What do you think?
Rate this book
Darkness, Mist & Shadow: The Collected Macabre Tales of Basil Copper, Volume 1
Collected together for the first time in three paperback volumes from PS Publishing are all the supernatural and macabre short stories and novellas of legendary British writer Basil Copper. Drawn from numerous collections, anthologies and magazines as varied as the legendary Pan Book of Horror Stories series, rare and collectible compilations edited by Peter Haining and August Derleth, and the author s own highly-prized books from Arkham House, these three extensive volumes contain more than four decades worth of weird fiction from one of the genre s most renowned practitioners. In this initial volume you will find such classics of the macabre as the author s first professionally published short story, The Spider , along with memorable tales like Camera Obscura (adapted by Rod Serling for the TV series Night Gallery), The Janissaries of Emillion , The Academy of Pain , Amber Print and The Recompensing of Albano Pizar , which was dramatised by BBC Radio 4. With an historical Introduction by editor Stephen Jones, Volume One of Darkness, Mist and The Collected Macabre Tales of Basil Copper also contains original illustrations by Les Edwards, Gary Gianni and Allen Koszowski, along with a stunning cover painting by Stephen E. Fabian.
598 pages, Hardcover
First published March 1, 2010
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
November 4, 2010
I have to say that I paid a lot for this book($75)but it was worth every penny.Wonderful stories and novellas about ghosts ,the macabre and sci.fi.
This volume is from his earlier stories which ,what with reading the next volume, I think are the better stories.I have read a lot of his work in numerous anthology's before but it was nice to sit down and read a book from cover to cover and not get bored at all.The stories/novella's were entertaining without a dud among them.Of course,some are better than others but I was not let down by any of the stories in his earlier works.
If you can find this book in the US buy it.The only copies I see that are available are now in England and running about $160 for both books which isn't too bad considering the quality of the writing.
One more thing is that the artwork is phenomenal and closely follows the stories.
It's also nice to see that Basil Copper is still alive so that he can enjoy the response that he gets from these books.Really wonderful books.I am so pleased to add them to my library.
This volume is from his earlier stories which ,what with reading the next volume, I think are the better stories.I have read a lot of his work in numerous anthology's before but it was nice to sit down and read a book from cover to cover and not get bored at all.The stories/novella's were entertaining without a dud among them.Of course,some are better than others but I was not let down by any of the stories in his earlier works.
If you can find this book in the US buy it.The only copies I see that are available are now in England and running about $160 for both books which isn't too bad considering the quality of the writing.
One more thing is that the artwork is phenomenal and closely follows the stories.
It's also nice to see that Basil Copper is still alive so that he can enjoy the response that he gets from these books.Really wonderful books.I am so pleased to add them to my library.
July 6, 2012
What an awesome collection (that too, only the first volume), from one of our finest exponents of supernatural tales! Thanks to the good people at PS Publishing, many-many hitherto hidden or unjustly forgotten jewels created by Basil Copper have now been brought together in these two voulmes, of which the 1st one is presently under review.
Basil Copper had begun his literary journey long back, but his polished prose and nuanced narratives still appear mint-fresh, except in those pieces where he deliberately sought to invoke the Victorian style of story-telling (as in "The Great Vore", which, at times seemed like 'the great bore'). Unfortunately, Basil Copper is mostly remembered because of his 'PAN book of horror' stories. But he could & did compose absolute stunners belonging to other sub-genres as well. Trying to list all the stories included in this volume would be tedious, and hence I am not trying to go for it. But it really is difficult to match the extremely high quality of "haunted house" story as evident in "The House By The Tarn", the Cthulhu mythos story "Shaft No. 247", the tall-tale-turned-hair-raising-adventure story "The Lady of Jewels", and the "twist-in-the-tail" stories like "Out In The Fog" or "Madonna Of The Four Ale Bar", apart from all-time-classics like "Camera Obscura", "The Janissaries of Emilion", "The Grey House", "The Academy of Pain", etc. etc.
I don't know whether you would be fortunate enough to scout out a copy of this limited edition, but if you can track a copy down, don't hesitate before making the plunge. This is an unputdownable collection of supernatural & macabre stories, and is recommended in the highest possible terms.
Basil Copper had begun his literary journey long back, but his polished prose and nuanced narratives still appear mint-fresh, except in those pieces where he deliberately sought to invoke the Victorian style of story-telling (as in "The Great Vore", which, at times seemed like 'the great bore'). Unfortunately, Basil Copper is mostly remembered because of his 'PAN book of horror' stories. But he could & did compose absolute stunners belonging to other sub-genres as well. Trying to list all the stories included in this volume would be tedious, and hence I am not trying to go for it. But it really is difficult to match the extremely high quality of "haunted house" story as evident in "The House By The Tarn", the Cthulhu mythos story "Shaft No. 247", the tall-tale-turned-hair-raising-adventure story "The Lady of Jewels", and the "twist-in-the-tail" stories like "Out In The Fog" or "Madonna Of The Four Ale Bar", apart from all-time-classics like "Camera Obscura", "The Janissaries of Emilion", "The Grey House", "The Academy of Pain", etc. etc.
I don't know whether you would be fortunate enough to scout out a copy of this limited edition, but if you can track a copy down, don't hesitate before making the plunge. This is an unputdownable collection of supernatural & macabre stories, and is recommended in the highest possible terms.
March 22, 2026
Copper, Basil - Darkness Mist & Shadows, Vol 1
Generous gathering of Copper’s creepier outings, of which he was a master.
No surprise that Arkham House coaxed him to their press, publishing several books.
Vol. 1 carries a mirrored cover from “And Afterward, The Dark” with a slight tweak.
Stories are top quality, of the older school style (no gore, graphic sex, rows of exclamation points).
The moneylender knows which borrowers cannot repay, yet knows which have possessions or securities he can liquidate at a tidy profit. Even old Gingold, antiques dealer and owner of an invaluable “Camera Obscura” should have know better. Or perhaps the old man does know something.
Horror scribe Philip is successful and highly paid (?!). He has enough funds to lavish on “The Grey House” an impressive manor with a monstrous history. Conte cruel creeping nicely.
“The Great Vore” parlays god and followers, sacrifices and broken churches. Part detective yarn, with stymied police consulting an occultist. Very good sleight of hand in this.
I suppose husbands can be fooled some of the time. Depends. How long do you press your luck, though? Will the adulterous wife support your plan? And what’s with that room he calls “The Academy Of Pain”? Most of us would grow uneasy at this point. How deep are you in your own affair?
Poetry seems a dead art. No matter how luxurious, few buy those velvet editions nowadays. Even fewer bother to read them. Oh, collectors and their Mylar. Trumble is one of those minor, forgotten poets, yet remembered by a connoisseur, who pays him well for relatively easy work, organizing his “Archives Of The Dead”. There are few restrictions, yet inquisitiveness may have a toll.
Skipping past several, I come to “The Gossips”, a novella and one of Copper’s finest. The marble statues of a trio of blasphemous courtesans, secluded behind a high wall in Italy. The breeze, sweeping through, plays tricks on visitors, causing them to hear things. Confusion, ofttimes fatal confusion. A recent visitor, however, thinks it would be perfect for a museum exhibition. Think of the crowds! The money! Should we warn people? Would they even heed? Flesh has always valued naughty over nice.
Two other books await of this three volume set; all are 400+ pages. Fairly priced, and great armchair reading.
Generous gathering of Copper’s creepier outings, of which he was a master.
No surprise that Arkham House coaxed him to their press, publishing several books.
Vol. 1 carries a mirrored cover from “And Afterward, The Dark” with a slight tweak.
Stories are top quality, of the older school style (no gore, graphic sex, rows of exclamation points).
The moneylender knows which borrowers cannot repay, yet knows which have possessions or securities he can liquidate at a tidy profit. Even old Gingold, antiques dealer and owner of an invaluable “Camera Obscura” should have know better. Or perhaps the old man does know something.
Horror scribe Philip is successful and highly paid (?!). He has enough funds to lavish on “The Grey House” an impressive manor with a monstrous history. Conte cruel creeping nicely.
“The Great Vore” parlays god and followers, sacrifices and broken churches. Part detective yarn, with stymied police consulting an occultist. Very good sleight of hand in this.
I suppose husbands can be fooled some of the time. Depends. How long do you press your luck, though? Will the adulterous wife support your plan? And what’s with that room he calls “The Academy Of Pain”? Most of us would grow uneasy at this point. How deep are you in your own affair?
Poetry seems a dead art. No matter how luxurious, few buy those velvet editions nowadays. Even fewer bother to read them. Oh, collectors and their Mylar. Trumble is one of those minor, forgotten poets, yet remembered by a connoisseur, who pays him well for relatively easy work, organizing his “Archives Of The Dead”. There are few restrictions, yet inquisitiveness may have a toll.
Skipping past several, I come to “The Gossips”, a novella and one of Copper’s finest. The marble statues of a trio of blasphemous courtesans, secluded behind a high wall in Italy. The breeze, sweeping through, plays tricks on visitors, causing them to hear things. Confusion, ofttimes fatal confusion. A recent visitor, however, thinks it would be perfect for a museum exhibition. Think of the crowds! The money! Should we warn people? Would they even heed? Flesh has always valued naughty over nice.
Two other books await of this three volume set; all are 400+ pages. Fairly priced, and great armchair reading.
May 13, 2021
I went into this book being fairly certain I would enjoy it. After all, I've read a lot of Basil Copper's prose and have yet to be disappointed. However, this particular volume blew me away. The stories were amazing for the most part, and Copper's trademark delicious descriptions made for an exciting ambience that drew me in time and time again. My favorites were probably the stories "Camera Obscura", "The Gossips", and "The Grey House" (this last one, so good!). Something occurred to me while I was reading "The Knocker at the Portico", however. It was my least favorite in the collection, however it reminded me that Basil Copper on a bad day is better than most writers on a good one!
February 8, 2017
I just love the older horror stories and authors. I also have the other two volumes in this collection and will eventually get them off the to-be-read shelf, hopefully soon.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews