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Valley So Low: Southern Mountain Stories
Collection of the short supernatural fiction, mostly set in southern Appalachia, that Wellman (1903-1986) wrote during the last 15 years of his life. It includes 23 stories in all.
212 pages, Hardcover
First published December 1, 1987
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
May 14, 2020
Note, May 14, 2020: When I read short story collections intermittently over a long period of time, my reactions are similarly written piecemeal, while they're fresh in my mind. That gives the reviews a choppy, and often repetitive, quality. Recently, I had to condense and rearrange one of these into a unified whole because of Goodreads' length limit; and I was so pleased with the result that I decided to give every one of these a similar edit! Accordingly, I've now edited this one.
The late Manly Wade Wellman (1903-1986) was a virtuoso master of supernatural fiction, though it wasn't the only field in which he wrote. For a time in the 1960s, he abandoned the genre altogether; but he returned to it in the early 70s, and continued to produce quality work in it for the remainder of his career. In this volume, Karl Edward Wagner, one of many younger writers Wellman befriended (and his designated literary executor), has collected all 23 of the short supernatural stories written in these last 15 years of the older author's life, with a short and simple introduction. Wellman has been a favorite writer of mine for nearly 30 years; so when I stumbled on this collection at the public library in Harrisonburg, VA, I was delighted to read it.
As the subtitle suggests, these stories are mostly set in southern Appalachia. They're apparently arranged by their main character(s), rather than chronologically; for instance, the six stories Wellman wrote during this period featuring homespun mountain folk singer and "witch-master" Silver John come first. All of the Silver John stories (going back to 1951) are collected in John the Balladeer. Probably my favorite of the ones here is "Trill Coster's Burden," but they're all good. Wellman's two long-standing series occult detectives, John Thunstone (also the protagonist of Wellman's novel What Dreams May Come) and Judge Pursivant, each appear in one story, the former in "Rouse Him Not" and the latter in "Chastel," the only one of the stories that's set outside Appalachia. (It draws on the real-life vampirism accusations surrounding members of the Ray family in mid-19th-century Jewett City, CT.) Judge Pursivant protege Lee Cobbett, one of two new series protagonists Wellman created in the 70s, also appears in this story, and he's featured in three others, two of which, "The Beasts That Perish" and "Willow He Walk," have a couple of the most original premises I've ever read for hauntings. (The title character of "A Witch for All Seasons" is somewhat reminiscent of Tahpanes in the author's excellent Silver John novel, The Lost and the Lurking.) Cobbett's background isn't fleshed out much in these tales, but I'd like to learn more! Finally, "Hundred Years Gone," "Keep Me Away" (one of the more unusual yarns here, and one of my favorites) and "Yare" feature Hal Stryker, a college student (or fledgling graduate) who's discovered a fascination with folklore studies. (Most students in the field don't have quite the kind of experiences that he does.) The others are stand-alones, but some stories are linked to the rest of the author's corpus by mentions of shared characters, localities, etc.
This read was the literary equivalent of relishing a favorite meal! There are two basic story arcs that usually characterize most traditional supernatural fiction in the classic mode: supernatural menace that threatens the innocent, but is thwarted; and greed and malice running afoul of supernatural vengeance. Wellman is a master at handling both types (sometimes in the same story). It might be said that this isn't fiction that delivers marked surprises at an essential level. As far as it goes, that's true; but just as you anticipate a familiar good experience as you sit down to a super-favorite meal, so I (and, I suspect, many other fans) approach tales of this type; surprise is not something we desire on the menu. But within that structure of basic predictability, there's room for infinite variation in detail, and Wellman never disappoints there either; each of his stories is unique in some way. All of the characteristic features of his writing are here: quality storytelling, good use of history, unobtrusive Christian faith, a strong sense of place, clean romance, little or no bad language, appealing characters, skill at characterization, knowledge of actual occult lore, and above all an optimistic perspective and solid moral compass. Appalachian culture and history are palpable here, as is an ear for mountain dialect. A touch I particularly appreciate is the well-read author's frequent reference to actual books, especially The Long Lost Friend by Johann Georg Hohman (1820). Native American lore figures in a couple of stories, "Along about Sundown" and "Caretaker."
Another of my favorite selections is "The Ghastly Priest Doth Reign;" "Chorazin" and "Goodman's Place" are also standouts, IMO. But there isn't a clunker in the bunch!
The late Manly Wade Wellman (1903-1986) was a virtuoso master of supernatural fiction, though it wasn't the only field in which he wrote. For a time in the 1960s, he abandoned the genre altogether; but he returned to it in the early 70s, and continued to produce quality work in it for the remainder of his career. In this volume, Karl Edward Wagner, one of many younger writers Wellman befriended (and his designated literary executor), has collected all 23 of the short supernatural stories written in these last 15 years of the older author's life, with a short and simple introduction. Wellman has been a favorite writer of mine for nearly 30 years; so when I stumbled on this collection at the public library in Harrisonburg, VA, I was delighted to read it.
As the subtitle suggests, these stories are mostly set in southern Appalachia. They're apparently arranged by their main character(s), rather than chronologically; for instance, the six stories Wellman wrote during this period featuring homespun mountain folk singer and "witch-master" Silver John come first. All of the Silver John stories (going back to 1951) are collected in John the Balladeer. Probably my favorite of the ones here is "Trill Coster's Burden," but they're all good. Wellman's two long-standing series occult detectives, John Thunstone (also the protagonist of Wellman's novel What Dreams May Come) and Judge Pursivant, each appear in one story, the former in "Rouse Him Not" and the latter in "Chastel," the only one of the stories that's set outside Appalachia. (It draws on the real-life vampirism accusations surrounding members of the Ray family in mid-19th-century Jewett City, CT.) Judge Pursivant protege Lee Cobbett, one of two new series protagonists Wellman created in the 70s, also appears in this story, and he's featured in three others, two of which, "The Beasts That Perish" and "Willow He Walk," have a couple of the most original premises I've ever read for hauntings. (The title character of "A Witch for All Seasons" is somewhat reminiscent of Tahpanes in the author's excellent Silver John novel, The Lost and the Lurking.) Cobbett's background isn't fleshed out much in these tales, but I'd like to learn more! Finally, "Hundred Years Gone," "Keep Me Away" (one of the more unusual yarns here, and one of my favorites) and "Yare" feature Hal Stryker, a college student (or fledgling graduate) who's discovered a fascination with folklore studies. (Most students in the field don't have quite the kind of experiences that he does.) The others are stand-alones, but some stories are linked to the rest of the author's corpus by mentions of shared characters, localities, etc.
This read was the literary equivalent of relishing a favorite meal! There are two basic story arcs that usually characterize most traditional supernatural fiction in the classic mode: supernatural menace that threatens the innocent, but is thwarted; and greed and malice running afoul of supernatural vengeance. Wellman is a master at handling both types (sometimes in the same story). It might be said that this isn't fiction that delivers marked surprises at an essential level. As far as it goes, that's true; but just as you anticipate a familiar good experience as you sit down to a super-favorite meal, so I (and, I suspect, many other fans) approach tales of this type; surprise is not something we desire on the menu. But within that structure of basic predictability, there's room for infinite variation in detail, and Wellman never disappoints there either; each of his stories is unique in some way. All of the characteristic features of his writing are here: quality storytelling, good use of history, unobtrusive Christian faith, a strong sense of place, clean romance, little or no bad language, appealing characters, skill at characterization, knowledge of actual occult lore, and above all an optimistic perspective and solid moral compass. Appalachian culture and history are palpable here, as is an ear for mountain dialect. A touch I particularly appreciate is the well-read author's frequent reference to actual books, especially The Long Lost Friend by Johann Georg Hohman (1820). Native American lore figures in a couple of stories, "Along about Sundown" and "Caretaker."
Another of my favorite selections is "The Ghastly Priest Doth Reign;" "Chorazin" and "Goodman's Place" are also standouts, IMO. But there isn't a clunker in the bunch!
February 15, 2012
Manly Wade Wellman is well-steeped in the folklore of many cultures, as are his protagonists. These protagonists are contemporary sojourners in the ancient hills of Appalachia: a curious mixture of folklorist, anthropologist, scientist, poet, truthseeker, and hero. They come to research and bear witness. Where there is mystery, they investigate, often with the help of hill neighbor and kin. Where there is evil, they vanquish, usually in the name of the Lord. Evil comes in many forms in these stories: ghost, witch, Satan, pagan tree-spirit; some ancient Grendel of the mountains, some would-be succubus; perhaps even an evil, ancient corruption that haunts the ground, reminiscent of the swamp thing of comic-book lore. Wellman's stories have the ring of truth, though of a truth that requires the reader to suspend disbelief, allowing for evidence of things unseen. This is due to his story-telling method, which is traditional and straight-forward. He makes only rare use of the familiar suspense buildup to a plot twist at the end. "The Petey Car," "Along About Sundown," and "Rock, Rock" might appear in any Hitchcock collection. The other stories almost defy categorization, but they are powerful and strong. Wellman will appeal to readers of the "old-fashioned" ghost story, to people who like ballads, perhaps. His prose is deep and rich, his stories are strange.
January 8, 2019
The shamefully unrecognized fantasy craftsman Manly Wade Wellman shines in this collection of supernatural chills and horror tales. The stories are fables, and the language and location of the Carolinas and Appalachias are entrancing.
Now within that, a caveat. As others have rightly commented, these fables can sometimes go sideways from outdated views. The forces of good and evil are often heavily laden with tones of sexual propriety, and the female villains as well as male are often toned as wrong for pursuing sex out of wedlock.
I also considered that more a flaw of the earlier stories in this volume than the later ones, which generally grow richer in all dimensions.
So if one is willing to work with the dated in order to reach the timeless, there are rewards here. The rich rhythms of the dialects and the masterfully selected details bring a lustre to characters and setting, and together provide the overall impression of a master at play.
Highly recommend it if you can get it. I found my copy from a local paid library.
Now within that, a caveat. As others have rightly commented, these fables can sometimes go sideways from outdated views. The forces of good and evil are often heavily laden with tones of sexual propriety, and the female villains as well as male are often toned as wrong for pursuing sex out of wedlock.
I also considered that more a flaw of the earlier stories in this volume than the later ones, which generally grow richer in all dimensions.
So if one is willing to work with the dated in order to reach the timeless, there are rewards here. The rich rhythms of the dialects and the masterfully selected details bring a lustre to characters and setting, and together provide the overall impression of a master at play.
Highly recommend it if you can get it. I found my copy from a local paid library.
August 10, 2014
To judge by these stories, Manly Wade Wellman is the love child of Eudora Welty and Dashiell Hammett. His prose is both sparse and lovely. The stories could have been set in any time after the American Civil War, but from the references to telephones and televisions they seem to be unfolding in the mid to late 1950s. Protagonists are beset by devouring women, ghosts of evil people, the undead and the nearly dead. Goodness and justice wins every time, only the monsters die.
More later, when the sandman isn't holding me hostage.
More later, when the sandman isn't holding me hostage.
January 20, 2010
I didn't read all the stories, but I read a fairly good smattering of them, enough to get a flavor of Manley Wade Goodman's voice, which was mainly what I was after, that and some of the folk elements. I really did like the turns of phrase of his mountain-dwelling characters, and I liked the character of John the Balladeer a lot. The stories were pretty predictable and --to my mind--the action was wildly signposted ahead of time, but they were fun as sort of a book version of campfire stories.
August 9, 2011
First story: self-effacing good woman vs. sexually aggressive bad woman.
Second story: self-effacing good woman vs. sexually aggressive bad woman.
Res: OK, I'm done now.
Second story: self-effacing good woman vs. sexually aggressive bad woman.
Res: OK, I'm done now.
March 31, 2025
Enjoyable, but his stories are best read in small increments or mixed into anthologies, because there's much of the same thing in them all--i.e., woman are all "small" and pretty, men are all 'broad-shouldered, with big broad hands, jeans, checked shirts". They eat the same food, drink the same "blockade", etc. After a while it gets annoying and repetitive.
However, the downhome style is pleasing, picturesque, and I like how good wins out over evil every time. I like Silver John the most, and there aren't too many stories about him in this collection.
However, the downhome style is pleasing, picturesque, and I like how good wins out over evil every time. I like Silver John the most, and there aren't too many stories about him in this collection.
June 13, 2025
A collection of uncanny tales. Some are Silver John. Some feature other men who wander about and know some of the matters -- each one with his tales grouped -- and it's clear that it's one continuity, with their loosely knowing each other, with Judge Pursuivant the sage old man of their knowledge. Others are people who get mixed up in such matters and may or may not escape.
One can see how he was listed in the Appendix N as a D&D source.
One can see how he was listed in the Appendix N as a D&D source.
October 3, 2013
Very cool collection of short stories. I loved what I read and I'm anxious to go back and check out more!
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews