φορά τα πράγματα δεν είναι και τόσο καλά, μιας και τούτη η ιστορία δεν μπορώ να πω ότι με ικανοποίησε όσο οι προηγούμενες δυο. Οπωσδήποτε έχει κάποιες ενδιαφέρουσες ιδέες που μου κίνησαν την προσοχή, που μου τράβηξαν το ενδιαφέρον, και σίγουρα η ατμόσφαιρα είναι η ανάλογη, κάπως ανατριχιαστική και παράξενη, όμως το πομπώδες ύφος γραφής και η μονοτονία στην αφήγηση, καθώς και το αρκετό μπλα μπλα και η έμφαση στη λεπτομέρεια, θα έλεγα ότι με κούρασαν. Η κεντρική ιδέα είναι πολύ ενδιαφέρουσα, αλλά κατά την ταπεινή μου γνώμη η εκτέλεση όχι τόσο συναρπαστική, όχι όσο καθηλωτική θα μπορούσε να είναι. Πάντως σίγουρα αξίζει μια ανάγνωση, είναι ένα κλασικό έργο ενός πολύ σημαντικού συγγραφέα του Παράξενου, και η ελληνική έκδοση (κυκλοφορία της φετινής εκδοτικής χρονιάς) είναι πολύ αξιόλογη.

[The Sleepy Nightowl · Rating 3 out of 5]

What I thought to be a dark mystery gothic horror tale turned out to be a piece of weird fiction of hermeneutics that failed at the horror part despite the promising setting of a lone mansion in the rugged Welsh landscape in the middle of nowhere. The main character does not understand what the mystery going on around him is. Unfortunately, the mystery is rather clear for the reader after the first time it is mentioned. So, we have to follow a hapless main character whose main quality is his willingness to sign up to the first cult presenting itself to him. Luckily for him, there is no cult. Unluckily for the reader, there is also not much else in the book but following the main character trying to learnt the great mysteries that were clear from the second chapter or so. It makes for a rather long read.

[Richard · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have been a huge fan of Blackwood since my early 20’s when I discovered a collection of his in the hospital library. I remember reading the whole book when I was there and feeling completely wrapped up in his fantastical tales, particularly the John silence stories. So, understandably, when I saw that this was being released, a full-length novel that I’d previously not realised existed, I was very excited. Unfortunately, whilst billed as being pacy, the first half was laboriously repetitive and wordy (Blackwood is a master of description, but in this case the continued focus on sound, chords, and the connection to god was just too often and too boring for me). The ending was very satisfactory and whilst it is probably my least favourite of his stories, I’m happy to have read it.

[Adrian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clerk Robert Spinrobin is invited to spend some time in a remote Welsh manor with a jovial clergyman, who is researching the properties of sound. They find that everything in the world has a harmonic (even people) and finding the right ones can change everything for the good or bad (spoiler - mostly bad).

Lots of florid description and internal contemplation on the nature of sound, I think this is a bit like a musical version of Doors of Perception. Avoid if you like your authors to get to the point.

[Richie Bannister-Lowe · Rating 3 out of 5]

A young man sees an advert in a newspaper for a secretary in a remote house in Wales. When he is collected by the Rev. Skale, he is intrigued to find out what this old man is working on. All he is told is that it is of great importance. A "chord". He is soon introduced to Miriam who he falls deeply in love with. Can their love grow and survive "The Human Chord".
I found this book interesting but slow hence why only 3 stars

[Alanna Hodgins · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don’t usually read books of this specific style or genre so I think that’s why I found it so slow and hard to get into at the beginning, although I was intrigued by the uniqueness of the story and found the ending was wonderful and gripping but I’ll admit was a tricky read for me.
It was definitely an insight into ancient language but a fever dream of a book that I feel not much actually happened in the space of 200-ish pages.

[Queen Elsa]

I found this to be really drawn out. I like Blackwood’s short stories and I think this would have worked much better as one rather than a full novel. I’m a little surprised by the ending, due to Blackwood’s interest in these kinds of things. It’s just a little odd to me that he would depict negative consequences for trifling with occult powers or whatever when he would, I’d assume, be doing similar things with the theosophical society. The romance was predictable but cute I guess.

[William · Rating 3 out of 5]

OK listening 🎶😣😣

Another will written British romantic relationship adventure thriller short story by Algernon Blackwood about a young man 🚹 who comes to work as the secretary of a mysterious man. I would recommend this novella to readers of fantasy. Enjoy the adventure of reading 👓 or listening 🎶 to Alexa as I do. 🏡🔰👒😢 2022

[Michael John Paul McManus · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent fast paced story, that was a very unusual tale. The Human Chord was at times baffling, but it kept my interest from start to end. Another excellent book in the British Library of the Weird series. 10/10