Black Magic: 13 Chilling Tales

by Don Ward (Editor), A.E. Coppard (Contributor), Margaret Irwin (Contributor)

Thirteen master storytellers here conjure up a cauldron full of tales about the terrifying world of the Unknown, of voodoo, demon worship and witchcraft.

Contents:

Introduction • by Don Ward
Ancient Sorceries • (1908) by Algernon Blackwood
The Minister's Books • (1942) by Stephen Vincent Benét
Pollock and the Porroh Man • (1895) by H. G. Wells
The Lady on the Grey • (1951) by John Collier
Cheese • (1946) by A. E. Coppard
The Book • (1930) by Margaret Irwin
Casting the Runes • (1911) by M. R. James
"He Cometh and He Passeth By!" • (1928) by H. Russell Wakefield
Where Do You Live, Queen Esther? • (1961) by Avram Davidson
A Way of Thinking • (1953) by Theodore Sturgeon
A Narrow Escape • (1916) by Lord Dunsany
Rappaccini's Daughter • (1844) by Nathaniel Hawthorne
The Man Upstairs • (1947) by Ray Bradbury

Genres: Horror

252 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1967

Reviews

[Shawn]

PLACEHOLDER REVIEW:

"He Cometh And He Passeth By" by H.R. Wakefield. Edward Bellamy (the "most brilliant" junior at the Criminal Bar law courts in London) reconnects with his school-friend Philip Franton (invalided somewhat since a mustard gas attack in WWI - "one is brought right up against the vast enigmas of time and space and eternity when one lung is doing the work of two...") who admits to having fallen into the orbit of "that other Oscar" - Oscar Clinton, notorious scoundrel of the Decadent 90s and reputed sorcerer. Clinton insinuated himself into Franton's life, "borrowing" money, directing Franton to fight his suicidal thoughts, and impregnating the man's servant staff, before being banished - upon which he cursed Franton. And as Bellamy then sees that curse come true, he teams with Mr. Solan (an eccentric Orientalist and occult expert) to lay a trap for the crafty and wise/wary Clinton. So, as might be obvious, this is M.R. James' "Casting The Runes," just tricked out a bit. We have the same use of a stand-in for Aleister Crowley (there, Haddo, here, Clinton) - although this would essentially be "Crowley in decline" as Solan notes "the naughty boys of the Nineties" didn't age well (or, in some cases, survive at all). Some space and time is given to Clinton's persona/character (he is acknowledged to be brilliant and charismatic, while also being a debauched drug user and hedonist) and the "meeting scene" with him seems a fairly good "outsider" portrait of Crowley through a fictional lens. On the other hand, the story has very little atmosphere, and is more of an "English club story by way of a early pulp thriller" than a horror story, and everything has a breezy, surface sheen (there's even some clumsily deployed P.G. Wodehouse-styled humor) - so while the incidental details are interesting (Club Chorazin, Solan), it's just in service of a pretty disposable entertainment - and while James' had the religious belief to inform a "Crowley gets his" story, here it seems more like a punishment from a class perspective ("that brilliant but unscrupulous bounder gets his!").

[Tra-Kay · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this little vanilla-smelling volume of spooky stories. It sports some big names, including Algernon Blackwood, HG Wells, MR James, Theodore Sturgeon, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Ray Bradbury. The creepiest to me were A Way of Thinking by Sturgeon and The Man Upstairs by Bradbury, but it was all a fun blend on the theme of black magic. I’m going to have to start checking used bookstores for obscure old horror collections.

[Bradhernandez · Rating 2 out of 5]

odd little very old book. sweet cover. a few good stories. a few stories that were a little thick. didn't think it was entirely "chilling" by todays standards but still a worthy read.