The guide to supernatural fiction

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lrIID® @llilDcQl® t1@ ~ illl ~ ® If IID [ill It llilIr [ill II If fi ~lt fi @ IID A full description of 1,775 books from 1750 to 1960, including ghost stories, weird fiction, stories of supernatural horror, fantasy, Gothic novels, occult fiction, and similar literature. With author, title, and motif indexes

by Everett F. Bleiler

THE KENT STATE UNIVERSITY PRESS

Copyright © 1983 by Everett F. Bleiler All rights reserved Published by The Kent State University Press, Kent, Ohio 44242 Manufactured in the United States of America

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data

Bleiler, Everett Franklin, 1920The guide to supernatural fiction. Bibliography: p. Includes indexes. 1. Supernatural in literature. 2. English fiction-Stories, plots, etc. 3. American fiction--Stories, plots, etc. I. Title. PN56.S8B57 1983 809.3'937 82-25477 ISBN 087338-228-9

Preface

vii

Book and story descriptions

1

The phenomenology of contranatural fiction Index of motifs and story types Index of authors

613

Index of titles

673

Bibliography

723

559

553

The present volume is a survey of a single subject matter, the supernatural, but a subject matter that traditionally has been used in many different ways and for many different purposes. It has been used in a primary way as a source of thrills or for the inherent interest of supernatural motifs taken literally. It has also been used in a secondary way as a vehicle for something else: satire, analysis of social relations, probing of guilt and conscience, a search for justice, and on a tertiary level, as a symbolization of something otherwise perhaps on the edge of ineffability. It is the story of a monstrosity, as in H. P. Lovecraft's "The Dunwich Horror," that gobbles up those who evoke it, and as in Bulwer Lytton's A Strange Story it is a similar monster that consciously symbolizes the evil portion of our psyches. It is a takedown of managerial politics and bureaucracy, as in Neil Gunn's The Green Isle of the Great Deep and a sentimental heaven of unexceptional piety in Mrs. Oliphant's Little Pilgrim stories. It is an excuse for a pageant of medieval life, as in Ann Radcliffe's Gaston de Blondeville, and it is an expressionist document showing how the supernatural past (Napoleonic in this case) has relevance to the present, as in Paul Busson's The Fire-Spirits. It is a dualistic interpretation of God and matter (like the Saivasiddhanta) in the guise of strange beings and stranger lands, as in David Lindsay's A Voyage to Arcturus, and it is a stubborn and wicked Egyptian mummy that refuses to lie down and behave itself. As Eternal Woman H. Rider Haggard's She may pop in and out of her showerbath in the Flame of Life, and as modern woman feminists, allied with the spirits of the dead may set up a utopia twenty years in the future from 1855, as in Lucy Boston. In F. Anstey's Vice Versa, when a pompous businessman of the City is transformed into a boy and sent to a hellish boarding school, it is a story of maturation, while in Henry Kuttner's "A Gnome There Was" another transformation is simply black humor. E. M. Forster's "The Celestial Omnibus" is an attack, in a snobbish way, on philistinism, but Amelia B. Edwards's "The Death Coach" fictionalizes, on a literal level, an element of Northern British folklore. What do all these various motifs have in common? Beneath their diversity, under their mani-

festations lies a common concept. This is traditionally called the "supernatural," a term that was perhaps fitting 150 years ago, but today would be better termed the "contranatural," since it is a consistent, often studied reversal of a mechanistic universe. This concept is developed in more detail in the chapter "The Phenomenology of the Contranatural," in a later portion of this volume. It is probably generally acceptable that thrill-stories about vampires and hostile ghosts and werewolves, for example, fit together in a common grouping, but it may not be so obvious that stories with secondary or tertiary levels of meaning should be grouped with single-level stories. Satires, symbolic works, expositional works, individuation stories are, of course, different from simple adventure stories. But they may be built out of the same motifs. On the level of story or narrative they may share much. Traditionally, Henry James's "The Turn of the Screw" is considered a ghost story, no matter how one interprets it, along with the simple, scholarly stories of Montague Rhodes James. In addition to the questions of story and motifs, the boundaries between second-level stories and literal stories are by no means permanent or impassable. One century's allegory may be another century's thriller. Indeed, as Jacob Grimm demonstrated in 1835 such change or evolution is by no means a matter of chance, but often a matter of law. As narrative and theme take separate paths in history, stories may change in meaning and level. Although the words of a story may not alter, their point may be lost. Interpretations may drop away, and what was once pointed may now be read as a simple story. When social context is no longer familiar, satire may lose its focus, and when cultural milieu changes, symbolism may be completely lost. It may take much close study to retrieve the original statement. A good example of such skeletonization is to be found in Swift's Gulliver's Travels, which started life as an attack on church and state, or religious groups and political parties. By the early middle 19th century it had changed to an adult adventure story, and was reprinted in series along with the works of Charles Lever, Captain Marryat, and Dumas pere. Today, it is

vii

PREFACE

viii

primarily a children's book, and is generally included in collections of children's classics, often unexpurgated. Topical allusions are ignored. In supernatural fiction, a similar example is to be found in Bulwer Lytton's Zanoni. In the l840s this was a fictionalization of an occult message, with a roman clef element that personified qualities of mind. It was even printed with a table in the rear of the book explaining the characters. Today, it is an occult thriller and romance, and if anyone seeks out the conscious allegory, he will find it difficult even to understand the psychology behind it. Yet in both the l840s and the 1980s Zanoni is lexically the same, and is assembled out of the same super~ natural motifs. The main territory of contranatural fiction is obvious enough, but the exact boundaries are not always definite. There are borderline books that must be judged and deceptive books that must be unmasked. It would seem that the supernatural is the supernatural, but there are times when it is not. Many is the detective story, for example, that sets up a mood of the uncanny, establishes a crime that is seemingly beyond rational analysis, provides chills along the route, and then explains everything away as a matter of tricks and time tables, lies and lunacy, mirrors and phosphorescent balloons. Is such a story, that in word count is perhaps 95% supernatural, really to be included here? Or, what should one do about the 19th century stories that spoiled everything by revealing at the end of the story that it was all a dream? Or about stories of hoaxes and criminal frauds, faked supernaturalism? My decision, in general, has been not to include detective stories in which everything is rationalized; to treat frauds as individual cases; and to include dream stories. The intention of the author has often been the deciding factor. A rationalized detective story was intended to be primarily a detective story. A dream story, on the other hand, was intended to be supernatural, but (as a rule) the author was too timid to leave matters with the ghosts, or begged off for other reasons. When I began the final reading and carding for this volume, another problem arose: time limits. Where should the book begin, chronologically, and where should it end? Eventually, I settled on two terminal dates, 1800 and 1960. Material before 1800 was sparse and sometimes alien, and 1960 is a watershed year in publishing. During the 1960s there occurred a flood of mass market paperbacks, best sellers, would-be best sellers, television and motion picture spin offs, all using the motifs of supernatural horror, usually on a literal level. This phenomenon deserved study in itself, not just appendageship to the older material. Similarly, in fantastic fiction in general, a new generation of authors began to replace the older men and women from the circumbellum years. Their work, too, deserves a separate study. But, exceptions had to be made to the dates

a

PREFACE 1800 and 1960. Important writers like Horace Walpole, William Beckford, Ann Radcliffe, and M. G. Lewis could not be omitted, while 1960 was not without problems. One such problem was the time gap between periodical publication and book publication, for much supernatural fiction and science-fiction has not been gathered into book form until decades after its first appearance in periodicals. To omit fiction written before 1960 but not printed in book form until the 1970s would have distorted the coverage. Therefore, 1960 has been qualified to include stories that were first published in any form before 1961, no matter what the date of book publication. Similarly, anthologies published after 1960 have been included if they contain significant material that is earlier and is not described elsewhere. But this leeway created a new problem, for such anthologies sometimes also contain stories written after 1960, and it would have been absurd to ignore such stories. Fortunately, this last case is not common. ii In describing books I have used the technique of offering fairly detailed plot summaries. In other words, stress has been placed on narrative or story. I am aware that this is not the method that is generally used in modern reference works, where general comments are usually considered adequate-- although this practice makes faking very easy and sometimes causes a reader to wonder whether the book in question has really been read thoroughly. But I feel that a good case can be made for returning to the older method of SUlM,lary, supplemented by information about form, purpose, and quality. A student of literature or a librarian often needs concrete information that (in the absence of the text itself) can be provided only by a precise, detailed description of a story. Why, for example, was the monkey's paw in W. W. Jacobs's story "The Monkey's Paw" activated? The point is important, since it lifts the story out of horror to an examination of life. Or, did anyone but the governess, perhaps Mrs. Grose, in "The Turn of the Screw" see the ghosts? Does the governess have anything to say about this? Story texts may not be handy, and there should be a place to which an inquirer may resort. Most of the books in this study, too, are not books commonly met. Many of them are very rare. Despite their possible literary interest or historical importance, there is probably no library (public or private) in the world that contains every book that is described here. I would speculate that one could count on one's fingers the special collections that contain even a sizeable portion of them. These books were seldom reviewed when they appeared, since the journals used to frown on non-realistic literature, and the sole written record for many of them is a bare listing of publication in one of the yearly compilations, like Whitaker's or the English Catalogue.

PREFACE The books themselves are often endangered, for libraries, cramped for space, often are forced to discard older fiction. And it is probable that most of the books covered in this volume will never be reprinted. Without a survey of this sort, many of these books are likely to be, for all practical purposes, lost. In presenting the book descriptions, I have arranged them alphabetically by author (and chronologically within the author), even though my haunting preference would have been a cultural-historical framework. But I was forced to recognize that popular literature does not always parallel the time divisions of mainstream culture, and that time groupings would have been artificial and inconvenient. In popular fiction there are surprising innovations and conservatisms. Authors of genre fiction are sometimes long-lived, and may retain writing modes that they picked up in their apprentice days, even though such older styles have elsewhere gone out of fashion. A classification by date would have distorted matters more than "it would have clarified them. This distortion would be especially powerful in anthologies, which are plentiful, and sometimes amount to historical catch-alls. Dorothy Sayers, in the 1930s, could reprint in her excellent omnibus volumes, stories that had been written by R. H. Barham in the l840s, along with recent work. Complete alphabetization by author thus seems the most suitable approach. It is the easiest system for the reference reader, the fairest system for individual authors (whose work might otherwise be broken up unnecessarily), and the system least mined with interpretative traps. A word must be added about personal opinions that I have expressed in the copy. I recognize that some editors hold that such expressions are improper, while other editors make their living from them. My feeling is that although a book may be many things-- a gloat-object for a collector, a source of social information for a historian, an example of form for a theorist, a hidden autobiography for a psychohistorian, a statement of values for an axiologist, etc.-- it is still, ultimately, inescapably, paramountly, an object -for pleasure. A reader has reactions to it, and should be allowed to express these reactions. Or, to make the point stronger, a reader or critic must answer the question, no matter how

ix subjectively, that everyone has asked since the days of the Greeks: "Is it worth reading?" I have not hesitated to make critical judgments, and I have tried to be consistent. On the one hand, I have tried to be sympathetic to the special purposes of different sorts of fiction. If I have damned an occasional adventure story or horror story or allegory, it is not because it is an adventure story or horror story or allegory, but because it is a poor specimen of its sort. On the other hand, I have tried to bear in mind mainstream technical desiderata like symmetry, population, detail, and style. I hope that readers agree with me. Let me close this preface by saying that in the 7,200 or so stories considered here, I have not made use of other persons' plot summaries or "talk-arounds," but have read each of the books described. This has been done over a period of about 25 years, with a recent rereading of many books that required more attention or closer study. Sometimes this was a chore, but more often it was a pleasure. iii

I must express gratitude to the many libraries whose facilities I have used in preparing this project. These include The British Museum (The British Library), the Library of Congress, the New York Public Library, the Elmer H. Bobst Library of New York University, Harvard College Library, The Columbia University Libraries, and Yale University Libraries. The following private libraries have also been most useful: The Mechanics Library of New York, the Society Library of New York, and especially The Mercantile Library of New York. I must also thank several local libraries: the Glen Rock Public Library, the Fair Lawn Public Library, the Teaneck Public Library, the Englewood Public Library, the Hackensack Public Library, and especially the Ridgewood Public Library, whose staff and trustees have been most helpful. Special gratitude is also due to Neil Barron, for many acts of kindness and many most helpful suggestions. I must also thank my wife and family, particularly my son Richard, who spent much time tracking down odd books for me at various conventions, and helped with the processing of some 40,000 filing cards. His knowledge of the recent literature caught several of my errors. Everett F. Bleiler

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Information book and story descriptions Authors are arranged alphabetically. Within each author's production, books are arranged chronologically. Collaborations are placed directly after the work of the s~nior author. I.e., a book by August Derleth and Mark Schorer Hill inunediately follow the books by Derleth alone. Anonymous Horks and anthologies of anonymous editorship are usually placed alphabetically by title within the main listing. This principle has not bee.n followed rigorously in the cllse of well-known works by famous autl:!.ors. It has seemed better to be a little inconsistent than to carry the works of Sir Walter Scott as anonymous books simply because the first editions were not published under his name.

are no changes between editions, later printings have been used. In perhaps a score of genre bocks, where first: editions l~ere not obtainable, later editions were used; this fact hilS always been indicated in the descriptions. To avoid duplicating entries, each story if) described only or:ce, usually in the place·of first publi.cation. SOIT'.€ exceptionR have been made for storit2.s in seri,=s, where context is important; such stori.es have been described together. These exceptions have been indicated in the copy. The connnents "described elsewhere" and "described elsewhere for context" indicate that you should check the Author Index for locus of description.

The remaining bibliographic procedure also follows, by and large, the method used by the British Museum Catalogue, which method seems to me the most convenient for the general reader. The essence of this method is that publishers are given in short entry, and that books are carried under the name the author used in publication. Thus, Mark Twain is to be found as Mark Twain, not as Samuel L. Clemens.

Please note the important term "including." It is used only in collections of mixed fiction. It indicates that there are other stories in the book that are not supernatural and thus are not described. To list or describe such non-supernatural stories would have cluttered the present volume enormously and would have served no uS,eful purpose. But the reader need not worry that supernatural stories have been omitted. In all cases, every supernatural story ;n every volume has been described.

The editions cited are, as far as can be determined, first editions. In almost all cases these were the editions that were read. In perhaps a half dozen instances, in mainstream authors like Robert Louis Stevenson, where there

Abbreviations: alt., alternate. EQMM, ELLERY QUEEN'S MYSTERY MAGAZINE. MFSF, MAGAZINE OF FANTASY AND SCIENCE FICTION. UNK, UNKNOWN or UNKNOWN WORlDS magazine. WT, WEIRD TALES magazine.

ABDULLAH, ACHMED (ACHMED ABDULLAH NADIR KIIAN ALDU.~NI AL-IDRISSIYEH; Moslem name of Ro~anowski, Alexander) (1881-1945) Soldier, intelligence operative in India, playwright, fiction writer, translater. Son of Russian nobleman and Afghan princess. Born Yalta, resident in U.S.A. for most of writing period. Frequent contributor to Amarican periodicals with sentimental and adventure fiction, mostly negligible except for occasional ethnographic fiction like ALIEN SOULS (1922) Most important work LUTE ANO SCIMITAR (1928), translation of Central Asiatic poetry •. Good autobiography, THE CAT HAD NINE LIVES (1933). 1. WINGS TALES OF THE PSYCHIC James A. McCann; New York 1920 Connercial periodical fiction including [a] WINGS. Told as a mystery story. The rajah suddenly dies in England, and Thorneycroft follows the sound of invisible wings. In India he learns that the rajah, unwilling to lose caste by leaving India, had travelled to England by astral body, but died because he overstayed his time. As a result his co~ponents are separated, perhaps for eternity. [b) DISAPPOINTMENT. Prince N~rodkine in Paris behaves strangely. It is revealed that the basis for his actions is a morbid fear of death. But his corpse, shortly after his death says, "Is that all?" [c) TO BE ACCOUNTED FOR. World War I. A French remittance man, expelled from his regiment for cheating at cards, makes restitution by rushing to the front in astral body, where he assumes command at a time of cr~s~s. He is killed, though his physical body is in New York. [d) RENUNCIATION. The woman that he loved married another man for money. When his transport is ready to leave for France, she comes to him. It is her ghost. [e) THAT HAUNTING THING. Diana Manning, nasty golddigger who has wrecked several lives, is suddenly haunted by a horrible thing that laughs at the wrong times. It is the projection of her evil. When she kills it, she, too, dies, but seems redeemed. [f) FEAR. Africa. McGregor and Hutchison raid the Bakoto juju shrine, but are captured. One must die. They deal cards. McGregor cheats and lives, but years later an African drum with Hutchison's skin on it comes into his possession. In it is a poisonous snake. [g) LIGHT. He sees his own

deathbed. After-death experiences. * While [e) is vivid, the remainder of the book is trivial and in no way comparable to Abdullah's serious work. 2. THE THIEF OF BAGDAD BASED ON DOUGLAS FAIRBANKS' FANTASY OF THE ARABIAN NIGHTS H. K. Fly; New York [1924] A scenario novel that closely follows the historically important silent motion picture. The original film script was prepared by Elton Thomas, and the short version, by Lotta Woods. Abdullah was probably assigned to provide a verisimilitude that the motion picture lacked. * Ah~ed el-Bagdadi, remarkable thief, while burglarizing the caliph's palace, sees and falls in love with Zobeid, the caliph's beautiful and nubile daughter. To win her he is willing to repent of his wicked past and undertake a long semiallegorica1 journey to conquer his evil potentialities. Rival princes from India, Persia, and China (the Mongols) sue for Zobeid's hand. Ahmed joins them in the role of Prince of the Isles and of the Seven Palaces. It is decided that whoever brings the most remarkable gift will get Zobeid. Props then include the flying carpet, the fruit of life and death, an allseeing idol's eye, the cloak of invisibility, a magic rope, and a magic casket of wishes. Ahmed returns from his journey in time to defeat the treacherous Mongols. * At the end of the book is a brief publicity statement by Arthur J. Zellner on the technical aspects of the motion picture. * The motion picture, while interminable, had good trick photography and Fairbanks's ebullient personality. The novel is a strange mixture of naive narrative and flashes of scholarly Orientalia. ADELER, MAX (pseud. of Clark, Charles Heber) (1847 - 1915) Philadelphia journalist, humorist, political lobbyist for high tariffs. Best-known work was OUT OF THE HURLY-BURLY (1874). Work might be briefly categorized as similar to that of Mark Twain, but with no great talent. 3. RANDOM SHOTS J. W. Lovell; New York [1878] Short stories, including [a] MR. SKINNER'S NIGHT IN THE UNDERWORLD. Mr. Bartholomew Skinner of Squan, N.J., while travelling in Germany decided to visit Tanhauser's underworld. If

ADELER, MAX Tanhauser could enter, reasons Skinner, why cannot 17 He is admitted by a ghost and taken to Aphrodite, but offends the spirits by carping and perpetually making commercial suggestions. When he starts to sing a hymn, he is ignominiously expelled. * An early version of the worldly, ugly American. Amusing. Many illustrations by A. B. Frost. 4. THE FORTUNATE ISLAND AND OTHER STORIES Lee and Shepard; Boston 1882 Short stories, including [a1 AN OLD FOGY. Ephraim Batterby, an elderly_man who is always praising the glories of the past, as against the present, suddenly finds himself back in the world of his childhood. He is mistaken for his own father, and when he is ridiculed for comments about daily newspapers, Chicago, and the telegraph, decides that the past may not have

been so wonderful as he thought. All a dream. * Also present is the excellent lost-race science-fiction story "The F9rtunate Island," which offers a foretaste of Mark Twain's A CONNECTICUT YANKEE IN KING ARTHUR'S COURT. A light-hearted, amusing tale. AINSWORTH, WILLIAM HARRISON (1802-1882) British novelist, editor, publisher. Often critized during his early career for his Newgate novels (ROOKWOOD, JACK SHEPPARD), which romanticized the'underworld and glamorized famous criminals of the past. His later work was mostly romantic historical fiction in the mode of later Scott. Although not a great novelist, he could visualize scenes vividly and convey excitement. As editor of BENTLEY'S MISCELLANY and other periodicals he was a central figure in the mid-Victorian literary world. In his fantastic fiction, the supernatural, which is usually folkloristic, tends to be secondary to other elements. For a good study, see WILLIAM HARRISON AINSWORTH AND HIS FRIENDS by S. M. Ellis. 5. ROOKWOOD A ROMANCE Richard Bentley; London 1834 3 vol. (published anonymously) ROOKWOOD, Ainsworth's first important work, established him as one of the most popular authors in Great Britain. According to the preface in the 1849 edition, it was consciously written to reestablish the older romances of Walpole, Lewis, Radcliffe, and Maturin. It is thus more Gothic than his later work. * The story consists of two main substructures: a Gothic alienation plot, in which Alan Rookwood, a dispossessed heir, plots a complicated but unsuccessful revenge, and secondly, the exploits of Dick Turpin, the famous highwayman. The Gothic plot is too complex to summarize; in any case, it is not particularly interesting, but the sections concerning Turpin took the public fancy and Ainsworth's songs in thieves' cant became extremely popular. It is in this novel that Turpin's famous (but probably imaginary) ride on the great mare, Black Bess, took place. The supernatural elements are to be found in the Gothic sections, and include a powerful ancestral curse that stipulates, in part, that all Rookwoods shall murder their wives; a lime tree that drops a gigantic limb

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AINSWORTH, W. H. whenever a death in the family is near; and a ghost. * Turpin's ride is still worth reading. AN HISTORICAL ROMANCE 6. WINDSOR CASTLE Henry Colburn; London 1843 3 vol. Romantic historical novel, 1529-1536, ranging from just before Henry VIII's divorce from Katherine of Aragon to the execution of Anne Boleyn. Historical accuracy, of course, is not absolute, and the author deliberately strays away from history for characters, incidents, and conversations, although the major lines of history are recognized. The supernatural enters strongly in Herne the Hunter, who permeates the novel and is to be found behind many closed doors and under many trees, either tempting someone or performing some daring deed. Herne, according to the more believable legend related, had lived about one hundred and fifty years earlier, and had sold his soul to the Devil in order to win a wife. Herne then committed suicide and the Devil turned him into a wood spirit, immortal, invulnerable, and armed with certain supernatural powers. One of his functions is to assemble a band of living or recently dead men to ride with him through the wood at night. While his bands are periodically wiped out, Herne always remains. In WINDSOR CASTLE Herne tempts Surrey and Wyat, sets himself against Henry, causes the downfall of Anne Boleyn, and creates a great deal of activity. Captures, escapes, imprisonments, secret passages, disguises, discoveries, hidden caverns all abound. Herne, of course, is the great prototype of similar characters in the 19th century boys' thrillers (iibloods"). Today, however, he is interesting from a folkloristic point of view, both as a survival of pagan Germanic belief and as a parallel to the witch cult. * Although Ainsworth has a not undeservedly bad critical reputation, WINDSOR CASTLE is very readable and enjoyable. * The edition read was the superior Routledge 1889 edition, which contains both Cruikshank plates and many woodcuts by W. A. Delamotte showing the Tower of London, Windsor Castle, and their environs. 7. THE LANCASHIRE WITCHES [Printed for private circulation, London 18491. [First trade edition, Henry Colburn; London 1849 3 vol.1 A long historical romance based loosely on historical witch trials in Northern England during the reign of King James I. * A prelude introduces the situation. The last Abbot of Whalley has been trapped in an abortive revolt against Henry VIII. While he stands in peril, he is approached by Nicholas Demdike, a notorious witch, who offers the abbot safety if he will baptize Demdike's child. The abbot, who has already excommunicated the Demdikes, refuses, and is executed shortly thereafter. Before he dies, he places a curse on Demdike's infant daughter. * Approximately seventyfive years later, during the reign of King James I, witches hold sway over the large area known as Pendle Forest. Although they quarrel and intrigue among themselves, they recognize the Devil as their common master, attend co-

AINSWORTH, W. H. vens together, and retain power as long as each witch sacrifices one person a year to the Devil. The most powerful of the witches, prima inter pares, is Mistress Nutter, one of the local gentry. Just below her in power are Mother Demdike, whom the abbot cursed as a child, and Mother Chattox, both heads of witch families. The witches harry the lands, taking toll of all. * Several subplots run concurrently. There is a lawsuit between Mistress Nutter and Squire Nowell about boundaries, in which Nowell's attorney is a rascally Londoner, Thomas Potts. To gain her suit Mistress Nutter changes the entire landscape magically, altering the terrain and moving permanent landmarks. In a second subplot, Potts, to gain favor with the king, is determined to investigate and accuse the various witches of the area. He and Nowell proceed by force against Mistress Nutter. As a romantic subplot, young Richard Assheton, a member of thp gentry, falls in love with Alizon Device, who has been thought to be Mother Demdike's granddaughter, but is realty Mistress Nutter's daughter. Richard attempts to protect Alizon against the general accusations of witchcraft that are circulating. Alizon, despite her environment, is kind and virtuous. But once Alizon's true identity is revealed, Mother Demdike plans to sacrifice her to the Devil, partly to spite Mistress Nutter, and partly to gain her yearly renewal. Mistress Nutter, discovers that her witchery will not work against true religion, and also urged by maternal feelings, repents and tries to save her daughter. Eventually Demdike and Chattox forfeit their bonds; Mistress Nutter is hauled before the king; and the witch cult is wiped out. Alizon is killed by her foster-sister, the last of the witches, and Richard Assheton dies. * There is a considerable amount of supernaturalism in the story, but it is not primarily Gothic, but Romantic. Motifs include appearances of the Devil; familiars; covens; flight through the air on brooms; doppelgangers; a picture that comes to life; ghosts, notably the frequent appearance of the Abbot of Whalley, who comes to see his curse being fulfilled; doll magic; and animal magnetism. There is a fair amount of dialect, which tends to be bothersome. * Included in the body of the novel is the short piece [a] THE LEGEND OF MALKIN TOWER. In the days of King Henry VI the female anchorite Isole de Heton lives a riotous life and is carried off by her spouse, the Devil. * Despite period characteristics, one of the major English novels about witchcraft. 8. AURIOL FRAGMENT OF A ROMANCE [In AINSWORTH'S WORK, Vol. XII Chapman and Hall; London 1850 This is first book appearance of this item, although it has appeared separately several times since. It was first published in AINSWORTH'S MAGAZINE, 1844-5, but was never completed. * Historical novel derivative in idea from Maturin's MELMOTH THE WANDERER. * Dr. Lamb, in early 17th century England, has discovered the elixir of life, but dies too soon to use it. His grandson Auriol and his laboratory assistant

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ALARCON, PEDRO DE Flapdragon drink it with good result. Flapdragon survives as Old Parr, while Auriol retains eternal youth. The story shifts to 1830, where Auriol is under the domination of Rougemont, a Rosicrucian, who is in league with the Devil. Every ten years, Auriol, if he is to retain his extended life, must submit a woman for sacrifice. He has found several such women in the past, without problems of conscience, but he rebels when he learns that the next sacrifice is to be the woman he loves. He is outwitted and the woman is sacrificed. Auriol then reawakens back in the 17th century and learns that his experiences have been delirium from a wound. * Not one of Ainsworth's better works. A rather uneven first draft ALAN, A. J. (pseud of LAMBERT, LESLIE H.) (1883-1940) British civil servant, pioneer radio narrator. Said by Kenelm Ross to have originated the BBC accent, a "class-conscious mincing travesty of correct diction." 9. GOOD EVENING. EVERYONE! Hutchinson; London [1928 ] Radio monologues and narratives told by Mr. Alan. Including [a] MY ADVENTURE IN JERMYN STREET. Alan mysteriously receives a theatre ticket, then is taken to a deserted house by a beautiful woman. He never learns the reason for the incident, though there may be a supernatural explanation. [b] THE DREAM. A repeated dream with consistent symbolism: whoever is seen on the speaker's platform will soon die. [c] COINCIDENCE. Light and shadow cause the illusion of a body lying on the road. Prophetic. [d] THE HAIR. A brass box contains a quantity of human hair. The hair, if placed on photographs, either injures or kills its victims. A good material-horror story spoiled by a jaunty ending. [e] THE DIVER. Premonitions of death. [f] THE VOICE. A radio set tunes in on a phantom singer. Also possession. [g] THE PHOTOGRAPH. Spirit photography. [h] MY ADVENTURE IN NORFOLK. Alan sees a roadside motor accident and discovers a murder. But it all had happened years before. * It is possible that a skilled narrator might make these stories come to life, but as read, they are undeveloped, and the penchant for a trick ending is annoying. * A more accessible collection is THE BEST OF A. J. ALAN (Richards Press, London, 1954), edited by Kenelm Foss. ALARCON, PEDRO ANTONIO DE (1833-1891) Spanish poet, journalist, novelist, playwright. Much of his work is romantic and regionalistic, and presented in a rhetorical maneer. Bestknown in the English-speaking world for the short novel THE THREE CORNERED HAT (EL SOMBRERO DE TRES PICOS, 1874), subject of ballet by Manuel de Falla. 10. THE STRANGE FRIEND OF TITO GIL A. Lovell; New York [1890] Translated from Spanish by Mrs. Francis J. A. Darr. * A sentimentally developed version of two folkloristic motifs, Death's godson and the Spanish magician. * Early 18th century

ALARCON, PEDRO DE Spain. Tito Gil, illegitimate son of a Spanish grandee, falls on hard times when his father dies. He is cast out of the house by his stepmother and scorned by all his former acquaintances. He also loses the woman he loves. He is about to commit suicide when Death appears to him. Death tells Gil that he has taken a fancy to him and offers to aid him to fortune and marriage to Elena. Gil simply has to watch where and how Death comports himself in the sick chamber and he will be considered a matchless physician. Gil receives royal favor and marries Elena, as well as gaining his father's estate. Death then calls him away and takes him to the palace of ice at the North Pole. Death reveals that Tito's experiences have all been illusion. Tito really did commit suicide, and Elena died on the same day. But thanks to Elena's prayers in heaven, Tito was given a second chance. It is now the year 2316 and the end of the world is near. The world explodes and presumably Tito and Elena go to Paradise. * Sentimental and quaint. ALDEN, W[ILLIAM] L. (1837-1908) American educator, lawyer, journalist (NEW YORK TIMES), editor. Sometime resident in England. Now remembered mostly for his work in popularizing canoeing as a sport. 11. A LOST SOUL BEING THE CONFESSION AND DEFENCE OF CHARLES LINDSAY A ROMANCE Ghat to and Windus; London 1892 Early borderline science-fiction. * Italy, near Venice. The narrator, Dr. Lindsay, is currently in a madhouse. He has committed a murder and admits the fact, but his story is so strange that he is considered insane. * Independently wealthy, he has been educated as a physician, but is currently enthusiastic about geology. While observing a glacier in Northern Italy, he sees a body in the ice. He extracts a beautiful woman, and revives her by injections and artificial respiration. She is the Countess della Torre, born a Contarini, who has been frozen for over 300 years. She adjusts well enough to modern times, but there is always an unmoral aspect to her violent personality. The doctor falls in love with her and she becomes his mistress. But when she takes one of his friends as a lover, Lindsay becomes madly jealous. He decides that the countess has no soul. While her body was revived, her soul did not return to the body. He thereupon murders her. * Despite a somewhat cluttered beginning, economically told and not especially dated in narration. ALEXANDER, S[IGMUND] B. (fl. 1880-1915) American writer of fiction on occult topics, children's plays. 12 • TEN OF US ORIGINAL STORIES AND SKETCHES Laughton, Macdonald; Boston [1887] Short stories, including [a] THE MODERN MEPHISTOPHELES. An American buys Faust's old castle and finds Faust's chambers and paraphernalia intact. He invokes Mephistopheles, who is aged and feeble because of centuries of human disbelief in him. [b] A DUAL LIFE. Abnormal psychology with suggestion of imaginary personalities.

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ALLEN, GRANT The narrator has built a dream world of great substantiality. When he marries the wrong woman, he continually projects the dream personality on her and finally murders her. Borderline supernatural. [c] THE LIVING DEAD. An insufficient quantity of the elixir of life, drunk in the early 18th century, prolongs life but not youth or bodily function. [d] THE TALISMAN. Allegory in fairy tale terms. The talisman of great power is the U.S. silver dollar. [e] THE MYSTERY OF DEATH. Mesmeric contact permits sharing the experience of death. * Another story, "Out of the Sea," not supernatural, deals with the finding of the ruins of Atlantis on recently elevated land. * Short, undeveloped, amateurish. ALLEN, GRANT (full name ALLEN, CHARLES GRANT BLAIRFINDIE) (1848-1899). British author of Canadian birth, sometime resident in Jamaica as an educator. Important popularizer of science, social novelist. His scientific and historical works PHYSIOLOGICAL AESTHETICS (1877) and THE EVOLUTION OF THE IDEA OF GOD (1897) were highly regarded, although some considered the latter blasphemous. Also produced important work in early sciencefiction and the mystery story. Remembered today mostly for THE WOMAN WHO DID (1895), in which the protagonist decided that free love was less degrading than the bondage of marriage, and for THE BRITISH BARBARIANS (1895), in which British cultural patterns were provocatively dissected in terms of anthropology. His supernatural fiction is less important than the works here cited, being journalistic or over-rationalistic. Nothing is known of May Cotes. 13. STRANGE STORIES Ghatto and Windus; London 1884. Short stories, including three somewhat humorous supernatural tales. [a] NEW YEAR'S EVE AMON} THE MUMMIES. Egypt. The narrator stumbles on the secret underground vault in the Great Pyramid on the night, once every thousand years, when the mummies come to life. He and a princess are attracted to one another, and he is willing to be mummified in order to join her. He awakens, and is told that his experience has been delirium, but there are material proofs. Amusing intentional anachronisms. [b] THE MYSTERIOUS OCCURRENCE IN PICCADILLY. A young man caught in an embarrassing situation pretends to be a phantasm of the living. A take-off on British psychical research. [c] OUR SCIENTIFIC OBSERVATIONS ON A GHOST. A ghost appears to a pair of medical students and obligingly permits itself to be felt, weighed, and analyzed chemically and spectrographically. Vivisection is a problem, since the ghost consists of a head and clothing. Again topical references to contemporary psychical research. * Also present are the two well-known science-fiction stories "Pausodyne" and "A Child of the Phalanstery." Frontispiece by George du Maurier. * [b] and [c] have some small interest as cultural history and are amusing.

ALLEN, GRANT 14. THE DESIRE OF THE EYES Digby, Long; London [1895 J Short stories, including, described elsewhere, [aJ NEW YEAR'S EVE AMONG THE MUMMIES. [bj THE MYSTERIOUS OCCURRENCE IN PICCADILLY. 15. TWELVE TALES WITH A HEADPIECE, A TAILPIECE, AND AN INTERMEZZO BEING SELECT STORIES Grant Richards; London 1899. Allen's selection of his best stories, largely reprinted from earlier volumes. Including [aJ WOLVERDEN TOWER. When Maisie visits the Wests, the tower of Wolverden Church has just been rebuilt. According to an old hag, the tower must be "fastedH thrice to be secure. Later that evening, at the hall dance, Maisie becomes acquainted with two young women who induce her to enter the vault beneath the church. They are the ancient dead, the previous human sacrifices, and also present is the entire local realm of the dead. They persuade Maisie to become the third human sacrifice necessary to protect the tower. But she is saved. * Also present is "A Child of the Phalanstery." *. [aJ represents Allen's anthropological and folkloristic interests. With COTES, MAY: 16. KALEE'S SHRINE J.W. Arrowsmith, Bristol and Simpkin, Marshall, London 1886. Libration between Indian supernaturalism and modern psychopathology. * Olga Trevelyan, daughter of a British official in India, is devoted to the goddess Kali by her ayah and a priest of Thuggee. The priest makes two small cuts to paralyze her eye muscles. According to theory, Olga will be a normal Anglo-Indian girl during her waking state, but while asleep she will be possessed by the terrible Kali. Years later in England, the results of all this become apparent. Olga is seemingly possessed by the goddess and tries to strangle one of her friends with the traditional neckerchief of the Thug; it is also quite possible that in the past she murdered her little brother. But modern science is more than a match for Kali and the priest. A medical man declares that she is a hysterical somnambulist, mesmerizes Kali away, and restores function to Olga's eyelids by means of a simple operation. * The decision between supernaturalism and science is never completely resolved, but Allen and Cotes seem to favor science. * The ideas are interesting and sophisticated, but the treatment is cheaply sensational and not up to Allen's better work elsewhere. While the British edition is accredited to Allen and Cotes, American reprints often cite Allen as sole author. ANDERSON, POUL (1926 ) Important modern American science-fiction author. Much of his work is characterized by elitist attitude toward problems of culture and psychology, with strong yearning for early Scandinavian lifeways. Fantasies are often based on the same point of view, which is presented with narrative skill and tolerance. 17. THE BROKEN SWORD Abelard-Schuman; New York 1954. Fantastic adventure, with an attempt to create

ANDERSON, POUL

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the cultural background of the Icelandic sagas. England, mostly, with the lands of Faerie adjacent to and interpenetrating it, circa 900 A.D. In this world the Norse gods still hold sway, although the evil Jotuns withstand them. Christianity is assuming a magical power that will later destroy the lands of Faerie. There are several minor races of supernatural beings, including the humanoid Elves, who cannot touch iron, and their enemies, the evil Trolls, monstrous beings. There is more than a suspicion that all that is happening is a concealed conflict, one step removed, between gods and Jotuns, good and evil. * Into this world a son is born to the humans Orm and Aelfrida. The Elf earl Imric happens to be riding past when he hears the news from a witch, and he immediately performs the magical rites to acquire a changeling. The Elves like foster children, since humans can handle iron weapons. Imric makes off with the baby, leaving in its place an Elf-Troll changeling. The human baby in Elfheim is to be the heroic Skafloc, while the changeling in England is to be the demonic berserker Valgard. * During Skafloc's name-feast in Elfheim, a sinister note is sounded: a god rides in and casts down a broken iron sword as a gift for Skafloc, to be used in time of need. * Years pass. Two subplots now mature. The Elves learn that the Trolls are planning war, and the champion Skafloc leads a reconnaissance raid into Finland. Valgard has fallen under the sway of the witch, who has a feud against Orm's family, and through her working murders his brothers and father. Valgard has learned of his non-human or~g~n, and decides to throw his lot in with the Trolls in Finland. He takes along as presents to the lustful Troll king his two human foster-sisters. The forces of Skafloc and Valgard clash in Finland, and Skafloc rescues Freda, one of his blood sisters and takes her as his lover. Neither knows of their blood relationship. The war breaks out and the Trolls, with powerful allies, beat the Elves badly. Skafloc is the Elf champion, while Valgard is the troll champion. The two meet in combat, but always indecisively. Skafloc, advised by one of the gods, learns that the broken sword is Elfdom's only hope and seeks to have it reforged. By evoking the dead he learns how to do this, but also learns that Freda is his sister. This is the first weird against Skafloc, for Freda leaves him and he is wild with despair. He and a member of the Irish Sidhe travel to Jotunheim and trick a giant into reforging the sword, but Skafloc learns that the s·word is evil. While it is irresistible (the Sword of Victory of Norse legend?), it will eventually kill its wielder. In the final battle the Elves win, but both Skafloc and Valgard are killed by the sword. Evil has been defeated, but at high cost. * The first portion of this novel is perhaps the finest American heroic fantasy, with good characterizations, excellent surface detail, good plotting, and an admirable recreation of. the mood of the Old Norse literature. But the

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ANDERSON, POUL story ends in a mad scramble and unconvincing slaughter. * The text read was not the first edition cited above, but the Ballantine (New York, 1971) edition, which is somewhat revised. 18. THREE HEARTS AND THREE LIONS Doubleday; Garden City, New York 1961. Fantastic adventure. A shorter version appeared previously in MFSF 1953. The scene is an alternate world where magic is potent and scientific law weak. This second world is linked to ours, perhaps by union of opposites, and spiritual crises in one are paralleled in the other. In our world the crisis is World War II; in the other world it is the threatened outburst of supernatural peoples, supporting chaos, against humans, who support the rule of law. The subject matter draws on medieval romances of chivalry, Norse mythology, and general folklore. * Holger Carlsen, young Danish-American, is hit by a bullet in World War II and awakens in the other world, which is more or less medieval. His quest first takes the form of wishing to be returned to our world, but it leads him through a series of fantastic adventures: a narrow escape from fairies, pursuit by a dragon, a riddling contest with a giant, detection of a werewolf, and other perils. In his quest he is accompanied by a dwarf and a swan-maiden, a human woman who can transform herself into a swan by means of a magic garment. After a time, however, Holger realizes that his presence in the other world is not accidental, and that very powerful forces are trying to prevent his accorr'plishing some unknown purpose. After episodes with Morgan Ie Fay (leader of his enemies) and a helpful wizard, he learns that he is to becorroe the Defender of humanity against the impending invasion by the wagical forces of Middleworld. He is Ogier the Dane, friend and paladin of Charlemagne, returned to save humanity. * Well sustained until the ending, at which time there are problems. ANDOlft's share in this boek is smiill. [a] wc:s written from a fev1 notes and a plot SUffirr:ary by Lovpcraft, \vhile [g] was based en excerpts ()f letters written by Lovecraft. 1057. THE DARK BROTHERHOOD Arkham House; Sauk City, Wisc. 1966 Miscellaneous material. * [a] THE DARK BROTHERHOOD, "Howard P. Lovecraft and August Derleth." A sect:larization of the Cthulhu mythos and borderline science-fiction. Providence. A young man and his girl friend follow a similacrum of Edgar Allan Poe and stumble on interplanetary horrors. Written by Derleth, perhaps from notes of Lovecraft's. [b] DEAF, Dl~ AND BLIND, C. M. Eddy, Jr. De~ scribed elsewhere. [c] THE GHOST-EATER, C. M. Eddy, Jr. Described elsewhere. A third story by Eddy is not supernatural. * [d] SUGGESTIONS FOR A READING GUIDE. A fantastically ambitious reading program worked out by Lovecraft for a friend. [e] ALFRED, 'A TRAGEDY. A short tongue-in-cheek play, joking ascribed by Lovecraft to Beaumont and Fletcher. [f] AMATEUR JOURNALISM. Of interest becau.se of Lovecraft's obsession with the topic. [g] THE CANCER OF SUPERSTITION, H. P. Lovecraft and C. M. Eddy, Jr. An outline .and brief sections for a boek that was to have been ghost-written for Houdini. *. The remainder of the book is devoted to essays about Lovecraft, some of which are excellent. [h] THE LOVECRAFT BOOKS, SOME ADDENDA AND CCRRIGENDA, William S. Home. A supplement to Lin Carter's essay about Lovecraft's books, printed in THE SHUTTERED ROOM. [i] TO ARKHAM AND THE STARS, Fritz Leiber. A very amusing tongt:e-in-cheek, matter-offact account of a modern visit to Arkham University, and a discussion of the events that took place there a generation earlier, in THE DUNWICH HORROR. [j] THROUGH HYPERSPACE WITH BROwN JENKIN, LOVECRAFT'S CO~~RIBUTION TO SPECl~ATIVE FICTION, Fritz Leiber. Leiber means science-fiction. [k] LOVECRAFT AND THE NEW ENGLAND MEGALITHS, Andrew E. Rothovius. An interesting discussion of Lovecraft and the large-stone remains of New England, like North Salem, New Hampshire. Did Lovecraft know of them? [1] HOWARD PHILLIPS LOVECRAFT, A BIBLIOGRAPHY, Jack Chalker. [m] THE CTHULHU MYTHOS, Jack Chalker. A listing and discussion of works by other authors using material from Lovecraft's Cthulhu cycle. [n] WALKS WITH H. P. LOVECRAFT, C. M. Eddy. Reminiscences. [0] THE MAKING OF A HOAX, August Derleth. Lovecraft's invention of the NECRONOMICON and the growth of the legend about it. [p] LOVECRAFT'S ILLUSTRATORS, John E. Vetter. A thorough discussion of the various artists who illustrated Lovecraft's work. Lovecraft liked the work of Virgil Finlay best. [q] FINAL NOTES, August Derleth. In this essay Derleth states very clearly that Lovecraft left no unfinished manuscripts. The stories that have been published as by Lovecraft and Derleth have been written wholly by Derleth, using as a basis odd notes and occa-

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LUIGI, BELLI sional sentences left by Lovecraft. Only three stories have any appreciable copy by Lovecraft: THE LAMP OF ALHAZRED, which incorporates letter fragments; THE SURVIVOR, notes and a plot summary; THE LURKER AT THE THRESHOLD, two short, unconnected passages. LOW~TIES,

MRS. [MARIE ADELAIDE] BELLOC (18681947) British novelist, dramatist, historical writer. Sister of Hilaire Belloc. Best-known work THE LODGER (1913), classic fictional account of the Jack-the-Ripper murders. 1058. STUDIES IN LOVE AND TERROR Methuen; London 19l3 Short stories, including [a] THE WOMAN FROM PURGATORY. As school girls, Agnes and Teresa were chums. Agnes marries, while Teresa runs off with a married man. Life is difficult for both of them. Teresa commits suicide, while Agnes's husband takes a mistress. * Agnes knows that Gerald Ferrier, a young poet, is in love with her, and as revenge against her husband decides to have an affair with Ferrier. But as she mounts the stairs to Ferrier's apartment, Teresa's ghost stops her. Probably a conscience symbol. * Competent higher-level commercial work. 1059. FROM OUT THE VASTY DEEP Hutchinson; London' [1920] Spiritualism, crime, and comedy of manners. * The house party takes place at Wyndfell Hall, currently owned by Lionel Varick, widower. His hostess for the party is his friend the Hon. Blanche Farrow, a hard-headed, intelligent woman. The guests are an assortment of types: Bubbles, a young woman, who is psychic and acts as a medium; Bill, her loyal platonic boy-friend; Tapster, a somewhat low millionaire who lusts to marry Bubbles; Helen, a rich young woman whom Varick wants to marry; and others of less consequence. Matters become sticky when a ghost is seen about the house. The guests are not surprised that the servants see it, but are shattered when it is visible to them. It is the ghost of Milly, Varick's deceased wife. Also seen by certain persons is the swarth of Milly's former companion, a woman who hates Varick. After Bubbles holds a disastrously successful seance, the characters interact in various ways. The resolution of the story comes with revelation of a crime which the reader had probably suspected all along. * Smooth, but with shadowy characters. The sensationalism behind the scenes does not fit the restrained Edwardian writing. LUIGI, BELLI Australian writer. Undoubtedly a pseudonym based on the name of the motion picture star Bela Lugosi. 1060. THE MUMMY WALKS Transport Publishing Co. Pty. Ltd.; Sydney, Australia [1950?] paperbound This volume and the following book are typical of a phase of Australian ephemeral literature: 48-page soft-bound booklets with lurid covers

LUIG I, BELLI of ted based on motion picture images. They are occasionally supernatural fiction, but more typically mystery fiction with gadgets from science-fiction. They seem to be pseudonymous, often with names suggestive of motion picture stars from the horror or crime range. * Vernon Templeton, collector and antique dealer, acquires an Egyptian mummy. When he unwraps it, it comes to life. The mummy of an Egyptian high priest and magician, it has considerable supernatural powers. It claims to be benevolently disposed toward him, but most of what it does is wrong and it soon turns nasty. Templeton, his fianc~e, and her Egyptologist father have some difficulty in deactivating it, which is done by rewrapping it in its cerecloths. * Low level. An obvious mixture of F. Anstey's THE BRASS BOTTLE and a modern horror film. 1061. CURSE OF THE MUMMY Transport Publishing Co. Pty. Ltd.; Sydney, Australia [1950?] paperbound Sequel to THE MUMMY WALKS. * A new owner of the mummy unwraps it, and the malicious magician from Ancient Egypt remembers that it has a hard grudge against Templeton. Templeton is harassed in many ways, from physical violence to magic, and he is fortunate to escape with his life. * The ending is very weak: strength through courage. LYNCH, [JOHN GILBERT] BOHUN (1884-1928) British author. Authority on history of boxing, with many books on early period. Also author of MENACE FROM THE MOON (1925), early interplanetary novel. AS EDITOR: Cecil Palmer; Lon1062. A MUSTER OF GHO~TS don 1924 American title THE BEST GHOST STORIES. * A long introduction by Lynch. * Described elsewhere, la] THE SHADOW OF A MIDNIGHT, Maurice Baring. [b] THE THING IN THE HALL, E. F. Benson. [c] THE WILLOWS, Algernon Blackwood. [d] THE OLD NURSE'S TALE, Mrs. Gaskell. [e] THE TRACTATE MIDDOTH, M. R. James. [f] THE VICTIM, May Sinclair. * Also [g] THE FOUNTAIN, Elinor Mordaunt. A gushy story of a water woman who commits suicide in a fountain when her husband commits adultery. The husband is ever after haunted by water. [h] THURNLEY ABBEY, Perceval Landon. (from RAW EDGES, Heinemann; London 1908) A very effective material horror story of a skeleton that appears in a haunted room and survives several destructions. [i] NOT ON THE PASSENGER LIST, Barry Pain. A jealous husband haunts a transAtlantic vessel. The ghost is outwitted. LYTLE, ANDREW [NELSON] (1902American educator, writer. Managing editor the SEWANEE REVIEW (1942-3). Professor of English, University of Florida. Best-known work BEDFORD FORREST AND HIS CRITTER COMPANY, which has gone through several editions. 1063. A NAME FOR EVIL A NOVEL Bobbs-Merril1; Indianapolis and New York 1947 Psychological, supernatural novel set somewhere in the American South during World War

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MACARDLE, DOROTHY II. * The external story: Brent and his wife Ellen buy a very rundown plantation, move in, and despite lack of cash gradually make it livable. There is only one problem: a century or so earlier, the plantation had been owned by a Major Brent, a remarkably cruel, dynamic domestic tyrant, who had destroyed both slaves and his own family to bring the plantation to maximum efficiency. In the folk beliefs of the local Blacks old Major Brent is still master of the place, and nothing is done that might go against his wishes. The modern Brent is at first mildly annoyed by this circumstance, but then begins to see the ghost of the vicious old man prowling around the house. A war of nerves takes place between ghost and man, although it is never brought into open conflict. Modern Brent soon realizes that the Major is really after Ellen, whom he wishes to abduct into a death-bride situation. A cousin, just released from the army, comes to live with them, and for a time the cousin helps Brent guard against the major. But the cousin is lured to death, and it is learned that he, too, was a ghost. Ellen is now pregnant and the peril is greater. Brent loses when the Major steals Ellen's spirit away to be his bride, and they disappear down the well. * There are strong indications, however, that this is really a regionalistic version of THE TURN OF THE SCREW. The whole story may be a fantasy on the part of the obnoxious narrator, who is not entirely sane. The Major may be the projection of Brent's nastiness, which has been syncretized with a convenient folk belief. The relationship of names is never explained. On the external level it is hinted that the narrator is descended from one of the Major's children whom he expelled, but a symbolic equation is stronger. The true story may be that Brent has murdered his wife. * Ingenious, attentionholding, stylistically sensitive, but greatly overwritten.

MACARDLE, DOROTHY [MARGARET CALLAN] (1889 - ? Irish novelist, historian, playwright. Wrote a 1000-page history of Ireland, THE IRISH REPUBLIC, with preface by de Valera, which has gone through many editions. Best-known work in America, THE UNINVITED, mostly because of the motion picture of the same name. 1064. UNEASY FREEHOLD Peter Davies; London 1941 American title THE UNINVITED. * Sentimental supernaturalism. Roderick Fitzgerald and his sister are looking for a house outside London where Roderick can write his plays. They find what seems a suitable place on the Bristol Channel, but soon discover themselves entangled in confused emotions from the past.

MACARDLE, DOROTHY The house is haunted. One of the rooms projects an atmosphere of gloom and terror that is unbearable, and a shining figure is occasionally to be seen on the staircase. In the past, two women died under somewhat suspicious circumstances-- Mary, the lady of the house, and Carmel, her husband's model. Not too far away lives the old Commander, from whom the Fitzgeralds bought the house, and Stella, his granddaughter. Stella is supernaturally attracted to the house, and is fast becoming a prey to the power of the ghost. Seances and a psychical researcher do little to resolve the situation, since there is considerable confusion about the nature and identity of the ghost or ghosts, until Roderick solves the mystery. There are two ghosts warring over Stella. One is the vicious Mary, who is not really Stella's mother as is generally supposed, and the other is the protective Carmel, Stella's real mother. Stella persuades Carmel to withdraw, and Roderick confronts the evil Mary and drives her away. * Unconvincing narrative personality, since the author canno~ write as a male; much overdevelopment and triviality •. McCARTHY, JUSTIN HUNTLEY (1860-1936) Anglo-Irish writer, son of political figure Justin McCarthy. Prolific writer of light historical romances; also popular histories of Ireland and the U.S.A. Most famous work IF I WERE KING (1901); sentimentalized tale of Fran~ois Villon in France of Louis XI; often reprinted, turned into operetta (by Rudolf Friml) and motion picture as THE VAGABOND KING. 1065. TIm DRYAD Methuen; London 1905 Historical romance set in Greece (Athens and vicinity) around 1300 A.D. Athens is currently ruled by Duke Baldwin, a descendant of the crusader of the same name. The story is told through the personality of Simon of Rouen, a French adventurer of common birth, who is a giant in strength and not overburdened with morals, yet capable of loyalty and admiration for higher things. * In the wood lives the dryad Argathona, whom Zeus has granted the power to live as long as there is a tree in Greece. Through her domain passes the young Prince Rainouart, son of Baldwin, who is as noble and comely as Baldwin is scheming and crude. Rainouart is wounded in a scuffle with robbers, and Argathona saves his life. They fall in love, and he pledges her his hand. The dryad is momentarily away when Rainouart has fainted, and the Duchess Esclaramonde of Thebes passes by. She, too, has an eye for Rainouart, less for his attractions than for his political heritage. Since she is skilled at low magic, she casts a glamour over him, bewitching him into thinking that she saved his life and was pledged to him. They go to Athens, where they are married. Argathona, with Simon as her squire, follows in the guise of a Greek knight, wins the wedding tourney, and strikes a bargain with the promiscuous Esclaramonde: the golden apple of Paris for a night of love. But Argathona arranges matters so that Rainouart is a witness to the proposed

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MacDONALD, GEORGE adultery. This brings a resolution: Rainouart is freed of his enchantment; Esclaramonde declares war, leaving Athens; the Athenians are badly beaten; and Rainouart and the dryad betake themselves to the woods. There the dryad is converted to Christianity by a friendly hermit, and by so doing loses her immortality. On Esclaramonde's death, they wed. * Smooth and fluent commercial work, amusing for an hour or two, but on afterthought not very satisfactory. MacDONALD, GEORGE (1824-1905) Scottish novelist, poet, essayist, Congregational minister. Left ministry in 1851 because of problems of faith, not so much doubts as heretical views. During lifetime well-known for Scottish regionalistic fiction, most of which is no longer read. Highly imaginative poet. Editor of stuffy magazine, GOOD WORDS FOR YOUNG, where much of his shorter fiction first appeared. Now remembered mostly for mythic fantastic fiction intended for children (hence beyond the scope of this volume), b~t now seen to be personal and symbolic investigations into problems of metaphysics and his own psyche. A complex, puzzling personality. At best a brilliant creator of images and symbolic statements, but a very uneven writer. Best-known works DAVID ELGINBROD (regionalistic, with metaphysical bent), AT THE BACK OF THE NORTH WIND. Also important in comparative literature for heavy influences from German literature, particularly Novalis. 1066. PHANTASTES A FAERIE ROMANCE FOR HEN AND WOMEN Smith, Elder; London 1858 An allegorical novel, strongly influenced by early 19th century German Romanticism, particularly Novalis, whom the author frequently quotes. The author's theory of imagination, as given in ORTS, offers a second source of ideas: an unconscious portion of the mind is filled with symbols from a symbol-producing universe. These are then revealed through the imagination. * Anodos (pathless, Aimless), a young man just come of age, is permitted to visit Fairy Land to seek his ideal. He undertakes a journey through the strange, both charming and horrible land. His experiences can be broken down into several adventures which are loosely connected with the central theme and the degree of his spiritual progress. At the end of individual adventures (which are often erotic in substructure), Anodos realizes that he has failed, usually because of not having followed instructions-- in other words, guilt. * Anodos's first adventure is concerned with the animistic forces of nature, as examplified in humanoid trees: the malevolent ash, who wishes to kill him; the friendly beech; and the wily female alder, who seduces him and almost succeeds in delivering him to the ash. He is rescued by a knight, who may be a higher potency of himself, or perhaps a father figure or Jesus. Anodos's second adventure consists of recalling to life (by song, musi~) the marble image of a woman. This, too, ends in disaster, and he gains a horrible

MacDONALD, GEORGE shadow which attaches itself to him. (Pride.) * The narrative is then interrupted by [a] [THE MARCHEN OF COSMO VON WEHRSTAHL, STUDENT AT PRAGUE]. (This is occasionally anthologized under such titles as THE LADY IN THE MIRROR, THE MAGIC MIRROR, and THE WOMAN IN THE MIRROR.) Cosmo, who is interested in magic, chances to buy a mirror in which, each night, he sees reflected the form of a beautiful wor,lan. He falls in love with her and desires her physical presence. Using his magical resources he causes her to appear, but she begs him to release her from the spell of the mirror. Cosmo agrees; after some complications he succeeds, but dies in the attempt. The theme is thus basically that of the book: redemption through renunciation or self-sacrifice. * Anodos then wanders to the house of life, which has four doors-- tears, sighs, dismay, and timeless terror. After passing through each door, he has adventures, each of which ends tragically. These include a battle with folkloristic giants (selfishness of varIous sorts), and his capture by his shadow, which has taken the form of a knight. But Anodos finally realizes the point of his experiences. In his last adventure he becomes the squire of the knight who saved him from the ash tree. He dies to save deluded worshippers from a monster masquerading as a benevolent god. He awakens in real life, after having been away 21 days-- which presumably stand for his 21 years of age. * While it is questionable how literally or allegorically each image in the book is to be taken, the novel as a whole is based on central ideas of 19th century Christianity. Anodos was a selfish young man who was forced to learn that the lower self had to die to give birth to the higher. Within this framework institutionalized religion, the family relationships, and societal elements enter. But one need not worry about ultimate meanings. PHANTASTES is a sometimes brilliant, sometimes cloying story of great originality. The most desirable edition is the Fifield (London, 1905) edition, with a brief preface by Greville MacDonald, the author's son, and illustrations by Arthur Hughes. 1067. THE PORTENT. A STORY OF THE INNER VISION OF THE HIGHLANDERS, COMMONLY CALLED THE SECOND SIGHT Smith, Elder; London 1864 Psychopathology, a curse, fate, paranormal abilities, suggestions of reincarnation, all in a neo-Gothic setting. Short novel. Early 19th century Scotland and England. * In the family background of Duncan Campbell lies a haunting and a curse. Generations earlier two brothers vied for the same woman, and the loser, a violent-tempered man, rode his brother down, driving him over a cliff. What with a loose horseshoe, the killer himself went over the cliff soon after. Since then the murderer's ghost rides about, the clink of his loose horseshoe a portent of evil or misfortune. Young Duncan Campbell, whose birth is mysterious, grows up within the legend, and often hears the supernatural clink of the

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horseshoe in moments of peril, while his old nurse, who has the second sight, has seen the visitant many times. When Campbell reaches manhood, he goes to England to become tutor to the children of a distantly related family, and there meets and falls in love with Lady Alice. She is spiritually defective in some way, with a lowered level of consciousness, and the family with whom she lives plays upon her abnormality to alienate her inheritance. Campbell discovers that she is a somnambulist and often wanders through the deserted hall and haunted chamber of the old wing of the manor. He can summon her mesmerically. He also discovers that when she awakens during such walks, she is a different, more nearly normal personality. He determines to educate her and restore her to normalcy, but her family inexplicably objects, forcing him to stop. Some time later he is caught with her in the haunted chambers, ignominiously expelled from the manor, and injured, while Alice, whose mind collapses, is put into a madhouse. When Campbell recovers, he can find no trace of her. * The years pass. He enters the army, is wounded at Waterloo, and returns to Britain as a half-pay soldier. But he never loses hope of finding Alice again. When he returns to his native mountains, twelve years after the disaster, he finds that his old nurse still lives and is willing to use the second sight to help him. He returns to the hall, where he once had been tutor, and learns that Alice is once again in residence, but as a half-confined madwoman. He visits her secretly, finds that he still has the power to summon her, and gradually he builds up her mind again. They elope; she regains her inheritance; and they go to live in Scotland. There are also dreams, omens, paranormal hearing, an appearance of the ghost, suggestions of repeated patterns of fate and reincarnation, and many psychological oddities. The mood in the first part of the story is well sustained as a spiritualized Gothicism, with many of MacDonald's remarkable insights and aphorisms. The story is much less convincing in the second half, however, and in this respect the novel is inferior to the earlier, simpler periodical version of the story. 1068. LILITH Chatto and Windus; London 1895 A long parabolic narrative heavily laden with Victorian Christian symbolism. Just as PHANTASTES was MacDonald's first considerable work, LILITH was his last, and the implication is that the author considered them related works. Like PHANTASTES, LILITH is ultimately a story of spiritual rebirth and salvation told metaphorically in fairy tale motifs, but it lacks the erotic element of PHANTASTES and concentrates on images of pain and despair. While the message is religious, the mechanism, oddly enough, verges upon science-fiction, with discussions of dimensions and hints of other planetary worlds. * Vane, whose name hints something of his personality, passes through a mirror into another world which contains various spiritual qualities personified

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MacDONALD, GEORGE as individuals or groups. The land is a wounded land, and before it can thrive it needs the water of grace or life. Vane's guide, mentor, helper, and superior is a raven, who has two other aspects, that of an anci.ent librarian and that of Adam Cadmos-- the first man as seen supernaturally and as typifying humanity. Vane, who follows his own selfish or thoughtless inclinations, is offered the gift of rebirth through death. He rejects it, and his unwillingness .to let the carnal man die causes him and others great pain. He wanders through many abortive adventures before he achieves his death. He has an anticipation of a divine vision, which is not fulfilled, since his life on earth is not yet finished. Among the personalities of the story are Mara (Death ::Jr Pain personified, a sympathetic being) and her enemy Lilith, Adam's first wife, a vampiric being who stands for sin or selfish evil. There are transformations, suspended animation, dimensional wanderings, and much incidental supernaturalism, superficially on a· fairy tale level, but usually allegorically conceived. * When the final version of LILITH was written, (an earlier version exists in manuscript only), MacDonald's family disputed whether it was worth publishing. Much the same difference of opinion still exists about it. Some critics regard it highly for its fine images and verbal flashes.; others (apart from those who consider it a morbid imitation of the ALICE stories) regard it as a most unpleasant work with an unpalatable message, sometimes written down to a juvenile level (with the most disgusting baby talk). While in a sense it is a hypertrophied Victorian literary fable, it is by no means a children's book. MACHEN, ARTHUR [LLEWELLYN] (born JONES, ARTHUR LLEWELLYN; father assumed name MACHEN in 1874) (1863-1947) British writer of fiction, actor, journalist. Raised in Welsh parsonage near Caerlon on Usk, amid Roman ruins, unspoiled rustic countryside, Welsh cultural nationalism, fervent (somewhat unorthodox) religiosity-- all of which influenced later writings considerably. Moved to London at early age, where did miscellaneous literary work, reviewing, translating (MEMOIRS OF CASANOVA, THE HEPTAMERON of Margaret of Navarre), fiction writing. On failure of literary career became actor for several years, apparently quite competently. Returned to London and took post on EVENING NEWS, where remained for many years, working intermittently for other newspapers in later years. During Fleet St. period was almost legendary figure because of remarkable facility of writing and pawky personality. In last years received literary pension from Crown. In supernatural fiction, despite small output, the dominant figure of the time segment just before M. R. James and A. Blackwood, a figure of great historical importance, particularly later in the century in America. Creative work stops around 1900, for most work published later is either written considerably earlier or

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MACHEN, ARTHUR is minor. Work is characterized by scholarship in many bizarre areas of knowledge, notably occultism, alchemy, and magic; remarkable stylistic virtuosity and ability to write image-laden prose; excellent imagination; sentimental semi-mysticism for nature and good old days; ability to see everyday matters in a transcendent light; Welsh sympathies; experimentation with form, not always successful; and, unfortunately, a frequent note of petulant complaint. Undoubtedly one of the most gifted British authors of his day, but a man who never fulfilled early promise. 1069. THE CHRONICLE OF CLEMENDY; OR. THE HISTORY OF THE IX. JOYOUS JOURNEYS. IN WHICH ARE CONTAINED THE AMOROUS INVENTIONS AND FACETIOUS TALES OF MASTER GERVASE PERROT. GENT., NOW FOR THE FIRST TIME DONE INTO ENGLISH BY ARTHUR MACHEN Carbonnek. Privately printed for the Society of pantagruelists [London] 1888 350 copy edition. Probably written to satisfy one of the affectations of the day, bowdlerized, sentimentalized Rabelais. Heavily tongue-in-cheek short stories, told in pseudo-archaic English, set in the framework of a Welsh drinking society, the officers of which must entertain one another with stories. Including, [a] STRANGE STORY OF A RED JAR. Brother Drogo, cellarer of the nearby priory, finds in his wine cellar an ancient red jar. The jar which is sealed, contains wine from Roman days. Drogo cannot resist its delights, drinks heavily, and finds himself in the company of naked bacchantes. [b] HOW THE FOLK OF ABERGAVENNY WERE PESTERED BY AN ACCURSED KNIGHT. Sir Jenkin, a clockwork knight, beats out the house on the Abergavenny clocktower. But he leaves his post and hunts out local miscreants, like young lovers, adulterous monks. He is tried for witchcraft and burned. A hoax. [c] THE QUEST OF THE DIAL AND THE VANE. This contains two short narratives, [d] QUEST OF CONSTANCY, [e] QUEST OF VARIETY. Two knights, to please a merry company, go on quests to determine which is the better, constancy or variety in love. They return and tell their experiences, which are remarkably imaginative. A hoax. [f] WHAT FELL OUT IN THE ANCIENT KEEP OF CALDICOT. A heretical magician, practicing alchemy in the keep, uses magic to kidnap and seduce the beautiful Loyse. [g] THE AFFAIR DONE AT THE HOUSE WITH THE LATTICE. Sir Philip Meyrick, a young adventurer, falls in love with the daughter of Maurice Torlesse, who is a magician of great power. The young lovers watch while Torlesse creates a magical replica of the landscape and bathe it with thunderstorms. The magician, however, looks closely into the replica, and sees the hidden lovers. Meyrick is forced to kill him in self-defence. * Rationalized interpretations for those who wish them. Amusing stories with a bookish joi de vivre, if one can accept the self-conscious convention. 1070. THE GREAT GOD PAN AND THE INMOST LIGHT John Lane; London 1894 Fin de sieele horror stories, heavily indebted

MACHEN, ARTHUR to Stevenson in style, narrative technique, and in the concept of London as a Baghdad of the Arabian Nights -- i.e., a place where anything strange might happen, and curious stories almost automatically turn up. * [a} THE GREAT GOD PAN. (WHIRLWIND, 1890) A minor cause celebre when published, roundly denounced as decadent fiction, this tells from various disconnected points of view the life history of a supernatural femme fatale. The first episode recounts an experiment conducted by a ruthless scientist to remove the limitations that keep mankind from perceiving the ultimate reality, or Pan. This involves an operation upon the brain of Mary Vaughan, a young woman, who experiences Pan and goes horribly mad. Nine months later she bears a girl, dying shortly thereafter. The girl, Helen Vaughan, is reared in the country, but disappears after leaving tragedies and horrors and incidents of supernatural encounter behind her. About twenty-four years after the initial experiment a wave of suicides and mental collapses is afflicting the aristocratic young men about town. Villiers and Austin are disturbed by the situation, and by tracing common factors learn that behind everything is a Mrs. Beaumont, a beautiful, fascinating, but utterly evil woman. Those that associate with her come into contact with an evil that is ineffable. She is offered the chance of suicide, and her corpse devolves away from humanity, turning into something utterly alien and horrible. She was the daughter of Mary Vaughan and the god Pan. [b} THE INMOST LIGHT. Told within the same stiff conventions as [a}. Dyson and Salisbury chance upon the case of Dr. Black, whose insane wife died under suspicious circumstances. A fellow doctor, who conducted the autopsy, stated that the wife's brain was not human, that Black probably murdered her, and that he did not blame Black. By coincidence (covered by the thematic concept of Stevensonian London) Dyson and Salisbury come upon a remarkable opal-like gem and Black's diary. He had been experimenting with extracting souls, and had reconstituted his wife's into the gem. He died a broken man. * This story, according to Machen, was rejected by Miss Braddon as too horrible to print. * In these stories Machen had not yet mastered the Stevensonian technique, and the narrative is choppy, undeveloped, and curiously disharmonic between vehicle and subject matter. 1071. THE THREE IMPOSTORS; OR, THE TRANSMUTATIONS John Lane; London 1895 A second, far more successful attempt to imitate Stevenson; in the opinion of many it is superior to Stevenson's comparable work. * Stories set in an ingenious framework that is best not revealed. * Including [a} ADVENTURE OF THE MISSING BROTHER. Charles Phillipps, amateur ethnologist, young man about town who serves as one of the two focal points for the chain of narratives, chances to converse with a Miss Lally in Leicester Square. She is accustomed to meet her brother there, and she has a premonition of disaster when she sees him walk past with a stranger. The stranger's

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MACHEN, ARTHUR face is mask-like, and his hand and arm, she sees, are the bones of a skeleton. Miss Lally thereupon tells Phillipps the story of her life in [b} NOVEL OF THE BLACK SEAL. She has been secretary and confidant to Professor Gregg, the ethnologist. Gregg has been acting mysterious about a project which he has been unwilling to disclose to her, but he takes her and his child to a remote valley in Wales, where, after more mysterious activities, he disappears. He leaves behind him a manuscript which reveals that Gregg believes that the fairies still survive underground in certain places, as malevolent, semisupernatural beings, and that he intends to beard them. This is tied in with the stone hexacontalithos, which has carved upon it in strange hieroglyphs the secrets of protoplasm. The professor experiments with the stone, which he has found, and using a local boy who is half-fairy, he releases human flesh from its limitations. The professor then descends under the hills to find the hidden people and is never seen again. This story is often reprinted under the alternate title THE BLACK SEAL. [c} THE RECLUSE OF BAYSWATER. Dyson, the second of the two focal points of the story chain, meets at a rooming house a beautiful young woman. This is Miss Leicester, who tells him [d} NOVEL OF THE WHITE POWDER. Her overworked brother took a prescription filled by a careless druggist and reacted strangely. At first he seemed to improve physically, but then his personality changed. He became a recluse and refused to see anyone. When his door was eventually forced, he had transformed into a black slimy monstrosity that dripped into slimy liquescence. The medicine, it seems, normally harmless, had by long storage and repeated changes of temperature, been changed into the transformation drug used at witches' sabbaths, the vinum sabbati. Often reprinted under the title THE WHITE POWDER. * [b} and [d} are among the classics of supernatural literature, beautifully narrated, highly imaginative, thought-provoking, even with a note of humor that is seldom noted. The mythology expressed in [b} often occurs in Machen's work, and has been very important historically. In reprints some material is usually omitted. * This edition is designed by Aubrey Beardsley. 1072: THE HOUSE OF SOULS Grant Richards; London 1906 An omnibus volume with a fine frontispiece by Sidney Sime. * Described elsewhere, [a} THE THREE IMPOSTORS, altered, abridged, but with the fantasy episodes retained: [b} ADVENTURE OF THE MISSING BROTHER; [c} NOVEL OF THE BLACK SEAL; [d} THE RECLUSE OF BAYSWATER; [e} NOVEL OF THE WHITE POWDER. * [f} THE INMOST LIGHT. [g} THE GREAT GOD PAN. * Also [h} A FRAGMENT OF LIFE. Fantasy by implication only. Individuation. The awakening of a mystical consciousness in a young Londoner whose roots are in the ancient Welsh countryside. The impingement of higher consciousness on the petty, almost squalid details of daily life is brilliantly handled, as is the gorgeously mad pro-

MACHEN, ARTHUR clamation of the preacher Richards. [i} THE WHITE PEOPLE. (1899) In the frame situation two of Machen's occult flaneurs discuss the nature of evil, saints of evil, and the symbolic nature of certain occult traditions. The heart of the story, however, is the remarkable document entitled [j} THE GREEN BOOK. This is a diary-like document written by an adolescent girl, telling of her half-unwitting initiation by her nurse into the ancient supernatural traditions and rites of the countryside. It tells of her own spiritual experiences in a heightened mystical reality, and of a weird, hostile universe that is revealed to her. Incorporated are much folklore, genuine and literary, and several brilliant fairy tales. Evil is triumphant. This document is probably the finest single supernatural story of the century, perhaps in the literature. * [k} THE RED HAND. Murder in London. The background involves the degenerate fairy races who dwell eternally hostile, in caverns below. * The Knopf (New York 1922) edition of the same title omits [a} and [k} but contains a new introduction by Machen. Machen's introductions, though often crotchety, are always of interest. 1073. THE HILL OF DREAMS Grant Richards; London 1907 Frontispiece by Sidney Sime. To quote the author: "This is a Robinson Crusoe of the soul, in which the hero's solitude is a 'solitude' of the spirit, and the ocean surrounding him and dissociating him from his kind is a spiritual deep." * Lucian Taylor, son of a Welsh country parson, is gifted with literary ability but cursed with a hypersensitivity which makes intolerable to him the hypocrisy, coarseness, and unwitting (and witting) cruelty of local folk. As his literary attempts fail and his personal life becomes more and more intolerable, he withdraws from the world into occult practices. He studies the magical writers of the past, practices mental disciplines, and inflicts pain on himself until he gains the ability of the spiritual alchemist: transmuting life around him to gold. He sees the Roman splendor still around his section of Wales, and when he goes to London to write the perfect book, he experiences London as a demoniac and Dionysian bedlam. After a glorious bacchanal he is found dead by his landlady, a bottle of laudanum or other drug nearby. * A remarkable stylistic achievement in the decorative manner, on the same level as De Quincey's more famous work. The story line, at its broadest, is at least partially autobiographical in that Machen suffered similar frustration as a young man. A highly individual version of the sensitive young man in the brutal world. 1074. THE ANGELS OF MONS, THE BOWMEN, AND OTHER LEGENDS OF THE WAR Simpkin, Marshall, Hamilton, Kent; London 1915 In his work as a journalist for the London EVENING NEWS Machen created one of the most important pieces of folklore associated with World War I, a fiction that is still believed by many to be factual. In the EVENING NEWS for

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MACHEN, ARTHUR September 29, 1914 appeared [a} THE BOWMEN. According to Machen's short sketch, at the Battle of Mons phantom bowmen from England's past aided the B.E.F. The story created a sensation, since it was taken for fact, and it has entered the annals of psychic research as a true incident. There was never any intention on Machen's part to present anything but fiction, and he stated as emphatically as he could that the story was purely imaginary, but many people refused to believe him, and the incident became international. Letters were written to the newspapers claiming to have information about the phantom bowmen, and Harold Begbie, a fairly well-known author, wrote a book to prove the factual basis for Machen's fiction. [b} THE SOLDIERS' REST. Also from the EVENING NEWS, as are the remaining stories. St. Michael descends to help the British. [c} THE MONSTRANCE. A German soldier who committed atrocities is haunted. [d} THE DAZZLING LIGHT. A vision of medieval troops armed with crossbows. The vision is later explained as a prevision of new technical equipment, crossbows for propelling grenades. * Machen contributes a long preface about the legend of the bowmen, and other historical material by fellow newspapermen is included. * All very ephemeral as literature, and hardly worth reading, but curious in historical retrospect. * The second British edition (1915), but not American editions, also contains [e} THE LITTLE NATIONS. Dr. Duthoit's gardener has prepared a seedbed, but when the doctor sees it, it is a relief map of Gallipoli, with hordes of ants in combat. More interesting than the other stories. 1075. THE GREAT RETURN Faith Press; London 1915 paperbound A mystery story told as reportage piecing together events, exemplifying one of Machen's favorite themes: that the Grail was not a pagan survival (as most folklorists of Machen's day held), but a Christian mystery associated with the early Celtic (non-Roman) Christianity. The story is presented as a reporter's reflections over histories and incidents that happened for a glorious nine days. A feud that could have ended in at least an assault, and perhaps worse, is dissolved in repentance, restitution and forgiveness. A girl, dying of consumption, given twenty-four hours to live, is restored to blooming health. The bell of St. Teilo is heard, restoring hearing to the deaf. Remarkable lights are to be seen in the sky and in the old ruined chapel, and in the church the smell of incense is to be observed where no incense was used. The culmination comes when the Sangraa1, the lost miraculous altar, and the bell of St. Tei10 appear at a Grail mass, with their three red-clad supernatural attendants. * Interestingly handled. 1076. THE TERROR Duckworth; London 1917 A story of the Welsh countryside during World War I, told as a mystery story, solution hinted during the narration and confirmed at the end of the volume. ,', A succession of brutal mur-

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MACHEN, ARTHUR ders takes place in Wales. The victims are usually isolated people, although there are cases of families having been killed. There is no real evidence as to the identity of the murderer or murderers. An odd feature of the crimes is that there is a complete official cover-up of all news about them, with violations of the censorship being very severely punished. The first explanations, when the crimes are believed to be only local, is that a criminal madman is guilty, perhaps even a person with multiple personalities. As it becomes obvious that the phenomena are widespread, the general feeling is that the Germans are in some way responsible. When a dark column with glowing lights seems in some way connected with individual deaths by smothering, the supernatural seems involved. Dr. Lewis, a physician near Porth (a mythical small Welsh sea resort town that Machen often invokes), comes to the solution. All the crimes are sporadic cases of revolt of the.animals. Man's wickedness in the Great War has so disturbed the cosmos that man has forfeited his ancient hegemony over the animals. The dark column with lights was a pillar-formation of moths. Pleasantly told, although the mystery is not very mysterious, and it is not clear why the government censored all news. 1077. THE SHINING PYRAMID Covici-McGee; Chicago 1923 875 copy edition Edited with introduction by Vincent Starrett. A collection of minor and ephemeral work, essays and short stories. Including [a] THE SHINING PYRAMID. (c. 1895) Mysterious symbols formed of ancient flints and a missing young woman in the Welsh countryside. Dyson deciphers the message and alone with Vaughan witnesses a human sacrifice by the Other People: small, Mongoloid, only partly material fairies. [b] OUT OF THE EARTH. During World War I occasional travellers in Wales report abominable actions by small children. The explanation: malevolent fairies who are rejoicing at the human misfortunes in the war. [c] THE SPAGYRIC QUEST OF BEROALDUS COSMOPOLITA. The experiences of a spiritual alchemist. It originally formed the introduction to a catalogue of occult books. [d] THE SPLENDID HOLIDAY. A fragment, possibly from THE HILL OF DREAMS. Borderline. fantastic. Mystical apprehension of reality. Also titled NATURE. [e] THE LOST CLUB. (1890) Stevensonian, obviously based on THE SUICIDE CLUB. A club, the members of which draw lots to disappear. A return to the premises is disconcerting: it has disappeared. [f] IN CONVERTENDO. A fragment from THE SECRET GLORY. Questionable supernatural. Ecstasy. [g] DRAKE'S DRUM. (1919) On the "Royal Oak," during the surrender of the German fleet after World War I, a muffled drum is heard. Drake's. There are also essays which repeat the ideas of HIEROGLYPHICS, Machen's remarkable study of literary psychology and purpose. This book and its companion volume THE GLORIOUS MYSTERY were a cause celebre in the 1920's. Machen accused Starrett of having pirated the stories and essays con-

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MACHEN, ARTHUR cerned. The accusation, it was so"on revealed, was completely inaccurate and unjust, since Machen had previously given Starrett carte blanche and Starrett was acting under Machen's authorization. Mostly trivial material, despite Machen's.technical skill, but [e] is interesting, despite a· certain archaic quality. 1078. THE GLORIOUS MYSTERY Covici-McGee; Chicago 1924 Edited with introduction by Vincent Starrett. Essays and fiction, minor, ephemeral material hitherto uncollected. * Including [a] THE HOLY THINGS. (1897) Ecstasy sees great and holy sacraments in the things of everyday life in London. A vision in Holborne. [b] SCROOGE: 1920. A NEW CHRISTMAS CAROL. A jeu d'esprit. The Ghost of Christmas of 1920 presents Scrooge with a demand note from the Commissioners of Income Tax. "My name is Pussyfoot. I am also called Ruin and Despair." Two other stories are concerned a little with ecstatic perception, but not enough to be considered fantastic. Most of the book is devoted to essays and reviews based on Machen's belief that a Celtic Christian church, independent of Rome, survived until fairly late times. Trivial material. 1079. ORNAMENTS IN JADE A. A. Knopf; New York 1924 1000 copy edition Short stories and essay material, including described elsewhere, [a] NATURE. Alternate title for THE SPLENDID HOLIDAY. [b] THE HOLY THINGS. Also [c] WITCHCRAFT. (1897) Miss Custance takes Captain Knight to visit old Mrs. Wise, an ancient cotter. She later returns to get the obscene doll that Mrs. Wise has made and the ointment. [d] THE CEREMONY. (1897) The young woman has long been fascinated by the phallic menhir; when she sees a cottage girl performing strange, obscene rites before it, she, too, knows what she must do. Conveyed by suggestion. * [c] and [d] are small gems. 1080. THE SHINING PYRAMID Martin Secker; London 1924 Including, described elsewhere, [a] THE SHINING PYRAMID. [b] OUT OF THE EARTH. [c] IN CONVERTENDO. Also [d] THE HAPPY CHILDREN. A traveller in the North sees a procession of children, many of whom bear the stigmata. It is the Eve of the Holy Innocents. Either a vision of Elizabethan times or ghosts. The trade edition and the identical A. A. Knopf edition (New York) were both published in 1925., 1081. THE GREEN ROUND Ernest Benn; London [1933] Short supernatural novel, told in semi-essay fashion. * Mr. Lawrence Hillyer, a somewhat scholarly recluse of independent means, fears that he is going mad when he suddenly bursts into glossolalia and finds himself in a dwam (in this instance, loss of ego). He attends a specialist and is told to go to the sea, re-' lax, and socialize as much as he can. Following this advice, he resorts to Porth (Machen's decayed Welsh seaport) and soon becomes in-

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volved in a strange contretemps. He is accused of fraternizing with a suspected sex murderer, when he knows that he was alone, and is mobbed and driven out of the resort. At a later time he gathers from conversation that he overhears, that he is accompanied by an extremely ugly person whom others can see, while he cannot. At a later stage of his breakdown he himself sees a follower that others cannot see. He undergoes odd visionary experiences, including impossible visits by friends, and life becomes for him more and more terrifying and confusing. Poltergeistic phenomena take place in his rooming house. His eventual solution is to flee the British Isles and take refuge in the Near East, where he is safe and undisturbed. The development of his case is paralleled with journalistic accounts of similar phenomena and a discussion of Hillyer's researches into a peculiar brand of mystical occultism. The explanation is that his normal psychic barriers had been lowered, that he was unwittingly a medium, and that the malicious Little People gained a foothold within him which they were reluctant to abandon. 1082. THE CHILDREN OF THE POOL AND OTHER STORIES Hutchinson; London [1936] Short stories, including [a] THE EXALTED OMEGA. Told in a complex manner with disrupted time sequences and parallelisms that are not always clear. The supernaturalism is centered around Mr. Mansel, a scholarly semi-recluse, who has heard what seem to be voices discussing a party and a murder by poisoning. He dies, and sometime after his death a medium picks up by automatic writing what must be a message from him, hinting at. the poisoning which succeeding tenants in Mansel's apartment had committed. [b] THE CHILDREN OF THE POOL. Roberts, a vacation boarder at a small farm in Wales, hears a shrieking female voice that recounts to him peccadillos from his youth and threatens exposure. Roberts is shattered by the experience and expects blackmail. But the narrator gradually recognizes that it has been a supernatural manifestation, fairy in origin, from the dirty pool near the farm house. There are hints that similar things have happened in the past. [c] OUT OF THE PICTURE. M'Calmont, a Scottish artist, is trying to create a new style for his painting, a combination of 18th century landscape realism and concepts from the Kaballah to heighten and vivify his work. The narrator, a newspaper reporter who occasionally covers art exhibitions, sees in all M'Calmont's paintings a demonic figure that in each successive picture grows larger and approaches the foreground more. He asks M'Calmont about it, but the artist evades the question angrily. Later it is revealed that the figure has emerged from the canvases and (like Mr. Hyde) has subsumed M'Calmont, who has disappeared. [d] CHANGE. The Darren mystery. In the vicinity of Porth, Wales, a vacationer's child is replaced by a changeling. Responsible was the baby-sitter Alice Hayes, who seems to be a recruiter for the fairies. Ideas more subtle than in the earliest work, and technique

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tending toward obscureness. * Best stories are [a], [b], [c]. Also present is the excellent psychological study, "The Tree of Life." 1083. THE COSY ROOM AND OTHER STORIES Rich and Cowan; London 1936 Miscellaneous material, including, described elsewhere, [a] THE LOST CLUB. [b] THE HOLY THINGS. [c] NATURE. Alternate title for THE SPLENDID HOLIDAY. [d] DRAKE'S DRUM. [e] A NEW CHRISTMAS CAROL. Alternate title for SCROOGE: 1920. [f] WITCHCRAFT. [g] THE CEREMONY. * Also [h] MUNITIONS OF WAR. (1915) Loading ships for the war. Ghosts of sailors who died at Trafalgar help and are quite noisy about it. [i] THE GIFT OF TONGUES. Essay material on glossolalia and the uttering of the ancient Christmas Preface in a Welsh Methodist chapel. [j] AWAKING: A CHILDREN'S STORY. (1930) The awakening of sensibility, in a sort of ecstasy, at a fair. The adults call it sunstroke. [k] OPENING THE DOOR. (1931) Reminiscences of a newspaper reporter on strange interviews. Among them was the Rev. Secretan Jones, who received much publicity because he declared that the street system of London, designed for horse traffic, could not bear the weight of automobiles. Jones, although ignorant of it, is bothered by fairies who upset his papers and remove him from time and space. [1] THE COMPLIMENTS OF THE SEASON. (1934) A materialist sees birds create a doll-like form from moss and twigs and lay lilies on it, for Christmas. [m] N. Canon's Park, a somewhat decayed residential section of London, is perceived by certain individuals as a sort of paradise. A 19th century clergyman who has seen the vision by occult means offers an explanation from Jacob Boehme: Before the Fall matter was fluid and controllable by the human spirit. A more modern explanation is perichoresis, or interpenetrating worlds. There are also some sketches of individuals with heightened perceptions. Of the new material [k] and [m] are best, though [m] is a little diffuse. 1084. TALES OF HORROR AND THE SUPERNATURAL A. A. Knopf; New York 1948 Edited with introduction by Philip Van Doren Stern. Introductory article ARTHUR MACHEN by Robert Hillyer. Including la] THE NOVEL OF THE BLACK SEAL, [b] THE NOVEL OF THE WHITE POWDER. [cl THE GREAT GOD PAN. [d] THE WHITE PEOPLE. [e] THE INMOST LIGHf. [f] THE SHINING PYRAMID. 19] THE BOWMEN. [h] THE GREAT RETURN. [i] THE HAPPY CHILDREN. [j] OUT OF THE EARTH. [k] N. [1] CHILDREN OF THE POOL. [m] THE TERROR. All described elsewhere. Both introductions are good. 1085. HOLY TERRORS SHORT STORIES Penguin Books; Harmondsworth, Middlesex, England 1946 paperbound Short stories, including [a] OPENING THE DOOR. [b] THE HOLY THINGS. [c] THE CEREMONY. [d] THE SOLDIERS' REST. [e] MUNITIONS OF WAR. [f] THE HAPPY CHILDREN. [g] THE GREAT RETURN. Not a very strong collection.

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McKENNA, STEPHEN McKENNA, STEPHEN (1888-1967) British writer, popular fiction, occasional public servant: member of Balfour Commission to United States, 1917; official of Ministry of Economic Warfare in World War II. Fairly prolific writer of fiction, best-known work probably SONIA: BETWEEN TWO WORLDS (1917). 1086. THE SIXTH SENSE Chapman and Hall; London 1915 Presumably written for the male counterpart of a British shopgirl. Suffragettes, word-ofhonor aristocrust, and sensationalism. * Toby Merivale returns to England in 1913, after 20 years of absence and finds many changes. The Suffragettes are not only rampant, but they are kidnapping relatives of prominent politicians, including Toby's friends. Worse yet, one of the kidnappers is the woman he loves and hopes to marry. The fantastic element enters with Lambert Aintree, the Seraph, who has paranormal abilities. He can read the thoughts of males (but not females, for their minds are too disorganized); he can foresee the future to an extent; and he has clairvoyance of a sort. He is also secretly the author of bestselling novels. The Seraph uses his unusual abilities not only on small matters throughout the book, but also to locate his kidnapped sweetheart, whom he tracks much like a superior bloodhound. * Not to be taken seriously. McLANDBURGH, FLORENCE (1850 - ? American writer. 1087. THE AUTOMATON EAR AND OTHER SKETCHES Jansen, McClurg; Chicago 1876 An early Chicago imprint with many short stories, including [a] THE DEATH-WATCH. Premonitions. [b] THE FEVERFEW. Possession by a demon. [c] THE ANTHEM OF JUDEA. Heavenly music is produced by a little girl, plus the self-sacrifice of an organist. * Florid and sentimental. The title story, which is sciencefiction (an invention to catch all the tagends of sound that have reverberated through the world) is much the best story in the book. McLAREN, MRS. JACK (n~e MOORE, ADA) British author. 1088. WHICH HATH BEEN A NOVEL OF REINCARNATION Cecil Palmer; London 1926 Love and reincarnation. Patricia Leigh is a reincarnation of Karan, a friend of Salome of Biblical fame. In her past life Karan murdered her lover Merom, but when she meets the new incarnation of Merom, she atones for her previous crime. * Pretty bad. MACLEOD, FIONA (pseud. of SHARP, WILLIAM) (1855-1905) Scottish poet, editor, novelist, journalist. Editor of the CANTERBURY POETS, contributor of volumes to BIOGRAPHIES OF GREAT WRITERS. Prolific author of popular fiction, boys' fiction, on competent commercial level. In 1893 began writing as Fiona Macleod, with very different subject matter and style from those of William Sharp. While some of the highly romantic Celtic background of the Macleod stories came

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MACLEOD, FIONA from childhood experiences and an old Highland nurse, the stories and poetry were claimed to have been written in a trance state. It is possible that Sharp had a female collaborator in certain stories. Sharp was almost pathologically sensitive about Fiona Macleod, who assumed the position of an alter ego, and the secret of her identity was well kept. Of Sharp's writings under his own name, the only one now remembered seems to be THE GYPSY CHRIST (1895), a collection of short stories. 1089. THE WASHER OF THE FORD AND OTHER CELTIC MORALITIES Celtic Library, Patrick Geddes; Edinburgh [1896] Folklore and pseudo-folklore of the Hebrides turned into stories, often expressed in Macleod's swollen, neo-Ossianic style. Verse, both Gaelic and English, is occasionally incorporated into individual stories. The subject matter is heavily religious, often focussing on early Celtic Christianity, but bringing in motifs from later time. * Including [a] THE WASHER OF THE FORD. Blind Torcall, who is able to cause or quell strife with his music, comes to the Ford of Life, where the Washer (Mary Magdalene) winnows souls, destroying the unworthy, permitting others to cross. Torcall's sight is restored. The theme is repentance. [b] MUIME CHRIOSD. Strange shifts of modality, as, after an early life in the Hebrides, St. Bride is transported to the Holy Lands to become the foster mother of Jesus. [c] THE FISHER OF MEN. Christ wanders about the Scottish hillsides. [d] THE LAST SUPPER. A Celtic dream. [e] THE DARK NAMELESS ONE. Told within a modern frame situation. St. Colum confronts Black Angus, the seal man. Angus is looking for Kirsteen, whom he stole away, a thousand years earlier. Angus has become a seal and Kirsteen has become the seawitch. In some vague way Angus is also associated with Judas. [f] THE THREE MARVELS OF HY. Connected stories about St. Colum describing his spiritual growth, his response to Druidic lore, when he learns that all life is one and must be loved. In the final episode Colurn learns that he acted wrongly with Black Angus the seal-man. [g] THE ANNIRCHOILLE. Culdee times. Cathal, a young Celtic monk, renounces his vows in favor of paganism, since he has fallen in love. The ascetic Culdees imprison him in a hollow tree, so that he will die of hunger and thirst. He is saved by the Hidden People-- tree people. They turn him into a male dryad. Cathal later awakens the dormant spirituality of the monk who had cursed him. [h] THE SHADOW-SEERS. Four short episodes dealing with second-sight, modern Celtic visions of death fetches, etc. * The other stories are historical. * Competently written within the odd conventions that Macleod set himself, but probably too peculiarly personal for modern readers. Historically, an aberrant form of fin de siecle writing. 1090. THE DOMINION OF DREAMS Constable; London 1899 Again the Hebrides and Celtic Scotland. Short stories told in a rhapsodic manner, with occa-

MACLEOD, FIONA sional Gaelic inclusions. Including [a] DALUA. Dalua, the fool of the ancient gods, is still on earth, deluding men. He places shadows in the mind of Dan Macara and makes him mad. [b] BY THE YELLOW MOONROCK. The career of the late Rory MacAlpine, finest piper in the land, but a handsome, dissolute lecher. He has become fey dreaming about Bridhe, the wife of the Celtic god Amadan Dhu, the Dark Fool. She has power over men one night a year. She stings them to death and dispatches their souls. Rory achieves his destiny at the Yellow Moonrock. [c] CHILDREN OF THE DARK STAR. A meeting of the two brothers born under the Dark Star, Alasdair and the evil Gloom Achanna. Gloom tells of the magical deeds that he has accomplished by the power ot his pipes. Alasdair learns that Gloom has seduced and abandoned Alasdair's sweetheart. [d] ALASDAIR THE PROUD. The evil-working Gloom first destroys Alasdair's faith in woman then plays him into madness with his pipes. This is not the same Alasdair as in [c]. There are links brought out by Gloom with an old Celtic tale. [e] THE AMADAN. Sequel to [d] Alasdair is still mad, and does not know his family. Alan Dall prays for him, and the prayer, assuming the form of a separate spirit neutralizes the magic of Gloom and cures Alasdair. [f] THE HERDSMAN. Questionable fantasy. Alan MacAilean is shunned because the Highlanders have seen a double of "him, the Fair Herdsman, which has a long supernatural association-- perhaps Jesus, perhaps pre-Christian. The story is rationalized, though rejection of revelation is involved. The point is not clear. * The following stories are based on the ancient heroic cycles rather than on modern material. 19] HONEY OF THE WILD BEES. Death personified. [h] THE BIRDS OF EMAR. [i] ULAD OF THE DREAMS. * One must have a certain empathy toward the convention-- heavily imaged prose based on Celtic speech patterns, poetic inclusions, and obscurity of reference-- but if one does, [a], [b], [c] are worth reading. MacNISH, ROBERT (1802-1837) Scottish physician, poet, author. Medical degree from Glasgow, studied at Paris. Doctoral thesis, THE ANATOMY OF DRUNKENNESS, which the DNB hints was based on personal experience. Interested in psychological borders of medicine, such as sleep, dreams, phrenology, etc. Usually wrote non-medical material under the pseudonym A MODERN PYTHAGOREAN. Much his most famous work during his lifetime was THE METEMPSYCHOSIS, which was often reprinted. MacNish is now almost completely forgotten. 1091. THE MODERN PYTHAGOREAN A SERIES OF TALES. ESSAYS. AND SKETCHES William Blackwood and Sons, Edinburgh; T. Cadell, London 1838 2 vol. The first volume is devoted to a memoir of MacNish. The second volume contains fiction including [a] THE METEMPSYCHOSIS. (BLACKWOOD'S 1826) An ambitious story about personality interchanges worked by the Devil. GBttingen. Frederick Stadt feels dizzy for a moment, then

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suddenly realizes that he is taller and larger than he used to be. He also notes with annoyance that his friends and professors now call him Wolstang. He learns from an "old man who is present at the right time that he and Wolstang have changed bodies and that he has signed a paper, in his own blood, while drunk, agreeing to the exchange. Wolstang will not agree to return to his own body and it seems as if Stadt is trapped. The old man is willing to release him in exchange for his soul, but Stadt will not accept. Unfortunately, if the true Wolstang should die, Stadt would return to his old body and be buried alive. This happens, but resurrection men provide an escape. An ambitious and entertaining story. Obviously the source for Doyle's THE GREAT KEINPLATZ EXPERIMENT. [b] THE MAN WITH THE NOSE. It is huge. When he smokes, the house is filled with fumes and the landlord sees unpleasant visions. Semi-fantastic. [c] THE BARBER OF GOTTINGEN. By university law he can shave only university personnel, but when the demonic little man enters and forces him to oblige, the barber must shave-- for hours, for it is the Devil. A dream. [d1 TERENCE O'FLAHERTY. Ireland. A strange old man induces henpecked, illiterate O'Flaherty to sign a certain book. The old man then begins a demonic rout, playing the violin with such power that even the furniture dances around. [e] THE VISION OF BRUCE. Scotland, 13th century. When an armored ghost appears, Bruce strikes it with his battle axe. The ghost then reveals itself to be his dead brother. It takes him down to the land of the dead where True Thomas of Ercildowne gives him a magical symbol of victory. When Bruce awakes, he finds the shattered corpse of an acsassin before him. [f] DEATH AND THE FISHERMAN. Netherlands. The stranger offers the hospitable Dutch couple two wishes. They ask for a chair from which one cannot rise, a tree from which one cannot descend without their permission. As in the folk tale, they trap Death. * [a] is worth reading. McSPADDEN, J[OSEPH] W[ALKER] (1874-1960) American editor, writer, anthologist. Bestknown works apart from widely circulated anthologies, STORIES FROM WAGNER, THE BOOK OF HOLIDAYS. AS EDITOR: 1092. FAMOUS GHOST STORIES Crowell; New York [1918 ] Including, described elsewhere, la] A TRUE RELATION OF THE APPARITION OF MRS. VEAL, Daniel Defoe. [b) THE TAPESTRIED CHAMBER, Sir Walter Scott. [c] THE PHANTOM 'RICKSHAW, Rudyard Kipling. [d] THE HAUNTED AND THE HAUNTERS, Edward Bulwer-Lytton. Short version. [el THE WERE-WOLF, Captain Frederick Marryat. erroneously carried as by H. B. Marryat. [f) WHAT WAS IT? Fitz-James O'Brien. [g] THE GRAY CHAMPION, Nathaniel Hawthorne. [h] THE STORM-SHIP, Washington Irving. Colonial Manhattan. During storms a ghostly ship is sometimes seen. Various explanations. [i]

McSPADDEN, J. W. THE LADY WITH THE VELVET COLLAR, Washington Irving. Alternate title for THE ADVENTURE OF THE GERMAN STUDENT. lj] LIGEIA, E. A. Poe. [k] THE BAGMAN'S STORY, Charles Dickens. [1] TO BE TAKEN WITH A GRAIN OF SALT, Charles Dickens. [m] THE OLD NURSE'S STORY, Mrs. Elizabeth Gaskell. (HOUSEHOLD WORDS, CHRISTMAS NUMBER, 1852) This seems to be first anthologization of this story. Hester, a garrulous old nurse, tells of an experience in her youth. She was nursemaid to Rosamond, a little girl, in a haunted house. Two generations earlier old Lord Furnivall had driven his daughter out of the house because she had "married morganatically" and born a child. In his action he was urged on by his other daughter, Grace Furnivall. Hester hears the ghostly music of the dead old lord playing the organ and must fight hard to keep her charge from being lured away by the ghosts of the dead mother and daughter. As the story ends there is a supernatural reenactment of the expulsion; Grace Furnivall, who is now an old woman, tries to interfere, but can only watch her ghostly self of fifty years before reenact the crime. "What is done in youth can never be undone in age~" * Nicely told, particularly with the twist at the end, which lifts the story above the conventional thriller of the day. Perhaps an ultimate source, indirectly, for THE TURN OF THE SCREW? * Sometimes reprinted as THE OLD NURSE'S TALE or THE NURSE'S STORY, 1093. FAMOUS PSYCHIC STORIES Crowell; New York [1920] Including, described elsewhere, [a] THE WHITE OLD MAID, Nathaniel Hawthorne. [b] THE FACTS IN THE CASE OF M. VALDEMAR, E.A. Poe. [c] THE DREAM WOMAN, Wilkie Collins. [d] THE OPEN DOOR, Mrs. Margaret Oliphant. [e] THE STALLS OF BARCHESTER CATHEDRAL, M. R. James. [fJ THE MAN WHO WENT TOO FAR, E. F. Benson. [g] THE BEAST WITH FIVE FINGERS, W. F. Harvey. This seems to be first book appearance. Described elsewhere for context. [h] FROM THE LOOM OF THE DEAD, Elia Peattie. [iJ THE SHADOWS ON THE WALL, Mary Wilkins Freeman. * Also [j] THE GHOUL, Evangeline W. Blashfield. Egypt at the time of Mahdi's Rebellion. A woman is thought to be a ghoul. Rationalized. 1094. FAMOUS MYSTERY STORIES Crowell; New York [1922] Short stories, including [a] THE SPECTRE OF TAPPINGTON, R. H. Barham, under pseudonym Thomas Ingoldsby. [b] THE MYSTERIOUS SKETCH, Erckmann-Chatrian. [c] THE DESERTED HOUSE, E. T. A. Hoffmann. [d] THE ADALANTADO OF THE SEVEN CITIES, Washington Irving. [e] THE UPPER BERTH, F. Marion Crawford. [f] THE DIAMOND LENS, Fitz-James O'Brien. [g] THE HORLA, Guy de Maupassant. [h] THE MUMMY'S FOOT, Theophi Ie Gautier. All described elsewhere. MALDEN, R[ICHARD] H[ENRY] (1879-1951) British clergyman, author of religious works, occasional writer of fiction. Dean of Wells Cathedral. Best-known for historical works about Wells Cathedral, and inspirational books about the Old and New Testaments.

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MALET, LUCAS 1095. NINE GHOSTS Arnold; London [1943] Written between 1909 and 1942, these stories are avowedly in imitation of the work of M. R. James. The aesthetic is supernatural horror based on antiquarian lore. * la] COLLECTOR'S COMPANY. A Cambridge scholar, a parttime preacher, assists a rector who happens to be a profound student of Neoplatonism and thaumaturgy. The scholar witnesses a magical ceremony and later learns that the Neoplatonist was killed by the evil he evoked. [b] THE DINING-ROOM FIREPLACE. Ireland. A haunted room, a peculiarly posed portrait from the 18th century. Manifestations take place in the room. Behind the picture is found the record book of an infamous club. It would seem that this story and [aJ were suggested by THE LOST STRADIVARIUS by J. M. Falkner. lc] STIVINGHOE BANK. A young scholar, checking the manuscripts, comes upon the story of John of Costessey, a 16th century minister who was really a witch, monkey-like familiar and all. When the scholar finds the bones of the familiar, things start to happen. [d] THE SUNDIAL. An old stump (really a stake) holds down the spirit of a suicide. When the stake is removed, bad dreams and hauntings. [e] BETWEEN SUNSET AND MOONRISE. The curate is aware that Miss Vries is troubled, and she drops hints of supernatural problems. As he leaves, he sees a mass of demons approaching. They coalesce into a single monstrosity that passes through him. This scene is the only effective moment in the book. [f] THE BLANK LEAVES. The genealogist, burrowing through old records, comes upon ancient evil. A parish clerk had been executed and his hand was later used as a hand of glory. [gJ THE THIRTEENTH TREE. The visitor learns that no son has ever succeeded to the lands, as the result of a curse laid by an Elizabethan witch whose son was executed by the ancestor of the landlord. The visitor witnesses a spectral vision of past events. [h] THE COXWAIN OF THE LIFEBOAT. A reconstruction of the history of a sailor who made a bond with evil. Not too clear. [i] THE PRIEST'S BRASS. An enthusiast of brass rubbings. A monumental brass that is kept secret and not shown. An evil priest centuries ago. A sexton who is probably that priest, still living. A magical attack, in terms of past landscapes, in which the visitor survives and the sexton dies supernaturally. * Literate but dull. The later stories are less successful than the earlier. MALET, LUCAS (pseud. of HARRISON, MARY ST. LEGER, n~e KINGSLEY) (1852-1931) British novelist. Daughter of Charles Kingsley. Member of literary circles in France and England, including that of Henry James. During late 19th century considered a daring writer, since she occasionally mentioned matters of sex and maladjustment. Best-known work THE WAGES OF SIN (1891) and THE HISTORY OF SIR RICHARD CALMADY (1901). Probably not read at all any more. Although only one book is considered here, small amounts of super-

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MALET, LUCAS naturalism appear in certain of her other books. 1096. THE TALL VILLA George H. Doran; New York [1919] Society romance with supernaturalism. * The Copleys have suffered financial reverses since Morris Copley has gambled on a shady deal. They are forced to leave London and settle at Tall Villa, which Frances Copley has inherited. Morris Copley soon leaves for South America, where he plans to recoup his fortunes, and Frances is left alone in Tall Villa. In the early 19th century a Lord Oxley, a collateral kinsman, committed suicide in the house, which he had maintained as a love-nest. Frances feels his presence in the house. At first she is frightened of him, but she gradually becomes so unhappy that she tries to evoke him and render his shady outline more solid. Her love soon releases him from his purgatorial punishment, and he now appears voluntarily. While this is going on, Frances hears tha~ her husband has deserted her and has taken up with South American women; and a bounder associate of his tries to seduce her. The ghost protects her and Frances comes to realize that her lot is with the dead Oxley and not in this world. On Oxley's final appearance she joins him and they leave together, her body in the chair by the fire. * Overwritten and pretentious, in the late Victorian manner.

MANLEY, SEON AND LEWIS, GOGO American writers, editors. AS EDITORS: 1097. LADIES OF FANTASY TWO CENTURIES OF SINISTER STORIES BY THE GENTLER SEX Lothrop, Lee and Shepard; New York 1975 The subtitle is a series subtitle that does not fit this particular book. * Short stories, including, described elsewhere, [a] THE PAVILION, E. Nesbit. [b] THE UNWANTED, Mary Elizabeth Counselman. [c] THE MUTED HORN, Dorothy Salisbury Davis. [d] THE ENSOULED VIOLIN, H. P. Blavatsky. [e] NO SHIPS PASS, Lady Eleanor Smith. Also [f] SEARCHING FOR SUMMER, Joan Aiken. (1957) Where can one find a bit of clean sunshine in smoggy, clouded England? The honeymooners go off on their motor scooter, but no sun is to be found-except around and about an old witch's cottage hidden in the woods. [g] THE SORCERER, Grazia Deledda. Anonymous translation from Italian. No date given, but the author died in 1936. Sardinia. Saveria remains childless despite prayers, pilgrimages, processions, and masses. Antonio is sure that her sterility is due to the hostile magic of Peppe. A golden louis persuades Peppe to remove the spell, and the two men go into the mountains together. Peppe works his magic, but the outcome is unexpected. Saveria, nevertheless ,. is no longer sterile. [h] THE RED WAGON, Jane Roberts. (HFSF, 1956) Philip, a disincarnate spirit, possesses the body of fiveyear old Peter and writes (in lemon juice, so that others cannot see it) a journal that will prove the reality of reincarnation. But he

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JACK (pseud. of VIVIAN, EVELYN CHARLES) (1882-1947) Prolific author (British) of popular fiction. Wrote under pseuds. JACK MANN and Ca~RLES CANNELL as well as under his own name. Author of many mystery stories, occasional works on historical and military matters. By no means an important author during his lifetime, but now collected for marginal science-fiction novels as E. Charles Vivian and for series of occult detective novels as Jack Mann. 1098. GREY SHAPES Wright and Brown; London 1937 Occult-detective novel. Gregory George Gordon Green, known as Gees, is a private detective of impeccable aristocratic origin. He entered the police force after the university, but found the discipline impossible and resigned, leaving behind him much hard feeling. As the series begins he is not an occult detective in the same sense as Blackwood's John Silence or Hodgson's Carnacki, since he has no real knowledge of the supernatural, but he occasionally stumbles upon cases that involve the irrational. In HER WAYS ARE DEATH, however, he is unexpectedly characterized as nearly an adept -- or very high in occult advancement. * This is Gee's second case. His first (GEES' FIRST CASE) is concerned only with Communists. >~ Tyrrell, a wealthy young squire in the Cumberlands, seeks Gees's help. Tyrrell's sheep are being slaughtered by some mysterious animal, and the police are helpless. Gees investigates and recognizes that the sheepkilling is not natural, and that there is some connection with the fairy lore of the area. His suspicions fallon the MacCouls, father and daughter, who are neighbors, Tyrrell is infatuated with Gyda MacCoul and is planning to marry her. The solution is obvious, of course, to both Gees and the reader. The MacCouls are werewolves. They are of mixed fairy-human stock, and Gyda plans to have a child by Tyrrell, for the fairy stock is incapable of reproducing itself. The MacCouls also used to live in the Middle Ages, and have the ability to move out of time and reappear at a later age. * Flippant in approach, soggy in the middle, a good example of what intelligent writers were forced to produce in the Depression years. 1099. NIGHTMARE FARM Wright and Brown; London 1937 Occult-detective novel. Gees is hired to go to Knightsmere (known locally as Nightmare), Shropshire, to rid the place of a haunting. The Hunters have a haunt that appears whenever wickedness is rampant in the family. A whirling, chuckling thing that is very dangerous to women, it kills or drives one mad. Green connects the manifestation with the elementals

*

*

MANN, JACK of Kir-Asa (see CITY OF WONDER by E. Charles Vivian). The elementals are found to have a focus in a secret room in the chimney of the former manor house, where the corpse of the original wicked Hunter lies, strangely preserved by the elementals. Gees releases the spooks, but the result is most unfortunate to him. Other supernatural elements include exorcising one of the demons from a young woman. * Routine. This volume establishes the series formula. 1100. MAKER OF SHADOWS Wright and Brown; London [1938] Occult-detective novel. * Gees is called upon to battle pre-Celtic magic in the Scottish highlands. There Gamel MacMorn (the Maker of Shadows), an ancient Pictish priest, threatens the Aylmer family with his magic. MacMorn absorbs life from human sacrifices, while the souls of his victims become shadows that flit about. It looks as if Gees has met his match, for MacMorn outwits him and even puts a geas on him. But at the last minute Gees is saved by a dea ex machina. * Possibly suggested by A. Merritt's CREEP, SHADOW~ 1101. THE NINTH LIFE Wright and Brown; London [1939] Occult-detective novel. * When Tony Briggs becomes engaged to Cleo Kefra, there is consternation, for Briggs has a sensitive government job. Gees is called in to break up the romance, but he soon discovers that there is a connection between Cleo and a series of bestial murders seemingly committed by a giant cat. On closer acquaintance he falls in love with Cleo, and she tells him her history. She is Egyptian, more than 5,000 years old, and will survive with unchanging beauty as long as Sekhmet (the cat goddess) has one worshipper on earth. As part of the contract, however, every now and then the goddess demands a human death. After nine such killings, Cleo believes, she will be free. Cleo is not the monster of wickedness that Gees first thought, but a sensitive woman who suffers greatly because of her periodic possession by the goddess. Cleo also has other magical powers, such as standing outside time. She and Gees are in love with each other, but fate and the goddess have other plans for them. * The story of Cleo is handled with surprising sensitivity. Despite concessions to the market, the best of the Gees novels. 1102. THE GLASS TOO MANY Wright and Brown; London 1940 Not so much a supernatural novel as a detective novel with supernatural elements. It is sequel, after a fashion, to MAKER OF SHADOWS, and is concerned with the same supernatural phenomena, though to a lesser degree. * Gees is summoned by the wealthy Sydnor Reed" who is fearful for his life and sanity. A housemaid in Reed's establishment had demonstrated a nervous disorder of the left hand, which suddenly turned into homicidal mania and a horrible death. Reed has noticed that he is starting the same symptoms. Gees soon finds the causation, a mysterious Dyak poison, but who is administering it? There are several suspects, and

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MARGOLIES, JOSEPH the story moves in the manner of a classical detective story. Supernatural elements enter with Upper paleolithic evil, a fantastic drug, and shadows of the same sort as those controlled by Gamel MacMorn. * The mystery portion is more interesting than the occult. 1103. HER WAYS ARE DEATH Wright and Brown; London [1940] Occult-detective novel. * Gees is summoned to the West Country to help Naylor, a local landowner of wealth against a witch. Naylor tells Gees a long story of a feud between two families, reaching from the days of the Norse gods to the present. In certain generations the Naylors are berserkers, while the Warenns are witches. Naylor claims that Ira Warenn, the last survivor of the other family, has injured him by witchcraft. Gees, however, dislikes Naylor and refuses to help him. Instead, he meets Miss Ira Warenn, a beautiful young woman, and hears her side of the story. She admits the feud, but claims that while she is destined to kill Naylor, Naylor has injured her. As Gees becomes better acquainted with her he observes that she has a remarkable power over animals; that she is in possession of ancient manuscripts, a sword that sings when death is near, and a battle axe, on the narwhal-ivory handle of which is engraved instructions for attaining the fourth dimension. It is the Rod of An, a priestly artifact from ancient Atlantis. It is this that Naylor really wants. Ira,after years of study, built on her father's research, has learned to enter the fourth dimension, where time and space are superseded, although she is far from being in complete control of her ventures. The higher dimensions are peopled by superhuman entities. Gees, who finds her more and more attractive, warns her against her pursuits, since she is not ready spiritually for them, but she refuses to listen and even takes him with her on short jaunts into the fourth dimension. The simmering feud suddenly explodes and Naylor steals the Rod of An. In a battle which Ira and Gees watch from a distance, Naylor fights the god Thor, one of the beings from higher dimensions, and is killed. Gees loves Ira, but he refuses to go along with her magic, and she refuses to abandon it. The last he hears of her is when she tries to visit him via the fourth dimension but is captured by one of the higher beings. She will not be harmed, but she will not be permitted to return to earth. * By now a formula, with disparate elements of Norse mythology, occultism, Flatland, village yokels, and love not too well blended. Magazine version read (FFM 1952). MARGOLIES, JOSEPH [AARON] (1889 - 1982) American businessman, bookbuyer for Brentano's in New York. AS EDITOR: 1104. STRANGE AND FANTASTIC STORIES Whittlesey House; New York 1946 Introduction by Christopher Morley. * Short stories, including, described elsewhere, [a] ENOCH SOAMES, Max Beerbohm. [b] DANIEL WEBSTER

MARGOLIES, JOSEPH AND THE SEA SERPENT, S. V. Benet. [c] CATERPILLARS, E.F. Benson. [d] THE CRIMINAL, J. D. Beresford. [e] THE MIDDLE TOE OF THE RIGHT FOOT, Ambrose Bierce. [f] THE OCCUPANT OF THE ROOM, Algernon Blackwood. [g] IN THE MIRROR, Valery Brussof. [h1 VARIATIONS ON A THEME, John Collier. [i] THE TRIAL FOR MURDER, Charles Dickens. Misattributed to Dickens and Charles Collins. See THE OMNIBUS OF CRIME, edited by Dorothy Sayers. [j1 THE BRUTE, Joseph Conrad. [k1 THE UPPER BERTH, F. Marion Crawford. [11 TRUE RELATION OF THE APPARITION OF ONE MRS. VEAL, Daniel Defoe. [m] NO. 1 BRANCH LINE, THE SIGNAL-MAN, Charles Dickens. [n] THE THREE INFERNAL JOKES, Lord Dunsany. [0] THE OTHER SIDE OF THE HEDGE, E. M. Forster. [p] THE ELIXIR OF LIFE, Richard Garnett. [q] AUGUST HEAT, W. F. Harvey. [r] THE ROMANCE OF CERTAIN OLD CLOTHES, Henry James. [s1 THE MEZZOTINT, M. R. James. [t1 ''WIRELESS,'' Rudyard Kipling. [u1 CARMILLA, J. S. LeFanu. [v1 THE NOVEL OF THE WHITE POWDER, Arthur Machen. [w1 THE GHOST SHIP, Richard Middleton. [x] THE DIAMOND LENS, Fitz-James O'Brien. [y] LIGEIA, E. A Poe. [z] LAURA, Saki. [aa] THE CYPRIAN CAT, Dorothy Sayers. [bb] WANDERING WILLIE'S TALE, Sir Walter Scott. [cc1 THE VICTIM, May Sinclair. [dd1 THRAWN JANET, Robert Louis Stevenson. [eeJ TARNHELM, Hugh Walpole. [ff] THE DOOR IN THE WALL, H. G. Wells. [gg] THE ANCIENT SIN, Michael Arlen. [hh] THE GHOST, Richard Hughes. [ii] LORD MOUNTDRAGO, W. Somerset Maugham. [jj] DESIRE, [kk1 KERFOL, Edith WharJames Stephens. ton. [111 THE SPECTER, Guy de Maupassanto MARGULIES, LEO (1900-1975) American editor, publisher. Editor of THRILLING WONDER STORIES; editorial director Standard Magazines; publisher of various fantastic and mystery magazines, including THE SAINT, FANTASTIC UNIVERSE, MIKE SHAYNE MYSTERY MAGAZINE, etc. * Items 1107 and 1108 were ghost-edited by Sam Moskowitz. It has not been revealed whether Margulies had assistance on the other two, although it is reasonable to assume that he had. AS EDITOR: 1105. THE GHOUL KEEPERS NINE FANTASTIC STORIES Pyramid Books; New York 1961 paperbound This collection and the following three collections were built out of WEIRD TALES, then defunct, the rights to which Margulies owned. * Short stories, including, described elsewhere, [a] THE LAKE, Ray Bradbury. [b] WHEN THE NIGHT WIND HOWLS, L. Sprague de Camp and Fletcher Pratt. * Also [c] THE 'ISLE OF THE SLEEPER, Edmond Hamilton. (WT 1938) Garrison, shipwrecked, drifts to a desert island peopled with exotic fauna and flora, plus a beautiful, complaisant young woman. She bids him not to awaken the Sleeper (who lies asleep in a clearing), since this is all his dream and will vanish if he awakens. When the Sleeper has bad dreams, horrible monstro-

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MARGULIES, LEO sities emerge, like the apemen that chase and capture Garrison and the young woman. Probably Hamilton's best story. [d] PLEASE GO 'WAY AND LET ME SLEEP, Helen W. Kasson. (WT 1945) Ambie Collins, unhappily married and enamoured of the young woman at the soda fountain, receives assistance from the ghost of his grandfather. Also a subplot among the ghosts. [e] THE WITCH IN THE FOG, Harry Altschuler. (WT 1938) Erroneously carried as Altschyler. A take-off on Oriental thrillers. Blenheim Orange sold his beautiful young cousin to an Indian rajah. While she resented being sold, in India she learned how to project herself, the magical use of the thug's neckerchief, and similar matters. Revenge. Originaliy published under the pseudonym Alexander Faust. [f] CLAIR DE LUNE, Seabury Quinn. (WT 1947) Jules de Grandin and Dr. Trowbridge (see series comment under Seabury Quinn) come upon a spiritual vampire from 18th century France. They finish her off. [g] SPAWN OF DAGON, Henry Kuttner. (WT 1938) Elak the Atlantean accepts a commission from the masked man to kill the sorcerer Zend. But he discovers that he is on the wrong side, since the masked man (one of the sea-people) wants to sink Atlantis. Also animated corpses, magical globes, etc. 1106. THE UNEXPECTED 11 STRANGE STORIES Pyramid Books; New York 1961 paperbound Short stories. Described elsewhere, [a] THE PROFESSOR'S TEDDY BEAR, Theodore Sturgeon. [b1 LEGAL RITES, Isaac Asimov and Frederik Pohl. [c] THE HANDLER, Ray Bradbury. [d] THE AUTOMATIC PISTOL, Fritz Leiber. [e] THE VALLEY WAS STILL, Manly Wade Wellman. * Also [f1 THE STRANGE ISLAND OF DR. NORK, Robert Bloch. (WT, 1949) A take-off on the sadistic comic book of the period. The narrator, a newspaper man, visits the Island of Dr. Nork, where a genial Nobel Prize winner creates all the wonderful sound effects, sadistic happenings, and supernatural powers that occur in the literature. Black humor. [g1 MRS. HAWK, Margaret St. Clair. (WT 1950) Many applicants reply when they see the photograph of Mrs. Hawk in the matrimonial news, and Mrs. Hawk increases her herd of swine. Circe in modern disguise. [h1 THE UNWANTED, Mary Elizabeth Counselman. A census-taker visiting Mountain Whites discovers the power of love in creating phantom-real children for a childless woman. [i] THE SCRAWNY ONE, Anthony Boucher. (WT 1949) When Harker finds an old magician who can summon a demon, his fortune seems made. He murders the magician, offers the corpse to the hungry demon and gets his wish: to be the wealthiest man in the world. [j] COME AND GO MAD, Fredric Brown. [WT 1949[ George Vine, a newspaper reporter, is generally believed to suffer from amnesia. But George remembers quite well. He was Napoleon. When he voluntarily enters a madhouse for a story, he learns the horrible situation: we are all simply toys for the Brightly Shining, the group intelligence of earth-- or ants. [k] THE BIG SHOT, Eric Frank Russell. (WT 1949) After-death exper-

MA.RGULIES,

LEO

iences of a mobster. * The best of the Margulies collections, with some excellent material. 1107. WEIRD TALES Pyramid Books; New York [1964] paperbound Short stories, including [a] A QUESTION OF ETIQUETTE, Robert Bloch. (WT 1942) A census taker. interviews a witch and wishes that he had not. Unwilling initiation. [b] THE SEA WITCH, Nictzin Dyalhis. (WT 1937) A strange woman from the sea. A sea witch, granddaughter of a legendary supernatural sea being, she has returned for revenge on the man who injured her cent:lries earlier. Told in a lush, romantic way. * Also, described elsewhere, lc] THE STRANGE HIGH HOUSE IN THE MIST, H. P. Lovecraft. [d] THE DRIFTING SNOW, August Derleth. [e] PIGEONS FROM HELf., Robert E. Howard. * Ghost-edited by Sam Moskowitz. * The 1979 reissue does not include [e]. 1108. WORL~S OF WEIRD Pyramid Books; New York [1965] paperbound Ghost-edited, with introduction and notes, by Sam M:>skowitz. * Including, described elsewhere, [a] ROADS, Seabury· Quinn. [b] THE VALLEY OF THE WORM, R. E. Howard. [c] MOTHER OF TOADS, C. A. Smith. [d] THE THING IN THE CELLAR, David H. Keller. * Also [e] THE SAPPHIRE GODDESS, Nictzin Dyalhis (WT 1934) Fantastic adventure. The narrator, a depressed failure on earth, is suddenly snatched into an other-world, where he is told that is King Karan, who has been deprived of memory and incarnated on earth by the wicked sorcerer Djl Grm. In the adventures that follow he regains his memory and his realm. Motifs include a demon Princess of Hell who has designs on his body; a prince of elementals who aids him with advice and free transportation; the goddess, a giant sapphire, which is his transformed wife; and wizardly feuds. Should have been a novel, not a short story. The other stories are science-fiction. MARRYAT, FLORENCE (1838-1899) British author, editor. Daughter of Captain Frederick Marryat. In later life generally known by name of second husband, as Mrs. [Francis] Lean. Popular writer of somewhat rubbishy society novels, translated into many languages. One-time editor of LONDON SOCIETY, other periodicals. Apparently a woman of boundless energy. In addition to bearing her first husband eight children, she worked as a playwright, comic actress, opera singer, popular lecturer, novelist, and manager of a school of journalism. In later life an enthusiastic and aggressive supporter of Spiritualism and various forms of occultism, which she managed to reconcile with membership in the Roman Catholic Church. Despite her great popularity in the United States, her supernatural fiction is almost impossible to find, and I regret that I cannot comment on such alluring titles as THE BLOOD OF THE Vk~PIRE and THE DEAD MAN'S MESSAGE. 1109. THE GHOST OF CHARLOTTE CRAY Tauchnitz; Leipzig 1883 paperbound

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MARRYAT, CAPTAIN FREDERICK Short stories, including [a] THE GHOST OF CHARLOTTE CRAY. Braggett, a British publisher, has been carrying on a flirtation with Miss Cray, an elderly blue-stocking. She is very upset when he marries a handsome young woman, and announces that she will visit him and confront the new Mrs. Braggett. She dies shortly thereafter. Her ghost pops into the office several times, hoping to find Mrs. Braggett. [b1 THE INVISIBLE TENANTS OF RUSHMERE. A haunted house with a full range of sound effects~ footsteps, argument, and shooting. An enraged father, years before, shot an errant daughter who married without consent of the parents. [c] LITTLE WHITE SOULS. India. Mrs. Dunstan, the colonel's wife, goes to the castle in the Mandalinati Hills to have her baby. The castle is said to be haunted by the ghost of an Englishwoman who had been killed by a rajah who kidnapped and imprisoned her. The ghost's child, too, was killed, and the ghost is looking for an English child to take its place. [d1 A MIDSUMMER'S NIGHTMARE, OR, THE AMATEUR DETECTIVE. Humor. Trueman, a hack writer, is employed as an amateur detective. He is to find a missing person, young Cockleboat, son of Lord Seaborne. Detective and missing man end up in a haunted house. Rationalized. * Commercial work. MARRYAT, CAPTAIN FREDERICK (1792-1838) C. B. F. R. S. Legion of Honor. British naval officer, author, editor. As boy, obsessed with sea and ran away from home so many times that parents despairingly entered him in the Royal Navy in 1806. Distinguished service, rising to position of captain, although it is said that promotions would have been rapider if certain caricatures in his writings had not offended higher authorities. Commanded sloop patrolling St. Helena during Napoleon's exile. High naval command in Burma during Burmese War. Resigned from navy in 1830, partly for reasons of health, partly for lit:erary career. * Established great popularity with THE NAVAL OFFICER (1829, better known as FRANK MILDMAY) and maintained it with other sea fiction, bestknown works being MR. MIDSHIPMAN EASY, PETER SIMPLE, MASTERMAN READY. Also wrote fiction in other areas, travel books, and edited METROPOLITAN MAGAZINE. Resident in America for two years. While not a great novelist by mainstream standards, an entertaining narrator whose wide knowledge of sea matters imparts a vividness not matched elsewhere in the genre of sea fiction. 1110. THE PHANTOM SHIP Henry Colburn; London 1839 3 vol. Sea and geographical adventure based ultimatelyon the legend of the Flying Dutchman. * 17th century Flanders, Goa, and areas between, on land and sea. There has long been a mystery in the Vanderdecken household and Philip learns its nature only after his mother's death. He opens a sealed room, and in addition to much unsuspected wealth, finds a letter that reveals his father, whom he believed dead, to be the Flying Dutchman. In a moment of hybris

MARRYAT, CAPTAIN FREDERICK Captain Vanderdecken had sworn he would round the Cape, despite Heaven or Hell. His ship still sails as a phantom, bringing death to those who see it. Release can come only if his son brings to him the fragment of the True Cross that is a family relic. Young Philip accepts the responsibility of finding the Dutchman and releasing him. He takes to the sea on several occasions and sees the phantom ship, but in each case, his vessel is lost, and he is no farther ahead than before. In some mysterious way another sailor is connected with Philip and the Flying Dutchman. This is the evil, one-eyed pilot Schriften, who tries to frustratp. Philip's quest, sometimes by denouncing Philip to the other seamen, sometimes by trying to steal the relic. Schriften, too, is part of the same large plan of fate and survives shipwrecks and other disasters. Between voyages Philip marries Amine, a beautiful and virtuous young woman who is daughter of a Flemish doctor and a North African Moslem woman who had been a sorceress of sorts. Amine knows a small amount of magic, but not enough to be of much help, though she often tries. * On his last voyage Philip takes Amine with him, a fatal decision, for as Schriften (who likes Amine) predicts, it will be a tragic voyage. The phantom ship is sighted, and on this occasion it passes right through Philip's vessel, which is wrecked shortly thereafter. Philip and Amine are separated. Philip undergoes adventures around Malaysia, while Amina is picked up at sea and taken, eventually, to Goa. There she is unwise enough to work scrying magic to see Philip's fate. She is caught in the act and burned by the Inquisition. Philip arrives in time to see her death, and loses his reason. It is many years later, when he is an old man, before he regains his senses and resumes his task. On this last attempt, his evil a1terego, Schriften, is with him. Philip rises spiritually and forgives Schriften for the evil he has done, and now first learns the cosmic plan: he could not reach the Phantom Ship until he had risen above hatred and had neutralized Schriften. Schriften disappears, and Philip boards the Dutchman, where with the fragment of the True Cross he releases ship, crew, and captain from the curse. * Rambling and discu,sive, with the ultimate themes ineptly handled, but very interesting in its detailed, authentic descriptions of life and events at sea. * Included in the text is [a] [KRANTZ'S NARRATIVE) (Chapter 39), a tale often anthologized under such ad hoc titles as THE WEREWOLF, THE WHITE WOLF OF THE HARTZ, THE WHITE WEREWOLF OF THE HARTZ MOUNTAINS, etc. Krantz, Philip's friend, tells of his childhood experiences with the supernatural, in order to explain a fate that he believes is impending. Krantz's father, a widower from Transylvania, lives with his children in an isolated part of the Hartz Mountains. A stranger (who claims to be a fellow Transylvanian) visits them with his beautiful daughter. Krantz's father falls in love with her

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MARSH, RICHARD and marries her, taking an oath in the name of the Spirits of the Hartz to protect and cherish her. In the meanwhile, a white wolf has been seen around the area, and in a short time it begins to attack and kill the Krantz children. The surviving children, who hate and fear their new stepmother, follow her one evening and find her devouring the corpse of their little sister. She is the white wolf, a werewolf. Krantz's father shoots her. The vengeful master spirit of the Hartz places a curse on him and the children: their bare bones shall be picked clean by beasts of prey after violent deaths. As soon as Krantz finishes his tale, the curse is fulfilled when a tiger leaps out and carries him off. An excellent Romantic tale, the first significant werewolf tale in English, and still one of the best. It marks first appearance of many of the standard werewolf motifs.

*

MARSH, RICHARD (1857-1915) British author of popular fiction, frequent contributor to variety periodicals around the turn of the century. Work in general is sometimes ingenious in idea but badly, even shoddily, executed. Is still remembered for THE BEETLE, which has acquired an almost legendary status. 1111. THE BEETLE A MYSTERY Skeffington & Son; London 1897 With the exception of DRACULA this was probably the most popular horror novel of the 1890's. According to literary fo1klore-- although I have never found corroboration for the anecdote-- the novel was written on a wager with Bram Stoker, each man agreeing to produce a supernatural novel by a certain time. * The Beetle is now in London, planning to avenge itself on Paul Lessingham, a politician who had injured it many years earlier in Egypt. The Beetle is a Child of Isis, a member of an African sect which practices human sacrifices and develops magical powers as a result. It can create the illusion of transforming itself into a giant beetle-- or perhaps it can really accomplish the transformation, the text is not entirely clear. * Lessingham's fiancee is kidnapped by the Beetle, and he and Sydney Atherton, a scientist who is developing poison gases, give chase. After much dashing back and forth and drawing-room chitchat, the Beetle is accidentally killed in a train wreck. Told in memoir form by various persons. Long, lurid, sensational, Victorian in mannerisms to an annoying degree, badly written. While there are occasional moments that evoke mystery and horror (as when a bum tries to invade the Beetle's premises and is victimized) most of the novel is a bore. 1112. CURIOS SOME STRANGE ADVENTURES OF TWO BACHELORS John Long; London 1898 Short stories about two young men, Pugh and Tress, who are friendly rivals in collecting curios. Most of the stories are about criminal matters. Including [a) THE ADVENTURE OF LADY WISHAW'S HAND. In the 14th century the hand of Lady Wishaw was cut off as punish-

MARSH, RICHARD ment for theft. The hand, perfectly preserved and still living, remains in the Wishaw family. If members of the family do not keep up the ancient feud involved, it strangles them. 1113. TOM OSSINGTON'S GHOST James Bowden; London [1898] Mystery and romance, with some supernaturalism in the background. * When Madge Brodie, young piano teacher, rents the cottage, she does not know that it had been the property of wealthy, eccentric Tom Ossington. Ossington's wife had run off with another man (Ballingall), and Tom had apparently died intestate, although there is reason to think that his will and fortune are hidden somewhere in the house. Now, mysterious events. Ballingall (an ex-convict) appears and claims that Ossington's ghost has named him heir. Madge and friends find Ossington's will, which leaves his property to whoever can find it. Ossington's mad wife appears and makes a nuisance of herself. She and Ballingall can see the ghost, which is often present. Eventually the -ghost leads Mrs. Ossington to the place where the property (gold, stock certificates, bills) is hidden. She conveniently drops dead. Ballingall runs off. Madge and her friends get the money. * Starts with an interesting situation, but soon falls apart into a mass of absurdities. 1114. A SECOND COMING John Lane; London 1900 Religious novel. Told as a succession of incidents involving people of various social levels: rich, poor, navvies, preachers, children, etc. Christ suddenly returns to earth, landing in London. He works miracles, such as raising the dead, healing the sick, punishing the brutal. Although he is accepted by a few who are simple in heart, he is rejected by most others, including a Roman Catholic cardinal and an Anglican archbishop. Christ leaves, and everything is much as it was before. * Christ speaks in the English of the King James Bible. A sermon in a series of vignettes. 1115. THE SEEN AND THE UNSEEN Methuen; London 1900 Short stories, including [a] A PSYCHOLOGICAL EXPERIMENT. Death by suggestion. Lizards, snakes, and then a horrible monster in a box. [b] THE PHOTOGRAPH. Odd doings at Canterstone Jail. The astral body of the wife of an unjustly imprisoned man creates spirit photographs that both conceal her husband and show the true criminal. [c] A PACK OF CARDS. Colonel Farmer, card-sharp extraordinary, with his magical pack of reader cards. His ghost plagues a victim. Rationalized. [d] THE VIOLIN. The musician Coursault has disappeared, but his violin is in a pawnshop. At times it plays Coursault's music and it eventually indicates where Coursault's body is to be found. [e] THE TIPSTER. Mr. Gill's unfailing prophecies give Major a fortune at the race track, but they also mislead him disastrously. If] THE FIFTEENTH MAN. A football match •• The fifteenth man on the team has just died in the hospital. [g] THE HOUSEBOAT. Murders committed there are reenacted. * Commercial work.

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MARSHALL, ROBERT 1116. AMUSEMENT ONLY Hurst and Blackett; London 1901 Short stories, inc1udi-.1g raj STRANGE OCCURRENCES IN CANTERSTONE JAIL. Oli.ver Mankell, Gipsy magician, is senter.ced to three months for pretending to magical powers. He proves his case while in Canterstone, at the expense of the prison officials. Will control. Hurn~rous. [b] HIS FIRST EXPERIMENT. Borderline supernatural. Playing with hypnotism has consequences when the husband of the subject enters. * [a] is amusing. 1117. BOTH SIDES OF THE VEIL Methuen; London 1902 Short stories, including [a] GEORGE OGDEN'S WILL. A reductio ad absurdu~ of the revelatory ghost. When George Ogden drew up his will personally, he indicated the beneficiaries clearly enough, but he forgot to put in amounts. As his children quarrel about the will after his death, his ghost appears and discusses its intentions. This does not satisfy the heirs, however, and they go to court. George's ghost now appears in court and testifies to the amazed judge. [b] STA~TON'S DINNER. A spoof on Theosophical Buddhism. Staunton, who has been away from London for years, communicates with his solicitors once a year by seemingly supernatural means. He now returns to England and gives a banquet to his acquaintance. At the feast he does not eat or drink, but works much magic. He announces that he is a mahatma and will soon reach nirvana. [c] A KNIGHT OF THE ROAD. England in the 18th century? When Lovell loses a fortune gaming, he plays highwayman and regains it all. Forced to fight a duel with one of the men he robbed, he kills his opponent. The devil is present and is pleased with him, whereupon Lovell vows himself to Hell. [d] A SET OF CHESSMEN. France. A set of haunted chessmen, formerly the property of a chess fiend, who, though dead, still plays through them. [e] THE DISAPPEARANCE OF MRS. MACRECHAM. Following a recipe in THE ART ANJ THEORY OF MAGIC, an ancient book, Waller turns his shrewish landlady into a cat. The recipe for disenchanting her: cut her throat. MARSHALL, ROBERT (1863-1910) British playwright, miscellaneous writer. Two of his plays, SHADES OF NIGHT (produced 1895) and HIS EXCELLENCY THE GOVERNOR (produced 1898) apparently very popular in Great Britain and the United States. 1118. THE HAUNTED MAJOR Leicester Square Library; London 1902 One of the amusing side products of the golf craze of the turn of the century was a small body of fiction dealing with golf. Some of it was fantastic fiction. Probably the best of these works is THE HAUNTED MAJOR. * Topical humor based mostly on characterizations. Major Gore, the narrator, is a fortune-hunting sportman. He observes that the American heiress in whom he is interested admires Lindsay, the golf champion. Since Gore is very good

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at sports, he is rash enough to believe that he can learn to play championship golf in a week. He challenges Lindsay to a match, but he soon learns that he has been foolish. He is about to face defeat when the ghost of Cardinal Smeaton, a notorious figure from the Scottish renaissance, offers to help him. The cardinal has a grudge against the Lindsay family and offers his own clubs, plus supernatural aid. Gore wins the match, but not the heiress. * Nicely told, with amusing characterizations. Reprint title, THE ENCHANTED GOLF CLUBS. MARSHALL, SIDNEY JOHN (1866 - ? American (Washington, D.C.) author. 1119. THE KING OF KOR; OR. SHE'S PROMISE KEPT. A CONTINUATION OF THE GREAT STORY OF "SHE" S. J. Marshall; WashBY H. RIDER HAGGARD ington, D.C. 1908 A Spiritualist sequel to SHE. * The spirit of Ayesha possesses the body of Holley's servant Michael, and Leo, Michael, and Holley all trek back to Kor, where they have long "philosophical" discussions. Ayesha and Ustane continue their old battle over Leo, with Ayesha winning again. Holley gradually remembers a previous incarnation in Kor and meets his ancient soul-mate Iganit. All die and all live happily in the hereafter. * Eccentric, unliterary, and of no interest except as a curiosity associated with H. Rider Haggard. MARTEN, AMBROSE Presumably British. No information. AS EDITOR; 1120. THE STANLEY TALES ORIGINAL AND SELECT W. Morgan; London [c. 1825]° 6 vol. An early 19th century anthology of short stories, containing supernatural fiction and quite a few crime and detection stories. Many of the stories are reprinted from earlier sources. * Including [a] BATHMENDI, Anonymous. An allegory in the 18th century manner. The pursuit of Happiness, which is said to be "bathmendi" in Persian. [b] THE POSSESSED ONE, Anonymous. A confused story of a young man who is accompanied by a mysterious evil, supernatural companion. It is a ghost. [c] THE RING AND THE MENDICANT, Anonymous. Count Roque Schlemil accepts the aid of a demon in finding a lost ring and is thereby in the power of the demon. [d] THE SPECTRE UNMASKED, Anonymous. A burlesque of Gothic themes. A ghost and a ruined abbey are explained as a wrecking operation and the Holy Grail is discovered by a woman detective figure to be a pot. [e] THE CYPRESS CROWN, Caroline de la Motte Fouque. Wolf, a soldier, discovers by supernatural means that his brother has been murdered. Then he meets a fate foretold by omens. This frequently anthologized story by the wife of Friedrich de la Motte Fouque is often printed under the title WOLF. It is a rather effective story. [f] THE CASTLE OF ESCLEES, Anonymous. A woman seen running through the ruins is explained as a Gothic ghost. [g] LEGEND OF MARSEILLES, Anonymous. Much the same plot as [e]. This, too, was fre-

MASEFIELD, JOHN quently anthologized in the early 19th century. [h] ELLY AND OSWALD, Anonymous. Switzerland. Prophetic dreams. [i] GASPAR WESSELING, Anonymous. Executed for a crime, he is revived by an alchemist and is now centuries old. [j] THE FATED HOUR, Anonymous. Described elsewhere. lk] THE DEATH'S HEAD, Anonymous. Described elsewhere. [1] ADVENTURE IN MANTUA, Anonymous. Evocation of the dead. [m] A GHOST STORY, Anonymous. Alternate title for THE FAMILY PORTRAITS, which is described elsewhere. [n] KABAK, Anonymous. An Oriental tale. Magic. [0] THE DEATH BRIDE, Anonymous. Described elsewhere. [p] THE SABLE CLOAK, Anonymous. A lovelorn student is offered love and money if he will sign himself away to a man in a sable cloak. [q] THE GHOST WITH THE GOLDEN CASKET, [Allan Cunningham]. Described elsewhere. * A very rare collection. MASEFIELD, JOHN [EDWARD] (1878-1967) o. M. British poet, writer of fiction, journalist. Created Poet Laureate in 1930, an appointment which has often been criticized. 1121. A MAINSAIL HAUL Elkin Mathews; London 1913 This is the second, greatly enlarged edition, the first edition having been published in 1905. Essays on historical English pirates, folklore of the sea, and a few short stories. * Including raj PORT OF MANY SHIPS and [b] SEA SUPERSTITION, essay-sketches, about the apocalyptic situation when the giant sea serpent, the King of the Sea, will awake. [c] A SAILOR'S YARN. A tall tale of a sailor who bought a monkey and determined to make it speaK. The results are only a little unexpected. [d] THE YARN OF LANKY JOB. Job, a lazy tar, ships on a strange ship, is put off for sleeping on watch, and is pulled out of the water by the rat flag-ship, whose boats row every sea, picking up rats that leave sinking ships. The rats are half human. [e] THE SEAL MAN. A folk tale told by an old woman. The wraith of O'Donnell passed out to sea and became a gigantic seal. As a seal he begat a child on a woman, the child being half seal, half man. It grew up on land, but when it tried to take its sweetheart into the sea, she drowned. [f] THE WESTERN ISLANDS. Riches unbelievable. Spirits, red devils, blue devils, and a golden queen waiting for a man to kiss her and become king. It happens like that. [g) IN A CASTLE RUIN. Andy MacDonnell returns, marries, and has a child. But then it is learned that the real Andy had died a year before, and that this is a dragon-man with pointed ears. A folktale. [h] A DEAL OF CARDS. The Caribbean Sea in the 18th century. Joe, a deserter from a King's ship, wounded, would like to abandon his life as a pirate. He has two chances, each of which he misses. On each occasion he has a vision of a frightful Black woman who offers him his choice of cards. He meets a horrible fate. [i] THE DEVIL AND THE OLD MAN. On board ship the AB confesses that he sold his soul to the Devil. He can escape if he sets the Devil three tasks that the Devil

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MASEFIELD, JOHN cannot fulfill. The captain of the ship engages to save him. * Excellent material. The folk tales have an air of authenticity, and the more formal stories like [h] and [i] are imaginative and nicely handled. MASON, A[FRED] E[DWARD] W[OODLEY] (1865-1948) English author. Educated at Oxford. Toured the Provinces as actor for several years. M.P. for Coventry, 1906-1910. Major in Naval Intelligence, World War I. Author of many romantic novels, adventure novels. Now remembered mostly for detective stories featuring M. Hanaud, notably AT THE VILLA ROSE (1910) and THE HOUSE OF THE ARROW (1924). 1122. THE FOUR CORNERS OF THE WORLD Hodder and Stoughton; London 1917 Short stories, including [a] THE CLOCK. A murder mystery. A murder that seems like a suicide. Cranfield is the local suspect, but he has a perfect, irrefutable alibi. But Cranfield commits suicide and leaves a confession. He has discovered that the old clock has the property of halting time (as in H. G. Wells's story THE NEW ACCELERATOR). While others were in stopped motion, he was able to go out and commit murder. [b] RAYMOND BYATT. Royle learns that his wife is being bothered by the ghost of Byatt, who committed suicide a short time before. Byatt is forcing her to suicide, too. But when Royle checks, he learns that Byatt committed suicide to avoid prosecution for forgery, not for love of Mrs. Royle. This disclosure releases the haunting, but Royle's wife is annoyed at the new circumstance, as a blow to her vanity. lc] THE HOUSE OF TERROR. The ghost of Channing returns, desirous of Linda. To meet Channing on equal terms, Tresk commits suicide. [d] THE REFUGE. A ghost approaches and examines the old table that the protagonist bought at a sale. After a time they converse and the ghost is willing to accept help. In the old table are love letters which the protagonist burns, ending the haunting. Later a confirmatory story is revealed. * Competent, higher level commercial fiction. [a] is best, a jeu d'esprit on the preoccupation with time in some detective stories. 1123. THE THREE GENTLEMEN Hodder and Stoughton; London 1932 A modernized, more sophisticated version of time-hopping (see PHRA THE PHOENICIAN by E. L. Arnold for a cruder type). Three short novels, each with the theme of love hampered by a parent. The first two end tragically, the third happily. While the mechanism is presumably reincarnation in matched trios, the author does not belabor the point. Memory from one life to another is trivial and fugitive-scenes, expressions, moods. * In the first life Attilius Scaurus, a young Roman playboy during the reign of Hadrian, is sent to the army in Britain to shape up. The treatment is successful. After years of service he falls in love with a British girl, but her treacherous father has him murdered. In the second life, Elizabethan England, Anthony Scarr meets

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MATHESON, RICHARD his fated love, but they have the misfortune to affront Queen Elizabeth, and the romance is off. Scarr, in the pay of Walsingham, dies as a saboteur aboard a ship of the Spanish Armada. In the third life, modern England (set mostly in Italy), Adrian Shard meets the girl again, and is about to be trapped by Fate a third time. But he is now saved either by greater intelligence or by luck. He outwits his enemies, gains the woman, and returns for his new, second vision of Rome. * Nicely told. The historical aspects are handled with care. MASTIN, JOHN (1865-1932) Scottish author, scholar. Member of many honorary societies. Author of technical papers in many sciences, and fair amount of sciencefiction in short story form. Much of his work is vitiated by a surreptitious attempt to reconcile science with religion by embodying religious concepts in science-fiction. Author of two science-fiction semi-juveniles, THE STOLEN PLANET (1905), THROUGH THE SUN IN AN AIRSHIP (1909). 1124. THE IMMORTAL LIGHT Cassell; London 1907 Semi-juvenile science-fiction with strong elements of religious fantasy. * After the invention of a steel that holds heat indefinitely, Tissington and his companions decide to explore the South Pole. There, upon leaving their ship, they fall down volcanic shafts into caverns where they find a Latin-speaking lost race with a science higher than our own. This is the City of the Earth. The inhabitants entreat them to go no farther, since to the south is a supernatural barrier between man and God, which cannot be passed. The barrier is there, but the explorers find a dimensional projector which hurls them into the land beyond the Barrier. Since they are basically good men, by divine sufferance they are permitted to live. They visit cities inhabited by superhuman beings who converse telepathically. At the South Pole they are temporarily blinded by the Immortal Light, a divine beacon. * Occasionally imaginative ideas, but floridly written. The attempt to bring religion into the science-fiction form of Verne is not successful. MATHESON, RICHARD (1926Modern American science-fiction writer, author of motion picture and television scripts. 1125. BORN OF MAN AND WOMAN TALES OF SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY Chamberlain Press; Philadelphia 1954 Short stories, including [a] TO FIT THE CRIME. (FANTASTIC, 1952) Ancient Iverson Lord, a traditional poet given to grandiloquence, is dying. In the afterworld he is greeted by patois and slang. This is his Hell. [b] DRESS OF WHITE SILK. (MFSF 1951) Told by a little girl who lives with her grandmother. One room of the house contains her dead mother's possessions, particularly the white silk dress. The little girl is forbidden to enter

MATHESON, RICHARD the room, but while her grandmother is out, she creeps in with a playmate. Something happens, but Matheson does not spell it out. Presumably vampirism. [c] DISAPPEARING ACT. (MFSF, 1953) A ms. found in an old notebook. An ineffectual author finds that his world is crumbling and disappearing around him, until he, too, is gone. A figure of speech transferred to fantasy. [d] THE WEDDING. (BEYOND, 1953) Frank, about to marry Fulvia, insists on every absurd magical practice associated with a folk wedding. His intention is to ward off evil. But when he yields to one superstition on his wife's part--carrying her over the threshold-- he drops dead. The wife is either a diabolist or a demon. [e] WITCH WAR (STARTLING STORIES, 1951) Borderline science-fiction. Paranormal abilities. The war of the future may not be fought with material weapons, but with the psychic abilities of, perhaps, a group of teenagers. * The same collection, with the exception of [e] and three of the science-fiction stories, has been reissued as THIRD FROM THE SUN (Bantam Books; New York 1955 paperbound). * Terse, sparsely written stories, successfully sensational. Best story is [b], which is excellent. The title story is a fine science-fiction horror tale. 1126. I AM LEGEND Gold Medal Books, Fawcett Publications; Greenwich, Conn. 1954 paperbound Supernatural fiction in background, but ultimately science-fiction in rationale and explanations, perhaps with a political semi-allegory. * These are the experiences of Robert Neville, the last "man" on earth, 1976. In a relatively short time such of the earth's population as did not die became vampires of the classical sort. They are severely impaired intellectually and emotionally; cannot move about during the day; must avoid garlic; and can be killed only by impalement with a wooden stake. Neville lives in a fortified house, besieged by vampires during the night, sallying out during the day to stake such as he can find. As time passes, he investigates the cause of the catastrophe and works out rational explanations (plus some modifications of the data given above) for it. The vampirism is a bacterial plague, with a bacillus that causes the body to simulate life. * An interruption comes when he captures a woman who is normal, or perhaps only mildly infected. This event is his downfall, for he has been so immersed in his death-dealing routine that he has not recognized a new phenomenon. The bacillus has mutated and a group of humans now maintain the vampire germ in their bodies, move about during the day to a certain extent, and act like normals. Unfortunately, they are hostile, since Neville has been killing members of their group without knowing their special characteristics. One of their women traps Neville. * Explanations are ingenious, but the plotting and characterizations lack the brilliance of such other last man stories as Shiel's THE PURPLE CLOUD. In the political message, the brutal suspiciousness of Neville

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MATHESON, RICHARD is paralleled by the ruthless of the new vampires, or Right vs. Left. 1127. SHOCK! Dell Books; New York 1961 paperbound Short stories, including [a] LEMMINGS. (MFSF, 1957) Two policemen at a beach witness a human counterpart of the lemming migrations into the sea. Very short. [b] LONG DISTANCE CALL. (BEYOND, 1953) Old bedridden Miss Elva Keene receives mysterious phone calls. First silence, then noise, then finally a voice. The call is from the cemetery. Alternate title, SORRY, RIGHT NUMBER. [c] MANTAGE. Described elsewhere. [d] THE HOLIDAY MAN. (MFSF, 1957) David has the very unpleasant task of predicting holiday casualties. A supernatural aspect to the prediction. [e] LEGION OF PLOTTERS. Mr. Jasper, a sensitive and methodical man, tabulates the day's annoyances and observes that they are scheduled according to a mathereatical principle. From there it is an easy matter to run amok. Perhaps madness? [f] THE EDGE. (MFSF, 1958) How many Donald Marshalls are there? Exact duplication of a person-- past history, present circumstances. [g] THE CREEPING TERROR. Described elsewhere. [h] DEATH SHIP. (FANTASTIC STORY MAGAZINE, 1953) Borderline sciencefiction. When the ship lands on the strange planet, it finds the wreck of itself and the corpses of its crew. How can it be explained? Telepathic control by the natives? No. A modern Flying Dutchman situation is involved. [i] THE DISrRIBUTOR. (PLAYBOY, 1958) Theodore Gordon moves into the neighborhood, becomes acquainted, while scandal and tragedy mount. Gordon is apparently hypostatized Trouble. * Original ideas, very well presented. This collection has been reissued as SHOCK 1. 1128. SHOCK II Dell Books; New York 1964 paperbound Short stories, including [a] NO SUCH THING AS A VAMPIRE. (PLAYBOY, 1959) Rumania. Dr. Gheria's wife shows all the classical symptoms of vampiric attack. He takes measures and the local peasants know exactly what to do about a vampire. Rationalized. [b] DEADLINE. (ROGUE, 1959) His life lasted exactly one year, starting New Year's Day; on December 31st he was an aged man. Allegory, of course. A feat to bring off a theme as cliched. [c] THE MAN WHO MADE THE WORLD. (IMAGINATION 1953) Mr. Smith is sure that he made the world, about five years ago. That would be all right, except that he has a premonition that he will die. Then everything will dissolve. [d] THE LIKENESS OF JULIE. (1962, in ALONE BY NIGHT) Glamour and mind control. A plain, but supernaturally gifted coed attracts victims for her own rape. But it ends with suicide for her victims. [e] BIG SURPRISE. (EQMM 1959) Alternate title, WHAT WAS IN THE BOX? Somewhat in the mode of Bradbury. Old Mr. Hawkins tells boys to dig in a certain place, whereupon they will have a big surprise. Ernie digs, finds a coffin ten feet down, and a real surprise. Mr. Hawkins. [f] CRICKETS.

MATHESON, RICHARD (SHOCK, 1960) Old Mr. Morgan has listened to the crickets for seven years and has finally broken their code. They are spelling out the names of those about to die. His own name is sounded, and his chewed corpse is found. [g) FROM SHADOWED PLACES. (MFSF, 1960) Peter is dying from the curse of a Zulu witchdoctor. The only remedy can be provided by a young Black anthropologist who has been initiated in Africa. Good stories, [d), le), [g) being outstanding. Dell Books; New York 1966 1129. SHOCK III paperbound Short stories, including [a) WITCH WAR. Described elsewhere. [b) GIRL OF MY DREAMS. (MFSF, 1963) A pair of racketeers, one of whom is psychic, try to clean up. Told as a brutal, hard-boiled caper. [c) THE DISINHERITORS. (FANTASTIC STORY, 1952) Borderline science-fiction. When Alice leaves her sleeping husband and wanders off into the countryside during their picnic, she comes on the situation of the three bears. But there is a sinister, rational explanation. [d) SLAUGHTER HOUSE. (WT 1953) An elaborate story of the downfall of two brothers who buy a Victorian house and start to remodel it. In the living room is a good portrait of a young woman. The degradation of the brothers is lurid and sensational, but without the more violent physical manifestations of the conventional haunted house. [e) SHOCK WAVE. (GAMMA, 1963) In the old church, the organ is starting to fall apart. It will have to be replaced before its vibration does damage. Tied in with this is the similar situation faced by old Mr. Moffat. The organ comes to life and drags everything down with it in a Samsonian finish. [f) FIRST ANNIVERSARY. Described elsewhere. [~) NIGHTMARE AT 20,000 FEET. (1961, from ALONE BY NIGHT) Wilson, who is nervous on planes, sees a gremlin out on the wing-- leaping on and off, prying off the motor plates, poking at the propellor. But no one else can see the gremlin. le] and [g] are best.

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MATSON, NORMAN [HAGHEJM] (1893-1965) American journalist, writer of fiction. Husband of playwright Susan Glaspell, with whom collaborated. Achieved temporary fame with THE PASSIONATE WITCH, listed as a collaboration with Thorne Smith. 1130. FLECKER'S MAGIC Boni and Liveright; New York 1926 Semiallegorical fantasy set in modern Bohemian Paris. Spike Flecker, young American art student, encounters the perplexing supernatural. A handsome young woman approaches him and gives him a ring that she says will grant any one wish that he makes. She claims to be a witch, although later it is revealed that she is only the real witch's deputy. Flecker cannot make up his mind what to wish for, partly because he comes to realize, from the young woman, that his wish might destroy the universe. If, for example, he wished for happiness, his wish might destroy all aspects of being or of change. He eventually discards

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the ring without wishing, but establishes a liaison with the young woman. In the background is the witch, an ancient woman who is the last of her kind. All the other witches committed suicide when the era of rationality began, but this witch now knows that the basis of modern science (subatomic particles, etc.) is irrational and basically the same as her magic. Bouncy, vivacious, empty, except for the exposition of witchcraft; most interesting aspect is that so little could be stretched into a book. E. M. Forster, on the other hand, liked it. 1131. BATS IN THE BELFRY Doubleday, Doran; Garden City, New York 1943 A sequel to THE PASSIONATE WITCH by Thorne Smith and Matson, using the same general setting and most of the same characters as the first book. Almost seven years have passed, and T. Wallace Wooly, Jr., is living in marital boredom with Betty, his third wife. The supernatural once again impinges on Wooly, for he starts to hear a small voice, which gradually becomes stronger and emerges from the radio. It is Jennifer, the witch, who wants to be released from her grave. Wooly and his comic associates are at first skeptical, then reluctant, but when Jennifer supernaturally causes a run on the local bank, they decide that her wishes must be obeyed. They exhume her casket, from which she emerges as beautiful as before. She resumes life at the local posh hotel, even more nymph-like in her behavior than ever, but without the malice or earthy quality of seven years earlier. She soon has the male population of the town aroused, and as a natural concomitant, the female, too. Wooly takes up with her again. Betty Wooly at first refuses to believe in Jennifer, but after a confrontation with her, in which Jennifer turns her into a cat, takes her seriously and starts to apply for a divorce. But Jennifer becomes tired of it all, and asks Wooly, who is equally bored, to go away with her. They both die. Jennifer is reburied in her old grave. She and Wooly, in the spirit, travel the world, but she gradually fades away and Wooly awakens at his own funeral ceremonies. He resumes life, somewhat chastened. Synthetic. Occasionally better • written than the Thorne Smith volumes, but without the flash and the truly cockeyed perspective.

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MATTHEWS, [JAMES) BRANDER (1852-1929) American attorney, educator (Columbia University, Professor of English), literary historian, writer of fiction. Highly regarded around the turn of the century as a writer of short stories and as a literary influence. 1132. TALES OF FANTASY AND FACT Harper; New York 1896 Short stories, including [a] A PRIMER OF IMAGINARY GEOGRAPHY. The Flying Dutchman takes the narrator on a voyage around various imaginary countries of liter.3.ture and folklore. lb] THE KINETOSCOPE OF TIME. A kinetoscope was a primitive ancestor of the motion picture.

MATTHEWS, BRANDER The narrator sees many great scenes from life and literature through the eye holes of the device. When he leaves, he sees that the proprietor is Cagliostro. LcI THE DREAM-GOWN OF THE JAPANESE AMBASSADOR. The narrator falls into a trance whenever he looks at a certain crystal, and lives experiences from history and literature. Explained as cryptomnesia. [dl THE RIVAL GHOSTS. Duncan", an American of Scottish ancestry, owns a haunted house. When he unexpectedly comes into a Scottish peerage, the family ghost attaches itself to him. The American and Scottish ghosts disagree savagely, until Duncan discovers that one is a woman and the other a man. Marrying them off together is an excellent solution. * This is not first book appearance for this story. * Amusing. In [cI the author invokes fairly sophisticated psychology to account for seemingly supernatural effects. MATURIN, CHARLES ROBERT (1780-1824) Irish clergyman, dramatist, novelis"t, sometime resident in London. Generally considered the culmination and greatest writer in the Gothic novel, with MELMOTH THE WANDERER the finest work in the direct tradition. Established his reputation with FATAL REVENGE (1807), which led to sponsorship by Scott. His play BERTRAM, OR THE CASTLE OF ST. ALDOBRAND (1816), was well received "on performance, but other dramatic efforts not too successful either as literature or in popularity. A writer of remarkable imagination and power, but without much sense of proportion or ability at selfcriticism. At the moment, now that enthusiasm for Gothic novels is a facet of many of our subcultures, Maturin is a fad author. 1133. FATAL REVENGE; OR. THE FAMILY OF MONTORIO Longman, Hurst, Rees and Orme; London 1807 3 vol. (published as by MURPHY, DENNIS JASPER; later editions attributed to Maturin) Long, very complex Gothic novel. Since the story line is fragmented and disorganized, I have presented subplots in isolation, with no attempt to adhere to the author's narrative order. * Late 17th century Naples. The powerful Count di Montorio has two sons, Ippolito and Annibal. Since they have been reared in monkish superstition, both are credulous and ignorant. Ippoloto is voluptuous and dissipated, and Annibal is timid, gloomy, and mistrustful. Their adventures proceed separately, and are integrated toward the end of the book. * In the first subplot, Annibal, who lives in the family castle at Muralto, determines to solve the mystery of a reputedly haunted passage. As his investigation proceeds, he encounters supernatural manifestations in great quantity, including a scene in the family vaults that is a masterpiece of horror. Most of this supernaturalism is associated with Father Schemoli, the count's confessor. Sometimes Schemoli is seen as a skeleton. The count, learning of Annibal's investjgations, imprisons him, refusing to release him until he reveals what he has learned. Each evening Schemoli enters Annibal's cell by supernatural

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MATURIN, CHARLES ROBERT means, and discourses. He reveals that he is not entirely human, but is a member of a lost elder race that dwelt in caverns underground. Because of divine displeasure he must appear as a skeleton each day. Schemoli also commands Annibal to murder the count. Annibal refuses, and finally escapes from his imprisonment. * Ippolito, in the meantime, has been engaged in a life of dissipation in the fleshpots of Naples. One evening he follows a masked figure who offers to give him a true horoscope. They proceed to a tomb, where Ippolito sees a magical pageant; a demon converses with him; and he is persuaded to commit a human sacrifice, which is then revealed to be a man in the semblance of his father, the count. Annibal flees, but is seized and imprisoned by the Inquisition. The masked man appears in his cell and urges him to murder the count. An earthquake takes place, the prison of the Inquisition is shattered, Ippolito escapes by sea-- and is washed ashore at the feet of the tempter, the masked man. * After other supernatural incidents the brothers collapse psychologically and agree to commit the murder. Schemoli leads them to the count's apartments, but at the last moment, Schemoli bursts out of the count's room, overcome with emotion, and tries to stop them. They break away and commit the murder. * Secrets are revealed in Schemoli's confession. He is the brother of the count, driven out of the realm by the count's plots. He fled to the Orient, learned stage magic, and returned in disguise as a monk. His austerities and dynamic personality soon gained him the position of confessor to the count. All the seemingly supernatural incidents had been either stage magic or chance, cleverly used by Schemoli to further his scheme of having the count's own children murder him. But at the last moment he learned that Ippolito and Annibal were really his own sons, adopted by the count in a moment of conscience. All that Schemoli has gained is his own execution and the banishment and early death of his children. The family of Montorio is extinct. * A remarkable novel, superior even to MELMOTH THE WANDERER in atmosphere and color, though very difficult to follow. 1134. MELMOTH THE WANDERER A TALE Constable, Edinburgh; Hurst, Robinson and Co.; London 1820 4 vol. (published as by the author of BERTRAM.) A long Romantic-Gothic novel, generally regarded as the high point of the tradition. The story is complex and is told within frames. * Young John Melmoth, attending the deathbed of his miserly uncle in early 19th century Ireland, learns of the existence of a mysterious 17th century ancestor who is still alive. Through tales that come to his attention by various chance (or providential) ways he reconstructs the history of Melmoth and discovers the infamous offer which Melmoth makes to his fellow man. * The first story is revealed by a manuscript. It tells of the experiences of Stanton, an English traveller in Spain. Stanton first meets Melmoth on a stormy night and

MATURIN, CHARLES ROBERT prophecies a future meeting-- which occurs in an English madhouse where Stanton has been imprisoned to satisfy the greed of his relatives. Melmoth appears supernaturally and offers to release him if - - - and the manuscript ends without revealing the conditions. The second story, which occupies roughly half the novel, is the life history of Moncada, a young Spaniard who has been cast up on the Irish shore and rescued by John Melmoth's neighbors. Moncada is destined to be a monk, since his superstitious parents believe that this is the only way that they can redeem their premarital familiarity. Young Moncada loathes the monastic life and spares no effort to be released, but the monks wish to keep him in the monastery because of the wealth of his family. After a long conflict with the superior and a frustrated attempt at escape, Moncada is turned over the Inquisition. He is visited in his cell by Melmoth, who offers him release on certain terms. Moncada rejects the offer with horror, and later escapes from the Inquisition. While he is in hiding, he reads the third story, a manuscript describing events on a desert island in the Indian Ocean. There dwells the beautiful maiden Immalee. She is periodically visited by Melmoth. She falls in love with him, and he, after a fashion, with her. While educating her-- since she has been isolated for years-- he inevitably elevates her soul. Paradoxically, good has emerged from evil, and Melmoth leaves her. The fourth and fifth stories (Guzman and Walberg, and the Mortimers) are less important; following the pattern of the others, no one will accept Melmoth's offer. In the final background episode Immalee is brought to Spain and is revealed to be a Spanish lady of quality. Her parents wish to marry her off, but she is faithful to Melmoth, and Melmoth agrees to marry her. Even his magical arts are not enough to seduce native virtue. They are married by a dead man, called from the grave by Melmoth's power. But by now Melmoth's situation is desperate, for he tries to tempt his wife, and fails. * The scene shifts back to Ireland and the present, and the ancient Melmoth appears, now showing the signs of his age. We learn that he made a bargain with the Devil: prolongation of life and certain magical powers in exchange for his soul. There is, however, an escape clause: if Melmoth can persuade someone to take over his bargain, he will be released. As the progress of the novel has shown, temptation in various circumstances and on various levels has proved unsuccessful, and Melmoth must suffer his contractual fate. * While highly romantic in attitude and a little confused in structure (though by no means so much so as FATAL REVENGE), it is still one of the most remarkable novels in English and certainly one of the great classics of supernatural fiction. Its strengths lie in the vividness with which the author presents his situations, and in the remarkable heightened language. * The

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MAUPASSANT, GUY DE best edition is the University of Nebraska reprint (Lincoln, Nebraska 1961), with an introduction by William F. Axton. MAUGHAM, W[ ILLIAM] SOMERSET (1874-1965) British mainstream novelist, dramatist. Bestknown works LIZA OF LAMBETH (1897), OF HUMAN BONDAGE (1915), CAKES AND ALE (1930). 1135. THE MAGICIAN Heinemann; London 1908 As a young man, during his Paris days, Maugham roomed with Aleister Crowley, the notorious black magician of later years. THE MAGICIAN is based on the personality of Crowley, with some elements taken from Oscar Wilde. * Paris and England. The story centers on Oliver Haddo, as seen by several British visitors and expatriates. Haddo, a grossly fat giant of a man, of good family and Oxford education is a learned student of black magic and occultism. He is insanely ambitious in this area and immoderately vengeful after insults and slights. His aim is to manufacture homunculi, since in this he would be rivalling God in power. When he is struck and beaten by a member of the British circle into which he has forced himself, he vows revenge. He works glamour on his insulter's fiancee and causes her to marry him, after which he systematically works her public degradation. He does not consummate his marriage, however, for he needs her virginity to accomplish certain magical feats, including scrying. Her friends are at first bewildered, then apprehensive for her. Haddo eventually kills her, since he needs her blood and vital force to animate his homunculi, but he himself is killed when, in astral body, he attacks her former fianc~. * While the personality and achievements of Haddo are nicely handled, the structuring and characterizations are not up to Maugham's major work. MAUPASSANT, [HENRI RENt ALBERT] GUY DE (the DE was assumed in later life) (1850-1893) Historically important French author, highly regarded at one time for mastery of short story based on fragment of life theory, but now read mostly for material with erotic or horror elements. 1136. , THE COMPLETE SHORT STORIES OF GUY DE MAUPASSANT Hanover House; Garden City, New York [1955] Edited with introduction by Artine Artinian. This is obviously not a first edition for many of Maupassant's stories in English translation, but it is the most reliable edition. * Maupassant wrote more than 270 short stories, but until about 1940 it was not clear exactly what works of Maupassant were available in English. In the so-called COLLECTED WORKS OF MAUPASSANT, published in 1903, there were some 59 stories by other authors, falsely attributed to Maupassant. The earlier translations, in addition, were often not reasonable translations, but adaptations, expansions, and occasionally redirections. Artinian's edition is as close to a definitive edition as exists. Translators, however,

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are not indicated. For those who use other editions, variant titles have been cited. Including [a] ON THE RIVER. (SUR L'EAU) The narrator, boating on the Seine, throws out his anchor in hope of relaxing for a time. But he is haunted by ever increasing fear and dread, which mount greatly, particularly when he discovers that he cannot move his anchor. When he finally rips it loose, he discovers a corpse at the end of the line. [b] THE INN. (L' AUBERGE) Snowbound in the Alps, with a corpse outside the hut. A corpse that keeps trying to get in. Madness? [cl MAD? (UN FOU) Jacques Parent, who has died in the madhouse, has the ability to control the will of animals, manipulate things by teleportation, and is being driven mad by it. Also titled MADNESS. [d] FEAR. (LA PEUR) Two anecdotes of the se~~ing supernatural, with rational explanations: an ogress, a ghostly wagon. [e] THE UNKNOWN. (L'INCONNUE) Gontran describes an affair which he almost had with a beautiful brunette with heavy eyebrows. He recognized her as a ghoul from the Arabian Nights, or so it seemed. Also translated as THE STRANGER and THE WOMAN OF THE STREETS. [f] MAGNETISM. (MAGNETISME) Two anecdotes, one of the fisherman's son who dreams of his father's death as it happens at sea, and the other of a lover who goes to his mistress. Rationally explained. [g] WAS IT A DREAM? (LA MORTE) A widower who mourns his wife sincerely goes to her grave at night. The epitaphs on the stones recombine to form true statements, instead of conventional phrases. He learns that she had a lover. He is found unconscious in the graveyard the next morning. Was it a dream? Also translated as THE DEAR DEPARTED and DEAD WOMAN. [h] THE SPECTRE. (L'APPARITION) A widower requests the narrator to fetch a packet of papers from his dead wife's room. While the narrator is there, the ghost of the dead woman appears and asks him to comb her hair. He does so, whereupon she disappears through a locked door. Also titled THE APPARITION and THE STORY OF A LAW SUIT. [i] THE LEGEND OF MONT-SAINT-MICHEL: Described elsewhere. [j] HE? (LUI?) A compulsion in terms of fantasy. The narrator cannot endure solitude; he is even prepared to marry to avoid being alone. He sees a person sitting in his chair, and, intermittently, knows the presence of something supernatural. Also titled TERROR. [k] THE" ENGLISHMAN. (LA MAIN) Maitre Bermutier tells of an Englishman whom he met in Corsica. The Englishman kept a withered hand and forearm fastened to the wall with a strong chain. "It always wishes to escape," said the Englishman. One morning the Englishman is found dead, strangled, the hand is missing, but two fingers are found, bitten off the hand. Also titled THE HAND. This story is not to be confused with THE FLAYED HAND, which is described elsewhere. [1] WHO KNOWS? (QUI SAlT?) Told by a mad-· man. On returning home, he sees his furniture march out and disappear. Some time later he sees it in Rouen, in a dealer's shop.

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MAURICE, MICHAEL By the time he brings the police, the furniture has disappeared, and it reappears back in his house. Maupassant's last story. Also titled WHO CAN TELL! [m] LITTLE LOUISE ROQUE. (LA PETITE ROQUE) A horrible sex murder at Carlelin; a child raped and murdered. No suspect emerges, but the mayor acts very strangely. He seems to court death. It is eventually learned that he murdered the girl and is tormented by the perpetual sight of her corpse. Conscience. [n] THE HORLA. (LE HORLA) The narrator is oppressed by an invisible vampiric being who controls his will. It seems to be one of a new race of beings destined to take over the world from man. * Most of these stories are trivial, but [a], [g], [k], [1] are worth reading, while In] is one of the great classics of psychopathology. It is often taken as symptomatic of Maupassant's mental decline (from syphilis), but this view is difficult to maintain. Earlier editions of Maupassant's works, like THE WORKS OF GUY DE MAUPASSANT (National Library Company; New York, 1909) contain [0] THE GOLDEN BRAID. (LA CHEVELURE), a story of fetishism, murder, a ghost, and madness. Also translated as ONE PHASE OF LOVE, A WOMAN'S HAIR, THE TRESS and THE TRESS OF HAIR. Apparently Artinian rejects this story as not by Maupassant, but it is accepted by other authorities, as in Helmut Kessler's MAUPASSANTS NOVELLEN (Braunschweig, 1966).

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MAURICE, MICHAEL (pseud. of SKINNER, CONRAD ARTHUR) (1889? ) British clergyman, schoolmaster; author of several works of fiction under pseudonym, but better known for religious works under his own name: CONCERNING THE BIBLE (1927), which reached at least seven editions. 1137. NOT IN OUR STARS T. Fisher Unwin; London [1923] Predestination vs. free will told in a combination society romance and metaphysical murder novel. Odd things are happening around Menzies, a diffident young man about town. He .has intense moments of prevision, in which he can foretell (in terms of his future knowledge of an event) both trivia and important things. Connected with this is a bombardment of earth by enormous meteors, some of which cause great damage. In his alter-ego of Valdez, an astronomer, Menzies speculates that these impacts have the potential power of reversing time. ,~ During this same period of stress Menzies has met and fallen in love with Hetty. They are first haltingly revealing their love, when a meteorite strikes nearby and Menzies falls unconscious. It is later revealed that earth's time structure was changed for an hour. Menzies awakens about a year later in the death cell in prison, a few hours before a scheduled execution. He is, of course, baffled and frustrated, for he has no knowledge of what has happened. He is executed, and thereupon awakens the day before, and so it goes on, each day coming in reverse sequence. As time passes backwards

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he learns that he married Hetty; incorrectly believed that she had committed adultery with Savile, a former suitor of hers; and killed him with a poker. When Menzies reaches the impact time of the meteorite, time flows normally again, and he is perplexed what to do. Should he enter predestination by marrying Hetty, or should he withdraw? Small events seem to show that his experience was valid. He decides to accept his lot and marry her, since he will have almost a year of happiness before the murder. At this point Hetty breaks the chain of foreordination, and Menzies realizes that he is free. * Not a good novel technically, but interesting in situation as Menzies flounders through time speculating and acting against his will. The author's profession, undoubtedly, necessitated a happy ending. MAUROIS, ANDRE (pseud. of HERZOG, EMILE SALOMON WILHELM) (1885-1967) K. B. E. Legion of Honor. Member of French Academy. Recipient of many honorary degrees. Author of novels, biographies, essays, historical works. Best-known work (in English) ARIEL, THE LIFE OF SHELLEY (1924) and excellent children's fantasy FATTYPUFFS AND THINIFERS (1940). Also wrote NEXT CHAPTER, THE WAR AGAINST THE MOON and THE THOUGHT READING MACHINE, which use subject matter of sciencefiction satirically. 1138. THE WEIGHER OF SOULS Cassell; London 1931 (LE PESEUR D'AMEs, 1931) Translated from French by Hamish Miles. Based on the experiments of Crookes and the telephone theory of the mind. * Dr. James has succeeded in trapping soul fluid on death. He has also discovered that mixing compatible souls causes a glow that probably represents happiness. The narrator, a French war comrade of James's, has seen the experiments. Summoned from abroad, he finds that James has committed suicide on the death of his wife and wants their soul fluids mixed. But the vessels are broken. * Nicely told, but not major work. MAYOR, F[LORA] M[ACDONALD] (1872 -? ) British author, presumably Scottish. Author of several works of fiction. 1139. THE ROOM OPPOSITE AND OTHER TALES OF MYSTERY AND IMAGINATION Longmans' London 1935 Short stories, including [a] THE KIND ACTION OF MR. ROBINSON. Reconstructed from early 19th century documents. Mr. Robinson, a courteous Devil, comes to the assistance of M~rsden, but gives him a fifty year bond. Every ten years Robinson appears with a reminder. Marsden pays the bond by suicide at the proper time. Nicely handled. [b] LETTERS FROM MANNINGFIELD. Epistolary. A ~iddleaged woman who has sacrificed her life to her parents receives a new entry to the world through fairy manipulations. There is a hollow that is haunted by small fairies, who may be either benevolent or malevolent. [c}

MEIK, VIVIAN TALES OF WIDOW WEEKS. Also set in Manningfield. The widow is a folkloristic English witch who hurts and heals. [d} FIFTEEN CHARLOTTE STREET. A countryman, found in an exhausted state in London, tells a curious story of having been hypnotized and psychically drained by a doctor. Dr. Arleigh decides to investigate the story and by chance stumbles upon an old school companion, Curran, who is a psychic vampire. [d} THE UNQUIET GRAVE. Reminiscences of a tragedy in the North. The young man kills a rival, must flee, and enlists. The young woman pines and dies, but before her death sends a supernatural deathmessage to her lover. [f} MISS DE MANNERING OF ASHAM. c. 1800. Told partly in family history, partly by modern appearance of the ghost, and partly through Miss de Mannering's narrative. She was seduced and bore a child which died soon after birth. She kept the birth secret and burned the child's body. Her ghost now wanders about, looking for the baby, hoping to put it in consecrated ground. [g} "THERE SHALL BE LIGHT AT THY DEATH." James Clarkson, rotter, murdered his aunt for her money and let her servant be executed for the crime. Just before her death, she said to him, "There shall be light at thy death." Clarkson is tormented by fear of retribution, all the more so when the Devil (in the dress of a wealthy man) appears and drops hints. [h} LE SPECTRE DE LA ROSE. c. 1820. At the dress ball Lucy vows herself to the Spectre of the Rose. He appears again later, in Italy. * Good stories on the whole, well developed, often 'with original ideas and treatment. MEIK, VIVIAN [BERNARD} {1895 ? British author, engineer, war correspondent (World War II). Travelled and worked in India and Africa. Ethnological study, THE PEOPLE OF LEAVES, about wild tribe in India. Third book (in addition to two following), THE CURSE OF RED SHIVA, sometimes listed as fantastic, is really a mystery novel about a conspiracy. Philip Allan; London 1140. DEVILS' DRUMS [ 1933} Sensational adventure in Africa, on the literal level of horror. Mostly concerned with experiences of Geoffrey Aylett and Father Vaneken. * Including [a} DEVIL DRUMS. Death by native magic. [b} WHITE ZOMBIE. A planter's wife keeps zombies, including her husband. [c} AN ACRE IN HELL. The spirit of a dead witch doctor commits murder, until laid by Father Vaneken. [d} THE DOLL OF DEATH. Doll magic, until the doll turns. [e} L'AMITIE RESTE. Spirits, witchdoctors, elementals. [f} THE MAN WHO SOLD HIS SHADOW. A white whose wife joined the witch cult. [g} RA. A Eurasian magician, cursed in a previous incarnation, works black magic in Africa. [h} HONEYMOON IN HATE. A widow uses magic to avenge her husband's death. [i} DOMIRA'S DRUM. Domira the Deathless offers peace behind the Veil to those who have befriended

MEIK, VIVIAN him. Crude material, sensational on a low level. 1141. VEILS OF FEAR Philip Allan; London 1934 Sequel of a sort to 1140. There may be intervening episodes that have not been published in book form. * When Martyn, senior reporter of the SUNDAY COURIER, is sent to get a story from Geoffrey Aylett, he does not suspect that his life will be changed (and soon ended). Aylett reveals to him the existence of Ashraf Daiye, a monster of supernatural evil, and when Martyn gives his story to his editor, Ashraf's photograph comes to life and kills the editor. Martyn thereupon determines to help fight the forces of evil. Martyn, Aylett, Mrs. Aylett, and Father Vaneken first go to the Near East, where they defeat one of Ashraf's agents temporarily embodied as a scorpion. The next battle is with Ashraf himself, whom Martyn destroys by touching him with a fragment of the True Cross. But now they learn that Ashraf is not the mastermind they thought, but only a lieutenant. They have crossed the Veil of Fear, but must still pass the Veil of Blood and then encounter the supreme personage of evil, whose identity is unknown. The next episode is set in the foothills of the Himalayas, where they encounter an elemental-like being that takes the form of a gigantic liver. The final adventure is in Hong Kong, where the evil mastermind (Da Souza), who has achieved his power by stealing Tibetan secrets of white magic, manifests himself. Martyn challenges" him with the True Cross, and both die. * Supernatural matters include visions, dream experiences that are real and in the astral body, demonic personalities, will control, etc. * Low-level hack work. MEINHOLD, [JOHANNES] WILHELM (1797-1851) German Lutheran clergyman, poet, novelist, miscellaneous writer. Achieved fame with DIE BERNSTEINHEXE, although earlier poetry well received by Goethe and others. Fell out of favor in light of scandal concerning DIE BERNSTEINHEXE and dropped into obscurity in Germany, though his work long had popularity in Victorian Great Britain. 1142. THE AMBER WITCH H. G. Clark; London 1844 (MARIA SCHWEIDLER, DIE BERNSTEINHEXE, 1843) Translated from German by E. A. Friedlaender. * A chronicle novel set in 17th century Pomerania. In 1841-2 the author released it in part, claiming that it was a genuine historical document. It is so close in historical detail and language that it was accepted as a genuine document and was highly regarded as a picture of life "and theological activities. When Meinhold revealed that it was fiction, and that he had written it to discredit rational Biblical criticism (if a critic cannot distinguish between history and a novel, how is he qualified to comment on the historicity of the Bible?), it dropped out of favor in Germany. For details see the Introduction to FIVE VICTORIAN GHOST NOVELS edited by E. F.

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MEINHOLD, WILHELM Bleiler. * Narrated by Pastor Schweidler, THE AMBER WITCH tells of the miseries of life on the small Baltic island of Usedom during the Thirty Years War. The pastor and his daughter Maria are in disfavor with the reigning duke, since the pastor has pressed for salary arrears and Maria has refused to become the duke's mistress. What with the ban that the duke has placed on them, and general economic upheaval, the Schweidlers would starve if Maria had not found a lode of amber along the beach, which she secretly visits at night. About this time witch activities take place. People die, crops fail, cattle sicken. Maria is blamed, largely through the duke's enmity, and her nocturnal visits to the amber lode are taken to be visits to the Devil. She is sentenced to death, but is rescued from the executioner at the last moment by a young nobleman. The duke has just died, and it is revealed that the duke and old Lizzie, his chief informer, were the real witches. * A minor masterpiece, still the best novel about witchcraft. * The edition cited above is the first English translation, but the translation by Lady Lucy Duff Gordon (John Murray; London 1844) is superior, and is the translation that has often been reprinted. 1143. SIDONIA THE SORCERESS Simms and McIntyre; London and Belfast 1849 2 vol. (SIDONIA VON BORK, 1848) * Translated from German by Lady Jane Wilde, the mother of Oscar Wilde. * A chronicle novel set in Renaissance Pomerania, late 16th and early 17th centuries. * Sidonia von Bork, daughter of Count Otto, feudal lord of Stargard and other towns, is corrupted as a child by her father's worldly ambition and Socinian theology. She grows up to be an utterly selfish, heartless, ruthless, vindictive sensualist. At the court of the stupid, pious Duchess of Wolgast Sidonia uses her physical charms to capture the affections of Prince Ernest, heir to the Duchy of Pomerania, but she is caught in fornication and expelled from the court. Her proud father disinherits her and commits suicide. The middle years of Sidonia's life are not known, although she is said to have learned witchcraft from Gipsies. In 1592, however, she reappears in Pomerania as a most potent witch. Her years of hardship and her magical endowments have not improved her character, for she is as arrogant and vengeful as before. Nobles and commoners alike are terrified of her, since thwarting her leads to horrible misfortune. She is assigned a prebenda at a small convent operated for the daughters of wealthy noblemen. She terrorizes both convent and the neighborhood with her supernatural powers, and there seems to be no way to stop her. All her enemies die miserably. Eventually, the sun-angel Och is invoked in a cabalistic conjuration, and he tells how to disarm her. She is then taken, tried, and burned, but her evil magic lives after her. The ducal family becomes extinct, and the land is ravaged during the Thirty

MEINHOLD, WILHELM Years War. * Told as a historical memoir, with a wealth of material on local customs, usages, manner, religious habits, legal matters, and witch-hunting. Equal to Defoe in its command of incident and detail. A remarkable novel, but a rather barbarous translation. MEREDITH, GEORGE (1828-1909) British mainstream novelist. Best-known work THE ORDEAL OF RICHARD FEVEREL (1859), THE EGOIST (1879). The following work is very atypical. 1144. THE SHAVING OF SHAGPAT AN ARABIAN ENTERTAINMENT Chapman and Hall; London 1856 Meredith's first novel, a long and complicated Oriental tale set in the Middle East. The frame situation consists of the career of Shibli Bagarag, a barber. He wishes to enter the city and exercise his trade. The problem is that hirsuteness is held in high esteem and barbers are considered outlaws. The magical basis for this situation comes from the clothier Shagpat, on whose head has been implanted the Identical, a hair which can be cut with only one weapon, the Sword of Events. Shagpat, aided by the magical lore of his wife (the daughter of the vizier, enchanted into the form of an old woman), undergoes many magical perils and adventures before he achieves his purpose. Included are transformations, serpent power, genie, evil queens with magic, magical trials, underworlds, illusions, and much other paraphernalia from the Arabian Nights. In addition to the main story there are intercalated stories of the same sort. * A very curious work, at times written with great imagination of small incident and richness of fantasy; but it is perplexing that an author of power should spend so much effort on an essentially trivial matter. The stylistic and ideal involutions of the later Meredith are not present, but there is an allegorical element in many of the names and incidents. There is also said to be a larger political allegory, but this is not readily apparent. MEREDITH, OWEN (pseud. of LYTTON, EDWARD ROBERT BULWER-LYTTON, First Earl of Lytton) (1831-1891) British diplomat, civil servant, poet, novelist. Son of Edward George Bulwer-Lytton the novelist. Held various diplomatic posts. Governor General of India during Afghan War of 1879-80, where attempted to create a puppet state of Afghanistan. Policy severely criticized; resigned at fall of Beaconsfield ministry. Appointed ambassador to Paris, which post held until his death. As Owen Meredith prolific author of romantic poetry, sometimes of technical interest, but not very highly regarded today. Best-known work LUCILE (1860). 1145. THE RING OF AMASIS Chapman and Hall; London 1863 3 vol. Pseudo-philosophical, semi-allegorical novel. * Roughly the first third of the book is

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MERIMEE, PROSPER occupied by the musings, speculations, and reactions of a German doctor to a man who is first known as the Gentleman in Black, then later as Count Edmond R------. While R----has acted with heroism on at least one occasion, there is obviously an estrangement between himself and his wife. On the third meeting, the doctor learns the strange history of the count. * Years before, when the count had been excavating in Egypt, he came upon the mummy of Amasis, a royal prince. On the mummy's hand was a ring. As the count was examining the unwrapped mummy, a stranger, first taken to be a Kabile chief, appeared, translated the inscription on the ring and an accompanying papyrus, and warned the count: do not meddle with fate. Amasis's crime was fratricide by neglect of duty. It is later recognized that the stranger was probably Amasis himself, an undying principle. When the count returns to Germany, a sexual triangle develops between himself, his brother Felix, and Julia. Julia chooses Felix. Some time later, when Felix and Edmond are boating, Felix is accidentally drowned. Edmond and Julia are eventually married, but on his marriage day Edmond is so tormented by a haunting that he goes berserk. During his madness he reveals that he is haunted by a hand, the hand of his brother, which he did not take when Felix was drowning. Edmond, too, has become a fratricide, through the power of the ring. He is still haunted, and his wife, who knows the true story of Felix's death, cannot forgive him. The ring, of course, is selfishness. * When the author finished this work, it is said that his father, a wellknown novelist, forbade him to use the family name on it, since it was so low in quality. I must agree with the senior Bulwer-Lytton, for the novel is immature work, cluttered with chapters of pretentious rant. There is a later edition that is somewhat tightened, but the book is still not really worth reading. * Some later editions are carried under the author's name. MERlMEE, PROSPER (1803-1870) French novelist, translator, essayist, archeologist. One of the masters of local color in fiction. An excellent scholar and a fine writer, unfortunately now remembered in the English-speaking world only for CARMEN, the source for the opera of the same name by Georges Bizet. 1146. WORKS OF PROSPER MERlMEE Bigelow, Brown and Co.; New York 1905 8 vol. bound in 4 Edited by George Saintsbury. Anonymous translation from French. Despite the title, this set does not offer the complete works of Merimee. * Volume One contains no supernatural material. Volume Two includes [a] THE VISION OF CHARLES XI. (VISION DE CHARLES XI, 1833) This is sometimes cited in occult sources as a factual record, and it is possible that it may be a folkloristic item that Merim~e worked into fictional form. Charles XI of Sweden, unable to sleep, is passing the night irritably with courtiers, when he observes a light in the assembly hall. His courtiers are afraid to en-

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ter, but Charles steps boldly into the hall and sees a supernatural assemblage. He sees a corpse being crowned and an execution. The situation is explained as the assassination of King Gustavus III and the execution of Baron Ankarstroem, both of which events took place five reigns later. [b] THE VENUS OF ILLE. (LA VENUS D'ILLE, 1837) A bronze statue of Venus is excavated on the lands of M. de Peyrehorade and is responsible for disturbances. It is singularly unpleasant in expression, and it resents liberties. A workman's leg is broken, while a stone hurled by a tough is thrown back at him. The young man of the house is about to be married. To free his fingers for a tennis match, he places his ring on the finger of the statue. When he returns later to take back his ring, he discovers that the statue has clenched its fist and will not release the ring. On Peyrehorade's wedding night, the statue comes for him and strangles him in the presence of his bride. When the statue is later melted to form a bell, it continues its evil ways. A classic of 19th century supernatural fiction. Volume Three includes [c] THE "VICCOLO" OF MADAM LUCREZIA. (IL VICCOLO DI MADAMA LUCREZIA, 1846) A young Frenchman staying in Rome becomes acquainted with the Aldobrandis, a patrician family, and becomes immersed in what seems to be a supernatural love affair. A small house, once owned by Lucrezia Borgia, but long untenanted, reputedly haunted, excites his interest when a female figure tosses a rose to him from a window. Several internal ghost narratives add to the mood of supernaturalism, but the incident is rationalized. Saintsbury, however, feels that not everything has been explained away. [d] LOKIS. (1866) Lithuania. The narrator, a comparative philologist who happens to be a clergyman, visits young Count Szemioth in order to examine ancient documents and to study one of the Lithuanian dialects. He observes that the count's mother is mad, and learns that she was attacked, while in advanced pregnancy, by a bear. She never recovered from the shock. The count, too, has peculiarities. Animals cannot tolerate his presence, and certain of his actions are strange. While riding through the woods one day, the count and the narrator come upon an old witch woman who tells them that the animal kingdom is prepared to elect a new king, now that the lion is dead. Some time later, after the professor has left the count's domains, he receives an invitation to the count's wedding, indeed, is asked to perform the service. The result, however, is tragic. The bride is found next morning with her throat torn open. A gigantic animal has passed through the garden. The count is seen no more. He has presumably gone to become King of the Beasts. "Lokis" is the Lithuanian word for bear. * While all Merimee's work is excellent, [d] is outstanding. This is not the first translation of THE VENUS OF ILLE, a frequently anthologized story. Henry James made an earlier translation.

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MERRIL, JUD ITH MERRIL, JUDITH (pseud., later name change; nee GROSSMAN, JULIET) (1923 American science-fiction author, editor. Collaborated with Cyril Kornbluth as CYRIL M. JUDD. Best-known work science-fiction novel SHADOW ON THE HEARTH (1950), down to earth account of housewife in atomic attack. Author of many anthologies demonstrating resourcefulness and excellent taste. AS EDITOR: 1147. SHOT IN THE DARK Bantam Books; New York 1950 paperbound Primarily a science-fiction anthology, but including [a] MR. LUPESCU, Anthony Boucher. Described elsewhere. [b] HE WAS ASKING AFTER YOU, Margery Allingham. Australia. Murder. The dead man tracks down the living, step by step; both leave together, dead. [c] THE FACTS IN THE CASE OF M. VALDEMAR. E. A. Poe. Described elsewhere. [d] THE BRONZE PARROT, R. Austin Freeman. Described elsewhere. 1148. BEYOND HUMAN KEN TWENTY-ONE STARTLING STORIES OF SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY Random House; New York 1952 Introduction by Fletcher Pratt. Mostly science fiction, but with a few supernatural items. Including [a] A GNOME THERE WAS, Lewis Padgett. (Pseud. of Henry Kuttner and C. L. Moore) lb] OUR FAIR CITY, Robert A. Heinlein. [c] THE COMPLEAT WEREWOLF, Anthony Boucher. [d] THE ANGEL WAS A YANKEE, S. V. Benet. All described elsewhere. Also, [e] THE MAN WHO SOLD ROPE TO THE GNOLES, Idris Seabright. (Pseud. of Hargaret St. Clair) (MFSF 1951) A sequel to Lord Dunsany's HOW NUTH WOULD HAVE PRACTICED HIS ART UPON THE GNOLES. An ambitious salesman hopes to make a fortune selling cordage to the gnoles. In bargaining he makes a serious error and stays for dinner. A good collection. 1149. BEYOND THE BARRIERS OF SPACE AND TIME Random House; New York 1954 A theme anthology based on paranormal abilities. It is often problematic whether individual stories are supernatural or science-fiction. Introduction by Theodore Sturgeon. * Including, described elsewhere, [a] BEHOLD IT WAS A DREAM, Rhoda Broughton. lb] THE VELDT, Ray Bradbury. [c] THE GHOST OF ME, Anthony Boucher. [d] INTERPRETATION OF A DREAM, John Collier. Also, [e] WOLF PACK, Walter M. Miller, Jr. (FANTASTIC, 1953) World War II, during the invasion of Italy. Kessel, assigned to bomb Perugia, has a dream liaison with a woman living there and is torn between duty and ethics. Conscience? Nicely developed. [f] NO ONE BELIEVED ME, Will Thompson. (SATURDAY EVENING POST, 1948) An inmate of an asylum, able to talk with animals. Not explained. [g] THE LAOCOON COMPLEX, J. C. Furnas. (ESQUIRE, 1937) Whenever Simms takes a bath, he finds a green snake in the tub with him. A great psychologist explains it as creation by mind force. [h] MALICE AFORETHOUGHT, David Grinnell. (MFSF, 1952) When two writers conceive the same idea and treatment several times, a telepathic ether is postulated. The ether can also be used as a

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MERRIL, JUDITH weapon. [i] THE LAST SEANCE, Agatha Christie. Described elsewhere. [j] MEDICINE DANCER, Bill Brown. (FANTASY FICTION, 1953) Old Pete's daughter, Taka, an Indian girl, has an amazing success as a dancer in Los Angeles, but her dances always bring rain. Her father is somewhat disturbed at the situation, and changes the rain symbols on her drums to symbols for war. [k] THE WALL AROUND THE WORLD, Theodore R. Cogswell. (BEYOND, 1953) In the small area circumscribed by the thousand-foot wall, a magical culture operates, with broomsticks for riding, telekinesis, and limited telepathy. rnere is an explanation. [1] DEFENCE MECHANISM, Katherine MacLean. (ASTOUNDING, 1949) A fictional explanation for the rarity of telepathy. * Most of. these stories are borderline science-fiction. Other stories that I would consider science-fiction are: "Perforce to Dream," John Wyndham (inducement of collective hallucination); "Crazy Joey," Mark Clifton and Alex Apostolides (telepathic boy) ; "The Golden Man," Philip K. Dick (advanced mutant humanity); "Belief," Isaac Asimov (levitation and academic politics); "Mr. Kinkaid's Pasts," J. J. Coupling (time travel); "The Warning," Peter Phillips (telepathy and world destruction); "Operating Instructions," Robert Sheckley (telekinetic space travel). 1150. GALAXY OF GHOULS Lion Library Edition; New York 1955 paperbound S-f and supernatural fiction, including, described elsewhere, [a] A WAY OF THINKING, Theodore Sturgeon. [b] 0 UGLY BIRD! Manly Wade Wellman. [c] THE DEMON KING, J. B. Priestley. [d] HOMECOMING, Ray Bradbury. * Also [e] WOLVES DON'T CRY, Bruce Elliott. (MFSF 1954) The werewolf in the zoo fulfills a need for a childless woman. [f] THE AMBASSADORS, Anthony Boucher. (STARTLING STORIES 1952) The lupine Martians cannot tolerate primate humans, nor can humans accept intelligent wo!ves. As ambassadors, werewolves and were-apes. [g] SHARE ALIKE, Jerome Bixby and Joe E. Dean. (BEYOND, 1952) Two men cast away in a boat, one of whom is a vampire from Rumania. The situation must be accepted by both. [h] BLOOD, Fredric Brown. (MFSF, 1955) The last two vampires escape to the future in a time machine-- and find a vegetable world. [i] THE TRIFLIN' MAN, Walter M. Miller, Jr. (FANTASTIC UNIVERSE, 1955) Science-fiction, but narrated as folklore until the end. As folklore: a demon bridegroom, abandoning wife and child, but visiting at night. As sciencefiction, interplanetary visitor. [j] PROOF OF THE PUDDING, Robert Sheckley. (ASTOUNDING, 1952) Borderline science-fiction. The last man on earth, who survived the total war by flying to the dark side of the moon; he returns to earth with powers of almost divine creation. It ends with a pun. [k] MOP-UP, Arthur Porges. (MFSF, 1953) After the final war, one man, one witch, one vampire, and one ghoul are all that survive. But there are animals: A rabbit dragging a stake for the vampire; birds and torch-bearing raccoons for the witch; and large beasts of prey for the ghoul. What

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MERRIL, JUDITH for the man except death? [1] THE WHEELBARROW BOY, Richard Parker. (MFSF, 1953) He keeps misbehaving, and his teacher turns him into a wheelbarrow-- but is unable to return him to human form. The union will probably take care of him, but much depends on how the parents feel about it. Humor. [m] FISH STORY, Leslie Charteris. (Pseud. of Leslie C. Yin) (BLUEBOOK, 1953) Borderline supernatural. An old man shows how to swim like a fish-- with extraordinary results. There are implications which the author does not expand. * This same collection has been reprinted under the title OFF THE BEATEN ORBIT. 1151. S-F: THE YEAR'S GREATEST SCIENCE-FICTION AND FANTASY Gnome Press; New York 1956 Simultaneously published in paperbound form by Dell. * Introduction by Orson Welles. * Short stories, including [a] OF MISSING PERSONS, Jack Finney. (GOOD HOUSEKEEPING, 1955) At the Acme Travel Agency the narrator examines the literature for Verna, which is the "place to escape to." The pamphlets show a rustic, early American idyllic life (much like that in NEWS FROM NOWHERE by William Morris), but with such modern conveniences as washing machines. Persons destined for Verna are carefully screened. But the narrator panics at the last minute and loses his chances forever. lb] SENSE FROM THOUGHT DIVIDE, Mark Clifton. (ASTOUNDING, 1955) Borderline s-f. A sequel to "What Thin partitions" by Clifton and Alex Apostolides, which does not happen to be in the books co~sidered in this volume. Kennedy is still looking for PK-gifted people to activate his anti-gravity cylinders. He becomes involved with the Swami, a half-fraudulent, half-genuine PK-er. By no means as interesting as the first story in the series. * Also included are two good science-fiction stories, "Birds Can't Count" by Mildred Clingerman and "The Country of the Kind" by Damon Knight. * This first volume of a yearly series sets the pattern for succeeding volumes: good stories, but lamentably little fantasy and that little slanted toward science-fiction. 1152. SF: '57 THE YEAR'S GREATEST SCIENCEFICTION AND FANTASY Gnome Press; New York 1957 Short stories, including [aj THE COSMIC EXPENSE ACCOUNT, Cyril M. Kornbluth. Described elsewhere. [b] PUT THEM ALL TOGETHER, THEY SPELL MONSTER, Ray Russell. (PLAYBOY, 1956) The narrator is watching an advance showing of a new s-f epic, THE. It is about an animated glob of vaseline that is thought to be hostile but is really only looking for a comparable female. The sex star takes off with it. The story is straight satire until the ending, at which time the narrator seems to have been transformed into a monster. Amusing. [c] THE ANYTHING BOX, Zenna Henderson. (MFSF, 1956) Sentimental story told by a school teacher who has a semi-autistic child in her class. The child has an invisible box called the "anything box," which amounts to wish fulfillment. The teacher is able to use the box to bring about improvement in the child. [d] THE

MERRIL, JUDITH DAMNEDEST THING, Garson Kanin. (ESQUIRE, 1956) Told through a vulgar, unscrupulous undertaker. The corpse sat up and insisted on writing out the terms of his own funeral. * Also present are the brilliant s-f story "Prima Belladonna," by J. C. Ballard and two excellent s-f stories, "The Man Who Liked Lions, John Bernard Daley and "Compounded Interest," Mack Reynolds. * This collection was published simultaneously by Dell as SF THE YEAR'S GREATEST SCIENCE-FICTION AND FANTASY SECOND ANNUAL VOLUME. 1153. S-F: '58 THE YEAR'S GREATEST SCIENCEFICTION AND FANTASY Gnome Press; Hicksville, N.Y.; [1958] Short stories, including [a] YOU KNOW WILLIE, Theodore R. Cogswell. (MFSF 1957) When Willie McCracken shoots a Black, he is found not guilty. The murdered man's aunt, an ancient obeah woman, vows revenge, but seemingly does not live long enough to obtain it. One evening, however, while Willie is having intercourse with his wife, he changes physically to the counterpart of the murdered Black. [b] NEAR MISS, Henry Kuttner. When Dillon wants to disrupt the traditional Mexican way of delivering the wonderful shrimp of Guaymas to the market, he is forced to use the services of a powerful brujo, or wizard. His magic is not strong enough to destroy a truck, but it does cause complications; doll magic. [c] FLYING HIGH, Eugene Ionesco. (MADEMOISELLE, 1957) A metaphoric fantasy about the repercussions of unacknowledged crime. The corpse that was murdered ten years before continues to grow, in some strange disease of death, entrapping the young couple who live with it-- until final release. Guilt. * A bad year for the s-f, but three good fantasies. * This collection was published simultaneously by Dell as SF THE YEAR'S GREATEST SCIENCE-FICTION AND FANTASY THIRD ANNUAL VOLUME. 1154. S F: '59 THE YEAR'S GREATEST SCIENCEFICTION AND FANTASY Gnome Press; Hicksville, N. Y.; 1959 Short stories, including [a] SPACE-TIME FOR SPRINGERS, Fritz Leiber. [b] CASEY AGONISTES, Richard McKenna. Both described elsewhere. * Also, [c] THE RIVER OF RICHES, Gerald Kersh. (SATURDAY EVENING POST, 1958) The toctenut, much like the English walnut, when opened shows meat similar in appearance to the human brain. The Amazonian Indians use the nuts to playa game much like marbles. Occasionally there is a tocte nut that is alive and sentient, and with it one can win spectacularly. The narrator has such a nut until the Indians outwit him. [d] FRESH GUY, E. C. Tubb. (SCIENCE FANTASY, 1958) After the holocaustic war, when what is left of the human race has dug in underground and will emerge at the right time, a ghoul, two vampires, and a werewolf converse. [e] OR ALL THE SEAS WITH OYSTERS, Avram Davidson. (GALXY, 1938) Life forms of the metal world, told in terms of a bicycle shop. Safety pins, coat hangers, and bicycles are developmental

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MERRITT, A. stages, and can regenerate. An enemy to the metal life is destroyed. Or, perhaps, less likely, just plain murder. * Of the described material- [e( is excellent. * This collection was published simultaneously by Dell as SF THE YEAR'S GREATEST SCIENCE-FICTION AND FANTASY FOURTH ANNUAL VOLUME. 1155. THE 5TH ANNUAL OF THE YEAR'S BEST S-F Simon and Schuster; New York 1960 Mostly science-fiction. Including [a] THE OTHER WIFE, Jack Finney. (SATURDAY EVENING POST, 1960) THE CAPTAIN'S PARADISE in terms of other-worlds. Al has the faculty of stepping into a parallel world much like this, but different enough (including wife) to make the novelty appealing. [b] MARIANA, Fritz Leiber. (FANTASTIC SCIENCE FICTION, 1960) Borderline science-fiction. A statement of neurosis in fantastic terms. Mariana, living in the future when environment is created by matter transmission, flips the switches that cancel her surroundings, her home, and her husband. When she rejects the offer for psychological treatment that follows, she discovers that the last switch says, Mariana. [c] THE SHORELINE AT SUNSET, Ray Bradbury. Described elsewhere. * Three good stories. * While Merril's series continued for several more volumes (up through SF 12), the fantasy aspect was dropped. MERRITT, A[BRAHAM] (1884-1943) American newspaper executive, science-fiction and fantasy writer. Associated with PHILADELPHIA ENQUIRER as reporter; later with Hearst's AMERICAN WEEKLY, first as assistant to editor, then as editor in 1937. Extremely popular author of mythic lost-race novels during period post World War I and 1920's. At that time often considered the leading American writer of fantastic fiction, though since then his critical standing has dropped greatly. An enormous influence on pulp fiction development. The following descriptions cover all Merritt's fiction except the mystery thriller SEVEN FOOTPRINTS TO SATAN (1928), which is concerned with an unusual criminal mastermind, but is otherwise unremarkable. 1156. THE MOON POOL Putnam; New York 1919 Fantastic adventure. A retread of a short story THE MOON POOL (ALL-STORY, 1918) and a sequel novel, THE CONQUEST OF THE MOON POOL (ALL-STORY, 1919). The first element by itself is supernatural, a variant of the monster from the crypt theme; the second is sciencefiction. * Professor Throckmorton, while exploring the mysterious ruins of Metalinim in the Caroline Islands, sees his family wiped out by a non-material, glowing, tinkling monstrosity that lives beneath the ruins and emerges according to a lunar cycle. Throckmorton escapes long enough to tell his story aboard ship, but the monstrosity (here called the Dweller, later called the Shining One) follows him over the moonlit sea and absorbs him. Such absorption is accompanied by sensations of utmost pain and delight. * In THE CONQUEST OF THE MOON POOL (which is integ-

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rated with the preceding short story). Dr. Goodwin and his companions (Larry O'Keefe, handsome young Irish-American adventurer and Olaf Huldricksson, a Norwegian sea captain who does duty for a Viking) open the Dweller's door and pass into the hidden land beneath the ocean. This is Muria, which has many wonders. There are superscience, including antigravity, invisibility, molecular disintegration; intelligent batrachian humanoids; a lost-race descended from surface people; the Silent Ones, three survivors of a supernally intelligent reptilian race from the geological past; Yolara, a beautiful and wicked queen who lusts for Larry and vamps him; Lakla, a good young woman, servitor to the Silent Ones, in love with Larry; and the Dweller, or as it is otherwise called, the Shining One. The Shining One was originally created by the reptilians as a useful intermediary being, but it escaped control and has become unutterably evil. The Silent Ones have been condemned by their long-dead fellows -to remain in Muria, restricted to a single temple, until they destroy the Shining One. Since they still retain feelings of love for it, they have been unable to obtain release by killing it. At the moment Muria is in social ferment, and the ruling class is planning to ascend to the surface and conquer the world, feeding its multitudes to the Shining One. Civil war breaks out, with the Americans, Lakla, the Frogmen, and the reptilian Silent Ones on one side, and Yolara, the Murian ruling class, and the Shining One on the other. The willingness of Larry and Lakla to sacrifice themselves gives the Silent Ones the nudge to act. * Fine imagination, fast motion, ridiculous characterizations, pretentious style, but still one of the historically important works of early American pulp science-fiction and fantasy. 1157. THE SHIP OF ISHTAR Putnam; New York 1926 Fantastic adventure from the pulp magazines. (ARGOSY, 1924) * Kenton, an archeological dilettante, receives as a souvenir from excavations in the Near East a great stone block incised with cuneiform writing. He sees that the block is hollow, and as supernatural forces operate, the block suddenly crumbles to reveal a small, ancient ship upon an ocean. He recognizes, in some fashion, that the ship is not a model but a microcosm of a larger reality and wills himself aboard. To anticipate: the ship exists in another world, parallel to ours, and is the seat of a seemingly eternal cosmic duel between the evil god Nergal of Babylon and an aspect of the goddess Ishtar. The priests of Nergal inhabit one end of the ship, while Sharane, the priestess of Ishtar, and her maids inhabit the other. Neither group can cross over to the other end of the ship. Every now and then the gods battle, to a perpetual draw. Kenton is drawn aboard the ship several times, as galley slave to Klanath, the vicious priest of Nergal, lover to Sharane, and finally

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MERRITT, A. master of the ship. He finds comrades in a Viking galley slave and in two "passengers," an Ancient Persian and an Ancient Babylonian. They expel Nergal and his priests, but find themselves pursued by the hostility of the god. A succession of sea battles, chases, captures, escapes, and adventures on land ends in the death of the major characters. The souls of Kenton and Sharane are taken to herself by Ishtar. * The most romantic -of Merritt's works. Very uneven as a novel. Sometimes fascinating, sometimes dull; pretentious, yet with a knowing wink of humor now and then; finely imagined, if not always executed. * This present first edition is abridged from the magazine text. The so-called Memorial Edition (Borden Publishing Co.; Los Angeles [1949]) presents the full text as well as illustrations by Virgil Finlay. 1158. THE FACE IN THE ABYSS Liveright; New York [1931] Basically science-fiction, but with a few fantastic elements that edge into supernaturalism. It was originally published as a nouvelle, THE FACE IN THE ABYSS (ARGOSY-ALLSTORY 1923) and a sequel novel, THE SNAKE MOTHER (ARGOSY, 1930). Both are here combined in an abridged version. * Background. Yu-Atlanchi is the last remnant of a supercivilization of Atlantean origin, dating from before the rise of the Andes Mountains. The human culture developed under the guidance of a prehuman race of serpent people. At the moment only one member of the serpent people is still living, the Snake Mother, and the land is decadent and ripe for trouble. * The Andes. Nicholas Graydon, American mining engineer, and his partners are looking for the lost treasure of the Incas. They chance upon Suarra, a beautiful young woman who is handmaiden to the Snake Mother. Graydon's partners, who turn out to be rogues and scoundrels, seize her, hoping to get fabulous treasures. Graydon defends her, but is overpowered. With the help of the Snake Mother the rogues are easily disposed of. Suarra takes them to a place where gold drips like tears from the eyes of a gigantic stone face that radiates an overpowering vitality. The rogues are overpowered by the evil emanatiug from the face and are dissolved. Graydon is saved from the same fate by the Snake Mother, and is told to leave the land. * In the sequel Graydon returns to Yu-Atlanchi to find Suarra. Rebellion breaks out under the leadership of Nimir, the almost divine being who had lived in the stone face. Nimir represents greed and evil, and was one of a group of hypostatized, immortal god-like beings whom the ancient Yu-Atlanchians created. The Snake Mother is aided by Graydon and the Lord of Folly (a figure similar in origin to Nimir). After a superscientific battle, the Snake Mother and the forces of good win. Other fantastic elements are invisible winged serpents, spider men created by directed evolution, attempted possession, and dream machines. * While the present book text is

MERRITT, A. abridged, the later Avon (New York 1945 paperbound) edition reproduces the magazine text. * The original nouvelle, THE FACE IN THE ABYSS, is a good adventure story. The sequel, despite the usual imaginative subject matter is a little coy. 1159. DWELLERS IN THE MIRAGE Liveright; New York [1932] Fantastic adventure (ARGOSY, 1932), based on psychopathology and fanciful ethnology. * During a scientific expedition to Central Asia Leif Langdon meets modern descendants of the ancient Uighurs. They are fascinated by his appearance, skill with languages, and physical strength, and they declare him of ancient Uighur blood. They initiate him into the cult of their monster god, Khalk-ru, and he unknowingly aids in a human sacrifice to restore the fertility of the desolate land. When he realizes that a horrible monstrosity has manifested itself and killed a woman, he is stricken with horror and remorse and is haunted by the memory. * Years later, Leif and Jim, a Cherokee friend, are wandering through Alaska, when they come upon an unknown valley hidden beneath a mirage. The land, which is almost subtropical, is ruled by descendants of Uighurs who fled Central Asia when it became a desert. Also present in the land are pygmies, who are related to the American Indians. There is no love lost between the two peoples. The Uighurs maintain the cult of Khalk'ru. In other respects the land and culture share many elements with the world of Norse mythology. Leif and Jim first stay with the pygmies, but ancestral memories bubble up in Leif. He is expelled by the pygmies and joins the Uighurs, where he declares himself to be the promised redeemer, the longdead great warrior-king Dwayanu. He is accepted by the queen, Lur (the best of Merritt's femmes fatales), as her lover; and and as her paw (now completely submerged by the personality of Dwayanu) he pacifies the land and conducts sacrifices, to which Khalk'ru appears. By now he realizes that Khalk'ru, a horrible octopus-like monstrosity, is not a god, but a being from another dimension. The spell on Leif is destroyed when Jim, who had been on the other side during the wars, is killed. Dwayanu is forced down out of Leif's mind; Lur is killed; and the cult of Khalk'ru is destroyed. Leif leaves the valley with Evalie, a girl from outside who had been a priestess among the pygmies. * In Merritt's original manuscript, which is followed in some of the later paperback reprints, Evalie, too, is killed and Leif alone leaves the valley. * This is the last and best of Merritt's wonderland fantasies. One can forgive the stylistic peculiarities and the nonsensical ethnology for the plot ingenuity, imagination, and psychological depth. The story lends itself to detailed psychoanalytical exploration, though it is not known whether this aspect was intentional on Merritt's part. 1160. BURN. WITCH. BURN! Liveright; New York [1933]

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MERRITT, A. Black magic in a modern setting, presented in the form of a detective mystery. It opposes modern science to witchcraft, awarding the true victory to witchcraft. * (ARGOSY, 1932) Dr. Lowell, a psychiatrist, and Ricori, a sentimentalized Mafia chieftain or gangster, are pitted against Madame Mandelip, a witch who has the power to capture souls. She then uses them to animate dolls, which she employs for various evil purposes. Lowell's science and Ricori's force are both unsuccessful against the dollmaker. Human love and personality, however, prove to be the strongest forces of all. One of the dolls (formerly Lowell's nurse) rebels and kills the witch. * A good thriller, with considerable thought embodied in it. 1161. THRU THE DRAGON GLASS Arra Printers; Jamaica, New York [1932 or 1933] paperbound A small booklet. The title of the story elsewhere is THROUGH THE DRAGON GLASS. * (ALL-STORY, 1917). Merritt's first story. Sentimental Oriental advanture. Herndon, millionaire adventurer, during the sack of the imperial palace in Peking, is supernaturally guided to a secret room, within which is a magical mirror. The mirror serves as an entry to a Chinese fairyland, which is inhabited by a beautiful and amorous young woman and a malicious old sorcerer and his pet dragons. Herndon barely escapes and promises to return. While it is not spelled out, the assumption is that Herndon, in a previous incarnation., had been involved with the woman and the master magician. * An entertaining fantasy. 1162. CREEP, SHADOW: Crime Club, Doubleday, Doran; Garden City, N. Y. 1934 Sequel of a sort to BURN, WITCH, BURN! * (ARGOSY, 1934) Told in the manner of a mystery thriller. The menace of the ancient lore returns to New York with two newcomers, Dr. Keradel and his daughter Dahut. Keradel is a modern warlock who practices human sacrifices to evoke a now-forgotten pre-Celtic god-monstrosity. Dahut is the reincarnation of the ancient Breton princess who opened the sea gates and flooded the legendary city'of Ys. Dahut also practices shadow magic, ensnaring souls and shadows and sending them about to bewitch and murder. A series of murders is traced to Dahut and her father. Against the powers of evil are Dr. Lowell and Ricori, as powerless as before, and Alan Caranac, an ethnologist who is the reincarnation of Dahut's ancient lover in Ys. The resolution to the situation is supplied by human personality: Dahut falls in love with Alan and for his sake kills her father and uses her control of the sea to overwhelm the monstrosity that Keradel had evoked. But her shadows rise in rebellion and drown her. * A good mystery thriller, with even some moments of humor. 1163. THREE LINES OF OLD FRENCH Bizarre Series; Millheim, Pa. [1937] paperbound Sentimental fiction from World War I. (ALLSTORY, 1919) * A wounded soldier is callously used for an experiment in suggestion.

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While he is semiconscious and suggestible, the doctor gives him a piece of paper and whispers a few words to him. The soldier thereupon finds himself in an almost paradisical land, where he is acclaimed as a hero by a beautiful young Frenchwoman of the middle ages. When he awakens and learns that his experience was false, he is broken emotionally until he happens to look at the paper the doctor had given him. He finds written on it, three lines of old French, from the young woman. * This story was extremely popular when it was first published, since many bereaved readers took it as a proof of survival. Today, in addition to being sloppy, it seems cruel and meretricious. 1164. THE METAL MONSTER [Murder Mystery Monthly; Avon Book Co.] New York [1946] paperbound. Fantastic adventure, borderline science-fiction (ARGOSY, 1920) * During Central Asiatic explorations Dr. Goodwin and his party come upon a lost race of ancient Persians and the Metal Horde-- a gigantic organism composed of millions of individual cells of living metal. While the metal being normally takes the form of a city-like structure, the individual elements can combine and recombine (like an erector set) into all sorts of forms, including imitations of animals. The horde has plans of conquering and geometrizing the world by means of power drawn from the sun. In temporary control of the horde, because of an inexplicable empathy she has with the Metal Emperor, is Norhala, a young woman who has been driven out of the Persian culture. Norhala uses the metal organism to destroy the Persians, but she and the horde perish when civil war breaks out among the metal beings and a short circuit results. * A slightly different version (printed in SCIENCE AND INVENTION, 1927) is titled THE METAL EMPEROR. * Very ingenious in the concept of the metal beings, pretentious in language, cliched in plot, and somehow unbelievable. Merritt seems to have considered this his poorest novel. 1165. THE FOX WOMAN AND OTHER STORIES Avon Book r.o.; New York 1949 paperbound A posthumous collection of short stories and fragments. Described elsewhere, [a] THE FOX WOMAN. [b] THROUGH THE DRAGON GLASS. [c] THREE LINES OF OLD FRENCH. * Also, [d] THE DRONE. (FANTASY MAGAZINE, 1934) Two anecdotes about theriomorphy. The first, a were-hyena in Africa. The second, a gradual metamorphosis into a bee-like man. An abridged version of this story has been reprinted as THE DRONE MAN. [e] THE WHITE ROAD and [f] WHEN OLD GODS AWAKE, two negligible fragments of a few pages each. [g] THE WOMEN OF THE WOOD. (WT, 1926, in a slightly different version as THE WOMAN OF THE WOOD) Tree people in the Vosges. A family of woodcutters has vowed enmity against the trees. An American vacationer, to whom the trees turn for help while promising wonderful delights, is responsible for the death of the woodcutters. He leaves the area, partly in shock at what he has done, partly disappointed that he has not joined the

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MERRITT, A. AND BOK, HANNES tree life. * Also present are the sciencefiction stories "The People of the Pit" and "The Last Poet and the Robots." * [g] is Merritt's best short story, perhaps a little too sensational, with pulp concessions, but with excellent adumbrations of depths beneath the surface. WITH HANNES BOK: (see separate entry on BOK) 1166. THE FOX WOMAN THE BLUE PAGODA New Collectors' Group; New York 1946 1000 copy limitation stated, but apparently not followed. THE FOX WOMAN is one of two extensive fragments left by Merritt on his death, the other being THE BLACK WHEEL. * [a] THE FOX WOMAN. Merritt's portion, 16 out of 100 pages of text, is set in Yunnan, China, probably not long after World War I, though dates are not given. Joan Meredith, who is pregnant, is trying to escape a band of hired killers who have just murdered her husband and their party. She is close to the Temple of the Foxes, and she hopes to take refuge in it. A vixen stands in her path, and in her despair she calls to it for help, so that she can have vengeance. The fox turns momentarily into a woman and promises to help her. The gang of toughs that is on her trail is supernaturally dispersed and she is given refuge. When she awakens from her exhaustion, the priest of the temple, Yu Ch'ien, tells her that she will die, but that she will have revenge on her husband's brother, who, she knows, has been responsible for the murders. She dies, but before she passes, the fox spirit enters her womb, to be born in her child. When Charles Meredith arrives to murder the baby, to obtai.n the full estate, Yu Ch' ien easily \vards him cff by supernatural me.ans and tells him that the child, a girl, will come to him when the time is right. This is the end of Merritt's fragment. [b] TIlE BLUE PAGODA. Bok pickll up the story 18 years later, when Jean Meredith comes to Ne\V York to stay \vith he.r uncle. Jean is much like a case of mUltiple personality. At times she is a normal young woman, and at other times she is Yin Hu, the fox woman. When one personality is active, the other is normally sleeping. The fox woman, who has great supernatural powers and even alters Jean's physical appearance when she is topmost, is determined on punishing Charles Meredith. She succeeds, causing the deaths of Meredith, his wife, and his associates. But the human aspect of the fox woman dies. The fox component is apparently released, but must remain locally, and cannot return to China. * The exact plot is complex and not easily summarized. Other supernatural elements include psychic control, transformations, a picture which offer5 access to an other world, animating the statues in the local art museum, and the appearance of other sprites of the same order as the fox woman. ,', Merritt's fragment was promiSing, although it would have been difficult to continue the story on the same level. Perhaps this is why Merritt never finished it. Bok's continuation, however, is not very \VeIl done, with many technical weak-

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nesses. Bok's illustrations are much more interesting than his text. 1167. THE BLACK WHEEL COMPLETED AND ILLUSTRATED BY HANNES BOK New Collectors' Group; New York 1947 (copyright notice, 1948) 1000 copy limitation stated, but apparently not followed Manuscript fragment left unfinished by Merritt. Merritt's share consists of the first 32 printed pages out of 108. * Fantastic adventure. Dr. Ross Fenimore ships as physician on board the "Susan Ann," a "clipper" owned and operated by the eccentric millionaire Jim Benson. The "Susan Ann" is almost an exact replica of a ship of the same name captained by Benson's great grandfather, and its crew (whom Benson has hired at enormous cost) is descended from the original sailors. Benson, who is either possessed by the spirit of the ancient sea captain or is his reincarnation, aims at recapitulating his ancestor's adventures. He assembles a strange group of guests, and the ship sails into the Caribbean. After being badly damaged by a storm, they come upon a small island where they discover a beached wreck. When they explore the wreck, which is obviously quite old, they find in a sealed cabin mummified human bodies and a ship's wheel. The wheel, which is made of a black, unidentifiable wood, is composed of locked hands, and it obviously has supernatural characteristics. One of the company has paranormal knowledge of what is to be found in the sealed room, and is obviously connected with one of the mummylike corpses. * Merritt's fragment ends abruptly. In Bok's continuation several of the ship's company are possessed by the spirits of the dead bodies found in the wreck. To one of them is revealed in dream what the past situation had been. In Ghana, in the early 19th century, a group of sacred priests and priestesses with supernatural powers had been disrupted by the kidnapping of a key member of the group. Taking the temple treasures as ransom they set out in search of him, but were captured, enslaved, and destined for the slave markets of the West Indies. Along the way they seized the ship, with the aid of a friendly white man, hid their treasure on a small island, and became stranded on still another island. There they lived in a sort of living death. Benson's ancestor chanced upon them, and horrified by them, sank their ship. They were gradually immobilized by the salt water, and became mummified, though their spirits are still active. What exactly they want,_ Bok never makes clear, perhaps release, as is hinted at the end. The present day party (in addition to occasional possession by the priestess Irzulie and others of the ancient Blacks) goes through a mutiny and violent storms. There is also an expedition to the treasure island, which is now inhabited by blind, white cave subhumans. By the end of the story only the narrator and one woman are left alive. * Unlike THE FOX WOMAN, Merritt's fragment might have lent itself to completion, but Bok's part is not a very good job. The illustrations, how-

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METCALFE, JOHN ever, are among his very best work. METCALFE, JOHN (1891-1965) British mainstream novelist, educator. Husband of Evelyn Scott. Sometime resident in Canada (as a boy), the United States. Wellregarded for tense, cryptic stories of brooding supernaturalism, but now undeservedly forgotten. 1168. THE SMOKING LEG Jarrolds; Londonll9251 Short stories, including Cal THE SMOKING LEG. Burma. A whiskey-sodden surgeon places two objects in the knee socket of a lascar who is about to go to England: a magical gem of great power and an amulet to restrain it. The clash between the two forces is so great that the leg seems to smoke. The London surgeon who operates on the knee makes the mistake of removing the gem first. [bl NIGHTMARE JACK. His story. A criminal, a Burmese god with a treasure of magical rubies. Possession of the rubies degrades one enormously. In some ways a more profound version of Dunsany's A NIGHT AT AN INN. [cl THE DOUBLE ADMIRAL. An intrjcate puzzle story. Hood, the retired admiral, sees on the horizon an island invisible to most others. To prove its existence he and friends take a boat toward it. The admiral suddenly dies, and his friends find that they are returning to the mainland. But it seems that the admiral is not dead. As they first went to the island they passed another boat with their doppelgangers on board. The admiral from the second boat has taken the place of the first. The only explanation offered is that life is like an hourglass. As the top ebbs, the bottom grows. [dl THE GREY HOUSE. When Hammond takes a taxi, it conveys him to a mysterious house, apparently not in our world. In order to return to the house he recapitulates his actions. A friend follows a chain of beads that Hammon dropped, and comes to a ruin. Entry into the past. eel THE BAD LANDS. Ormerod wanders through an ordinary countryside and gradually penetrates to a land of utmost evil, where the focus is a deserted farmhouse. In it is a spinning wheel which is the source of the evil. Ormerod sets fire to the evil place, but is arrested, for he had set fire to an ordinary farm in our world. The explanation may be spiritual badlands which interpenetrate our world, perhaps madness. [fl PROXY. Claude has a repetitive dream about a walk in the country and a young woman. He awakens one morning and discovers that it was not a dream, and that he has committed murder. Borderline supernatural. * [cl and eel are modern classics, adumbrative rather than specific, subtle, compressed, finely crafted stories that thrust the describable into the indescribable. The nonsupernatural stories are sometimes in the mode of Maupassant. 1169. JUDAS AND OTHER STORIES Constable; London [19311 Short stories, including Cal MORTMAIN. A ghostly barge follows the newly married Temples on their ship honeymoon. Although it changes

METCALFE, JOHN in appearance, it is the sunken barge of Mrs. Temple's dead husband. She feels an irresistible urge to leap overboard and join the dead. Also present are material but ghostly carrion moths, emblematic of the dead man. [b] TIME-FUSE. Faith. Miss Moody, an elderly lady who has dabbled in various aspects of occultism, reads accounts of the life of D.D. Home and believes that if she, too, has faith, she can perform miracles. She handles glowing coals without harm. But when, later, she discovers that the medium she trusts is fraudulent, she loses faith, and horrible burns spontaneously appear on her. [c] MR. MELDRUM'S MANIA. Meldrum is gradually turning into the god Thoth and has difficulty in adjusting to his new state of being. * Also present are two stories that are questionable as supernaturalism. [d] FACE OF BASSETT. The curate Tobias Breech, during World War I, sees the amorous activities of Bassett and a local woman. Bassett is killed in the war and the woman takes up with another man. Breech sees a stained glass figure in the church change to the wrathful appearance of Bassett. The curate thereupon murders the woman and her new husband. Probably meant as madness. [e] NO SIN. A curious adaptation of the VENUS OF ILLE motif. Protopart's wife has died and in accordance with her wishes he has placed a statue of her in the house, with his wedding ring on its finger. Protopart is also having an affair with a blind girl who suffers from a mild form of insanity. The blind girl does not know that the dead wife approved of the affair, and pulls the statue down upon herself. Or perhaps it falls of its own will. Not entirely clear. * [a] and [c] are best. 1170. BRENNER'S BOY White Owl Press; London 1932 125 copy edition Short story. Warrant Officer Winter, retired, happens to meet his old superior office Rear Admiral Brenner on a train. With Brenner is a most obnoxious boy-- almost a changeling in appearance and behavior. In passing conversation it is agreed that Winter shall take the boy for a time as a vacation. Winter does not take the agreement very seriously and is astonished when the boy appears a few days later. For several days Winter and his wife must tolerate the boy's incredible, bad behavior, until the boy suddenly disappears. Winter visits the admiral, and learns that the boy has died and that the visitor had been a ghost. Still further, darker complications are hinted at in the ending. A very interesting, if cryptic, story. 1171. THE FEASTING DEAD Arkham House; Sauk City, Wisc. 1954 Short novel. Colonel Habgood and his son Denis become acquainted with the family of M. Vaignon, a French landowner living in Auvergne, and Denis, as part of an exchange of children goes to stay with Vaignon. It is soon observed that he has formed an odd attachment to a servant named Raoul Privache. When the boy returns to England, he expects Raoul to follow him. This happens. Raoul, a

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MEYRINK, GUSTAV strange lumpish sort of man appears and is soon installed with the Habgoods. Denis, however, undergoes character changes and appears to sicken physically, while odd noises frequently come from his bedroom. Colonel Habgood associates the problem with Raoul and comes to believe that Raoul is a vampiric being known from the folklore of Auvergne. He also learns that the true Raoul Privache died many years before. Raoul is beaten off in England, but Denis runs away to France, back to Vaignon's chateau. Raoul appears again, in the form of a scarecrow in the fields. The colonel follows, but there is nothing that he can do to help, and Denis is destroyed. * Nicely told with adumbrations of odd sexuality and insanity as well as supernaturalism. The puzzle element includes the role of Vaignon, who may have been using Denis to rid his premises of the unwanted monster. MEYER, JOHN J[OSEPH] (1873-1948) American writer, author of several highly eccentric novels that are more or less supernatural or science-fiction: 13 SECONDS THAT ROCKED THE WORLD (1935), THE IMMORTAL TALES OF JOE SHAUN (originally, 1942), etc. The volume below is typical. 1172. THE DEER-SMELLERS OF HAUNTED MOUNTAIN THE ALMOST UNBELIEVABLE EXPERIENCES OF A CEREBROIC HUNTER IN THE HILLS OF THIS WORLD, AND THE LOWLANDS OF THE UNIVERSE WITH A GYPSY-EYED SPIRIT ADVENTURER HUMOROUSLY TATTLE-TALED BY JOHN J. MEYER The Cerebroscope Co.; New York 1921 Eccentric, occult novel. * Richard Reyem goes to Haunted Mountain on a hunting trip but is captured by persons from the depths of the mountain. These are Germans, who, among other things, plan world conquest. After interludes in which the author's psyche wanders the universe in cosmic voyages, Reyem outwits the Germans. Reyem is a Cerebroist, one of a group of spiritually advanced persons whose exact nature Meyer is unable to communicate, despite page after page of exposition. MEYRINK, GUSTAV (pseud., name change 1917, of MEYER, GUSTAV) (1868-1932) Austro-German satirist, occult novelist, and short story writer. Born in Vienna; early life in Prague; later life in Bavaria. Important contributor to SIMPLICISSIMUS, other periodicals of the day, pioneer Expressionist writer. Foremost 20th century German writer of supernatural fiction, and perhaps the foremost modern writer of supernatural novels. Known in the English-speaking world for THE GOLEM (1914), but some other novels of his are superior: DAS GRONE GESICHT (1916), WALPURGIS NACHT (1917). A remarkable writer who used the subject matter of contemporary occultism in a highly individual, metaphysical way. 1173. THE GOLEM Gollancz London 1928 (DER GOLEM, 1914) Translated from German by Madge Pemberton. * A symbolic novel of love

MEYRINK, GUSTAV and spiritual development according to occult systems. The plot of THE GOLEM is simple and can only suggest the intellectual content, rich local background, and imagination of the novel. * Prague, 1890. Athanasius Pernath, a gem-cutter in the old ghetto, falls in love with Miriam, the daughter of the saintly cabalist, Hillel. Pernath also has the misfortune to incur the enmity of Aaron Wassertrum, a foul junkdealer who symbolizes the evil pole of the ghetto. Wassertrum frames Pernath for murder, and Pernath spends almost nine months in prison. When he is released, he finds that the old ghetto is being razed. Miriam has left the area and may be dead. As Pernath's story ends, he is still searching for Miriam. * Meyrink then continues with a frame situation: the foregoing story has been a dream caused by the narrator's taking Pernath's hat from a restaurant. The narrator, a journalist, now goes in search of Pernath. Though many years have passed, he eventually finds the immortal Pernath and Miriam, in a state of being transcending life and death, in a non-existent house. * Over and around this plot swirls the strange life of the ghetto-- the cabala, miracle workers, criminals, students, whores, lovers, artists, cafe musicians-- many of whom are engaged in a mystical quest. Pernath has many supernatural experiences, visions, and revelations, some of which involve the tarot. He also sees and confronts the Golem, which for Meyrink is not the Golem of Jewish folklore, but in one sense is the composite spirit of the ghetto and in another a symbol of rebirth and immortality. It is the etheric body of occult systems. Pernath achieves the experience of the Golem because of his past: all his memories have been removed by hypnosis, and his psyche has become split. * A fine Expressionist novel with a rich content of mystical and occult thought. This material is not closely related to Jewish mysticism, despite the title and setting of the book, but reflects the occult schools of Meyrink's day. * The first English edition cited above is not the most desirable edition, since the translation is somewhat abridged and is often very inaccurate. The Dover (New York 1976) edition corrects the translation and restores the missing passages. A long introduction by E.F. Bleiler offers the only modern English-language survey of Meyrink and his work, and also describes in detail the ideas of the novel-- which are too complex to be summarized here. MIDDLETON, RICHARD [BARHAMJ (1882-1911) British miscellaneous writer. A very talented man who committed suicide in despair of commercial success. 1174. THE GHOST SHIP AND OTHER STORIES T. Fisher Unwin; London 1912 The basic collection of Middleton's fiction. Other collections contain less important work. * Introduction by Arthur Machen. * Short stories and essay-like fiction, including [a] THE GHOST SHIP. British village folkloristic

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MILLS, ROBERT P. setting. A ghost ship is blown by a storm into a small English village. It sails away later with many of the young village ghosts aboard. It is more than hinted that the ship was an 18th century pirate. Very nicely told. One of the finest humorous fantasies. [b] ON THE BRIGHTON ROAD. Two tramps walk along the road to London, the adult tramp and the boy sick with pneumonia. The boy says, ''We are all dead, all of us who're on it, and we're all tired, yet somehow we can't leave it." [c] THE COFFIN MERCHANT. The sales representative of the coffin merchant approaches only those who are to die within the next twentyfour hours. [d] THE CONJURER. A mediocre stage magician accomplishes a single remarkable act-- the disappearance of his wife. le] SHEPHERD'S BOY. Some can see him; some cannot. He has been dead for a time, and it costs nothing to feed him. * Excellent stories. MIKSZATH, COLOMAN (i.e. KALMAN) (1847-1910) Hungarian novelist, noted for Chekhovian realistic studies of everyday matters in peasant life. Considered one of the more significant late Victorian authors. 1175. THE GOOD PEOPLE OF PALOCZ Dean and Son; London [1893] (A JO POLOCOK 1882, 1892 in this edition). Introduction by Clifton Bingham. Anonymous translation from Hungarian. Large foliosized book with short stories based on life in peasant Hungary; the mode is sentimental, the language pseudo-archaic. The text is accompanied by elaborate vulgar oleograph illustrations. * Including [a] MISTRESS GALANDA. Witchcraft. The servant palyus lies dying. He has made a bond with the Devil and his time is running out. After his death and burial, on St. Luke's Day, a great uproar is heard from the cemetery at night. A beautiful young woman is seen at his grave, her face covered with his blood. She is being attacked by a pack of supernatural dogs. Investigation reveals that she is the witch Galanda, who can assume the form of a young woman. (1920 MILLS, ROBERT P[ARK] American editor, literary agent. Associated with MFSF: managing editor until April, 1958 (retirement of Anthony Boucher); editor until March, 1962. Also edited VENTURE SCIENCE FICTION. Head, literary department, New York offices, General Artists Corporation. AS EDITOR: 1176. THE BEST FROM FANTASY AND SCIENCE FICTION, NINTH SERIES Doubleday; Garden City, N. Y. [1959] This book and the following book are in direct succession to those edited by Anthony Boucher, the previous editor of the series. * Short stories, including [a] SOUL MATE, Lee Sutton. (MFSF 1959) Summerfield accidentally comes into total mental contact with an attractive but sluttish girl. The transfer of thought and emotion is unbearable for him. When Summerfield drives her to death, she is with him

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for eternity. [b) DAGON, Avram Davidson. (MFSF 1959) China. An unpleasant person, turned into a goldfish. Good Chinese background, probably based on Davidson's service in the Orient. [c) THE WILLOW TREE, Jane Rice. (MFSF 1959) Disruptions of time, madness, nicely told. [d) THE PI MAN, Alfred Bester. (MFSF 1959) His actions are almost inexplicable. If he is mad, he is mad in a new way. The answer is that he is reactive and must always counteract whatever force is operative-- hate with love, love with hate, etc. Supernatural aspects. Told in semi-experimental prose. [e) CASEY AGONISTES, Richard McKenna. (MFSF 1958) Dying men in a tuberculosis ward and an apelike thought-projection called Casey, which attains a sort of life and permanence. Told with a wry humor. Original and nicely expressed. 1177. A DECADE OF FANTASY AND SCIENCE FICTION Doubleday; Garden City, New York 1960 The tenth volume in the series. It is larger than previous volumes, and the contents, on the whole, are on a higher level. * Including, described elsewhere, [a) SPUD AND COCHISE, Oliver LaFarge. [b) WALK LIKE A MOUNTAIN, Manly Wade Wellman. lc) THE SEAL MAN, John Masefield. * Also [d) THE CAUSES, Idris Seabright. (Pseud. of Margaret St. Clair) (1952) Barroom conversations about the reason for the world's plight. Various explanations are offered: that the Olympian gods have moved to New Zealand; that the world was supposed to end, but that the trumpet for sounding the Last Trump has been lost; that an evil Tibetan adept is pronouncing curses; that Hermes himself jests. [e) THE HYPNOGLYPH, John Anthony. (Pseud. of John A. Ciardi) (MFSF 1953) On an alien planet the natives trap game and their enemies by devices that fascinate the sense of touch. Some supernatural aspects. [f) UNTO THE FOURTH GENERATION, Isaac Asimov. (MFSF 1959) Marten is looking for a particular Levkowich. He traces down Lefkowitzes and other variants of the name, until he locates his man, the ghost of a dead ancestor who summoned him. An interesting idea. 19) WILL YOU WAIT, Alfred Bester. (MFSF 1959) The diabolic contract seen in terms of big business, modern advertising, and legal chicanery. [h) PROOF POSITIVE, Graham Greene. (from NINETEEN STORIES, 1947) At the meeting of the local Psychical Society Mr. Weaver offers proof positive that the soul is a t'enant of the body and has a life of its own. He has been dead for some time. [i) A TRICK OR TWO, John Novotny. (MFSF 1957) Jesse, who wants to seduce the beautiful Laura, learns that every man has a hidden paranormal ability. In his case he can strip a woman nude by teleporting her. Laura, however, has a devastating counterability. [j) THE MEETING OF RELATIONS, John Collier. (YALE REVIEW, 1941) The stranger approaches the herdsmen and talks of the lands to the east where men slay one another and seize their goods. He is Cain. [k) FIRST LESSON, Mildred Clingerman. Described elsewhere for context. [1) TO FELL A TREE, Robert F. Young.

MINIATURE ROMANCES FROM THE GERMAN (MFSF 1959) Borderline science-fiction. On the planet of Omicron Ceti 18 Strong is cutting man on the tree crew, and it is his job to remove the thousand-foot tree that threatens to fallon the village. It is apparently the last tree of its sort. As he trims the tree, he sees a dryad-like being, with whom he converses. Many emotions run through him, including guilt and shame, but he still fells the tree. He learnE latf>.r tha t the tree had a symbiotic relationship with the village. Everything dies. * Best described stories are [g), [i), and [1). (1880-1938) MILLS, WEYMER JAY American author. 1178. THE GHOSTS OF THEIR ANCESTORS Fox Duffield and Ce.; New York 1906 Romance in early Federalist New York. * Old Knickerbocker has four daughters, three of whom follow his precepts, while the fourtn, Patricia, is rebellious. Patricia determines to marry a church organist, a man whom her father considers unacceptable, forbidding the match. But the ancestors, whom old Knickerbocker holds in high reve~ence and is often quoting, take a hand. The ghost of his great great grandmother comes and summons the present family to a hearing. The ancestral ghosts are not as Knickerbocker thought, for they find against him and for Patricia. He thereupon gives his consent. * Routine. [ANONYMOrS ANTHOLOGY) 1179. MINIATL~E ROMANCES FROM THE GERMAN WITH OTHER PROFUSIONS OF LIGHT LITERATURE C. C. Little and J. Brown; Boston 1841 Partly translations from German, partly original material. * Including, described elsewhere, [a) UNDINE, F. de la Motte Fouque. [b) THE VIAL GENIE, AND THE MAD FARTHING, F. de la Motte Fouque. Alternate title for THE BOTTLE IMP. [c) THE COLLIER FAMILY OR, REDMANTLE AND THE ~ffiRCHANT, F. de la Motte Fouque. Alternate title for BERTHOLD. * Also a collection of partially interlocked stories associated with the Almadora Ravine, which may possibly be identified with Almazora, Spain. This material is dated 1817 in a special preface, but earlier publication than 1841 has not been found. Including [d) THE FORTIETH HOUR. Wonderland fantasy. Muzoil meets the fair Seraphina, a female enchantress with an underground palace. Against them is Logoul. When Logoul tries to kill Muzoil, he is killed by supernaturally guided lightning. [e] MAURICE, OR AWAY FOR ST. BRANDAN'S. The protagonist is taken away on a cloud from Almadora to an island off the barren coast. He wishes to go to the Island of St. Brandan (a legendary island in the North Atlantic, discovered, according to Irish legend, by St. Brandan). He is attacked by the witch Maduba, but is rescued by a powerful magician and the island sinks beneath the sea. It is all a vision. * Gushy, highly romantic material, difficult to put into sense. Attributed author is Thomas Tracy, an American clergyman.

MIRRLEES, HOPE MIRRLEES, lHELEN] HOPE (c. 1890 - 1978) British educator, poet, novelist. Collaborated with Jane Harrison, noted Classical scholar. 1180. LUD-IN-THE-MIST Collins; London [1926] Semi-allegorical fantasy set in a very nicely handled Olde Englisshe folk culture in the mode later made popular by Tolkien. * Lud-inthe-Mist (London?) is the capital of Dorimare, a small country bordered on the west by Fairyland. There has been no intercourse with Fairyland for centuries, and the principal export of Fairyland, fairy fruit, is banned. Indeed, it is not a topic for polite conversation and possession of it is a criminal offence. The symptoms of consuming fairy fruit are an ecstasy of a sort, sometimes followed by abandonment of routine existence and a rapid flight over the mountains to Fairyland, whence no one returns. At the moment Nat Chanticleer is Mayor of Lud. He accepts the cultural bias against the fruit, yet he has an empathy for a widened experience like that given by the fruit. In his case the peculiar feeling is evoked by a sound. During his administration the banned fruit becomes more prevalent than ever, and the situation becomes scandalous when his only son has obviously eaten the fruit and his daughter, having eaten it at the local finishing school for girls, has taken off to the hills. Chanticleer tries to isolate his son, but only manages to set him into the heart of the smuggling operation. As Chanticleer moves against the subversives, he finds himself outwitted at almost every turn. He is declared dead by the town council and deposed. By investigating privately, however, he is able to clear away most of the mysteries involved, but finds it necessary to journey into Fairyland to find his son. His trip (which, apart from the very beginning, is not described by the author) is the cause of great changes. Nat returns with the knowledge that fairy fruit is neeessary to life. After some small misgivings the land of Dorimare accepts his point of view, and fairy fruit becomes an accepted article of commerce. The small-town culture is broken, and life becomes broader and fuller. * There are, of course, subplots. Other supernatural elements include visions and delusions; return from the dead as a fairy; the occasional presence of Duke Humphrey, the head of the fairy cult, who has been dead for centuries; and various semi-supernatural personalities. * Beautifully handled in terms of surface detail, but the author's theme is not clear (beyond the obvious attack on puritanism or philistinism) and the relation of the symbol and the exposition seems awry. Still, worth reading. MITCHELL, ElDWARD] plAGE] (1852-1927) American newspaper man, editor New York SUN, 1903 on. 1181. THE CRYSTAL MAN LANDMARK SCIENCE FICTION Doubleday; Garden City, N. Y. 1973 Edited by Sam Moskowitz with introduction LOST GIANT OF AMERICAN SCIENCE FICTION-- A BIOGRAPHICAL PERSPECTIVE. ,,< Short stories from the 1870's and 1880's, most of which were first

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MITCHELL, E. P. published in the SUN. Most are primitive science-fiction, with occasional supernatural elements. * Including [a] THE FACTS IN THE RATCLIFF CASE. (1879) Miss Borgier (whose name is obvious) has a mesmeric glance that stupefies like morphine and can render a person unconscious. She uses it to murder her husband. [b] THE STORY OF THE DELUGE. (1875) Editorial humor in fictional form. Mingled cynicism and reportage of new Assyriological discoveries, including the story of Noah. [c] AN UNCOMMON SORT OF SPECTRE. (1879) Kalbsbraten, a Rhenish robber baron of the 14th century, is celebrating the birth of quadruplets when a ghost from the future comes and converses with him. It is one of the newly born chiljren, from eighty years in the future. Interesting speculation about the relativity of time. [d] THE CAVE OF THE SPLURGLES. (1877) The area under the red oak in Prince's pasture has a bad reputation: things are apt to reach out and seize you. The narrator, a scoffer, investigates, is seized, and finds himself in the realm of the devils. But they have grown old, lazy, and moral. [e] THE DEVIL'S FUNERAL. (1879) In the far future the Devil has died, and his followers attend his funeral. An autopsy takes place to discover his essence, but the results are not revealed. But when the Devil dies, the world dies, too. [f] THE WONDERFUL COROT. (1881) A gullible railroad baron is being swindled by a group of fake mediums, some of whom have painted (under comtrol) "masterpieces" from the spirit world. Among the pictures, however, is a well-painted Corot. When the protagonist surprises the mediums in an act of burglary, they attack him, and he saves himself by leaping into the Corot. He finds himself in France. All madness, however. [g] AN EXTRAORDINARY WEDDING. (1878) At a seance a young man and woman materialize and ask to be married. The man is preswnably a Frenchman, the woman, Cleopatra-'- possibly. lh] BACK FROM THAT BOURNE. (187?) John Newbegin, the town drunkard, dies and is buried. He materializes at a seance and resumes his life, a reformed man. What will happen if other spirits come back to earth in this fashion? This story and the previous two are humorous spoofs of Spiritualism, but they raise serious questions. [i] THE TERRIBLE VOYAGE OF THE "TOAD." (1878) Captain Crum and his associates decide to sail the s loop "The Toad" to Europe to see the Paris Exposition. In a drunken moment, however, the Captain swears that Beelzebub himself cannot stop him. Beelzebub does, in the form of a sea monster. Probably all drunken fantasy. [j] THE DEVILISH RAT. (1878) An enthusiast sleeps at the haunted castle Schwinkenschwank, hoping to dissociate his soul, with which he is not satisfied. He is possessed by the soul of a giant rat, which in turn held the soul of Judas. [k] EXCHANGING THEIR SOULS. (1877) A Russian prince· and a carriage maker from the Caucasus seem to have exchanged bodies. A mesmerist restores them. But it is all explained as cryptomnesia from childhood association. So-

MITCHELL, E. P. phisticated psychology for fiction of the period. [1] THE CASE OF THE DOW TWINS. (1877) A tall tale. Siamese twins, cut apart, retain mutual sensitivity. When one dies, the other, the stronger personality, assumes his body. lm] THE LAST CRUISE OF THE "JUDAS ISCARIOT." (1882) The ship seems good in terms of design and condition, but everything goes wrong with it. The owner decides to scuttle it, but it does not go down properly. It returns and assaults the captain's house. [n] THE FLYING WEATHERCOCK. (1884) The Devil objects to a chapel on a piece of land that he owns. First he gives the congregation a wonderful weathercock which assumes life and flies about, then he spirits the chapel away. [0] THE LEGENDARY SHIP. (1885) Comments on a ms. from the 1680's. A community ship that represents the wealth and the male population of the area goes on a trading voyage and does does not return. Apparently in response to prayer a phantom ship appears and sinks before the eyes of the populace, revealing the fate of the missing ship. Obvious influence of Hawthorne. [p] THE SHADOW ON THE FANCHER TWINS. (1886) They are opposites. Daniel is dark, passionate, restless, dynamic; David is light, calm, peaceful. Both fall in love with the same woman, and fearing that their brotherly devotion will die, each vows death if he succumbs to love. David deserts from the Continental Army to see the girl, and on the firing squad that executes him is Daniel. The life bond is strong enough that Daniel, too, dies. Told in the manner of a fable; influence of Hawthorne. * While Mitchell, because of his ingenious ideas, is an important author of primitive science-fiction, he is less significant as an author of supernatural fiction. Nevertheless, this is a valuable collection, since before Moskowitz's work only [h] and the science-fiction story "The Tachypomp" had been known. Moskowitz's long introduction is not so much about Mitchell as about other early American science-fiction in newspapers and periodicals. It is uncritical, but has much valuable information. MITCHELL, JlAMES] LESLIE (1901-1935) Scottish novelist, archeologist, popularizer of science. Highly regarded in the 1930's for trilogy, A SCOTS QUAIR, mostly about social revolution in Scotland. Best-known in America for science-fiction novels, GAY HUNTER and THREE GO BACK, and for historical work, THE CONQUEST OF THE MAYA. 1182. THE LOST TRUMPET Jarrolds; London [1932] Character studies in terms of supernaturalism, political axe-grinding. * Egypt, not too far from Cairo. Colonel Anton Kyrilovitch Saloney, a White Russian exile who had appeared as narrator in an earlier collection, CAIRO DAWNS, is approached by two archeologists who want him to help them find the trumpet with which Joshua blew down the walls of Jericho. They have traditional information and a docu-

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MITCHELL, J. A. ment that tells where it is buried. When the trumpet is found and sounded, it proves to be the supernatural means of breaking down the walls around personalities, permitting the emergence of true and rightly directed essence. The colonel and his mistress, Princess Pelagueya Bourrin, decide that the Reds are not so bad after all and plan to return to the U. S. An unawakened young Englishwoman, who S. R. has hitherto been motivat~d only by a wish for revenge on her brother's murderer, is able to forgive the murderess (a blind Egyptian prostitute) and is sexually awakened. A pornographic novelist recognizes higher values. One of the archeologists, who is Jewish, becomes a fervent Zionist, and so on. * Told with literacy, although in 1982 the political statements seem incredibly naive. * Mitchell's more famolls THREE GO BACK is superior. MITCHELL, J[OHN] A[MES] (1845-1918) American journalist, writer of fiction. Founder and editor of LIFE (a humorous paper modelled after PUNCH, not to be confused with the Luce publication). Best known work AMOS JUDD (1895), also two works of science-fiction THE LAST AMERICAN (1889) and DROWSY (1917). 1183. GLORIA VICTIS Scribner; New York 1897 An odd mixture of sentimentality, social realism, and religiosity. * Dr. Thorne, a minister (who is not really central to the book), believes that the Christ still comes among us, working miracles. * The story is concerned with Stephen W~dsworth, the son of a professional swindler and conman. As the book opens, Wadsworth, Sr., swindles Mrs. Zabarelli, a widow, out of her life savings and takes an engraved ring from her small daughter. Wadsworth, Sr., then disappears with the police after him. Stephen is his father's son, in modern terms a sociopath; utterly unmoral, subject to hysterical rages, yet charming and affable when he wants to be. After a brief criminal career, he comes upon Thorne, who houses him for a time. But Stephen, though still a boy, commits a murder and runs away. Ten years later, Thorne meets Stephen again. Stephen is now a circus high-wire man and is in love with his partner, Filippa Zabarelli, the daughter of the family that his father had ruined. Stephen wears the ring that his father had taken from the girl, but neither Stephen nor Filippa has any idea of its past history. On persuasion from Thorne he removes the ring, which is in-grown, and the engraving on the inside of the ring reveals the sordid story from the past. Stephen, during a quarrel, strikes out against Filippa's mother, but accidentally kills Filippa instead. He is now truly remorseful. A stranger meets him, as he is wandering about in a daze, and accompanies him back to the corpse. The stranger, who is obviously the Christ, resurrects the girl. Stephen has changed. He had previously fought against too heavy odds. * Literate, but incredible from several points of view. Reprinted in 1910 (Life Publishing Co.; New York) as DR. THORNE'S IDEA.

MODERN GHOSTS

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[ANONYMOUS ANTHOLOGY] 1184. MODERN GHOSTS SELECTED AND TRANSLATED FROM THE WORK OF GUY DE MA.UPASSANT [etc.] Harper; New York and London 1890 Introduction by George W. Curtis. * Including [a] THE HORLA, Guy de Maupassant; [b] ON THE RIVER, Guy de Mapuassant; both described elsewhere. Also [c] THE TALL WOMAN, Pedro de Alarcon. Translated from Spanish by R. Ogden. Spain, c. 1860. The engineer Telesforo is terrified of a tall woman who appears each time that misfortune strikes him. When he confronts her, she says that she is his personal devil. The narrator also sees her. [d] MAESE PEREZ, THE ORGANIST, G. A. Becquer. Translated from Spanish by R. Ogden. His ghost plays the organ. [e] FIORACCIO, G. Magherini-Graziana. Translated from Italian by Mary Craig. Fioraccio, vicious fence,· dies unrepentant and can not be buried. His corpse keeps climbing out of the grave. At an exorcism it is asked what it wants. It asks for burial in the Arno, but this is of no avail. The other two stories are not at all fantastic.

*

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MOFFETT, CLEVELAND [LANGSTON] (1863-1926) fu~erican journalist, author of detective novels. THROUGH THE WALL (1909) is one of Queen's Quorum titles. Remembered now almost solely for the short story THE MYSTERIOUS CARD, one of the finest puzzle stories. 1185. THE MYSTERIOUS CARD Small, Maynard; Boston [19l2] Two short stories. When THE MYSTERIOUS CARD was first published in the BLACK CAT magazine in 1896, it caused a small sensation, since it offered a puzzle without a possible solution. The author was harassed with requests for an explanation; other authors tried to elucidate the story; and the idea passed into literary folklore, along with the story of the Paris Exposition. [a] THE MYSTERIOUS CARD. An American in Paris is handed a card on which are written a few words in French. He does not understand French and asks his friends for an interpretation. But each person whom he asks reads the card and turns away in horror and disgust. His friends desert him, his wife leaves him, and his business partner severs relations. His life turns to misery. By chance he comes upon the woman who gave him the card. She is dying. He takes out the card and now discovers that it is blank. lb] THE MYSTERIOUS CARD UNVEILED. The woman who gave Burwell the card was an occultist. She saw that Burwell (unknown to himself) was inhabited by a fearsome fiend who had committed many crimes. By occult means she imprinted a photo of the fiend on the card, hoping that the image would force the demon to see its own evil. The attempt was unsuccessful. * The first story is an interesting jeu d'esprit; the second does not work. ,~ The book was published with the second story sealed off, as a challenge to the reader. While some listings and bibliographies give book publication date as 1896, this is incorrect. The correct date is as above.

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MOLESWORTH, MRS. MARY MOLESWORTH, MRS. MARY LOUISA (nee STEWART) (1839-1921) British author of children's books, born in Rotterdam of Scottish parents. Birth date is also given as 1842. After commercially unsuccessful attempts at writing adult fiction, attempted children's books and was immediately successful. One of the major Victorian authors in the form, with many works well received in both Great Britain and America. Best-known work probably THE CUCKOO CLOCK (1877), which went through many editions. Many other Victorian fairy tales. 1186. FOUR GHOST STORIES Macmillan; London 1888 Four typical Victorian ghost stories. [a] LADY FARQUHAR'S OLD LADY. A TRUE GHOST STORY. Ireland. The seeming ghost of a pleasant-looking elderly woman. It walks through doors into a lumber room where the effects of the landladies are stored. One of the landladies had died at the time of the visitation. [b] WITNESSED BY TWO. Both Ambrose the butler and Anne see the wraith of Kenneth Graham, who should be on his way to India. A newspaper account seems to confirm the fact of Graham's death. But it is a mistake. Graham is alive, but he dreamed that he was visiting Anne at the time of the supernatural event. [c] UNEXPLAINED. Germany. A fairly long story. British tourists, wandering about one of the areas where pottery is made, pick up a china cup of a beautiful but unissued pattern. This serves as a psychic link to a young Englishman who had been killed by lightning there two years earlier. He had purchased a similar piece. His ghost appears at the inn. Supernaturalism minimal in quantity. [d] THE STORY OF THE RIPPLING TRAIN. A smoke-like appearance is resolved into a gray silk train of a lady ghost, a friend who has just died. The overall point of view is that hauntings are not purposeful justice symbols, but erratic, inexplicable, even trivial. Literate, but restrained to the point of weakness. 1187. UNCAN:N TALES Hutchinson; London [1896] Short stories, including [a] THE SHADOW IN THE MOONLIGHT. Long. When the family rents a house in Cornwall, there are strange drafts in the gallery, a sensation as of an icy electric shock, and a shadow that fumbles around. But there is a puzzle: the phenomena accompany the family to a new residence. The solution: a set of ancient tapestries. Traced back to their place of origin, they reveal a secret compartment and a scandal from the past. [b] "THE MAN WITH THE COUGH." Germany and Ita ly. Schmidt, a courier carrying valuable business information, undergoes a fugue in which he receives supernatural warning of trouble, though in a symbolic way. [c] "HALF-WAY BETWEEN THE STILES." A RIGHT-OF-WAY INCIDENT. Fate, or perhaps mild prophecy. During a blizzard the farmer lost his wife and child, the wife dying of exposure, the child missing. He expects to find them again at the stile, and does find his long-lost daughter. [d] AT THE DIP OF THE ROAD. At a certain place the figure

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MOLESWORTH, MRS. MARY of a man is to be seen running along beside the coach, but it never goes beyond the dip in the road. It is a servant who died before he could tell something to his master. * Capable stories, but unexciting. WITH MOLESWORTH, BEVIL 1188. THE WRONG ENVELOPE AND OTHER STORIES Macmillan; London 1906 Short stories and a short novel, mostly society fiction, but including [a] A STRANGE MESSENGER. Wales. Young Dr. Warden is informed by a messenger that an accident has taken place at the mine. He attends, but learns that no messenger was sent. It was the ghost of a dead miner. [b] A GHOST OF THE PAMPAS. According to the preface, this was written by the author's deceased son, Bevil. * Life on the pampas. Darcy and his friend the gaucho Doroteo are out riding when Doroteo and his wonderful palomino horse are killed by a vicious bull. But their ghosts appear later and offer f~ncouragement and he lp to Darcy. Some local color. * Tired work on Mrs. Molesworth's part. (ANONYMOUS ANTHOLOGY] 1189. MONSTERS A COLLECTION OF UNEASY TALES Philip Allan; London 1934 One of the CREEPS SERIES. * Short stories, including [a] THE TWO OLD WOMEN, Vivian Meik. Vaguely connected with the book DEVILS' DRUMS. Meik discovers that two women in his apartment building are working African magic and are vampiric ghouls. They maintain a slaughter house for humans and can also assume the form of rats. [b] THE ROUND GRAVEYARD, E. K. Allan. A very vicious ghost, that of an apelike man buried several hundred years ago. It is called an elemental. [c] THE INTERRUPTED HONEYMOON, George Benwood. Marshall does not like Mr. Darel, an elderly Indian gentleman, for Darel makes eyes at Mrs. Marshall. But Darel does even better: he slips Marshall a drug and changes bodies with him. [d] THE CARETAKER'S STORY, Edith Olivier. An old sailor. While starving on a desert island, he ate a seagull that contained the spirit of one of his shipmates, thereby committing spiritual cannibalism. The gulls take revenge. Or perhaps all insanity. [e] A LOVER CAME TO SUNNAMEES, Guy Preston. Owen Tudor, a cad, is about to possess Sunnamees, a Gipsy girl, when something knocks him out of his body and he watches his body, animated by a different spirit, take Sunnamees. [f] THE HAUNTED TELEPHONE, Elliott O'Donnell. Dr. Byrne is summoned by telephone to The Bluestones where Delacourte lies dead. The doctor suspects a crime, especially when Mrs. Delacourte sets fire to the house while he is locked in. It is all a dream, but it reveals what happened a year earlier to Dr. Oldfield, who did not escape. [gj THE YELLOW CAT, Michael Joseph. First book appearance of this often anthologized story. Grey, a professional gambler whose luck has been bad, adopts a yellow cat. Although the cat is nasty and unfriendly, it seems to change Grey's fortunes. But when, at

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MOORE, C. L. the instance of a woman he kills the cat, his luck goes bad again, and he is finally transformed into what he has long been spiritually: a nasty, yellow cat. [h] THE "LOCUM," Kenneth Ingram. In this case, not medical. The locum, who takes the place of a clergyman, is either a diabolist madman or a minor demon. Left ambiguous. * The other stories are contes cruels. * Crude material, except for [g], which is nicely done. * Edited by Charles L. Birkin. [ANONYMOUS ANTHOLOGY] 1190. THE MOON TERROR BY A. G. BIRCH AND STORIES BY ANTHONY M. RUD, VINCENT STARRETT AND FARNSWORTH WRIGHT Popular Fiction Pub. Co.; Indianapolis [1927] Edited by Farnsworth Wright (1888-1940). the editor of WT from November 1924 through March 1940. Wright was an excellent editor who recognized quality work and was not as narrow in his requirements as most of his colleagues in pulp fiction. The present collection does not represent the best from WT. A small volume of reprints from early issues of WT. It was given at one time as a premium for subscriptions. * Including, [a] THE MOON TERROR, A. G. Birch. (WT 1923) The Sect of the Two Moons, a Chinese secret society, demands that the rest of the world surrender, or else it will destroy the world by means superscience and sorcery. It is a close call before Dr. Gresham and his associates defeat the sorcerers. Derivative from R. W. Chambers, and crude. [b] PENELOPE, Vincent Starrett. (WT 1923) A whimsy about a man whose life is greatly influenced by Penelopes: a girl named Penelope, the star Penelope, etc. When subject to the gravity of the star, he turns upside down. Mildly amusing. * The other two stories, "Ooze" by Anthony Rud and "An Adventure in the Fourth Dimension" by Farnsworth Wright are weird science fiction of a sort. MOORE, CATHERINE LUCILLE (1911American writer of science-fiction and supernatural fiction. Wife of Henry Kuttner, whom married in 1940. Work since that date has been been collaborative in varying degrees. Early work, which appeared mostly in WT, is characterized by highly romantic approach that is distinctive; later work is much more restrained, but is highly imaginative and technically accomplished. At her best, one of the finest writers to emerge from the American pulp phenomenon. See also KUTTNER, HENRY and PADGETT, LEWIS (collaborative pseudonym). 1191. SHAMBLEAU AND OTHERS Gnome Press; New York 1953 Series short stories from WT. The first three are concerned with Jirel of Joiry, a somewhat more sophisticated female version of the pulp heroes. A hellcat, an Amazon, a noblewoman of medieval France, she is perpetually caught up in supernatural adventures. [a] BLACK GOD'S KISS. (WT 1934) Jirel's first adventure. The castle of Joiry is taken and Jirel is captured, doomed to become the concubine of Guillaume, her conqueror. Desperate for re-

MOORE, C. L. venge, she escapes into the dungeon of her castle, where she knows there is an entry to evil magic. She passes through a dimensional tunnel into a strange hell-like land, where she is instructed by a demon (who has assumed her form) to take back to Guillaume the Black God's kiss. Jirel finds her way to the Black Temple, kisses the image, and laden with a fearful horror returns to earth and destroys Guillaume-- by kissing him. [b] BLACK GOD'S SHADOW. (WT 1934) Sequel to [a]. Jirel is now caught in her ambivalent emotions, for she has discovered, too late, that she felt love for the man who had mastered her and whom she killed. A ghostlike fragment of Guillaume beseeches her to free him from the horrors to which she delivered him, and she descends again into the supernatural world to battle the frozen god for Guillaume's soul. [c] JIREL MEETS MAGIC. (WT 1935) While pursuing an evil sorcerer whose castle she has stormed, Jirel stumbles into a strange witchland. It is ruled by Jarisme, a purple-eyed enchantress, who takes a violent dislike to her. Jarisme summons a convocation of weird monstrosities from other worlds and proceeds to destroy Jirel. But Jirel wins. * The remaining stories, which are borderline science-fiction, are concerned with Northwest Smith and his Venusian comrade, Yarol. Both are interplanetary soldiers of fortune, scoundrels, and drifters of the far future. They, too, have a penchant for adventures with monstrosities from other worlds, times, and dimensions. [d] SHAMBLEAU. (WT 1933) Moore's first story. Mars. Smith rescues Shambleau, a strange female being, from an infuriated mob, and falls under her spell. She is a vampiric creature who exhausts life energy, while providing an obscene, sensual pleasure. Medusa. The story is a little cumbersome in presentation, but excellent in its suggestions of nameless erotic horrors and human frailty. [e] BLACK THIRST. (WT 1934) Smith, on Venus, is hired by an incredibly beautiful woman to penetrate the fortress-palace of the Alendar. For centuries the Alendar has been breeding the Minga girls, gems of female pulchritude, for interplanetary harems. Smith penetrates the palace, but is captured. As he is taken into the depths by the Alendar, he encounters increasing beauty, eventually so overpowering as to be painful, and, if he continues, lethal. The Alendar, who is not really human, lives vampirically on beauty. [f] THE TREE OF LIFE. (WT 1936) Smith, who is in a ruined Martian city, hiding from the patrol, meets a telepathic woman who takes him to the Tree of Life. This is a living entity from which has been taken the artistic motif so common on Mars. It is a horrible monster. [g] SCARLET DREAM. (WT 1934) In a Martian bazaar Smith buys a beautifully patterned cloth. Tracing its incredibly intricate lines transfers him to an other world, where the humans constitute a sort of poultry yard for a dimensional monster. The only escape is to go to the chamber of the Name, where the Name rings inces-

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MOORE, C. L. santly, and pronounce the Name-- which is the pattern on the cloth. But this can bring death. Nice symbolism. * Very interesting stories with fascinating unconscious symbolism and very unusual ideas. Certainly one of the landmarks in modern supernatural fiction. 1192. NORTHWEST OF EARTH Gnome Press; New York 1954 The first two stories are about Jirel of Joiry. * [a] HELLSGARDE. (WT 1939) Jirel must redeem her captured men at arms by bringing a mysterious casket from the haunted castle of Hellsgarde. The castle is indeed haunted, by the violent ghost of Andred, former owner of the castle, who died rather than reveal its secret. Also present are a strange band of people who drink the vitality of ghosts. More sophisticated than the earlier stories aoout Jirel. [b] THE DARK LAND. (WT 1936) Jirel, dying of a pike wound, is translated, on death, to the dark land of Romne, which is ruled by Pav, a god larger than life. Pav has saved Jirel from death because he wants her for a consort. Jirel is unwilling and looks for a weapon to defeat him. The white witch, a discarded mistress of Pav's, shows Jirel a way to escape Pav, and the truth about Pav and the land of Romne is revealed. * The remaining stories are concerned with Northwest Smith and Yarol, adventurers and somewhat sympathetic scoundrels of the far future, and are borderline science-fiction. [c] DUST OF GODS. (WT 1934) Smith and Yarol are commissioned to fetch the dust of Black Pharol, legendary evil god of the distant past. It is to be found in a fragment of the missing fifth planet now imbedded in Mars. The dust is to be used for magical purposes. [d] LOST PARADISE. (WT 1936) Smith and Yarol perform a service for a Sele (one of the almost extinct natives of the Moon) and in exchange ask for the Secret. The Sele cannot refuse, and takes Smith back in time to the era when the Moon was a flourishing planet. The Moon was maintained by three vamp~r~c divinities who would withdraw their strength if any of their victims resisted. Smith, in a Sele body, resists and causes the dea~h of the Moon. [e] JULHI. (WT 1935) The ruined city of Vonng on Venus, where parallel worlds interpenetrate. Smith falls prey to the supernal Julhi, who with her vampiric band, is entering our universe. Her gateway is Apri, the half-mad young woman who must die. [f] THE COLD GRAY GOD. (WT 1935) An attempt to bring back one of the ancient, nameless, and abominably evil Martian gods by means of dimensional magic. Smith loses his body for a time. [g] YVALA. (WT 1936) Smith and Yarol are sent on a white-slaving expedition to a moon of Jupiter, -where incredibly beautiful women have been seen. They find Yvala, a Circe-like beauty, a group-being. * Original, imaginative, with characteristic erotic symbolism and depths. Among the best pulp fiction of the day. While some of Moore's later work, like "Vintage Season," may be technically superior and maturer, for sense of wonder 1191 and 1192 are unique in the literature.

MORE, ANTHONY MORE, ANTHONY (pseud. of CLINTON, EDWIN M., JR.) (1926 ) American (California) technical writer, occasional author of s-f for the genre magazines. 1193. PUZZLE BOX Trover Hall; [San Francisco, California] 1946 Short stories, including [a] FOOTSTEPS. Supernatural footsteps. [b] SEVEN SAPPHIRES, A lost race in Canada. An evil monster. Seven sapphires that are the focal point of evil. lc] THE LAST MESSAGE. A religious fanatic receives a warning from God. Construction camp background. [d] FIVE STRANDS OF YELLOW HAIR. Murder and a shadow-girl motif. * The title story is science-fiction. MORESBY, L. (pseud. of BECK, L. ADAMS, which see for biographical information) 1194. THE GLORY OF EGYPT A ROMANCE Nelson; London [1926] Oriental adventure involving magic and a los~ race of Egyptians. * The ancient Chinese document that Soames and Ross obtain 'from a sick Lepcha whom they have helped tells of a hidden land in the mountains and refers to the Glory of Egypt. (Mrs. Beck does not explain how a T'ang document would have recorded the word "Egypt.") They decide to find the land, and with official permission, since they will do a little spying along the way, head for the mountains along the Tibetan border. They are warned off several times, for everyone seems to know their secret purpose. They witness magic-- the transmutation of iron into gold, visions of the future, and solidified visions much like photographs. And Ross receives notes, some amorous, from a mysterious woman whose party is ahead of them. They reach the borders of the land, where they see gigantic insects (as large as horses) that hunt across the valleys, and they finally corne upon a titanic fortress, filled with the statues and architectural features of ancient Egypt. There Ross rescues the woman who had sent him notes (the Egyptian princess, never named) from being a human sacrifice. They start on their way back to India. She, although imperious and fully conscious of her rank as Queen of Egypt, is madly in love with him, but he is both awed and a little frightened of her and does not reciprocate her feelings. Along the way Ross and Soames quarrel. The Queen saves Ross's life, but commits suicide, since she knows that he does not love her. Ross returns to India with the Glory of Egypt, a gem the size of an apple. * Poor characterizations, skimpy writing. By no means as craftsmanlike as Mrs. Beck's work done under her marital name., MORGAN, ARTHUR and BROWN CHARLES R. British authors. 1195. THE DISINTEGRATOR A ROMANCE OF MODERN SCIENCE Digby, Long; London [1891] A mystery story with a background of "science" and occultism. * Henry Francis has disappeared, and his "ghost" has been seen. The explanation lies in experiments with vibra-

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MORRIS, WILLIAM tions. Francis has been disintegrated, and while his body could be reassembled, his soul could not. Attempts are made to converse with it through mediums. * A curiosity only. MORLEY, CHRISTOPHER [DARLINGTON] (1890-1957) American writer, editor. Author of light verse. Novelist, best-known works being WHERE THE BLUE BEGINS (1922), THUNDER ON THE LEFT (1925). Editor with Doubleday Page. Founder, with William Rose Benet, of SATURDAY REVIEW OF LITERATURE. Editor of later editions of BARTLETT'S FAMILIAR QUOTATIONS. Judge for Book of the Month Club. Important literary personality of the 1930's. 1196. THUNDER ON THE LEFT Doubleday, Page; New York 1925 Semi-allegorical fantasy, much like a Barrie play set into novel form. Its point, if any, is obscure. * During vacation a group of children are playing at a birthday party at a beach house. They discuss adults and their strange ways. It is Martin's birthday, and when he blows out the candles on his cake, he makes the wish to be an adult. This is sufficient to transport him 18 years into the future, where as a child's mind in an adult body he enters into the life of the adults around the beach house. Some of the adults are his childhood friends, grown up, others are not. Martin as a child-adult is an odd creature, seemingly unaware of all the tensions, problems, and drives of the adult world, but his presence seems to act as a catalyst on the adults. He stays with George Granville and his wife Phyllis, who immediately falls in love with him and expects sexual intimacy. George realizes that he is in love with another woman, who had previously been only a business acquaintance. A sense of malaise develops, however, and omens of catastrophe are observed. A ghost from the past, one of Martin's playmates who had died, tries to get into contact with the adults and wants Martin to return to the past. Martin finally leaves, just as a horrible event is about to happen: the porch, with the children on it, is collapsing. Martin is then back in his own time again, apparently no wiser, no different. * Despite some beautiful surface texture stylistically, rather unsatisfactory. The point of the novel is very cloudy. It is not clear whether Martin is the center of the story, with the theme that childhood must be protected from the horrors of the adult world, or whether George and Phyllis are central, with the theme that the past (innocent though it may be) can destroy happiness. In any case, despite technical virtuosity, dull and dated. MORRIS, WILLIAM (1834-1896) Important British designer, artist, poet, writer of prose romances, publisher (Kelmscott Press). One of motivating forces in Victorian design, with wide influence on domestic furnishings, architecture, typography, fine arts. Member of the Pre-Raphaelites. A fine

MORRIS, WILLIAM traditional poet with much excellent lyric and epic poetry. Pioneer socialist. Influential member of the Arts and Crafts Movement. Author of NEWS FROM NOWHERE, one of the few literary utopias in which one might want to live, a charming antimechanistic, neoprimitive culture. Author of much educational and inspirational literature on aesthetics. During his lifetime Morris was esteemed mostly as a poet. At present he is considered most important as an aesthetic influence who helped break down dominant Victorian theories of the function of art. Morris's prose romances, which can be linked to Old Norse prose and poetry, medieval romances, Irish wonder voyages, and similar early non-realistic literature, have served as a departure point for much pseudo-medieval fantasy since their time. They are, however, idiosyncratic in some ways. They are written in an artificial dialect or trade jargon consciously develo?ed by Morris, with revival of medieval words and comparable word coinings, and archaic speech patterns. This complex used to be called Wardour Street English, after the locale in London where fake antiques or secondhand furnishings were sold. Morris also used a linear plot which avoided side interlinkings, just as did his wallpaper patterns. Specially noteworthy was his depersonalization and abstraction of names, events, and personalities; this technique gave his work a mythic or pseudo-allegorical atmosphere, even though there seems to be little formal allegory for most of his story elements. An unfortunate result of this process is that the reader is often uneasy lest he miss some device, which never appears. The three romances that are described have been selected as those which show an appreciable amount of supernaturalism. Several other romances either hint at matters supernatural or are simply medievalist in setting. These have not been described. 1197. THE STORY 0] THE GLITrgRING PLAIN WHICH HAS BEEN CALLED THE LAND OF THE LIVING MEN OR TIlE ACRE OF THE UNDYING [Kelmscott Press, Ha'lllllersmith, England] [1891] Prose romance. A death-quest and a trial of constancy set in a world reminiscent of Old Norse culture, with semi-totemic exogamous folk communities. * When the Hostage, the betrothed of Hallblithe of the Ravens, is stolen away by the Ravagers, raiders from the sea, Hallblithe goes in search of her. He is first taken in by a trickster figure, the Puny Fox of the Ravagers, and is led to the Isle of Ransom. There he finds himself in a peculiar position, treated as if an enemy, yet protected, apparently, by the will of a higher power. A dream tells him that the Hostage is to be found in the Glittering Plain. He becomes friendly with the Sea-eagle, an aged and infirm leader of the Ravagers, and together they are taken to the Glittering Plain, the Land of the Undying. This is a dreamy place much like Avalon, where youth is restored and men live eternally so long as they do not leave. There are no duties, no

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MORRIS, WILLIAM obligations, and nothing but mild sensual delights. It is obviously one of the lands of the dead, death of the spirit. The KING, who is a semisupernatural ruler, offers Hallblithe his daughter to wife, but Hallblithe rejects the offer as well as the whole insipid, enervating land; he passes his test by holding out for the outer world, with pain, death, love, duty, and his folk. This wins him the enmity of the KING, but on returning to the Isle of Ransom, he gains both the Hostage and the good will of the Ravagers. * Short, beautifully written (with more care given to language than in the later prose romances), fairly clear in meaning, this is the finest of the prose romances considered here. The edition read was that of Longmans Green (New York 1905). 1198. THE WELL AT THE WORLD'S END [Kelmscott Press, Hammersmith, England] [1896] A very long story of a vaguely sacramental quest, told as the adventures of a prince of a tiny kingdom placed in a pseudo-medieval British world of small city-states and independent lands. * Ralph, youngest son of the King of the Uplands, decides to seek his fortunes in the outside world and attain to the Well at the World's End. His adventures take him through many perils, mostly conceived in terms of a modernized Arthurian romance, involving jousts, strange lands, raids and battles, captivity, and love. The supernatural enters in the person of the Lady of Abundance, who (with the aid of a sorceress) has drunk of the Well and is seemingly immortal, if she can escape violent death. (She is profane love.) Ralph and his wife Ursula accomplish their quest and reach the Well roughly half way through the story. The remainder of the book is an unwinding of themes already stated. During the time that the quest takes, Ralph matures into a responsible man. On returning home, he takes over and expands his father's kingdom peacefully. * Perhaps the Well signifies acceptance of life. In any case, Ralph's quest is a secular, somewhat selfish quest, in which the Living Water of Celtic and Christian mythologies has devolved to a limited immortality and quickening of one's nature. The heavy pseudo-allegorical note is never brought to fulfillment. * Some readers like this best of Morris's prose romances, but I find it interminable, with too little matter for too much material. 1198. THE WATER OF THE WONDROUS ISLES [Kelmscott Press; Hammersmith, England] [1897] Prose romance, with idea-sources from romances of chivalry and Irish wonder voyages. The themes are sexuality in various modes, betrayal, and exploitation. * The small market town of Utterhay lies not too far from the wood Evilshaw, into which no man willingly sets foot. A witchwoman comes to Utterhay, and by a sleight kidnaps Birdalone, a little girl. She takes her through Evilshaw to the lands on the other side, to the Green Eyot, where she rears Birdalone to be a farm girl and servant. Birdalone grows up beautiful and kindly, although she is abused by the witch. The witch seems to have

MORRIS, WILLIAM a destiny in mind for her, although this is not fully revealed. Birdalone has secretly won the friendship and love ("motherhood") of Habundia, the local wood godling, and with the godling's advice decides to escape from the witch. When the opportunity arrives, she takes the magic boat that the witch occasionally uses and sails out onto the water with it. She passes through the Wondrous Isles, which seem to be symbolic in nature. One represents before-and-after life; another is sterile, empty, except for deluding mists; two more, the Isle of Kings and the Isle of Queens, are abodes of sexual death. On the fifth, the Isle of Increase Unsought (perhaps capitalism?), however, she finds a situation of interest. Three damosels are there held captive by the sister of the witch of the Green Eyot. The damosels befriend her, and when she escapes to the mainland, she goes to the Castle of the Quest, where the lovers of the women wait. Following her information, the knights venture to the Isle of Increase Unsought, and ,though the witch long deceives them with her magic, they rescue the women and bring them back to the Castle of the Quest. * A new problem arises. Birdalone falls in love with Arthur, one of the three betrothed knights, and he reciprocates. Out of fairness to the other young woman, Birdalone leaves the land and dwells for five years in the City of the Five Crafts, where she finds her mother. On her mother's death, her happiness disappears and she determines to seek out Arthur and the other Knights of the Quest. But the castle is haunted and abandoned by the knights, and Birdalone must continue her search for Arthur, using the witch's magic boat. She recapitulates her escape of years before, and passes through the Wondrous Isles, and finds that since her awakening to love and maturity they have changed. The witch of the Green Eyot is dead. Birdalone renews her relationship with the wood goddess, who helps her to find Arthur, who is mad, living as a wild man in the woods. Birdalone cares for him and restores him to health, and they and the surviving knights and ladies go to the City of the Five Crafts. * Other supernatural elements include shape changing, elixirs, delusions, and perhaps the Greywethers, megalithic stones in circles, that are said to come to life if properly approached. * It may be reading too deeply into this romance to see it ultimately as a statement of Morris's social philosophy: the church (the witch of the Green Eyot); economy (the witch of the Isle of Increase Unsought); harmony with nature (Habundia); the state (the Red Knight). MORROW, WILLIAM C[HAMBERS] (1852-1923) A:nerican author. 1200. THE APE THE IDIOT AND OTHER PEOPLE Lippincott; Philadelphia 1897 A beautifully designed little book with short stories collected from various sources. Several are on the edge of being supernatural, but do not quite venture across the boundary. Fin de siecle in presentation; intelligently sen-

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MOSKOWITZ, SAM sational; elaborate, highly felt style. * Including [a] OVER AN ABSINTHE BOTTLE. In a San Francisco bar two strangers meet over liquor and play dice. One, who is starving, wins $148,000 from the other, who is a bank robber sought by the police. The irony is that neither man can use the money. After death experiences. [b] AN ORIGINAL REVENGE. At the San Francisco garrison a soldier commits suicide so that he can haunt his persecuting superior officer to death. His ghost accomplishes its mission. Rationalized. [c] THE MONSTER-MAKER. Borderline science-fiction. The surgeon has determined that it is possible to remove the cerebrum, yet maintain life. The resulting monster, like Frankenstein's, is a problem. MOSKOWITZ, SAM (1920 American collector, fan, editor, anthologist, long an important personality in American fandom. Editor of magazine SCIENCE-FICTION PLUS (1952-4), last, somewhat anachronistic Gernsback publication; revived WEIRD TALES (1973-4). Has edited or ghost-edited many science-fiction and supernatural anthologies, usually stressing unusual, little-known material of interest to collectors. Has done pioneer work in gathering biographical data on important s-f authors, much of which might otherwise have been lost. Most important books~ SCIENCE FICTION BY GASLIGHT (1968), UNDER THE MOONS OF MARS (1970). Discoverer of E. P. Mitchell. See also entries for ALDEN NORTON and LEO MARGULIES. AS EDITOR: 1201. HORRORS UNKNOWN Walker and Co.; New York 1971 Short stories, including [a] THE CHALLENGE FROM BEYOND, C. L. Moore, A. Merritt, Frank Belknap Long, H. P. Lovecraft, R. E. Howard. Described elsewhere. [b] GRETTIR AT THORHALLSTEAD, Frank Norris. Somewhat fictionalized version of the encounter between Grettir and the horrible Glamr, from the GRETTIRSAGA. Described elsewhere. * Also, [c] WEREWOMAN, C. L. Moore. (LEAVES #2, 1939) Northwest Smith becomes involved with werewolves in a traditional, earthly setting. The transformation is partly psychological, partly caused 'by emanatioris from a stone, with suggestions of dimensions. Some good touches, but not one of Moore's best stories. [d] FROM HAND TO MOUTH, Fitz-James O'Brien. (1858) A dream fantasy in the manner of Hoffmann, partly an allegory of the writer's condition vis a vis publishers. * After an evening of hilarity the narrator finds his hand too unsteady to unlock the door to his rooming house. He is offered shelter at the Hotel Coup d'Oeil by a personality who calls himself Count Goloptious. The hotel is a luxurious establishment, furnished surrealistically with huge animated hands, ears, eyes, and mouths, all of which work against the narrator. The next morning the narrator discovers that he is the count's prisoner. The count is a publisher and exacts copy as payment for hotel charges. The narra-

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MOSKOWITZ, SAM tor becomes acquainted with Rosamond, a young artist in a neighboring apartment. She, too, is victimized by the count. Her legs have been removed and hidden in the basement. Together with a green bird (cash?) they plan escape, but are trapped by Goloptious, who hurls the narrator into a burning lake. The narrator then awakens on his doorstep. It was all a drunken dream. * A curious work, filled with imaginative touches, but structurally loose. It first ran serially. When 0' Brien could not finish it, the rather weak conclusion was prepared by Frank H. Bellew. [e] BODY AND SOUL, Seabury Quinn. (WT 1928) Drs. Trowbridge and Grandin and a mummy that is animated by the soul of a recently executed murderer. The soul was transferred by suggestion, but it is hinted that it may really be a vampiric evil spirit. Routine. Other stories about the "dapper little Frenchman" and his incredulous Watson are described under Seabury Quinn. [f] UNSEEN-UNFEARED, Frances Stevens. (PEOPLE'S FAVORITE MAGAZINE, 19l9) A special photographic filter permits the narrator to see horrible monstrosities, the emanations of evil thoughts; also the soul of a recent suicide. [g] THE POOL OF THE STONE GOD, W. Fenimore. (AMERICAN WEEKLY, 1923?) Explorers, an island, giant pearls, and a stone statue of a winged monstrosity that comes aliv~ and attacks the party vampirically. Moskowitz suggests that this story was written pseudonymously as a hasty filler by A. Merritt, who was then associated with the AMERICAN WEEKLY. It seems unlikely that Merritt would have perpetrated such crude, immature work, yet it must be admitted that Merritt used the name Fenimore in THE BLACK WHEEL. Let a computer decide. [d] is well worth reading. WITH NORTON, ALDEN H. 1202. GHOSTLY BY GASLIGHT FEARFUL TALES OF A LOST ERA Pyramid Books; New York 1971 paperbound Notes by Sam Moskowitz. * Short stories, including, described elsewhere, [a] THE FRIEND OF DEATH, Pedro Antonio de Alarcon. [b] WHO KNOWS? Guy de Maupassant. [c] THE MOONSLAVE, Barry Pain. [d] THE MAN WHO LIVED BACKWARDS, Allen Upward. * Also [e] THE STORY OF A GHOST, Violet Hunt. This is a first version of THE PRAYER, which was changed considerably, particularly in the ending. The later version is preferable to this. [f] THE SPIDER OF GUYANA, Erckmann-Chatrian. (translation, STRAND MAGAZINE, 1899) The spider itself, which lives in the falls and drags in large animals and humans for its prey, is not supernatural; but its existence is revealed by a Black woman who is psychic. [g] THE SPELL OF THE SWORD, Frank Aubrey. (PEARSON'S, 1898) The sword, with a skull and jewels on the hilt, is cursed and moves its holder to murder. The narrator has a vision of the many men who have held it and the many it has killed. He escapes. [h] THE MYSTERY OF THE BRONZE STATUE, W. B. Sutton. (HARMSWORTHS, 1899) It is of the Emperor Maximinus, and when the moon plays on it, it expands to Maximinus's full size and

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MULLEN, STANLEY attacks people. [i] DOCTOR ARMSTRONG, D. L. B. S. (source not indicated) Armstrong has the chance to take revenge for injuries in a previous incarnation, with the Spanish Inquisition. He takes it and will suffer in his next life. Visions of the past, too. [j] THE ENCHANTED CITY, Herbert Murray. (GOLDEN ARGOSY, 1887) Mexico. The Indian sees a snake and a panther battling and shoots the panther. The snake turns into a beautiful woman, who offers a reward. But she does not treat him properly. * The additional story "The God Pan" by Huan Mee (a facetious pseudonym representing "you and me"?) is not supernatural. MOXLEY, F[RANK] WRIGHT (1889-1937) American (New York, New Jersey) lawyer. 1203. RED SNOW Simon and Schuster; New York 1930 paperbound The end of the human race, told with a savage gusto. * August 17, 1935, as the titans of world finance sit closeted at their plots in Manhattan, a reddish snow-like substance falls from the sky allover the earth. It penetrates all substances and seeks out human flesh, into which it is absorbed. It is first taken for a curiosity of meteorology, until some months later it is discovered that the human race is completely sterile. Without exception. While no explanation is given for the red snow, the implication is that the gods have become outraged at human wickedness (as they have in the past) and have decided to wipe earth clean. * The ensuing phase-out of humanity is horrible, with few moments of lighter material. The capitalists seize the wealth of the world, but discover that wealth is meaningless. Wars break out, with the Whites against the Non-Whites. Japan is depopulated. Jews and Catholics are exterminated in certain areas. Religious fanaticism erupts and an evangelical American army invades Asia. A female pope tries to conquer America by love and is blown up. Sexual mores change. As material civilization collapses, some men and women move to primitivistic communes. * Most of the book is offered as historical resum~, but an occasional central point is to be found in Phaeton Howard Andrews, who was born not long after the red snow fell. In 2027 Andrews is the last man left alive on earth. As he watches, a glowing vessel drawn by horses approaches. It stops, and a non-human takes Andrews away. It is presumably Helios-- the repetition of the Greek myth of the fall of Phaeton being paralleled with the fall of man. * Much rant and purple prose; occasional powerful passages, but by and iarge a prolonged bore, although by no means unintelligent. MULLEN, STANLEY (1911- 1973?) American (Colorado) artist, author. Assistant Curator, Colorado State Historical Museum, specializing in Indian archeological material. Painted Indian ceremonial dances, series nationally exhibited. Fairly prolific author

MULLEN, STANLEY K. of pulp adventure and science-fiction. Editor of GORGON, fan magazine of 1940's. 1204. KINSMEN OF THE DRAGON Shasta Publishers; Chicago 1951 Fantastic adventure. * Eric Joyce, an American, helps Sir Rodney Dering to save the world from the Kinsmen of the Dragon, a secret society with its roots in Anwynn, a parallel world. There, descendants of ancient Celts from Ys retain a magical science that is superior in some ways to our rational science. Ingredients include reincarnation, dimensional passages, invasion from the other world, shadows that kill, atomics, and romance. * A low-level thriller suggesting the poorer aspects of A. Merritt and Sax Rohmer. [ANONYMOUS] 1205. THE MUMMY! A TALE OF THE TWENTY-SECOND CENTURY Henry Colburn; London 1827 The author of this is WEBB, JANE (1807-1858), better-knoNn as MRS. JOHN CLAUDIUS LOUDON. Together with her husband one of the foremost British horticultural writers of the century. Aided husband on technical botanical works, also wrote. popular works, notably THE LADIES' COMPANION TO THE FLOWER GARDEN (1841), which was in print throughout most of the Victorian period. She and her husband are among the unfamed creators of Victorian culture. * One of the children of FRANKENSTEIN, interesting in its curious medley of themes from current events, literature, and social theory. It contains snippets of almost every popular fictional form of its period and the immediate past, and also anticipates future developments. It offers utopian thought, Gothicism, anti-intellectualism, Egyptological discoveries, fantastic inventions, memories of Napoleon, Byronism, a dynastic theory of history, and much else. * The plot line, which is intricate and is not worth exploring in detail, is based on two concerns: first, the awakening, by electricity of the mummy of King Cheops and its presence as a symbol during later events, and secondly, the political, military, and amorous adventures of a group of characters. The s-f element is strong, with many inventions and many projections of history; the supernatural element enters in the background, in the ultimate anti-intellectual theme, when the Mummy reveals that it was not really revived by electricity, but by God as a warning against scientific prying. This is, of course, much the same message as in FRANKENSTEIN, although FRANKENSTEIN has no overt supernaturalism. * THE MUMMY! was reprinted in 1872, and was apparently fairly well known in its day. It is without literary merit, although interesting for its science-fictional ideas. MUNBY, A[LAN] N[OEL] L[ATlMER] (1913-1974) British librarian, bibliographer, author. Associated with Bernard Quaritch, rare book dealer; author of works dealing with bibliography. Librarian of King's College, Cambridge. 1206. THE ALABASTER HAND AND OTHER GHOST STORIES Dennis DODson; London 1949

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Stories written while the author was a prisoner of war in Germany, 1943-5. In the mode of M. R. James. [a] HERODES REDIVIVUS. The narrator, on finding a rare book in an acquaintance's collection, reminisces about a scandal and a peril of his schoolboy days. He had made the acquaintance of a bookseller named Race, who, in addition to collecting curiosa, seems to have murdered little boys. The connection is with Giles de Retz, who reappears every now and then in history. [b] THE INSCRIPTION. The small decorative temple erected by ancestor Samuel Winchcombe in 1785 not only conceals his grave, but contains a "sentinel" who will avenge profanation of the tomb. [c] THE ALABASTER HAND. There is a local tradition that no one should occupy the stall next to the alabaster funerary monument of Renaissance clergyman Walter Hinkman. When the new incumbent ventures to sit there, the hand of the monument seizes him. A partial explanation is to be found in a bit of church history, plus the discovery of a hidden relic. [d] THE TOP LEY PLACE SALE. When Dunton, a wealthy and insensitive boor, inherits Topley Place, he decides to sell the paintings, furniture, and miscellaneous effects by auction. Included in the sale are the relics of old Admiral Topley of the Napoleonic Wars-- loaded pistols, sword, portrait. During the night Dunton's own portrait is shot by the admiral's pistol and Dunton dies of a heart attack. [e] THE TUDOR CHIMNEY. During renovation of the Old Hall, a stately home, a chimney is opened and a very nasty ghost makes itself known. Its history is traced to the 17th century, when an obnoxious squire was burned to death by his enemies. [f] A CHRISTMAS GAME. Fenton, who left New Zealand under some sort of cloud, comes to a Christmas holiday with the narrator's family. During a game, Fenton collapses and has a stroke. As Fenton lies dying, the narrator sees a Maori, blinded, feeling his way toward Fenton's room. An act of brutality in Fenton's past. [g] THE WHITE SACK. The narrator, lost on Skye, makes his way with great difficulty through the hills and peat bogs. His last hours are the most dangerous, for he is being stalked by a white, mist-like thing-- a Celtic horror, the White Sack. [h] THE FOUR-POSTER. Old Clarkson the archeologist has horrible dreams and dies of a heart attack. The dreams consist of watching resurrection men taking up a corpse, and their apprehension. There were also noises and breezes that seemed supernatural, and the presence of a cloth-covered thing. The bed curtains are responsible. They have a history. [i] THE NEGRO'S HEAD. An 18th century murder mystery is solved. One of the murderers was drowned, perhaps by supernatural means. This is implied, rather than stated. [j] THE TREGANNET BOOK OF HOURS. The narrator has bought a medieval book of hours, but one leaf, that for the burial service, has been replaced by a modern forgery. The story: the original owner had caused the death of a neighboring landowner, whose land he coveted. At the death of

MUNBY, A. N. L. the owner of the book, the corpses of the injured parties appeared and prevented burial. The scene was recorded in the book of hours, but a later owner found it too horrible to keep and ripped it out. [k] AN ENCOUNTER IN THE MIST. Beverley is lost in the mountains of Wales when a kindly old man appears out of the mist and gives him a map. He follows the map and almost falls over a cliff. It seems that the old man is the ghost of a friendly 18th century hermit who does not realize that his map is out of date. ll] THE LECTERN. Wales. The narrator comes upon a ruined house which has the reputation of being haunted. The local vicar tells the story: during the Napoleonic Wars, the son of the house looted a lectern in Ireland and brought it home. One evening, while he was in the chapel, the lectern came to life and chewed him up. [m] NUMBER SEVENTY-NINE. When the narrator wants to buy Item 79, an occult manuscript, he learns that the bookseller has burned it. The bookseller's assistant had used it to raise the dead, altogether too successfully. [n] THE DEVIL'S AUTOGRAPH. The narrator goes to live with a bachelor uncle, a retired clergyman, and observes that the old man reacts strangely to comments having to do with the Devil. After the old man's death, it is discovered that he had signed a diabolical bond. The Devil's autograph is to be seen, misquoting Scripture. * Intelligent stories, with curious antiquarian information, yet with formal problems. The author has difficulty in closing his stories and the reader is often left dissatisfied. Best stories are [c], [k], [n]. MUNDY, TALBOT (pseud. of GRIBBON, WILLIAM LANCASTER, perhaps later name change) (18791940) British-born writer, later resident in U.S.A. Public servant in Africa, India, for ten years. Frequent contributor to adventure pulp magazines. Strongly interested in the occult, and active member in several organizations, notably the Point Lorna Theosophists in California. In his later years occult apologetics entered his work fairly heavily, usually as exhortatory material urging characters (and thereby readers) to change their life styles. Much of this is the occult version of muscular Christianity. * As a writer of adventure fiction set in exotic climes Mundy was one of the most skilled craftsmen of his day. Like Eric Ambler he had the ability to suggest locale and alien personality types by minimal hints and suggestions. He was also a good stylist and constructer of plots. If his characters separate themselves out into goods, bads, and mahatmas, this was partly due to his market. * Mundy wrote much of his fiction in series formed around a central character, although not all the stories in a series were necessarily fantastic. The earlier stories based on Athelstan King epitomize the sense of honor and duty of the best British military tradition, while the Jimgrim stories are based on an American who comes to have al-

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MUNDY, TALBOT most messianic stature. Grim seems to have been Mundy's favorite character, since he is central in many Near Eastern adventures set chronologically earlier than the Indian adventures that culminate in JIMGRIM. 1207. CAVES OF TERROR Garden City Publishing Co.; Garden City, N. Y. [1924] paperbound Oriental intrigue and adventure, with an occ'-1lt component. (ADVENTURE MAGAZINE, 1922) * Athelstan King, who has left the service of the Raj after frustrating Yasmini's attempt to take over India (described in KING-- OF THE KHYBER RIFLES, 1916), is assigned to investigate a dangerous revolutionary movement in India. yasmini is at work again. Associated with her is the Grey Mahatma, a most remarkable holy man who is either one of the Nine Unknown (a mysterious occult group that uses the Ancient Wisdom for its own ends) or high in its organization. Despite the Grey Mahatma's wisdom and intelligence, he was outwitted by Yasmini and she has gained a hold over him. King and Jeff Ramsden are captured by Yasmini, and under the escort of the Grey Mahatma they are taken down into a subterranean world, where they undergo trials and torments. They are also shown occult marvels: clairaudience, clairvoyance, transmutation, and much else. The purpose of the trip is that the Mahatma would like to recruit Grim-- though he also wants to kill Ramsden. King and Ramsden manage to escape, and the revolutionary movement collapses. But the Grey Mahatma, as punishment for his negligence in the matter of Yasmini, must be sacrificed to increase the secret science of the adepts. He is to be used as a guinea pig in vibratory experiments. King and Ramsden would like to save him, for they respect him highly, but when they return to the caves they find only a dusty skeleton, the last remnant of a once great sage. * Fast moving, nicely imagined, fictionally convincing exoticism. It has been reprinted in periodical form under the title THE GREY MAHATMA. 1208. THE NINE UNKNOWN Bobbs-Merrill; Indianapolis [1924] A nominal sequel to CAVES OF TERROR, not entirely consistent with it. (ADVENTURE MAGAZINE, 1923) * Jimgrim, King, Chullunder Ghose, Jeremy, Ramsden, Narayan Singh and Ali of Sikunderam undertake a quest for the Nine Unknown, who are now conceived of as a benevolent secret society that preserves the Ancient Wisdom and uses it to help mankind. Complications arise when the associates become entangled with a rival Nine of evil origin (Kali worshippers and Shaktists), who are also in search of the true Nine and its secrets. After considerable adventure, often involving supernatural elements, Jimgrim and his associates aid the Nine Unknown to destroy the false Nine. As a reward they are permitted to watch the purifying of the Ganges by transmutation of metals. * Excellent ethnic characterizations, in Ali, the best of Mundy's rogues from beyond the Khyber Pass, and in the slippery babu Chullunder Ghose.

MUNDY, TALBOT Original subject matter, rapid movement. One of the most successful attempts to weld adventure onto the occult novel. On the debit side are many reflective passages which are often coy. 1209. OM THE SECRET OF AHBOR VALLEY BobbsMerrill; Indianapolis [1924] Essentially a novel of trust and faith, using in part the mechanism of an Oriental adventure tale. * Cottswold Ommony, one of the finest foresters in the Indian service, has resigned his post after 23 years, perhaps to seek out a chimera. He intends to enter the Ahbor Valley, partly to see if he can discover the fate of his sister and her husband who disappeared there twenty years earlier, and partly to investigate a miraculous stone there, perhaps connected with the Masters. A fragment of the stone has come to Delhi-- just looking at it is an uncomfortable experience-- and intrigues start to grow around it. One of the claimants of the stone is the Lama Tsiang Samd up , a Tibetan abbot whom Ommony has never met, although they are fellow trustees of a Buddhist mission near the entrance to Ahbor Valley. Ommony has heard information about the lama that is shocking, and he decides to investigate him. The lama plans to travel about India with a troupe of actors, putting on a miracle play of a sort, and Ommony disguises himself as a Bhat Brahman to join the troupe. The disguise does not fool Tsiang Samdup for an instant and Ommony knows that the lama has recognized him, but both accept the fiction. The lama's chela, who also plays a leading part in the play, is a mysterious young person named Samding. By the time the tour is over, Ommony and the lama are convinced of each other's good faith, and the lama makes it possible for Ommony to enter the hidden valley of the Ahbors and see the remarkable stone. The stone, it seems, was created ages ago by great mental scientists who coexisted with the cave men, and it is a psychic mirror for self examination or perhaps for healing. Only Samding is able to stand before it in full light. But by admitting Ommony to the valley, the lama must die. It is his karma. He has violated the law of the Ahbors. He thereupon tells his life history. An extremely intelligent young man, sent to England and the Continent for education, he also underwent the traditional lamaist training to destroy pride and self will. When Ommony's sister and her husband, the Terrys, entered the valley Samdup was able to preserve their lives for a short time (before their natural deaths) by proclaiming that their unborn child would be a divine incarnation. It was almost true, for Elsa Terry (or Samding) is a remarkable person who is to be the new redeemer sent from the East to the West. Thereby the lama has come to understand both his own karmic flaws and the role of the greater Masters who occasionally advised him. He asks Ommony to accept guardianship of Samding. * An excellent Oriental novel, with fairly good characterizations, an

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MUNDY, TALBOT ingenious plot, and most of all a long, fascinating account of the life of an actor on the native Indian stage. 1210. THE DEVIL'S GUARD Bobbs-Merrill; Indianapolis [1926] British title RAMSDEN. A loose sequel to THE NINE UNKNOWN. * (ADVENTURE MAGAZINE, 1926) * Jimgrim and Ramsden receive a mysterious ~essage from Rait, a former friend of Ramsden's, asking them to rescue him from the Black Circle, an organization of evil Tibetan adepts. As inducement Rait offers a lead to Shamballa (in this context a place where schools of occult development are maintained) and a manuscript written by Jesus when he came to Tibet after the crucifixion. Although they distrust Rait, Jimgrim, Ramsden, Chullunder Ghose, and Narayan Singh enter Tibet. After great hardships and misfortunes they encounter the black magicians, but are badly beaten. Ramsden and Chullunder Ghose barely escape death, while Narayan Singh sacrifices himself to save his friends. Jimgrim alone wins through, since he has progressed to a higher state of understanding than his comrades, but even he needed help from benevolent adepts. Jimgrim is to go on to Shamballa. * A fast-moving action story, filled with adventure and occult lore, but good on Tibetan matters and thought-provoking. * This is Jimgrim's last supernatural adventure. In JIMGRIM, the sequel to this book, he sacrifices himself to destroy the menace of a wouldbe world-conqueror. JIMGRIM is science-fiction. 1211. BLACK LIGHT Bobbs-Merrill; Indianapolis [1930] Romance, Oriental plots, personality development. * India. Joe Beddington, young American millionaire with a vicious, dominating mother, becomes involved with Amrita, a young Western woman who has been reared in a heterodox Hindu temple by the master yogi Ram Chittra. Joe's mother disapproves of the romance, and a vicious maharaja wants to kidnap Amrita for his harem. Ram Chittra, who possesses many paranormal abilities and speaks in the Delphic manner common to magniloquent Mundy sages, resolves problems by invoking the Black Light. This is a projection of the akashic record. It reveals to the wicked their past misdeeds and inner rottenness. The rajah dies of snakebite; Joe's mother is defeated; Joe attains manhood and Amrita. * The plot is simple and leads up to the Black Light climax without much incident, but there are many long conversational clashes. Overlong and windy. This is the "ghost book" THE MAN FROM JUPITER that collectors used to try to find. Appleton-Century; New 1212. FULL MOON York 1935 British edition is titled THERE WAS A DOOR. * (AMERICAN WEEKLY, 1935) Oriental adventure and intrigue, based ultimately on a conceit of Charles Fort's, that people who disappear mysteriously may end in the fourth dimension. * Warrender, member of the Indian

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police, is instructed to investigate the disappearance of General Frensham. The trail, which he enters in disguise as a Pathan, begins in an Indian whorehouse (an institution which fascinated Mundy and appears in several of his stories) operated by Wu Tu, a beautiful Eurasian, whose Chinese name of Five Poisons fits her personality. It ends in a series of caves beneath Gaglajung in Rajputana. In the caves are to be found the remains of an incredible civilization. Imbedded in transparent stone is the nude body of a woman nine feet high, and around the area are artifacts of hardened gold, some of which yield documents of dimensional mathematics beyond what we know. In the caves is also the entrance to the fourth dimension, where the ancient great race apparently went en masse. What this fourth dimension is is only hinted, but it seems to be being beyond being. ~ae can enter the fourth dimension only during full moon. Warrender goes through many hair-raising adventures before the case is concluded, and he wins a wife in Frensham's daughter, whom he finally realizes that he loves. Taron Ling, a remarkable hypnotist who can cast horror visions, meets a well-deserved death, while Wu Tu, also a skilled hypnotist, enters the fourth dimension-- which is what she wanted. The police will suppress everything. Technically competent, but written down, rather tired, and without the odd charm of much of Mundy's other work. 1213. OLD UGLY FACE Appleton-Century; N,~w York 1940 Nominally this is a sequel to THE TH~ER DRAGO~ GATE (a guns and guts novel of Oriental adventure and political intrigue), but it is best considered as an independent work. The characterizations have changed from the first novel; the inner situation has become highly supernatural, whereas the first novel was rational; and the author's mode of presentation is a new one, being an attempt to write a novel with the character analysis and descriptive detail of a mainstream novel. It is also a vehicle for the author's occult concerns with many pages of Vedantic Christianity. The ultimate causation is political chaos in Tibet. The old Dalai Lama and the Tashi Lama are both dead, and the young Dalai Lama, a five-year old boy, is a political prize whom various parties are desperate to control or replace: Russians, Germans, Japanese, British. At the moment the new Dalai Lama is being held prisoner, virtually for sale. The only incorruptible figure of the former administration is the remarkable Ring Ding Gelong Lama Lobsang Pun (Old Ugly Face), who is now a fugitive, with a price on his head. The subterranean policy of the British in India is to restore Lobsang Pun to power as Regent, and to keep the Dalai Lama independent of foreign control. Andrew Gunning and Elsa Burbage Grayne, wife of Tom Grayne (who remained in Tibet after the events of THE THUNDER DRAGON GATE) plan to enter Tibet to bring supplies to Grayne, and become in-

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volved in a very complex nexus of plots. After many side issues they conduct Old Ugly Face to the Shig-po-ling monastery, where the boy Dalai Lama is being held. From there it is a relatively easy matter for Old Ugly Face to make himself master of the situation. The supernatural element is omnipresent, with several of the characters (especially Elsa) having strong telepathic abilities. Lobsang Pun himself is apparently only a littie below being a Master. Thought transmittal, control of action of others, induced visions, bilocation, control of material phenomena are only part of his abilities. As the story ends he fulfills the desires of Elsa, Gunning, and Tom Grayne. Despite the obtrusive and boring philosophizing an otherwise well handled novel. The action plot is well integrated with the other concerns, and the author's technique for retaining suspense through long conversations is both unusual and successful.

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MUNN, H[AROLD] WARNER (1903 - 1982) American writer who has worked at many other jobs, including lumber industry on the West Coast. Friend and associate of H. P. Lovecraft, with mutual influence. Early contributor to WT, other occasional fiction. In recent years author of fairly elaborate fantastic adventure novels. 1214. THE WEREWOLF OF PONKERT Grandon Co.; Providence, R.I. 1958 Anonymous biographical introduction about Munn. Two very popular stories from early issues of WT. Transylvania, middle to late 15th century. The first document is revealed by a document written on human skin, that of the werewolf himself. [al THE WEREWOLF OF PONKERT. (WT 1925) Wladislaw Brenryk, a jeweller, recounts his horrible life. The area is beset with werewolves, and Brenryk is attacked by a pack. He kills one of them and-- such being the custom-- is offered by the Master his choice of death or taking the place of the dead werewolf. He becomes a werewolf, but being more intelligent than the others, feels abhorrence at his way of life. He schemes to destroy the Master and become a normal man again. The plot fails, and the Master, as a disciplinary measure, forces Brenryk to kill and eat his wife and deliver his daughter to the wolves. After this Brenryk does not wish to live any longer and informs to the military, who kill all the werewolves except the Master. He is more truly supernatural, even to being vamp~r~c. Brenryk himself is executed. [bl THE WEREWOLF'S DAUGHTER. (WT 1928) Brenryk's daughter was not killed by the wolves, but has grown up in Ponkert, with Dmitri, the captain of the troop who took Brenryk, as her foster father. She does not know her origin, but the villagers all hate her and fear her. It is generally understood that when the formidable old Dmitri dies, she will be killed. Hugo, a young Frenchman accompanying a Gipsy caravan through Ponkert, falls in love with her and rescues her when the villagers at-

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MUNN, H. WARNER attack. Old Dmitri dies holding back the fanatical villagers, and behind everything the Master plots. A new complication enters. When Ivga was fastened at the pyre, her soul left her body and promised the Master one of her descendants each generation, in exchange for rescue. This opens the way for several sequels. * These two stories are the first and third in a sequence of six. * Now mostly a nostalgia item, although the first story has interesting touches. MURPHY, JAMES British author. Irish? 1215. THE HAUNTED CHURCH A NOVEL Spencer and Blackett; London 1889 A strange medley of ghosts, treasure, South American political adventure. * Ireland in part. Captain Phil Driscoll, a retired slaver, murders Swarthy Bill, an old shipmate who inconveniently turns up. But Swarthy Bill cannot be disposed of this easily: his ghost haunts the area vigorously. A second plot is concerned with Cantrell, Swarthy Bill's son, at the university. (Bill had been the black sheep of a good family.) Cantrell has many prophetic dreams and visions associated with his dead father. A trip to South America and a revolution are also included. * A hodgepodge that certainly does not deserve the high rating that Montague Summers implied for it in his introduction to VICTORIAN GHOST STORIES. MURRAY, VIOLET T[ORLESSE] (1874 - ? British journalist, occasional author, anthologist. Her other work of interest, FIFTY MASTERPIECES OF MYSTERY (Odhams Press; London 1937), an anonymously edited anthology, has occasional supernatural fiction, largely duplicated in the CENTURIES. It has not been available for examination. 1216. THE RULE OF THE BEASTS Stanley Paul; London [1925] Borderline science-fiction. * 1933 as seen in retrospcct from 4030. A terrible plague sweeps the world, destroying all mankind except Synding and a few friends who have been protected by injections of elan vital. When the humans start to rebuild a culture, they discover that animals have now been endowed with reason equal to that of humans, yet still possess instincts that are near to God (or nature). Mankind must redevelop under the unwelcome tutelage of the animals, but the new society will be better than the previous. * Mildly amusing at times, but generally routine. [MUSAEUS, JOHANN KARL AUGUST] (1736-1787) German educator (Weimar Gymnasium), literary figure. Probably the first important German author to make use of folkloristic fairy tales for fictional purposes. An Enlightenment writer rather than a Romantic, his work was very popular and widely diffused; it undoubtedly set off many imitations in German and English. Several of his stories (by chance not included

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MUSAEUS, J. K. in Beckford's translation) were often anthologized in 19th century English-language anthologies. * Not a great writer, but a very good story teller. Unlucky in being surpassed as c'. folklorist by the Grimms and as a writer of fantastic fiction by Hoffmann. See the author index for other material by Musaeus. 1217. POPULAR TALES OF THE GERMANS TRANSLATED FROM THE GERMAN J. Murray; London 1791 3 vol. (published anonymously) The translation has been attributed to William Beckford, but to my knowledge no evidence has ever been published to support the attribution. * From VOLKSMAHRCHEN DER DEUTSCHEN (1782-7, 5 vol.) * [a] RICHILDA. (RICHILDE) Medieval Brabant. Albertus Magnus, great magician and sage, as a birth present gives Richilda a magical mirror that will show what she wishes. She grows up to be a proud, vain woman, and often asks the mirror who is fairest in the land. She also asks about the handsomest man. This is Gombold, who is already married. Gombold cannot resist Richilda's charms. He divorces his wife and marries Richilda, bringing into his home his young daughter Blanca. When Blanca grows up, the mirror, of course, shows Blanca to Richilda, who tries various expedients to be rid of her. With the help of the court dwarfs Blanca escapes and Richilda is suitably punished. lb] THE BOOK OF THE CHRONICLES OF THE THREE SISTERS. (DIE BUCHER DER CHRONIKA DER DREI SCHWESTERN) The baron, who is somewhat reckless with the lives of others, is trapped successively by three animals: a bear, an eagle, and a leviathan (whale), to each of whom he promises a daughter. The animals come in human form and take the women off to their courts. When Rinaldo, the baron's son, grows up he determines to find and rescue his sisters. He visits each in turn. They are happy, apart from their husbands' transformations. The bear is human one day a week; the eagle, one week out of seven; and the leviathan one month out of seven. During their human phase they give him tokens, and Rinaldo goes in quest of the source of the enchantment. This is the dead magician Zornebock. With the aid of the tokens he overcomes the magician's magic, and the beasts assume permanent human form. All is well. (Zornebock, of course, is an old Slavic deity, the black god, later assimilated to the Christian Devil.) [c] THE STEALING OF THE VEIL, OR THE TALE A LA MONTGOLFIER. (DER GERAUBTE SCHLEIER) Friedbert sees three beautiful swan maidens bathing and steals the veil of one, thereby freezing her in human form. They are about to be married when the maiden manages to get her veil back and flies away. Friedbert seeks her out, and eventually finds her on Naxos. * [d] ELFIN FREAKS, OR, THE SEVEN LEGENDS OF NUMBER-NIP. (LEGENDEN DER RUBEZAHL) The Rubezahl is a mischievous local nature demon. As with comparable demons across the Old World, apotropaic magic against him consists of setting him to count innumerable objects. He is not good at arithmetic and becomes entangled in the counting process.

MUSAEUS, J. K. Five stories involving the Number-Nip, as follows. [e] [Untitled] He kidnaps Emma and takes her into caverns below. To keep her entertained he supplies her with baskets of turnips, which his magic permits her to turn into servants and companions. She eventually uses the old ruse of setting him counting and escapes. [f] lUntitled] While still angry about his fiasco with Emma, the Number-Nip hears a young traveller make an insulting remark about him. He frames the young man as a highway robber. When his victim is about to be hanged, the Number-Nip relents, yielding to the pleas of the young man's fianc~e, and turns the hanging into a farce. [g] [Untitled] An honest peasant borrows money from the Number-Nip and returns it on time. [h] [Untitled] The Number-Nip comes to the help of a devoted, hardworking wife cursed with a weak, brutal husband. [i] [Untitled] A rogue impersonates the Number-Nip and in the form of a headless horseman highjacks a coach with the countess and her daughters. The true Number-Nip comes to their rescue. As Count Giantdale he entertains them, while transporting the rogue back into prison. * [j]. THE NYMPH OF THE FOUNTAIN. (DIE NYMPHE DES BRUNNENS) When young Matilda is abused by her stepmother, she leaves home and takes service with the housekeeper of the Knight Templar Conrad. Her mother had been friendly with the local nymph of the fountain, who gave Matilda, as a birth present, a wooden pomander which will grant three wishes. Matilda uses two of them to gain entrance, in wonderful raiment, to the knight's ball, and the third, after she has married the knight, to protect her children from a wicked nurse and her mother-in-law. * Amusingly told, in a strange compromise between awe and irony. The themes, of course, are folkloristic fairy tales. MUS PRATT , ROSALIE [HELEN] (1906-1976) British journalist, occasional writer. Also wrote under pseudo JASPER JOHN. 1218. TALES OF TERROR Henry Walker; London 1931 Short stories, including [a] THE CASTLE OF SHADOWS. A paying guest in Ireland, a ghost in ruffs, the supernatural shadow of a dog. According to the author, the explanatory tale is too horrible to be told, and isn't. [b] THE FOXES' REVENGE. Foxes strike back at the Master of the Hunt. When he is thrown and lies dying, the fox masks in his house come to life. After the funeral a fox sits on his grave and causes the dead man's son to commit suicide. [c] THE GREEN GOD. A green jade idol commits murder. [d] A VENETIAN GHOST STORY. Rough Venetian fishermen jocularly send a boy to invite to dinner a corpse that they had fished out of the water. It comes. [e] THE TRICOLOUR DEATH. Borderline sciencefiction. Corsican revenge with outlandish rays. [f] A GHOST OF THE SOUTHERN CROSS. It leads people to its skeleton. [g] THE CURSE OF RAVENSMORE. A luck cup, a closed room, a hostile old ghost who curses a woman to

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NATHA.H, ROBERT bear a child with a dog's paw for an arm. [h] THE BRIDE. A boy is betrothed by his half-mad father to an iron statue of a "Chaldean Venus of the first period." When he comes of age, he mocks the statue by putting a ring on its finger, and the obvious happens. [i] THE SISTERS OF LONE SANDS HALL. Family degeneracy, dipsomania, a haunted house. [j] THE MYSTERIOUS MARRIAGE. A ghost with a sword. [k] THE HOUSE OF THE SKULL. A skull kept in a cage does not wish to be buried. * The spine of the book carries Jasper John as author, while the title page gives the author as Rosalie Muspratt/ Jasper John. * Crude stories of literal horror. Of no importance. MYERS, JOHN MYERS (1906 American novelist, poet. Best-known work perhaps THE HARP AND THE BLADE (1941), good debunking historical adventure set in France during the Dark Ages. 1219. SILVERLOCK Dutton; New York 1949 Adventures among literary characters and in literary situations, with a vague theme of spiritual growth. * Shandon (who is later called Silverlock because of a white lock of hair) is the only survivor of the ship Naglfar (out of Norse mythology) when it goes down. In the sea he meets a person named Golias (from the author of the medieval Goliard poems), who seems to know much more about their circumstances than does Shandon. They are off a land called the Commonwealth [of literature]. After some difficulties they reach land and undergo a series of episodic adventures among literary personalities: Circe, Robinson Crusoe's cannibals, Norse raiders, Don Quixote, Robin Hood, Gargantua, Beowulf, and many others. Shandon, who grows somewhat in altruism, almost ends up in Hell. After his escape he awakens again in the sea, floating, but in the wrong ocean. * Individual adventures are nicely handled and are sometimes paradoxically amusing, but the device palls after a time, especially since there is no strong central unifying factor.

NATHAN, ROBERT [GRUNTAL] (1894 American novelist, poet, playwright. A fine craftsman, noted for a characteristic light, ironic approach that is not as superficial as it first seems. Among better-known works, THE FIDDLER IN BARLY (1926), JOURNEY OF TAPIOLA (1938), PORTRAIT OF JENNIE (1940). Most of his books fall into the area where whimsy and fantasy overlap. Only those books that are supernatural are described. 1220 •. THE BISHOP'S WIFE Bobbs-Merrill; Indianapolis [1928] Character study, with fantasy as a vehicle for irony. * The Bishop, a worldly cleric,

NATHAN, ROBERT is obsessed with building a cathedral, not for reasons of faith, nor even of egotism, but simply because he believes that a bigger and better building is called for in modern America. He needs funds, and in an odd moment wishes that he had an angel to help him. The Archangel Michael appears and agrees to act as his archdeacon. When Michael first arrives, he is as unworldly as the bishop is worldly, but he gradually becomes altered by his stay on earth. He and the bishop's wife fall in love, but their romance cannot be physical, since the angel is sexless. Eventually the angel returns to Heaven. Nothing much has been been accomplished, beyond bringing color and love to the otherwise vague existence of the bishop's wife. * Pleasantly told, but light weight. 1221. THERE IS ANOTHER HEAVEN Bobbs-Merrill; Indianapolis [1929] Honesty, self-respect, and after death experiences in Heaven. * Three men cross the River Jordan into Heaven. They are Professor Wutheridge, previously met as a minor character in THE BISHOP'S WIFE; young Meiggs, whose mother was a social force in town; and Sammy Lewis, born Levy, who converted to Christianity partly because of business and social reasons and partly because he wanted to be loved. Heaven turns out to be a dismal place. Wutheridge discovers that his parents are young and foolish, and that a lover of his mother's lives with them. He soon learns that he has nothing in common with the teasing sexual antics of his parents. Meiggs learns that his mother selfishly wants to keep him as a small boy. Lewis-Levy is unhappy because there is no visible God, no Jesus, no angels. Lewis alone has the strength to act. He leaps into the Jordan, hoping to find Jesus back on earth, and has a rebirth experience in the river. He emerges happy and meets a Friend, who has for him the Bread of Life. He has accepted his Jewish heritage. * The threads are not entirely clear. Concentration on a single character instead of contrasting three, as different qualities, might have been more successful. 1222. PORTRAIT OF JENNIE Knopf; New York 1940 Short semiallegorical supernatural novel, dealing with problems of hope and love. * Jennie, at first, is a little girl dressed in somewhat old-fashioned clothing, redolent of the past. Eben Adams, a talented but unsuccessful artist, meets her in Central Park, sketches her, and begins to be successful commercially. He meets her on several later occasions and continues to paint her, but she is strange. Her references are all to a dead past. She grows too rapidly. And she appears and disappears in an almost supernatural manner. By the end of the year she is a young woman, and she and Adams are in love. He goes to the Cape, where she has promised to meet him. He finds her in the waves, during the great hurricane of 1938, and she is seemingly washed away. Later he hears what he already

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NATHAN, ROBERT knew, that Jennie had been washed overboard from a ship, while returning from an eight year stay abroad. * It has always been disputable what Jennie really is, apart from being dissociated time stages of a personality which manifests itself to a man sorely in need of hope and love. Nathan apparently considered her an embodiment of Dunne's theory of serial time. But, as Adams says, "You think God is trying to tell me something, but what?" * Poignant and thought-provoking, in many ways Nathan's finest work. 1223. BUT GENTLY DAY Knopf; New York 1943 The Owl Creek Bridge motif smoothly handled, plus philosophizing on life, values, love, Americanism, etc. * During World War II a plane crashes in backwoods Pennsylvania. We next see Cpl. Henry Arkbester, U.S.A.F., walking through the countryside, on furlough to visit his family and Eileen, his fianc~e. He is accompanied by a chaplain, who happens to be going in the same direction. Together they reach the Arkbester farm, but it is inhabited by strangers-- hospitable, kindly, but limited. Soon Henry comes to see and accept that he has come into the past, right after the Civil War, and that the present Arkbesters must be his great grandparents. He enters the simple life and takes part in the conversations on ethics, politics, morality, and society that engage the Arkbesters and tries to awaken them to a little more tolerance. He meets another Eileen and falls in love with her, but as he is trying to protect a runaway girl from her outraged father, he is accidentally killed. His death will presumably affect the past. Back in the 1940's people gather around the plane, examining the corpses. They find Henry, a burnt spot over his heart (where he had been shot), and a smile on his face. * Competently and interestingly developed, although the question of acceptance is rather smoothly bypassed. The chaplain's discussions with the temporals are well handled. He is presumably God or a semidivine figure. 1224. THE RIVER JOURNEY Knopf; New York 1949 Short novel, death in various traditional symbolic forms. * Minnie Parkinson has just heard from her doctor that she has only a short time to live and wishes to be remembered by her husband. Leaving him money, she decides, is not enough. But she likes the idea of buying a river boat and sailing together down the river as a remembrance journey. Two other persons accompany them on the boat. One, Nora, is also under a medical death sentence, with a weak heart, while the fourth member of the party, Mr. Mortimer, is obviously Death. The party moves slowly down the river, each changing as life carries them on. Minnie finds herself attracted to Death, while Nora and Minnie's husband Henry find a mutual attraction. As the journey comes to a conclusion, Minnie recognizes that memory in other persons means little. She decides that she

NATHAN, ROBERT wants to leave with Death immediately. During an accident at a circus, both Minnie and Nora are taken away by Death. * Very nicely told. 1225. THE INNOCENT EVE Knopf; New York 1951 Ironic fantasy. * The atomic problem, and Eve spoils things again. * Millionaire contractor Martin Clough is giving a Hallowe'en costume party. Various types are present: journalist, book reviewer, senator, bishop, member of a foreign trade mission, representative from Southeast Asia, movie producer, his starlet mistress Mary Ann, etc. Lucifer and Samantha, a female demon, crash the party. Lucifer is there for a purpose, and while Samantha establishes an erotic rapport with the journalist, Lucifer has colloquies with the various guests. Toward midnight Lucifer makes his proposal. As envoy from Tartarus, he offers to take complete charge of the atomic bomb. In this way earth can be saved. Lucifer offers each guest a wish-fulfillment dream, and it looks as if his proposal might be accepted, when Mary Ann's primal innocence spoils his plans. In the meanwhile, Samantha has made love to and consumed the journalist. As Lucifer and Samantha soar away from earth, Lucifer hopes that there may be other inhabited planets. A flash behind them is probably earth exploding. * The casual ironic note is well maintained; the balance between types and individuals is 'held; and there are occasional good epigrams. The ending is forced. NEALE, ARTHUR No information, but it is a reasonable guess that this is a pseudonym for Marjorie Bowen (Mrs. Gabrielle Campbell Long). AS EDITOR: 1226. THE GREAT WEIRD STORIES Duffield; New York 1929 Including, described elsewhere, [al THE GREAT KEINPLATZ EXPERIMENT, A. C. Doyle. [bl THE RED ROOM, H. G. Wells. lcl THE WOMAN'S GHOST STORY, Algernon Blackwood. [dl IN THE VALLEY OF THE SORCERESS, Sax Rohmer. [el THE MARK OF THE BEAST, Rudyard Kipling. [fl THE BLACK CAT, Edgar Allan Poe. [gl THE TAPESTRIED CHAMBER, Sir Walter Scott. [hl THE SHINING PYRAMID, Arthur Machen. lil THE TRIAL FOR MURDER, Charles Dickens. * Also [jl IN LETTERS OF FIRE, Gaston Leroux. France. The master of La Chaux-de-Fonds makes a diabolical bond. "Thou shalt win!" is burned into his wardrobe, and he never loses at cards. The dogs were stricken dumb at the Devil's appearance. Anonymous translation from French. [kl ALMODORO'S CUPID, William Waldorf Astor. A confused story of the wicked Renaissance Baron Racoczy, whose portrait emerges from its frame. It wears a magic ring that makes it irresistible to females. Also visions of the past. l1] THE GHOST'S "DOUBLE," L. F. Austin. A pretty female ghost from the past, plus her disconcerting ghostly double. [ml THE MAN WHO LIVED BACKWARDS, Allen Upward. An Indian yogi turns time back for him to a crisis point, and he lives backwards. A magic ring is involved. lnl A GHOST OF A HEAD, Anonymous.

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NESBIT, EDITH Probably translated from French. Public Prosecutor Desa11eux is responsible for the execution of an innocent man, and the head of the dead man haunts him. [ol THE DOPPELGANGER, Anonymous. Germany. Mesmerism, astral bodies, doppelgangers. * Also included are "The Power of Darkness" by E. Nesbit and "The Warder of the Door," by L. T. Meade and Robert Eustace, which are not really supernatural. NEELE, HENRY (1798-1828) British author, suicide while insane. Well-regarded as a minor poet and critic during his lifetime. Most important work LECTURES ON ENGLISH POETRY, published posthumously in volume below. 1227. THE LITERARY REMAINS OF THE LATE HENRY NEELE Smith and Elder; London 1828 A posthumous collection of essays, poems, short fiction, including [al TOTTERIDGE PRIORY. The narrator converses with the ghost of Lord Chesterfield, who despises the Elizabethan poets for their crudeness and prefers to talk scandal. A dream. [bl THE SHAKESPEARE ELYSIUM. In Heaven Shakespeare's characters are to be found living in various expected groupings. A dream. [cl THE DINNER OF THE MONTHS and [dl EVERY DAY AT BREAKFAST. Slight stories built upon personifications of days and months. [el THE COMET. The most ambitious story in the collection. The narrator, while travelling, meets Dr. von Schwarzmann, a saturnine figure whom the ignorant consider to be the Devil. Schwarzmann tells his story. When he was born, it was under a comet, and each succeeding crisis in his life has occurred at the appearance of a comet. A comet is currently visible and Schwarzmann meets his fate from a spring gun. [fl THE MAGICIAN'S VISITOR. The Renaissance magician Cornelius Agrippa is visited by a stranger who wants to see the spirit of his dead daughter Miriam. Agrippa reveals her in a mirror. As the stranger leaves, Agrippa observes (from a realistic religious painting of the Crucifixion) that the stranger was the Wandering Jew. [gl THE HOURI. A PERSIAN TALE. Death prophecy and a magic mirror * [fl, which was occasionally anthologized in the early 19th century is much the best story in the collection. The other stories are negligible. NESBIT, ED ITH (marriage name BLAND, MRS. HUBERT) (1858-1924) British journalist, poet, author of children's books. One of founders of the Fabian Society. Became very popular as author of nicely written stories (often more or less fantastic) about British children of the upper middle class: THE RAILWAY CHILDREN, THE WOULD-BE GOODS, THE TREASURE SEEKERS, etc. The cultural patterns and values in these are now so strange that the realistic portions seem fantastic. 1228. GRIM TALES A. D. Innes & Co.; London 1893 Victorian ghost stories from periodical sources. * [al THE EBONY FRAME. When the narrator

NESBIT, EDITH opens the strangely sealed painting, he discovers a likeness of himself in Cavalier dress and the picture of a beautiful woman. He evokes the woman, who was a 17th century witch, and she persuades him to forswear Heaven. The house catches on fire and the picture is destroyed. Also reincarnation. [b] JOHN CHARRINGTON'S WEDDING. Charrington told his friends and fianc~e that he would return from the dead, if necessary, for his wedding. He does. [c] UNCLE ABRAHAM'S ROMANCE. Back in the early 19th century he fell in love with a young woman who seemed to live in a graveyard. She set him a definite appointment, warning him that if he missed it, he would lose her. He missed it. [d] THE MYSTERY OF THE SEMI-DETACHED. Premonitory visions of a crime. [e] FROM THE DEAD. After relinquishing the woman he loved, on learning that she loved another, the protagonist married the girl who had warned him about his former fiancee. When he learns that she had forged the evidence, he leaves her. She dies in childbirth, but her corpse is animated and presumably would assume life if he had enough faith and love to retain her. But he fails. [f] MAN-SIZE IN MARBLE. Two stone effigies on a tomb. They come to life and walk about once a year, and woe to the person whom they catch. [g] THE MASS FOR THE DEAD. Premonitory audition. Kate, being forced into an unwelcome marriage, hears the mass for the man she does not want. * [f] is a fairly good story, but the others are routine periodical stories, often sensational in the wrong way and undeveloped. Nesbit was far better at children's books. 1229. DORMANT Methuen; London [1911] Borderline science-fiction. * Drelincourt, who is searching for the elixir of life, comes into an unexpected inheritance and then discovers that his ancestors had undertaken the same quest as he. In the family mansion he discovers a hid~en room with a beautiful young woman in it. She has been in suspended animation for more than fifty years. He revives her, falls in love with her, but both die accidentally when she tries to render him immortal. * Average. [ANONYMOUS ANTHOLOGY] 1230. NEW TALES OF HORROR BY EMINENT AUTHORS Hutchinson; London l1934] Mysteries and supernatural stories, including [a] THE LOST CLUB, Arthur Machen. Described elsewhere. * Also [b] THE MURDERER, Richard Middleton. The victim is seized and tried as the murderer. Merging of identities? [c] MEDUSAN MADNESS, E. H. Visiak. A madman tries to express the inexpressible with hints of a vision at sea, of powers beyond man. Interesting, but cryptic. [d] SCYLLA AND CHARYBDIS, John Gawsworth. (pseud. of Terence Ian Fytton Armstrong) A girl passing through a swamp is torn between two perils which her imagination creates: tongues of fire from the trees, in imitation of Pentecost, and the dangers of the swamp itself. Psychological rather than

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NEWTE, H. W. C. supernatural. [e] THE TRUTH, Frederick Carter. Two versions of the same incident: one, a supernatural tale of a dead man who rode atop his rival to meet a dead mistress; the other, explanation in terms of abnormal psychology. [f] A'BODY'S LASSIE, Hugh MacDiarmid. The ghost of a young woman who appears to several people, assuming for each the features of his own dead. Memory. Scottish dialect. [g] THE STRANGER, Hugh MacDiarmid. In a taproom, old Ben refuses to drink with a stranger because Ben's wife says that the stranger was not born of man and woman. The wife is a seeress of a sort. The stranger settles the argument. [h] The HOUSE OF DUST, Herbert de Hamel. World War I. Haunted house and material proof later. [i] JOSHUA GREENWAY, E. H. W. Meyerstein. A somewhat confused story of magic and revenge. [j] MURDERER'S CORNER, Charles Duff. A howcould-I-have-known story about ghosts in the town jail. [k] DRINK MONSTER, Charles Duff. A pair of "eye crystals" are mistaken for animal eyes and cause death by suggestion. [1] THE NEW WAR, Herbert Palmer. A dream in which matter declares war on humanity, and earthquakes and vulcanism devastate the planet. [m] VISION AND TELEVISION, R. L. Megros. A television broadcast is interrupted by a telecast from the future. Borderline science-fiction. * [b], [c], [g] are best. * The editor of this anthology was John Gawsworth. NEWTE, H[ORACE] W[YKEHAM] C[AN] (1870-1949) British author, journalist; frequent contributor to periodicals and newspapers. 1231. THE EALING MIRACLE A REALISTIC STORY Mills and Boon; London [1911] Social novel focusing on sexual mores in terms of fantasy. * Olive Teversham-Dingle, socialite and prude, is an influential member of the church of St. Dionysius. Lena Swallow, an intelligent young woman, approaches her and asks her for a recommendation as district nurse for the church. Olive, who learns that Lena has born an illegitimate child and is not repentant, is indignant and sees that Lena does not get the job. This is a blow to Lena, who is desperately in need of work. As Olive rebuffs Lena, her eyes fallon a "venerable stranger," and the personalities of Lena and Olive are interchanged. Lena-in-Olive does not cope well with her new life, while Olive-in-Lena finds her new role impossible. On several occasions she is on the edge of starvation. She works at various small jobs without too much success. When she meets Lena's lover (a pillar of the church), she learns that he had some justification for his action and she falls in love with him. She repulses him, however, and does not consummate her passion. When everything seems hopeless and death near, Olive-inLena meets the Man of Sorrows again and is transferred back to her old body. This move solves economic problems, but it does not change the fact that Olive is still in love with Lena's lover. * Full Edwardian development, perhaps a little too caricatured for modern reading.

NICHOLSON, JOHN NICHOLSON, JOHN (pseud. of PARCELL, NORMAN H.) British author. 1232. COSTELLO. PSYCHIC INVESTIGATOR Arthur H. Stockwell; Ilfracombe, Devon [1954] Exploits of an occult detective, closely derivative from W. H. Hodgson's CARNACKI, THE GHOST-FINDER. * [a] THE CASE OF THE SIGHING GHOST. Spectral appearance and heavy sighs from the tragic Lady Matheson, early 18th century mistress of Matheson Manor. She wants to reveal documents. [b] THE MONSTER OF THE GREEN ROOM. A horrible, murderous monstrosity from the spiritual badlands. [c] THE HAUNTING OF LONGDON BARROW. A barrow is excavated, a burial chamber found, and a skeleton removed. After that, dangerous phenomena. [d] THE CASE OF THE GNASHING TEETH. Manifestations of a set of teeth, later followed by the rest of the skeleton. [e] THE CASE OF THE STRANGLING HAIR. William Joyce is assaulted and finally murdered by long, yellow hair, which wraps itself around his neck. It is from his wife, whom he murdered. [f] THE WALKER IN THE PICTURE GALLERY. When Sir Denzil's ghost 'walks, those who meet him die soon after. Art thieves in the picture gallery suffer that misfortune. [g] THE TERROR OF THE DEVEREUX VAULTS. Each new holder of the title must offer a Black Mass and sell himself to the Devil within six months after acceding, or there will be trouble. The present titleholder does not follow precedent, and is pestered by the demonfilled corpse of the last baronet. Lh] THE EVIL IN PURTON COPPICE. A horror, presumably the ghost of a murderer, slashes its victims to death in the coppice. * Weak, trite, literal supernaturalism. NICOLSON, J[OHN] U[RBAN] (1885-? American poet, author. 1233. FINGERS OF FEAR Covici Friede; New York 1937 Horror laid on thick. * Selden Seaverns, who is down and out during the Great Depression, is offered a position by a club acquaintance whom he accidentally meets. To help the friend, Ormond Ormes, gain an inheritance, he agrees to write a thesis on the influence of Elizabethan literature on the colonies. They proceed to Ormes's home, in the wilds of the Berkshires, and Seaverns finds himself in the middle of horrors and terrors galore. The house is haunted, and he sees a lady ghost vanish through the walls. This is later explained. Everyone in the family (with one exception) is insane, and the insanity takes the form of homicidal pseudo-lycanthropy. He sees a beautiful, nude young woman try to bite a servant to death. He finds another woman with her throat cut, also chewed. Orme is accidentally killed when he tries to tear Seavern's throat out. Other shocking devices include incest, dead illegitimate babies kept in the . safe, corpses in the cistern, and another nude young woman who has sexual transports while embracing a portrait. The supernatural enters with the ghost of Ormes's father, who controls the activities of his descendants to

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NORMAN, HENRY some degree and is occasionally seen when things are worst. His picture is alive, and his laugh is not mirthful. * A deliberate attempt by an intelligent stylist at a material-horror shocker. It does not come across; the horror is laid on too thick and the characterization of the half-despicable hero does not jell. * Written forty years too early. Today it would make a fine horror movie. [ANONYMOUS ANTHOLOGY] 1234. NIGHTMARES A COLLECTION OF UNEASY TALES Philip Allan; London [1933] One of the CREEPS SERIES, edited by Charles L. Birkin. * Including [a] HIGH TIDE, Hester Holland Gaskell. Death and seemingly supernatural revenge as a dead man, temporarily "prayed alive," traps his enemy at high tide. [b] THE ESCAPE, John Batho. Premonitory vision of a murder. [c] "BINKIE, " A. C. S. Tibbett. India. A mummified cat acts as protector to one it likes. [d] HANGMAN'S COTTAGE, Philip Murray. A cottage on the site of an old gallows. Psychic impressions of the past and supernaturally induced suicide. [e] THE HEADLESS LEPER, Frederick Cowles. A mass celebrated by leper ghosts, pursuit, skeleton. [f] THE HAUNTED BUNGALOW, B. Lumsden Milne. Malaya. The ghost of a native mistress watches over the Englishman, but disapproves of his marriage. [g] THE END OF THE HOLIDAY, V. A. Chappell. Caught in Deepdene after dark and sacrificed by the ghosts of ancient priests. [h] THE CURSE, Ronald Aggett. An ancient feud, possession, ghost, murder. [i] THE WHIMPUS, Tod Robbins. Adventure nouvelle. A mermaidlike fish with golden hair and deep blue eyes. It delights in gold and jewelry, and charms human males by a humming noise. Obvious spoofing idea. * Negligible except for [i]. NISBET, HUME (1849-1921) British author, born in Scotland, resident intermittently in Australia, where died. Unsuccessful artist, art teacher turned to fiction writing, where became prolific author of rubbishy romances and adventure stories. 1235. STORIES WEIRD AND WONDERFUL F. V. White; London [1900] Short stories, including [a] A CUP OF SAMOS. An antiquary meets a young woman who claims to have slept since the days of the Druids. She was a seeress. [b] THE OLD WRECK. A dream of pirate treasure comes true. [c] THE VAMPIRE MAID. A vampire. [d] NORAH AND THE FAIRIES. A child sees fairies. [e] THE OLD PORTRAIT. An old, painted-over picture, when cleaned, releases a vampiric woman. * Crude and sensational. NORMAN, [Sir] HENRY (1858-1939) Important British politician, newspaperman. Area studies, THE REAL JAPAN (1892), PEOPLE AND POLITICS OF THE FAR EAST (1895). Long a member of Parliament, where was influential on important committees. Sometimes called the Savior of Niagara Falls, since his publicity efforts led to preservation. Present

NORMAN, HENRY volume dates from his early years in book publishing. AS EDITOR: 1236. THE WITCHING HOUR (UNWIN'S ANNUAL FOR 1886) T. Fisher Unwin; London 1886 A Christmas annual, including [a] BY THE WATERS OF PARADISE, F. Marion Crawford. A Welsh prophetess, a spirit of the waters, romance. One of Crawford's weaker works. [b] THE SPECTRE OF STRATHANNAN, W. E. Norris. A rationalized ghost. [c] A MYSTERY OF THE CAMPAGNA, Von Degen. (pseud. of Ann C. Rabe) First appearance here, but described, for detail, under separate publication. [d] THE HIDDEN DOOR, Vernon Lee. (Pseud. of Violet paget) A spoofing of the legend of Glamis Castle. In Hotspur Castle no Hotspur smiles after having been taken to the hidden room and shown the family secret. Or, so the legend runs. A distant relative of the Hotspurs chances on the hidden room, opens it, and-- sometime later-- recognizes that the curse of the Hotspurs has fallen on him. All nonsense. [e] POT-HOOKS AND HANGERS, William Archer. Borderline. Graphology seems to reveal that a woman is a stiletto murderess. * Commercial work. NORRIS, [BENJAMIN] FRANK [LIN] (1870-1902) American journalist, editor, writer. War correspondent in South Africa, Cuba. Associated with Doubleday Page. Important in American literary history as the first significant writer of naturalistic novels in the manner of Zola. Best-known works McTEAGUE (1899), THE OCTOPUS (1901). Work described below is minor. 1237. A DEAL IN WHEAT AND OTHER STORIES OF THE NEW AND OLD WEST Doubleday Page; New York 1903 Short stories, mostly based on the adventures of the Three Black Crows, adventurers who trouble-shoot around the world. Including [a] THE SHIP THAT SAW A GHOST. The Three Black Crows are on a job. Aboard the old Glarus they are approaching a mysterious island, about which there is a legend. They see a ghost ship, perhaps two hundred years old, and the Glarus refuses to obey the helm. The only explanation is that she has seen a ghost and is frightened. [b] THE GHOST IN THE CROSSTREES. The Three Black Crows are assigned to take possession of a guano island before the competition can reach it, but a ghost on board the schooner forces them to turn back. Rationalized. * [a] is interesting. NORTH, STERLING (1906-1974) and BOUTELL, CLAR) ENCE B. (1908 American authors, anthologists. North was a newspaperman, literary editor of the Chicago DAILY NEWS and the New York WORLD TELEGRAM AND SUN, poet, critic, writer of fiction. Bestknown work RASCAL, winner of several awards. AS EDITORS: 1238. SPEAK OF THE DEVIL Doubleday, Doran; Garden City, New York 1945 A collection of material having to do with the Devil in one way or another. * Including, de-

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NORTON, ALDEN scribed elsewhere, [a] ENOCH SOAMES, Max Beerbohm. [b] THUS I REFUTE BEELZY, John Collier. [c] WANDERING WILLIE'S TALE, Sir Walter Scott. [d] THE DEVIL, GEORGE, AND ROSIE, John Collier. [e] ASMODEUS, OR, THE DEVIL ON TWO STICKS, Alain Ren~ Le Sage. An excerpt. [f] BOTTLE PARTY, John Collier. [g] THE DEMON POPE, Richard Garnett. [h] THE DEVIL AND TOM WALKER, Washington Irving. [i] SATAN AND SAM SHAY, Robert Arthur. [j] THE DEVIL AND DANIEL WEBSTER, S. V. Benet. [k] THE DEVIL IN A NUNNERY, Francis Oscar Mann. [1] THE GENEROUS GAMBLER, Charles Baudelaire. [m] THE DEVIL AND THE OLD MAN, John Masefield. [n] REVOLT OF THE ANGELS, Anatole France. An excerpt from the last part of the book. [0] THE THREE LOW MASSES, A. Daudet. * Also [p] THE DEVIL AND THE BROKER, Bret Harte. Ironic commentary on stock market foibles. A broker wins over the Devil by a new mode of temptation that tempts the Devil himself. [q] THE DEVIL'S AGE, Franchun Beltzarri. Fabular. A poor man has to discover the true age of the Devil. [r] THE LEGEND OF MONT-SAINT MICHEL, Guy de Maupassant. Fictional treatment of folktales. Outwitting the Devil. [s] THE THREE WISHES, William Carleton. Billy Dawson, a smith, receives three wishes from St. Moroky: a sledge hammer that cannot be released or restrained, a chair that will not release a sitter, a purse from which things cannot be withdrawn-- all controllable by Billy. He uses the magical objects to defeat the Devil. Humorous. Irish dialect. [t] ST. JOHN'S EVE, Nikolai Vasilevich Gogol. The Devil, folkloristic magic, greed and evil among the Cossacks. [u] GHOST STORY, Selma Lager16f. An excerpt from GOSTA BERLING. Sintram, millowner at Fors, is in league with the Devil. He has assorted supernatural powers, such as sending and communicating with a gigantic black dog, etc. * Also included is verse, a segment from Goethe's FAUST, Marlow's DOCTOR FAUSTUS, and considerable editorializing. Of the new material [t] is much the best. NORTON, ALDEN [HOLMES] (1903 American publishing executive, writer; associated with Popular Publications; editor of SUPER SCIENCE STORIES and ASTONISHING STORIES. Later editorial director for Popular Publications. Listed as the editor of several sciencefiction and supernatural fiction anthologies that were ghost-edited by Sam Moskowitz. AS EDITOR: 1239. HORROR TIMES TEN Berkley Medallion Books; New York 1967 paperbound Notes by Sam Moskowitz. * Including [a] COOL AIR, H. P. Lovecraft. [b] THE LONESOME PLACE, August Derleth. [c] THE CAPTAIN OF THE 'POLE [d] THE DEAD VALLEY, R. STAR,' A.C. Doyle. A. Cram. [e] THE GORGON'S HEAD, Gertrude Bacon. Erroneously carried as by Dorothy Baker on the contents page. [f] THE DEAD REMEMBER, R. E. Howard. All described elsewhere. * Also [g] THAT RECEDING BROW, Max Brand. (Pseud. of Frederick Faust) (ALL-STORY WEEKLY, 1919) Science-fiction of a sort. The

NORTON, ALDEN discovery of a missing link much like Pithecanthropus erectus. When the narrator acts inhumanly, his facial features become simian. [h] THE SKELETON IN THE CLOSET, Robert Bloch. (FANTASTIC ADVENTURES, 1943) Black humor. Tarleton Fiske undertakes the inlTestigation of the death of his uncle, who is wandering around as a living skeleton. The uncle han been a magician. * Ghost edited by Sam Moskowitz. 1240. MASTERS OF HORROR Berkley Medallion Books; New York 1968 paperbound Introduction and notes by Sam Moskowitz. * Including, described elsewhere, [a] THE WEREWOLF, Clemence Housman. [b] DRACULA'S GUEST, Bram Stoker. [c] THE TRANSFORMATION, Mary Godwin Shelley. [d] THE YELLOW SIGN, R. W. Chambers. [e] THE WOMEN OF THE WOOD, A. Merritt. [f] BLIND MAN'S BUFF, H. R. Wakefield. * Also [g] BEFORE I WAKE, Henry Kuttner. (FAMOUS FANTASTIC MYSTERIES, 1945) Pete Coutinho saves the life of a toad, which in exchange gives him the power to enter dream worlds, including the Spanish Main. * Ghostedited by Sam Moskowitz. 1241. HAUNTINGS AND HORROR TEN GRISLY TALES Berkley Medallion Books; New York 1969 paperbound. Introduction and notes by Sam Moskowitz. * Including, described elsewhere, [a] THE MAKER OF MOONS, R. W. Chambers. [b] THE TEMPLE, H. P. Lovecraft. [c] A PROPHECY OF MONSTERS, C. A. Smith. [d] OVER AN ABSINTHE BOTTLE, W. C. Morrow. [e] NO. 252 RUE M. LE PRINCE, R. A. Cram. [* Also [f] THE DELUSION OF RALPH PENWYN, Julian Hawthorne (COSMOPOLITAN 1909) Two themes indicated, but poorly integrated. A young man goes to India, joins a secret occult organization, and is followed by their revenge. The death-bride, whose murderous activities are revealed by clairvoyance. [g] IT BURNS ME up! Ray Bradbury. (DIME MYSTERY, 1944) The narrator, who has almost certainly been murdered by his wife, is present during the police examination of the corpse. Macabre by-play among detectives, medical examiner, newspaper men, and leg-flashing wife. [h] THE SOUL OF MOZART, W. E. P. French. (COSMOPOLITAN, 1902) A lost manuscript by Mozart, a song to lyrics of Goethe's, the last descendant of Mozart's sister-in-law (Aloysia Weber), and a strangely acting cat that may contain Mozart's spirit. * [fj is amusing as a take-off on the hardboiled story. The other two stories should have been left in COSMOPOLITAN. NORTON, FRANK [HENRY] (1836-1921) American (New York) journalist, associated with the Frank Leslie publishing enterprises. Most important work, ILLUSTRATED REGISTER OF THE CENTENNIAL EXPOSITION, 1876. 1242. THE MALACHITE CROSS A ROMANCE OF TWO COUNTRIES Union Square Series #1. Cleveland Publishing Co.; New York 1894 Occult thriller based largely on French prototypes, and perhaps Gounod's opera FAUST. * France and the United States. The personali-

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NOYES, ALFRED ties are Viscount Honore de Valmy, reckless wastrel; his aunt, wealthy, but hesitant to die and leave her money to Honore; Father Gronevitch, a necromancer who has been injured by the Valmy family and has studied magic in the East; Madame Vardie, Honore's mistress; Marguerite, also Honore's mistress, who has poisoned the aunt and suffers remorse; and the malachite cross, a natural cross which offers visions of spirits and control of persons of the sex opposite to the holder. Also included is a spectacularly haunted house in New York. The plot revolves around the cross, which Gronevitch wishes to obtain. It is too complicated to be summarized, but wickedness is finally punished and virtue of sorts rewarded. Honore, who did not like dogs, is fittingly killed and mangled by a pack of stray dogs whom his murdered aunt had cherished. * A curiosity only. NOYES, ALFRED (1880- 1958) British traditional poet, novelist, historian. Technically competent, facile traditional verse was very popular at one time in Great Britain, best-known book being TALES OF THE MERMAID TAVERN (1913). Delivered Lowell Lectures, Harvard, 1913; Professor of English, Princeton, 1914-1923, with leave for part of World War I. C.B.E. Created stir when his life of Voltaire was condemned by the Holy Office at Rome; Noyes, a convert to Catholicism, fought decision and won retraction. No longer considered an important author. 1243. WALKING SHADOWS SEA TALES AND OTHERS Cassell; London [1918] Mostly propaganda stories from World War I, including [a] THE LUSITANIA WAITS. A British sailor, captured and taken undersea by a German submarine, sees the ghosts of the drowned passengers from the Lusitania. They take revenge on the German crew. [b] THE LOG OF THE "EVENING STAR." Six months after Captain Dayrell died, his widow married Captain Burgess. They went to sea together on Dayrell's old ship. A Mary Celeste situation arises. The ship is found crewless and no reason for the situation is apparent. A manuscript explains: Dayrell's ghost came, Burgess went mad, and everyone was murdered? Or was it Burgess, mad, playing ghost? [c] THE GARDEN ON THE CLIFF. Borderline supernatural. Old Cap'n Ellis treasures his flowers. When a German plane bombs his area, his flowers try, vainly, to protect him. * Routine work. 1244. THE HIDDEN PLAYER Hodder and Stoughton; London [1924] Short stories, including [aJ CHECKMATE. Everard Martin, author, often plays over classic chess games. After pondering Huxley's trope that life is like a game of chess against a hidden player, Martin discovers that he is playing a game of chess against an invisible opponent. He loses and knows that tragedy is near. A sordid affair from his past results in the suicide of his illegitimate son, who has been committing incest, and in Martin's

NOYES, ALFRED suicide. lb] BEYOND THE DESERT. A ludicrous "American" story of crime and the supernatural. A criminal repents after seeing the ghosts of old pioneers. lc] THE IMMORTAL. The cactus, which fruits once every three hundred years, gives prolonged life for the same period. But there is only enough liquor from the cactus fruit for two. The problem is whether to accept immortality of a sort. Told in part as a crime story. ld] BILL'S PHANTASM. Bill, a ship's mate, returning from the sea, has an evening of frolic with an old flame. To mislead his wife, he tells her that he had been talking and drinking with Captain Joe, an old friend. But Joe had just died. The psychical research society interprets the incident as a remarkable evidence of survival. Just as the story "The Red Rat" pokes fun at Ezra Pound and modern poetry, this story is aimed at the British Society for Psychical Research. * Rather weak material. lb] is omitted from the American edition. and NYBERG, BJORN lEMIL OSCAR] (1929DE CAMP, L. SPRAGUE (1907 Nyberg is a S\vedish business executive associated with Litton Industries of France. De Camp is covered in alphabetic location. 1245. THE RETURN OF CONAN Gnome Press; New York 1957 A pastiche of the Conan stories by Robert E. Howard. It is assumed that Nyberg wrote the basic story and that de Camp polished the English. * Conan, King of Aquilonia, finds himself on a new quest. His queen, Zenobia, is supernaturally abducted by a flying monster, and Conan learns from his old acquaintance Pelias the wizard that the purpose of the abduction is to lure Conan to Khitai. Conan, by his just rule, has weakened the power of sorcery throughout the world, and the master magician Yah Chieng hopes that Conan's death will restore the rule of magic. Conan heads irresistibly eastward, meeting old friends, destroying old enemies (like King Yezdigerd of Turan), and finally arrives at Paikang, where Yah Chieng has his stronghold. But with the Khitan wizard Conan has for once met his match, and it takes direct divine intervention by the god Crom to save him. He and Zenobia return safely home. * Not very good. * Reprinted as CONAN THE AVENGER.

O'BRIEN, FITZ-JAMES (1828-1862) Irish-American journalist, poet, short story writer. Born in County Limerick, Ireland. Early life obscure, because of author's habit of deliberate mystification, but claim to have attended Dublin University is false. Came to America in 1852, where he was soon appreciated for his literary facility and bohemian ways.

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O'BRIEN, FITZ-JAMES Apparently improvident and irresponsible, though good-hearted and amiable. Frequent contributor to New York newspapers and local periodicals. During Civil War enlisted in Seventh Regiment of New York National Guard, was wounded in action, and died later of tetanus. Though by no means a writer of the stature of Poe or Hawthorne, a colorful figure with a fine imagination and many unusual ideas. Anthologists have treasured his work. 1246. THE POEMS AND STORIES OF FITZ-JAMES O'BRIEN COLLECTED AND EDITED WITH A SKETCH OF THE AUTHOR BY WILLIAM WINTER J. R. Osgood; Boston 1881 Short stories and poetry from original periodical publications of the late 1850's and early 1860's. * Including [a] THE DIAMOND LENS. A microscope, whose lens has been fashioned from a gigantic diamond, according to instructions received from the spirit of Leeuwenhoek, reveals secrets of a microscopic world includ{ng a wonderful sylph. An excellent story which manages to combine supernaturalism, science-fiction, and a locked-room mystery situation. [b] THE WONDERSMITH. The Gipsies plan wholesale murder by means of animated dolls equipped with poisoned swords. But by accident the bottle which contains the souls for the dolls is broken, the dolls are prematurely animated, and the Gipsies are destroyed. [c] THE LOST ROOM. A horde of supernatural revellers invades the hero's room, transforms it into something strange and wonderful, then offers to dice with him for the room. The spirits win and the room disappears. While the motif is not developed, in some strange way the room, the spirits, and the decorations are distorted elements from the narrator's past. ld] THE BOHEMIAN. The narrator, an impoverished but ambitious young lawyer, i.s approached by a mesmerist '"ho wants to use the lawyer's fiancee as a medium for finding treasure. The mesmerist is a bohemian in the sense of Murger's BOHEME. They find the treasure, but the narrator learns that his greed has destroyed something more valuable than gold. [e] THE POT OF TULIPS. Old Van Koeren, an insanely jealous man, drove his wife and son to death. He wrongly believed that his wife's child was not his. At death, however, he was forced to recognize that he was wrong, and his unquiet ghost prowls about. The narrator, engaged to Van Koeren's granddaughter, sees that the ghost has a peculiarly··shaped flowerpot and finds the old man's missing wealth. If] WHAT WAS IT? An invisible, humanoid being, semi-intelligent, perhaps an elerr.ental, haunts a house. It is captun~d, but it dies, since no one knows what to feed it. A plaster cast of it is preserved. One of the classics of horror literature. [g] THE DRAGON FANG. A tongue-in-cheek fantasy of Chinese politics and rr.agic, told in hyperbolic, pseudo-Oriental fashion. The wandering street magician Piou-Lu displays marvels to the crowds, but to the high mandarin Wei he reveals his true powers and identity. He is a native Chinese of imperial descent who is waging victorious rebellion against the Tartars. * While

O'BRIEN, FITZ-JAMES a few other fantastic stories of O'Brien's are scattered about in the literature or remain unreprinted in their original newspaper or periodical publications, these other stories -- with the exception of FRO~ HAND TO MOUTH-are trivial. * Th,~ major stories in this collection are Cal, [bl, [cl, [fl. O'CONNOR, WILLIAM o (oUGLAsl (1832-1889) American civil servant, occasional writer. After newspape~ work (Boston, Philadelphia), discharged for Abolitionist views. Held various governmental positions in Washington for remainder of his life. Now remembered mostly for friendship with Walt Whitman. When Whitman was discharged from goverlli~ent position because of LEAVES OF GRASS, O'Connor wrote THE GOOD GRAY POET (1866) 1247. THREE TALES THE GHOST THE BRAZEN ANDROID THE CARPENTER Houghton Mifflin; Boston 1892 Preface by Walt Whitman. A memorial volume of sorts, reprinting earlier work. * Including Cal THE GHOST. Christmas. Victorian sentimentalism and melodrama, obviously in the mode of Dickens's A CHRISTMAS CAROL. Dr. Charles Renton, hard-hearted rentier, first is harsh with an impoverished Irishwoman who cannot pay her rent, then under supernatural compulsion from the ghost of a dead friend, relents. * The·story was first published separately in book form as THE GHOST (Putnams; New York 1867) with illustrations by Thomas Nast. * [bl THE BRAZEN ANJROID. A fantasy of history, set in the reign of Henry III of England. Friars Bacon and Bungy are persuaded to construct a brazen head with powers of speech, in order to influence the superstitious king during his stay at Lincoln. Bacon conceives of the head as purely mechanical, with a speech apparatus modelled after the human mouth and tongue. But the sinister Malatesta, an Italian scholar and magician, comes upon the scene, produces a tongue that he claims is supernatural, and wishes to incarnate a spirit in the head. What with quarrels the head is smashed. While Bacon still interprets the situation rationally, the stronger possibility is that Malatesta is either the Devil or in league with the Devil, and that the minor demon Simara smashed the head on Malatesta's orders. * [bl has points of interest O'DONNELL, ELLIOTT (1872-1965) British writer, lecturer, actor, radio broadcaster on matters supernatural. Wrote many uncritical popular accounts of factual hauntings, and some fiction. Best-known works, FAMILY GHOSTS (1933), FAMOUS CURSES (1929), SOME HAUNTED HOUSES OF ENGLAND AND WALES (1908). First name is sometimes spelled ELLIOT' on his publications. 1248. FOR SATAN'S SAKE Greening; London 1904 Episodic occult novel. * Penruddock commits suicide and is taken to Hell (in the sun) by a fiend. He enters the service of the Devil as a minor fiend and is assigned to tempting

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O'DONNELL, ELLIOTT earthlings. He tempts an artist to commit murder, a sailor to wreck a ship, some Western roughs to murder an English boy, a woman to murder her aunt by summoning an elemental, and so on. In all these successful cases he is opposed by Sagatheela, a good spirit, his former sweetheart, who tries to awaken his good side. In the final episode, which involves forgiving an enemy, Sagatheela prevails and Penruddock is saved for heaven. Material, literal supernaturalism, crudely handled, ideologically on a level with Marie Corelli. 1249. THE SORCERY SHOP William Rider; London 1912 Occult thriller. * In a shop in San Francisco Hamar finds the account of a 17th century English sailor who found a book of Atlantean black magic. He also acquires the Atlantean documents. In London he and two associates use the book to summon demons, and make a compact. The three associates will advance seven steps in magical power and retain their abilities as long as they remain in association. If the group is broken, the bond is forfeit. They open an organization for peddling black magic. Hamar also tries to seduce a woman magically. Her friends break the bond, and Hell receives the Sorcery Club. * Idea good, execution not good. 1250. DREAD OF NIGHT FIVE SHORT GHOST STORIES Pillar Publishing Co.; Dublin [19451 Short stories, including, described elsewhere, Cal THE GHOST IN THE RING. [bl A WAGER AN0 A GHOST. [cJ THE HAUNTED TELEPHUNE. Also [dl THE SHADOWS ON THE BLIND. As the title indicates. eel THE HOUSE OF THE GHOSTLY TAP DANCING. As the title indicates. * Rather crude commercial fiction of the 1930's. 1251. THE DEAD RIDERS Rider & Co.; London 1952 Occult Oriental adventure novel, followed by a mystery-thriller sequence. China, Mongolia, England. * Burke Blake, traveller and soldier of fortune, joins an archeological expedition to the Gobi Desert, in search of the tomb of Genghis Khan. Along the way a dust storm overtakes the expedition, and Blake, separated from his companions, has good reason to believe that he is the only survivor. He comes upon another expedition, however, which is also aimed at the tomb. The expedition is captured by the Lovonans, a people with great skill in black magic, who worship the evil principle. Among their supernatural isms are the so-called Dead Riders of Shadna Rana, the spirit of an ancient Lovonan wizard, who is followed by a troop of ghosts. The captured explorers are urged to renounce Christianity and accept devil worship. Blake refuses, is in danger, but escapes and returns to England. Years later he comes upon expedition members who he thought were dead. He also becomes entangled with a black magic cult, and is in peril of death. Some of the threads from both portions of the story are tied together; vengeance from China strikes down the true villain, and the Dead Riders come for his soul. * Little to recommend in it. The au-

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O'DONNELL, ELLIOTT thor's fiction is much inferior to his nonfiction. His various case books, if of no great value as history or folklore, are nicely handled. O'DUFFY, ElMAR [ULTAN] (1893-1935) Irish journalist, at one time connected with the Paris Edition of the Chicago Tribune; civil servant (Dept. I. F. S., Eire), economist. 1252. KING GOSHAWK AND THE BIRDS Macmillan; London 1926 1253. ASSES IN CLOVER Putnam; London [1933] Economic theory, critique of capitalism and Americanism, satire against human folly and weakness-- all put into an exuberant fictional vehicle with reminiscences from the Old Irish heroic cycles. * Ireland, for the most part, from about 1950 on. * The vulgar American capitalist King Goshawk threatens the little remaining romance in life. He buys all the song birds and wild flowers and charges admission to see them. The old Philosopher, who finds this intolerable, journeys to the Heavens to seek a champion against Goshawk and comes to Tir na nOg, where he finds Cuchulain. Cuchulain is equally incensed at events on earth, and incarnates himself in the body of a Dublin clerk and proceeds to heroic actions. But he sickens of the enormous task, and finding a complaisant millionaire's daughter, returns with her to Tir na nOg to beget a son. The result is Cuandine, who comes to earth ten years later an adult and a great champion. But he, too, finds himself in difficulties. When he speaks out against the giant trusts, he is laughed out of Ireland, and while he is lionized for a short time in England, he is soon forgotten. The book ends abruptly with Cuandine settling a small brushfire war between two comic opera countries. * In the direct continuation, ASSES IN CLOVER, the center of attention shifts for a time to a new character, Mac ui Rudai, who might be taken as an Irish Everyman. But Cuandine returns when a songbird escapes from Goshawk and takes refuge in Ireland. The Irish refuse to give it up, and Goshawk declares war. Cuandine, equipped with a living airplane modelled after the steeds of heroic tale, destroys the air armadas from America.' But he is outwitted by Slawmy Cander, the world's most powerful banker, and when he breaks three geases that the gods had put on him, fails. He and his wife betake themselves to the stars. An epilogue describes earth's exploitation of a vast and simple lunar population, and the end of the world. * The story line is unremarkable; what is noteworthy is the great richness of imaginative detail with which O'Duffy has clothed his story. The result is a very unusual work, perhaps a little too long, but still a work that should be remembered. OLIPHANT, MARGARET OLIPHANT (nee WILSON) (18281897) Scottish novelist, often cited as an example of British Victorian who was forced to support

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OLIPHANT, MARGARET extended family by literary endeavors. Wrote solid, competent novels, none of which is outstanding, much non-fictional work including literary history (THE VICTORIAN AGE IN ENGLISH LITERATURE), cultural history (MAKERS OF VENICE), business history (ANNALS OF A PUBLISHING HOUSE-- Blackwood of Edinburgh), and miscellaneous work. 1254. A BELEAGUERED CITY George Munro; New York 1879 Supernatural novel with strong moral implications. It is told by the Mayor of Semur and by M. Lecamus, a man of mystical sensibility. The mode of narration has been strongly influenced by Wilkie Collins. The inhabitants of Semur, a small French city, are inclined to set more value on money and worldly success than on spiritual things. The spirits of the town dead decide to take a hand. One night they expel all the humans from the town and cover the area with a mist. The citizens remain outside the city wall, terrified, for three days, until they begin to understand that a change is expected of them. The mayor and priest enter the town as an embassy and the populace is permitted to reenter. They vow to change their ways, but soon backslide. * An unusual work, typical of Oliphant in its strong emphasis on morality, and also typically overwritten. * The edition above is a first edition, but the British (Macmillan; London 1880) edition is much preferable. 1255. A LITTLE PILGRIM Macmillan; London (published anonymously) 1882 Smugly sentimental after-death experiences. The Little Pilgrim, a woman who was small in size, but large in heart and love, dies and awakens in Heaven. Everything there is goodness and light. She wanders about a bit, meets her dead mother-- who has now assumed a supernatural potency-- and after much enthusiasm rushes off to help some newly dead who have just arrived. * Told in simple, very effective language, but in subject matter mawkish to the point of being offensive; the worst side of Victorian religiosity. * Sequel episodes are described in 1258. 1256. TWO STORIES OF THE SEEN AND THE UNSEEN Blackwood; Edinburgh 1885 A nouvelle and a long short story. * [a] LADY MARY. A new interpretation of an old theme in supernatural fiction: the spirit that is restless because it left something undone during life. Mrs. Oliphant's treatment is unusual in telling much of the story from the point of view of the ghost, and in seeing the situation as a moral one. Wealthy old Lady Mary likes her companion, her penniless young cousin Mary, but is reluctant to make a will protecting her. It is not that she is evil or selfish; it is just that she cannot conceive that death may be near. Finally, under some pressure, she writes a holographic document, but then hides it. She dies fairly suddenly. Young Mary is without resources, except for the friendship of the local vicar. Old Lady Mary awakens in a spiritual state that must be a purgatory, and is aware that she has

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OLIPHANT, MARGARET committed evil by leaving things undone. While her mind is vague at first, she obtains permission to return to earth and right the wrong, although she is told that most such efforts are not successful. She returns, invisible to almost everyone except animals and a few children, but since she is only a shade she cannot reveal the hidden, unsuspected will. In the meanwhile, young Mary has taken a position as governess with the new inhabitants of old Lady Mary's house. One of the children can see the ghost. By an intense act of will and love old Lady Mary makes herself visible for a moment to young Mary, but the result is not what she wanted-- the young woman simply collapses. Some time later, however, when the furnishings of the old woman's house are being dispersed, the hidden will is found. [b] THE OPEN DOOR. Scotland. Long short story. When the Anglo-Indian colonel takes the house of Brentwood, he also takes a haunting. Among the ruins of the " otfices," at a ruined gateway a disembodied voice cries to its mcther to be let in. The haunting is associated with serious illness for the narrator's son. A night with the ghost convinces the narrator, the doctor (temporarily), and the preacher of its genuineness. The preacher, who knows the circumstances, persuades the ghost to withdraw. Connected with the recent death of Mrs. Oliphant's son. * [a] would be· excellent at half length. 1257. THE OPEN DOOR AND THE PORTRAIT TWO STORIES OF THE UNSEEN Roberts Brothers; Boston 1885 (published as by the author of A LITTLE PILGRIM) The bibliography of Mrs. Oliphant has never been worked out and is very confused; texts, too, are difficult to locate. This is the earliest book publication for [b] that I have been able to locate, but it is possible that there is an earlier British edition. * [a] THE OPEN DOOR. Described elsewhere. [b] THE PORTRAIT. When Philip Canning returns home after years abroad, he discovers that his father has become a cruel, grasping landlord without compassion for his tenants or his poor relatives. Philip protests rationally, with no results, and makes things a little worse by sentimental charity. At this time the portrait of his dead mother-- which had been held by another branch of the family-- comes to the Cannings. Philip has odd psychic experiences connected with the portrait and is apparently half-possessed by the spirit of his mother. This brings the greedy Canning, Sr., to heel. * Here, as elsewhere Mrs. Oliphant deserves credit for attempting a more imaginative, more moral, and more profound treatment of a standard theme: the living picture. 1258. THE LAND OF DARKNESS WITH SOME FURTHER CHAPTERS IN THE EXPERIENCES OF THE LITTLE PILGRIM Macmillan; London 1888 (published anonymously) A sequel to THE LITTLE PILGRIM, continued in much the same saccharine mode as the first volmne. * [aj THE LITTLE PILGRIM IN THE SEEN AND UNSEEN. The Little Pilgrim in Heaven, overflOWing with love and desire to do good, is

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OLIVER, JOHN RATHBONE shown scenes on earth, which she is permitted to visit with a sage guide. [b] ON THE DARK MOUNTAINS. The Pilgrim, still pushing, is taken to the Land of Darkness (a rather anemic Hell), where she watches the trials of a soul trying to redeem itself through love. It does work its way out. [c] THE LAND OF DARKNESS. The experiences of a newly dead person, who does not realize his death, in a materialistic, capitalistic Hell. It is the world adumbrated in the previous story, but much more conventionalized. The soul is trying to work its way to the face of God. Presumably it will succeed. 1259. STORIES OF THE SEEN AND UNSEEN Roberts Brothers; Boston 1889 An omnibus volume. This was the standard American edition of Mrs. Oliphant's supernatural fiction. * Described elsewhere, [a] A LITTLE PILGRIM. [b] THE LITTLE PILGRIM IN THE SEEN AND UNSEEN. [c] THE DARK MOUNTAINS. [d] THE LAND OF DARKNESS. [e] THE OPEN DOOR. [f] THE PORTRAIT. [g] OLD LADY MARY. * Roberts also published another collection under the same title with only [e], [f], [g]. * The Blackwood (Edinburgh, 1902) edition of STORIES OF THE SEEN AND UNSEEN also contains [h] THE LIBRARY·WINDOW. (1896) Short story. Scotland. Mrs. Balcarres's house faces on the old College Library, in the wall of which is a windowlike architectural feature that causes much coffee-table discussion. Is it a dummy window inserted for architectural balance; an old, bricked-up window; or a real window? For Mrs. Balcarres's young niece, however, the window is a real window, through which she sees more and more each day. She gradually discerns a furnished room, with a portrait and a young man. This culminates in the young man's opening the window and waving to her. After this, there is nothing there but wall. The suggested explanation: a long-dead ancestress had once betrayed a lover who used to be in the room, and the vision of the past is permitted to certain women of the family. * This is much Mrs. Oliphant's best supernatural story. * Bibliography, as with 1257, is not certain. This is the earliest book appearance that I have located for this story. OLIVER, JOHN RATHBONE, M. D. (1872-1943) American physician, clergyman (Protestant Episcopal Church), educator, psychiatrist. Taught history of medicine at Johns Hopkins University. Author of books on psychiatry and medicine. 1260. PRIEST OR PAGAN Knopf; New York 1933 Religious and metaphysical novel; the psychology of a Judas figure; the quest for evil and the conflict between physical and spiritual paternity. * The story is concerned with three personalities: Father Fred Minot, a saintly (if somewhat naive) Anglican priest; Marion Nichols, the illegitimate son of Minot's secretary; and the person known variously as Hell Fire or Fields, who amounts to a priest of evil and is Marion's father. Minot, through various sins of omission, is responsible for much of the career of Marry Nichols. Nichols,

OLIVER, JOHN RATHBONE after his mother dies in childbirth, is adopted by two old maids and grows up as a sociopath-charming, intelligent, physically handsome. But in all his cold relationships he is a Judas who does not hesitate to betray others for his selfish purposes. When fourteen, he runs away from home for a summer and lives as a tramp. During this time (the many coincidences in the novel are apparently fate and predestination) he meets the criminal Hell Fire, who is already an active worshipper of evil. Hell Fire sees that Marry is one of the few born with enough psychic sensitivity to open the doors to the other worlds and sets Marry on the path of evil, but Marry betrays him to the police and it is many years before their relationship is resumed. Marry returns home; attends a posh prep school, Princeton, Oxford; and becomes an Anglican priest. Through all his academic successes and personal betrayals he has been supported and helped by Minot, who has even lied on occasion to save him. Minot does not known Marry's true -identity. But Marry, when he finds a misleading letter that Minot had written years before, assumes that Minot is his father and hates him for it. Much of his later life is an attempt to punish Minot. Marry has long been secretly following a program aimed at contacting supernatural evil, and when he usurps Minot's place at college, is ready to start active experimentation. With the aid of Hell Fire (who is out of prison and working at the college) his spirit leaves its body and enters spiritual realms, hoping to open the door to great forces from beyond. On one occasion he is apparently followed back by an elemental, which remains to haunt the chapel. But Minot accidentally discovers what Marry and Hell Fire are doing, and his interference disturbs Marry's potence sufficiently, when Marry is next beyond the door, that he panics, is trapped out of his body, and dies. While the prayers of a saintly nun and Minot help somewhat, forces from beyond explode into this world. On the ruins of Marry and his experimentation Minot and Hell Fire at last recognize each other's claim to the dead man. * A long, fully developed novel, with much creative detail and some good characterizations. Minot and Hell Fire are well drawn, but Marry, the product of good and evil, is shadowy and vague. A larger problem, however, is the moral message. One ends the novel with the feeling that Oliver, despite the association of Mithraism and evil, is really supporting old-fashioned dualism-- which was probably not his intention. Still, for the detail, the adumbrations of rottenness, worth reading. ONIONS, OLIVER (name changed later to OLIVER, GEORGE) (1873-1961) British novelist. After early career as artist and draughtsman became professional writer. Has written social novels, psychological fiction, mysteries. A greatly underestimated writer. Best-known work, short story, THE BECKONING FAIR ONE.

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ONIONS, OLIVER 1261. WIPDERSHINS Martin Secker; London 1911 A nouvelle and short stories. [a] THE BECKONING FAIR ONE. Nouvelle. Oleron, a moderately successful author who is looking for living quarters, comes upon an old house in a decaying section of London. It is in bad repair, but the rent is very low. He likes the atmosphere of the house, but as he works ther"e, he gradually notices that a personality permeates the rooms. His work does not progress, for under the influence of the house he comes to believe that what he has already written is inadequate, and must be discarded. As the other personality grows, even to occasional physical manifestations like combing long hair, Oleron's vitality gradually wanes. Occasionally, when he leaves the house for a short time, he recognizes that it is baneful,but he cannot resist returning. A personality emerges from the haunting, a vicious, very jealous woman, who desperately hates Oleron's only friend, Elsie. The house injures Elsie physically and eventually destroys her and Oleron. A fine story, restrained, beautifully written; in the opinion of many, the best classical ghost story. [b] PHANTAS. Suspension of time when there is community of idea. Abel Keeling, Renaissance sailor and shipbuilder, lies dying of thirst aboard his sinking ship, and he thinks, madly, about the perfect ship of the future. He sees a vision of such a ship. His Majesty's destroyer in the 20th century appears and the men see Keeling. The master of the 20th century ship is another Abel Keeling. The dream has bridged time. [c] ROOUM. Rooum, a "gipsy" engineer, has an uncanny intuitive ability to solve engineering problems, but he does not stay long at anyone job. He is haunted by a something that runs after him, and occasionally runs through him. He questions the narrator, a more bookish engineer, about atomic theory and interpenetration. Rooum finally goes berserk on the job, using the heavy equipment to try to kill the runner. [d] BENLIAN. Told by a painter of miniatures, now in the madhouse. The sculptor Benlian, who has created a monstrosity form in stone, which he calls his god, is gradually transferring himself to the stone. He becomes vaguer and vaguer on" photographs, as there is less left of him. The miniaturist, who was at first imperceptive and did not recognize the god, comes to accept Benlian's mission. [e] 10. Alternate title, THE LOST THYRSUS. Questionable supernaturalism. The emergence of ecstasy, taking the form of madness. Bessie is awakened to a bacchantic sense of life by the poetry of Keats. [f] THE ACCIDENT. Romarin wishes to be reconciled with Marsden, a friend of his youth, with whom he quarreled bitterly a generation before. Romarin is wealthy and famous, and he would like to help Marsden. They have a lunch engagement, but as they are about to meet, a stage set shifts between them, and Romarin has a time fugue in which he lives through their meeting--

ONIONS, OLIVER which ends in murder. When time returns to the present, Romarin decides hastily on discretion. [g] THE CIGARETTE CASE. A new setting for a very old theme. Englishmen in Provence, out for a walk, encounter a pair of Englishwomen, with whom they spend an hour or so. Their French friend will not believe them, but when they return to the Englishwomen's house, they find ruins-- but the narrator's cigarette case. [h] HIC JACET. Harrison, who has made his fortune writing low-grade detective stories, is asked to write the biography of his dead friend, the artist Andraiovsky. He attempts to do this, despite quarrels with the dead man's sister and her fianc~e, but on his last effort, when he thought he was writing about the artist, unconsciously wrote an outline for more detective stories. There is no supernatural forgiveness for intellectual prostitution. til THE ROCKER. A ghost child, visible to a psychic Gipsy. * In reprint editions of WIDDERSHINS, til is omitted. * A landmark book in the history of supernatural fiction. Outstanding are [a], [c], [d], [f], [gJ.

1262. GHOSTS IN DAYLIGHT Chapman and Hall; London 1924 Short stories and a nouvelle, including [a] THE ASCENDING DREAM. "The dream of ascending stairs is a sign of danger." Successive explorers of the unknown-- primitive man with the first boat, Elizabethan man, modern man in airplane-- learn that dream and progress call for complete self sacrifice as they share a common dream. [b] THE DEAR DRYAD. Three episodes-- Pictish, medieval, and World War I-in which women leave offerings in an oak tree, which plays the part of a matchmaker. [c] THE REAL PEOPLE. Nouvelle. Long, but the essential story is simple: an author's characters assume life, run away with his book, and interfere with him. [d] THE WOMAN IN THE WAY. Told in part as a 17th century document, in part as reflection on the events by Onions. The ghost of a young woman is to be met in a certain field. A clergyman is called in to investigate the haunting. Reminiscent of THE BOTATHEN GHOST, perhaps ultimately from the same source. * The fifth story, "The Honey in the Wall," is not supernatural. * The weakest of the three Onions collections. 1263. THE PAINTED FACE Heinemann; London 1929 Three nouvelles. * [a] THE PAINTED FACE. Set mostly in Tunis. Mrs. Van Necker, an Englishwoman who travels, also chaperones girls who would otherwise be unattended. In her party is Xena Francavilla, the only child of a very wealthy, slightly unsavory Sicilian. When Xena joins the party in Sicily, she is shy and withdrawn, but on a short sea voyage and during her stay at Tunis, she expands greatly. Much of her new personality is due to meeting Verney Arden, a young Englishman whom she had previously known in Egypt, and much is due to something much deeper, more mysterious. In Tunis she seems to know the geography and folk customs. This culminates in a visit to the site of a vanished shrine, and an assumption

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ONIONS, OLIVER of a past identity. As she later tells it, she was recognized by the ancient gods and was marked as property by Poseidon. During a previous existence she was a siren of some sort, and as punishment for her murderous activities was condemned to perpetual reincarnation, always a temptress, but never satisfied. To avoid injuring Arden, she undertakes a strange form of suicide: she paints her face. When one sleeps, the soul leaves the body. If the face is painted, the soul will not recognize its body and will not enter. She is found dead. * Good, but overlong. [b] THE ROSEWOOD DOOR. The beautiful, curved rosewood door that Mr. James purchased from a house that was being demolished proves to be an entry for supernatural experiences. The first night that Agatha sleeps behind it, a strange man enters her room and leaves a sword behind. The next day, a stranger, who looks like the vision of the night before, comes to the house; he is a neighbor, listed as missing in action during the war, and away for years. He and Agatha fall in love and decide to marry. But Agatha has forebodings about the door and tries to keep him away from it. It is in vain, for when he passes through it, he assumes the personality of a Cavalier returning from the wars. In a recapitulation of the past he questions her fidelity and murders her with the sword that the ghost had left behind. [c] THE MASTER OF THE HOUSE. When the three Peckover brothers and their sist~rs rent a house, they are constrained to permit the owner to occupy one wing that is sealed off. This is the entering wedge for a story of lycanthropy, Indian black magic, and tantrism. A criminal from India, known to one of the Peckover brothers, plans to return to India in the form of an "Alsatian." * This story is not typical of Onions, being a rather weak thriller, not at all convincing. * [a] and [b] are excellent. 1264. THE COLLECTED GHOST STORIES OF OLIVER ONIONS Nicholson and Watson; London 1935 This omnibus volume contains most of the stories from the three individual collections. Not all the stories, however, are supernatural. There is a new preface by the author. * Including, described elsewhere, [a] THE BECKONING FAIR ONE. [b] PHANTAS. [c] ROOUM. [d] BENLIAN. tel THE LOST THYRSUS. Alternate title for IO. [f] THE ACCIDENT. [g] THE CIGARETTE CASE. [h] HIC JACET. til THE ASCENDING DREAM. [j] THE REAL PEOPLE. [k] THE WOMAN IN THE WAY. [1] THE PAINTED FACE. [m] THE ROSEWOOD DOOR. [n] THE MASTER OF THE HOUSE. [0] "JOHN GLADWYN SAYS • • • " * Also, new stories, [p] THE OUT SISTER. An English artist, travelling in Sicily, sketches the convent door while talking to the out sister who is in charge of selling lace. The out sister greatly admires the artist's hair, which she says was like hers before she entered the convent. That evening, the artist's hair is mysteriously combed, and a crucifix is found in the

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ONIONS, OLIVER room. But there is no lay sister of the sort. [q} THE ROPE IN THE RAFTERS. France. James Hopley, whose face was horribly disfigured during the war, is staying alone (except [or two servants) at a French chateau belonging to a friend. The supernatural grows around him-with breathing sounds, smells, and things seen. At the same time he is pushed toward death by the horror reactions of the peasantry. He is to be the replacement for the ghost of Jean the Smuggler, a 19th century ghost. Of the new stories, [q} is excellent.

*

O'SULLIVAN, VINCENT (1872-1940) British journalist, writer, of American birth. Best-known work ASPECTS OF WILDE (1936), based on personal acquaintance with Wilde. 1265. A BOOK OF BARGAINS Leonard Smithers; London 1896 Elaborately written fin de siecle stories with more than a dash of Stevenson in them. Colorful and characterized by the aloof sensationalism of the period. * Including [a} THE BARGAIN OF RUPERT ORANGE. Rupert, starving in New York, is given five years of wealth and happiness by a shabby old man, presumably the Devil. His fall is rapid. [b} MY ENEMY AND MYSELF. A passionate lover, when he discovers that his mistress has another lover, vows murder. He commits the murder, but finds himself under the necessity of repeating the murder when the corpse visits him. [c} THE BUSINESS OF MADAME JAHN. When Harbout murdered his wealthy old aunt, Madame Jahn, the crime seemed perfect. But Madame Jahn kept returning. The first evening she was a young woman. The next evening, perhaps ten years older. On her latest visit she is a decaying corpse, still able to speak. [d} WHEN I WAS DEAD. The narrator finds himself a disembodied spirit, invisible to all after his death. * The other stories are crime stories. * Interesting, if one can stand the period style. * There is a frontispiece by Aubrey Beardsley, also a friend of O'Sullivan's. OUSPENSKY, P[ETER} D[EMIANOVICH} (also transliterated in other ways) (1878-1947) Russian occultist, philosophical writer. Member of various occult groups in St. Petersburg and Moscow; became follower of George Gurdjieff, whose teachings (basically a heretical form of Sufism) Ouspensky systematized and elaborated in terms of modern science. Left Russia after overthrow of Czarist gover~ent and henceforth resident in France and England. Best-known works TERTIUM ORGANUM, A NEW MODEL OF THE UNIVERSE, IN SEARCH OF THE MIRACULOUS. At one time these books were very influential among more intellectually inclined occultists. 1266. THE STRANGE LIFE OF IVAN OSOKIN A NOVEL Holme Press, New York; Stourton Press, London 1947 A philosophical fantasy by one of the more intelligent occultists. The system expounded is much that of Gurdjieff, which holds that man, despite illusions of freedom and choice, is nothing but a machine and not in control of

OWEN, FRANK his fate-- unless he spends years in special training. The story itself is a biographical novel, much in the tradition of the 19th century novels, but thin and undeveloped. * Russia, c. 1900. Osokin, a poor young Russian of the bourgeoisie, is badly disappointed in love and desperately wishes to relive the past and avoid his previous mistakes. He has two possible courses of action: committing suicide, or appealing for help to an older magician whom he knows. The magician is willing to place him back in the past with full memory, but warns that little will be changed. Osokin goes back ten years, but discovers that despite his foreknowledge, things happen much as before, because of human weakness. After a time he loses his memory of the future (since it becomes increasingly painful and frustrating), and he arrives back at his former position: desperate unhappiness because of frustrated love and readiness to consult the mag1c1an. The magician once again explains the situation to him, but now offers a third choice: submitting to the magician for perhaps fifteen years of training in order to learn how to master himself. What Osokin will do is not revealed, but the hints are that he will fail again. * Some interesting details of life in Czarist Russia, a curious sense of doom pervading the novel, and odd speculations at the end. OWEN, DEAN (pseud. of McGAUGHY, DUDLEY DEAN) American (California) author, editor; radio scripts, radio trade editing. 1267. THE BRIDES OF DRACULA Monarch Books, Inc. Derby, Conn. 1960 paperbound A spin-off of the Universal-International Technicolor motion picture of the same name, based on a screenplay by Jimmy Sangster. * Vague Central Europe or Germanic Balkans, perhaps 19th century. Marianne Danielle, on her way to a position in a school near Badstein, is abducted and taken to the chateau, where she unwittingly releases the vampiric Baron Meinster. In the meanwhile, Lee Van Helsing (not the Van Helsing of DRACULA) comes upon the scene, having been summoned by the village priest to help combat local vampirism. Marianne escapes from the chateau and falls in with Van Helsing. Two minor vampires and a vampire mistress appear. The baron lusts after Marianne, as well as after her blood; Van Helsing beds her; Van Helsing and the baron clash several times; Van Helsing wins. While Van Helsing is prepared for emergencies by travelling with a suitcase full of sharpened stakes, he defeats the baron by calling to the attention of a sort of vampiric judicial board the fact that the baron has violated ethics by making love to a mortal. Bats rip the baron to pieces and Van Helsing presumably stakes the remaining vampires. * Need more be said? OWEN, FRANK (1893-1968) American author, anthologist. As Frank Owen wrote saccharine pseudo-Oriental stories,

OWEN, FRANK many of which appeared in WT; as HUNG LONG TOM, poetry; as ROSWELL WILLIAMS, fiction that in the 1930's would have been considered soft erotica. 1268. THE WIND THAT TRAMPS THE WORLD SPLASHES OF CHINESE COLOR The Lantern Press; New York 1929 Sentimental short stories set for the most part in China. The approach is reminiscent of Ernest Bramah's Kai Lung stories and L. Hearn's adaptations of folktales, but without the occasional wit of Bramah or the stylistic chromatics of Hearn. * Including [a] THE WIND THAT TRAMPS THE WORLD. (WT 1925) Steppling the explorer (who appears in other stories) comes upon the City of the Big Winds in Central Asia and strikes up an acquaintance with Hi Ling, a Chinese floriculturist. Years before, Hi Ling had developed a miraculous flower, which was stolen away by the Wind That Tramps the World, and he has built a house in the mountains, where all winds eventually arrive, awaiting the culprit. It arrives. [b] THE BLUE CITY. (WT 1927) Hwei Ti, whose death has been prophecied by Woo, ascends at night to the Blue City, where he meets a charming young woman. He cannot stay during the day, for the splendor would kill him, but when he returns, it is for permanent residence. [c] THE FROG. When hideous, misshapen Fu Hsi, keeper of the garden, is slandered and injured by a mob that has been incited by Pu, he is saved by the spirit of the garden, a beautiful woman. PU's affairs, after this, do not prosper. * Period pieces. Other stories have vague suggestions of supernaturalism, but not enough to be described. "The Snapped Willow" and "The Inverted House" have intimations of life-bonds and sympathies with vegetation. 1269. THE PURPLE SEA MORE SPLASHES OF CHINESE COLOR The Lantern Press; New York 1930 Short stories, including [a] THE GOLDEN HOUR OF KWOH FAN. Kwoh, a wealthy collector, shows Cummings the great jar of Ilibar, which contains a miraculous perfume from the past. That evening Cummings creeps back to the jar, opens it, and beholds the emergence of a remarkable dancing girl. A draught from the window dissipates the girl, and the enraged Kwoh's golden hour follows. [b] THE PURPLE SEA. (WT 1928) Borderline fantasy. Lee Goona, shipwrecked on a desert island, is rescued by Jimber Jawn, a gigantic seaman, and his bestial crew. During a'dreamlike sequence of events, an act of piracy takes place, a beautiful woman is seized for Lee to rescue, and an escape is successful. Lee awakens on the island. Was it all a dream? [c] THE PERFUMES OF CHOW WAN. He is able to manipulate perfumes to create illusions to deceive the other senses. His perfumes turn an ugly old woman into a beautiful young dancer. After her death the viewer causes the dancer to live again; "Love can make anything exist." [d] THE RICE MERCHANT. Ten Tsai has found a very strange gem. Wishing it identified, he shows it to the the greatest expert, the

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OWEN, WALTER merchant Doong Dong-Sung. Doong tells him it is a romance stone: if one looks at it in the dark, one will see a beautiful dancing girl. Ten follows instructions, beholds the woman, but is imprisoned in his room and dies of thirst. Doong's story was a cruel hoax and his hypnotic power was great. [e] LOVE LETTERS OF A LITTLE HOUSE. Set in New York. The mandarin bandit Chang Kien, who appears elsewhere, leases a house and is told, as a condition of the lease, that he must leave when a certain woman comes. Ghosts and resumed love. [f] THE TINKLE OF THE CAMEL'S BELL. (WT 1928) When the wealthy Li Kan decides to travel and see strange lands, in a desolate area he comes upon a beautiful house inhabited by a beautiful woman. He observes that the house is supernaturally maintained, and that the woman is alone. But whatever she touches withers and dies. She draws the fire out of a remarkable opal that he shows her. He later learns that her case is recorded in the annals: long ago she accepted immortality on the condition that she drain the life from whatever she touched. Li later awakens in the road, alone. [g] THE OLD MAN WHO SWEPT THE SKY. A mythical fantasy. * A curious atmosphere in THE PURPLE SEA and some touches of imagination in [f], but otherwise of no great interest. 1270. THE PORCELAIN MAGICIAN A COLLECTION OF ORIENTAL FANTASIES Gnome Press; New York 1949 Introduction by David Kyle. * Short stories, including, described elsewhere, [a] THE PURPLE SEA. lb] THE OLD MAN WHO SWEPT THE SKY. [c] THE RICE MERCHANT. [d] THE BLUE CITY. [e] THE GOLD EN HOUR OF KWOH FAN. [ f] THE WIND THAT TRAMPS THE WORLD. * Also [g] THE FAN. (WT 1925) Li Hsien is a heartless courtesan who kills her lovers and makes their lips into fans. Her latest lover is saved by the intervention of the fan. [h] DOCTOR SHEN FU. An immortal Chinese alchemist who has the elixir of life. He keeps a woman in suspended animation. [i] THE FOUNTAIN. A Mohammedan sculptor [sic] whose work is considered the best in the world. When a Westerner picks a flower associated with the sculpture, he is killed by the other flowers, and a dead woman is found where the flowers had been. [j] MONK'S BLOOD. Immortality by drinking blood. [k] THE PORCELAIN MAGICIAN. Tang Ling is the best potter in the Orient. His painted animals have a life of their own. His magical skill creates tiles that will repel a Japanese invasion. * [g] and [i] have been taken from the earlier collection DELLA WU, CHINESE COURTESAN (1931), and [h], from A HUSBAND FOR KUTANI (1938). OWEN, WALTER (1884 ? British author. Remembered mostly for A CROSS FOR CARL (1931), a very horrible antiwar novel told in semi-fabular form. 1271. "MORE THINGS IN HEAVEN •• " Andrew Dakers; London [1947] A thriller. * Letherbotham is killed, it is

OWEN, WALTER discovered, by a group of Zoroastrian black magicians who have vowed to kill all descendants of Alexander the Great, to prevent Alexander's reincarnation. Merlin Alaska, a detective, is consulted. A series of flashbacks shows what has happened to other descendants of Alexander, and Alaska solves the mystery. He carries the battle to the black magicians, evoking the fire elemental that killed Letherbotham. * Poorly organized, sprawling, probably not meant seriously, but literate and with many ideas. OXENFORD, JOHN and FElLING, C. A. Oxenford (1812-1877) was a British attorney, journalist, dramatist, dramatic critic (London TIMES), translator. A very capable linguist operating in several languages. Introduced Schopenhauer to the English-speaking world; translation of Calderon highly regarded. Prolific writer of plays, opera librettos, popular in their day, but now forgotten. * Nothing is known about Fei1ing. He may have been an expatriate German. AS EDITORS AND TRANSLATORS: 1272. TALES FRO¥. THE GERMAN CO¥~RISING SPECIMENS FRO¥. THE MOST CELEBRATED AUTHORS Chapman and Hall; Londen 1844 Mostly Romantic material from a generation earlier. Many are first appearances in English. Including, described elsewhere, [a] LIBUSSA, J. K. M~saeus. [b] THE COLD HEART, Wilhelm Hauff. [c] NOSE, THE DWARF, Wilhelm Hauff. [d] THE SAND~~N, E. T. A. Hoffmann. * Also, [e] THE ~~USENBURG, Ludwig Tieck. (DIE KLAUSENBURG, 1836) A heavy family curse lies on the Klausenburgs because of ancient cruelty to a Gipsy. In the present generation it takes a peculiar form. The brilliant, dynamic, but consumptive Elizabeth is a profound student of philosophy. Following Fichte, she decides that Will is all and declares that she will become immortal on death. She dies and returns as a horrible spectre, crushing the heir to Klausenburg in her embrace. [f) THE wO~ERS IN THE SPESSART, Karl Immermann. A fragment from the novel M~CHHAUSEN (1838) anti-Hegelian in tone. A student of Albertus Magnus's overhears his sleeping master murmur a magical word. When the student applies the word, the veils that conceal the universe are rent, the ideas become visible, and the student comprehends the cosmos. He undergoes various magical adventures, sees an enchanted young woman wrapped in cobwebs (symbolic), but ages forty years in forty minutes. [g) THE ELEMENTARY SPIRIT, E. T. A. Hoffmann. (DER ELEMENTARGEIST, 1821-2) Paracelsian magic and the 18th century occult adventurer. Vincent, a young soldier, falls under the influence of O'Malley, a notorious black magician, whose spells evoke a salamander (fire-elemental). Ironic. [h) THE NEW PARIS, J. W. von Goethe. (DER NEUE PARIS 1811) A story from DICHTUNG UND WAHRHEIT. A marchen of an enchanted garden, fairy princesses, and living toys. Delicately handled and delightful. [i) ALI AND GULHYNDI, Adam Oehlenschlager.

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PAGE, NORVELL A long Oriental tale with much magic of the Arabian Nights sort. * Several of these stories-- those by Tieck, Hoffmann, Immermann, Goethe-- have symbolic interpretations that are beyond the scope of this book. * Good material.

PADGETT, LEWIS (pseud. of KUTTNER, HENRY and MOORE, CATHERINE L., which see for biographical information) 1273. A GNOXE THERE WAS AND OTHER TALES OF SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY Simon and Schuster; New York 1950 Essentially a science-fiction collection, but with two weird stories. Including [a) A GNOME THERE WAS. (U~ 1941) Tim Crockett, half-baked enthusiast, is caught in a mine explosion as he is trying to organize the miners. He is changed into a gnome. An ancient law decrees that since gnomes do not breed, new gnomes are to be fashioned from humans trapped underground. Crockett plans to get back into human shape. Told with black irony. Transformations. [b) CO~PLlMENTS OF THE AUTHOR. (UNK 1942) Tracy accidentally murders a wizard. The wizard's familiar swears vengeance, since it must die within a short time of its master. Tracy is protected by the wizard's magic book, which covers all possible situations and will give him ten answers. The question is whether he has enough time to outlive the familiar. * Also present are the classic science-fiction stories "The Twonky, ". "See You Later," "Mimsy Were the Borogoves," and "This Is the House." PAGE, NORVELL (1904-1961) American journalist, report writer for the U. S. government, prolific contributor to the hero pUlps. Under pseudo GRANT STOCKBRIDGE wrote 116 lead novels for THE SPIDER magazine. Also assorted mystery fiction. 1274. FLAME WINOS Berkley Publishing Corp.; New York 1967 paperbound Fantastic adventure in the manner of R. E. Howard, perhaps with some influence from Harold Lamb. * (UNK 1939) Prester John, according to Page, was not a mythical king of Central Asia or Africa, but an incredible gladiator from Alexandria of the first century A.D. Prester in this case meant whirlwind, a description of his berserk fighting style. * John, wandering through Central Asia, comes upon the Mongol land of Turgohl, north of the Karakorum. The city is ruled by a syndicate of magicians, who, while uniting to keep the land in servitude, quarrel and plot against one another. John pits his incredible muscles and fighting reflexes against the wizards, but eventually finds himself in the arena, where he must fight three gladiatorial combats:

PAGE, NORVELL beasts, men, and gods. Weaponless he manhandles tigers and lions, squads of soldiers, and finally withstands Death itself. As his reward he asks a question that he has been prompted to ask: How can one man control Turgohl. The answer: Through the crystal ball. A fairy tale element now enters: an enchanted princess, held in the form of a child by the magic of the ball. John smashes the ball; the princess instantly assumes maturity. But problems are not over yet. John, leading the princess's forces, must still defeat the wizards. He does, but the princess turns out not to be a fairy tale princess. There is also a myst~ry element: who is the wizard chief? * Routine commercial work. 1275. SONS OF THE BEAR GOD Berkley Publishing Corp.; New York [1969] paperbound Blood-soaked adventure, with a modicum of supernaturalism. A sequel to FLAME WINDS. (UNK 1939) * After Prester John (Wan Tengri) has been outwitted by his princess and expelled from the city of Turgohl, he and Bourtai, the treacherous little wizard who serves him, come upon a hidden land controlled by the ancestors of the present-day Ainu. These proto-Ainu are ruled by a magical priesthood and a magical king; they use the power of the bear god to overawe a captive population of Tocharians (Central Asiatic Indo-Europeans). Their magic includes animating prairie grass so that it strangles; causing projections of a gigantic bear; clairvoyance, etc. Wan Tengri smashes through the magic, drives the Ainu into the ocean to Japan, and usurps the kingship. While he is "pacifying" the outer lands, however, he is again outwitted by a woman and is lucky to escape with his life. Still ahead of John are several kingdoms to conquer before he can assume the legendary stature of Prester John of the middle ages, but the editors of UNKNOWN seem to have felt that enough was enough, and this is the last adventure recorded of John and Bourtai. No great loss. PAIN, BARRY [ERIC ODELL] (1865-1928) British humorist, fiction writer, miscellaneous writer. During his lifetime noted mostly for his humorous work; excelled in somewhat sharp comic portrayal of servants and lower classes; sometimes heavy handed treatment. While early work tends to be crude, soon evolved into a very accomplished technician in the short story. Undeservedly forgotten. 1276. IN A CANADIAN CANOE H. Henry & Co.; London 1891 In part material reprinted from the GRANTA, published while Pain was up at Cambridge. * This contains two story sequences "In a Canadian Canoe" and "The Nine Muses Minus One" which occasionally have small amounts of fantastic material, but not enough to be worth describing. * Also, [a] THE CELESTIAL GROCERY. Fantasy in the mode of F. Anstey, satire on personality types, allegorizing. The narrator, a snobbish minor schoolteacher, is taken by a rowdy, modern low-class pegasus to the celestial grocery shop, where abstract

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PAIN, BARRY qualities are sold. He can buy love, political fame, or literary fame, but finally takes instead the "best thing" for his father, who lies in an insane asylum. When he returns to earth, he learns that his father has just died. But he, too, is insane. [b] THE GIRL AND THE BEETLE. A STORY OF HERE AND HEREAFTER. Parallelisms between the life of a humanized beetle and humans. Thomas the beetle dies, and two humans, Marjorie and Maurice, find his body. They treat his death seriously, and in dream the beetle makes revelations to them which are suppressed in their memories. But Marjorie suddenly remembers the beetle's prophecy when she becomes supernaturally aware of Maurice's death. * Both stories show an odd mixing of disparate elements that are not well integrated. 1277. STORIES AND INTERLUDES H. Henry & Co.; London 1891 Short stories, reminiscent at times of Victorian fables, including [a] THE GLASS OF SUPREME MOMENTS. When Lucius Morne is idly sitting, watching his fire, the fireplace suddenly turns into a stairway that leads up into mist. A beautiful woman appears and asks him to mount the stairs. In a small room at the top she shows him, in a magic mirror, the supreme moments in the lives of his friends. When he demands to see his own supreme moment, he learns that it is death and that she is Death. [b] EXCHANGE. A complex story of sacrifice and vicarious suffering, told in a confused manner. When Doris is ice-skating, she falls and injures her head. As she lies unconscious, an old woman appears to her and shows her images of the horrible future that awaits Doris's family. The old woman is willing to change this if Doris will yield a part of herself. Doris agrees and awakens with severe brain damage and mental deficiency. Major Gunnical also sees the old woman and learns what she plans for the part taken from Doris. He offers himself in exchange. The old woman must accept his offer. He dies and is reincarnated as a bird, tormented by being kept in captivity. Doris, who has died but returned to mental normalcy, wanders in spirit past the bird, pities it, but does not know the story of the major's sacrifice. [c] WHEN THAT SWEET CHILD LAY DEAD. The pathetic fallacy as flowers, winds, comment on death. On the human side, friends are shocked when the father of the dead child plays spirited music. * pain's technique had not jelled yet, and the death eroticism is annoying. Minor work. 1278. STORIES IN THE DARK Grant Richards; London 1901 Short stories, including [a] THE DIARY OF A GOD. A diary kept by a small-minded clerk who has unexpectedly come into an inheritance. As his character changes, he leaves London and goes out into the country, where he is taken to be mad. But he is in communication with the great gods, who promise that he will marry a beautiful goddess. Madness, but an approach like that of Dunsany. [b] THIS IS ALL. The protagonist does not follow medical advice and

PAIN, BARRY dies. His spirit discovers that he is no longer alive. [c] THE MOON-SLAVE. The Princess Viola, who is a remarkable dancer, wanders evenings to the sandy center of the old overgrown maze, where she dances to the music of an invisible orchestra. This continues until one evening, when she discovers that she is not dancing alone. The search next day does not find the princess, who has disappeared, but in the sand are her footprint and that of a large, cloven foot. [d] THE CASE OF VINCENT PYRWHIT. His wife's voice over the phone tells him that he will soon join her. But she is dead and the phone disconnected. [e] THE BOTTOM OF THE GULPH. An ironic continuation of the Roman legend of M. Curtius, who leaped into the abyss to save Rome-- and what met him in the gulph. [f] THE UNDYING THING. The late 18th century Sir Edric Vanquerest was a wicked man, and he kept a pack of wolves. His pregnant wife was frightened by the wolves, and the baby was marked. The wife died, and the baby was abandoned in Hal's Planting, the nearby woods, but it survives, deathless, and when it comes to the hall, the family shall be extinct. The present Sir Edric is an amiable man, but he pays for the family sins. [g] THE GRAY CAT. It is associated with an idol, and there is something supernatural about it. * Two other stories, "The Green Light" and "The Magnet" are borderline stories of madness, which are probably not intended as supernaturalism. 1279. THE ONE BEFORE Grant Richards; London 1902 Humorous fantasy, personality types interacting on a quest plot. * The motivating object is the Sahib i dirina, a magical ring from the Orient. It has the property of causing the wearer to assume the emotional structure (but not the personality or memory) of the previous wearer. It happens to be in the hands of an eccentric traveller and savant, Nathaniel Brookes, and it is eagerly sought after by Oriental religionists and their commercial agents in England. * When Brookes hears of the domestic tyranny of Ernest Saunders Barley, a bullying little faddist, he sends the rings to Barley to alter his personality for the better. But Barley's wife, a meek, downtrodden woman, wears it instead of Barley. Since the previous wearer was a lion tamer, Mrs. Barley soon works Barley into shape and life is happier in one household. Meanwhile, an unscrupulous antique dealer learns that the ring is in England and undertakes investigations and schemes, aided by his crooked brother-in-law. Plots go back and forth, the ring shifts hands with minor reverberations, until Brookes, realizing that things are getting out of hand, recovers the ring by a stratagem. * Interesting, not for the somewhat slight plot line, but for the amusing character grotesques, outstanding of whom are a pair of gossiping young housemaids. 1280. AN EXCHANGE OF SOULS Eveleigh Nash; London 1911 Borderline science-fiction in part. * Dr.

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PAIN, BARRY Daniel Myas, a noteworthy scientist, would like to determine scientifically what the Ego is and conducts experiments with dying animals. He has also invented an elaborate apparatus by means of which he hopes to transfer human souls. The narrator becomes friendly with Myas and Myas's fiancee Alice, a rather vapid, ignorant young woman whom Myas is frankly encouraging for experimental purposes. Myas dies suddenly of an overdose of drugs. There is suspicion of murder, but the narrator learns that Myas's soul has been transferred to Alice's body. Myas would like regain his old body, but in his new form he has forgotten the process. Alice-Myas continues to alter, and dies in a train wreck. The narrator then has supernatural experiences with the combined ghost of the two. * The point seems to be that the Ego is not an absolutely entity. Smoothly handled, but a rather trivial story. 1281. HERE AND HEREAFTER Methuen; London 1911 Short stories, including [a] THE UNFINISHED GAME. The owner of a resort hotel has problems with an old billiard room. The score adjusts itself to certain figures; noises are heard; and he finds himself playing a game with a ghost. [b] THE FOUR-FINGERED HAND. Brackley's father often saw a supernatural hand which served as a warning not to do certain things. Brackley himself now sees it, since his father is dead. But he does not obey it, and it strangles him. An unusual story, for while the motif is common enough, the rationale for events is surprisingly modern. [c] THE TOWER. Vyse, who is not entirely an admirable character, has a very odd tower. It is haunted by animal-like presences that can be heard and felt, but not seen. Vyse asks his friend to come with a revolver if he hears the whistle blown, since previous persons who have meddled with the "beasts" have been found dead. Vyse, too, is found dead, face chewed off by an invisible monstrosity. [d] THE UNSEEN POWER. Persons who sleep in the haunted room tend to disappear. The mechanism for their disappearance is mechanical-- a balanced trapdoor in the floor-- but the evil itself operates by possession of a sort. * A fifth story, [e] THE WIDOWER, is questionable as fantasy. A widower is going to be remarried, and he undergoes all sorts of psychic turmoil. He says the wrong name at the altar and faints in embarrassment, striking his head on the step, killing himself. It would all be rational, except for the last line, "And the dead woman went to sleep again." * Oddly enough, themes that might have been handled by Richard Marsh a decade or so earlier, but handled with much more art. 1282. STORIES IN GREY T. Werner Laurie; London [1911] Short stories, including [a] SMEATH. Fairly long. Percy Bellowes, a shady stage hypnotist, hires Smeath, an ugly, dwarfish man, as an assistant. Bellowes soon learns that when Smeath is under hypnosis, he i.s completely clairvoyant. Bellowes sets up shop as

PAIN, BARRY fashionable psychic, exploiting Smeath. While under hypnosis Smeath chances to reveal that he is a wanted murderer. Bellowes does not survive long. Interesting characterizations. [b] ROSE ROSE. Although stupid, Rose Rose is an almost perfect artist's model. Sefton's picture is almost finished, when it is learned that Rose has been killed in an accident. Rose continues to come and pose, but Sefton finds the situation unbearable and commits suicide. [c] THE WOMAN IN THE ROAD. Very short. A Gipsy woman, killed by a car, cursed it just before she died. Her ghost causes an accident. [d] LINDA. Escourt visits his brother after the death of the brother's wife, and finds that he is living with the dead wife's sister, whose name is also Linda. She is both unpleasant and gifted with paranormal abilities. Centuries earlier, an ancestral witch was rescued foom the pyre by the Devil. As payment, he can take unmarried maidens away. The brother kills Linda to save her from Hell. Madness, except that an extra voice is heard-. * All four nicely done. 1283. THE NEW GULLIVER AND OTHER STORIES T. Werner Laurie; London [1913] Title nouvelle and short stories, including [a] ZERO. Zero is a very obliging bulldog who seems to have powers of prevision. He warns his owners of catastrophe. After he defends the family from a rabid dog, he obligingly commits suicide. [b] IN A LONDON GARDEN. Light, humorous musings in a garden, including a couple of supernatural anecdotes that are rationalized and too slight to be described. * "The New Gulliver," which, probably speaking, is science-fiction, is an amusing burlesque of the too-intellectual utopia. 1284. COLLECTED TALES VOLUME ONE Martin Secker; London [1916] Although a second volume was announced, it did not appear. Short stories, including [a] THE CELESTIAL GROCERY. [b] EXCHANGE. [c] THE GLASS OF SUPREME MOMENTS. [d] ZERO. [e] THE MOON-SLAVE. [f] THE DIARY OF A GOD. [gJ THE UNDYING THING. * Pain considered these his best stories. While I would not agree with the selection, the volume is useful in being fairly common and reprinting material that is otherwise unobtainable. 1285. GOING HOME BEING THE FANTASTIC ROMANCE OF THE GIRL WITH ANGEL EYES AND THE MAN WHO HAD WINGS T. Werner Laurie; London [1921] An allegory of modern life. * George Overman , (force) meets Dora Muse (art), who awakens in him new sentiments. He had hitherto been keeping with him, as a semi-prisoner, Eagle, a winged man (liberty). When Overman falls in love with Jane, Dora's maid, Eagle carries Dora away. There are other allegorical personalities. * One might wonder why Pain wrote it. 1286. SHORT STORIES OF TO-DAY AND YESTERDAY Harrap; London [1928] Including [a] THE TREE OF DEATH. A timeless, unidentified land, Arabian in background. The Tree of Death produces a silver nut, which when it matures into a tree, must seize a hu-

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PARGETER, EDITH man in its tentacles for fertilization. [b] MIRACLES. A mind-reading team which operates fraudulently has a genuine manifestation. [c] THE REACTION. An extremely potent drug produces a sensation of beatitude that seems to last a year. But the reaction includes visions of utmost horror. [d] NOT ON THE PASSENGER LIST. Described elsewhere. PARGETER, EDITH [MARY] (1913British novelist. Also wrote mystery novels under the pseudonym ELLIS PETERS. Her first mystery novel won an Edgar Allan Poe Award. 1287. THE CITY LIES FOUR-SOUARE A NOVEL Heinemann; London [1939] Supernatural neo-Gothic of a sort. * Dr. Julian Sears, a young man about to be married, buys a fine old house in the slums for a very low price. He does not know that it is haunted. The ghost soon makes itself known to him. It is that of a young man who died in a riding accident in 1837. His name is Patrick Mundy, and copies of his verse are still extant. At first Sears is terrified at the manifestation, but upon discussing the matter with the local vicar, recognizes that he has a medical duty. He becomes friendly with the ghost, who is now visible to him. Mundy tells of his life and unrequited love. Damaris, the woman he loved, married another man. She died in childbirth a couple of years after Mundy's death, and Mundy has remained in the house hoping to find her again. Thanks to Sears's insight, Mundy realizes that Damaris had really loved him. Meanwhile, Sears's fiancee is becoming disturbed at Sears's perpetual abstraction and strange doings, and is about to break their engagement. She goes to the house and leaves her engagement ring on a table, and at this point Mundy, hoping to help his friend, manifests himself. The fiancee, in terror, falls down the stairs and has a concussion. Sears, who comes along at that time, in a rage orders Mundy out. Mundy decides that he should leave, and this sacrifice on his part opens a door for him. Damaris comes from heaven and takes him away. * Intelligent, but over-sentimental, and the author in this volume at least is unable to create male characters. 1288. BY FIRELIGHT Heinemann; London 1947 American title, BY THIS STRANGE FIRE. * The strange paths of love in a neo-Gothic situation. * Claire Falchon, an emotionally cold woman who has never had strong feelings for anything or anyone, has just become widowed. She decides to return to her former occupation of writing. She buys an old schoolmaster's house in the West Country and settles down. Here the story takes two paths. Claire becomes friendly with the previous owner of the property. He, a Gabriel Oak type, falls in love with her, but she cannot respond. In the second path, Claire becomes the vehicle for recording a forgotten bit of history from the early 17th century. At that time, the schoolmaster Salathiel Drury, a Byronic type, was framed for witchcraft and burned at the stake.

PARGETER, EDITH (The punishment is historically sound, since petty treason was involved.) Drury was loved too strongly by his mistress housekeeper, and when he cast her off, she sought revenge. * Back in the present, love continues its strange ways. The nephew of the previous owner, also in love with Claire, murders his uncle. * Literate, despite the panting animus types involved, but without the ability to convey a feeling of period. The author may have intended a parallelism between the two stories, but all that emerges is murder for the sake of love. PARRISH, J[OHN] M[AXEY] and CROSSLAND, J[OHN] R. British anthologists. AS EDITORS: 1289. MAMMOTH BOOK OF THRILLERS, GHOSTS AND MYSTERIES Odhams Press; London [1936] A large volume containing mostly mystery and supernatural fiction, * Including, described elsewhere, [a] THE DIVER, A. J. Alan, [b] POWERS OF THE AIR, J. D. Beresford. [c] KEEPING HIS PROMISE, Algernon Blackwood. [d] DEARTH'S FARM, Gerald Bullett. [e] THE CUPBOARD, Jeffery Farnol. [f] GUESTS FROM GIBBET ISLAND, Washington Irving. [g] THE MEZZOTINT, M. R. James. [h] ROOUM, Oliver Onions. [i] THE LOOKING GLASS, Walter de la Mare. [j] THE SEVENTH MAN, A. T. Quiller-Couch. [k] LAURA, Saki. [1] THE MAHATMA'S STORY, May Sinclair. [m] THE ISLAND OF VOICES, R. L. Stevenson. [n] THE INEXPERIENCED GHOST, H. G. Wells. [0] THE CONFESSION OF CHARLES LINKWORTH, E. F. Benson. [p] THE MOONLIT ROAD, Ambrose Bierce. [q] A VISITOR FROM DOWN UNDER, L. P. Hartley. [r] MAJOR WILBRAHAM, Hugh Walpole. [s] THE SHADOW OF A SHADE, Tom Hood. [t] THE IRON PINEAPPLE, Eden Phillpotts. [u] THE HOSTELRY, Guy de Maupassant. Alternate title for THE INN. [v] THE QUEEN OF SPADES, Alexander Pushkin. * Also [w] HIS BROTHER'S KEEPER, W. W. Jacobs. Murder, betrayed by somnambulism and unconscious actions, perhaps ultimately supernatural and external in origin. [x] THE OTHER SENSE, J. S. Fletcher. The diary of a young man gifted with the second sight, but considered mad. He sees a ghost and by following it uncovers a murder. Nicely told in Fletcher's undramatic way. [y] GHOST OF HONOUR, Pamela Hansford Johnson. The ghost of Jeremiah, who used to be a music hall performer and actor, plays the organ nightly. He is visible, but according to his dying words, he will never show his face to a mortal. But when Jeremiah comes during the night to Robertson's room, he seems to be breaking his promise. Told with nice irony. [z] ROADS OF DESTINY, O. Henry. (Pseud. of William Sydney Porter) France, perhaps the late 17th or early 18th century. The shepherd poet David leaves his flocks and his native village and travels. He comes to three crossroads. He takes the left branch, and meets death from the pistol of the Marquis de Beaupertuys. He then takes the right branch, and again meets death, now by uncovering (unwittingly) a plot

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PARRY, DENNIS against the king. The third branch, leads to the same end. Discouraged as a poet, he buys a weapon and commits suicide-- with the pistol of the Marquis de Beaupertuys. [aa] THE TRAPDOOR, C. D. Heriot. When Staines moved into the old-fashioned country pub, he was morbidly curious about the trapdoor in the ceiling of his room. He hears tapping, listens to local gossip, and then opens the trap. It is long before he recovers. The original situation was probably murder. ebb] THE DEMON KING, J. B. Priestley. A music hall performance in which the Devil plays the part of the Demon King in the pantomime. He does it quite well. [cc] MAN OF THE NIGHT, Edgar Wallace. George Thomas, a habitual small thief, has been turned in to the police by his wife. He decides to kill her, since she has played on his weakness and driven him to crline. As he walks home with a stolen knife he is joined by a stranger, who even comes into the flat with him. Thomas changes his mind. The stranger was presumably Jesus. [dd] HONOLULU, W. Somerset Maugham. Set somewhere in Polynesia. The story is told in a frame. Captain Butler bought a young woman on one of the islands and took her with hlin. His kanaka mate, however, is madly in love with her and works magic against Butler, who gradually wastes away. The woman in turn kills the mate with what amounts to mirror magic. Nicely told. [eel A TALE OF A GAS-LIGHT GHOST, Anonymous. (NEW CHRISTMAS ANNUAL 1867) Gregory Barnstake falls into cataleptic states during which he feels that his heart has been seized. A stranger comes to town, makes sinister predictions, and disappears. When the pond is drained, the stranger's skeleton is found. Barnstake is dead, with marks over his heart. He had murdered the man. [ff] THE COAT, A. E. D. Smith. France. A tourist takes shelter in an abandoned house. There is something strange-- an old coat that becomes animated and attacks him. It had belonged to a very sadistic Napoleonic soldier. [gg] PRESENTIMENTS, P. C. Wren. French Foreign Legion. The legionnaire Max Linden tells a horrible story, of how he let his father be executed for a drunken murder when he might have saved him. Supernatural in that Linden has a presentiment that he will die next day. [hh] BERENICE, E.A. Poe. Described elsewhere. PARRY, DENNIS [ARTHUR] (1912British author. 1290. THE SURVIVOR Robert Hale; London [1940] Character study, in terms of supernaturalism. * Indefinite time, but probably the near future, when a highly dangerous form of flu is epidemic in Great Britain. Dr. James Marshall, a brilliant physician and epidemologist living in retirement, also happens to be a sadist. He lets his sister, his brother, and his adopted daughter Olive live with him mostly, it would seem, so that he can torment them. Since he has the family money, the situation is perhaps unavoidable. Marshall dies during the epidemic, but his spirit returns to poss-

PARRY, DENNIS ess Olive periodically. Olive is revealed to be Marshall's illegitimate daughter, and Marshall continues his tormenting by bringing into the family situation the woman who had born Olive. (It is revealed that he had drugged and raped her.) There seems to be only one remedy: death for all of them. * Many good touches and flashes of wit, but the plot creaks and the author is not up to convincing the reader that Marshall is really wicked. With the exception of the rape, he seems ~ore like an amusing dog. PATER, ROGER (pseud. of HUDLESTONE, Dom GEORGE ROGER, O. S. B.) (1874-1936) British Benedictine, series editor of works of Juliana of Norwich, St. Francis of Assisi, and other mystical authors. 1291. MYSTIC VOICES, BEING THE EXPERIENCES OF THE REV. PHILIP RIVERS PATER, SOUIRE ANO PRIEST. 1834-1913 Burns, Oates and Washbourne; London 1923 Supernatural stories, religious in basis, formed upon the experiences of Father Pater, a Benedictine who also happens to be an English squire. Several of the stories are motivated by "direct speech," a special faculty which gives the priest supernatural information. * [a] THE WARNINGS. Father Pater tells of the voice which speaks to him and informs him of such things as deaths in the family. [b] THE PERSECUTION CHALICE. When Father Pater says mass with a certain old chalice, he hears the tumult of a mob around him. The chalice had been used in prison, during the Terror in France. [c] IN ARTICULO MORTIS. Guided by his "direct speech," Father Pater agrees to visit an Austrian castle to hear the confession of a dying man. He is surprised to find the man healthy in appearance, though later he hears the sounds of a body being dumped into the castle moat. He later learns that the penitent was a ghost, a suicide ten years before. [d] THE PRIEST'S HIDING PLACE. A collateral ancestor was a martyr. Father Pater hears a ghostly mass and finds the long-lost priest's hole. [e] DE PROFUNDIS. Father Pater's gift is of use in extirpating an unlawful cultus which a group of nuns had established. The ghost of the nun whom the other nuns venerated appears. [f] "OF SUCH IS THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN." A girl has mystical experiences in which the Virgin appears and promises to accept her for Jesus. The appearance emerges from a door that is closer each year, and the mystic knows that when the last door is reached, she shall die. [g] THE ASTROLOGER'S LEGACY. A Cellini vessel with a crystal ball atop it was used for nameless neo-pagan rites during the Renaissance. It seems possessed. A Spiritualist, on looking at the vessel, sees an evil ceremony being performed in the past. [h] A PORTA INFERI. The priest visits a madhouse and finds the Spiritualist of [g], now possessed by another personality. The priest recognizes the situation and performs a successful exorcism. [i] THE TREASURE OF THE BLUE NUNS. A pillow that heals

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PEAKE, MERVYN illness miraculously is opened. It is full of relics of the Martyrs, including the collateral ancestor of [d]. [j] THE WATCHMAN. A young intellectual undergoes clinical death in a hospital. When he recovers, he is a changed man and leads a life of service. [k] IN THE FOOTSTEP OF THE AVENTINE. The footstep is that of a 17th century English priest who wants some papers burned. The papers are found. [1] THE SCAPEGOAT. To shield his brother, a countryman permits himself to be executed for murder. But he dies well, for, claims Father Pater, he has been prepared for death by God himself. The rewards of self-sacrifice. [ml OUR LADY OF THE ROCK. Travelling in Italy the squire is guided by his voices to a longlost image of the Virgin, which he digs up. [n] THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS. The prayers of an old Quaker and his wraith-like appearance at a mass show Pater that all religions have truth. * [c] and [e] are best. Some of the other stories are naive and saccharine. PATTEN, WILLIAM (1868-1936) American illustrator, editor. Managing editor of the HARVARD CLASSICS. AS EDITOR: 1292. GREAT SHORT STORIES. VOLUME II. GHOST STORIES P. F. Collier; New York 1906 Described elsewhere, [a] LA MORTE AMOREUSE, Theophile Gautier, [b] THE RED ROOM, H. G. Wells. [cl THE PHANTOM 'RICKSHAW, Rudyard Kipling. [d] THE ROLL CALL OF THE REEF, A. Quiller-Couch. [e] THE HOUSE AND THE BRAIN, E. Bulwer-Lytton. Short version. [f] THE DREAM WOMAN, Wilkie Collins. [g] GREEN BRANCHES, Fiona Macleod. [h] THE SIGNAL-MAN Charles Dickens. [i] THE FOUR-FIFTEEN EXPRESS, Amelia B. Edwards. [j] THRAWN JANET, R. L. Stevenson. [k] A CHRISTMAS CAROL, Charles Dickens. [1] THE SPECTRE BRIDEGROOM, Washington Irving. [m] MR. HIGGINBOTHAM'S CATASTROPHE, Nathaniel Hawthorne. [n] THE WHITE OLD MAID, Nathaniel Hawthorne. [0] WANDERING WILLIE'S TALE, Sir Walter Scott. [p] THE MYSTERIOUS SKETCH, Erckmann-Chatrian. * Also [q] A BEWITCHED SHIP, William Clark Russell. A haunted ship, rationalized as ventriloquistic pranks. [r] OUR LAST WALK, Hugh Conway. A wife is led to her husband's remains by his spirit. * Probably the best collection of its period. PEAKE, MERVYN (1911-1968) British artist, author. Born in China. Excellent illustrator of books. Author of Gormenghast trilogy, TITUS GROAN (1946), GORMENGHAST (1950), TITUS ALONE (1959). While these are sometimes considered to be fantasy, there is no supernaturalism in them. 1293. MR. PYE Heinemann; London 1953 An overdrawn fantasy of goodness. * Mr. Pye, a fat little man, arrives at the island of Sark determined to bring everyone over to love and the Great Pal. Since he is remarkably gifted at gamesmanship, he establishes a sway over certain of the islanders, while his selfsatisfaction grows. But he notes that he is

PEAKE, MERVYN growing wings. This disturbs him, and to cause the wings to atrophy he sets out to perform minor evil acts, like conjurations and magical practices '!lith a goat. The wings Ji;;-. appear, but horns sprout from his forehead. He eventually achieves an apotheosis of a sort. * Some nice verbal touches, but overlong. It might have been successful as a nouvelle. The illustrations are superior to the ·text. PEARCE, J[OSEPH] H[ENRY] (1854 ? British author. 1294. DROLLS FROM SHADOWLAND Lawrenc.~ and Bullen; London 1893 Short pieces based on Cornish folklore and general supernatural fiction. Including [a] THE MAN WHO COINED HIS BLOOD INTO GOLD ~ A miner, on breaking into a new chamber, finds a devil awaiting him. The devil offers to let him coin blood-- a sovereign a drop. The miner is so greedy that he bleeds to death. [b] AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY. Preston, thrown out of a cab accidentally, enters another cab, and then a boat, which tends toward the sea. He is going home-- to death. [c] THE MAN WHO COULD TALK WITH THE BIRDS. A Cornishman enters a dolmen with an ancient man. His one wish is to understand the language :,f the birds. This is granted to him, but the conversation of the birds is trivial. He emerges an old man. [d] A PLEASANT ENTERTAINMENT. A showman at a carnival enables a bum and a whore to see what their lives would have been had they not been beaten by fate. They find the vision intolerable. [e] THE MAN WHO DESIRED TO BE A TREE. A student is transformed into a tree and is happy as such. [f] THE MAN WHO HAD SEEN., Borderline supernatural. After two days in a trance, the man tries to explain his revelation to bishop, king, and magistrate, but is rejected. [g] THE UNCHRISTENED CHILD. It turns into a seal and later accuses its father, wh~ tries to help it. [h] THE MAN WHO MET HATE. Borderline supernatural. Elijah finds Hate lurking in the passage tomb, and hopes to have Hate injure his enemies. [i] THE HAUNTED HOUSE. Borderline supernatural. A dying wife, who has pondered all her life about the house, joins the ghosts. [j] GIFTS AND AWARDS. Ironical.· Death awarded characters to Rick and Dick at their birth. On dying, Rick is sent to Heaven, while Dick goes to Hell-- presumably the wrong place for each. But Dick, being good, could tolerate Hell, while Rick, a perpetual carper, would not be happy there. [k] FRIEND OR FOE? Cruel, wicked Sir Edward is reincarnated as a horse so that he can build up some merit to offset his sins. [1] THE COMEDY OF A SOUL. A young man gives his soul to his sweetheart and discovers that it is still possible to live. He becomes a bishop. * Short, undeveloped material, occasionally with interesting ideas, but not fulfilled. Stories [a], [cl, [g] are based on folklore and use Cornish dialect. There are explanatory footnotes.

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PEATTIE, ELlA PEASE, HOWARD (1863 ? British author. 1295. BORDER GHOST STORIES Erskine Macdonald; London [1919] Historical and supernatural fiction suggested by the work of Sir Walter Scott. * Including [a] IN THE BLACKFRIARS WYND. Brownie is possessed by an evil spirit that makes him commit crimes. [b] BY PEDEN'S CLEUCH. Ghosts of the Covenanters still ride. [c] "ILL-STEEKIT" EPHRAIM. A corpse that sits up in its coffLn when the murderer enters. [d] T~ COCK-CROW. A ghost disappears at cock-crow. [e] THE LORD WARDEN'S TOMB. A haunted tomb, possible possession. [f] THE MUNIMENT ROOM. A lady ghost reveals where her lover's skeleton lies. [g] IN THE CLIFF LAND OF THE DANE. A village halfwit, possessed by the spirit of an ancient Dane, becomes a reiver. [h] IN MY LADlE'S BEDCHAMBER. A ghost that poisons the living. [i] THE WARLOCK OF GLORORUM. A hidden wizard's chamber with a giant Nepenthes plant that eats visitors. [j] THE HAllliTED ALEHOUSE. A ghost and revenge. [k] KITTY'S BOWER. Phantasm of the living. * Unremarkable. The non-supernatural stories in the book are superior. PEATTIE, [MRS.] ELlA WILKINSON (1862-1935) American journalist, newspaper woman in Chicago and Omaha. 1296. THE SHAPE OF FEAR AND OTHER GHOSTLY ~ Macmillan; New York 1898 Brief short stories and narratives. * [a] THE SHAPE OF FEAR. Tim O'Connor, a drunken newspaper man, is both a gifted writer and a man of honor and sensibility. He lives in terror of the dark, for in it he sees the Shape of Fear. This, it is revealed to a friend who also sees it, is the good that O'Connor might have been. [b] ON THE NORTHERN ICE. Hagedorn, in Canada, skating to his friend's wedding, is lured from the route he had planned to take. A phantom skater. His life is thereby saved, for the ice had broken elsewhere. The woman he loved had just died, and it was her spirit. [c] THEIR DEAR LITTLE GHOST. Little Elsbeth died, but her ghost returned at Christmas and was hurt that no stockings or toys had been provided. [d] A SPECTRAL COLLIE. A homesick young Englishman is farming in Kansas. When he is sick, his life is saved by the ghost of his dog, which fetches the neighbors. [e] THE HOUSE THAT WAS NOT. Some people can see the house across the farm lands. It is not there, but a crime was committed in it years earlier, before it burned down. [f] STORY OF AN OBSTINATE CORPSE. The strong-willed old Jewish lady did not like photography and pictures cannot be taken of her corpse. [g] A CHILD OF THE RAIN. An apparition of a child on a streetcar, perhaps a symbol of dead love, but anticipatory, since it is run over soon after. [h] THE ROOM OF THE EVIL THOUGHT. An irresponsible minister, who ran away and later turned criminal, evoked the evil thought which haunts the room and drives one to criminal actions. [i] STORY OF THE VANISHING PATIENT. The doctor

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PEATTIE, ELlA visits th~~ gh,1St of a dying woman. [j] THE PIANO NEXT DOOR. It is heard playing, but it is not there. It used to be played by a musician who later starved to death. [k] AN ASTRAL ONION. An author who is sick and starving is saved by a ghost onion prepared by the ghost of his foster rr.other, who had been an excellent cook. [1] FROM THE LOOM OF THE DEAD. An Icelandic crone in the Middle West tells a moral tale. A stepmother was cruel to her stepchildren. She is visited by the ghost of the natural mother and forced to relent. [m] A GRAMMATICAL GHOST. The ghost of Miss Lydia Carew, a very refined, cultured lady, haunts the house. She is pleasant personally, but something of a nuisance. The inhabitants notice that she winces at bad English. A double negative expels her. * Usually light in tone, either journalistic or fin de si~cle in expression; capable within this range. PEEKE, MARGARET B[LOODGOOD] (1838-1908) American author. 1297. BORN OF FLAME A ROSICRUCIAN STORY Lippincott; Philadelphia 1892 A somewhat tangled, eccentric occult novel. In the asylum of Dr. Aubrey Grotius, a mystical psychiatrist of sorts, is Clothilde Van Guilder, whom he loves. When she dies, she leaves a letter for him, telling about her mother Gabrielle. Gabrielle, who had lived at Lone Lake, was not only gifted with great paranormal abilities, but was periodically visited by SuI-Mal, a mahatma from India. Her effects are preserved in a haunted house, and a vital force shocks those who touch her books. Her ghost walks the countryside. Hugo Dana, a materialistic friend of Grotius's, goes to Lone Lake to investigate, and discovers that the reports are correct. He also meets a young woman from India (Elfreeda Cathmore) with whom he forms a romantic attachment. They pierce the defences of the haunted house. Grotius, who has arrived, is blown to glory with Clothilde in a psychic explosion, and Dana is converted. Behind the story lies a cosmological and historical miscellany: the first people in America were tiny dwarfs, man first came from the moon, divine guidance exists at all times, etc. * Astonishing that a major publisher could have printed this. The author's other work, ZENIA, THE VESTAL (1893) is on the same level.

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PEl, MARIO (1901-1978) American (born in Italy) educator (Professor of Romance Philology, Columbia University). Author of many popular and technical articles on language, miscellaneous topics. Best-known work, THE STORY OF LANGUAGE (1965). C.U.O.M. (Italy) . 1298. THE SPARROWS OF PARIS Philosophical Library; New York 1958 Crime, international conspiracy, drugs, theriomorphy, against a background of comparative philology. * Professor Jackson, who seems to have been modelled upon the author, is approached by his friend Deputy Chief Inspector

PERKINS, F. B. Santini of the New York police, who has photostats of six medieval and Renaissance documents stolen from the Bibliotheque Nationale of Paris. The documents offer specific information about celebrating the Black Mass and offer recipes for theriomorphy. These documents lead Professor Jackson to a criminal organization, the Sparrows of Paris. Headed by a renegade ccmporative philologist, the Sparrows plan to subvert American culture by means of drugs. (The Russians are somehow involved, too.) The drugs, however, are not the usual ones, but involve theriomorphy. The Sparrows habitually cavort about as wolves, although their leader, a woman, takes the form of a beautiful white cat. In additi.on to the national menace, there is a personal factor, for Santini's daughter has been given the changing drug and runs about as a cat. The police slaughter all the criminals and the formulas are destroyed. Civilization has been saved from a horrible peril. * Ne sutor ultra crepidam. PENNY, FANNY EMILY (n~e FARR) (c. 1870- 1939) British author, resident in India 1877-1901. Husband chaplain at Madras. Author of several novels dealing with aspects of Dravidian Indian life, Anglo-Indian social novels, historical works. 1299. THE MALABAR MAGICIAN Chatto and Windus; London 1912 An episodic work of fiction concerning Police Inspector Hillary and a native magician called the Kurumba from the name of his tribe. The locale is a primitive area of South India. * Hillary saves the Kurumba from a wounded tiger, and the magician is grateful. On several occasions he saves Hillary by means of his supernatural powers. Magic includes supernatural communications; shape changing into a dog-like animal; visions and ocular deception; divination of guilt; causing a man to act like a monkey; and a crystal that is used for clairvoyance. * The background is good, but the fictional vehicle is too amorphous. PERKINS, FREDERICK (or FREDERIC) BEECHER

(1828-

1899) America'! librarian, occasional author. Librarian Connecticut Historical Society, Boston Public Library, San Francisco Public Library. Apparently very important in the development of scientific librarianship. 1300. DEVIL-PUZZLERS AND OTHER STUDIES Putnam; New York 1877 Material reprinted from various sources. Including [a] DEVIL-PUZZLERS. Dr. Hicok, a physician of Scottish origin, has such a high opinion of his mental and philosophical abilities that he believes he can outreason the Devil. He undertakes a long course of reading and settles on three questions that he can pose to the Devil in the traditional venture. The Devil accepts the challenge and appears as Mr. Apollo Lyon (Apollyon). After some conversation back and forth the doctor propounds two questions which have puzzled the sages: how can freedom of will be reconciled with predes-

PERKINS, FREDERICK tination; how can evolution be reconciled with the "responsible immortality" of the soul. The Devil answers easily (though his solutions may not please the modern reader), and the doctor seems lost. But the doctor's wife er.ters and take.s part in the discussion, although she dces not know what is involved. She asks, Where is the front of my bonnet? The Devil is beaten. * A local twit against female clothing, like the poem "Nothing to Wear." * [b] THE COMPEN'SATION' OFFICE. The narrator observes events in an office that promises compensation for various psychological injuries. Among those who appear are a wife who thinks she is neglected, a snobbish clergyman, an unsuccessful author. In each case the merchant offers nothing. A good theme, if handled by Hawthorne, but here, a nothing. * Also present is the early science-fiction story "The Man-ufactory." PERUTZ, LEO (1884-1957) Austrian author. Born in Prague, lived most of life in Vienna. Well-regarded novelist, author of several plays, most successful, A TRIP TO FRESSBl~G, produced by Max Reinhardt (1930). Also translated, novel THE MASTER OF THE DAY OF JUDGME~"'T, exce llent s- f and detective story dealing with hallucinogens. In addition to writings in German, also wrote in Hebrew and Yiddish. 1301. FROM NINE TO NINE Viking; New York 1926 ZWISCHEN NEUN UND NEUN (1918). Translated from German by Lily Lore. * A mystery novel based on a series of Viennese types, with considerable irony on the bourgeoisie. The plot is the Owl Creek Bridge theme. * Stanislaus Demba cannot use his hands and must gnaw at his sandwich like a dog. Reasons are suggested by the types that he meets: paralysis, lack of hands, hashish, concealed weapons. But they are all wrong. Demba is handcuffed. A student, he had been trying to dispose of books stolen from the university library, and barely escaped from the police by leaping out a window. After a full day of embarrassment and quarrels, Demba is again chased by the police. He hears again the strokes of the clock that he heard when escaping the previous night, and again leaps out a window. It is then revealed that he is dead, killed by the fall. His adventures of the day had been point-of-death fantasies. * The mystery is well sustained and the mixture of frivolity and despair form an effective combination with the morbid ending. 1302. THE MAROUIS DE BOLIBAR John Lane; London [1926] DER MARQUES DE BOLIBAR.(1920). Translated from German by Graham Rawson. In part a Schicksalsroman-- even death cannot suppress liberty. * During the Peninsular Campaigns a German regiment is fighting on the side of the French. The military situation is very bad, what with the British armies and heavy guerilla activity. The Germans, who are characterized as a group of bestial scoundrels more concerned with womanizing and drinking than with military matters, learn the master plan for the guerilla

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PHILLIPS, ALEXANDER M. forces. This plan has been devised by the Marquis de Bolibar, who will also put it into operation. In essence, when certain signals are given, a popular uprising will take place, together with a full-scale assault by the Allies. By "chance," however, the marquis is executed by the Germans. He had been disguised as a muleteer, and happened to be present when the German officers were boasting of their sexual relations with the colonel's wife. They are in a panic lest their exploits come to the colonel's ears, and shoot the marquis. Yet this killing does not hinder the uprising, for the signals are given, and the Germans are wiped out. * The Wandering Jew also appears in the story, courting death in defiance of the Divine Will. His presence, too, damned the Germans. The mechanism for giving the signals is partly Fate and partly the unconscious doing of the narrator, who (though completely unaware of it until the end of the book) has been possessed by the spirit of the dead marquis. As the story ends, he is completely possessed and is assuming the physical appearance of the dead man. * Excellent atmosphere, good plotting, but a few anachronisms. PHELPS, ELIZABETH STUART (marriage name WARD, MRS. HERBERT DICKINSON) (1844-1911) American (Massachusetts) novelist, poet. Highly regarded in 19th century for THE GATES AJAR (1868), a detailed account of the afterlife in a syrupy heaven. It undoubtedly profited from Civil War bereavement. Married Ward in 1888, and usually known thereafter as Mrs. Elizabeth Ward. 1303. MEN, WOMEN AND GHOSTS Fields, Osgood; Boston 1869 Short stories, including [a] THE DAY OF MY DEATH. Spiritualism. Gertrude Fellows comes to visit the narrator and his wife. She is an ardent Spiritualist, and phenomena soon ap~ pear: raps, objects flying through the air, disturbed bedclothing, etc. The spirits, through Gertrude, also deliver a death notice, which turns out to be incorrect. [b] WHAT WAS THE MATTER? Selphar, a servant girl, has clairvoyant abilities. She is good at finding lost articles. When Aunt Alice, who is supposed to. come on a visit, does not appear, Selphar uses her ability to locate her-- out west. [c] KENTUCKY'S GHOST. Kentucky is a boy stowaway. A brutal mate sends him aloft in a high ,.ind, and Kentucky falls to his deach. His ghost avenges itself on the mate. * [a] and [b] are mildly humorous. PHILLIPS, ALEXANDER M[OORE] (1907American (Philadelphia) occasional author, architectural draughtsman. 1304. THE MISLAID CHARM Prime Press; Philadelphia 1947 Humorous fantasy in the mode of Thorne Smith. A glorious night's drunk. * The unemployed and unsuccessful author Henry A. Pickett has sold his first manuscript and decides to celebrate. He has the misfortune to be in a bar when a miner imp from upstate who has stolen

PHILLIPS, ALEXANDER M. a potent charm comes by. The malicious imp first gets Pickett drunk by teleporting large quantities of whiskey into his stomach, then, hearing pursuit drawing near, inserts the charm into Pickett's chest. The charm at first limits itself to fulfilling wishes for Pickett, after a fashion, but then begins to function independently, causing endless mischief. The worst prank is animating the tropical decorations, apes and all, in a nightclub. The rightful owners of the charm finally catch up with Pickett and retrieve the mischief-maker, but not before Pickett has entangled himself with a young woman he picked up in the bar. Marriage is to be his punishment. * Light, derivative, and unconvincing. PHILLIPS, L[UNDERN] M. American. Author of two novels. F. Tennyson Neely; New 1305. THE MIND READER York 1896 An eccentric novel that mixes mahatmas, theosophy, astral manifestations, and -hypnotism with a blood and thunder Western story. A romance between two characters called Vasselah and Interice occupies the occult section of the novel. Dime novel influence. PHILLPOTTS, EDEN (1862-1960) British author, born in India. One of longest productive careers in quality English literature, with contributions in many genres. Best work generally considered to be his Dartmoor novels, which have been compared to work of Hardy. Wrote mystery novels under pseudonym Harrington Hext. Has written a fair amount of material that is borderline supernatural, but little that is unequivocably so. An excellent craftsman. 1306. PAN AND THE TWINS Grant Richards; London 1922 Semiallegorical short novel set in 4th century Rome. * While the old gods are growing weaker, they are not yet dead, and Pan can still do much. Arcadius, a slave boy expelled by a cruel master, encounters Pan, who accepts him as a loyal worshipper and instructs him. The boy, it is revealed, is the illegitimate son of a wealthy, otherwise childless Roman, Marcus Pomponius. Pomponius accepts Arcadius as his son and makes him his heir. Arcadius grows up, inherits the estates when his father dies, and marries a suitable pagan wife., One day, however, he meets a Christian anchorite, who wants to live in a cave on Arcadius's property. The Hermit Hilarion, it soon turns out, is Arcadius's long-lost twin brother. The two men live peacefully, although each finds his world crumbling. Civil war has broken out, Pan is growing weaker, and Hilarion feels the power of love. Pan advises them both to abandon their ivory towers, to enter the world, and to do service to others. * Other supernatural elements include Arcadius's ability (given by Pan) to converse with animals. 1307. THE LAVENDER DRAGON Grant Richards; London 1923 Irony on intolerance and excess rationalism,

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PHILLPOTTS, EDEN in terms of a medieval dragon legend. * Sir Jasper de Pomeroy and his squire are questing for wrongs to right when they come to the village of Pongley-in-the-Marsh, in Yorkshire. Nearby, they are told, is the horrible Lavender Dragon, which has been raiding the villages and devouring the inhabitants. Jasper rides out to fight the dragon, which is sleeping nearby. He awakens it and challenges it. The dragon speaks fairly and courteously, refuses to fight at that time, but promises to meet him the next day. On the day promised, however, the dragon swoops down and seizes Jasper and his horse, and flies away with them. Jasper is outraged, but when they land the dragon urges him to suspend judgment. They continue on to Dragonsville, a walled town hidden in the forest, where dwell all the people the dragon is supposed to have eaten. All are happy and healthy, for the dragon has established a rational utopia, with full allowance and toleration for individual oddities. Jasper accepts the dragon's institutions, finds a wife, and settles down, as does his squire. Shortly thereafter the dragon, who is old and gouty, dies. He is remembered with reverence and love only for a short time, after which he is forgotten, as is his experimental state. * Nicely told, with moments of charm and humor. 1308. THE MINIATURE Watts; London 1926 Ironic comments on the history of mankind, certain institutions and frames of reference, told mostly in colloquies among the Olympian gods. * Zeus, at a meeting of the bored Olympians, announces a new project: establishing an intelligent race in the image of gods. The gods visit earth and set evolution in motion. They then comment on historical developments up through our near future. The Ancient Greeks, understandably, get,a large play. The gods interpret human culture from several points of view. Athene considers it possible that the gods might improve themselves by following the moral teachings of humanity; Dionysius expresses a common sense point of view; Ares and Aphrodite are disappointed with mankind. Earth disappears in a gigantic explosion when the atom is split, and the gods go on to examine more interesting forms of life than deceased humanity. * Without the charm of the two books previously described. 1309. PEACOCK HOUSE AND OTHER MYSTERIES Hutchinson; London [1926] Short stories, including la] PEACOCK HOUSE. Jane Campbell, who has the second sight, visits her father's old army friend (and her godfather) General Goodenough. While wandering about the countryside, she comes upon a house, in front of which stands a yew cut in the form of a peacock. On looking at the window, she sees a double murder being committed. But when she returns to the house later, she finds only ruins. Her godfather tells of the historical circumstances of the crime, but a chance glimpse of an old photograph reveals to her that the general had been the murderer, many years before. * The theme is common enough in the literature, but the frame and the specula-

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PHILLPOTTS, EDEN tions about motives are well handled. [b] CRAZYWELL. Partly in Devon dialect. Woodman Wickett left for New South Wales, or 50 it seemed. But Henry Borlase is tormented by a ghost. "We make our own ghosts, and there surely ain't no others." [c] THE ASTRAL LADY. A traveller on a train sees what seems to be an astral form hovering in his railway carriage. On investigation he finds the body of a woman who has been strangled. He succeeds in reviving her, and her attacker is captured. [d] THE IRON PINEAPPLE. Perhaps not intended as supernaturalism, despite the claim for divine inspiration, but simply madness. A grocer in a resort town is beset by two strong compulsions: an iron pineapple which he has stolen from a building project, and a fat artist. He commits murder with the pineapple. [a] is best. 1310. ARACHNE Faber and Gwyer; London [1927] A redirection of a Greek myth, ironically told as a vehicle for theories of art, philosophy, and life. Arachne, the daughter of a Lydian Greek dyer, is a remarkable intuitive artist. She is taken as a protege by Athene, the greatest weaver among the gods, and is taught the celestial technique. From the very beginning of the instruction, there is a clash between the goddess and the mortal over aesthetic principles. Athene, as intellect, is patronizing, cerebral, naturalistic, academic, and utilitarian. Art for her is only a way to the Mysteries. Arachne, on the other hand, is a pure aesthetic ian who sees art for its intrinsic color and form, is anti-traditional, emotional, intuitive, and highly personal in her concept of what art should be. After one clash Athene bids Arachne travel ani learn before receiving more instruction. Arachne wanders the Classical world meeting demigods and seeing the wonders of nature. When she returns, she declares her independence, and in a moment of supreme self-confidence challenges Athene to a competition. Defeat means death. Zeus, Dionysus, and Hermes are the judges, and they award victory to Arachne, since her mortal way of seeing things is more interesting than Athene's timeless view. Athene, in a rage, causes Arachne's web to be destroyed, and Arachne, thinking she has lost, tries to commit suicide. She is saved by Hebe. Here Phillpotts departs from the traditional story: Arachne is not turned into a spider; she lives out her life under a new name. Centuries later Athene forgives her. Cleverly handled, if one overlooks the leaden expression. This work is typical of a series of books that the author wrote during the 1920's and 1930's: retellings of Classical myths as Expressionist documents.

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[ANONYMOUS ANTHOLOGY] 1311. THE PLAYBOY BOOK OF SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY SELECTED BY THE EDITORS OF PLAYBOY A Playboy Press Book; New York 1966 Short stories, including [a] BLOOD BROTHER, Charles Beaumont. (1961) Mr. Smith goes to

PLAYBOY BOOK OF SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY a psychiatrist. His girl friend Dorcas has bitten him, and he has become a vampire. [b] A FOOT IN THE DOOR, Bruce Jay Friedman. (1960) Gordon is able to get his wishes by making small sacrifices to Mr. Merz, a foot-in-thedoor salesman of insurance, who is, of course, only the agent for a much larger organization. Gordon balks when a much younger Merz appears and starts fulfilling his own wishes with Gordon's wife. [c] THE NEVER ENDING PENNY, Bernard Wolfe. (1960) Mexico. Diosdado, fruit picker and agricultural laborer, needs more money. He wishes down the well for the never ending penny. As soon as he takes it out of his pocket, another penny takes its place. [d] A MAN FOR THE MOON, Leland Webb. (1960) The first flight to the moon, and Evans, before take-off, is visited by one of Columbus's companions. [e] THE NOISE, Ken W. Purdy. (1959) Barnaby Hackett consults a psychiatrist because his gift of telepathy, which used to be limited and occasional, has expanded enormously and is threatening his life and sanity. When Hackett tries to curb the input, the result is disastrous to those around him. [f] THE KILLER IN THE TV SET, Bruce Jay Friedman. (1961) Mr. Ordz hears a personalized TV broadcast telling him that he is marked for death. Nicely done. [g] JOHN GRANT'S LITTLE ANGEL, Walt Grove. (1964) Grant, an ad exec, has an affair with the wife of his major client and is worried about it. A partly fallen angel that he happens to meet in a bar is a little bit comforting. [h] HARD BARGAIN, Alan E. Nourse. (1958) Preisinger has a bond with the Devil; the Devil must keep him in money and women. But Preisinger is getting bored since all the women are experienced. He makes a further agreement: he will forfeit his remaining time if the Devil brings him a woman who has never even thought carnally of a man. [i] DOUBLE TAKE, Jack Finney. (1965) When the motion picture company uses the bus from the 1920's as a prop, it ventures into the past. A man and a woman confront one another. Back in the present the incident serves as a life-moulding shock. [j] THE DOT AND DASH BIRD, Bernard Wolfe. (1964) Hollywood hack writer Walter J. Commice has trouble both with his writing and the other occupants of his apartment. The key: if humans feel something strongly, it is picked up telepathically. In this instance, Morse Code, with a destroying message. [k] SOUVENIR, J. G. Ballard (1965) Absurdist fiction. When a gigantic human corpse is washed ashore,the best that the natives can do is shred him and make use of his parts. Allegory on greatness? Also titled THE DROWNED GIANT. [k] is the best story in the book; [e], [f], [i] are also good. PLAYBOY was highly regarded by the science-fiction and fantasy writers of this period, since it paid much more than other fiction outlets open to them and offered an opening to other markets. There was also more freedom with regard to subject matter. Edited by Ray Russell.

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THE PLAYBOY BOOK OF HORROR AND THE

SUPERNATUR~L

[ANONYMOUS ANfHOLO:;Y] 1312. THE PLAYBOY BOOK OF HO~ROR AND THE SUPERNATURAL Playboy Press; Chicago 1967 Including [a] SOFTLY WALKS THE BEETLE, John Collier. (1960) At the sidewalk cafe in Paris the fat, elderly gentleman approaches, marks his prey, and obtains a signature on a contract. It is notorious that almost anyone will sell his soul to get into the motion pictures. [b] NASTY, Fredric Brown. (1959) Walter Beauregard, now 65 years old, had been an accomplished lecher. The demon Nasty gives him a magical garment to restore his virility, but it might as well be a chastity belt. [c] SORCERER'S MOON, Charles Beaunont. (1959) Carnaday must be rid of the magical paper and return it to its owner. [d] FIRST ANNIVERSARY, Richard Matheson. (1960) At his first wedding anniversary, Norman notices that his senses no longer convey his wife's presence to him. The situation becomes worse and worse until Norman learns that he is held in existence only by his wife's will. [e] THE JAM, Henry Slesar. (1958) After death. Stuck in a traffic jam for eternity. [f] BEELZEBlfd, Robert Bloch. (1963) Haunted by a fly, and death. [g] THE PARTY, William F. Nolan. (1967) Hell is a gigantic co-op or apartment hotel, with perpetual dull parties, where there is no sex and the liquor has no kick. [h] BURNf TOAST, Mack Reynolds (1955) Sheriff plays a double or death game with the demon. If he selects the wrong cocktail, he is poisoned; if he wins, he receives double the previous stake. He gets up to over two hundred thousand dollars. [i] RENDEZVOUS, John Christopher. (1966) Possessive love reaching from beyond death. But it is curiously limited in place. For Cynthia it comes only at high altitude, and Cynthia avoids planes. [j] THE SEA WAS AS WET AS WET CAN BE, Gahan Wilson. (1967) The sinister world of the walrus and the carpenter. [k] HEY, LOOK AT ME! Jack Finney. (1962) The deceased author Max Kingery is compelled to return to continue his literary work, and his compulsion affects his friends. [1] FOR THE RICH THEY SING-- SO~ETIMES, Ken W. Purdy. (1962) Mary Kennedy has premonitory v~s~ons of the future. Nicely woven into a romance and a denouement. [m] I'M YOURS, Charles Schafhauser. (1954) Sophie Lambert, well-proportioned young witch, knows how to get inside a man. [n] DOUBLE EXPOSURE, John Reese. (1965) A new photographer, industrial disaster, and a photograph of a dead girl. [0] NO SUCH THING AS A VAMPIRE, Richard Matheson. Described elsewhere. [p] BLACK COUNfRY, Charles Beaumont. (1954) Jazz musicians, personality clashes, death, and possession. [q] THE TRAVELING SALESMAN, Robert Bloch. The ever-familiar travelling salesman of the jokes has a serious complaint. [r] COMET WINE, Ray Russell. (1967) Letters from Russia tell of musical soirees at the apartment of Rimsky-Korsakov. Present there is the unrecognized, but great musician Cholodenko. The narrator is present when Cholodenko first reveals his genius. Everyone present is astonished, since

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POE, EDGAR ALLAN Cholodenko had been considered without talent. The cause for his sudden flowering is connected with Balakirev's illness. This is much Russell's best story. * A stronger volume than the science-fiction and fantasy counterpart, with several good stories, [a], [d], [g], [i], [j], [ 1], and [r]. POE, EDGAR ALLAN (1809-1849) Great American poet, fiction writer, critic, essayist. His life and achievements are so familiar and data are so easily obtainable, that details are not necessary here. Born Boston, Mass.; orphaned, reared by John Allan of Richmond, Va., whence the Allan in his name; attended University of Virginia for one year; enlisted in U.S. Army and served for about two years; entered West Point, court martialed and expelled for disciplinary reasons; earned precarious living as freelance writer and editor, mostly in Philadelphia and N·ew York. Died in Baltimore, circumstances of death questionable, but probably cerebral oedema due to alcoholism, alcohol perhaps forcibly administered by toughs associated with voting frauds. Persona 1 life has often been analyzed psychologically, what with severe problem with alcoholism, irritability, marriage to his fourteen-year old cousin, etc. ,', A very remarkable, complex literary figure. Work is characterized by high analytical ability, great creativity, remarkable clarity, preoccupation with surface texture, mythopoetic ability, limited range of subject matter, great skill at "window dressing," wide intellectual range, overconfidence in matters outside his knowledge, theatricality. In addition to many outstanding works, an important figure in literary history. Theoretician and creator of the modern short story, creator of the modern detective story, aesthetic theoretician, pioneer in proto-science-fiction and proto-symbolism. Perhaps the first American author of great international significance, especially in France. 1313. THE NARRATIVE OF ARTHUR GORDON PYM OF NANTUCKET, COMPRISING THE DETAILS OF A MUTINY AND ATROCIOUS BUTCHERY ON BOARD THE AMERICAN BRIG GRAMPUS. ON HER WAY TO THE SOUTH SEAS [etc.] Harper; New York 1838 (published anonymously) Sea adventure ending in fantasy. It is based in part on contemporary factual accounts of Antarctic sea voyages. * Arthur Gordon Pym, a young man from Nantucket, stows away aboard a whaler. He emerges from hiding to find the ship in a state of mutiny, with factions of of the mutineers quarreling among themselves. The mutiny is followed by heavy winds and seas, hunger and thirst, cannibalism, and great hardship, until only pym and Dirk Peters, one of the mutineers, survive. They are fortunate enough to be picked up by a sealer. The sealer, which is headed for Antarctic waters, works its way southward, eventually reaching about 84 0 , The climate gradually becomes warmer again, and they come upon a hitherto unknown island, Tsalal, which is inhabited by natives

POE, EDGAR ALLAN who are roughly on the same level of civilization as Melanesians. Tsalal, however, is no ordinary place: its zoology is strange, the water is viscous and multicolored, and the color white is completely absent. Even the teeth of the natives are black. When the inhabitants of Tsalal see white things from outside, they fall into fits, crying, "Tekeli-li, tekeli-li!" They prove treacherous and murder all the sealers except pym and Peters who escape to the south in a stolen canoe. As they move toward the Pole, they observe that the sea becomes milky-white, and the hitherto lacking color white appears naturally. Gigantic birds fly overhead, screaming, "Tekeli-li." The ocean current carries them ever more rapidly southward, a cataract of mist seems to pour from the sky ahead of them, and as they rush into chasms, before them arises "a [white] shrouded human figure, very far larger in its proportions than any dweller among men." The story ends abruptly, but pym obviously returned safely, to discuss his adventures with Poe. * There has been considerable conjecture about the meaning of the final portions of this work. Ignoring metaphysical speculations, I shall mention two theories about Tsalal and points farther south. According to J. o. Bailey, the events of Poe's novel may be explained in part by A VOYAGE TO SYMZONIA, an early 19th century novel of unknown authorship, published under the pseudonym Adam Seaborn. This novel (based ironically on the theory of John Cleves Symmes, a crank scientist) is essentially a political satire on American parties, but it describes a polar opening in the Antarctic, leading to a hollow, inhabited earth. According to Bailey, pym and Peters sailed into a polar depression that connected to the inner surface of the earth. The black natives, according to this interpretation, would be exiles from the civilized lands inside the globe. * While Poe obviously had in mind a polar depression rather than an Antarctic continent, Symzonia does not seem adequate to explain the strange ties between man and land in Tsalal, nor the absence of white, nor the inscriptions that pym found and Poe reproduces. (Actually, these "inscriptions" are simply examples of Poe's playfulness, or "diddling," as he called it. They are scrambled versions of Pym and Edgar Allan Poe!) I would suggest that Poe had in mind the Lost Tribes and the concept of the Antarctic area as Eden. Creation there proceded by polarities in accordance with the diluted Schellingian philosophy that Poe adhered to in matters of cosmology. * A good adventure story, which has long been underrated. * The two best-known sequels to Poe's novel, AN ANTARCTIC MYSTERY by Jules Verne and A STRANGE DISCOVERY by Charles R. Dake are not supernatural. 1314. TALES OF THE GROTESQUE AND ARABESOUE Lea and Blanchard; Philadelphia 1840 2 vol. Stories and essay-stories, including [a] MORELLA. (1835) The narrator is married to the beautiful and learned Morella. At first fas-

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POE, EDGAR ALLAN cinated by her power of intellect and will, he comes to fear and hate her. As his love for her wanes, so does her health. As she lies dying, she reveals to him that her life shall continue in the child which she is about to bear. The child, a girl, remains nameless, but grows up a prodigy, with obvious identity (unconsciously) with Morella. The narrator long refused to give her a name, but when under pressure, he consents to her baptism, at the font she recognizes herself as Morella and falls dead. The tomb of the first Morella is found to be empty. Based, as Poe indicates, on German Romantic philosophical sources, presumably mostly Fichte. There may well be a personal note, since it was written in the year that Poe married Virginia Clemm. [b] WILLIAM WILSON. (1840) The narrator, throughout his life, from days at school in England, in cardsharping at Oxford, in devious schemes on the Continent, is confronted and "persecuted" by another William Wilson, who was born at the same time and place, and looks like him. The narrator, when about to be exposed as an adulteror by Wilson kills him, and then is told that when he murdered Wilson, he murdered himself. He is now dead to heaven and hope. A fine treatment of the dissociated personality and doppelganger of the Romantics, together with a Schellingian note on the emergence of identity. It obviously contains a personal note, since it describes Poe's school in England and gives as Wilson's date of birth, January 19, 1813, a fictitious date that Poe usually cited as his own birthday. [c] MS. FOUND IN A BOTTLE. (1833) With this story, which won a prize of $50.00 from the Baltimore SATURDAY VISITER, Poe's literary career effectively begins. The narrator, on a derelict boat, is run down by a gigantic, ancient vessel, upon which he is hurled by the force of the collision. The boat, which is abnormal in certain ways, is manned by ancient men in outmoded garb, and bears associations with old Spain. As the manuscript ends, the ship is about to disappear into a South Polar orifice. The story as a whole is apparently an allegory on geographical discovery. The captain of the ship is sometimes identified with Christopher Columbus, but this seems too specific. [d] LIGEIA. (1838) One more statement of the death-marriage, in this combined with the Fichtean concept of Will, which in the German philosophy of the early 19th century often amounted to the principle of Divine Creativity. Ligeia, one of Poe's typical morbid blue stockings, declares, despite the fact that she is dying of tuberculosis, that she will not die, because her Will is to live. Die she does, after extracting an oath from the narrator that he will remain faithful to her. When he breaks his oath and marries again, Ligeia must be reckoned with. The second wife turns ill and dies. Her corpse struggles to regain life, succeeds, and is transformed into the living Ligeia. * Stated in simple terms, the memory of a first love is too strong to be broken. [e] THE DEVIL IN THE BELFRY. (1839)

POE, EDGAR ALLAN Topical fantasy, heavy-handed humor. In the somnolent Dutch village of Vonderwotteimittiss, where there is stasis of time, the Devil comes. He upsets things by causing the clock to strike 13. * Interpretations of the story vary, but it is probably an attack, with referrents that are now obscure, on the contemporary Knickerbocker school of literature. This piece is typical of several of Poe's fantasies in considering, rather obscurely, a topical matter of minor importance. [f] BON-BON. (1832) Topical humor on rationalistic philosophy. The French restaurateur Bon-Bon fancies himself a metaphysician. He receives a visit from the Devil, who holds a long discussion with him, while Bon-Bon grows drunker and drunker. After comments on souls as culinary material, the Devil scornfully refuses to buy Bon-Bon's soul. [g] BERENICE. (1835) Not supernatural, but in its day probably considered fantastic. A horror story based on abnormal psychology: fetishism, somnambulism, and compulsions. [h] METZENGERSTEIN. (1832) Poe's first published story. Germany. For centuries a feud has existed between the neighboring baronies of Metzengerstein and Berlifitzing. The present Baron Metzengerstein is a most dissolute, most depraved young man. He commits arson, destroying both his enemies and Castle Berlifitzing. But a strange demonic horse manifests itself, emergent from an anxient tapestry. Metzengerstein's fate is sealed, as the ancient curse prophecied. The horse destroys him. The most Gothic of Poe's stories. [i] THE SIGNORA ZENOBIA and [j] THE SCYTHE OF TIME. (1838) Topical humor based on contemporary journalism, with a parody of a sensational story of the day. The point is the same as that of Poe's article HOW TO WRITE A BLACKWOOD'S ARTICLE. The Signora is interviewed by the editor and receives a list of themes and treatments. The story that she then writes, [j] ends in a fantastic dismemberment. Poe, of course, wrote such "Blackwood's" tales. [k] SHADOW--A PARABLE. (1835) A short prose poem, Classical in setting. The Shadow symbolizes the dead. [1] SILENCE-- A FABLE. (1838) Also titled SlOPE. A demon speaks, in wild imagery, of the lot of Man, facing nature. Silence is the most horrible fate of all. Point not clear. [m] THE DUC DE L'OMELLETTE. (1832) Heavy-handed humor at French or pseudo-French cultural patterns. When an improperly prepared roasted bird is served to him, the duke dies of horror. He finds himself in Hell, but is unwilling to accept his fate. He offers to duel with the Devil, but the Devil does not duel. He then offers to play cards with the Devil, and by cheating wins his release from Hell. The story ends with a Gallic flourish. [n] THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER. (1839) One of Poe's great atmospheric stories, whereby house, mankind, nature are all united in a weird identity. The story-line is so familiar that it need not be detailed beyond saying that the decadent Roderick Usher's fate is intertwined with that of his ancient house; that his sister

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POE, EDGAR ALLAN is subject to catalepsy; and that events in an intercalated tale parallel those of the main story, a technique similar to that used by Ann Radcliffe in THE CASTLE OF UDOLPHO. This story presents in clearest form the curious world in which many of Poe's fantasies are set: the pallid, dying woman; the weak, defeated male; the world of death in which they live; and its utter collapse. The implications are obvious. [0] LOSS OF BREATH. A TALE NEITHER IN NOR OUT OF BLACKWOOD. (1832) Grotesque parody of the sensational stories published in the British magazine. Loss of breath is taken literally, and the narrator wanders about being killed, reanimated, hanged, etc. before recovering his breath. A very inventive manipulation of a figure of speech. [p] CONVERSATION OF EIROS AND CHARMION. (1839) Retrospect science-fiction with a supernatural background. Two disembodied spirits in Aidenn-- interplanetary space-- converse about the destruction of the earth. A comet came too close, drew off the nitrogen in the atmosphere, and the remaining atmosphere, being nearly pure oxygen, took fire. * Of these stories [b], [d], [n] are Poe the major writer. The others are interesting in the sense that anything by a figure of Poe's stature is important. 1315. TALES OF EDGAR A. POE Wiley and Putnam; New York 1845 Editorial selection by Evert Duykinck. * Including, [a] THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER. l b] THE CO~VERSATION OF EIROS AND CHARMION. * [c] THE BLACK CAT. Insanity and guilt. The narrator, obviously a homicidal madman, tells of his ambivalent feelings toward the family cat. In momentary rage he goudges out one of its eyes, then, taking um"brage since the cat is no longer affectionate, hangs it. But he suffers from the opposed force of conscience, and adopts another cat. Again his hatred grows, especially when a mark on the eat's chest grows into a semblance of a gallows. He murders his wife, walls her body up, but unwittingly walls the cat with her, and is doomed. The cat, of course, is symbolic, both of the narrator's disordered mind and of the evocation of evil. [d] MESMERIC REVELATION. (1844) Much t\e same idea as was later developed into a stronger fictional vehicle in THE FACTS IN THE CASE OF M. VALDEMAR. The mesmerized subject continues to speak long after physiological death has set in. This concept is used for revelations on the nature of the universe and of happiness. The key issue is that happiness is not in itself a primary, positive state, but a state that exists only in contrast to pain. [e] THE COLLOQUY OF MONOS AND UNA. (1841) Read closely, this seems to be sequel to CONVERSATION OF EIROS AND CHARMION. Two spirits converse, after the holocaust has struck earth and wiped out the old human race; a new, improved earth has developed, with a superior race of humans. Monos reminisces on the circumstances of his death, of the gradual departure of his senses, as his body decays, and achievement of what

POE, EDGAR ALLAN amount to Kantian space and time. MESMERISM "IN ARTICULO MORTIS" AN ASTOUNDING AND HORRIFYING NARRATIVE Short and Co.; London 1846 Original publication in the AMERICAN WHIG REVIEW, December 1845. This is first book publication, as a small pamphlet, of THE FACTS IN THE CASE OF M. VALDEMAR, which is often reprinted under such short titles a8 THE CASE OF M. VALDEMAR or M. VALDEMAR. * New York. The narrator, who is an experimenter in mesmerism, is curious to see whether mesmerism can ward off death from a dying person. He mesmerizes Valdemar, who is in the terminal stages of consumption. The process does keep Valdemar from dying for a couple of days, and Valdemar responds to mesmeric passes with occasional speech and movement. But, one day Valdemar announces that he is dead. It is true; he is clinically dead. For months Valdemar lies there, technically dead, moving occasionally, speaking occasionally, without decaying. But when the narrator releases Valdemar from the trance, Valdemar cries, "For God's sake! Put me to sleep," and dissolves instantly into a mass of corruption. * A good example of a form that Poe occasionally affected, the hoax story, which is developed with great circumstantiality and plausibility. The theme has had great influence in the development of modern supernatural· fiction, particularly that of the school of Lovecraft. 1317. THE WORKS OF THE LATE EDGAR ALLAN POE WITH NOTICES OF HIS LIFE AND GENIUS BY N. P. WILLIS, J. R. LOWELL, AND R. W. GRISWOLD John Redfield; New York 1850-56 4 vol. The posthumous, "authorized" edition of Poe's works, edited by Rufus Griswold, with Griswold's malicious and uncharitable biography of Poe. The edition was first announced as two volumes, but a third volume appeared in 1850, and a fourth and final volume in 1856. * Including all the material previously described: [a] THE NARRATIVE OF ARTHUR GORDON PYM. [b] MORELLA. [c] WILLIAM WILSON. [d] MS. FOUND IN A BOTTLE. [e] LIGEIA. [f] THE DEVIL IN THE BELFRY. [g] BON-BON. [h] BERENICE. [i] METZENGERSTEIN. [j] THE SIGNORA ZENOBIA. [k] THE SCYTHE OF TIME. ll] SHADOW-- A PARABLE. [m] SILENCE A FABLE. [n] THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER. [0] LOSS OF BREATH. [p] THE CONVERSATION OF EIROS AND CHARMION. [q] THE BLACK CAT. [r] MESMERIC REVELATION. [s] THE COLLOQUY OF MONOS AND UNA. [t] THE FACTS IN THE CASE OF M. VALDEMAR. [u] THE DUC DE L'OMELETTE. * Also [v] A TALE OF THE RAGGED MOUNTAINS. (1844) Mesmerism, repeated patterns in fate. Bedloe, wandering in the Ragged Mountains of Virginia, experiences a waking dream of an incident in India, about fifty years earlier, during Clive's abuses of power. He sees a young Englishman that resembles himself killed by a poisoned arrow that strikes him in the temple. When Bedloe tells his friends of his vision, his doctor, who has been treating him mesmerically, reveals that the incident happened, and that the Englishman was named Oldeb-- or

1316.

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POE, EDGAR ALLAN Bedloe reversed. The doctor further reveals that he recorded Bedloe's dream telepathically. Some time later Bedloe dies as the result of a poisonous leech that is attached to his temple. Poe's intention, beyond parallels of fate, is obscure. The time gap would permit reincarnation, and the story may be taken literally. Some scholars, however, interpret the story as an inverse story: that the doctor really transmitted the whole episode telepathically to Bedloe, by means of mesmeric contact. But this seems unnecessarily subtle. [w] NEVER BET THE DEVIL YOUR HEAD. (1841) One of Poe's jeux d'esprit. Toby Dammit, whose favorite exclamation is, "I'll bet the Devil my head," finds his wager accepted and lost. The Devil makes off with his head. It has been suggested that the tale figures ~ dog or horse. [x] THE ANGEL OF THE ODD. AN EXTRAVAGANZA. (1844) Poe, after stupefying himself by a course of heavy reading, lights upon a newspaper article describing a freak accident. He exclaims against the possibility of such events, and is immediately visited by the Angel of the Odd, a Germanic sprite who proceeds to torment him. The point seems to be double: irony on the hapax of life and German philosophizing which loses the actual in its quest for the ideal. [y] THE MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH. (1842) Hypostatization of abstractions. When the Red Death rages, Prince Prospero and his followers wall themselves up in a fortified monastery and determine to amuse themselves until the plague has run its course. In the midst of-a costume ball, a horrible figure appears, a corpse of one who has died of the red death-- so called because its victims bleed from their pores. But it is not a costume; it is the Red Death. Death and horror cannot be evaded by irresponsible, ostrich-like behavior. [z] ELEANORA. (1842) Told in decorative prose, in Poe's dream world. The narrator is happy in the Valley of the Many-Colored Grass until Leonora dies. Before her death, he vows to her that he will never marry another. When he leaves the valley, he falls in love-- and the ghost of Leonora absolves him from his vow. Personal. [aa] SOME WORDS WITH A MUMMY. (1845) A curious work which embodies Poe's philosophy of history, satire, and a scientific motif, The mummy, Count Allamistakeo, comments fluently on the high state of science in Ancient Egypt, human longevity (a thousand years or so, then), the nature of historicgraphy, the age of the world, transcendentalism, and democracy, but boggles at patent medicine. The story closes with the narrator's intention of getting himself mummified and awakening in 2045, to see what has happened. * The above descriptions from 1313 on have been based on a modern reprinting of this set, which furnishes the texts ordinarily used in commercial reprints. Poe perpetually revised his work, and the student who is concerned with variant readings may consult THE COMPLETE WORKS OF EDGAR ALLAN POE (THE VIRGINIA EDITION) (New York 1902), 17 volumes, edited by James A. Harrison. Such

POE, EDGAR ALLAN variants, however, are seldom significant except to the specialist. Poe's works are currently being: reprinted by Harvard University Press in what will undoubtedly be the definitive edition. POHL, FREDERIK (1919American science-fiction writer, editor. Best-known work THE SPACE MERCHANTS (1952), in collaboration with Cyril Kornbluth. Editor of GALAXY magazine and IF, 1961-1969. An important writer in science-fiction. AS EDITOR: 131&. STAR SCIENCE FICTION STORIES Ballantine Book's; New York 1953 paperbound The STAR SCIENCE FICTION volumes, numbers of which appeared irregularly, contained new fiction, some of it excellent. Emphasis, as can be expected from the title, was on science-fiction, but occasional stories were included that edged over into supernaturalism. On the whole the selection avoided the heavy science or engineering poles of science-fiction. In the later volumes the editor concentrated on stories dealing with paranormal abilities, and in many cases it is difficult to classify stories as science-fiction or supernatural fiction. STAR SCIENCE FICTION STORIES, NO.3 (1954) contained no supernatural fiction. * Including [a] THE NINE BILLION NAMES OF GOD, Arthur C. Clarke •. The head lama of a Tibetan monastery buys computer time. A Mark V computer is programmed to print out all possible letter combinations in Tibetan-- barring absurdities. The rationale is that when all the names of God have been listed, there will be no more reason for the universe to exist. The monk is right. Unusual as a fantasy by an author who usually writes hard-core sciencefiction. [b] A SCENT OF SARSAPARILLA, Ray Bradbury. The wonders of memory and retreat into the past. Old William Finch decides to return to the world of 1910 via the stored memories in his attic. His wife has no faith and refuses to join him. One of Bradbury's finest stories. * Also present, though not supernatural, is Fritz Leiber's amusing parody of Mickey Spillane, "The Night He Cried." * This collection has been reprinted as STAR SCIENCE FICTION STORIES, NO.1. 1319. STAR SCIENCE FICTION STORIES. NO.2 Ballantine Books; New York 1953 paperbound Including [a] FYI. James Blish. Borderline science-fiction. After a discussion of transfinite numbers, a medium gets a message (somewhat garbled) which indicates that great cosmic forces are changing the physical parameters of the universe. [b] IT'S A GOOD LIFE, Jerome Bixby" Perhaps science-fiction; the mechanism is not explained. Anthony, a vicious, almost psychotic boy, has the powers of a god. He can work transformations, create, destroy. One small village is the scene of his activities. It floats alone. It is not known whether Anthony has destroyed the rest of the universe or has just isolated the village. Everyone in the village must be happy, or else Anthony, who is very, very sensitive,

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POLIDORI, JOHN becomes unhappy. * A modern classic. 1320. STAR SCIENCE FICTION STORIES. NO.4 Ballantine Books; New York [1958] paperbound Short stories, including [a] THE LONG ECHO, Miriam de Ford. Dutch Schultz's dying words were, "A boy has never wept, or dashed a thousand krim. • ." The explanation and context come from a planet of Alpha Centauri, A.D. 3935, from a poem composed by a bright young man. No explanation. [b] SPACE-TIME FOR SPRINGERS, Fritz Leiber. The kitten Gummitch is a superkitten with an IQ of 160. When he sees the retarded older child of the family about to injure the baby, he transfers his personality to the older child, making it a normal human. * Both stories borderline science-fiction. 1321. STAR SCIENCE FICTION STORIES. NO. 5 Ballantine Books; New York 1959 paperbound Including [a] A TOUCH OF GRAPEFRUIT, Richard Matheson. Los Angeles is alive, and like a disease it overruns the country, and eventually the world. Humor. Alternate title THE CREEPING TERROR. [b] THE SCENE SHIFTED. Arthur Sellings. Borderline .science-fiction. Mammoth Studios, Hollywood, is in a panic. Someone has been tampering with the films, releasing travesties of the originals. Sleuthing tracks down the culprit, a man who is fed up with the garbage that Mammoth and the other studios are releasing, and has been mentally projecting what he wants_to see. 1322. STAR SCIENCE FICTION. NO.6 Ballantine Books; New York [1959] paperbound Short stories, including [a] ANGERHELM, Cordwainer Smith. (Pseud. of Paul M. Linebarger) The Russians retrieve a mysterious tape from one of their satellites. At first it seems to be empty, but eventually a listener can catch a name (Tice Angerhelm) and an address. The Russians suspect that the tape is an American practical joke, but turn over a copy of the tape. Tice Angerhelm, investigations reveal, is a perfectly average man. But his brother had died not too long before the tape was retrieved. The tape contains a message from the dead brother, who talks about the small heavens and hells of life after death. An interesting story. It is regrettable that Smith did not write more supernatural fiction. POLIDORI, JOHN WILLIAM (1795-1821) British physician, occasional poet, writer of fiction. Attended Lord Byron on famous junket to Switzerland culminating in meeting with the Shelleys at Geneva. While by no means a skilled writer, very important historically for popularizing the vampire theme created by Byron. The ultimate cause of a minor industry in motion pictures and modern letters. Apparently a very difficult personality. Suicide because of general despair and gambling debts. 1323. THE VAMPYRE A TALE Sherwood, Neely, and Jones; London 1819 (published anonymously) A short story or capsulated nouvelle written as a result of the meetings between Byron and

POLIDORI, JOHN WILLIAM the Shelleys in Switzerland, June 1816. After an evening of ghost stories it was decided that each person present should write a supernatural story. Mary Shelley eventually wrote FRANKENSTEIN, while Byron began a vampire novel which he never finished. Polidori, who was soon discharged by Byron and returned to England, adapted Byron's idea and wrote THE VAMPYRE, which was at first fraudulently attributed to Byron, perhaps with Polidori's connivance. * Greece and England. Aubrey, a young man of good family, becomes acquainted with Lord Ruthven and makes the grand tour with him. In Greece Ruthven's true n.ature, as a vampire, is revealed when he is responsible for the death of a peasant girl whom Aubrey loved. Aubrey has a break down. When he returns to England he discovers that his own sister is engaged to Ruthven and is to become his victim. Aubrey is bound by oath not to reveal Ruthven's secret. The situation is too difficult for him, and he dies a madman. * Intrinsically of no great quality, but the first significant vampire story in English. It went through stage adaptations and started the chain of development to DRACULA and the present. * For modern editions with editorial matter see THREE GOTHIC NOVELS edited by E.F. Bleiler and THE VAMPYRE. A TALE WRITTEN BY DOCTOR POLIDORI, edited with introduction by Donald K. Adams (Grant Dahlstrom; Pasadena 1968) • [ANONYMOUS ANTHOLOGY] 1324. POPULAR TALES AND ROMANCES OF THE NORTHERN NATIONS Simpkin, Marshall; London 1823 3 vol. Anonymous translations, German originals for the following stories. * Including [a] THE TREASURE SEEKER, J. K. Musaeus. (DER SCHATZGRABER, 1782-7) The Master Spirit of the Blocken tells a shepherd where a great treasure is hidden, but the shepherd is not interested. Instead, Peter Block, local drunkard and ne'erdo-well, follows the instructions and attains to the treasure. To open the sealed doors, however, he must first obtain the fabulous spring root. [b] THE BOTTLE-IMP, Friedrich de la Motte Fouque. (DAS GALGENMANNLEIN, 1814) This is a little devil enclosed in a bottle. It brings wealth and fulfills the desires of its owner, but woe to the man who dies with it in his possession. It can only be disposed of by sale, and at a price lower than its last purchase price. Richard seems to be trapped, but he finally sells the imp to a man who has already disposed of his soul to the Devil and has nothing to lose. [c] THE SORCERERS, J. L. Tieck, attributed author. The beautiful but unpleasant Antonia, daughter of the Voyvod Zochanowski, is likely to remain an old maid because of her sour disposition. When she sees another woman about to marry the man she loves, she joins the local witch cult for revenge. Her French governess, who is partly responsible for Antonia's personality, by instilling for false values of the Enlightenment, is a member of the coven. Antonia

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POPULAR TALES AND ROMANCES sells her soul for a familiar and powers, but learns that evil cannot touch good. Her revenge is not really effective. She repents, is sent into supernatural exile by the coven, and her governness assumes her form and takes her station in life. But at Antonia's full repentance, the devils rip the governess to shreds, and Antonia goes on pilgrimage. [d] AUBURN EGBERT, J. L. Tieck. (DER BLONDE ECKBERT, 1796) Alternate title for ECKBERT THE FAIR-HAIRED. Eckbert begs his wife Bertha to tell the curious story of her early life to Walther, a visiting friend. Bertha, after running away from an unhappy childhood home, had been taken in by an old woman who had a wonderful dog and a bird that produced jewels. Bertha served the old woman faithfully for a time, but then yielded to temptation and ran off with the bird and its gems. She sold them, became acquainted with Eckbert, and married him. After she has told her strange story, she realizes with horror that Walther knew the name of the dog, and that she has been traced supernaturally. She gradually dies of terror and chagrin. As Bertha lies dying, Eckbert, anxious that the story should go no further, murders Walther. Some time later Eckbert becomes acquainted with Hugo, an affable young man, to whom he tells this history. He then sees Hugo assume the form of Walther. Eckbert returns to his castle, wondering what is dream and what is reality. He meets the old woman of Bertha's childhood, who reveals that she had been Walther and Hugo, and that Bertha failed her. Bertha married her own brother. [e] THE SPECTRE BARBER, J. K. Musaeus. Alternate title for DUMB LOVE, described elsewhere. [f] THE COLLIER'S FAMILY, F. de la Motte Fouqu~. Alternate title for BERTHOLD, described elsewhere for context. [g] THE FIELD OF TERROR, F. de la Motte Fouqu~. (DAS SCHAUERFELD, 1814) It is haunted by an evil spirit who harasses the husbandman. [h] ELF INLAND , J. L. Tieck. (DIE ELFEN, 1811) Alternate title, THE ELVES. Close by the prosperous farms of the peasants lies a dark, ill-favored fir wood, which the peasants believe is inhabited by Gipsies and other dangerous undesirables. Mary, however, wanders into the wood and finds herself in a delightful fairy land. She stays there for a short time, whereupon she is told that she must leave, never revealing what she has experienced. When she returns to the outside world, she learns that years have passed. She grows up, marries, and has children. Her little girl, indeed, plays with a fairy. But when, in an argument with her husband, she reveals her experiences, the fairies leave en masse and the land changes to near desert. [i] THE MAGIC DOLLAR, F. de la Motte Fouqu~, attributed author. It always returns after being cashed. [j] THE TALE, J. W. von Goethe. (DAS MARCHEN, 1808) A very complex, symbolic story, filled with Renaissance and Baroque motifs, that does not lend itself to summary, since i t is the details that are significant. [k] THE FATAL MARKSMAN, J. Apel. Alternate title for DER FREISCHUTZ, described elsewhere. [1]

POPULAR TALES AND ROMANCES THE ENCHANTED CASTLE, J. L. Tieck. (DAS ZAUBERSCHLOSS 1828) 16th century East Prussia. The castle is haunted by a black coach with headless passengers. It holds the ghost of the shrewish, wicked Gertrude who poisoned her son rather than return money that had been entrusted to the family. A parody of Hoffmann and Gothics. [m] WAKE NOT THE DEAD, attributed to Tieck. Medieval Burgundy. Walter, married to the proud, selfish, domineering Brunhilda, on her death marries Swanhilda. But he mourns for Brunhilda. At her tomb he encounters a sorcerer who can raise the dead. He strikes a bargain with him, despite warnings of evil, and divorces Swanhilda. He welcomes the resurrected Brunhilda. But it soon becomes obvious that Brunhilda is a vampire. The countryside is ravaged until only Walter is left for her to devour. He consults the sorcerer again and learns how to kill her, but when she returns in her most horrible form, he fails. * This story refutes Mario Praz's statement that there are no stories "about female vampires in the early 19th century. [n] THE HOARD OF THE NIBELUNGEN, Anonymous. A garbled, Romantic version of the story of Kriemhilda, here called Grimhilda, with much ceremonial magic. [0] THE ERL-KING'S DAUGHTER, Anonymous. A magical island, enchantments, and the daughter of the Erl-King. * The editors have attributed [i] to Fouque and [c] and [m] to Tieck. A search through the complete works of both men has failed to uncover German originals. It is possible that these are minor, uncollected pieces, but it is also possible that the attributions are not correct. THE MAGIC DOLLAR is a variant of THE BOTTLE IMP. THE SORCERERS and WAKE NOT THE DEAD do not have the levels of secondary meaning usually to be found in Tieck's work. They are, however, competent period work. Best stories are [b], [d], [h], [j]. [ANONYMOUS ANTHOLOGY] 1325. THE POST READER OF FANTASY AND SCIENCE FICTION Doubleday; Garden City, N. Y. 1964 Stories originally published in the SATURDAY EVENING POST. * Including, described elsewhere, [a] DOCTOR HANRAY'S SECOND CHANCE, Conrad Richter. [b] THE VOICE IN THE EARPHONES, Wilbur Schramm. [c] ISLAND OF FEAR, William Sambrot. * Also, [d] THE PHANTOM SETTER, Robert Murphy. (1961) Barlow, a lumber entrepreneur, at first pays no heed to the strange setter, but when he goes hunting, since he is an enthusiastic hunter of grouse, he takes the dog along with him. His kill is fantastic, but there are mysterious happenings in the background. The explanation is that the dog is a ghost; that it takes men back into the past; and that a single hunt turns a man into a monomaniac. [e] THE BIG WHEEL, Fred McMorrow. (1961) Difficult to summarize, but themes of life and death in terms of classic antique cars. [f] MOON CRAZY, William Roy Shelton. Ralph Teeler can dissociate his personality from his body and soar into the sky. [g] THE LITTLE TERROR, Will

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POTOCKI, COUNT JAN F. Jenkins. (1953) When Grandfather does coin tricks, he uses the magical word Oogledeboo to make coins vanish. When six-year old Nancy uses the same word, people and things really disappear. It becomes a problem until a countertactic is worked out. [h] THE ANSWER, Philip Wylie. (1955) An American H-bomb kills an angel. The information is suppressed. Then a Russian H-bomb kills another angel. The obvious questions arise: were they real angels, visitors from another planet, or what? The answer is to be found in a small book, printed on leaves of gold, which the first angel passed on before it died. * An uneven collection. Best pieces are [a] and [e]. POTOCKI, [COUNT] JAN HRABIA (1761-1815) Pronounced Pototsky. Polish nobleman and scholar. A serious contributor to many branches of science. Wrote on the archeology of Russia, antiquities of Egypt, general chronology. Also prepared several good ethnographic and geographical travel books, notably those based on travels in the Caucasus. 1326. THE SARAGOSSA MANUSCRIPT A COLLECTION OF WEIRD TALES Orion Press; New York 1960 Originally written in French, MANUSCRIPT TROUASARAGOSSE; translated by Elisabeth Abbott. Edited, with preface, by Roger Caillois, noted French scholar of supernatural fiction. At the time that Caillois prepared this edition, the whole work had not yet been printed, much of it being still in manuscript. * Selections (a long sequence plus fragments) from a series of interlocked tales arranged on a framework somewhat in the manner of the DECAMERON. * Spain and Italy, early to middle 18th century. The protagonist of the framework is Alfonso van Worden, a young Spanish officer of partly Flemish, partly Moorish descent. While travelling through Spain to his post, he has a series of equivocal adventures which mayor may not be supernatural. Most important of these is his becoming acquainted with two beautiful young women, members of an underground Moslem population, who claim to be his cousins. He falls in love with them and becomes their lover, but after each meeting with them he usually awakens beneath a gallows, between two hanged corpses. He is not sure whether the young women are vampires or whether his experiences are being stage managed to test his constancy and loyalty. Other supernatural elements include a Jewish cabalist who is trying to evoke the daughter of Solomon to be his bride, and his learned sister, who is eager to marry two angels who are equivalent to the Gemini. Intercalated narratives include the long and interesting history of Zoto, a Neapolitan bravo and bandit; the story of Giulio Romati, who is deceived by ghostly enchantment; and others. * The question of supernaturalism cannot be resolved from this volume alone. Potocki's narrative is written in imitation of the BAITAL PACHISI, or similar work, but the general Gothic mode would demand explanation and rationalization of the seeming supernatural. In any case, a fascinating work, very

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POTOCKI, COUNT JAN aptly translated, with a fine sense of color, humor, and exotic background. All in all, one of the Romantic masterpieces of the day. Zoto's tale is particularly excellent. * In 1966 the remainder of the work was translated as THE NEW DECAMERON, FURTHER TALES FROM THE SARAGOSSA MANUSCRIPT. While it is amusing and interesting in its religious speculations, it contains very little supernatural material and at the very end rationalizes all the wonders of the first volume. POTTER, ROBERT Australian author. 1327. THE GERM GROWERS THE STRANGE ADVENTURES OF ROBERT EASTERLEY AND JOHN WILBRAHAM Hutchinson; London 1892 Science-fiction with occult concepts in the background. * After the Red Sickness breaks out in Wales, it is traced to a deliberate carrier, whom Easterley and Wilbraham follow to Australia. There, in the desert, they find an unknown land and are captured by a being known as Signor Ravelli. Ravelli, who is not human, controls the wills of his subjects and possesses many superscientific devices, such as invisibility paint. He also has beds of germs, where he grows plagues to release on the outside world. Ravelli reveals that he is an extraterrestrial and cannot be killed. When the situation looks most hopeless, another extraterrestrial appears, the good spirit Leafar, who helps the two men to escape. * A literate, pre-Wellsian novel with considerable imagination. * There is also an Australian edition, credited to Easterley and Wilbraham, which I have not seen. POWELL, F. INGLIS British author. 1328. THE SNAKE John Lane; London 1912 Anglo-Indian adventure set in the middle 19th century. * A manuscript accompanies a stuffed snake. Diana, conscienceless young Anglo-Indian woman, loves her cousin's fianc~ and determines to have him by any means. She makes a bond with a yogi, pledges herself to Kali, and her soul possesses a giant snake. Thereafter the snake ravages the land, while Diana lies in catalepsy. When the snake is killed, Diana, too, dies, but her soul is imprisoned in the stuffed snake, until released, years later, by the reader of the manuscript. * Dated. [ANONYMOUS ANTHOLOGY] 1329. POWERS OF DARKNESS Philip Allan; London 1934 A member of the CREEPS SERIES. * Commercial fiction, including [a] THE COAT. A.E.D. Smith. France, an empty chateau, and a hostile, animated coat. [b] THE THIRD TIME, Kenneth Ingram. Malevolent ghosts from the past try to induce Mabel to join their company. Fascination is combined with horror. The third attempt is fatal. [c] NOVEMBER THE THIRTEENTH, Russell Thorndike. Village characters, including the ghost of a murderous

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POWYS, T. F. gravedigger and his horse. [d] THE MINIATURE IN BLACK, L. A. Westney. The shrunken corpse of a witchdoctor from South America and supernatural revenge. [el THE TEMPLE SERVANT, E. R. Morrough. Memories of reincarnation in the temple at the oasis of Siwa. [f] A NICE CUP OF TEA, Maureen E. Shaw. Miss Timmins disposes of a vulgar neighbor by turning him into a canary. * ·Mostly negligible, but [e] is a notch above the other stories, with some characterization and good detail. * Edited by Charles L. Birkin. POWYS, J[OHN] C[OWPER] (1872-1963) British novelist, educator. Taught in U.S.A., where occasionally resident. Along with brothers Llewelyn and Theodore formed a minor school of writing in the 1920's and 30's, noted for great originality, off trail religiosity, high imagination, overwriting, balanced by occasional stylistic brilliance. All three are now undeserved1y forgotten. J. C. Powys's best-known work is probably WOLF SOLENT (1929). 1330. MORWYN, OR THE VENGEANCE OF GOD Cassell; London 1937 A Tendenzroman against vivisection and comparable cruelty, combined with such odd elements as the DIVINE COMEDY, the Grail legend, old Celtic mythology, Classical mythology, and modern psychology. * The narrator (a former army officer), Morwyn (the Beatrice he lusts after on the literal level), and her father (a vivisectionist) are climbing a mountain when a meteorite strikes and precipitates them into a literal Hell within the hollow, cavern-filled earth. The narrator and Morwyn escape death, but the vivisectionist is killed. But his ghost immediately assumes his role and takes up with the ghost of Torquemada as a kindred spirit. The underworld is a dreary place filled with sadistic or masochistic spirits who watch gigantic television screens showing torments and tortures on earth. This is the Hell that our culture has created. For the first section of the book the narrator and Morwyn are guided by the ghost of the Marquis de Sade. In the middle section they are guided by the legendary Welsh bard Taliesin, who occasionally harrows Hell, but is not damned. The third and final section is governed by Socrates and Rhadamanthus. The narrator and Morwyn flee before the sadistic spirits; take refuge at Merlin's resting place and that of Cronos; and observe the infernal judges trying a vivisectionist who represents Zeus and Jehovah. After a passage in the Elysian Fields the narrator returns to earth, although, like Amfortas, he has a never-healing wound in his groin. * The theme of the novel is that modern scientific research is worse than the emotional cruelty of the past, since there is no saving element of passion. A strange and remarkable work, with a welter of dark symbolism, written in a powerful, image-filled style reminiscent of old Welsh polemic literature. POWYS, T[HEODORE] F[RANCIS] (1875-1953) British novelist. See comments about J. C.

POWYS, T. F. Powys. Work differs from that of J. C. Powys in being less exuberant, less profound, more concernen with mystical religiosity. 1331. MR. WESTON'S GOOD WINE Chatto and Windus; London 1927 Fantasy novel. As if Hardy's Wessex stories had been adapted by the editors and authors of MAD. Grotesquely humorous, sometimes powerful, sometimes mildly irritating; strong West Country dialect. * Mr. Weston (God), whose identity is immediately made obvious, and a handsome young man named Michael visit the small hamlet of Folly Down. There Weston announces himself as a wine merchant trying to place Weston's Good Wine, which, in two varieties, is Love and Death. The novel then shifts to a succession of bestially humorous villagers who scurry about in half-witted fashion, bed one another under the village oak, talk scandal, and besot themselves at the village pub. Weston straightens out various entanglements. A seduced girl is given her good-for-nothing lover as husband. The local minister, who does not believe in God, is given back his faith and meets death. The preacher's daughter, who has been languishing to mate wi.th an angel, is bedded by Michael. Jenny Bunce, the daughter of the local innkeeper, gets the lover she wants, and many smaller situations are improved. Weston and Michael thereupon leave. There are also a few miracles, such as stopping time in the village and turning water into wine. * Well worth reading, especially if one has been on a diet of routine, conventional fiction. 1332. UNCLAY Chatto and Windus; London 1931 Much like MR. WESTON'S GOOD WINE. Love and death, comedy and horror in a grotesque West Country setting, with strange village types, meandering development, and dialect. * Before the story begins, Death has been sent from God with a parchment bearing the names of two persons whom he is to "unclay," or kill. But he loses the parchment somewhere near the village of Dodder. He assumes human form and searches for it, but his search is desultory and much hindered by an equal quest for love. Various villagers and gentry meet John Death. Some of the natives are twisted and warped in vicious ways; others are harmless malformations of humanity, like Joe Bridle's aunt, who firmly believes that she is a camel, and lives in terror of being sold at the bazaar. There are many plot threads; the strongest, in which Death is directly concerned, is the unfulfilled romance between Joe Bridle and Susie Dawe. The situation is complicated by her impending marriage to Farmer Mere, who is eagerly looking forward to torturing her to death. Horror, humor follow one another closely until the parchment is restored to Death and he knows who his victims are to be. * A work of great originality and imagination, but formally com.plicated and with too many divagations. PRAED, ROSA CAMPBELL (nee PRIOR, ROSA MURRAY) (1851-1935) British novelist, born in Queensland, Austra-

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PRAED, ROSA CAMPBELL lia. Spent early life in semi-primitive surroundings in the bush. Removed to England on marriage to Campbell Praed, 1886 or 1887. A very gifted woman who never realized her full writing potential, since so much of her work consists of shoddy sensational fiction. Did excellent work in the social novel and comedy of manners. In later life obsessed with occultism, particularly with the Roman incarnation of her friend Nancy Harwood. These experiences recorded in NYRIA, otherwise not supernatural enough to be considered here. 1333. AFFINITIES A ROMANCE OF TO-DAY Bentley; London 1885 2 vol. Society fiction, partly roman ~ clef, with a supernatural basis. * Major Graysett, returned from India, visits his old friend Colonel Rainshaw, who has married into money. Soon after Graysett's arrival he has a very vivid dream that he is sure is meaningful: He sees a young woman, in a strangely decorated and furnished house, being murdered by a powerful man. During the ensuing house party and its aftermath, he recognizes the young woman as Judith Fountain, a fellow guest, and the man as Esme Colquhoun, a decadent poet (who is obviously modelled upon Oscar Wilde). Graysett and Miss Fountain are attracted to one another, and she admits that the strangely decorated house is hers. It is also revealed that Miss Fountain is in some fashion psychically defective in lacking a protective aura, and that Colquhoun has learned black magic during his American visit. Graysett is injured while hunting and is unable to prevent certain developments while he is recuperating. Colquhoun uses Miss Fountain as a medium, establishes psychic control over her, and marries her for her money. When Graysett hears what has been happening from a female occultist (who is obviously based on Madame Blavatsky), he realizes that Judith is in danger. But it is too late. Colquhoun mounts a psychic attack on her and kills her. * Excellent society material, good discussions on occult and intellectual topics, but a weak supernatural mechanism. 1334. THE BROTHER OF THE SHADOW A MYSTERY OF TODAY Routledge; London 1886 A short occult novel based on Theosophy. It is set on the Riviera. * Dr. Lemuel Lloyd, a British physician who specializes in the mesmeric treatment of nervous disorders, is also a keen student of occultism. He has long been looking for a perfect medium, and believes that he has found one in Antonia (Toni) Vascher, the wife of a friend. Mrs. Vascher, in addition to being mediumistic, suffers from severe neuralgia. Lloyd falls in love with her, and she reciprocates to some degree. When Lloyd magnetizes her, she envisions an Egyptian magician, who visits Lloyd that evening in astral body. The Egyptian, Murghab, tempts Lloyd, telling him that good and evil are relative, that dualism is necessary to the universe, and that Lloyd should follow his biological impulses. Lloyd is later warned by Ananda (a resident protege who is studying telepathically

PRAED, ROSA CAMPBELL with a mahatma in the Himalayas) that Murghab is a black magician, but Lloyd cannot resist Murghab's lures, especially when Murghab tells him that his present incarnation embodies his last chance to win Toni. Lloyd invokes elementals to kill Toni's husband, but the intervention of Ananda's Master upsets the magic of Lloyd and Murghab. Toni's love for her husband reawakens, and Lloyd dies, killed by the elementals he called up. * Probably Mrs. Praed's best occult work. It is short and to the point, and if it is sometimes sensational, it is vivid, honest, unencumbered with extraneous material, and accurate from an occult point of view. 1335. THE SOUL OF COUNTESS ADRIAN A ROMANCE Trischeler and Co.; London 1891 An occult society novel. * Bernard Lendon, a fashionable young artist, and Miss Beatrice Brett, a budding young American actress, come to London at the same time and form two points of a sexual triangle. The third point is Countess Agnes Adrian, a femme fatale, who has studied occultism in the East. The countess falls madly in love with Bernard, who does not reciprocate. Beatrice's career advances. She successfully plays the part of the Duchess in Webster's THE DUCHESS OF MALFI. And she becomes engaged to Bernard. The countess has a heart condition, and she suddenly dies in Beatrice's arms. When Beatrice next plays the duchess, it is noted that the role is no longer dignified and virginal, but wanton and erotic. A great occultist thereupon arrives supernaturally from the Near East, confronts Beatrice, and reveals that she is possessed by the soul of Countess Adrian. Backed by his Masters, the White Brotherhood, he expels the countess and explains matters. * Stodgy and conventional in handling the triangle, but surprisingly vivid in describing London drawing rooms in circles concerned with occultism. These conversations are probably based on Mrs. Praed's ~wn experiences. 1336. "AS A WATCH IN THE NIGHT" A DRAMA OF WAKING AND DREAMING IN FIVE ACTS Chatto and Windus; London 1901 Occult development, romance, society. * Dorothea Queste, a middle-aged artist, has long had visions and psychical experiences of a previous life, probably in Ancient Rome. Her visions are sometimes full and detailed. She speaks of them to Augustus Charafta, who stands high in an occult organization that amounts to the Theosophical mahatmas. In previous lives he had been her father or teacher. She learns that her cycle of incarnations is not balanced. In her last life she committed a wicked act, and she must balance it out in this life by self-sacrifice. * The romance and societal part of the novel concern her involvement with parliamentary leaders, one of whom is her lover. He, however, is really in love with a young woman who is half Australian aborigine. The young woman in turn is loved by Dorothea Queste's son. Dorothea first commits a despicable act, then atones for it by renunciation. Her cycle is now presumably balanced. * While the occultism and the romance are

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PRATT, AMBROSE maundering and somewhat silly, the societal parts are handled convincingly. 1337. THE INSANE ROOT A ROMANCE OF A STRANGE COUNTRY T. Fisher Unwin; London 1902 Potpourri novel with supernatural moments. * London. Isadas Pacha, the ambassador from Abaris (Turkey) is dying. In his entourage are Rachel Isadas, his ward, who is usually considered his illegitimate daughter; Rue 1 Bey, his secretary; and Dr. Lucien Marillier, his personal physician. Before he dies, Isadas Pacha gives Marillier a mandrake root that has an animal-like life. On Isadas's death, Marillier anticipates that Rachel will marry the caddish Ruel Bey. Partly to protect her and partly because of his own love for her, he uses the magical powers of the mandrake to take over Ruel's body and marry Rachel. Ruel's disembodied spirit fights to regain possession of its body, and Marillier eventually realizes the immorality of his action. Death is the only solution for Rachel and Marillier. * The supernatural material, which includes traditional mandrake lore, is buried in a welter of romance, political intrigue, and busy action. 1338. THE BODY OF HIS DESIRE A ROMANCE OF THE SOUL Cassell; London 1912 Occult novel. * Van Dreen, an American occultist in London, attends a sermon given by the great Anglican preacher Chalmers. To his surprise he sees in Chalmers's aura the figure of a beautiful, exotic-looking woman. Van Dreen tries to discuss this with Chalmers, but there is no ground for agreement. The Englishman is too orthodox to believe that he is manufacturing a tulpa and rejects Van Dreen's accusation of unconscious black magic. But some time later Chalmers, now worn and exhausted, summons the occultist. Chalmers has accepted the presence of the woman and has built an Egyptian shrine for her. It is learned that she is from Ancient Egypt, and that Chalmers had wronged her in a previous incarnation. Chalmers is about to commit suicide to be rid of her, when she appears and tells him that she has been converted to Christianity by his sermons and will no longer bother him. * Not very good. PRATT, AMBROSE (1874-1944) Australian author. Most noted work LORE OF THE LYREBIRD, which went through several editions. Also NATIONAL HANDBOOK OF AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRIES. 1339. THE LIVING MUMMY Ward, Lock; London [1910] Muscle-bound adventure, romance, and the supernatural (curiously qualified at the end). Egypt and England. * The hero, Dr. Pinsent, a young archeologist whom today we would call a vicious blackguard of the Bulldog Drummond type, is excavating in Egypt. The famous Dr. Ottley and his beautiful daughter May approach him and ask to borrow workmen for a day or two. Ottley has found the tomb of the priest Ptahmes of the 18th Dynasty, reign of Ikhnaton. Ptahmes was a great magician and was

PRATT, AMBROSE munmified in a peculiar way. * The story now moves off into great complexity. In brief, the mummy seems to come alive and attack several of the characters. Ottley turns out to be an occultist crank, who is associated with a rogue and black magician, Dr. Belleville. Ottley and Belleville impel sendings on the herculean Pinsent, who fights them off. They return to England. Belleville wants to marry May and destroys her fiance. Belleville learns the secret of magical invisibility. Belleville sends the mummy's detached hand to strangle Pinsent. Belleville captures everyone. But Pinsent and May finally win out. * The story moves by perpetual character clashes, but ends discordantly when it is revealed that the m~~y has a modern double who has been responsible for much of the mischief. Unconvincing and confusing. Strong on incident, but otherwise without merit. PRATT, [MURRAY] FLETCHER (1897-1956) American historian, military expert, -translator, science-fiction author. Translated German science-fiction for Gernsback's magazines. Perhaps the foremost American civilian military analyst; it has been said that his system of game analysis of naval operations was better than that used by U. S. Navy. Important as an influence in the development of American science-fiction. In supernatural fiction, of interest only in collaborations with L. Sprague de Camp. See also Fletcher, George. AS EDITOR: 1340. WORLD OF WONDER AN INTRODUCTION TO IMAGINATIVE LITERATURE Twayne Publishers; New York [1951] Foreword by Edith Mirrielees. Introduction, THE NATURE OF IMAGINATIVE LITERATURE, by Pratt. An anthology of science-fiction and supernatural fiction. Including, described elsewhere, [a] ROADS OF DESTINY, O. Henry. [b] THE FINEST STORY IN THE WORLD, Rudyard Kipling. [c] ETAOIN SHRDLU, Fredric Brown. [d] THEY, Robert A. Heinlein. [e] METAMORPHOSIS, Franz Kafka. [f] THE MARK OF THE BEAST, Rudyard Kipling. * Also, [g] MISTAKE INSIDE, Jim Blish. (STARTLING STORIES, 1948). Levels of consciousness externalized. "Outside is where roots of significant mistakes are imbedded; inside is where they flower." Dr. Tracey mistakenly thinks his wife is committing adultery and is prepared to shoot her lover, but a brief stay in an other-world shows him his error and the way to correct it. [h} PRIVATE-KEEP OUT, Philip MacDonald. When a man is erased, all memory of him is removed by malevolent fate. This happens, as the protagonist hears, to the great actor Adrian Archer. Will the narrator also disappear? [i] MUSEUM PIECE, Esther Carlson. Uncle George admires the virile aspects of a reconstructed Java man in a museum and assumes some of his characteristics. An old maid has similar feelings about Java man's mate. * [g] has excellent ideas, but really should have been a nouvelle or short novel. * Pratt offers analyses of each story, not especially perceptive.

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PRATT, FLETCHER AND DE CAMP, L. SPRAGUE WITH DE CAMP, L. SPRAGUE 1341. LAND OF UNREASON Henry Holt; New York [1942] Fantastic adventure. (UNK 1941) * Fred Barber, American diplomat in England during World War II, is suddenly transported to an otherworld, the fairyland of Oberon and Titania. He is the official changeling who is to be the peace offering from Titania to Oberon. As he soon discovers, although the land was set up by Oberon as a land of perpetual happiness, it is being disfigured by "shapings" or unpleasant aberrations that disrupt the magical law of the land. The fairies attribute these shapings to the kobbolds, who have possession of Titania's sceptre and Barber is sent, willynilly, to retrieve it, since he can handle iron-- an ability which otherwise only the kobbolds share. Barber's quest leads him through a series ot adventures which include encounters with hostile and amorous wood sprites; transformation into a frog and a mission to the territory of the leeches; and an aerial battle with two-headed eagles who are trying to prevent him from accomplishing his mission. Along with the adventures runs a pattern of purpose. Barber, as he recognizes after a time, is not a free agent. He is being routed along a predetermined path. Three points must be touched, says the rhyme he often hears, before Barbarossa will return and save the land. When Barber reaches the final touch point in the Wartburg, he is transformed into Frederick Barbarossa, the magical emperor. His ability to utilize iron and Oberon's magic law now retrieve the world from evil. * One of the better semihumorous heroic fantasies, a good child of PHANTASTES, with clever integration of incident and theme, despite an unnecessary episode. * At the end of the book is bound the first portion of THE INCOMPLETE ENCHANTER, which was published as by de Camp and Pratt. 1342. TALES FROM GAVAGAN'S BAR Twayne Publishers; New York 1953 Short narratives, rather than developed stories, set in the frame situation of a New York neighborhood bar. Customers tell tales to a group of more or less permanent clients and the bartender. * Including [a] THE GIFT OF GOD. (MFSF 1950) A writer of bad pious verse is in the horrible situation of having some of her purple lines come true. [b] CORPUS DELECTABLE. An otherwise ordinary man has the unusual property of being a desirable object for undertakers. [c] THE BETTER MOUSETRAP. (MFSF 1950) The magician Abaris performs various services for Gavagan's clients, including a small dragon to rid an apartment of mice. [d] ELEPHAS FRUMENTI. (MFSF 1950) Tiny elephants designed as pets. [e] BEASTS OF BOURBON. (MFSF) Van Nest's drunken visions take solid forms as zany zoology. [f] THE STONE OF THE SAGES. A crystal that transmutes other metals to gold. [g] "WHERE TO, PLEASE," (WT 1952) A strange cab translates one back to 1859. [h] THE PALIMPSEST OF ST. AUGUSTINE. A surviving ms. by St. Augustine, plus highly

PRATT, FLETCHER AND DE CAMP, L. SPRAGUE questionable psychic phenomena within the Church. [i] MORE THAN SKIN DEEP. (FSF 1951) Mme. Lavoisin's beauty parlor is really using love magic for its clients. [j] NO FORWARDING ADDRESS. Occult powers. An ancient Atlantean survives, working as a librarian. [k] WHEN THE NIGHT WIND HOWLS. (WT 1951) The voice of an evangelical preacher attains an urgency that is supernatural. [1] MY BROTHER'S KEEPER. The Corsican brothers situation, with a humorous touch. [m] A DIME BRINGS YOU SUCCESS. Baggot signs up for a course on the development of will power-and acquires the evil eye. [n] THE RAPE OF THE LOCK. (MFSF 1952) An amulet that opens locks also transports one in time and space. [0] ALL THAT GLITTERS. A leprechaun and ward politics. [p] HERE, PUTZI! A Transylvanian periodically changes into a dachshund. [q] GIN COMES IN BOTTLES. A dim-witted messenger, told to get gin for cocktails, brings a jinn in a bottle. [r] THE BLACK BALL. (MFSF 1952) A crystal ball that works the numbers racket. [sl THE GREEN THUMB. (MFSF 1953) Magic by an Australian Bushman causes everything that Dotty cooks to turn out on cordon bleu level. [t] CAVEAT EMPTOR. (WT 1953) The legal aspects of selling one's soul. [u] THE EVE OF ST. JOHN. A fairy gift-- never to win a bet. [v] THE ANCESTRAL AMETHYST. (MFSF 1952) It has the traditional power of keeping its owner sober. * Another story, "The Love-nest," about an oviparous woman, is really science-fiction. * Best items are [a], [c], [e], and [g]. PRATT, THEODORE (1901-1969) American playwright, fiction writer. Columnist for VARIETY, NEW YORKER. Best-known work probably the play THE BIG BLOW (1938). 1343. MR. LIMPET Knopf; New York 1942 Topical fantasy of World War II. * While at Coney Island admiring the fish, Mr. Henry Limpet leaps or falls into the water and is transformed into a giant fish-- with spectacles. He is able to talk to fish of his own species and to humans. Since he is very patriotic, he is soon working with the U.S. Navy (commissioned as a lieutenant) locating German submarines. He is so successful that Hitler personally tries to win him over to the German side. On the personal level, he decides to abandon his fat, querulous shore wife and take off with Ladyfish, an attractive female of his new species. * The war fantasy is a difficult subgenre to handle well, and the present example is very feeble. Forty years later the values are so absurd that the story is irking rather than amusing. PRICE, E[DGAR] HOFFMANN (1898 ) American writer (mostly resident in California). Graduate of West Point; service in U. S. Army. Frequent contributor to pulp magazines, specializing in Oriental adventure with authentic background. Full-time writer until early 1950's, at which time turned to photography. A member of the Lovecraft circle, with excellent reminiscences.

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PRICE, E. HOFFMANN 1344. STRANGE GATEWAYS Arkham House; Sauk City, Wisc. 1967 Short stories, including [a] THE FIRE AND THE FLESH. (FANTASTIC UNIVERSE, 1953). Indonesia. Harmon, working with strains of dryland rice, has to cope with the ever-present problem of the volcano Merah. When it is not threatening to erupt, fumes damage his plants. The natives tell him that it is necessary to propitiate the goddess with offerings. Harmon does so, meeting a fascinating young Indian woman, Agni Deva (sic), within the crater. When he is forced to leave his home because of domestic problems (his wife and her lover want to certify him as insane) he takes refuge with Agni Deva and soon learns that she is the volcano. [b] GRAVEN IMAGE. (ADVENTURE 1964) China, World War II. Jensen, an unsuccessful missionary, comes to terms with Kuang Ti, the Chinese god of heaven. Madness, only borderline fantasy. [c] THE STRANGER FROM KURDISTAN. (WT 1925) A black mass and a congregation of devil worshippers. A stranger appears, Melek Taus, or the Yezidee form of Lucifer. He disowns the mummery and pays his respects, as a worthy adversary, to God. [d] THE GIRL FROM SAMARCAND. (WT 1929) To Clarke, an expert collector of Oriental carpets, is sent from Samarkand a marvelous antique carpet. It brings back memories of an old romance with the Yellow Girl in Central Asia, and is an entry to a land beyond deach, with her. She had woven it in a previous incarnation. [e] TARBIS OF THE LAKE. (WT 1934) According to legend, Tarbis, ancient queen of Ethiopia, came to France and settled near Lourdes. Rankin is currently having an affair with her. What is she? He destroys her mummy. [f] BONES FOR CHINA. China, World War II. yang is carrying his grandfather's bones back to Ming T'ien for burial and is caught between the Japanese and the local defenders. His grandfather's bones give good advice. [g] WELL OF THE ANGELS. (UNK 1940) Dave Cooper, desperately unhappy engineer at MosuI, is willing to do almost anything to shorten his term of work. When he learns that two renegade angels, Harut and Marut, are imprisoned in the old hidden tower in the desert, and that they will give magical help to those who ask, he loses no time in seeking them out. He pays no heed to supernatural warnings to the effect that fate cannot be altered. [h] STRANGE GATEWAY. (UNK 1939) Extreme fatigue, nervous strain lower the narrator's mental 'barriers enough that he witnesses a murder that took place about a year earlier. [i] APPRENTICE MAGICIAN. (WT 1939) Vaguely linked to R.E. Howard's Western humor about the Buckner clan. Panther Warfield Buckner comes to California to become an apprentice to his Uncle Simon, who is a magician. While Simon is extremely skilled as a sorcerer, Panther, because of his youth and sexual attractiveness, is much more successful in making the acquaintance of the Egyptian goddess Sekhmet than old Simon ever has been. [j] ONE MORE RIVER. (STRANGE STORIES, 1941)

PRICE, E. HOFFMANN Two friends who had quarreled about a woman many years before resume their friendship after death. * Competent commercial fiction, although the collection is not as strong as it might have been. Best stories are [d], which handles sentimentality well, and [g]. 1345. FAR LANDS OTHER DAYS Carcosa; Chapel Hill, North Carolina 1975 A selection of Price's fantasies and Oriental adventure stories f,:om various sources. About two thirds of the contents of this enormous volume are fantastic in one way or another. * The first five stories, set in France, are built around the personality of Pierre d'Artois, elderly, invincible master of the sword, who is often embroiled with the supernatural. [a] THE WORD OF SANTIAGO. (WT 1926) Artois and the great Spanish swordsman Santiago have decided on a duel to the death. Santiago prays to Malik Taus for victory, but is rejected by the god-demon. In anger Santiago disavows Malik Taus, appears at the dueling ground, and after an incredible combat is overcome by Artois. But, as is learned later, Santiago had been killed in an automobile accident hours before the duel. [b] THE PEACOCK'S SHADOW. (WT 1926) Artois becomes entangled with the Marquis de la Tour de Maracq and worshippers of Malik Taus. The marquis, under pretence of conducting occult initiations, plans to sacrifice a beautiful young woman. Slight supernatural elements, with suggestion of reincarnation from Ancient Egypt. [c] GRAY SPHINX. (STRANGE DETECTIVE STORIES, 1934) Artois and Barrett act against Don Jose, who is reviving the black magic of ancient Atlantis. Included are a materialized, demonic monster; a highly advanced adept, Sidi Abdurrahman; a debt from a previous incarnation; and assorted magical effects. [d] SATAN'S GARDEN. (WT 1934) Artois against a modern counterpart of the ancient Assassins; an evil adept who offers a garden of paradise with drugs and houris; Tibetan adepts; and perhaps resurrection of the dead. This last point is not clear; the circumstances maybe fraudulent. Told as episodic adventure, with much slaughter, disguise, and peril. A short novel. [e] QUEEN OF THE LILIN. (WT 1934) Graf Erich has been using the magic of a circle of adepts to evoke Lilith. He is successful, but she is quite evil and something of a nuisance. Even killing the adepts does not drive her back to her own world. * [f] A JEST AND A VENGEANCE. (WT 1939) The Sultan Schamas ad Din, faced with the rebellion of his treacherous nephew and the threat of British intervention and occupancy, descends into the ancient pit in the ruins of Atlanaat, seeking magical aid. He finds there a symbolic representation of dead-living kings and "Shaitan's little sister," who controls the Master of the World-- the sleeper whose dreams we all are. [g] THE HAND OF WRATH. (WT 1935) The Sultan Zahireddin, caught in a serious rebellion, vows vengeance when his beloved Jauhara is killed by an enemy bullet. He asks the old hermit from Central Asia for revenge, and he

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PRICE, E. HOFFMANN is told that during his lifetime he will kill all but one of his enemies. The last enemy he can kill only after his own death. The prophecy is fulfilled. His severed hand, worked upon magically, fulfills his wish. [h] WEB OF WIZARDRY. (SPICY MYSTERY STORIES, 1942) A triangle, fate magic in the Near East. Baylor, who lusts for the wife of a friend, asks old Aisha to change the web of fate in the carpet that she weaves magically in a cave. The theme is indicated in the Arabic expression, "I betake me to the Lord of the Daybreak for refuge from Satan • • • and from the spells of women who blow cn knots." [i] KHOSRU'S GARDEN. (WT 1940) Bayne, a wealthy man, owns a garden carpet-- and discovers that he can walk into it, away from the troubles of the world, including an adulterous wife. It is also a good place to leave her and her lover. [j] SNAKE GODDESS. (STRANGE STORIES, 1939) Southeast Asia. In the deserted Hindu temple in the jungle lives a naga, who is also the wondrously beautiful woman Yasmini. While she kills quite a few of the natives and interferes with Warren's plantation, she desires Warren as a lover. She is very jealous of Warren's fiancee. An odd cultural mixture. [k] HOUSE O~ THE MONOCEROS. Alternate title THE OLD GODS EAT. (SPICY MYSTERY STORIES, 1941) An odd, not very successful mixture of hardboiled private eye business and the haunting of an ancient Cornish castle by a monoceros-- a monster with one horn. It has been responsible for several deaths. Also women. [1] WOMAN IN rHE CASE. (SPICY MYSTERY STORIES, 1938) Egypt. Mummies, ghosts, possession, Copts, bloodshed. [m] SELENE WALKS BY NIGHT. (SPICY MYSTERY STORIES, 1940) The young stocking salesman who lusts for Selene Felixe Brown learns, first, that she lives with a household of over-intelligent, over-protective cats, and second, that she herself • • • Told in the titillating SPICY manner. [n] PRAYER TO SATAN. (SPICY MYSTERY STORIES, 1942) Mason, field chief of an expedition to the Yezidee country, has problems controlling his drunken, insensitive expedition members. A beggar gives him magical sight. Also Layla, the daughter of Lilith. [0] SHADOW CAPTAIN. (SPEED MYSTERY, 1943) World War II, N3rth African campaign. Captain Rowan is sensitive enough to be approached by ancient Egyptian ghosts who complain that bombardment and battle are destroying their tombs. He is particularly attracted to Maatkara, a young lady ghost, and joins her. [p] PEACH BLOSSOM PARADISE. (ARGOSY, 1944) Also titled SANCTUARY. Japanese-occupied Philippines. Cooper, one of the American guerillas operating in the hills is unable to stand the stress and surrenders to the Japanese, by whom he is well treated. He continues to work for the underground and meets a Chinese who has the power to transport people into the glaze of a gigantic ceramic vessel. Cooper, who is not especially heroic and is a weak lot in some ways, finally dies a hero's death. [q] THE HANDS OF

PRICE, E. HOFFMANN JANOS. (SPEED MYSTERY, 1944) Janos, professional magician, discovers that no one is interested in his art. But each magician has the power to perform one supernatural act. At the request of a very seedy Devil, Janos turns his power over to an unhappy man-- but cannot change fate. Janos thereupon decides to use his manual dexterity in a defense plant. [rl THE SHADOw OF SATURN. (WT 1950) Serious astrology, a sexual triangle, and resolution. [sl THE INFIDEL'S DAUGHTER. (WT 1927) Landon wants to conjure up the Infidel's Daughter, an Islamic demon-figure of great erotic power. Her final kiss exhausts male victims. According to astrological information, the conjuration is best done in the Southern United States. But Landon runs afoul of the Knights of the Saffron Mask, a fictional organization based on the K.K.K. Price, in his new introduction to this volume, apologizes to the Klan and expresses regret for "civil rights idiocies and extremes." * Price was a conscientious craftsman who researched his stories well (with occasional exceptions like [jl) and tried to embody sound workmanship in each. While the stories from the SPICY magazines are meretricious, they are interesting from a cultural point of view. * The best stories in the volume, however, are occasional adventure stories based on character studies, like "Heart of a Thief" and "Vengeance in Samarra." * Price's introduction is good. PRIESTLEY, J[OHNl B[OYNTONl (1894British novelist, essayist, miscellaneous writer. Early work mostly comedy of manners. Best-known work probably THE GOOD COMPANIONS (1929), sympathetic fictional treatment of vaudeville circuit in Great Britain, with suitable character studies. Successful playwright, most interesting work being so-called "time plays," based more or less on Dunne's theory of serial time. Has done excellent popular cultural history, including a study of Regency England •. 1346. THE OTHER PLACE AND OTHER STORIES OF THE SAME SORT Heinemann; London 1953 Short stories, including [al THE OTHER PLACE. Lindfield, doing engineering work in the West Country, saves the life of Sir Alaric Foden, an eccentric old man. As a reward Foden offers to let Lindfield go to the Other Place. After staring at a stone and passing through a door, Lindfield finds himself in a pleasant place, with many people whom he knows. It is not Paradise, but it is extraordinarily pleasant. He meets a woman with whom he falls in love, and then finds himself back in Floden's library. He has been gone only three minutes. He tries to find the Other Place, but with no success and the people whom he met there do not know what he is talking about. He thinks that he has seen the woman again, but he cannot be sure. [bl THE GREY ONES. Patson goes to a psychiatrist. He has been greatly disturbed by what he has seen. Aliens are trying to take over the world and transform man into the equivalent of a social insect. Patson has

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PRIESTLEY, J. B. spied on a meeting of the Grey Ones, in which they sloughed off their human shapes and appeared as semitransparent toad-like beings. The psychiatrist listens calmly until Patson describes the meeting. [cl UNCLE PHIL ON TV. Phil dies of a heart attack. His pills had been too far for him to reach. His family buys a television set with his insurance money, but Phil appears on the set too often, and what he says hurts. [dl GUEST OF HONOR. Sir Bernard Clipter's car almost runs down a man. When Sir Bernard rudely shouts, '~hy don't you look where you're going?" the man retorts, "Tonight you look where you are going." Clipter had been going to a dinner party as guest of honor, but he finds it an especially horrible hell. When the party is over, he finds himself back in time, at the near accident, but now he is polite to the stranger. tel LOOK AFTER THE STRANGE GIRL. Mark Denbow finds himself back in pre-Titanic times with foreknowledge of what will happen. There had been a swimming accident. But there is another person from the future along with him, the girl Ann. Also titled THE STRANGE GIRL. [fl THE STATUES. Voley, a newspaper man, has occasional visions of titanic statues. When he sees the entire cityscape of London transformed, he collapses. The future? [gl THE LEADINGTON INCIDENT. Sir George Cobthorn, pompous government minister, has a dispute with a stranger on a train. When Cob thorn boasts that two thousand people will attend, the stranger replies that they will all be asleep or dead. And so Cob thorn finds them. [hl NIGHT SEQUENCE. Luke and Betty Gosforth engage in a nasty quarrel when their car is trapped in a ditch. They seek shelter in a nearby house and find themselves in a world of the past (of sorts). Luke finds the niece of the house his ideal woman, while Betty is similarly impressed with Sir Edward. The illusions are suddenly shattered, however, and they find themselves alone in an empty house. But they have learned lessons from their projections. * Another story, "Mr. Strenberry's Tale," is science-fiction. * [dl is excellent for its horrors; [hl is very interesting, as is [el 1347. THE MAGICIANS Heinemann; London 1954 Values, good vs. evil in the cosmic plan. Sir Charles Ravenscroft, director of an electrical engineering firm, is forced out of.his position by a cabal and is at loose ends. As might be expected, he is bitter at what might be called a betrayal of ideals. He is approached by Lord Mervil, a powerful newspaper owner and capitalist, who wants Ravenscroft to assist in the manufacture and distribution of a marvelous tranquilizer. It is soon apparent that Mervil is attracted not only by the financial aspect of the drug, but by the possibilities of fascistic social control. * Three extremely odd men now force themselves on Ravenscroft: a British engineer from the Middle East, a Balkan merchant, and a French horologist. These men, who refer to themselves as magicians, have supernatural powers

*

PRIESTLEY,

J. B.

and serve a good power opposed to the evil power for which Mervil works. Their abilities are based on an understanding of the nature of time. They enable Ravenscroft to relive a cr1S1S in his past, and they outmanoeuvre Mervil and his associates. Ravenscroft joins the three magicians and is given a chance at happiness. * A competent, interesting adventure with an intellectual component. PROSPERO AND CALIBAN (pseud. of ROLFE, FREDERICK WILLIAM and PIRIE-GORDON, CHARLES HENRY) Rolfe (1860-1913), better-known as Baron Corvo, was a remarkable eccentric, with touches of both paranoia and genius. Rejected from the Roman Catholic priesthood for moral reasons, he became embittered and devoted much of his life to attempts both in his fiction and in reality to justify himself and bring down his enemies. He was a disreputable, unsavory person, but at times a brilliant writer. His best known work is HADRIAN VII, a projective fantasy of himself as pope. * Pirie-Gordon, usually known as Harry Pirie-Gordon (1883-1) was an occasional friend of and collaborator with Rolfe. On several occasions Rolfe entered into literary partnerships of a sort in which the other party wrote first draft, after which Rolfe rewrote completely, turning the work into his "jewelled prose." 1348. THE WEIRD OF THE WANDERER BEING THE PAPYRUS RECORDS OF SOME INCIDENTS IN ONE OF THE PREVIOUS LIVES OF MR. NICHOLAS CRABBE [etc.) W. Rider; London 1912 Supernatural fantasy about an apotheosis. Apparently becoming pope was not sufficient for Rolfe. * Nicholas Crabbe (an alterego of Rolfe's who appears in other works) is extremely skilled in ceremonial magic. Going to Egypt, he undertakes magical ordeals which culminate in great power, including the acquisition of an Ancient Egyptian priest as a familiar. But in a ceremony to attain supreme power, he drops his magical wand (which the gods had heated) and is tossed into the past, shortly before the Christian era. Here he begins a new cycle of adventures, for it is revealed to him that he is Odysseus (Odysseys, as Rolfe spells it) and that he is destined to remove the treasure from Hades. The treasure is Helen of Troy. With the blessing of the Greek gods Crabbe invades Hades, and after some difficulties escapes with Helen. He is welcomed on Olympus, where he marries Helen. His marriage is followed by visits to other pantheons and a triumphant war against the Roman gods. But Olympus palls on him and he returns to earth with Helen, becoming King of Moxoene (present-day Armenia). As the novel ends he sees a star, packs a casket of aromatics, and goes as one of the three kings to welcome the Savior. * The narrative has been translated from papyri that have been found in an undisturbed site in Armenia, together with 19th century coins, a gold watch, and a revolver, all of which Crabbe took into the past with him. * More restrained stylistically than works done by

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PUDNEY, JOHN Rolfe alone.

A very dull, forced work.

PUDNEY, JOHN (1909 British writer of fiction, poet, journalist, editor. Associated with BBC in 1930's; later a director of Putnams, Ltd., England. Contributor to various newspapers and periodicals, both British and American. Several of the stories in the follOWing descriptions have been broadcast as plays in Great Britain and America. 1349. UNCLE ARTHUR AND OTHER STORIES Longmans, Green; London 1939 Short stories, usually about lower middle class types in towns and small cities; sometimes fragment of life approach, sometimes metaphoric fantasy. * Including [a) UNCLE ARTHUR. Arthur, who is a talking elephant, moves in with the Albions and proceeds to devour their substance. Obvious political implications. [b) A DECENT FACE ON IT. The abandoned wife in the barroom puts a decent face on things. But she also has premonitory visions in tea leaves. [c) BEWARE OF CATS' EYES. Alf, a garage man who is a simple soul, has a premonitory vision of Nellie. She comes to him on her bike, head bloody, having been killed with a hammer. But Alf staves off fate very simply. [d) EDNA'S FRUIT HAT. Edna, who has tended her selfish invalid mother for years, does not mourn at the funeral, but wears a fruit hat. But the fruit and flowers come to life. It is an emanation of her goodness. [e) DUNWORTHY 13. Mr. Mullins, at the new telephone exchange at Dunworthy, receives a nuisance call from a murderer who wants to talk about his deed. Mullins summons the police and learns that the murder was in the past, and that the line has been dead for a year. [f) PILGRIM'S WAY. Joe Trump is compelled for economic reasons to dress like a medieval pilgrim, to advertise an inn. He meets a troop of real pilgrims from Chaucer's time. [g) FEATHERING THE NEST. Miss Fanny accidentally sits on her cat Oliver and crushes him. Oliver is buried in the tulip bed. When the gardener digs the bed, the next spring, since the cat's corpse seems to have killed all the flowers except the tulips, he finds a neatly written note saying that Oliver will be reincarnated as a bird. A duck, if the story is to be believed literally. [h) THE NAKED MAN. He stands behind a hedge, and the women of the village talk to him. When fat Mrs. Fragrass dies, she is seen riding in a landaulette with the naked man. Pan? * Best story is [c). 1350. IT BREATHED DOWN MY NECK A SELECTION OF STORIES John Lane; London [1946) American title, EDNA'S FRUIT HAT. * Short stories, including, described above, [a) EDNA'S FRUIT HAT. [b) UNCLE ARTHUR. lc) DUNWORTHY 13. * Also [d) THE BOY WHO SAW THROUGH. He could see through walls, but his parents did not believe him. [e) GEORGE'S GOOD DEED. A talking dog. [f) A CHRISTMAS TALE. A talking lion comes and spends Christmas with Lord Trellis. A political allegory of a sort, like UNCLE ARTHUR. [g) THE LOVER OF NATURE. Mrs. Salver, a bird lover, when

PUDNEY, JOHN performing owl calls, attracts a male owl who refuses to leave her. There is a suspicion that it is her late husband.

[ANONYMOUS ANTHOLOGY] 1351. QUAKES A COLLECTION OF UNEASY TALES Philip Allan; London [1933] One of the CREEPS SERIES. * Short stories, including [a] THE MAN IN THE MIRROR. P. Beaufoy Barry. Magic. Clancy believes that the dead can be controlled by forcing one's will on a mirror. He evokes a psychopathic killer. [b] THE SPIRIT OF HIGGINS, H. Glynn-Ward. Higgins, web-handed half-caste Chinese, dogs Heath's footsteps after Heath seduces his daughter. Heath murders him, but he is reincarnated, webbed hands and all, as Heath's child and will take revenge. The author is carried on the contents page as Glyn-Ward. [c] LITTLE SMITH , Hester Gorst. Littlesmith is a small clerk in Bunbury's office. When Bunbury dies, he leaves his fortune to Littlesmith on condition that he spend one night alone with the corpse. Bunbury, a student of black magic, transfers himself to Littlesmith's body. [d] THE TERROR BY NIGHT, Ismay Trimble. A terribly haunted room and a ghost that laughs. [e] THE PEOPLE OF DARKNESS, Douglas Newton. Australia. An earthquake and subsidence into enormous unknown caverns release bat-people with a supercivilization who plan to exterminate surface man. Borderline science-fiction. [f] DEAD MEN'S BONES, Edith Olivier. When the new church was built, bones from the old graveyard were removed and put together in one sarcophagus. A dying old woman recalls hearing the dead protest against the intermingling of bones. [g] THE CUPBOARD OF DREAD, Elliott O'Donnell. A haunted cupboard from a morgue in Spain. Clothing in it assumes human shape and forces suicide. [h] QUEER, Charles Cullum. The human cannonball in a circus, supernatural double existence, and death. * [f] is best, otherwise rather crude stories of material horror. * Edited by Charles L. Birkin. QUICK, DOROTHY (1900-1962) American writer, occasional contributor to pulp magazines. Perhaps better known for traditional poetry than for fiction. 1352. STRANGE AWAKENING House of Field; New York 1938 Erotic fantastic adventure, presumably written for teen-aged girls. * Iva (a young woman) suddenly finds herself teleported to Venus, where the men are 6 1/2 feet tall, built like Apollo, and (for the most part) charming and deferential. She is found by Ota, King of the Blue Land (Venus is divided into four lands, each separately ruled, Red, Blue, Yellow, Green, and the inhabitants are of that color), who in-

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QUILLER-COUCH, ARTHUR T. stantly marries her, although he does not consummate the marriage. It seems that the total ruler of Venus, the tremendous being known as the Great Mind, has been responsible for bringin5 Iva to Venus, and he wants her for himself. He is tired of Venusian women, who can no longer arouse his jaded desires. He will presumably have his will of Iva, then cast her into a flaming pit and watch her combust. King Ota is the son of the Great Mind, but there is no such thing as familial feeling on Venus, since the Venusians procreate in a rather odd way. For a long time Ota has been planning to wrest control from the Great Mind and has been building up magical power. He also relies on an ancient prophecy that seems to apply to him and Iva. Emissaries from the Great Mind kidnap Iva, and there are escapes and recaptures before she is taken to Gecca, the capital town of the Great Mind. He is about to subject her to the fate worse than death when Ota, armed with new weaponry, bursts in: He wrestles with the Great Mind and forces him into the fiery pit. Iva will now be queen of all Venus. * Nothing to recommend. QUILLER-COUCH, ARTHUR T[HOMAS] (1863-1940) British author, educator. Early work printed under pseudonym Q. Associated with publisher Cassell, editor of political journal, THE SPEAKER. Active politically and awarded knighthood in 1910. Appointed Edward VII Professor of English Literature, Cambridge, 1912. A fine lecturer and inspirational teacher who did much to modernize curriculum. Works ON THE ART OF WRITING and ON THE ART OF READING, based on Cambridge lectures, should be read by all. Fiction mostly romantic and historical, often centered on native Cornwall. An excellent stylist, master of very clear, limpid English. Best-known works, editorship of THE OXFORD BOOK OF ENGLISH VERSE and the Christmas carol, I SAW THREE SHIPS. 1353. NOUGHTS AND CROSSES STORIES AND SKETCHES ~ Cassell; London 1891 (published as by Q) Short stories, mostly Cornish in setting, includip.g [a] ''DOUBLES'' AND QUITS. A bitterly stubborn husband and wife, after quarreling for ten years, decide to separate for another decade and then meet again. Ten years later their ghosts return and resume the ancient battle. [b] BESIDE THE BEE-HIVES. Folkloristic magic. Telling the bees about family events, doll magic, and at least an attempt at magical murder. [c] THE DARK MIRROR. Borderline supernatural. Perhaps only a figure of speech. The mirror from the old parsonage shows (in the mind's eye of the narrator) the previous owners the Brontes. [d] THE MAGIC SHADOW. A fable. Literary talent. AND OTHER WINTER'S 1354. "I SAW THREE SHIPS" Cassell; London 1892 (published as by Q) Short stories, including [a] A BLUE PANTOMIME. A fairly long short story. The mirror in the blue room shows the Rev. S. Wraxall an 18th century murder, but the victim looks

QUILLER-COUCH, ARTHUR T. much like him. Further, Wraxall is supernaturally conducted to where the boay was hidden. [bj THE HAU:-:ITED DRAGOON. The dashing sergeant helps his mistress to murder her husband, saves his own life by perjury, and abandons her to her fate. He is followed about later by the ghost of her ana her child. 1355. WANDERING HEATH STORIES, STUDIES. AND SKETCHES Cassell; London 1895 (published as by Q) Short stories set in Cornwall. Including, [aj THE ROLL-CALL OF THE REEF. Nap:>leonic wars. Two ships are wrecked off the coast. The only survivors are a trunpeter, whom a blow on the head has rendered somewhat defective mentally, ana a drummer boy fro~n the marines. They strike up a friendship, but the boy goes off to the wars again. Some years later the boy's ghost returns, greets the trumpeter, and together they go to the sea, where they conduct a roll-call of the dead. Material proof is found later in a six-letter combination lock. [bj MY GRANDFATHER, HENDRY WATTY. A DROLL. A Cornish tall-tale of a dream. Hendry Watty undergoes folkloristic magic and supernatural carryings-on at sea. [cj WIDDERSHINS. A DROLL. Farmer Joby, who has a very bad squint, asks To~ny Warne, the local conjurer, to remove it. The process involves much folkloristic magic. Rationalized. [dj THE LEGEND OF SIR DINAR. Chivalric Middle Ages. Sir Dinar, in quest of the Grail, shoots M~rgan Ie Fay's falcon and she takes supernatural revenge. He is forced to dance with a vampiric figure that turns him into an old man and never releases him. Galahad rescues hL~ by turning him into a leaf. * [aj is excellent, one of the best costume ghost stories. The remaining material is mediocre. 1356. OLD FIRES AN0 PROFITABLE GHOSTS A BOOK OF STORIES Cassell; London 1900 Short stories, including [aj OCEANUS. The narrator's friend Harry has been killed in Africa ana the narrator mourns him. But Harry appears, invites him for a ride, and takes him to a Hell that figures the torments of the universe. Harry points out as consolation that God, behind a curtain, weeps incessantly; his tears presumably symbolize O~eanus, the river around the world. Small consolation. [bj THE SEVENTH MAN. Six men winterbound in a cabin in the Arctic. A seventh man is buried outside. Cabin fever may explain the seventh man. [cj THE LADY OF THE SHIP. 1526, Cornwall. A Portuguese ship is wrecked, and the Lady Alicia of Bohemia is among the few survivors. Unfortunately, although a beautiful and pleasant woman, she is a witch whose spirit wanders at night. One of the local gentry marries her and tries to save her, but in vain. A Moor comes, and it is obvious that he is the Devil. Lady Alicia and her husband are both dead, and the Moor leaves with a dog. Perhaps it is the husband. [dj A PAIR OF HANDS. A house haunted by the ghost of a girl who does all the housework. She appears only as a pair of hands. [ej THE MYSTERY OF JOSEPH LAQUEDEM.

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QUILLER-COUCH, ARTHUR T. The Wandering Jew in Cornwall. Joseph Laquedem, who sets up in business, finds in Julia, a half-witted local girl, a reincarnation of a woman of Ancient Rome. She was a princess and he was a Christianized Jew in the arena with the lions. He is killed while smuggling. * Perhaps Q's best single book. 1357. THE LAIRD'S LUCK Cassell; London 1901 Short stories, including, [aj THE LAIRD'S LUCK. Napoleonic wars, Scotland and the fields of Waterloo. Told through the commander of the Moray Highlanders. Young Ardlaugh, although seemingly personable, is cordially disliked by his neighbors. The colonel enlists him for the wars, and the same pattern emerges: his fellow officers do not like him. An accusation of cheating at cards and the death of Ardlaugh at Waterloo lead to an explanation of his unpopularity. He is attended by a brownie of a sort, the spirit of a dead half-brother. The spirit, in the belief that it is helping Ardlaugh, commits thefts and other dishonest acts, which are laid to Ardlaugh's door. Nicely told. [bj PHOEBUS ON HALZAPHRON. The chance collapse of a cliff reveals the remains of a small temple of Roman date. Q then relates the historical background-- the sunken land of Lyonesse (which is much like that of Ys in Britanny). When the sea rose and destroyed the land, the wicked princess almost escaped with the king, her father, but the spirits pulled her down. Her ghost was thereupon responsible for shipwrecks and drownings. Apollo came, and with his songs eased sorrows. He in turn was ousted by a Christian saint. * [aj is excellent. [bj attempts too much. 1358. THE WHITE WOLF AND OTHER FIRESIDE TALES Methuen; London 1902 Short stories, including [aj THE MIRACLE OF THE WHITE WOLF. Borderline fantasy. A document found in the 14th century, on an icebound, deserted ship. The document tells of a romance, an elopement, starvation and thirst in the desert arctic, and then, finally, a vision of plenty on Christmas. [bj THE HAUNTED YACHT. A YARN. The narrator answers an advertisement selling a small yacht, inspects it, and sees a ghost on board. This is the lead-in for a complicated series of identity changes, both ship and man. [cj JOHN AND THE GHOSTS. Illyria. Modernized fairy tale. A version of "The Man Who Could Not Shudder." To win the princess one must spend a night alone in the haunted house. John does, without fearing the ghosts, but must swear to return on his wedding night to spend another evening. He fits the house up as a theatre and requests the ghosts to perform. The request destroys their zeal. [dj THE TALKING SHIPS. Borderline fantasy, a figure of speech. A boy hears the ships talking of their past great histories. The romance of the sea. 1359. TWO SIDES OF THE FACE MIDWINTER TALES Arrowsmith; Bristol 1903 Short stories, including [aj THE HORROR ON THE STAIR. Early 18th century. Mrs. Johnstone,

QUILLER-COUCH, ARTHUR T. before her marriage, caused a death by making an accusation of witchcraft. She is now in terror of supernatural revenge. The servant girl Kirstie comes to live with her and sees Mrs. Johnstone's terror when she hears that a black man is in town. They run off to Edinburgh, where Mrs. Johnstone, on seeing another black man, hangs herself. Kirstie tries to cut her down, but is hampered by a Black-who is suddenly not there. * Much not explained or accounted for; without the usual clarity of Q's other fiction. 1360. O'S MYSTERY STORIES TWENTY STORIES FROM THE WORKS OF SIR ARTHUR QUILLER-COUCH Dent; London 1937 Including [a] THE ROLL-CALL OF THE REEF. [b] THE LAIRD'S LUCK. [c] A PAIR OF HANDS. [d] THE SEVENTH MAN. [e] THE MIRACLE OF THE 'WHITE WOLF.' [f] PHOEBUS ON HALZAPHRON. [g] OCEANUS. * Also [h] THE BEND OF THE ROAD. (from MERRY GARDEN). Sir John tells Mr. Molesworth of a repetitive dream that he has had. Their train breaks down, and while" waiting for a relief engine, Molesworth takes a walk. He soon finds himself in the area described by Sir John, and witnesses Sir John's death. But it has all been delirium after a train accident in which Sir John was killed. Material proof, however, is to the contrary. Nicely handled. [i] NOT HERE, 0 APOLLO! A CHRISTMAS STORY HEARD AT MIDSUMMER. Around 1700 the stranger Luke was shipwrecked on Cornwall, a handsome youth who is obviously Apollo. Before he leaves, he creates a marvelous SCUlpture of a pair of lovers. Years later, Luke returns and shows a pair of wreckers, the models for the sculpture, what their evil has done. Around 1700 the church catches fire, the sculpture is burned, and Apollo is seen. (from NEWS FROM THE DUCHY). [j] MUTUAL EXCHANGE, LIMITED. (from CORPORAL SAM). Markham, a wealthy banker, falls into the sea, and Rendal, a young sailor, leaps in to save him. Both are fished out unconscious. When they regain consciousness, interchange of personality. Another ducking restores them. * Of the new material, [h] is best. QUINN, SEABURY [GRANDIN] (1889-1969) American writer, attorney, editor. Member of the Bar, District of Columbia, sometime in Federal employ. Concerned with mortuary law and editor of trade magazine for undertakers. Prolific contributor to WT, where was one of most popular authors, especially for series about occult detective Jules de Grandin. 1361. ROADS Conrad H. Ruppert; New York 1938 paperbound (200 copy edition) A short nouvelle, a weird Christmas story. (WT 1938) * Klaus the Norseman is the finest gladiator in King Herod's troupe around the beginning of the Christian era. He is also a man of mercy and justice. When Herod's soldiers are massacring the innocents, Klaus, in an incredible feat of arms, beats off a band that threaten an old man, a young woman, and a baby. The baby, whose identity is obvious, speaks to Klaus and promises him eternal life.

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QUINN, SEABURY To escape Herod's vengeance, Klaus joins the Roman legions, and about thirty years later he is aide de camp to Pontius Pilate. He is present at the judgment of Jesus and supervises the crucifixion, not guessing the identity of Jesus. When he mercifully drives the lance into Jesus's side, he receives thanks. During the commotion surrounding the resurrection, Klaus saves a Tyrian girl, and at the bidding of the invisible voice marries her. Together they live up through the ages. Many centuries later, the exact date is not revealed, Klaus and Unna are forced to leave civilization, due to persecution, and head north, toward now deserted Valhalla. Along the way they meet elves who have been driven out by men. They join forces, and become-- Santa Claus and his little helpers. * This story was reissued in a revised edition by Arkham House (Sauk City, Wisc.) in 1948. Mawkish. 1362. THE PHANTOM-FIGHTER THE MEMOIRS OF JULES DE GRANDIN. SOMETIMES MEMBER OF LA SURETE GENERAL [sic). LA FACULTE DE MEDICINE [sic) LEGAL [sic) DE PARIS [etc.) Mycroft and Moran; Sauk City, Wisc. 1966" Short stories, reprinted from WT. Jules de Grandin, occult detective, criminologist, physician, was long the most popular series character in WT. His adventures against ghosts, vampires, sadistic German scientists, werewolves, elementals and similar supersensory riffraff eventually amounted to more than 90 stories. Ceremoniously courteous, vain, egotistical, dapper, witty, ruthless Grandin is a stage Frenchman, while his colleague and stooge, Dr. Trowbridge, a New Jersey G.P., remains the eternally obtuse sceptic, unknowing after half a lifetime with the occult. Not all their adventures are supernatural; some are simply action stories against odd criminals. * [a] TERROR ON THE LINKS. (1925) Grandin's first adventure, although Trowbridge appeared in one earlier story in THRILL BOOK magazine. Horrible murders. The "entirely detestable Dr. Otto Beneckendorff" has sera for transforming men into apes and vice versa. [b] THE DEAD HAND. (1926) In life Katherine O'Brien was the assistant of Professor Mysterio, criminal magician; she was also a shoplifter. Her severed hand, years after her death, is still capable of theft and murder. [c] CHILDREN OF UBASTI. (1929) The Beras from Libya are classical ghouls, catbeings descended from the cat goddess of Ancient Egypt. [d] THE JEST OF WARBURG TANTAVUL. (1935) Tantavul was an extremely unpleasant man, and the reve~"ge that he plotted against his son and daughter was nasty and partly successful. Grandin takes care of his ghost in a novel way. [e] THE CORPSE-MASTER. (1929) Mysterious crimes, a missing corpse, zombies. [f) THE POLTERGEIST. (1929) Girl cousins, abnormally close to each other, swear suicide together. When one ignores the pact, the evil spirit of the other takes revenge. Jules uses mistletoe to good advantage. [g] THE WOLF OF SAINT BONNOT. (1930) During a seance the spirit of a notorious Renaissance

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werewolf appears and possesses one of the sitters. Grandin finds it difficult to dispossess the spirit. A second seance and ceremonial magic are necessary. [h] RESTLESS SOULS. (WT (1928) Vampires, including a lady vampire of extraordinary principle and high sentiment. [i] THE SILVER COUNTESS. (1929) The tomb effigy of an exceptionally wicked medieval French countess has an unholy life of its own: control, crime, vampirism. [j] THE DOOM OF THE HOUSE OF PHIPPS. (1929) In Puritan New England a French girl captive is abused and finally murdered. Her dying curse is that in each generation of the Phipps family the birth of a son shall cause the death of the father. And so it has been. * Commercial fiction, with moments of imagination and even a little humor, but monotonously similar and often with resolutions that are a little silly. It is a sad fact that Quinn, in 90 odd tries, was never able to lift a single Grandin story above mediocrity. These comments fit the other Grandin stories covered in volUmes below. 1363. IS THE DEVIL A GENTLEMAN? THE BEST FICTION OF SEABURY QUINN Mirage Press; Baltimore 1970 Short stories. Described elsewhere, [a] UNCANONIZED. [b] GLAMOUR. * Also [c] THE GLOBE OF MEMORIES. (WT 1937) New York and medieval Italy. When Montague looks into the little snowing globe he is transported to the body of Friar Albertus in medieval Italy. As Albertus made more virile he wins the love of the beautiful Lady Fulvia and joins a partisan revolutionary movement. But he and Fulvia are captured, and he finds himself back in the 20th century. On returning to medieval Italy he finds Fulvia in a dungeon and sees her death by stoning. She had always thought him a devil, but a loveable devil. His life seems ruined but he meets her reincarnation in New York. [d] THE GENTLE WEREWOLF. (WT 1940) 13th century Near East. Sylvanette, cursed by an ancient witch, is transformed into a werewolf. Her lover, degraded because he seems to have abandoned her or made away with her, is expelled from the Christian kingdoms. He rises high at the Mongol court. When he is sent as ambassador to the Assassins, Sylvanette saves him and he transforms her back to humanity by kissing her. [e] THE CLOTH OF MADNESS. (YOUNG'S MAGAZINE, 1920) Jamison Alvarde discovers that his wife and a friend are having an affair. A cloth from India provides him with revenge. Designed for a vindictive rajah, its pattern drives the beholder mad. Alverde uses it for a wallpaper design. Lf] THE MERROW. (WT 1948) After World War II McKelvy, an American G.I., comes to Ireland and marries a local young woman. In the background is the merrow, a female sea demon of incredible beauty who seduces young men and kills them by sucking their breadth. McKelvy cannot resist her. [g] IS THE DEVIL A GENTLEMAN? (WT 1942) Colonial New England, as told from the present. When Captain Maltby saves Kundre from the sea off Portugal, he does not know that the young Swedish woman has es-

QUINN, SEABURY caped from witch trials. He marries her, and they are happy. But jealousy causes trouble. Maltby is murdered in a foreign land and Kundre is burned as a·witch. ·When her daughter, who is in love with the son of her enemy, is also in danger, dead Kundre offers supernatural aid. It is effective, but is it proper to accept it? The point of the story is that working with evil is sometimes justifiable. [h] MASKED BALL. (WT 1947) Mardi Gras, New Orleans. Holloway meets a wonderful pick-up outside the old cemetery and has a glorious time with her until he is forced to fight a duel. Then he learns that the dead regard the living with as much horror as the living do with the dead. [i] BON VOYAGE, MICHELE. (WT 1944) Occupied Germany, somewhat in the future. When Captain apKern and Dr. Michele Mikhailovitch meet, the result is a grand passion. But there are problems. A German uprising is plotted; Michele has been turned into a werewolf by German revanchists; and the wolves are after apKern. * Mostly undistinguished, but [c] is entertaining romantic nonsense and [g] has areas of interest. 1364. THE ADVENTURES OF JULES DE GRANDIN Popular Library; New York 1976 paperbound Edited with afterword by Robert Weinberg; introduction by Lin Carter. * More adventures of Jules de Grandin. * Including, described elsewhere, [a] TERROR ON THE LINKS. [b] THE DEAD HAND. * Also [c] THE TENANTS OF BROUSSAC. (WT 1925) Too many of the tenants of the Chateau de Broussac come to a bad end, crushed and chewed as if by a giant snake. Grandin and Trowbridge investigate and learn that in the middle ages Sieur Raymond de Broussac had been a very wicked man. An abbess turned him into a snake and he still lives in his tomb. [d] THE MAN WHO CAST NO SHADOW. (WT 1927) Baron Lajos Czuczron of Transylvania, roughly six hundred years old, must renew his life every hundred years with the blood of a virgin. He does not reflect in mirrors. Also present is a native American vampire who is held in her grave by the garlic planted around it. [el THE BLOOD-FLOWER. (WT 1927) When Mrs. Evander howls back at dogs outside, and bounds through the window, Grandin suspects lycanthropy. It was caused by a certain flower from Transylvania and a wicked "uncle." The werewolf outside is easily dismissed, but curing Mrs. Evander is difficult and calls for a formal exorcism. [f] THE CURSE OF EVERARD MAUNDY. (WT 1927) Maundy is an evangelical preacher. Certain of his listeners are driven to suicide, as figures from their consciences assume reality. Trowbridge almost succumbs. Grandin recognizes the cause as an elemental. Armed with his sword cane he duels with the elemental, which has animated a corpse to attack him. The ultimate cause was a curse. * A seventh story, "The Isle of Missing Ships" is Oriental adventure. 1365. THE CASEBOOK OF JULES DE GRANDIN Popular Library; New York 1976 paperbound Introduction by Robert A. E. Lowndes. Afterword by Robert Weinberg. * Including, described

QUINN, SEABURY elsewhere, [a] CHILDREN OF UBASTI. [b] THE SILVER COUNTESS. [c] THE CORPSE-MASTER. * Also [d] ANCIENT FIRES. (WT 1926) Grandin and Trowbridge answer an ad to unhaunt a haunted house in upstate New York. While tracking down the ghost, they discover that the uncle of the present tenant of the mansion had abused a Hindu woman who loved him. The several threads of the story are pulled together by double reincarnation and possession. [e] THE CHAPEL OF MYSTIC HORROR. (WT 1928) The Cloisters, an ancient castle transported from Cyprus to New Jersey by an overenthusiastic millionaire. was once held by the Knights Templar. One of the guests at the house party is mediumistic, and the spirits of the ancient wicked knights materialize and renew their evil practices: murder, the Black Mass, and assorted manifestations. Grandin is in time to prevent human sacrifice. He dispels the ghosts with the holy thorn of Glastonbury and radium. * The other two stories are not supernatural. 1366. THE DEVIL'S BRIDE Popular Library; New York 1976 paperbound Edited with postscript by Robert Weinberg. Originally a six-part serial in WT, 1932. The only lengthy adventure of Jules de Grandin, it is not a true novel but a clumsy juxtaposition of shorter works. * Strange events in Harrisonville, New Jersey. A young bride, descended from a Yezidee high priest, is snatched away from the altar. She is to serve as the new high priestess of the cult, since other lines of descent have failed. Among her duties are officiating at human sacrifices and marrying the Devil. * Other phenomena include mysterious murders, a crucifixion, and raids by a pack of controlled wolves. Grandin, Trowbridge and a British lord high in the colonial service of Sierra Leone battle the forces of evil. It is all a world-wide conspiracy of Yezidee adepts from Kurdistan, Leopardmen in Africa, European diabolists, and Communists. The wicked plot is foiled by a mass slaughter of devotees among Roman ruins in Sierra Leone. While much of the seeming supernatural is explained by mysterious drugs, ventriloquism, and twinning, a certain amount remains, notably Yezidee long-distance control of the will. * The background includes the exploits of Aleister Crowley in England and William Seabrook's romantic account of the Yezidees in ADVENTURES IN ARABIA. * This was considered an unsuccessful jumble of material when it first appeared, and there is no reason to change that verdict. 1367. THE HELLFIRE FILES OF JULES DE GRANDIN Popular Library; New York 1976 paperbound Edited with afterword by Robert Weinberg. * Including, described elsewhere, [a] RESTLESS SOULS. [b] THE WOLF OF ST. BONNOT. * Also [c] THE DEVIL-PEOPLE. (WT 1929) Trowbridge and Grandin meet Mutina, a beautiful Malaysian who is half human and half rakshasa. (A rakshasa is a very etiolated version of the Hindu raksha-- a demon.) Her relatives on the supernatural side are a bloody nuisance.

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QUINN, SEABURY Jules is more than a match for them. He and the police sprinkle the rakshasas with lime juice, which is a caustic poison to them. This last motif, ridiculous though it may 'sound, is ethnographically accurate. [d] THE HAND OF GLORY. (WT 1933) Old Professor Wickwire believes that he has the original meteorite that was the Magna Mater in Roman times. Certain evil adepts agree with him. They use a hand of glory to invade his study and steal the meteorite. Grandin and Trowbridge defeat them. The professor turns out to be wholly irresponsible and perhaps half mad. This story is unfortunate, for it has the best beginning of the Grandin stories, but fizzles out very badly. * More of the same. 1368. THE SKELETON CLOSET OF JULES DE GRANDIN Popular Library; New York 1976 paperbound Edited with afterword by Robert Weinberg. Introduction by Manly Wade Wellman. * More horrors and monstrosities around Harrisonville, New Jersey, with their hashes settled by the dapper little Frenchman and his materialistic associate. * Including [a] THE DOOM OF THE HOUSE OF PHIPPS. Described above. [b] THE DUST OF EGYPT. (WT 1930) When Uncle Absalom violated the Egyptian tomb, he set off thought patterns that led to his own death, the possession of his niece by a goddess, and the presence of the ghost of an Ancient Egyptian priest. Grandin remedies the situation by invoking the memory of Cyril of Alexandria. [c] THE BRAIN-THIEF. (WT 1930) The wicked Hindu Chanda Lal preys on women, not only sexually, but criminally. He has powers of supernatural fascination until Grandin takes a hand. [d] BRIDE OF DEWER. (WT 1930) Back in the Middle Ages Sir Guy de Quimper made a bargain with a nasty little demon: victory in a battle for whatever the demon should ask. He asked for droit de seigneur for all heirs, until a woman can face him down. Dewer is now around, demanding his feudal right from Whitney's wife. Can she say no? [e] DAUGHTER OF THE MOONLIGHT. (WT 1930) The beautiful Dolores FitzPatrick is really a witch who periodically "dies" and returns to life. She mangles her victims while kissing them, and can also assume the form of a gigantic owl. * The sixth story is not supernatural. 1369. THE HORROR CHAMBERS OF JULES DE GRANDIN popular Library; New York [1977] paperbound Edited with afterword by Robert Weinberg. * Including, described elsewhere, [a] THE POLTERGEIST. [b] THE JEST OF WARBURG TANTAVUL. * Also, [c] THE GODS OF EAST AND WEST. (WT 1928) Idoline Chetwynde, a patient of Trowbridge's, is mysteriously wasting away. Grandin rules out traditional vampirism, since the classical symptoms are not present. Instead, he concentrates on a mysterious Indian idol that is growing larger as Idoline shrinks. It is Kali. To be rid of Kali, Grandin asks the aid of an American Indian medicine man. He in turn invokes the Great Spirit, who smashes Kali. [d] A GAMBLE IN SOULS. (WT 1933) Twins. One is good, the other, dastardly. The evil twin commits murder and frames the good

QUINN, SEABURY twin, who is about to be executed for the crime. Trowbridge and Grandin can do nothing in a material way, but Grandin's friend Dr. Hussein Obeyid, presumably a Druse adept, interchanges souls between the two men. The innocent man thus escapes. * The other stories are not supernatural.

RADCLIFFE, ANN (nee WARD) (1764-1823) British writer of fiction poet, editor, miscellaneous writer. The foremost practitioner of the early, pure Gothic novel. Best-known work THE MYSTERIES OF UDOLPHO, which for decades served as thrill-provoking literature to young women. A very capable author who has long been underestimated. Her other novels THE CASTLES OF ATHLIN AND DUNBAYNE, THE ROMANCE OF THE FOREST, A SICILIAN ROMANCE-are all Gothic, but unsuitabh for inclusion here. See 1771 for GASTON DE BLONDEVILLE. 1370. THE MYSTERIES OF UDOLPHO G. G. and J. Robinson; London 1794 4 vol. A long Gothic novel set in 16th century France and Italy. * Emily St. Aubyn, a sensitive, imaginative young woman, goes to Toulouse to live with her silly, vain aunt, Madame Cheron. There Emily first meets evil in the person of Montoni, a sullen, brutal Italian who marries Madame Cheron. Emily is compelled to accompany the couple to Montoni's castle at Udolpho, a gloomy and forbidding stronghold in the Apennines, where Montoni is assembling a horde of cutthroats and adventurers in order to carry out a revolution. Montoni and his rogues ravage the countryside. He soon shows his true character to the two women. He drives Emily's aunt to her death and subjects Emily to brutal treatment, forcing her to sign over to him her inheritance from her aunt. All this takes place to repeated supernatural phenomena: strange shadowy figures, a ghost on the battlements, mysterious hollow voices, and a nameless horror behind a black veil. With the help of a young Frenchman who has been held prisoner in the castle, Emily escapes and makes her way to the Castle of Villeroi in France, where she meets with more supernatural phenomena: strange events in the haunted apartments and strains of sweet, spectral music from the haunted woods. Emily finally secures her inheritance, several plots are uncovered and corrected, Montoni is taken by the Italian authorities, and all is well. All the supernatural effects are explained rationally. * This novel and THE ITALIAN are Mrs. Radcliffe's most important works, and are in the top rank of Romantic novels. She has long been renowned for the splendor of her landscape descriptions, and her treatment of the supernatural is masterly. Continually mounting horrors, each subtly diminished to

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RAMUZ, C. F. offer ground for a new horror, gradually rise to an emotional height that is not excelled in the pure Gothic novel. In other words, consUlllIllate teasing. 1371. THE ITALIAN: OR. THE CONFESSIONAL OF THE BLACK PENITENTS A ROMANCE T. Cadell and W. Davies; London 1797 3 vol. Gothic novel set in 18th century Italy, showing the results of superstition and of insane vengefulness. In this tale of passion and hatred, Vincentio di Vivaldi, a wealthy young man, loves Ellena Rosalba, a young woman in only moderate circumstances. He plans to marry her, but his proud mother objects to the union and schemes with Father Schedoni to separate the couple. Schedoni, a saturnine villain who secretly hates the Vivaldi family, tricks the mother into proposing murder, while his confederates kidnap Ellena and carry her off to a convent, where she is held prisoner. After a series of seemingly supernatural incidents with a phantom monk, Vivaldi rescues Ellena and flees with her through the horrible underground dungeons of the convent. But the implacable Schedoni pursues Vivaldi and denounces him to the Inquisition, by whom he is seized and put on trial. Vivaldi's situation seems hopeless until he is prompted by a seemingly supernatural voice to denounce Schedoni for past crimes. Schedoni is taken up, and he is so entangled in his own plots that he is powerless and dies of exhaustion. The seemingly supernatural monk and the voice at the process in the vaults of the Inquisition are revealed to be an enemy of Schedoni's. Ellena is discovered to be of noble birth, and she and Vivaldi marry. * A strong story, with a heavy atmosphere, lurking menace and horror, and the usual felicitous landscape descriptions. This is generally considered to be Mrs. Radcliffe's finest work. RAMUZ, CHARLES FERDINAND (1878-1947) Swiss (French) author of international reputation. Fiction usually regionalistic or symbolic. While his work has now slipped out of sight, it was highly regarded duriGg the 1920's and '30's. He ie. also the author of an apocalyptic science-fiction novel, THE E~~ OF ALL MEN. 1372. THE REIGN OF THE EVIL ONE Harcourt, Brace; New York [1922] (LE REGNE DE L'ESFRIT MAL, 1917). Translated from French. * A small, backward village in French Switzerland, time indeterminate, but perhaps 19th century. A stranger who calls himself Branchu (Horned) cernes to town and sets himself up as a shoemaker. Not only is he a remarkable craftsman, but he is a dynamic:, charismatic personality who soon sets the village agog. Not long after arrival, hovlever, things begin to go wrong: accidents happen, people sicken and die, cattle waste away, and crimes break out. One of the peasants claims that Branchu is the source of the evil, but the accusation is scorned and the peasant dies as a result of mistreatment. Branchu now reveals that he has the power to heal, and he is

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accepted as a semisupernatural being, although he denies that he is either God or the Devil. Evil continues to hover over the village and conditions become worse. A group of peasants decidas that Branchu must really be the cause of the troubles. They drag him along in a mock passion and crucifixion, but as he is being crucified, he reveals his supernatural nature. He now returns to the village and establishes himself with a small, chosen group of disciples. The dead arise from their graves, and Branchu announces that there is no longer good or evil, simply the powers of earth. His reign seems fulfilled. But when he is confronted by an innocent young woman, his power dissolves and he disappears. Evil has left the village. * A combination of several motifs: the Devil in a small village; peasant saturnalia; and a diabolic reversal of the mission, passion, and resurrection of Christ. What the ultimate significance of Branchu is, is not clear. The story is well-told, with a wealth of peasant types and folkways. Such stylistic virtues as the French text has are, of course, untranslatable. READ, [SIR] HERBERT [EDWARD] (1893-1968) D.S.O. British art critic, aesthetician, literary figure. Assistant Keeper, Victoria and Albert Museum. Mellon Lecturer, Harvard University. Contributor to modern aesthetic theory. Best-known work THE MEANING OF ART (1931). Knighted 1953. 1373. THE GREEN CHILD A ROMANCE Heinemann; London 1935 Philosophical novel. The fantastic element is borderline science-fiction. * Circa 1860. About two thirds of the text is devoted to the experiences of Olivero, an Englishman who chances to become involved in a South American revolution and becomes dictator of Roncador. Olivero and his associates set up a benevolent despotism, which might be characterized as a mild socialism oriented toward the material aspects of life. After a time Olivero recognizes that his work, while preferable to the lawlessness of the past, has resulted in stagnation. He stages a mock assassination and returns to England, discouraged with the human element in social control. In his native village in England he chances on the "green child," a woman who had been found after a seismic disturbance in the area. Her skin is green; her intelligence is limited or alien; and she seems to subsist vegetatively. Olivero and the green woman follow a stream to its source and enter a world of caverns where the green people live in a spiritual, wu-wei existence that consists of harmony with the formative forces of nature. In their life cycle the green people first live a sensual life; then provide service for others; and then collect and polish crystals for contemplation. The last evolution is to solitary, meditating sages who attain final harmony with existence. Olivero follows this path and never emerges from the cave world. * The contrasting utopias are fascinating. The motif of the green

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REYNOLDS, FREDERIC MANSEL child derives from English folklore. The best edition is the Grey Walls (London 1945) edition, with watercolor illustrations by F. Kelly. REEVE, CLARA (1729-1807) British novelist, popularizer of history. Her most important work (although not well regarded critically) was very popular in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. 1374. THE CHAMPION OF VIRTUE W. Keymer; Colchester 1777 (published as by the editor of THE PHOENIX) Almost universally known by the retitling of the second printing, THE OLD ENGLISH BARON. A Gothic novel derivative from Horace Walpole's THE CASTLE OF OTRANTO, embodying a conscious attempt to restrain Walpole's exuberant supernaturalism and to describe Medieval life somewhat realistically. * The plot is the typical plot of Gothic novels, and need not be described in detail. It tells of a displaced heir, Edmund Lovel, and his final attainment of his birthright. Included are a romance, a tournament, an avaricious murdering uncle, and some supernaturalism in the haunted chambers of the castle. * Literate, but very du11. REID, FORREST (1876-1947) British art critic, literary figure, occasional novelist. Prepared pioneer studies of W. B. Yeats and Walter de la Mare. Best-known work excellent study of Victorian artists, ILLUSTRATORS OF THE '60'S. 1375. PENDER AMONG THE RESIDENTS Collins; London [1922] An overlong romance with a little supernaturalism buried in a welter of words. Pender, recuperating after illness, is staying in the house belonging to Mrs. Burton. In one room of the house he has the feeling that the past is present and is trying to tell him something. He checks judiciously into the family history and finally with the aid of a twelveyear old poet finds a hidden bundle of letters. They reveal that a sordid bit of family history was not what tradition thought it to be. Also an interminable romance. Anemic haunting. REYNOLDS, FREDERIC MANSEL (c. 1800 - 1850) British editor, author, son of dramatist Frederic Reynolds. Well-known in middle 19th century for novel MISERRIMUS (1832), crime story suggested by legend on tombstone in Worcester. Editor of the KEEPSAKE, one of better Victorian annuals. AS EDITOR: 1376. THE KEEPSAKE FOR MDCCCXXIX Hurst, Chance, and Co.; London [1828] A Christmas gift book including poetry, essays, fiction, and illustrations. While many noteworthy authors are present, including Mary Shelley, the volume is of interest for two important short stories by Sir Walter Scott. * [a] MY AUNT MARGARET'S MIRROR, by the Author of Waverley. A long introductory section

REYNOLDS, FREDERIC MANSEL and a brief epilogue. 18th century Edinburgh. Lady Forester has become worried at the prolonged absence of her husband abroad. All other sources of information proving fruitless, she and her sister-in-law, Lady Bothwell, consult the celebrated Paduan magician, Dr. Baptista Damiotti. Damiotti shows them a vision in a mirror: the missing man is being married in a Calvinist church on the Continent. The vision is later proved true, but somewhat misleading. Forester intended to perf.orm a bigamistic marriage, but the ceremony was halted. Scott claimed that the incident was based in part on family history, although it is not clear whether he was referring to mirrors or bigamy. * The story is occasionally anthologized with the frame situation omitted. [b] THE TAPESTRIED CHAMBER. General Browne, back in England after the American Revolution, stays with his old friend Lord Woodville in the West Country. His stay is short, however, for on his first night, a hellish hag appeared in his bedchamber. Told with a restraint and dignity unusual in the genre for this period. * Two excellent stories. REYNOLDS, G[EORGE] W[ILLIAM] M[ACARTHUR] (18141879) Important figure in British sub-culture of mid-19th century. Influential member, onetime leader of Char·tist movement; early socialist and worker for social amelioration; proprietor and editor of REYNOLDS'S MISCELLANY, popular magazine, REYNOLDS'S WEEKLY, labor newspaper that survived until 1950's. Undoubtedly the most important writer of "bloods" or sensational fiction for the working classes and the young. Best-known works THE MYSTERIES OF LONDON and THE MYSTERIES OF THE COURTS OF LONDON, which set off many imitations and plagiarisms. For only modern study of this interesting man and a resolution of his very complex bibliography see the Dover edition of WAGNER, THE WEHR-WOLF. 1377. FAUST A ROMANCE OF THE SECRET TRIBUNALS George Vickers; London 1847 A long, complex Victorian Gothic blood. It has little to do with the traditional history of Dr. Faust. * 1493-1517, Germany, Austria, Italy. * Wilhelm F8.ust, a young student, is in prison under sentenee of death on the wheel because he dared to love the daughter of an unscrupulous nobleman. A demon visits Faust and offers a bargain, which Faust accepts: 24 years of youth, power, supernatural aid, after which the Devil receives Faust's soul. Faust must also sacrifice to the Devil his firstborn son. As the new Count of Aurana, with limitless wealth, Faust prospers. He marries Theresa, the woman for whose sake he was put into prison. When their first child comes, a son, he exchanges babies, substituting a girl, thus intending to defraud the Devil. Faust's character degenerates, and he leaves Germany and Austria with his new love, Ida, and wanders down into Italy. Ida becomes jealous of a beautiful Italian woman whom Faust seems to find attractive, but the woman

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REYNOLDS, G. W. M. happens to be Lucreza Borgia, poison ring and all. Ida is soon dead, and Faust associates himself with the Borgias. Murders, plots, escapes continue until 1517, at which time the Devil collects his bond, hurling Faust into Vesuvius. * More important than the Faust subplot is the subplot concerned with the Vehmgericht, which extends from Germany into Italy. Other plots involve romances and revealed identities. * Fast-moving, competent commercially, but a story of shreds and patches from Dumas, Sue, Maturin and others. 1378. WAGNER, THE WEHR-WOLF John Dicks; London [1857?] (REYNOLDS'S MAGAZINE 1846-7) Long, complex Victorian Gothic blood. * 16th century Germany, Italy, Turkey, the Mediterranean. Fernand Wagner, the former servant and associate of Faust (although he is not mentioned in 1377) is now a feeble, old man. The Devil approaches him and offers him restored and perpetual youth and certain powers if he is willing to become a werewolf one day a month at full moon. Wagner accepts the offer, and the story then moves through many bloody and violent adventures along several loosely connected subplots. Wagner is captured by the Inquisition in Italy and escapes as a werewolf. He finds himself on a desert island with the beautiful murderess Nisida, who becomes his lover. During this period he is tempted thrice by the Devil, who offers to help him out of peril in exchange for his soul. Each time Wagner refuses. Eventually, in Syracuse, he meets Christian Rosenkreutz, the venerable, almost immortal Rosicrucian, and learns that he soon will be released from the curse of being a werewolf and will die peacefully. Other subplots concern the crimes and machinations of Nisida; adventures with Italian bandits and Turkish raiders; tortures in convents; episodes in the life of Ibrahim the Greek, a historical personage at the court of Suleiman II. * The best edition is the Dover 1976 reprint. l379. THE NECROMANCER John Dicks; London [1857?] Victorian Gothic blood, with an enormous canvas of persons and places. (REYNOLDS'S MISCELLANY, 1851-2) * In 1390 Lord Danvers sold his soul to the Devil, receiving in exchange perpetual youth, the ability to travel instanteously over great distances, immunity to weapons, and 150 years of life. There is an escape clause to his contract: if he can find six virgins who love him more than their souls and are willing to transfer their souls to him, he will be free. As the story opens in the early 16th century, Danvers is searching for Number Six, while at the same time evading the revenge of the families of the five girls whom he has murdered. His candidate for Number Six, Musidora Sinclair, is of stronger will and more realistic than the previous five young women, and time is running short for Danvers. Danvers assumes the form of Henry VIII, marries Musidora (who bears him a child), but is forced to leave when the real Henry VIII appears. Some years later

REYNOLDS, G. W. M. when Danvers is desperately trying to persuade a new young woman, Musidora interferes and thwarts him. At the very last minute Danvers repents, tells Musidora how to release the souls of the five young women, and withers away. * A weak rehash of MELMOTH, THE WANDERER. * This novel has been published in the United States under the title MUSIDORA, OR THE NECROMANCER. * There are small elements of supernaturalism in Reynolds's other novels: THE CORAL ISLAND, an ancestral curse; OMAR, the White Lady of the Hohenzollerns; THE BRONZE STATUE, a demonic knight-- rationalized into Jan Hus: RHODES, W[ILLIAM] H[ENRY] (1822-1876) American attorney, author. Born in North Carolina; Harvard Law School; practiced law in Texas. Removed to California in 1850. Contributed to local journalism. 1380. CAXTON'S BOOK A COLLECTION OF ESSAYS, POEMS. TALES AND SKETCHES BY THE LATE W. H. RHODES A. L. Bancroft; San Francisco 1876 Edited by Daniel O'Connell. Preface, IN MEMORIAM, by W. H. L. B[arnes]. * Posthumous book publication, including [a] THE AZTEC PRINCESS. While exploring in the ruins of Palenque, the narrator descends a secret passage in the Palacio and emerges into unknown ruins. The spirit of an ancient princess takes him to a revivified Maya city, where he stays for a long time, studying Maya lore. When the Maya capture a white man and plan to sacrifice him, the narrator decides to rescue him and leave the city. Here the "manuscript is defective," but the narrator is back in his own time, and sees carved in stone the image of his princess. Confused in presentation and unrealized. [b] LEGENDS OF LAKE BIGLER. Indian lore. Mermaids and mermen, crosses with humans -- Pol-i-wogs. A dream. Of no great interest. [c] A PAIR OF MYTHS. Black Hal bowls with Odin, betting his blood and losing. * There are also three stories that amount to proto-science-fiction, two of which, "The Case of Summerfield" and "The Earth's Hot Center" are more significant than the supernatural stories described above. * Minor work. RHYS, ERNEST [AND LARIGOT, M.] Rhys (1859-1946) was an important British editor and literary figure. Most significant as the editor of EVERYMAN'S LIBRARY, which came to over 900 volumes under his editorship. Nothing is known about Larigot, except that Rhys in his introduction generously states that the selection of material was due to Larigot. AS EDITOR: 1381. THE HAUNTED AND THE HAUNTERS Daniel O'Connor; London [1921] The fiction section includes, described elsewhere, [a] THE HAUNTED AND THE HAUNTERS, E. Bulwer-Lytton. Long version. [b] THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER, E. A. Poe. [c] THE OLD NURSE'S TALE, George MacDonald. A fragment from THE PORTENT. [d] THE GHOST OF

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RHYS, ERNEST AND DAWSON-SCOTT, C. A. LORD CLARE NCEUX, Arnold Bennett. A fragment from THE GHOST. [e] WANDERING WILLIE'S TALE, Sir Walter Scott. [f] THE LIANHAN SHEE, William Carleton. [g] DR. DUTHOIT'S VISION, Arthur Machen. Alternate title for THE LITTLE NATIONS. * Also [h] THE SUPERSTITIOUS MAN'S STORY, Thomas Hardy. A nice coordination of folk beliefs, all of which indicate the impending death of William Privett. A swarth left his bedroom at night. He was "church-porched" on Old Midsummer Eve. A moth issued from his mouth while he lay sleeping, etc. [i] A STORY OF RAVENNA, Boccaccio. A young man sees a half-naked woman pursued by a knight and his dogs, and sees the woman murdered. The knight tells him that this is her punishment for having been a tease during her life. The man takes profit by relating the tale to suitable young women. [j] TEIG O'KANE AND THE CORPSE, Douglas Hyde, translator. From Irish Gaelic. Teig, a drunkard, meets the Little Men, who take control of him and force him to carry a corpse around the countryside until he finds a churchyard that will accept it. [k] THE BOTATHEN GHOST, R. S. Hawker. The West Country, c. 1650. An unquiet spirit haunts the path. Parson Rudall obtains permission from his bishop to exorcise it. After questioning it, he remedies the human situation that caused it to sin and suffer. [1] THE SEVEN LIGHTS, John Wilson. From TALES OF THE BORDER. Scotland. A strange woman is given shelter at McPherson's, and she sits rocking, obviously very unhappy. McPherson later sees her with seven lights, which are extinguished. As the events of the next few days show, the lights were the members of the family and she was the Scottish equivalent of a banshee. [m] THE SPECTRAL COACH OF BLACKADON, Anonymous. The vicar of Talland is summoned to face a ghost and a spectral coach-- black with headless horses. [n] THE SPECTRAL BRIDEGROOM, William Hunt. Cornish folklore. Two young women try to draw a man's soul from him, for purposes of love, but their magic backfires. [0] THE HAUNTED COVE, Sir George Douglas. The ghost of a girl murdered by her lover. * Of the new material, [h], [i], [j], [k] are excellent. * Roughly half the book is devoted to "local records, folk lore, and legend." This is an excellent collection of material, but outside the limit of interest of this study. WITH DAWSON-SCOTT, C. A. 1382. TALES OF MYSTERY STARTLING STORIES OF THE SUPERNATURAL Hutchinson; London 1927 Anthology of fiction and material from psychic research, including, described elsewhere, [a] BEWITCHED, Edith Wharton. [b] THE VICTIM, May Sinclair. [c] THE HORLA, Guy de Maupassant. [d] THE CHILD'S STORY, Arthur Machen. A fragment from THE WHITE PEOPLE. [e] NOT ON THE PASSENGER LIST, Barry Pain. [f] THE GHOUL, E. W. Blashfield. [g] THE SHADOW OF A MIDNIGHT, Maurice Baring. [h] FROM THE LOOM OF THE DEAD, Elia Peattie. [i] THE BAROMETER, Violet Hunt. [j] THE APPARITION OF MRS. VEAL, Daniel Defoe. [k] THE STRANGER, Ambrose Bierce.

RHYS, ERNEST AND DAWSON-SCOTT, C. A. [1] THE GHOST-SHIP, Richard Middleton. [m] ROOUM, Oliver Onions. [n] THE MOTH, H. G. Wells. [0] WHAT WAS IT? Fitz-James O'Brien. [p] THE MYSTERIOUS BRIDE, James Hogg. [q] THE FOUR-FIFTEEN EXPRESS, Amelia B. Edwards. * Also [r] THE VOICE, Zona Gale. (From YELLOW GENTIANS AND BLUE, 1927) Bassett listened to an inner voice and did not sail on the "Titanic." His story is so probed and ridiculed that he loses faith and disregards the voice on the next occasion that it speaks. He is drowned. [sJ THE INTERVAL, Vincent O'Sullivan. The war widow tries to contact her husband through mediums. She sees him, and they go off together-- she taking her slippers. Material evidence. [t] PETER, Herman Ould. A control named Peter, supposed at first to be the spirit of a dead friend, is unmasked when it is learned that the friend is still alive. Perhaps a factual account of seances, since Mrs. Dawson-Scott is involved? [u] A CRY IN THE NIGHT, C. A. Dawson-Scott. The doings of a British folkloristic witch, with mirror magic and second sight. [v] DREAM FULFILMENT, Edward J. O'Brien. A childhood dream of a beautiful landscape, seen as an adult in Nova Scotia. [w] THE FETCHES, John Banim and Michael Banim. Early 19th century origin. Ireland. A very short story of a death appearance. [x] GRACE CONNOR, Letitia Maclintock. A very short story, set in Ireland,. of an honest ghost. Mrs. Connor, a widow who earns a living as a peddler of cloth and clothing, dies leaving accounts unsettled and material undelivered. She tells her sister. [y] THE GRAY MEN, Rebecca West. III at a nursing home the narrator sees gray men from a gray limousine remove a person in a peculiar envelope. A death, psychically seen. Perhaps intended to be factual? * Also some material from psychic research and folklore. ~< The American edition, 26 MYSTERY STORIES OLD AND NEW BY TWENTY SIX AUTHORS omits [0], [p], [q].

RICHARD SON, WARREN American author. 1383. DR. ZELL AND THE PRINCESS CHARLOTTE AN AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL RELATION OF ADVENTURE IN THE LIfE OF A DISTINGUISHED MODERN NECROMANCER, SEER, AND THEOSOPHIST L. Kabis and Co. New York 1892 Eccentric occult novel. * Dr. Zell studies magic under "Madame" Aurelian, a transvestite who forces the doctor to assume woman's clothing. Later Zell goes to a German court, where the Princess Charlotte happens to be an occultist. Zell changes bodies with the prince and assumes the rule of the land at a time of crisis. The princess dies and Zell returns to his own body. * A curiosity, as an occult anticipation of THE PRISONER OF ZENDA. The book contains many advertisements and presumably served as a sales document for a minor cult. RIDDELL, MRS. J[OSEPH] H. (nee COWAN, CHARLOTTE E. L.) (1832-1906) British author, editor, born in Northern Ire-

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RIDDELL, MRS. J. H. land. Renowned in her lifetime as the novelist of the "City," for early business novels like GEORGE GEITH OF FEN COURT, which has been compared to the early work of G. B. Shaw. With the exception of J. S. LeFanu the foremost British High Victorian author of supernatural fiction. Work is characterized by excellent writing, very concrete detail, good characterizations, moral understanding of the supernatural. 1384. FAIRY WATER Routledge; London 1872 Victorian ghost story, with domestic second plot. * Crow Hall has the reputation of being haunted by the ghost of a woman. Residents do not retain their health long. The narrator, who does not see the ghost although others do. feels a presence near him and gradually wastes away. When the premises are thoroughly searched, a hidden chamber containing a skeleton and some jewelry is found. The second, romantic plot, concerns a young woman whose dead husband worded his will so that she would be severely punished if she married again. The story thus belongs to the category of Victorian novels concerned with the unjust inheritance laws. * Well developed, closely written, but inferior to THE UNINHABITED HOUSE and THE DISAPPEARANCE OF MR. JEREMIAH REDWORTH. ,~ It has been reprinted under the title THE HAUNTED HOUSE AT LATCHFORD. 1385. FRANK SINCLAIR'S WIFE AND OTHER STORIES Tinsley; London 1874 3 vol. Short stories, including [a] FOREWARNED, FOREARMED. Early 19th century England. A prophetic dream that prevents a murder. [b] HERTFORD O'DONNELL'S WARNING. O'Donnell, a clever, rising young surgeon, has his moral duty revealed to him when the family banshee bewails the death of his illegitimate son. Alternate title, THE BANSHEE. * [a] is excellent. 1386. THE UNINHABITED HOUSE Routledge's Christmas Annual 1875 Supernatural novel. * River Hall, a fine mansion, has one flaw. It is badly haunted and no tenant is willing to stay in it long. There are supernatural footsteps, and the figure of a man counting money is often seen in the library. After a lawsuit against a tenant who refused to fulfil his lease because of the haunting, young Patterson, a clerk to the solicitors who rent the house for the orphaned Miss Elmsdale and her strange aunt, Miss Blake, becomes interested in the house and determines to solve its mystery. According to report, Mr. Elmsdale committed suicide in the library. Patterson investigates without much success. A resolution is forced when the ghost appears and confronts its murderer-for murdered Mr. Elmsdale had been. It is then revealed that Patterson had had narrow escapes, for the murderer, fearing discovery of evidence, had been watching him. A romance is also included. * Fairly long, well developed, peopled with interesting characters (including the shrewish Miss Blake), probably (apart from THE HAUNTED BARONET) the finest High Victorian supernatural novel.

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1387. THE HAUNTED RIVER Routledge's Christmas Annual; London 1877 Supernatural novel. The Misses Vernon, impoverished young half-sisters, would like to rent a house near London. After much searching they come upon Mill House, a semi-decayed old house with an ancient mill nearby, on a bend of the Thames in Surrey. The women take a lease and settle in and see various supernatural manifestations, including the reenactment of a crime. Some investigation reveals that a supposed suicide in the past had been a murder, and the murderer is indicated. Among excellent secondary elements are Mr. Lauston, the miserable landlord, who is determined to both swindle and seduce Peg, the narrator. Mill House itself is said to have been based on a house that the Riddells once inhabited. 1388. WEIRD STORIES James Hogg; London [1882] Short stories. [a] WALNUT-TREE HOUSE. Whel\ Edgar Stainton returns from the colonies as heir to Walnut-Tree house, he finds it deserted and almost uninhabitable. It is haunted by the ghost of a boy. Stainton, roughing it, sees the ghost, which is looking for something. By investigating he learns a sordid story of child abuse, and is able to correct an injustice. [b] THE OPEN DOOR. Ladlow Hall is haunted: there is a certain door in it which will not remain closed. It is connected with an unsolved murder that took place a few years back. Young Sandy, a clerk in a London real estate office, undertakes to solve the mystery, and does, though not through his own doing. A ghost. [c] NUT BUSH FARM. The narrator, a city man, decides to try his hand at being a gentleman farmer. He rents an excellent farm, but discovers that someone walks in the nut bushes. It may be the ghost of the last tenant, who is said to have run off with a pretty village girl. But it is a nuisance, since the local men will not work on the farm. A fine story, until the very ending, when Mrs. Riddell does not do justice to the theme. [d] THE OLD HOUSE IN VAUXHALL WALK. Young Graham, who has quarreled with his father, is fortunate enough to meet an old family servant who serves as a watchman in a deserted house. The house is haunted. An old miserly woman was murdered there, and her ghost still walks. So do her murderers, who are looking for her hoard. [e] SANDY THE TINKER. Scotland. Moral culpability. Morison, a minister, tells the story of Cawley, a fellow clergyman. Cawley has been walking out by the Witch's Hollow, when his further progress is barred by a formidable figure. This is the Devil, who takes Cawley into the rocks to Hell, and will not release him unless he swears to return. Or, if he provides a substitute by Wednesday evening. In a panic Cawley names Sandy the Tinker, a harmless old wanderer. The Devil releases Cawley, who returns home and summons Morison, in an agony of terror. When the time set by the Devil has passed, Cawley thinks he is clear-- but it is learned that Sandy has just died. [f] OLD MRS. JONES. Mr. and Mrs.

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RIDDELL, MRS. J. H. Tippens, who conduct a rooming house, rent the house which had formerly been inhabited by Dr. Jones. Jones and his wife had suddenly disappeared, and their departure has been a neighborhood mystery. But as the Tippenses soon learn, the house is haunted by the ghost of the vicious old Mrs. Jones. She pesters the servants, frightens the children, and is a terror to Mrs. Tippens's cousin. A partial solution comes when the ghost causes the cousin to walk somnambulistically to the place where Dr. Jones is hiding in disguise, but even finding Mrs. Jones's corpse does not stop the haunting. Fire alone will do it. A landmark volume. Read in the 1947 reprint with introduction by Herbert Van Thal. 1389. IDLE TALES Ward and Downey; London 1887 Short stories, including [a] THE LAST OF SQUIRE ENNISMORE. Ireland. The squire, who was a hard, wicked man, broached a cask of brandy which had been found as flotsam on his beach. Its diabolical owner, however, came along and no more was seen of the wicked squire. A very effective little story. 1390. THE NUN'S CURSE. A NOVEL Ward and Downey; London 1888 3 vol. Social and economic matters in 19th century Ireland. A prologue, however, offers a supernatural explanation for what follows. About three hundred years earlier, an ancestral Conway usurped the estates from an abbey, slaughtering the inmates. A single nun who escaped was tcacked down by Conway and his hounds. As she lay dying, she cursed the family: there shall ever be dissension among the Conways, and no son shall succeed his father to the estates. Much like Maule's curse, the Conway curse continues into the 19th century as a young Conway tries to hold his heritage. Mrs. Riddell, however, also suggests a rational cause for the Conway turmoils: the Conways were all irresponsible. Good Victorian realism, with a wealth of data about 19th century life and mores. One of Mrs. Riddell's two or three best mainstream novels. 1391. PRINCESS SUNSHINE AND OTHER STORIES 'Ward and Downey; London 1889 2 vol. Short stories, including [a] A TERRIBLE VENGEANCE. The wet footprints of a child ghost follow its murderer everywhere and drive him to death. Told very effectively through the personality of a servant who watches his master decay. [b] WHY DR. CRAY LEFT SOUTHAM. Told by the doctor. One of his patients hasa mysterious illness. Awaking from a strange dream, he realizes that the patient's husband has been poisoning her. But there is no proof. 1392 • HANDSOME PHIL AND OTHER STORIES F. V. White London 1899 Short stories, including [a] CONNKILREA. Kilrea, black sheep of a good Irish family, hears the supernatural death summons of his ancestors and believes that fate has caught up with him. But he is unexpectedly spared, and the experience causes his reformation. [b] DIARMID CHITTOCK'S STORY. Blackstone Castle, in rural Ireland, is a tranquil country house,

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RIDDELL, MRS. J. H. its seasonal tenant from London discovers, except for the old dining room, which is beset with a storm of inexplicable noises. Investigation reveals murder hidden behind the walls. A fine regional story. 1393. THE· COLLECTED GHOST STORIES Dover Publications; New York 1977 All the short fiction that can definitely be attributed to Mrs. Riddell. * Described elsewhere, [a] NUT BUSH FARM. [b] THE OPEN DOOR. [c] THE LAST OF SQUIRE ENNISMORE. [d] THE OLD HOUSE IN VAUXHALL WALK. [e] SANDY THE TINKER. [f] FOREWARNED, FOREARMED. [f] HERTFORD O'DONNELL'S WARNING. 19] WALNUT-TREE HOUSE. [h] OLD MRS. JONES. [i] WHY DR. CRAY LEFT SOUTHAM. [j] CONN KILREA. [kj DIARMID CHITTOCK'S STORY. [1] A TERRIBLE VENGEANCE. * [m] A STRANGE CHRISTMAS GAME. (BROADWAY ANNUAL, 1868) When the Listers inherit the estate of Martingdale, they also acquire ghosts who put on a tableau for them. On Christmas Eve an 18th century ghostly quarrel and murder are reenacted. * Also included is a long introduction by the editor, E. F. Bleiler, MRS. RIDDELL, MID-VICTORIAN GHOSTS, AND CHRISTMAS ANNUALS, and a bibliography that brings S. M. Ellis's up to date. RIDLER, ANNE (nee BRADBY) (1912 British poet, playwright, editor of modern verse. Best-known ~ork, SHAKESPEARE CRITICISM 1919-1935. AS EDITOR: 1394. BEST GHOST STORIES Faber and Faber; London 1945 Described elsewhere, [a] NARRATIVE OF THE GHOST OF A HAND, J. S. LeFanu. [b] THE DREAM WO~N, Wilkie Collins. [c] THE FRIENDS OF THE FRIENDS, Henry J~~es. [d] THE CANTERVILLE GHOST, Oscar Wilde. [e] THE TRIUMPH OF NIGRf, Edith Wharton. [f] LOST HEARTS, M. R. James. [g] THE INEXPERIENCED GHOST, H. G. Wells. [h] THE FACE, E. F. Benson. [i] WITH INrENr TO STEAL, Algernon Blackwood. [j] THE OPEN ·wINDOW, Saki. [k] CREWE, Walter de la Mare. [1] THE TOOL, W. F. Harvey. [m] OUR FEATHERED FRIENDS, Philip MacDonald. [n] THE APPLE TREE, Elizabeth Bowen. [0] THUS I REFUrE BEELZY, John Collier. [p] WHO KNOWS? Guy de Maupassant. [q] THE HOUSE SUaGEO~, Rudyard Kipling. * Also, [r] BLIND MAN'S HOOD, Carter Dickson. (Pseud. of John Dickson Carr) On Christmas eve, between seven and eight, people tend to stay away from Clearlawns. There had been a presumable murder there years ago and the ghost comes around, talking about it. RITCHIE, LEITCH (1800? - 1865) Scottish novelist, editor, miscellaneous writer. Edited and wrote fairly elaborate travel books with steel engravings, and in later life was editor for CHAMBERS'S JOURNAL. 1395. THE MAGICIAN Macrone; London 1836 3 vol. Historical novel in the manner of Walter Scott. ~, France, circa 1440. Very slow moving, choked with historical detail, romantic in incident, strongly nationalistic and chauvinistic.

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ROBBINS, TOO This describes the adventures of a group of young Scots in France during the time of Giles de Retz. The supernatural aspect of the novel centers around de Retz, with an old Jewish alchemist and the magician Orosmandel. Orosmandel leads a double life. He pretends to be a wise old ascetic with gifts in natural magic, yet is really prelati, a demonic, unvanquishable knight who fights in black armor. The alchemist offers lives to the Devil in exchange for a bond of i~~ortality, and Or osmandel tries to invoke fiends to restore de Retz's wasted revenues and estates. The author's point of view is rationalistic, and almost all of Orosmandel's magic is later stated to be legerdemain. * Extraordinarily dull. RIVES, AMELIE (married to TROUBETZKOY, PRINCE PIERRE) (1863-1945) American author, member of so-called "emotional school," torrid novels of passion told in restrained, Victorian manner. Best-known work, THE QUICK, OR THE DEAD? (1889). 1396. THE GHOST GARDEN Stokes; New York [1918] Sentimental neo-Gothic horror. * In colonial Virginia, Melany Horsemanden was renowned for her remarkable beauty, which was enough to turn the head of a British landed duke. She was also remarkable for her selfishness, wilfulness, and vicious disposition. She built herself a house that reflected her personality (Her Wish), drove away the man that loved her, and died young. Her ghost still haunts the deserted mansion. * Evan Radford, a Northerner, comes into the area and hears the story. On first approaching the estate he knows all the complex paths (suggesting a theme of reincarnation that is not developed) and feels a great interest in and empathy for the old history. Staying with the Warrengers, he falls in love with the daughter of the house, another Melany. The dead Melany hates the living Melany and persecutes her. Radford decides to protect Melany Warrenger and goes to live at Her Wish. He sees the ghost on several occasions and falls into its power as it vampirically drains his vitality. On the eve of his wedding to Miss Warrenger, the ghost draws him out to her grave, and even though Melany Warrenger tries to save him, he falls dead. The doctor certifies his death, but fortunately he is not subjected to a post mortem or to embalming, for, at the call of the living Melany, he awakens a couple of days later. He has been in the land of the dead, and he is now completely, almost soullessly under the sway of the ghost, to whom he wants to return. Living love cannot save him, but arson practiced on Her Wish expels the ghost and releases him. ~, The chills of wandering through the deserted house, with noises, life-like portrait, and misty appearances are well handled, but otherwise, the other woman in supernatural terms. ROBBINS, TOD (i.e. ROBBINS, CLARENCE A.) (18881949) American author, long resident abroad in Great

ROBBINS, TOD Britain and France. Contributor to pulp magazines in period after World War I. Author of THE UNHOLY THREE, source for two films starring Lon Chaney, Sr., grotesque horrors of circus freaks. 1397. SILENT. WHITE AND BEAUIIFUL AND OTHER STORIES Boni and Liveright; New York [1920] Introduction by Robert H. Davis, better known as Bob Davis, the great editor of pulp magazines. * Short stories, including [a] WHO WANTS A GREEN BOTTLE? Scotland. The Laird of Lochleaven sees a tiny man trying to steal a gold piece, captures it, and discovers that it is the soul of his miserly dead uncle. The uncle takes him through various perils into Hell, and inadvertently reveals that the only way that a soul can escape Hell is by being in a green glass bottle. [b] WILD WULLIE, THE WASTER. Scotland. Nocturnal billiards games between two Scottish ghosts. Told from the point of view of the ghosts, describing the quarrel and killing that caused the haunting, and its aftermath. [c] FOR ART'S SAKE. Essentially a nouvelle about a murder mystery, but with a fantastic element: the works of Burgess Martin, novelist, stimulate the reader to horrible crimes. * The first two are good pulp fiction, with a note of whimsy and sophistication that is unusual in the form. The third is a bore. 1398. WHO WANTS A GREEN BOTTLE? AND OTHER UNEASY TALES Philip Allan; London 1926 Short stories, including, described elsewhere, [a] WHO WANTS A GREEN BOTTLE? [b] WILD WULLIE THE WASTER. * Also, [c] TOYS. The small shopkeeper sells a model of his village to Mr. Fate, who is what his name indicates. Horrors-- fires, accidents, earthquake-- for Fate is not benevolent. [d] A BIT OF A BANSHEE. Ireland. Shaemas O'Shea, penniless, carefree poet, is married by the old witch Widow Malone to her beautiful daughter Bridget. Bridget, however, is a banshee who must howl before deaths. O'Shea turns the gift to practical advantage. [e] A SON OF SHAEMAS O'SHEA. Sequel to [d]. Bridget has died, and Shaemas has married the witch girl Monica who specializes in remarkable animal transformations. Shaemas is disturbed, for Monica is pregnant and he is not sure whether the child will be a dog, cat, rabbit, pig, or human. It turns out to be a cherub. Like [d], basically Irish black humor. [f] COCKCROW INN. Late 18th century? Tibbit, who has hanged the notorious pirate and scoundrel Whitechapel Willie, has his eye on Nancy Greer and the inn. But on Hallowe-en Willie, who is a terrible womanizer, descends from the gallows, enters the inn, drinks and duels with Tibbit, and abducts Nancy. * Excellent commercial fiction, with good little touches. ROBERTS, [SIR] CHARLES G[EORGE] D[OUGLAS] (18601943) Canadian poet, novelist, editor, educator. Taught English at Kings College, Nova Scotia. Considered important as a Canadian regionalist. Knighted 1935.

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ROBERTS, R. ELLIS 1399. EARTH'S ENIGMAS A VOLUME OF STORIES Lamson, Wolffe; Boston and New York 1896 Short stories about animals, lumberjacks, squatters, and similar denizens of the wilds. Reminiscent (in the animal stories) of the work of Ernest Seton Thompson, but more purple in writing. * Including [a] THE PERDU. This is a small lake, a trapped river section. It has a bad reputation for being both bottomless and haunted. Reuben and Celia, two children who live nearby, see strange appearances in its water. This culminates years later, when Reuben is returning home after working away for a time, and sees a death portent. [b] THE HILL OF CHASTISEMENT. A fable-like, semi-allegorical story. The sinner, leaving his cave, passes horrors and emerges to see ahead of him, not a cross as he had hoped, but a gallows. [c] THE BARN ON THE MARSH. The narrator, passing the old barn, sees hanging in the doorway the corpse of his neighbor, as he had seen it years before. He approaches it and sees that it is just a piece of equipment-- but it reverts to a corpse again. Memory. [d] THE STONE DOG. Presumably a European or Latin American setting. The stone dog rests just on the edge of the fountain. The narrator, despite the latent menace of the sculpture and several warnings as it seems to threaten him, pries too much-- and is bitten. He is fortunate to escape with his life. * [c] and [d] are effective. * The enlarged edition (L. C. Page; Boston 1903) does not add new supernatural material. ROBERTS, R[ICHARD] ELLIS (1879-1953) British editor, miscellaneous writer. Associated with the NEW STATESMAN, TIME AND TIDE. Translator of Ibsen's PEER GYNT. 1400. THE OTHER END Cecil Palmer; London 1923 Supernatural stories in the tradition of Algernon Blackwood. * [a] THE HILL. A tourist sees the Hill, which reminds him of a Biblical high place. When he tries to climb it, he hears discordant music and must force his way through supernatural obstacles. A local boy, who is about to sacrifice a dog, tries to stop him, but the tourist, battling mentally against the evil of the place, releases the dog. Pan had been present, and the boy had been a doppelganger or simulacrum of a local youth. [b] THE RABBIT ROAD. Once a year at full moon the weakest and smallest of the imps can harry the rabbits, if aided by a human. The protagonist and his girl friend are caught up in the situation. [c] THE WIND. A Scottish young woman has the wind for a lover. She invokes it with· a Latin formula and dies in its embrace. [d] UNDER THE SUN. A frustrated young woman becomes acquainted with and falls in love with Penhaligon, who talks and acts strangely. He is the incarnation of an ancient Greek god whose benevolence has been greatly overstated by sentimental moderns. [e] THE GREAT MOTHER. When a college student goes to a grove to worship the Great Mother of the Gods, the Powers

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come and the farmer's field is trampled. [f] THE OTHER END. Told through the personality of a snobbish, lickspittle tutor. Terence Burke, who is badly treated by his sadistic uncle, talks to an invisible woman who promises to take him to the O~her End. She may be a dryad. [g] THE MINOTAUR. Rationalization in modern terms of Theseus and the Minotaur. Theseus is a clever politician; Ariadne is a snobbish young fIapper; and the Minotaur is a self-taught philosopher who sails to Athens to dispute with the sages. [h] THE CAGE. 19th century. Tom Barnes, who accidentally killed his adulterous wife, is sentenced to die of starvation in a cage. Merciful St. Candida visits him. [i] ROBIN. Robin Goodfellow comes among humans. Spirits of his sort are permitted to enter hUlnan life once. If they remain, they become hunan. Robin finds love. * [b] and [c] are excellent. The others are of varying quality. ROBERTSON, MORGAN [ANDREW] (1861-1915) American author; spent much of early life in merchant marine. An untaught, primitive writer, occasionally very effective in realistic stories about life asea. Wrote several stories that hover on the edges of science-fiction and supernatural fiction, the most important selection of which is considered below. Also wrote sea humor stories. Achieved posthumous fame for FUTILITY (1898), a prophetic account of the destruction of a great, new ocean-liner, the Titan, on its maiden voyage. It hit an iceberg. (The Titanic sank in 1912.) 1401. OVER THE BORDER M,:Clure' s Magazine and M,~tropolitan Magazine; New York [1914] Stories concentrating in the area among abnormal psychology, occultism, fate, and sciencefiction. Including [a] OVER THE BORDER. Hypnotic suggestion that one is a dog, and the suggestion is seemingly impossible to remove. [b] THE BABY. Arrested development cured by the vital energy of another person. [c] THE GRINDIN3 OF THE MILLS. Parallel fates are based on astrological premises; two persons DOLO ,gt tDC' S&77C' til1lC'.

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Prenatal marking. Miss Mayhew, whose mother was frightened by a cat, is a violent ailurophobe. Her lover, on the other hand, is a cat lover. The woman's condition is changed by a blood transfusion. [e] THE TWINS. Supersensitivity. [f] THE MATE OF HIS SOUL. Complex links between the narrator and Freddy, including projection of a dream monster, exchange of aggressiveness, etc. [g] THE SLEEPWALKER. His wife, when asleep, often attacks him sometimes with a knife. She seems to thi~k that she is Henry Morgan the buccaneer, and he, Lady Isobel. The doctor interprets it not as reincarnation, but as telepathy and cryptomnesia. [h] THE VOICES. Reincarnation, romance, shipboard matters. [i] THE BROTHERS .and [j] KISMET, supersensitivity and fate. * Robertson's sea stories are much better. ROBINET, LEE (pseud. of BENNET, ROBERT AMES) (1870-1954)

ROHMER, SAX American author, contributor to pulp magazines, mostly adventure stories. Wrote under own name and pseudonyms. 1402. THE FOREST MAIDEN Browne and Howell; Chicago 1913 . The Nietzschean Overman in the backwoods of British Columbia. * Kenmore, on a hunting trip, stumbles upon a lost land where a madman gifted with enormous paranormal powers has set up a new Garden of Eden. Adam, as he is called, can control animals by will power, can submerge human personality, and can use others for scrying. Along with Adam are Eve, his wife, her child, and Lilith. Both women are from outside but Adam's psychic power has submerged their memories and they think of him as a quasi-supernatural being. Kenmore, for reasons that are not adequately explained, goes along with Adam's lunacies, and on several occasions barely escapes death from the vicious madman. Although he fights off Adam's psychic attacks, otherwise he is completely inept. The crisis comes when Adam plans to sacrifice his child and then Kenmore. Kenmore, the women, and Kenmore's Indian guide (who had been held in suspended animation by Adam for some time) flee, while Adam pursues them, miraculously running atop the water. Adam's power fails momentarily, and he is eaten by a shark. His death releases the minds of the women. * A very curious story, not so much for its plot, which is suggestive of a scenario for an early motion picture serial, as for the strange psychologies. ROCK, JAMES (pseud. of PATTEN, CLINTON A.) American writer, druggist. Pseudo given in WHO GOES THERE by James A. Rock. 1403. THRO' SPACE New England Druggist Publishing Co.; Boston 1909 Science-fiction and occultism. * Rock, while out hunting, has an accident and becomes acquainted with Isadore D'Arville, who has invented an antigravity space ship. Rock and D'Arville first go to the moon, then proceed on a long visit to Venus, which contains bWDaooLds wbo lLve LO a mzldly soczalzsCIc utopia. The travellers also stop at a point outside earth, where they see the "ceaseless trudge," or the stream of human souls quitting the earth for their next stage on the cosmic plan. They then return to earth. * A very rare curiosity. ROHMER, SAX (pseud. of WARD, ARTHUR HENRY; later known as WARD, ARTHUR SARSFIELD; later name change to ROHMER, SAX) (1883-1959) British author (American resident in later life) of sensational thrillers. Renowned as the creator of Fu Manchu, undoubtedly the foremost Oriental villain in the literature, some of whose adventures are science-fiction of a sort. Also wrote adventure stories, mystery stories, and stories with some supernaturalism • Apparently was seriously interested in the occult and belonged at one time to the Order of the Golden Dawn. His novels are usually presented as thrillers, episodically, with hor-

ROHMER, SAX rible villains, captivities and escapes, houris, exotic deaths, etc. At best his work is fast moving and brisk, but it is usually flimsy and formula-ridden. See also FUREY, MICHAEL (pseud .) 1404. BROOD OF THE WITCH-OUEEN C.A. Pearson; London 1918 Episodic supernatural adventure, England and Egypt. 1914. * Antony Ferrara, the adopted son of a great Egyptologist and occult scholar, is as unwholesome a young man as is imaginable, first as a college student, then as a man about town in digs. He is plotting to gain his rich foster father's fortune, and for this he commits several murders and attempted murders by magical means: projecting hands that strangle, projecting swarms of beetles, controlling dreams, sending a fire elemental, etc. Against Ferrara, in a very ineffectual way, are the colorless Dr. Cairn and his son Robert. The story proceeds in a series of magical attacks on the Cairns, who escape as much by luck as skill. In an Egyptian episode Fertara controls the khamsin, brings plague to Cairo, and conducts a magical ceremony (including human sacrifice) in the pyramid at Meidun. The story ends when the Cairns locate Ferrara's hideout, steal his magical book (the Egyptian Book of Thoth) and leave him without protection. When Ferrara next calls up his elemental, it turns on him and rends him. Cairn reveals Ferrara's identity, which he had tantalizingly refused to do earlier. Years before, Cairn and Ferrara, Sr., had found a mummy, the son of a witch queen and the high priest of a diabolic cult in Ancient Egypt. They reanimated the child mummy, and the result was Antony Ferrara. * The episodic structure, for reasons of serial publication, disturbs what might have been a better thriller. 1405. TALES OF SECRET EGYPT Methuen; London [1918] Short stories. * The first five are concerned with Abu Tabah, a mysterious figure with a hypnotic gaze, who is in some sense the real ruler of Cairo. Only one story is adequately supernatural. [a] THE DEATH-RING OF SNEFERU. Abu Tabah warns Kernaby Pasha, the British protagonist of the five stories, not to meddle with artifacts that have a certain hieroglyphic mark on them. The artifact turns out to be the ring of the Pharaoh Sneferu, which had been hidden in the Great Pyramid and just rediscovered. An elemental goes along with it and kills the bearer. Abu Tabah's sister also is a good medium. * [b) LORD OF THE JACKALS. As the old Frenchman tells it, while staying with the Bedouins he happened to save a feeble old man from the camp dogs. In gratitude, when .the Frenchman has run away with one of the Arab women, the old man, who is the Lord of the Jackals, uses his supernatural control of the jackals to save him. [c) IN THE VALLEY OF THE SORCERESS. The marks of Queen Hatasu have been chiseled off most monuments, for she was a notorious witch. In the present, excavating her tomb is impossible, for in the guise of an Arab woman, she distracts and hin-

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ROHMER, SAX ders workers, supernaturally forcing them to replace what they have excavated. Neville, working alone at the site when all others have fled, is surrounded by a horde of cats and forced to work with a shovel. * Routine. 1406. THE OUEST OF THE SACRED SLIPPER C. A. Pearson; London 1919 Episodic thriller with supernatural elements. * The slipper of Mohammed is one of the sacred relics of Islam. It is guarded by the modern descendants of the ancient Assassins, headed by Hassan of Aleppo, a benevolent-looking, white-bearded old man who controls an arsenal of natural and supernatural vengeance devices. A somewhat unscrupulous Orientalist has stolen the slipper and is bringing it to England. He is followed by Hassan with a coterie of strange dwarfs armed with remarkable weapons. Also concerned is the American master thief Earl Dexter, who is determined to seize the slipper and hold it for ransom. One problem is that Hassan cuts off the right hand of any giaour who touches the slipper. There seems to be no limit to Hassan's ability in this respect. The slipper goes back and forth between Dexter, the museum, and Hassan. Dexter loses his right hand. The slipper is finally returned to Hassan on condition of amnesty. * Supernatural elements include a strange light cast by the slipper, and remarkable prevision on Hassan's part. * A little confused. It is difficult at times to determine who's got the slipper. 1407. THE DREAM DETECTIVE Jarrolds; London [1920] Detective stories with a fantastic element. * Moris Klaw, London antique dealer and authority on occult matters, undertakes criminal investigations in an unusual way. He sleeps at the place of the crime, whereupon his mind produces a psychic photograph of what was in the mind of another person. With this knowledge he is enabled to solve many otherwise impenetrable crimes. If his mode of work is supernatural, many of his cases are not, being only routine crimes. * Including [a] THE CRUSADER'S AXE. The axe of Crusader Black Geoffrey of the Crespie family protects the family's honor. [b) THE BLUE RAJAH. Klaw has established a periodicity in the crimes surrounding a wonderful diamond, the Blue Rajah. [c) THE HEADLESS MUMMIES. Occult in implication. In the head of one of the mummies from a certain temple is hidden the magical Book of the Lamps. The book, unfortunately, does not figure in the story. [d) CASE OF THE VEIL OF ISIS. Brearley has found a papyrus describing the initiation of an Egyptian priest into the cult of Isis. He performs the conjurations and achieves the expected response: Isis, after a fashion. * The American edition (Doubleday, Page, Garden City, N.Y. 1925) contains an additional story, [e) CASE OF THE CHORD IN G. A strangulation murder. When Klaw sleeps he hears a chord so widely spread that it would be impossible to play. Except by one man. * The other stories are not fantastic except in Klaw's antics. * Unexceptional work.

ROHMER, SAX 1408. THE GREEN EYES OF BAST Cassell; London 1920 Mystery novel with supernatural elements. >~ Addison, explorer and journalist, becomes involved in investigating the mysterious murder of Sir Marcus Coverly. Sir Marcus's corpse has been found in a large wooden box, together with an Ancient Egyptian figurine of a cat. A cat has also been roughly painted on the box. The mystery progresses. Addison encounters a mysterious person whose eyes glow in the dark and has superhuman agility, and Addison is marked for death by persons (almost) unknown. After escapes from mortar shells propelled into his room and mysterious Chinese drugs, Addison and his friends from Scotland Yard learn the solution of the crime (and others) from Dr. Damar Greefe, a sinister Eurasian biologist. Greefe, years earlier, had been investigating "psychic hybrids," or persons who have animal characteristics. The child born to Sir Marcus's uncle had been prenatally marked by a cat, and was born with claws and a nictivating eye membrane. Since the child was abnormal, its parents did not want it and turned it over to Greefe, who reared it. As it grew up, it developed many feline characteristics and in Egypt, during the time of the Feast of Bast, it behaved as if possessed by Bast. Dogs howled as she went by. This woman, Nahemah, is bitter at having lost her inheritance and with the occasional help of Dr. Greefe has been murdering the Coverly family. She finally turns on Greefe and kills him with a rare Chinese poison, she herself presumably dying of tuberculosis not long afterward. * Starts out nicely, but fizzles into plot cliches. 1409. THE HAUNTING OF LOW FENNEL C. A. Pearson; London [1920] Short stories, including [a] THE HAUNTING OF LOW FENNEL. Literary folklore to the contrary, Low Fennel is not a lewd Eurasian courtesan, but a haunted ho.use. A recurrent manifestation: a nude figure, sliding along the floor, with a face distorted into the most evil expression. The occult detective who is investigating the case finds a semi-rational explanation. The house, which is built atop a barrow, can be permeated, in very hot weather, by an effluvium which causes a specific response-sliding, nude, along the floor with a face distorted into the most evil expression. [b] THE VALLEY OF THE JUST. Burma. An area where no unjust person can survive the night. Moreen Fayne is a just woman; Ramsa Lala, her father's servant, will survive; but Moreen's brutal, drunken cad of a husband does not have a chance. Not only has he shot an old flame of Moreen's, he has also looted the temple treasure. [c] THE MASTER OF HOLLOW GRANGE. Dr. Kassimere, who looks much like Thoth, uses the beautiful young Phryne to lure men into his power. He is working on a recipe from an almost unknown work of Paracelsus's. Just what he is trying to do is not revealed, but it is probably creation of life. [d] THE CURSE OF A THOUSAND KISSES. Egypt. A manuscript, written on papy-

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ROHMER, SAX rus. Saville Grainger, on an inexplicable impulse, kisses an ugly old woman who is hobbling along the streets of Cairo. He receives a reward: a gem, a recognition, and as the manuscript ends, an incredibly beautiful woman According to the legend, Scheherazade, daughter of the governor of Egypt around 800 A.D., played her lover false. A magician cursed her ~'7ith unspeakable ugliness, which would remain on her until one thousand men voluntarily kissed her. Grainger was number one thousand. * Routine work. 1410. TALES OF CHINATOWN Cassell; London [1922] Short stories, including [a] TCHERIAPIN. The foul-mouthed violinist Tcheriapin, composer of The Black Mass, is struck and killed by the painter Colquhoun. To conceal the crime a friend of Colquhoun's submits the corpse to a shrinking, petrifying process that results in a tiny statuette. But the ghost of Tcheriapin bothers Colquhoun, even to playing The Black Mass. [b] THE HAND OF THE MANDARIN QUONG, The despicable Sidney Adderley abducted the favorite wife of Quong, who by some geographical oddity is a mandarin in Johore. Quong sends Adderley his shriveled hand, which strangles him. 1411. GREY FACE Cassell; London 1924 A catch-as-catch-can collection of thriller motives centering around the figure of Trepniak, remarkable man of great wealth, who looks exactly like Cagliostro. Among concepts piled on helter skelter are: a glandular method of rejuvenation, which changed an 80 year old German biologist into Trepniak; the secret of making artificial gold, which Trepniak and the Communists plan to exploit; a technique for enlarging diamonds and other gems; a secret organization of adepts with incredible supernatural powers, who watch over the mental health of the world; ancient secrets from Egypt and elsewhere; a gigantic beryl globe, with which Trepniak forces his will on others; a young secret service investigator who learns that his mind is being picked by Trepniak's hypnotic powers; a beautiful demimonde, half Russian, half Circassian; her long-lost amnesiac husband; a psychiatrist who is a practicing occultist. * The ingredients are not too well blended, and the transitions are jarring, but some of the individual scenes, as in Trepniak's menage, are well-handled. 1412. SHE WHO SLEEPS A ROMANCE OF NEW YORK AND THE NILE Doubleday, Doran; Garden City, N.Y. 1928 Legerdemain masked as ancient Egyptian wisdom. * Young Barry Cumberland, son of the wealthy collector of Egyptian antiquities John Cumberland, cracks up his Rolls in New Jersey on seeing a very beautiful young woman. When he recovers, he tries to find her, but without success. In the meanwhile Cumberland, Sr., is preparing an archeological expedition. The dealer and archeologist Danbazzar has sold him a papyrus which indicates that the Ancient Egyptians had the secret of suspending anima-

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ation and that there is record of a priestess who was awakened periodically over centuries. Danbazzar has also found her tomb and has prepared ingredients for awakening her, should the tomb, on excavation, be tenanted. The expedition proceeds to Egypt, and in a short time excavates the tomb, finding She Who Sleeps but Who Will Awake, in a perfect state of preservation. Everything goes successfully, and the young woman (Zalithea) awakes. To Barry, who believes that she looks exactly like his mystery woman of New Jersey, is assigned the pleasant task of introducing her to modern life. The Cumberlands smuggle Zalithea out of Egypt, and take her to New York. All is well for a time, when she suddenly disappears. Later, in Paris Barry chances to encounter her, and she reveals in a letter that the whole situation had been a hoax and a fraud perpetrated by Danbazzar, partly for revenge, partly for gain. Forgiveness is mutually exchanged. More juvenile in approach than Rohmer's other work. In general Rohmer has no trouble in attaining suspension of disbelief, no matter what his other flaws as a writer may be, but this story is utterly incredible. 1413. TALES OF EAST AND WEST THIRTEEN LITTLE MASTERPIECES OF DEATH AND FEAR AND TERROR The Crime Club, Doubleday, Doran; Garden City, New York 1933 Short stories, including, described elsewhere, [a] THE VALLEY OF THE JUST. [b] THE CURSE OF A THOUSAND KISSES. [c] THE HAUNTING OF LOW FENNEL. [d] THE MASTER OF HOLLOW GRANGE. Also [e] THE CARDINAL'S STAIR. The house is said to be haunted by the ghost of Cardinal Wolsey. It also contains a fortune in plate and art, which burglars covet. The burglars falsify a ghost, but the real cardinal appears. Routine. Also present is the science-fiction story "Light of Atlantis," which does not seem to be available elsewhere. The British edition of the same title (Cassell; London 1932) does not have the same contents, lacking [a], [b], [c], and [d], but offers other stories. It has not been seen. 1414. THE BAT FLIES LOW Crime Club, Doubleday, Doran; Garden City, N. Y. 1935 Adventure, with an occult background. Lincoln Hayes, young President of Western Electric, is eager to discover the perpetual light that the Ancient Egyptians (according to Rohmer) had. His agent steals a fragment of the Book of Thoth which reveals enough about the lamp that experimentation seems possible and profitable. Unfortunately, there are other parties, Simon Lobb, Hayes's business rival, and Mohammed Ahmes Bey, a mysterious Egyptian of great charismatic power. While Hayes and his associates are examining the papyrus, they are overcome by an artificially produced darkness and the papyrus is removed. The trail leads to Egypt. At this point it might be well to anticipate Rohmer. In Egypt there exists a monastic brotherhood who preserve the Ancient Wisdom, with, among their secrets, the lamp. Ahmes Bey is the head of this organization. Through a lifetime of study and training

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ROLT, L[IONEL] T[HOMAS] C[ASWELL] (1910 British author; railways engineer and executive; lecturer, radio broadcaster; memher of Science Museum advisory council. 1415. SLEEP NO MORE Constable; London 1948 Short stories. [a] THE MINE. There has been much trouble on the new level of the mine. When Joe Beecher comes up in the cage, the narrator's mate (who apparently has second sight) sees a horror atop the cage that chases Joe to his death in a nearby quarry. [b] THE CAT RETURNS. Stranded honeymooners are put up for the night by a Mr. Hawkins, a gentleman who acts strangely. They believe that he is a servant posing as master of the house. They take a phone call for Hawkins, and inform him of the message: that someone will call for him next morning. Hawkins is found dead, presumably a suicide. But the phone had long been disconnected. Murder in the past? [c] BOSWORTH SUMMIT POUND. An unpleasant area along an inland waterway. Boatmen do not anchor there. In the 19th century one of the local gentry murdered a pregnant Gipsy woman and disposed of her body there. He, in turn, was summoned by the dead woman. Ghosts seen. [d] NEW CORNER. A racing car track, with a new section added. It was necessary to run the track through an ancient stone circle. Drivers see a robed figure in their way, and accidents take place. [e] CWM GARON. Wales. There is something odd about the valley. At first it seems beautiful, then horrible. Professor Elphinstone, the noted folklorist, hopes to find the secret. He does, and is found at the foot of a cliff. Carfax, too, sees the secret-- little people A la Arthur Machen. Two of them follow him. [f] A VISITOR AT ASHCOMBE. Bingley, the retired industrialist, is a very hard, tough, fearless man, but even he must succumb to the horrors at Ashcombe. In the closed-off Arms room there is a peculiarly placed mirror that does not always reflect, and can be an entry for horrors from elsewhere. [gJ THE GARSIDE FELL DISASTER. The men do not like the railroad tunnel. It is inexplicably hot.

ROLT, L. T. C. When a serious fire breaks out in the tunnel, involving two trains, some believe that the sensation of heat was an omen, others that it was connected with the sacred nature of the mountain in the past. It wanted human sacrifices. lh} WORLD'S END. The old man reveals that he has had a vision of himself as a suicide. It is fulfilled. The narrator had a similar vision of himself in the past. [i} HEAR NOT MY STEPS. A haunted room and a psychic researcher. He sees the corpse on the bed and is impelled to strangle himself with the cord. [j} AGONY OF FLAME. A ruined castle in Ireland, horribly haunted. Supernatural influences remove the access boat. One of the party is stricken deaf, dumb, and blind. [k} HAWLEY BANK FOUNDRY. The old, abandoned foundry is restored to use during World War II. There was a mystery about it in the past. Its owner disappeared and his successor (presumably a murderer) was dogged supernaturally, and committed suicide. In the present, the casting sands are frequently disturbed. When a large casting is being made, a corpse is seen through the melt, and maggots the size of serpents. [I} MUSIC HATH CHARMS. Cornwall. In the 18th century the house was inhabited by Count Henneze, a fierce and murderous smuggler. A music box that once belonged to him is found in a sealed cupboard. The result is possession of a sort, not brutality, but decadence. * Unremarkable stories. ROSCOE, THOMAS (1791-1871) British journalist, author, editor, translator. Author of several volumes of THE LANDSCAPE ANNUAL (illustrated travel books) and editor of JUVENILE KEEPSAKE. Translated, in addition to works below, MEMOIRS OF CELLINI, ITALIAN NOVELISTS, SPANISH NOVELISTS, and others. AS EDITOR AND TRANSLATOR: 1416. THE GERMAN NOVELISTS TALES SELECTED FROM ANCIENT AND MODERN AUTHORS IN THAT LANGUAGE Colburn; London 1826 4 vol. A fairly large selection of material, not all equally significant, from various areas of German literature. * Including, described elsewhere, [a} THE DUMB LOVER, J. Musaeus. Alternate title for DUMB LOVE. [b} THE FIELD OF TERROR, F. de la Motte Fouque. [c} AUBURN EGBERT, J. L. Tieck. Alternate title for ECKBERT THE FAIR-HAIRED. [d} THE MANDRAKE, F. de la Motte Fouque. Alternate title for THE BOTTLE IMP. [e} THE APPARITIONIST, J. F. von Schiller. Alternate title for THE GHOST-SEER. Full text. [f} DOCTOR FAUSTUS, Anonymous. Abridgment of FIRST PART OF THE VERITABLE HISTORY OF THE LAMENTABLE AND EXECRABLE SINS AND PUNISHMENT, TOGETHER WITH MANY WONDERFUL AND RARE ADVENTURES OF DR. JOHANNES FAUSTUS, A FAR-FAMED SORCERER AND PRACTITIONER IN THE BLACK ART [etc.J, G. Widman. Original, Hamburg, 1599. A rather full chapbook version of Faust's adventures. [g} TREACHERY ITS OWN BETRAYER, C. A. Eberhard. An Oriental tale of a wily dervish who tricks the king into exchanging bodies. [h} HEAD MASTER RHENFRIED AND HIS FAMILY,

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ROSE, F. HORACE F. de la Motte Fouque (attributed author). A rather complex narrative, but essentially the story of an elopement. A disgruntled lover uses a magic mirror and invokes the aid of the ghost of a Venetian magician to locate the woman involved. Although Roscoe assigns this story to Fouqu~, I have not found it in his collected works in German. [i} LOVE MAGIC, J. L. Tieck. (LIEBESZAUBER, 1811) Renaissance Germany. Emilius is the prey of love magic worked by a beautiful young woman and a vile old witch. Human sacrifice is involved. When Emilius learns what has taken place, tragedy. [jJ THE FAITHFUL ECKART AND THE TANNENHAEUSER, J. L. Tieck. (DER GETREUE ECKART, 1799) Eckart, a noble-minded knight, has pledged fealty to the Duke of Burgundy, and despite the Duke's crimes against him remains loyal. Eckart's last feat is combat against supernatural evil. From the Venusberg emanates a strange music which seduces men and drags them down to destruction. Eckart battles off the dwarfs responsible, and his spirit remains as a guard to warn humans against this small hell. In the second part of the story, set four hundred years later, in the 13th century, young Tannenhaeuser brushes past Eckart and makes his way into the Venusberg, where he indulges in the activities for which he has become famous. He emerges many years later, discovers that his memories have been illusions created by evil spirits, commits a murder, and returns to the arms of Venus. * There is also quite a bit of folkloristic material which is beyond the scope of this book. * Fluent translations, but sometimes a little careless. ROSE, F[REDERICK} HORACE (1876 - ? South African novelist, newspaper editor (NATAL WITNESS). Author of several novels. Perhaps occasionally resident in Great Britain. 1417. PHAROAH'S [sic} CROWN Duckworth; London [1943 J African adventure and supernaturalism in the school of Haggard. * Hararli, as the natives call an Englishman, helps an Egyptian sage and his daughter to escape from Bantus who have been holding the girl captive as a prophetess. After some difficulties they reach Egypt, at which time it is revealed that the Egyptian is a custodian of the sacred crown of the pharaohs. The three penetrate an ancient tomb. The young woman and her father are trapped, but Hararli escapes, mad, living out the curse that had been on the tomb. * Some interesting material on Islamic Egyptian daily life, but otherwise unremarkable. 1418. THE NIGHT OF THE WORLD Duckworth; London [1944} World War II propaganda novel with supernatural aspects. * Ken Favery is with the British forces in North Africa; much of the book is a fairly realistic description of battle conditions. Favery is blown up, and after a short period of time finds himself with a group of immortal watchers from all ages, who are viewing the war in North Africa and Europe

ROSE, F. HORACE from a lost oasis. Favery writes down his visions, and eventually his body is found with the manuscript. * Unremarkable. RUDWIN, MAXIMILIAN J[OSEF] (1885-1946) American educator, scholar, born in Poland. Taught at Swarthmore College and University of Wyoming. Author of monographs on medieval German literature, particularly drama. AS EDITOR: 1419. DEVIL STORIES AN ANTHOLOGY Knopf; New York 1921 A collection of fiction dealing with the Devil. The approach is scholarly, but the scholarship involved is purely literary, with no reference to folklore or history of religions. * Including, described elsewhere, [a] THE DEVIL AND TOM WALKER, Washington Irving. [b] BON-BON, Edgar Allan Poe. [c] DEVIL-PUZZLERS, Frederic Beecher Perkins. [d] THE DEMON POPE, Richard Garnett. [e] MADAM LUCIFER, Richard Garnett. [f] THE DEVIL AND THE OLD MAN, John Masefield. * Also, [g] THE DEVIL IN A NUNNERY, translated from Latin, adapted by Francis Oscar Mann. Medieval England. A wandering minstrel offers to perform a few sacred airs as payment for hospitality. But his music stirs sexual memories and desires. The abbess expels him by prayer. [h] BELPHAGOR, OR THE MARRIAGE OF THE DEVIL, Nicolo Macchiavelli. (1549) Translated from Italian. A mixture of folkloristic themes. The devils in Hell wonder why all new arrivals blame their presence on their wives. They appoint Belphagor to be incarnated, married, and to report back to Hell. While on earth Belphagor has difficulty with his creditors, and in exchange for help from a rustic agrees to dispossess demoniacs so that the peasant will get the credit. [i] FROM THE MEMOIRS OF SATAN, Wilhelm Hauff. (1825) A strange Italian, presumably the Devil, enters into a doppelganger situation and destroys an old eccentric. [j] THE DEVIL'S WAGER, W. M. Thackeray. Sir Roger de Rollo is being transferred from Purgatory to Hell. He can escape if a single person on earth will sayan ave for him. It is done, but narrowly. [k] THE PAINTER'S BARGAIN, W. M. Thackeray. Simon Gambouge, poverty-stricken artist, signs a diabolic bond: seven years, and release only if he can set the Devil an impossible task. The Devil is asked to live with Simon's wife. [I] THE PRINTER'S DEVIL, Anonymous. (1836) Asmodeus takes the narrator on a tour of Hell, which is occupied by literary men. Various liberal, philosophical, and supernatural writers are preeminent, but worst of all is paperback publishing, for which the devils have had to open a special branch of Hell. [m] THE DEVIL'S MOTHER-IN-LAW, Fernan Caballero. (Pseud. of Cecilia Bohl de Faber) (1859) Translated from Spanish. Old Mother Holofernes curses her slovenly daughter to marry the Devil. Mother Holofernes then traps the Devil in a bottle and disposes of it. A soldier finds the bottle, and relens(!s the Devil on condition that he help in dispossessing demoniacs.

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RUSSELL, BERTRAND [n] THE GENEROUS GAMBLER, Charles Baudelaire. (LE DIABLE, 1864) Translated from French by Arthur Symons. A boulevardier meets the Devil, who promises him many good things. The Frenchman prays to God to let the Devil keep his promises. [0] THE THREE LOW MASSES, Alphonse Daudet. (LES TROIS MASSES BASSES, 1869) The Reverend Dom Balaguere, a 17th century glutton, rushes through the Christmas Eve masses in order to indulge in turkey stuffed with truffles, trout, etc. He dies of a surfeit and is condemned to say 300 Christmas Eve masses. [p] THE DEVIL'S ROUND, Charles Deulin. (1868) Translated from French by Isabel Bruce, with a folkloristic preface by Andrew Lang. A Flemish golf enthusiast pleases visiting saints, who give him a golf club that cannot be beaten, an apron from which one cannot be moved, and a bench from which one cannot stir. He uses these to defeat the Devil and Death. [q] LUCIFER, Anatole France. (from LE PUITS DE ST. CLAIR, 1895) Translated by Alfred Allinson. The Devil rebukes an Italian Renaissance painter for taking liberties with his image, and making him look like a monster. [r] THE DEVIL, Maxim Gorky. Anonymous translation from Russian. The Devil and the skeleton of a dead author converse. The author's widow is living on the royalties of the dead man's work-- with her second husband. RUSSELL, BERTRAND [ARTHUR WILLIAM] (1872-1970) Third Earl Russell. Major British mathematician, philosopher, social and political thinker. Nobel Prize for literature 1950. This remarkable man started a career in fiction while in his 80's. His first collection of stories, SATAN IN THE SUBURBS (1953), although listed in bibliographies, is not supernatural in our sense. 1420. NIGHTMARES OF EMINENT PERSONS AND OTHER STORIES Bodley Head; London 1954 There are nine NIGHTMARES, all fantastic in one way or another, but only five of them are supernatural in our sense. A brief introduction by Lord Russell offers a justification of them similar to the faggot theory of truth: isolated passions are insane, but a synthesis of insanities is sanity. Each story illustrates a passion. Including [a] THE QUEEN OF SHEBA'S NIGHTMARE. After leaving Solomon's court she is exclaiming at its wonders, when she meets Beelzebub. He invites her to his underground domain, where she is trapped, to be a queen only until the arrival of Cleopatra. Her problem is failure to face facts, vanity. [b] THE PSYCHOANALYST'S NIGHTMARE. An amusing takeoff on Freudian analysis of literary works. In the Limbo Rotary Club Macbeth, Othello, Lear, Romeo, and Mark Antony tell how their problems were removed by psychoanalysis. They have since led happy normal lives, but without aspiration or dream. Only Hamlet, who has undergone the same treatment, has doubts. But these doubts save him. Simplistic solutions. [c] THE METAPHYSICIAN'S NIGHTMARE. If evil is negation and the Devil is the utmost of negation, there are certain philosophical problems in talking about him. Professor Bumblowski is

RUSSELL, BERTRAND confronted by these problems in Hell. His solution is to avoid the concept of negation in his speech. [dj THE EXISTENTIALIST'S NIGHTMARE. To prove his own existence he must suffer. Accompanied by Poe's raven he exposes himself to the horrors of the 20th century: Nazi Germany, Stalinist Russia, Communist China. [ej THE MATHEMATICIAN'S NIGHTMARE. A spoof on Sir Arthur Eddington's numerical manipulations and various numerical constants postulated. Living numbers, most interestingly handled. * All very amusing. RUSSELL, RAY[MOND] ) (1924 American author, editor, musician, motion picture scenarist. Editorial positions with PLAYBOY MAGAZINE (executive editor, 1960-5). Responsible for major development in American science-fiction, acceptance of s-f in major magazines. See also THE PLAYBOY BOOK OF HORROR AND THE SUPERNATURAL and THE PLAYBOY BOOK OF SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY, which Russell edited anonymously. 1421. SARDONICUS AND OTHER STORIES Ballantine Books; New York 1961 paperbound Title nouvelle plus short stories, including [aj THE EXPLOITS OF ARGO. 30th century, outer solar system. The black elixir renders one invulnerable for seven days, but them kills one. It has obvious military uses. The deposed Emperor of the Asteroids, to escape the elixir, asks the Last Wizard to transform him into a were-creature. He becomes a vampire on a planet where there is no blood, no wood stakes, no silver, and no daylight. [bj BOOKED SOLID. Lilith Kane, ruthless motion picture actress, murders her husband. She discovers that her adviser for years has been one who is skilled at tempting. She is booked solid in the afterlife. [cj I AM RETURNING. The Battle in the Heavens, the Fall of Lucifer, the rise of humanity in terms of sciencefiction. * The other stories, including the title story, are contes cruels with occasional elements of science-fiction. RUSSELL, W[ILLIAMj CLARK (1844-1911) British author (born New York), educated in Great Britain, served several years in merchant marine. Held various journalistic positions, wrote prolifically on sea topics. An influential voice in improving lot of seamen. Highly regarded as novelist in his day, but now rightly considered a minor writer of adventure fiction. Best-known work THE WRECK OF THE GROSVENOR (1877). 1422. THE FROZEN PIRATE Sampson, LOW, Marston; London 1887 2 vol. Sea fiction with fantastic elements. * Circa 1800. The Laughing Mary, a light ship sailing from Callao to Cape Town via the Straits of Magellan, runs into storms and is hard hit. The only survivor of the crew is Paul Rodney, narrator, who is blown southward toward Antarctica in a small boat. Ice floes come into sight and he sees imbedded in the ice an antique-appearing vessel. Rodney boards it and finds that its crew is lying about, frozen,

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RUTTER, OWEN but that the vessel is seaworthy. He soon sees that it was a pirate ship, for there is much loot aboard. He builds a fire, eats, and makes himself comfortable. (Why the pirates could not have done the same is passed over silently.) He tosses most of the corpses overboard, but one is so contorted that he cannot take it through the cabin doorway. He hopes that the heat of the fire will thaw it enough so that it can be moved. The heat, however, brings the pirate to life, and Rodney find& that he has a shipmate, a man about fifty years old, a French pirate named Jules Tassard. He is an unpleasant, bloodthirsty rogue. Conversation reveals that Tassard has been frozen for about 48 years, but he will not accept the fact. Rodney devises a scheme for freeing the vessel from the ice surrounding it, by setting off charges of gunpowder. While he is doing this, Tassard suddenly ages, collapses into senility, and dies. He ages 48 years in a couple of days. Rodney continues alone; meets a Yankee ship from whom he borrows sailors; smuggles the loot ashore in England; and settles down. * Minor work. 1423. THE DEATH SHIP A STRANGE STORY Hurst and Blackett; London 3 vol. Sea adventure and romance, circa 1800. * Young Geoffrey Fenton, sailing aboard the Saracen, hears much talk about the Flying Dutchman. There is thus consternation when the Dutchman is seen-- a mouldy, ancient vessel that is luminous. Fenton has the misfortune to fall overboard and is abandoned by his terrified companions. But he is rescued by the crew of the spectral vessel, He discovers that the ship is captained by Vanderdecken, who believes that it is still 1653, and talks of returning to his family in the Netherlands. A parrot persistently screams, in Dutch, "We are all damned!" Vanderdecken and certain members of his crew have their sinister sides, and Fenton must tread carefully. Aboard the vessel is also a young Englishwoman, Imogene Dudley, with whom Fenton falls in love. Life aboard the Dutchman takes up most of the book: storms, the approach of other ships, events of daily life, obtaining provisions from derelicts, boarding by French pirates, etc. Fenton and Imogene plot to escape. They manage to get a boat, not too far from land, but Vanderdecken shoots at them as they leave and Imogene is killed. * Weak characterizations, much to-do about activities, inordinate length, falling between adventure and realism. 'I, In reprint editions often titled THE FLYING DUTCHMAN. RUTTER, OWEN (1899-1944) British author, colonial administrator, naval expert, historian, businessman. Born in New York. Long resident in Malaysia; newspaper editor, magistrate British North Borneo. Edited many volumes on history of navigation, best-known being those dealing with Captain Bligh and the mutiny on the Bounty. Partner in Golden Cockerel Press, one of foremost private presses of 1930's.

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Ernest Benn; London 1424. THE MONSTER OF MU [1932] Adventure story with lost-race elements. * The island of Mu in the Pacific is the last remnant of a once mighty continent that held a high civilization. Colin and Jill come to Mu seeking treasure. They encounter pygmies and white priests skilled in ancient magic. The natives of Mu are i~~ortal and are guarded by a frightful monster. Colin and Jill are captured but rescued by a rival expedition, although most of the Europeans die. The island sinks beneath the sea. * Considering the author's qualifications, a poor job. RYARK, FELIX Presumably a British author. Nothing known. 1425. A STRANGE LAND Hutchinson; London 1908 Mystical novel. Cambodia and the land beyond the "veil." * After the death of his mother, Denis keeps a promise that he had made to her on her deathbed: he plays certain. music for seven nights in succession in Cambodia. The music opens a gateway to a strange land into which Denis passes. There, death does not exist, but people suddenly disappear in conjunction with haunting music. After an uneventful stay Denis returns to earth. * Literate, with a dreamy, timeless atmosphere, but lifeless.

S. M. C. (i.e. SISTER MARY CATHERINE OF THE ENGLISH DOMINICAN CO~GREGATION OF SAINT CATHERINl OF SIENA) 1426. BROTHER PETROC'S RETURN Chatto and Windus; London 1937 Religious novel contrasting the "religion of faith" of the late Middle Ages with the modern "religion of the intellect." * Brother Petroc, a Benedictine of the early 16th century, dies of a heart attack, is buried, and remains in suspended animation for about four hundred years. During this time the Benedictine Order is expelled from England, and then permitted to return. In the 20th century the Benedictines buy their old ruined monastery, find Petroc, and revive him. Much then follows on Petroc's reaction to changed views on religion. But, like the Frozen Pirate, Petroc unexpectedly ages almost instantly, living barely long eenough to be ordained as a priest. Presumably his supernatural mission has been accomplished, and there is no more need for his presence on earth. * Written with a tenderness and charm that do much to conceal the doctrinary harshness inherent in the ideas. ST. CLAIR, HENRY Presumably American. AS EDITOR: 1427. TALES OF TERROR: OR, THE MYSTERIES OF MAGIC

ST. CLAIR, HENRY A SELECTION OF WONDERFUL AID SUPERNATURAL STORIES C. Gaylord; Boston 1835 2 vol. in 1 An anthology of Gothic and Romantic stories, most of which are fantastic. * Including, (a] THE MAGIC DICE, AN AWFUL NARRATIVE, [Thomas De Quincey]. Also titled THE DICE. Possib~ ly a translation from German. Schroll accepts magic dice from the Devil and eventually loses his soul. Fully developed. [b] THE GORED HUNTSMAN, Anonymous. A hunter forces entry into a fairy mansion, despite supernatural warnings, and is later gored to death by a stag. Also a flower token. Presumably of German origin. [c] THE NIKKUR HOLL, Anonymous. Shetland Islands. One hundred years earlier the ship Carmilhan was wrecked with much gold on board. The dead sailors occasionally march ashore from the ship. Folk magic almost retrieves the gold, but Trosk, the treasure seeker, is too greedy, and becomes mate among the dead. Essentially the same story as Hauff's CAVERN OF STEENFOLL. Both stories may have a common folkloristic origin. [d] DER FREISCHUrZ; OR, THE MAGIC BALLS, J. Apel. Described elsewhere. [e] THE STORY OF JUDAR, Anonymous. Cairo. An Oriental tale, combining elements of Aladdin and Joseph and his brethren. Judar aids Moroccan wizards to gain a treasure and is given a magical ring that fulfills wishes. [f] THE BOARWOLF, [J. Apel]. The boarwolf, a fabulous monster, haunts the Bergstrasse. A hunter makes a bond with the Devil so that he can kill the boarwolf and win a woman. He succeeds in his hunt, but is himself transformed into a new boarwolf, which is killed by his rival in love. [g] THE CAVERN OF DEATH, Anonymous. Black Forest. Chivalry; very Gothic, with visions, ghost, murder, and usurpation. [h] THE MYSTERIOUS BELL, Anonymous. Sailors hear a bell at sea and see it on the protruding mast of a sunken ship. When a nearby line is pulled, the Shrouded Demon comes up, a gigantic corpse wrapped for burial at sea. [i] THE DERVISE ALFOURAN and [j] HASSAN ASSAR, OR THE HISTORY OF THE CALIPH OF BAGDAT, [Charles Morell, pseudo of James Ridley]. From TALES OF THE GENII. Linked Oriental tales with magic and gen~~. [k] THE ASTROLOGER OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY, [L. Flammenberg]. The first portion of THE NECROMANCER, covering seemingly supernatural incidents in Germany. Described elsewhere. [1] THE FLYING DUTCHMAN, Anonymous. Willis and his comrades meet the Flying Dutchman. He wants them to take letters home. If they refuse, bad luck; if they agree, bad luck. [m] PETER RUGG, THE MISSING MAN, [William Austin]. The first part only. Described elsewhere. [n] THE HAUNTED FOREST, Anonymous. Normandy. It is ruled by evil spirits. Alphonso rescues Lusette, a beautiful girl. He becomes engaged to her and swears to accept her father's terms for marriage. She transforms into a hideous witch and chains him to her chariot, along with other suitors, scourging them with serpents. His sister rescues him with a talisman obtained from a holy hermit. * The present collection was reprinted with additional stories as EVENING TALES FOR THE

ST. CLAIR, HENRY WINTER (R. Marsh; New York 1856). The new stories include [0] NINA DALGOROOKI, Anonymous. Russian setting. A necromancer, magic, love. [p] THE PROPHECY, Rev. Henry Cauntner. Prophecy and suicide. The new stories are Victorian and sentimental, and do not fit well with the earlier material. The 1835 collection is an excellent selection for its day, with much material that is not generally available elsewhere.

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ST. LUZ, BERTHE (pseud. of ROBERTSON, ALICE (1871 ?) ALBERTHE) American author. 1429. TAMAR CURZE R. F. Fenno; New York [1908] Shopgirl theriomorphy. A tiger hunt in Assam, and something mysterious happens. It is not revealed. About twenty years later in England. The story is told mostly through two characters, Olivia Longnus, a governess, and Dr. Felix Rossiter. Lord and Lady Glandour receive a letter from their cousin, Tamar Curze, informing them that she is coming to live with them. She arrives, a very beautiful but nasty young woman, whose sexual magnetism is so great that men cannot resist her-- including Sir Lionel Glandour. At the same time, some mysterious beast of prey seems to be operating around the estate, killing other animals. No one suspects Tamar until the arrival of Professor D'Herbelot, who had been on the tiger hunt in Assam years before, and had shot a cheetah. He immediately recognizes Tamar and her ayah for what they are: a were-animal and a witch. Tamar, in cheetah or leopard form, is wounded by D'Herbelot and Rossiter. Later, she kills Sir Lionel while Rossiter watches helplessly. What happens to her is not clear, since after killing Lord Glandour she escaped in animal form. Nor is it clear whether Tamar was an elemental or whether she was inhabited by the soul of the pet cheetah that D'Herbelot shot in Assam twenty years before. Low level material.

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SAKI (pseud. of MUNRO, HECTOR HUGH) (1870-1916) British (born in Burma) journalist, foreign correspondent, author of witty short stories. Worked at WESTMINSTER GAZETTE; foreign correspondent for London MORNING POST, spending about six years in Russia and the Balkans. Killed in World War I. A very fine craftsman in cameolike sardonic, cruel, whimsical stories about life among the upper crust. At best very amusing in sadistic way, but values and obvious psychological quirks are sometimes repellant. 1430. REGINALD IN RUSSIA AND OTHER SKETCHES Methuen; London 1910 Short stories and sketches including [a] GABRIEL-ERNEST. Van Cheele, wandering through his woods, comes upon a strange naked youth lying near a pool. The youth laughingly tells him that he sleeps during the day and eats at night-- rabbits, hares, poultry, and an occasional baby. The boy later appears at Van Cheele's house, where he is welcomed by Van Cheele's aunt. When he leaves, it is with a child, for he is a werewolf. By an irony of fate, the situation is not recognized by others. [b] THE SAINT AND THE GOBLIN. Statues in a church, the pathetic fallacy. Irony on morality. [c] THE SOUL OF LAPLOSHKA. He is a strange sort of miser: he will not give to the poor, but has no hesitation in giving to the rich. He dies suddenly, with the narrator indebted to him for a small amount. His ghost haunts the narrator until he manages to give two shillings to a millionaire. [a] is good.

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SAKI 1431. THE CHRONICLES OF CLOVIS John Lane; London [1911] Short stories, including [a] TOBERMORY. Mr. Cornelius Appin has spent most of his life in developing a method for teaching animals how to talk. His first success is with the cat Tobermory. Since Tobermory has a sharp tongue, no inhibitions, and since cats go everywhere and see everything, his new ability causes great dismay. [b] SREDNI VASHTAR. Probably not intended as a supernatural story, though it is often read as such. Conradin, a sickly little boy living with a wholly unsympathetic female guardian, builds a religion out of a ferret that he keeps in the garden shed. He worships it like a god, praying to it, and offering sacrifices. The ferret does what Conrad in wants it to do. [c] THE MUSIC ON THE HILL. When Sylvia marries Dead Seltoun, the circumstances are not wholly pleasant. She has her way in many things, and they go off to live in the country. But on the estate a naked youth is seen; there is hidden laughter; and the horned animals behave strangely. Her punishment is terrible. Pan. [d] THE PEACE OF MOWSLE BARTON. Lockyer is taking a rest cure in the country, after years of city life. But he is soon caught between two feuding folkloristic witches. The water will not boil for tea; the ducklings are drowned; and there are further misfortunes in store. [e] "MINISTERS OF GRACE." The Duke of Scaw, who is religious in a peculiar way, must have the ear of Heaven. He replaces the major British politicians with angels in their likeness, and imprisons the politicians in appropriate animal form. [f] THE REMOULDING Of GROBY LINGTON. Lington assumes the characteristics of whatever pet he happens to be attached to. First it was a parrot, then a mischievous monkey. In both cases Lington behaved abominably. His latest pet is a turtle. * Excellent stories. [a] is one of the classics of fantastic humor. [b] is said to be largely autobiographical. 1432. BEASTS AND SUPER-BEASTS John Lane; London 1912 Short stories. The title is a hint at G. B. Shaw's MAN AND SUPERMAN. * Including, [a] THE SHE-WOLF. At the house party, a poseur who has travelled turns the talk to Siberian magic, which he claims to know. Clovis takes him down by rigging a good case of lycanthropy. [b] LAURA. As Laura, a thoroughly nasty person, lies dying, she announces that she will return after death to harass her relatives and acquaintances. She hopes to return as an otter and as a naked Nubian boy. She does. [c] THE OPEN WINDOW. Framton, who has had a nervous breakdown, hopes that the country will be quiet. But he learns that his hostess believes that her husband and brother, who were drowned in the bog, will return with their dog. He sees them coming. A classic irony starring the young woman whose speciality was "romance at short notice." [d] THE COBWEB. On the farm, old Martha, who is in her nineties, has dominated the kitchen for decades and has outlasted generations of farm owners. When she suddenly

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SALTEN, FELIX announces her death because of a series of portents, the owner's wife is overcome with pity. Old Martha was only partly right, though the omens were valid. [e] THE SEVENTH PULLET. Bleukinthrope, who felt bitterly his lack of small talk on the commuting train, embarks on a series of wonderful lies and tall-tales, to the admiration of his hearers. But when life, with a death solitaire, furnishes him with a genuine supernatural incident, he has the poor taste to tell of it, and is thereafter shunned. * Amusing stories. 1433. THE TOYS OF PEACE AND OTHER PAPERS John Lane; London 1919 Short stories, including [a] THE WOLVES OF CZERNOGRATZ. When a member of the ancient race of Czernogratz dies in the schloss, the wolves assemble for miles and howl, and a tree falls down in the park. The last Czernogratz is a governess in the castle, in the employ of parvenus. [b] THE HEDGEHOG. A ghost that sometimes appears in the form of a gigantic white hedgehog. * [aJ is excellent. Ironic. 1434. THE SQUARE EGG AND OTHER SKETCHES John Lane; London [1924] Sketches and stories, including [a] THE INFERNAL PARLIAMENT. Various branches of Hell, including one where an enormous file of publicity clippings is kept. The letter "s" is missing, and the hell is being prepared for a certain dramatist. SALTEN, FELIX (1869-1945) Austrian novelist, born in Budapest, but spent most of life in Vienna. Left at time of Nazi persecutions, settled in America, later Switzerland. Best-known for Bambi books, BAMBI (1928) and BAMBI'S CHILDREN (1939). 1435. THE HOUND OF FLORENCE Simon and Schuster; New York 1930 (DER HUND VON FLORENZ, 1923) Translated from German by Huntley Paterson. * Humiliation. If you are poor, you must spend half your life as a dog in order to spend the other half as a man. * 18th century Vienna and Florence, and places between. Lucas Grassi, the orphaned son of an Italian sculptor, is stranded in Vienna. He desperately wants to go to Florence to learn the arts, but is destitute. ~t this time the Habsburg archduke is leaving for a visit to Italy. Lucas, watching his cortege departing, sees a coach dog leaping along beside the vicious duke's carriage, and wishes that he could go along, even as a dog. By chance or fate he makes his wish while touching a magic ring that is set in his garret window and he is transformed into the dog. On alternate days he becomes human again. The cortege winds its way down into Italy, with Lucas taking beatings and abuse from the Austrians on one day, and on others exploring the art treasures along the way. In Florence Lucas attaches himself to the studio of the great painter Bandini and becomes part of the Florentine social milieu. His enchantment is almost over when, while a dog in the rooms of the beautiful courtesan Claudia, he attacks the archduke and is seriously stabbed. As the book ends, he is free from

SALTEN, FELIX enchantment. If he lives, the career of an artist is ahead of him, but he mayor may not live. * Nicely told, with good characterizations, background, and incident. SALTOUN, [LADY] M. British author. 1436. AFTER Duckworth; London 1930 A moralistic novel, comparable in some ways to a medieval visit to Hell. * Alban Grier, a selfish, egotistical man, awakens in' the city of the dead, which is not quite Hell, but close to it. In this town the demons permit all sorts of sensual gratifications and living comforts in order to exhaust such stock of goodness as remains in persons like Grier. When this goodness is exhausted, there is the Pit, the real Hell of eternal pain and labor. There are varied reactions to this situation: some try to steal goodness from others; others hoard their goodness, living as hermits. Grier mingles in the social life for a time, but gradually comes to see his predicament. He considers himself too harshly punished for his sins, and decides both on repentance and escape through the chasms. He enters one of the accessible chasms, struggles against evil forces that try to hold him back, and reawakens back on earth. It is not stated whether his experience has been a dream or whether he has been given a second chance at life. * A little crude at times, but the personalities of the demons and lost souls are well done, and the intensity with which Hell is imagined is unusual. Derivative from Mrs. Oliphant's Little Pilgrim series, but far more vividly handled. SAMBROT, WILLIAM (1920 ) American author. Also writes under pseudo William Ayes. Birthdate sometimes given as 1930 is incorrect. 1437. ISLAND OF FEAR AND OTHER SCIENCE FICTION STORIES Pocket Books; New York 1963 paperbound Short stories, mostly science-fiction, but including [a] ISLAND OF FEAR. (SATURDAY EVENING POST 1958) Aegean islands. Wonderful statuary on a tabued area of a small island. Elliot, after great difficulty, bribes a boy to take him there by sea and learns that he heard incorrectly when he heard the name Gordon. [b] THE MAN WHO KNEW. (TIGER, 1957) When a tank ran over Sheldon's head, the displacement of bone resulted in a new paranormal ability: tomcat power, over women. He does not mind the gift, but it leads him into very dangerous situations, when he thinks that he is dreaming, but is not. [c] THE SECOND EXPERIMENT. The genius MacPhee has invented a new space drive that permits a trip to Venus in something like half an hour. He returns with a terrible message: the divine creation on this planet has gone wrong, and God has started allover again on Venus. Man's days are numbered. [d] A DISTANT SHRINE. (SATURDAY EVENING POST, 1961) Alternate title for CATHEDRAL OF MARS. The Russian rocket team

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SANTESSON, HANS STEFAN discovers that Mars is inhabited by earthmen, descendants of children taken there 750 years ago by the Pied Piper. He was a Martian. Not in itself supernatural, but based on a supernatural folktale. * Capable work. SAMPSON, ASHLEY (1900 British author, editor of books of sermons, religious anthologies; also studies of psychology and religion. 1438. THE GHOST OF MR. BROWN Fortune Press; London [1941] A short moral novel. Told from the point of view of the ghost. * Mr. Brown is a ghost, and is condemned to haunt a house for reasons which he does not fully understand. He is lonely, and he tries to approach some of the living tenants, falling in love with a young woman whom he has watched grow up. When she becomes engaged to another man, in a fit of jealousy he kills the fiance and is now more damned than before. * A literate examination of sin and evil, the ghost situation being symbolic. SANDOZ, MAURICE (1892-1958). Swiss physicist, writer, not to be confused with Mari Sandoz. 1439. FANTASTIC MEMORIES Doubleday; Garden City, New York 1944 Short stories, usually narratives rather than developed fictions, largely based on (supposititious?) family traditions and memories. * Including [a] THE CRUTCHES OF UNCLE CELESTIN. He walked with two aluminum crutches. When he died and was placed in his coffin, the narrator's father thought that the crutches should not be buried with him, but by supernatural means the crutches were placed with the corpse. [b] SOUVENIR OF HAMMAN MESKOUTINE. Nor th Africa. The narrator, staying at a hotel, has a dream of a mummy-like being in his room, but a much smaller room. A vision of the past, when soldiers burned by flame throwers were treated there. [c] THE VISITATION. Gabrielle is almost a saint, what with her self-sacrificing work among the poor and sick. She receives a visitation from St. Theresa, a few rose petals in an envelope. [d] THE ENCHANTED ISLAND. Gravesand, a Scottish island, is dreaded as the abode of the little people. To set foot on it is very dangerous. Sir John, steaming by in his yacht, insists on landing. He is not treated harshly, but the little people make it clear that his invasion is known and not welcomed. Fine illustrations by Salvador Dali. * The later Guildford (London) edition contains additional stories that are not supernatural and does not include the Dali illustrations.

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SANTESSON, HANS STEFAN (1914 - 1975) American (born in Paris) author, editor, Editor of FANTASTIC UNIVERSE MAGAZINE, THE SAINT MYSTERY MAGAZINE, THE UNICORN MYSTERY CLUB. A good editor who was never supported sufficiently by the front office. AS EDITOR: 1440. THE FANTASTIC UNIVERSE OMNIBUS Prentice-

SANTESSON, HANS Hall; Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey [1960] Stories selected from FANTASTIC UNIVERSE magazine. Introduction by Lester del Rey. * Including [a] SHE ONLY GOES OUT AT NIGHT, William Tenn. (1956) A weird epidemic hits the youth of Groppa Country. A dropped handkerchief implicates Tatiana Latianu, who is a vampire, but Tatiana is in love with Steve and is willing to commit suicide to stop the epidemic. Modern medicine has better answers. Borderline science-fiction. [b] THE MUTED HORN, Dorothy S. Davis. (1957) In an intensely puritanical village, Jeb tries to awaken a more liberal attitude, with only partial success. The town has a peculiar history: a century or so earlier, the church elders had assembled in chains, to avoid yielding to temptation, surrounded an evil-doer, and burned him as a witch. The symbolic chains remain. By chance or fate Jeb blows the horn which the witch had owned, and the chains come off the town. Semiallegorical. [c] MEX, Larry M. Harris. (1957) Racial prejudice along the Mexican border. A young Mexican youth is insulted by nonMexicans in a saloon and threatens them with supernatural punishment. His sister is a witch; his father, a ten-foot giant; and he, in night form [d] MY FATHER, THE CAT, Henry Slesar. (1957) A young Frenchman whose father was a white Angora cat. His mother was a fairy changeling. A new American wife has to meet them. [e] TITLE FIGHT, William C. Gault. (1956) A championship boxing match between a human and a robot ends with the robot as the vehicle for a divine revelation. * The other stories are science-fiction. * [d] is outstanding; [b] excellent. SARBAN (pseud. of WALL, JOHN W.) (1910British diplomat, author, long stationed in the Middle East. 1441. RINGSTONES, AND OTHER STORIES Peter Davies; London 1951 Title nouvelle and short stories, including [a] CAPRA. Pukka sahibs, a love triangle, a masquerade ball, and the ruined Temple of Pan. When the would-be adultress slips off to meet her lover at the temple, the expected happens. [b] CALMAHAIN. World War II. Ruth and Martin, evacuated children, play at travel games, creating Dunsanean dream worlds in which marvelous things happen. Their foster parents are not sympathetic, and the children decide to build a boat and explore their new world. Construction goes on apace in the garage of a friendly neighbor; the boat is beautifully made; and the children disappear. The neighbor finds artifacts that puzzle him but will be patent to the reader. [c] THE KHAN. Luristan, Iran. Ranhild, wife of a Norwegian engineer, is somewhat estranged from her husband. A crisis in their relationship comes when she insists on keeping a pet bear that has mauled him. When she is walking in the woods and gets lost, she comes to a fairly palatial native establishment owned by the "Khan." When the Khan comes, he is a bear. The narrator is also involved in the story to some extent, and there may be ad-

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SARBAN umbrations that do not come across. [d] RINGSTONES. Nouvelle. Daphne Hazel, student games mistress, is offered a job at Ringstones, somewhere in the north of England, as summer sports teacher for three children. She arrives at Ringstones, which is named for a local stone circle, and discovers that the establishment is Near Eastern in personnel, and that the children are very odd. Particularly strange is Nu'aman, who is an attractive but puckish adolescent. Daphne is simple and sincere, and tries to be empathetic, but one disturbing thing after another strikes her, and she decides that she must leave. The roads twist and she is unsuccessful. She barely escapes a horrible experience. Fairies, occult practices. Set in a time-disruption frame that is rather good. * Intelligent stories, often with novel twists to standard themes. Considerable pains have been taken with background. While the stories are sometimes a little overdeveloped, they are certainly worth reading. 1442. THE DOLL MAKER Ballantine Books; New York 1960 paperbound Supernatural fiction based on concepts of art and maturation: the horrors of an absolutely contramoral aesthetic and the necessity of abandoning childhood. * Clare Lydgate, an intelligent young woman of eighteen, is reading for her Oxford scholarship examination at a boarding school in the West Country, and is suffering from feelings of inadequacy and rebelliousness. Her tutor has suddenly died of what is diagnosed as infantile paralysis, and Clare is left to her own resources, which are not adequate for the task. Evenings she creeps out of the school, over the wall, into the neighboring estate, where she becomes acquainted in rather thrilling circumstances with Niall Sterne, the young landowner, and his mother. When visiting with the Sterns, (for Mrs. Sterne had agreed to help her with her studies), Clare enters a strange world of Renaissance Islamic magic which an ancestor of Niall's had brought from North Africa. A park of dwarf trees, planted three hundred years earlier, and a tiny castle are the scene for beautiful parades and demonstrations with animated dolls under Niall's control. Clare is under some sort of glamour and does not examine the matter of the dolls too critically, but as she falls more and more under Niall's will, she recognizes that they are animated magically with something that is taken from the human after whom the doll is modelled. She permits Niall to take blood from her and is on the edge of joining the doll world when doubts assail her. She recognizes her dead tutor among the dolls, connects other deaths with the dolls, and, worst of all, discovers that Niall does not really love her. He has ensnared another of her schoolmates. As Niall works his magic, it is a race between Clare's rebellion and her death. In a sensational ending, she destroys the doll world with fire, in effect rejecting the lifeless perfection of the dolls for the imperfections and decay of life. * Excellent. A somewhat unlikely conclusion, but

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this is a small flaw. * The first edition (Peter Davies; London 1953), not seen, contains two additional stories, perhaps fantastic. SAYERS, DOROTHY [LEIGH] (1893-1957) Important British mystery story writer, scholar, dramatist, best-known for series of novels and short stories about Lord Peter Whimsey. In the context of this volume, a very important anthologist who demonstrates a sound knowledge of the fields of crime and supernatural fiction, as well as good taste. To my knowledge she wrote only one completely supernatural story, "The Cyprian Cat," which is described elsewhere. AS EDITOR: 1443. GREAT SHORT STORIES OF DETECTION. MYSTERY AhTI HORROR Gollancz; London 1929 American title, THE OMNIBUS OF CRIME. * Gigantic, very well chosen collection of stories dealing with crime and the supernatural. An excellent historical introduction on the evolution of the detective story. * Inc-luding, described elsewhere, [a] THE OPEN DOOR, Mrs. Margaret Oliphant. [b] STORY OF THE BAGMAN'S UNCLE, Charles Dickens. [c] THE TRIAL FOR MURDER, Charles Dickens and Charles Collins [sic]. Miss Sayers misread an ambiguous footnote and attributed this story to Dickens and Collins, which is, of course, incorrect. Dickens alone was responsible for it. Sayers corrected the error in her second collection, but delving anthologists have repeated her error, and it is still occasionally found in modern collections. [d] MARTIN'S CLOSE, M. R. James. [e] HOW LOVE CAME TO PROFESSOR GUILDEA, Robert Hichens. [f] THE OPEN WINDOW, Saki. [g] THE NOVEL OF THE BLACK SEAL, Arthur Machen. [h] TCHERIAPIN, Sax Rohmer. [i] THE MONKEY'S PAW, W.W. Jacobs. [j] THE HAIR, A. J. Alan. [k] MRS. AMWORTH, E. F. Benson. [1] THRAWN JANET, R. L. Stevenson. [m] AUGUST HEAT, W. F. Harvey. [n] WHERE THEIR FIRE IS NOT QUENCHED, May Sinclair. [0] GREEN TEA, J. S. LeFanu. [p] THE MISANTHROPE, J. D. Beresford. [q] THE BAD LANDS, John Metcalfe. [r] NOBODY'S HOUSE, A. M. Burrage. [s] THE SEVENTH MAN, Arthur Quiller-Couch. [t] SEATON'S AUNT, Walter de la Mare. [u] THE GENTLEMAN FROM AMERICA, Michael Arlen. [v] PHANTAS, Oliver Onions. ,[w] FATHER MEURON'S TALE, R. H. Benson. [x] THE END OF A SHOW, Barry Pain. * Also [y] THE AVENGING OF ANN LEETE, Marjorie Bowen. Many, many years before, Ann had been murdered by the young doctor. Her lover, the now aged jeweller, had by psychic force compelled the astral body of the murderer to emerge and reveal the location of the corpse. Just before he dies, her ghost is visible. Nicely handled. [z] THE ANTICIPATOR, Morley Roberts. Two authors, one gifted, the other in some inexplicable way the psychic recipient of the gifted author's ideas before he can put them into being. The relationship persists even up to murder. Told in a very purple way. [aa] THE BRUTE, Joseph Conrad. Borderline supernatural. The ship has a dark personality that results in mishaps and deaths, far beyond the

SAYERS, DOROTHY expectations of probability. A fine sea story. [bb] PROOF, Naomi Royde-Smith. Agnes, whose husband is a civil servant with much confidential information, pesters him for information, which he sometimes foolishly gives. When he dies, and his spirit is contacted, its genuineness is revealed by the message, "I am not allowed to tell." Loose and gushy. [cc] THE MA~ WITH A MALADY, J. F. Sullivan. Psychological horror. Foreknowledge of the future. * The American edition omits [v], [w], [cc], and adds [dd] LUKUNDOO, E. L. White, described elsewhere. * Much good material, particularly in the mystery section. 1444. GREAT SHORT STORIES OF DETECTION. MYSTERY AND HORROR. SF.COND SERIES Gollancz; London 1931 American title, THE SECOND OMNIBUS OF CRIME, THE WORLD'S GREAT CRIME STORIES. Stamped on the spine, THE WORLD'S GREAT CRIME STORIES. * A large volume including, described elsewhere, [a] MY ADVENTURE IN NORFOLK, A. J. Alan. [b] THE LEECH OF FOLKESTONE, Thomas Ingoldsby. [c] THE ROOM IN THE TOWER, E. F. Benson. [d] THE DAMNED THING, Ambrose Bierce. [e] SECRET WORSHIP, Algernon Blackwood. [f] THE WAXWORK, A. M. Burrage. [g] MAD MONKTON, Wilkie Collins. [h] THE HAUNTED SHIPS, Allan Cunningham. [i] NO.1 BRANCH LINE, THE SIGNAL-MAN, Charles Dickens. [j] THE BEAST WITH FIVE FINGERS, W. F. Harvey. [k] THE PFAYER, Violet Hunt. [1] THE WELL, W. W. Jacobs. [m] MR. JUSTICE HARBOTTLE, J. S. LeFanu. [n] THE HAUNTED AND THE HAUNTERS, E. Bulwer-Lytton. Long version. [0] THE GREAT RETURN, Arthur Machen. [p] THE DOUBLE ADMIRAL, John Metcalfe. [q] THE LIBRARY WINDOW, Mrs. Margaret Oliphant. [r] BERENICE, E. A. Poe. [s] THE ROLL-CALL OF THE REEF, A. Quiller-Couch. [t] SREDNI VASHTAR, Saki. [u] THE MORTAL IMMORTAL, Mary Shelley. [v] ROSE ROSE, Barry Pain. [w] THE INEXPERIENCED GHOST, H. G. Wells. [x] LUKUNDOO, E. L. White. [y] A. V. LAIDER, Max Beerbohm. [z] THE IRON PINEAPPLE, Eden Phillpotts. * Also [aa] THE SECOND AWAKENING OF A MAGICIAN, S. L. Dennis. A circus magician whose wife has been seduced by the strong man sells his soul for supernatural strength. A dream. [bb] THE OLD MAN, Holloway Horn. A newspaper from tomorrow has both good and bad news for a racing tout. [cc] NO. 17, Mrs. H. Bland (Edith Nesbit). A group of commercial travellers tell ghost stories. One tells of a room haunted by a ghost that frightens men into cutting their throats while shaving. The narrator survives because he has a safety razor. [dd] THE QUEER DOOR, Douglas O. Browne. An old pub is called The Queer Door, perhaps because of a haunted door that opens by itself, or perhaps the name [eel comes from the family name Coeur Dore. RIESENBERG, Ford Madox Ford. A German sanitarium, formerly a convent, lies across the mouth of a valley which no one is permitted to enter. Very strange sights are seen, and a doctor who had been in the valley years before tells of what is concealed. Two titanic figures from Norse mythology still live and play there.

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Nicely told, with a good puzzle element. [ff] THE RESURGENT MYSTERIES, Edgar Jepson. Survival and recrudescence of cults that demand a divine king to sacrifice, even in London. Borderline fantastic. [gg] ANTY BLIGH, John Masefield. The hanged pirate repents, returns to his mother, who lays his corpse out. [hh] CALLED TO THE RESCUE, Henry Spicer. Possibly a "factual" account. The young Cambridge man hears a supernatural voice that directs him to a trial, where his evidence saves an innocent man from a murder charge. * The American edition is a somewhat different selection, and lacks [a], [c], [g], [h], [i], [j], [u], [x], [aa], [dd], and [ff]. Of the new material, [eel and [gg] are best. 1445. GREAT SHORT STORIES OF DETECTION. MYSTERY AND HORROR. THIRD SERIES Gollancz; London 1934 American title, THE THIRD OMNIBUS OF CRIME. Crime fiction, supernatural fiction, and horror stories, including, described elsewhere, [a] THE WENDIGO, Algernon Blackwood. [b] THE MISTAKEN Fury, Oswald Couldrey. [c] THE DIARY OF MR. POYNTER, M. R. James. [d] TIME-FUSE, John Metcalfe. [e] A PAIR OF HANDS, A. T. Quiller-Couch. [f] THE HILL, R. Ellis Roberts. [g] THE FRONTIER GUARDS, H. R. Wakefield. [h] THE STORY OF THE LATE MR. ELVERSHAM, H. G. Wells. [i] THE BOOK, Margaret Irwin. * Also [j] THE BARGAIN, A. M. Burrage. An old book of sermons, purchased for a song at an auction, contains a fine stamp collection-- but the ghost of an old man goes along with it. [k] THE SONG IN THE HOUSE, Ann Bridge. (Pseud. of M. D. O'Malley) When strangers move into an ancient Elizabethan house and give an Elizabethan music recital, ancient memories are awakened. A ghost romance. [lJ SOPHY MASON COMES BACK, E. M. Delafield. A murder and a revenant in France, with good local color. The murderer, returning years later, is so Americanized that he has no more contact with the past. [m] THE SCOOP, Leonora Gregory. Newspaper office. The man who announces his own death theme. Probably intended to be supernatural. [n] THE HOUSE OF DESOLATION, Alan Griff. A dead man invites his enemies to a banquet. [0] ANNIVERSARY, Clarence Winchester. Early aviation. Perhaps a mirage that resulted in a crash a year ago; perhaps it is a ghost plane that almost results in a crash a year later. [p] "YOU'LL COME TO THE TREE IN THE END," Cyril Landon. Jerry Snooks, Chicago gunman, comes to the same end as did his forefathers in England. The gallows. [q] DECAY, J. C. Moore. Mr. Cotter, about to die, wanders in a strange world where everything is rotten and fungoid; his vision is symbolic of his condition. [r] THE PATTERN, Naomi Royde-Smith. Nouvelle, overwritten. Death apparition. [s] WHAT CAN A DEAD MAN DO? Herbert Shaw. Vengeance from beyond death. [tJ NO SHIPS PASS, Eleanor Smith. An island somehow isolated by a space warp, where a few castaways live, apparently immortal. An early 19th century pirate and his mistress, a man from the Titanic,

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SCARBOROUGH, DOROTHY and others. There is no escape. * The American edition omits [k], [n], [p}, and [s}, but adds [u] CLAY-SHUTTERED DOORS, Helen R. Hull. An automobile accident on the bridge, and a doctor, who happens to be at hand, pronounces Thalia dead. But Winchester, her husband, calls her back to life. If it is life-she is obviously changed. The reason is that only love can recall life and Winchester's call was based on selfishness. Niceiy handled. * Also present in the American edition are two science-fiction classics, "The People of the Pit" by A. Merritt and "The Head" by Manuel Komroff. * Of the new material [j}, [I}, [q], [t] are best. SCARBOROUGH, DOROTHY (1877-1935) American educator (Columbia University), novelist, anthologist, folklorist. Wrote first important survey of supernatural fiction in English, THE SUPERNATURAL IN MODERN ENGLISH FICTION (1917). Now remembered mostly for studies of Black American folk music. AS EDITOR: 1446. FAMOUS MODERN GHOST STORIES Putnam; New York 1921 Introduction, THE IMPERISHABLE GHOST. * Including, described elsewhere, [a] THE WILLOWS, Algernon Blackwood. [b] THE SHADOWS ON THE WALL, Mary Wilkins Freeman. [c] THE MESSENGER, R. W. Chambers. [d] THE BEAST WITH FIVE FINGERS, W. F. Harvey. [e] WHAT WAS IT? FitzJames O'Brien. [f] THE MIDDLE TOE OF THE RIGHT FOOT, Ambrose Bierce. [g] LIGEIA, E. A. Poe. [h] THE BOWMEN, Arthur Machen. [i] A GHOST, Guy de Maupassant. [j} THE MASS OF THE SHADOWS, Anatole France. * Also [k] LAZARUS, Leonid Andreyev. Translated from Russian by Abraham Yarmolinsky. Pseudo-Biblical style. Lazarus has returned from the dead, but he is much like a living corpse. He cannot or will not tell of his after-death experiences, and his presence is disconcerting and horrifying. Looking at him destroys all pleasure in life. He is sent to Augustus in Rome, who is barely able to withstand his aura. Lazarus's second death is a relief to all. [1] THE SHELL OF SENSE, Olivia Howard Dunbar. (1908) Told by a ghost. She watches love grow between her widower and her sister, and would like to encourage them, but her actions cause fear and guilt. Resolved. [m} THE WOMAN AT SEVEN BROTHERS, Wilbur Daniel Steele. A lighthouse, a triangle, a revenant from the sea. [n} AT THE GATE, Myla Jo Closser. Ghosts of dogs, waiting for the humans they loved. [0] THE HAUNTED ORCHARD, Richard LeGallienne. (1902) A French song in the orchard, a young lady ghost, letters buried beneath the apple tree. * A good early collection. 1447. HUMOROUS GHOSTS putnam; New York 1921 Introduction, THE HUMOROUS GHOST. * Described elsewhere, [a] THE TRANSFERRED GHOST, Frank Stockton. [b] THE CANTERVILLE GHOST, Oscar Wilde. [c] THE MUMMY'S FOOT, Theophile Gautier. [d] THE WATER GHOST OF HARROWBY HALL, J. K. Bangs. [e] BACK FROM THAT BOURNE, [E. P. Mitchell]. [f] THE GHOST SHIP, Richard

SCARBOROUGH, DOROTHY Middleton. [g] THE SPECTER BRIDEGROOM, Washington Irving. [h] THE SPECTER OF TAPPINGTON HALL, R. H. Barham. [i] THE RIVAL GHOSTS, Brander Matthews. * Also [j] THE GHOST-EXTINGUISHER, Gelett Burgess. (1905) The Japanese have a technique for solidying ghosts, capturing them, and storing them. The narrator improves on it and sets himself up in business. Everything collapses when he captures a troop of Napoleonic cavalry and, out of spite, releases them in a rest home. [k] "DEY AIN'T NO GHOSTS," Ellis Parker Butler. Black dialect. Little Mose, sent to the pumpkin patch meets (in fancy) many ghosts, all of whom assurp. him that "dey ain't no ghosts." [1] THE TRANSPLANTED GHOSTS, A CHRISTMAS STORY, Wallace Irwin. When a business tycoon buys an old English castle and reassembles it in Ohio, he is annoyed because the family ghost did not come along with it. A descendant of the British family (by recurrent pattern of fate) stirs up the old ghost. [m] THE LAST GHOST IN HARMONY, Nelson Lloyd. (1907) No one pays any heed to the ghosts. The minister is driven out. [n] THE GHOST OF MISER BRIMPTON,Eden Phillpotts. Some dialect. A spectacular haunting is rigged up to provide a swain with enough money (via buried treasure) to marry the woman he loves. He is too proud to marry her otherwise. [0] THE HAUNTED PHOTOGRAPH, Ruth McEnery Stuart. (1909) A photo taken of the old summer hotel before it burned down, with her husband in it. She can sometimes see him working in the photograph, pulling shades, etc. On death she joins him. [p] IN THE BARN, Burges Johnson. The narrator in the old barn is telling horror stories about death, impelled suicide, and while so doing revives an old haunting. What he thought he was inventing really happened. [q] THE GHOST THAT GOT THE BUTTON, Will Adams. Rationalized into a sleepwalker. [r] A SHADY PLOT, Elsie Brown. Revelations via the ouija board, and the ghost of Helen of Troy-- Troy, New York-- materializations, etc. [s] THE LADY AND THE GHOST, Rose Cecil O'Neill. Erotic ghost. * It is very difficult to assemble a collection of good humorous supernatural fiction. Most of the new content is very feeble. SCARBOROUGH, HAROLD (1897-1935) American journalist. London correspondent, later European Editorial Manager, New York HERALD TRIBUNE, Paris edition. Author of several novels. 1448. THE IMMORTALS T. Fisher Unwin; London 1924 Science-fiction with a fantasy element. * Dr. Brusilov, a Russian emigr~ scientist, has discovered that old age is caused by a germ and has developed an inoculation against it. The discovery is treated calmly, although the moguls in charge of insurance and undertaking are temporarily upset. A much more serious objection is offered by the Wandering Jew, who is old and feeble, and for centuries has desperately been trying to die. He begs Brusilov not to curse man with immortality, and in a scuffle accidentally kills him. Brusilov's

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SCHILLER, FRIEDRICH daughter and her fiance, Brusilov's assistant, thereupon decide to suppress the discovery, for much the same reasons as the Wandering Jew put forth. * Adult and literate, but not very imaginative. SCHILLER, [JOHANN CHRISTOPH] FRIEDRICH VON (1759-1805) Great German poet, dramatist, aesthetician. Important in our context as the author of works which despite philosophical preoccupations had enormous influence on the low-brow popular literature of the day. DIE RAUBER (1778, THE ROBBERS), read as story of gentleman bandit, and DER GEISTERSEHER (1786-8), liked for secret societies, persecutions, and illusory supernaturalism. 1449. THE GHOST SEER Verner and Hood; London 1795 (DER GEISTERSEHER, part 1, in THALIA, 1786) Translated from German by Daniel Boileau. Only the first portion of Schiller's novel. * Epistolary novel set in Venice. A German princeling and his companions are the center of mysterious phenomena, as unknown forces play around them. An Armenian (i.e., a man in Near Eastern garb) acts as a seemingly supernatural protector to the prince. The Armenian is responsible for the arrest and execution of an enemy who would have assassinated the prince, and he brings the prince news, with inexplicable rapidity, that one of the prince's relatives has died, and that the succession to the major title is now close. The Armenian also intervenes when the prince is about to be taken in by an occult swindle performed by a Sicilian (modelled on Cagliostro). Some time before, a friend of the prince's had died while speaking to the prince, and the prince wishes to know his friend's last request. In an elaborate ceremony, the Sicilian conjures up the ghost of the prince's friend, but another spirit appears, the Sicilian's plot is exposed, and it is seen that the Armenian, in another disguise, has taken a hand. Later the prince interrogates the Sicilian in prison. The Sicilian explains the legerdemain by which he attained his supernatural effects, and tells a little about the Armenian. The Armenian, he claims, is apparently ageless, subject to a coma once a day, and has supernatural powers. * (It is at this point that the fragmentary reprintings of THE GHOST-SEER as in Haining's GOTHIC TALES OF TERROR and in A CENTURY OF GHOST STORIES stop.) * But a short while later the prince reasons out that the Armenian and the Sicilian were really confederates. * It should be pointed out that this is the prince's conclusion, and that Schiller does not express an opinion. (Second Part, THALIA, 1788). This is not included in Boileau's translation, but first appears in English in THE ARMENIAN (London, 1800), translated by W. Render. By the time Schiller started the second portion of DER GEISTERSEHER his aesthetic had changed and he was no longer interested in writing a Gothic thriller. Instead, he concentrated on the

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psychology of the characters, without supernaturalism. In the second part of the novel, the prince's character deteriorates. Yielding to Venetian freedom, he discards, on the one hand, his former Lutheran rigidity in favor of rationalism, and on the other moves toward superstition. New characters enter. As the section ends, the prince is in bad repute with his native land, and his allowance has been stopped. He is in danger from Italian entanglements of honor and love. He has dueled with his former closest friend, who is at the edge of death. His mistress has been poisoned. And the prince, apparently under the control of the Armenian, has converted to Catholicism. It seems likely that a new incursion of the seemingly supernatural is to take place. At this point Schiller ended the fragment and wrote no more. Various reasons have been given for his action: dissatisfaction with the story, which he had come to feel was rubbish, annoyance with the popular reception of the sensational aspects of the first part. - It is not known how Schiller planned to finish the story, but the majority opinion is that the prince will continue to degenerate, even to procuring murder to attain his German realm; that his actions result from manipulation by secret forces who wish to control him, possibly the Jesuits, possibly the Illuminati; that much of what has been described is illusion. While most scholars take the Armenian to be an impostor, others identify him with the Wandering Jew, Christian Rosenkreutz, or similar semi-supernatural figures. During Schiller's lifetime a continuation of DER GEISTERSEHER was written independently by E. F. Follenius. This was translated (with Schiller's portion) as THE ARMENIAN (London, 1800), and is the text reprinted as THE GHOSTSEER in Hazlitt's ROMANCIST AND NOVELIST'S LIBRARY. F01lenius's portion begins in the middle column, page 15. It does not have the literary quality of Schiller's beginning, and it is not especially convincing, but it at least has the advantage of period attitudes, which was not the case with a conclusion written by the 20th century German author Hanns Heinz Ewers. * Roscoe's text in THE GERMAN NOVELISTS reverts to Schiller's complete text, but is occasionally inaccurate. A very interesting story, of great historical importance in the development of the secret society branch of the Gothic and Romantic novel.

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SCOTT, G[EORGE] FIRTH Presumably Australian. 1450. THE LAST LEMURIAN A WESTRALIAN ROMANCE James Bowden; London 1898 Exuberant, somewhat ludicrous semi-juvenile adventure romance set in Western Australia. The plot is too complex to be summarized in limited space, but it involves a series of confrontations between Australian white adventurers and Tor Ymmothe, the semi-immortal Queen of Lemuria. Motifs include a lost race of Lemurians who live around an extinct volcano; a bunyip-- a monster with a human head, crocodile body, and

SCOTT, JEREMY assorted appendages; a sleeping beauty who awakens but later crumbles into dust; a curse laid on the land by a mistreated missionary; semi-vampirism and bondage; alchemical gold; and a ghost. * If one reads the queen's name backwards, one ,can see the author's attitude toward the work. The reader will probably agree. SCOTT, JEREMY (pseud. of DICK, KAY) British anthologist. AS EDITOR: 1451. THE MANDRAKE ROOT AN ANTHOLOGY OF FANTASTIC TALES- Jarrolds; London 1946 Stories arranged according to six varieties of fantastic: extravagant, grotesque, bizarre, fanciful, quaint, eerie. Not all the stories are fantastic in our sense, and the classification cited is highly personal. * Including, described elsewhere, [a] THE MAN WHO WAS MILLIGAN, Algernon Blackwood. [b] THE STRANGER, Richard Hughes. [c] THE LAST LAUGH, D. H. Lawrence. [d] THE LEECH OF FOLKESTONE, Thomas Ingoldsby. [e] THE HAUNTED AND THE HAUNTERS, Edward Bulwer-Lytton. Long version. [f] THE HORLA, Guy de Maupassant. [g] AN AIR RAID SEEN FROM ABOVE, Stella Benson. An excerpt from LIVING ALONE. [h] THE OPEN WINDOW, Saki, [i] THE BELL OF SAINT EUSCHEMON, Richard Garnett. [j] THE STORY OF A PANIC, E. M. Forster. [k] "OH, WHISTLE AND I'LL COME TO YOU, MY LAD," M. R. James. [1] THE FAMILIAR, J. S. LeFanu. * Also [m] CHANGELING, Dorothy K. Haynes. Seven year old Moreen is always afraid of the witch that sits on the gargoyle visible from the window in her house. She is taken to fairyland, where she is unhappy, but is expelled since she will not play with the cruel fairies. She returns to her home (now perhaps thirty years later) and encounters the changeling clod that has taken her place. Well told, with much larger referents than are indicated in the plot summary. [n] WHO KNOCKS AT THE DOOR? Olive Schreiner. A dream vision of a strange medieval banquet, turmoil, death, followed by perhaps a better era. Semi-allegorical. [0] ALTARWISE BY OWL-LIGHT, Pamela Hansford Johnson. Murder fancifully told, as two daughters gradually poison their aged father. He is too clever for them. Fanciful in surface texture and in death personified. [p] THE DEATH OF WILLIAM CARPENTER, John Atkins. Attempted murder. The supernatural aspect enters in that the would-be murderer keeps a diary in which he tries to establish the facts of a haunting and possession. [q] WINTER, Walter de la Mare. The narrator wanders in the churchyard, reading many fine epitaphs, some conventional some penetrating, and muses. As he is about to leave, he encounters a stranger, probably Death. * [m], [0], [q] are excellent. 1452. AT CLOSE OF EVE AN ANTHOLOGY OF NEW CURIOUS STORIES Jarrolds; London [1947] Introduction by Daniel George. Mostly mandarin fiction, needlessly obscure, over-written, and pretentious. * Including [a] SLOAN SQUARE, Pamela Hansford Johnson. Repeti-

SCOTT, JEREMY tive visionary experience on the London underground (subway), in which dream and reality are blended in a horrible train ride. [b] TIME CAN FRISK, Louis Marlow. Murder, together with time links much like Dunne's serial time. [c] IS THERE A LIFE BEYOND THE GRAVY, Stevie Smith. Presumably movement back through time, perhaps after death, as a result of the London blitz. [d] THE CHATEAU OF THE SINGING STREAM, James Laver. A ghost inn, horrible personnel. It was destroyed long ago. [e] THE ONE WHO WAS WAITING, Reginald Moore. Psychopathology, presumably dream experiences as a young man tries to murder his girl-friend. [f] THOU SHALT NOT SUFFER A WITCH Dorothy K. Haynes. Folkloristic witchcraft. The little girl Jinnot, physically repulsive, somewhat defective mentally, is used as a tool in a vicious village triangle. The real witch goes unscathed, while Jinnot is killed. [g] NINE DAYS' WONDER, David Green. The dead rise from their graves and wander about. [h] THE SWAN, John HeathStubbs. Central Europe. A young woman has an affair with a handsome swan man. [i] SAILORS, BEWARE OF WITCHES, Fred Urquhart. World War II. Personalities of pantomime and literature work in a war plant, Long John Silver being foreman. To an American reader, prolonged pointlessness. [j] MR. EDWARD, Norah Lofts. The boarding school housekeeper, after a breakdown, takes a position readying a haunted house for occupancy. A satyriac old ghost. [k] BERLIN FANTASIA, William Montgomery. PostWar Berlin. Elaborate personality interchanges, presumably empathy in figurative form. [1] ART THOU LANGUID, Frank Baker. Two lopped and pruned lives, the partners of the music shop in a small cathedral town. Haunting after death. * [h] is the best story, but [a], [d]; [f], and [j] are good. The non-fantastic content is weak. SCOTT, [SIR] WALTER (1771-1832) Great Romantic poet, novelist, international cultural influence. Important in our study not only for his own work, but for introduction of German supernaturalism and for sponsorship of James Hogg and Charles Maturin. For two of his most important stories see item 1376. 1453. THE MONASTERY Constable; Edinburgh 1820 3 vol. (published as by the author of WAVERLY) Religion, politics, personal advancement in the backwoods of Scotland, c. 1560. The plot is complex and need not be summarized beyond saying that the most important thread is the life history of Halbert Glendinning, a fiery young man who rises in the wake of the Scottish Regent, the Earl of Murray. Glendinning becomes associated in a luke-warm way with the Reformation, largely through the doings of the White Lady of Avenal. The White Lady is a banshee-like figure associated with the high house of Avenal. She wails before deaths and intercedes on occasion in human affairs. She is also interested in religion, for she protects a manuscript translation of the Bible. She plays tricks on members of the Church and

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SCRYMSOUR, ELLA M. is a water spirit. Her appearance was not taken kindly by the critics and the reading public, and in THE ABBOT, the sequel to THE MONASTERY, the White Lady does not appear, and is referred to only in one passage. Most critics have felt that THE ABBOT is superior to THE MONASTERY. 1454. REDGAUNTLET A TALE OF THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY Constable; Edinburgh 1824 3 vol. Scotland, around 1765. The body of this novel does not concern us, since it skirts a (fictitious) episode in the life of Charles Edward Stuart, the Young Pretender. Buried in the complicated political plotting and familial problems among the Redgaunt1ets is [a] WANDERING WILLIE'S TALE, long accounted one of the early masterpieces of the English short story. Two generations earlier Steenie, a tenant of Sir Robert Redgaunt1et's, had paid his rent, but received no receipt, since the laird died in torments immediately after seeing Steenie. Faced with eviction and worse, since he could produce no evidence of having made payment, Steenie braves the terrors of Hell to confront the ghost of the wicked Redgaunt1et and obtain his due. His soul, however, is imperilled, and he must tread carefully thereafter. * The story has often been anthologized, and it reads well in isolation, but in the novel it serves much the same purpose as a marchen in a Gerillan Romantic novel: isolating the basic themes of the whole work and foreshadowing a resolution. In this case Steenie's predicament anticipates that of young Arthur Redgauntlet. 1455. CHRONICLES OF THE CANONGATE Cadell and Co.; Edinburgh 1827 2 vol. This is of interest for [a] THE TWO DROVERS, which is primarily a study in contrasting cultural personalities of Northern English and Highland Scot. * Harry Wakefield and Robin Oig, cattle drovers, are fairly close friends and are accustomed to drive their cattle to market together. Before they leave, Robin's old aunt, who has the second sight, prophecies tragedy and begs Robin to leave his dirk behind, since it will have English blood on it. He temporizes, giving the dirk to a friend to hold, and the two drovers set off together. Along the way they have a conflict of interest over pasture, and the Englishman considers himself badly used. His solution is a bout of fisticuffs to remove the bad blood. The Celt, who cannot box, refuses, whereupon the Englishman, feeling that his honor would be stained if he did not strike Robin, knocks him down. The Celt, on arising, knows that he cannot live under this insult, fetches his dirk, and kills Wakefield. The prophecy has been fulfilled. * A fine story, which might have been even stronger without the supernaturalism. SCRYMSOUR, ELLA M. (1888 - ? British writer, contributor to women's magazines of 1930's. Author of several volumes of popular fiction.

SCRYMSOUR, ELLA M. 1456. THE PERFECT WORLD Eveleigh Nash; London [1922] Fantastic adventure for teen-agers, built on religious principles, much like the work of John Mastin. * Two young Englishmen, Desmond and Alan, working as miners, through various circumstances are captured by purple horned men who live in cave worlds underground. These purple men, who are descended from Korah and his followers (swallowed by the earth after being cursed by Moses), worship a flame inside the earth, and make sacrifices to it. The flame occasionally breaks forth on the surface, capturing surface people, including one of the two youths. When the flame dies, the purple men say, the world will end. Desmond and Alan are not satisfied with their lot, for they have been put into the harem of the purple queen. After her death in the flame, they escape and make their way through caverns, emerging in Australia. The second episode begins when they return to England. A friend has invented a marvelous new antigravity-aircraft. While they are aloft, the earth explodes (for the flame has died). They make their way to Jupiter, which is inhabited by humans who have not fallen from the edenic state. * Rubbish. SEARCH, PAMELA (first name MARION?) British editor. AS EDITOR: 1457. THE SUPERNATURAL IN THE ENGLISH SHORT STORY Bernard Hanison, Ltd.; London 1959 Described elsewhere, [a] THE APPARITION OF MRS. VEAL, Daniel Defoe. [b] WANDERING WILLIE'S TALE, Sir Walter Scott. [c] GREEN TEA, J. S. LeFanu. [d] WEREWOLF, Frederick Marryat. [e] THE DREAM WOMAN, Wilkie Collins. [f] THE HAUNTED AND THE HAUNTERS, Edward Bulwer-Lytton. Long version. [g] THE JUDGE'S HOUSE, Bram Stoker. [h] LIGEIA, E. A. Poe. [i] THE CHIMES, Charles Dickens. [j] MARKHEIM, R. L. Stevenson. [k] THE CANTERVILLE GHOST, Oscar Wilde. [1] THE UPPER BERTH, F. Marion Crawford. [m] SAMBO, W. F. Harvey. [n] HOW LOVE CAME TO PROFESSOR GUILDEA, Robert Hichens. [0] THE ROCKINGHORSE WINNER, D. H. Lawrence. [p] THE BECKONING FAIR ONE, Oliver Onions. [q] THE MUSIC ON THE HILL, Saki. [r] A PORTA INFERI, Roger Pater. [s] THE YELLOW CAT, Michael Joseph. [t] THE DIARY OF MR. POYNTER, M. R. James. [u] THE WENDIGO, Algernon Blackwood. SERLING, ROD [MAN] (1924-1975) American radio and television writer, producer. Best-known for series TWILIGHT ZONE. The two anthologies are said to have been ghost-edited by Gordon Dickson. 1458. STORIES FROM THE TWILIGHT ZONE Bantam Books; New York 1960 paperbound Spinoffs from the television series. Including, [a] ESCAPE CLAUSE. • • Walter Bedeker, malingerer and hypochondriac, bargains with the Devil and gets an indefinite span of life-- until he wants to end it. That moment comes sooner than he expected. He goes on a rampage of accidents, culminating in a murder trial, and sentence to life imprisonment. [b] WALKING

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SERLING, ROD DISTANCE. Martin Sloan, prematurely tired, psychically imprisoned rat-race executive, walks back into his childhood town and finds himself twenty years in the past. The experience awakens him to new life. [c] THE FEVER. Franklin Gibbs, rigid, middle-aged banker,and his wife go to Las Vegas, where Gibbs goes berserk over the one dollar slot machine. He pours thousands of dollars into it, and is hauled away when he has no more money. But the machine comes to visit him. [d] WHERE IS EVERYBODY? The young man awakens to a completely deserted city, in which he wanders for days. When he collapses, he awakens to learn that he was the subject of a simulated lunar trip, and that his experience was all fantasy. But in his pocket is material evidence. * Other stories are science-fiction. Superior to most spinoffs; sensational on commercial level. 1459. MORE STORIES FROM THE TWILIGHT ZONE Bantam Books; New York 1961 paperbound Spinoffs, like 1458. * Including [a] A THING ABOUT MACHINES. Finchley has a pathological hatred for all things mechanical and electronic. All things mechanical and electronic reciprocate and finally kill Mr. Finchley. [b] THE BIG, TALL WISH. Bolie Jackson, almost washed-up fighter, has hurt his hand before the fight and is being badly beaten. Bolie is offered a second chance by fate: a small boy wishes with all his faith, and Bolie wins. But Bolie cannot accept wishes and miracles, and his chance is cancelled. [c] A STOP AT WILLOUGHBY. Gart Williams, unhappy advertising exec, has an unpleasant job, an intolerable boss, and a frigid, nasty wife. He sees an edenic station named Willoughby on his commuting run-- 1880's, perpetual summer, everyone happy-- and after several misses, gets off. His corpse is found later and taken away by Willoughby and Son, Funeral Home. [d] DUST. Young Gallegos is about to be hanged for murdering a child. A profiteer sells Gallego's father magical dust that will create so much love that the execution will be halted. * Like 1458, better than most spinoffs; reasonable commercial work. * Further volumes are beyond the time limit of this survey. AS EDITOR: 1460. TRIPLE W WITCHES, WARLOCKS AND WEREWOLVES Bantam Books; New York 1963 paperbound Including, described elsewhere, [a] YOUNG GOODMAN BROWN, Nathaniel Hawthorne. [b] THE MARK OF THE BEAST, Rudyard Kipling. [c] WOLVES DON'T CRY, Bruce Elliott. * Also, [d] THE AMULET, Gordon Dickson. (MFSF 1959) Clint, murderous fugitive and drifter, becomes entangled in a sisterly feud between two witches in the mountain country. He engages to steal a magical book, fails to fulfill the requirements, and becomes a familiar. [e] THE STORY OF SIDI NONMAN, Anonymous. Arabian Nights subject matter. Sidi Nonman marries a ghoul, who, when confronted, transforms him into a dog. He has his revenge when a friendly white witch restores him to human form and turns his

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wife into a horse, which Nonman treats appropriately. The name "Norunan" is not allegorical, but is the phonetic representation of an Arabic name. [f] THE FINAL INGREDIENT, Jack Sharkey. (MFSF 1960) From childhood on, Katie has been trying to become a witch and work magic. Success comes when at the grave of her sweetheart she renounces love, even of herself. [g] BLIND ALLEY, Malcolm Jameson. (ASTOU~­ ING STORIES, 1943) Vicious old Feathersmith, capitalist scoundrel, makes a pact with the Devil to be put back forty years into his past, knowledge unimpaired. But he does not read the contract closely enough. [h] HATCHERY OF DREAMS, Fritz Leiber. (FANTASTIC, 1961). Giles Wardwell, proper Bostonian working for an ad agency that worries about Communism, finds a note from his wife saying that she has left him. As he tries to find her, since he does not believe that the note is genuine, he comes upon a witch cult with familiars, magic, and countermagic. Nicely written, but too much for a short story. [i] AND NOT QUITE H~N, Joe L. Hensley. (BEYOND, 1953) The Arcturians raid earth and destroy humanity, except for a few people whom they are taking back to their home planet. The earthlings take over the ship, since they are vampires. [j] THE BLACK RETRIEVER, Charles G. Finney. (MFSF) 1958) A phantom black dog terrorizes the suburban neighborhood, springing from the walls onto pets, biting children. It is, perhaps, Miss Betty, one of the neighbors? Nicely told. * Some good material: [d], [f], [j] of the nE'W material. 1461. ROD SERLING'S DEVILS AND DEMONS Bantam Books; N:w York 1967 paperbound Including, described elsewhere, [a] THE MONTAVARDE CAMERA, Avram Davidson. [b] THE COACH, Violet Hunt. [c] THE BOTTLE-IMP, Robert L. Stevenson. [d] THE ADVENTURE OF THE GERMAN STUDENT, Washington Irving. [e] THE FOUR-FIFTEEN EXPRESS, Amelia B. Edwards. [f] THE BISARA OF POOREE, Rudyard Kipling. * Also [g] ADAPTED, Carol Emshwiller. (MFSF 1961) The narrator is a middle-aged woman whose initial impulses toward a personal aesthetic and life style have been beaten out of her by her childhood, marriage, and establishment of her own family. When she spies a kindred spirit, he does not recognize her because she has adapted herself. While details suggest that she is in some way from another planet, the author does not say so explicitly, and the story may be only a character study of feminine slavery. [h] DEATH CANNOT WITNESS, Judith Merril. (MFSF 1959) Carried on the copyright page as by Merril and Algis Budrys, but elsewhere as by Merril alone. The story of a devouring, dominating woman who has shaped everything around her, including her husband. He disappears, accidentally killed (it is later learned) by a hunter, but he is forced to remain in the area as a ghost, since she has not released him emotionally. His return is very physical, and after several years of an incubus relationship, she discovers that she is pregnant by him. He, she, and their child will haunt the pool where

SHEEHAN, PERLEY POORE their bodies lie. Nicely handled. The opposite idealogical situation to [g]. [i] A TIME TO KEEP, Kate Wilhelm. (MFSF 1962) Harrison, elderly professor, finds himself stepping through doors into bizarre, fantastic experiences. It is because he has never made anything of himself. [j] BROTHER COELESTIN, Emil Frida. A monastery, Satan, temptation, a magic flute. * Also included is the short play "The Blue Sphere" by Theodore Dreiser. * Of the new material [g] and [h] are excellent. ) SHECKLEY, ROBERT (1928 American science-fiction writer. 1462. UNTOUCHED BY HUMAN HANDS THIRTEEN STORIES Ballantine Books; New York 1954 paperbound Mostly science-fiction stories, including [a] THE ALTAR. (FANTASTIC, 1953) A suburban bedroom community in New Jersey seems to be turning into a hotbed of weird cults: the temple of Baz-Matain, the Dark Mysteries of Isis, etc. But only certain people can perceive this. Mr. Slater discovers that he is more deeply involved that he had realized. [b] THE KING'S WISHES. (MFSF 1953) An appliance store is raided by a demon from the past. He doesn't worry about disturbing the sequence of history in transporting refrigerators and washing machines, for the appliances are going to Atlantis. [c] WARM. (GALAXY 1953) A small voice begs Anders for help, but he does not know where it is or how he can help, and the voice cannot tell him. The ultimate solipsism. [d] THE DEMONS. (FANTASTIC FICTION, 1953) Arthur Gammet, walking along Second Avenue, suddenly vanishes, conjured into another world by a demon who is practicing magic. The demon demands tons of gold as a ransom. Gammet finds a novel way out of the situation. * Good, competent stories, although Sheckley's sciencefiction is better. 1463. CITIZEN IN SPACE Ballantine Books; New York 1955 paperbound Science-fiction and supernatural stories, including, [a] THE MOUNTAIN WITHOUT A NAME. The Engineering Team on Work Order 35 on Umgcha is have problems with accidents. Sabotage is suspected, but the answer is that the planet is a living organism. Other planets, including earth, are living, and they awaken. [b] THE ACCOUNTANT. Described elsewhere. [c] THE BATTLE. (IF, 1954) It is Armageddon, and the Generals counter the forces of Hell with robot armies. A great victory is won by the forces of good, and the resurrection takes place. But the robots are resurrected. * Good stories. * The edition used was the later Ballantine Bal-Hi printing, with a preface by Richard H. Tyre.

SHEEHAN, PERLEY POORE (1875-1943) American journalist, writer of fiction. Onetime managing editor, Paris edition of the New York HERALD TRIBUNE. Writer of film scripts and frequent contributor to the pulp magazines.

SHEEHAN, PERLEY POORE 1464. THE ABYSS OF WONDERS Polaris Press; Reading, Pa. 1953 1500 copy edition First published in ARGOSY, 1915. * Introduction, PERLEY POORE SHEEHAN--THE SHADOW MAKER, by P. Schuyler Miller. * Lost race novel based in large part on Blavatsky's Theosophy. * Strange destinies emerge from a small Midwestern town. John McGoff, a young man, is in some inexplicable wayan incarnation of Shan Makaroff, a legendary Central Asiatic shaman, and he finds two friends to help him achieve this role in full: Charley, a learned Chinese laundry man, and Ivan, a widely travelled Russian cobbler. The two older men have been in the area around the Gobi Desert, and know the legends concerning it: that it contains the tomb of Genghis Khan, a hidden oasis with an unknown people, and strange, seemingly supernatural guardians of the land. After John demonstrates his shamanistic power by summoning the spirit of another Shan Makaroff, the three men form a small secret society, the Sons of the Blue Wolf, and determine to solve the mystery of the Gobi. John has a further incentive: visions of a beautiful young woman. The three men make their way to the Gobi, and after adventures individually and collectively find the ancient city of Yerek-Kuruk, which is inhabited by the Golden Race (or, in Theosophical terminology, the Sinzars). John also finds there the Princess Ai-Yuruk, the woman of his dreams. Not all the Golden Race take kindly to the strangers, and a rebellion breaks out, involving a heat ray. The Sinzars, although decadent, are heirs to a science greater than ours. The travellers and their women leave, and behind them the city collapses into ruin, its population wiped out. Ai-Yuruk dies in the desert, and John returns horne. His experience as a shaman, however, seems to have awakened him erotically, for he accepts the local woman who loves him as the equivalent of the dead Ai-Yuruk. * Curiously imprecise and wavery, with a fairy tale atmosphere; weakly planned, with many unsatisfactory elements. A curiosity only. SHELLEY, MARY WOLLSTONECRAFT (1797-1851) British novelist. Daughter of William Godwin, novelist and social theorist, and Mary Wollstonecraft, pioneer in women's liberation. Mistress, later wife to poet Percy Bysshe Shelley. Best-known work FRANKENSTEIN (1818), enormously important early science-fiction novel. Also author of THE LAST MAN (1826), story of Byronic survivor in world emptied by plague. Much less important as a writer of supernatural fiction. 1465. COLLECTED TALES AND STORIES WITH [THE) ORIGINAL ENGRAVINGS Johns Hopkins University Press; Baltimore and London 1976 Edited with introduction and notes by Charles E. Robinson. * Mary Shelley wrote a considerable amount of short fiction which was published in periodicals and yearbooks of the day. It is for the most part very minor work, in no way as significant as her novels. * Short stories, including [a) [ROGER DODS-

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SHELLEY, PERCY BYSSHE WORTH: THE RE-ANIMATED ENGLISHMAN). Written in 1826, first published 1863. This is first reprinting. An essay-like paper commenting on one of the hoaxes of the day, the claim that an Englishman had been found frozen in a Continental glacier, thawed out, and restored to society. [b) VALERIUS: THE RE-ANIMATED ROMAN. First publication from a fragmentary manuscript. Valerius, a Roman from the days of Cicero and Cato, lives in a state of depression since he has seen the ruins of his once great city. A Scottish lady in Italy takes him under her protection in an effort to restore his zest for life. The fragment does not reveal either her success or the way in which the Roman reached the 19th century. [cl TRANSFORMATION. (THE KEEPSAKE, 1831) Italy. Guido, an unhappy, vindictive, and hot-tempered young man, is wandering along the strand when he sees a shipwreck. The sole survivor is a deformed, demonic dwarf, who has an air of the supernatural about him. The dwarf offers to exchange bodies with Guido for three days. Guido accepts the offer, since he feels bitter at the way he has been treated. But when the three days are past, the dwarf-in-Guido has not returned, and Guido-in-the-dwarf goes to the court to find him. He stabs the dwarf-in-Guido and awakens in his own body, severely wounded. He recovers, but is a changed man. On later reflection he believes that the dwarf may have been an angel sent to destroy his pride. [d) THE MORTAL IMMORTAL. (THE KEEPSAKE, 1834) The psychology of love under unusual circumstances, perhaps an allegory of overshadowing, with respect to the late Percy B. Shelley. The narrator, an assistant to the Renaissance magician Cornelius Agrippa, drinks the elixir of youth that Agrippa had intended for himself and becomes immortal, or, as he later realizes, since he drank only half of the draught, half-immortal. He marries the woman he loves, but finds that his immortality is horrible to her since she ages and he does not. After some three hundred years he believes that he has found a way to break the power of the elixir: exposure to the elements. tel THE DREAM. Borderline supernatural. Visions, presumably intended to be semi-allegorical. * [dl is worth reading. The other material is trivial. * The present edition has been cited since it is the first edition to reprint full, correct texts. The earlier edition of Mary Shelley's shorter works (TALES AND STORIES, edited by Richard Garnett, W. Paterson; London 1891) includes only [cl, [dl, and tel. SHELLEY, PERCY BYSSHE (1792-1822) Great British Romantic poet. As a very young man Shelley was fascinated by Gothic fiction. He tried his hand at writing fiction, and before he was 19 had published, at his own expense two short Gothic romances. One, ZASTROZZI (1810) is not fantastic, but is a bloody tale of Italian revenge. The other: 1466. ST. IRVYNE: OR. THE ROSICRUCIAN A ROMANCE J. J. Stockdale; London 1811 published as by a Gentleman of the University of Oxford.

SHELLEY, PERCY BYSSHE Gothic novel, reminiscent at various moments, of Schiller's DIE RAUBER, Lewis's THE MO~K, and Rajcliffe's THE MYSTERIES OF UDOLPHO. * Switzerland and Italy. Wolfstein, a mysterious proto-Byronic figure, joins a Swiss robber banj, but on falling in love with one of their captives (the beauteous Megalena de Metastasio) escapes with her, after murdering the robber chief. He is aided in his escape by an even more Byronic figure, Ginotti, who extracts a vow of future help from W::>lfstein. The escaped lovers flee to Italy, where their romance falters, since Megalena happens to be rather bloody-minded. Ginotti now appears and offers Wolfstein eternal life if he will assume his bargain with the Evil One. Wolfstein refuses at the last minute and both men are killed by lightning. A secondary plot is concerned with the fate of Wolfstein's sister Eloise, who has been seduced by the disguised Ginotti. * Gary, but of some interest in foreshadowing Shelley's later sexual ethics. Inflated in conversational passages, but surprisingly clean in narrative sections, with occasional moments of humor. The consensus about this novel has been, too little self-criticism, too much money, even for a very young man. SHIEL, M[ATTHEW] P[HIPPS] (1865-1947) British author born (as SHIELL) in Montserrat, B.W.I., but resident mostly in Great Britain. Crowned (by father) as King Felipe of the Kingdom of Redonda, Leeward Islands, but claim not internationally recognized. Journalist for a time, professional writer, ghost writer for Louis Tracy and perhaps others; sometimes highly regarded for stylistic brilliance in fin de siecle manner. N,=ver fulfilled promise of early years. Most important works SHAPES IN THE FIRE and THE PURPLE CLOUJ. 1467. SHAPES IN THE FIRE BEING A MID-WINTERNIGHT'S ENTERTAINMENT IN TWO PARTS ANJ AN INTERLUDE John Lane; London 1896 Short stories, partly derivative in theme and subject matter from Poe, told in an elaborate word lapidarism. * Including [a] XELUCHA. A restatement, after a fashion, of Poe's LIGEIA; the power of the feminine. Set in a Baghdadian London that out-orientalizes both Machen and Stevenson. Merimee, Destroyer of Women, has received a last letter from his dead friend Cosmo, a fellow sybarite, who speaks of the Eternal Feminine, Xelucha, now dead. 0':1 the streets Merimee picks up a remarkable woman, goes with her to her temple-like abode, and discourses metaphysically with her. By a slip of the tongue she reveals that she knows him, and he recognizes her as the dead Xelucha. He swears that he will clasp her, but she disappears in a puff of corruption, and he finds himself alone in an empty, squalid room. Brilliantly handled. [b] VAlLA. A restatement, after a fashion, of THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER. The narrator visits his old university friend Harfager at the Harfager ancestral home in one of the far northern islands of Great Britain. Harfager, who suffers from hypertrophied hearing, is obviously half mad, as are

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SHIEL, M. P. his aunt and Aith, their strange servitor. The house is a strange structure made of brass, chained to the storm-swept island. According to family records, it was built as the result of a fraternal clash of about 500 years before, and it embodies a curse. It contains a gravity clock that emits little lead balls. When the clock is empty, the house shall perish, the race with it. It would seem (though Shiel does not render this explicit) that Aith is one of the quarreling brothers of 500 years earlier, come to witness his final revenge. The curse takes effect, and the narrator is fortunate to escape the doom of the Harfagers. A mad, remarkable achievement. [c] TULSAH. A scorched Indian manuscript. Narrated by an Indian rajah who found himself alive, but without memory, by the empty sarcophagus of the former rajah. He learns that he is an everreconstituted being, who first angered the gods during the time of Abraham by stealing a temple maiden. In each of his incarnations he repeats his crime, stealing a woman, speculating on the mysteries of the universe, and perishing miserably through the snake deity. In this incarnation, despite good intentions, he follows out his fate when he takes the beautiful woman Tulsah from a suttee pyre. [d] PHORFOR. Setting reminiscent of Poe's Auber landscapes. In this instance the mood is not supernatural horror, but a languid, mildly erotic fantasy. * In the season called Opora, Numa returns to his ancestral home to learn that his cousin and friend Sergius has just died. Numa is in love with Sergius's sister Areta, but Sergius's death has apparently destroyed Areta's love for him. She mourns the dead Sergius, and, under the manipulation of the sinister Elder Theodore, attaches herself to the dead, blaming Numa for seeming slights and attacks on the memory of Sergius. Numa clashes with Theodore, who is apparently motivated by greed, but wins Areta. Theodore perishes when his tower is blown up, revealing himself to be a semi-human monstrosity. Numa's victory is due in part to his mystical interpretation of an illustration of a key from Goethe's WILHELM MEISTER and a poem left by Sergius. He so manipulates matters that the poem is taken to be a presage of himself. * Shiel's work is not to everyone's taste. His egotistical personality and his wilful and bizarre use of language repel many readers. But if one accepts the conventions of the cultural episode, this book is one of the high points of the decorated style. In their virtuosity, artifice, and sonority; in their closely hewn metaphysics of horror; and their implementation of odd corners of mystical thought these stories are sui generis. One of the landmark books of the genre. 1468. THE PURPLE CLOUD Chatto and Windus; London 1901 An intensely imagined fantasy about the last man on earth. * Adam Jeffson, half-murderer and last survivor of an Arctic expedition, is the first man to reach the North Pole. There he finds a body of open water and in the center

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M. P.

sees a rock formation like a pillar, on which he fantasizes writing. (While Shiel leaves this motif in the background, man, by attaining to the Pole, has committed an unpardonable act of hybris and will be punished.) When Jeffson returns to civilization, he finds only desolation and ruin. All animal life is dead, and he is the only surviving man. A volcanic outburst of poisonous gases, hydrocyanic acid gas, has taken place, and only his presence at the Pole has saved him. For years he wanders about the world in an orgy of sensation. He constructs a building out of gold bricks, forms a lake of wine, fires many of the great cities, and performs other desperately extravagant actions. In Istanbul, however, he finds another survivor, a young woman, who has been preserved in an underground oubliette. At this point it becomes clear that he and the woman are the semivoluntary tools of two cosmic powers, White and Black, good and evil, who are striving for dominion. Black wants the human race to end and urges him to kill the girl. But White and biology triumph, and a new, better race is promised. * Despite some vagueness in ultimate causation, a remarkable work, easily Shiel's best novel, imagination run wild. The 1929 reissue is somewhat altered, but not improved. 1469. THE PALE APE AND OTHER PULSES T. Werner Laurie; London ·[1911] Short stories, including [a] THE PALE APE. A governess reports on strange events in the household of the Listers. There are tame apes; a chuckling waterfall that is called The Ape; a murderous, shambling monstrosity that is occasionally seen and seems to be a white ape. It is Sir Philip. Psychopathology and prenatal marking from the waterfall. While this story is usually taken seriously, I think it is a parody of shopgirl fiction of the day. [b] HUGUENIN'S WIFE. Delos, Greece. A beautiful woman, she is followed by trains of animals and is a remarkable artist. She believes in transmigration after death and hints at strange forms of life mercifully hidden from man. According to her, a unique personality would be reincarnated as a unique entity. Huguenin kills her in a brawl, and some time later, from her tomb emerges a horrible feathered cheetah. [c] THE HOUSE OF SOUNDS. A revised version of VAlLA. Most readers prefer the earlier version. [d] THE SPECTRE SHIP. Old Norse setting. Crime, plots, prophecy, usurpation. The Vala prophecies that Gurth need not fear the living, only the dead. True. [e] THE GREAT KING. An explanation for the madness of Nebuchadnezzar. His wife Nitocris is subject to fits of catalepsy. When she is undergoing an attack, he slashes her throat. In pursuit of a new woman for his harem he visits an old sorceress, who intends to work upon him with a fraudulent v~s~on. But the true supernatural emerges, with the dead Nitocris. [f] THE BRIDE. Horrors among the Cockneys. Walter is entangled with two sisters, Rachel and Annie. Although he is engaged to Rachel, he jilts her at the

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SHIEL, M. P. last moment and decides to marry Annie. Rachel dies of rage and chagrin, and her corpse is laid out in the house shortly before the wedding. That evening, Walter awaits his bride, to consummate the marriage, but Rachel's corpse enters and rapes him. * Of the new material [b] is good; [f] is somewhat confusing, but horrible. Best of all is the crime story about Cummings King Monk, "He Take s a Hand." 1470. HERE COMES THE LADY Richards Press; London [1928] Short stories in a framework, including [a] THE TALE OF HENRY AND ROWENA. High life among the Overmen in Italy. Lord Henry falls in love with the married Rowena, and persuades her to a suicide pact. As they talk, a panther, escaped from a zoo, confronts them. Henry cuts off his arm and flings it to the beast, which is thereupon satisfied and does not attack them. But, Rowena oversleeps and decides against suicide. She sends a message to Lord Henry, but it is too late. He has poisoned himself. His ghost comes and (presumably with only one hand) strangles her. * While this story is often taken at face value, to me it seems like a very obvious attempt at parodying a shopgirl romance. 1471. THIS ABOVE ALL Vanguard; New York 1933 British title ABOVE ALL ELSE (Lloyd Cole; London 1943). Probably suggested by the Viereck and Eldridge books about the Wandering Jew and his companions. * Background: at least four persons still survive from the beginning of the Christian era. These are the girl (sometimes called Tabitha) whom Jesus raised from the dead; Lazarus; the man Jesus raised in the village of Nain; and Jesus himself. In the world of the 1920's and early 1930's, these persons are known respectively as Rachel Jeshurah; Prince Surazal; Aaron Ephrath; and Raphael. Jesus-Raphael resides in a monastery in Tibet and occasionally corresponds with the others. In addition to having eternal youth (with a yearly death and reanimation) the other three persons are entangled with Fate. Rachel and Surazal would like to mate, since they are sterile with mortals, because of cellular formation rate. But Fate repeatedly prevents their union, and Aaron, a sour fanatic, tries to assist Fate. * At the moment, the hindrance to their match is one Dr. Schrapps, a theoretical physicist of great genius, who apparently has a Lolita complex and is madly in love with Rachel. He will commit suicide unless she becomes his mistress. Since Rachel, like Shiel, has the utmost respect for science, she is psychologically compelled to leave Surazal at the altar and run off with Schrapps, even though she does not want to. * This is the plot in simplest form. The story is told in a group of diaries and letters, with interspersed essay-like speeches on Shiel's philosophy of religion and science, with episodes of high life and adultery in Anglo-French society, French politics (a topic which for some reason fascinated Shiel), and is at times almost unpenetrable. The verbal brilliance of the old days is occasionally present, but is hampered.

SHIEL, M. P. 1472. THE BEST SHORT STORIES OF M. P. SHIEL Gollancz; London 1948 Foreword by John Gawsworth. * Including [a] XELUCHA. [b] VAlLA. [c] TULSAH. [d] PHORFOR. [e] HUGUENIN'S WIFE. [f] THE BRIDE. All described elsewhere. 1473. XELUCHA AND OTHERS Arkham House; Sauk City; Wisc. 1975 Introduction by Shiel in his plain style. Presumably submitted to Arkham House when the book was first announced in the 1940's. * Including la] XELUCHA. [b] THE HOUSE OF SOUNDS. [c] THE BRIDE. [d] THE TALE OF HENRY AND ROWENA. [e] HUGUENIN'S WIFE. [f] THE PALE APE. [ANONYMOUS ANTHOLOGY] 1474. SHIVERS Philip Allan; London 1932 A member of the CREEPS SERIES. * Including, described elsewhere, [a] THE 17TH HOLE AT DUNCASTER, H. R. Wakefield. [b] WILD WULLIE, THE WASTER, Tod Robbins. [c] "AND HE SHALL SING. "H. R. Wakefield. [d] WHO WANTS A GREEN BOTTLE? Tod Robbins. [e] THE DEATH MASK, Mrs. H. Everett. * Also [f] THE GHOST IN THE RING, Elliott O'Donnell. The ghost of a dead boxer defeats the rival who murdered him. Also ghost radio. Crude horror. 19] THE POPLAR TREE, Philip Murray. She should not have given the order to cut down the old poplar tree. The tree resented it. * Edited by Charles L. Birkin. [ANONYMOUS ANTHOLOGY] 1475. SHUDDERS Philip Allan; London 1932 A member of the CREEPS SERIES. * Including, "[a] OR PERSONS UNKNOWN, H. R. Wakefield. [b] THE THIRD COACH, H. R. Wakefield. [c] THE CRIMSON BLIND, Mrs. H. Everett. [d] THAT DIETH NOT, H. R. Wakefield. [e] PROFESSOR POWNALL'S OVERSIGHT, H. R. Wakefield. [f] TOYS, Tod Robbins. * Also [g] ACCUSING SHADOWS, Elliott O'Donnell. Germanic background. The tourist" sees ghostly hands hammering a nail, and this enables him to indicate a murderess. [h] THE TRUNK, Philip Murray. Used centuries ago as the receptacle for the corpse of an executed criminal, it sometimes reproduces the image of the corpse. [i] THE HAUNTED SPINNEY, Elliott O'Donnell. Psychopathology, a murder, ghosts, a phantasm of the living. Trick ending. [j] THE PATCH, Philip Murray. A premonitory vision of a corpse beneath the bed. * [f] and the Wakefield stories raise this above the level of most of the volumes in the series. * Edited by Charles L. Birkin. SIMMS, WILLIAM GILMORE (1806-1870) American (Charleston, South Carolina) author, popular during his lifetime, but now undeservedly forgotten except to specialists. Much of his work is regionalistic, best-known books being GUY RIVERS (1834) and THE YEMASSEE (1835). Poe considered his short story "Grayling" (THE GIFT, 1842) the best ghost story he had read. 1~76. CASTLE DISMAL; OR. THE BACHELOR'S CHRISTMAS A DOMESTIC LEGEND Burgess, Stringer, and Co.; New York" 1844 (published as by the author of GUY RIVERS)

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SINCLAIR, MAY Romantic supernaturalism set nicely in Carolina regionalism. * The narrator, Ned Clifton, is spending his Christmas with his friends the Ashleys, who live on a plantation that Ashley jokingly calls Castle Dismal, since the ancient building is fortress-like. As Clifton has declared himself a rationalist, his hostess puts him in the haunted chamber, which is so disturbed that no one is willing to spend the night there. It is truly haunted. On successive nights Ashley sees a ghostly reenactment of a sexual triangle and murder. He sees the injured husband, outside in the sinister wood, push a tree down on the guilty lover, and he sees the ghost of the wife dripping water, as if drowned. Clifton is not quite sure what to do about his visions until one day, while out on a hunt with his hosts, he sees an ancient Methodist preacher. He immediately recognizes him as the murderer. Clifton then tells his hosts what he has seen, and his visions are aligned with events in the past. They confront the old man, who admits his guilt, and later, during a service, denounces himself as a murderer. Justice has been served. * Although the plot summary sounds sombre, the story is very lightly told, with a good romance, many humorous touches, and excellent local color. SIMS, GEORGE R[OBERT] (1847-1922) British journalist, playwright, novelist. Fairly important as early writer of detective stories. Much of his fiction has a social message. 1477. THE DEVIL IN LONDON Stanley Paul; London [1908] Sentimental social reform offered in the guise of a tour conducted by the Devil. * Young Alan Fairfax, millionaire, is kind to a decrepit French actress, who gives him a ring with which he can call up the Devil. The Devil, who is suave and Mephistophelean, escorts him through slums and criminal environments, white slave rings, theatrical agencies that are rings of prostitution, etc. When Fairfax reveals that he intends to compel the Devil to take a grou? of M. P.'s over the same route, the Devil finds a way to evade the power of the ring. * LeSage did it better. Only a curiosity. SINCLAIR, MAY (1865-1946) British novelist, active in feminist and social service causes. Best-known work THE DIVINE FIRE (1904). An underrated writer. 1478. UNCANNY STORIES Hutchinson; London 1923 Supernaturalism as a vehicle for psychological analysis, mostly of love. * [a] WHERE THEIR FIRE IS NOT QUENCHED. Harriott's first love drowned, and she found no other man who could love her in the same fashion. She has an affair with Oscar Wade, a married man, an affair which is not completely satisfactory to either partner, since he is sensual and she is selfishly sentimental. After death Harriott is placed in a hell. No matter where she goes,

SINCLAIR, MAY she enters the room in which she and Wade made love. She is finally told by Wade, "It is because that is what you made of love." [b] THE TOKEN. Dunbar's wife believes that he thinks more highly of a paperweight that George Meredith gave to him than of her. After her death, her spirit haunts the house. Her sister sees it and understands that the ghost is unquiet because it doubts Dunbar's love. To prove his love, Dunbar smashes the paperweight and sees the ghost for a moment, before it finds rest. A statement of selfishness. lc] THE FLAW IN THE CRYSTAL. Nouvelle. Agatha Verrall believes that she can place herself in harmony with a Power and heal the mentally disturbed. She thinks that she acts as a crystal for focusing the Power. But the crystal has a flaw, or is it her delusion? [d] THE NATURE OF THE EVIDENCE. Rosamund, Marston's dead wife, had urged him to remarry after her death, but added that he must select a suitable woman. The dead Rosamund does not approve of Pauline, the second wife, and interferes so much that the marriage is not consummated. The situation is rendered impossible when Rosamund's very physical ghost takes Marston aside and has intercourse with him. A surprising story for the period. [e] IF THE DEAD KNEW. A mother complex. Hollyer's life was controlled by and built around his mother. After her death he still feels under her sway, but her ghost appears and releases him, offering a catharsis. [f] THE VICTIM. The chauffeur, who is something of a brute, murders his elderly employer because he (wrongly) believes that the employer broke up his impending marriage. The dead man returns and absolves the chauffeur. Love has conquered everything, despite misdirections. [g] THE FINDING OF THE ABSOLUTE. Spalding, who has lost his faith because his wife ran off, dies and goes to an elite heaven for those philosophically inclined. He meets Kant, has a mystical vision, and experiences the formation of a new universe. The theme of divine creativity is developed. * The central idea for these stories is that ghosts, which usually symbolize memory, are intimately connected with life and can offer aid in solving the conflicts of life. Horror is internally objectified. * Excellent, though [c] is overdeveloped for its slender theme. 1479. THE INTERCESSOR. AND OTHER STORIES Hutchinson; London 1931 Including [a] THE MAHATMA'S STORY. Rama Dass has magical powers. When the perpetually bickering Varleys, who also have economic problems, ask him to shift their personalities to the wealthy and successful Reeves, he obliges. But weaknesses continue. "A man's estate is what his se If is." [b] JONES'S KARMA. The Mahatma tells of a snob with a conscience. Jones, partly because of weakness, partly through circumstance, dropped a lower-class friend who had helped him. Jones also seduced and betrayed his pregnant lover, and deserted a friend on the battlefield. He is told that he can relive his life and avoid his previous errors if he concentrates on this on his deathbed. He

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SLE IGH , BERNARD relives his life and carefully avoids each of the crimes of his first life, but on later occasions he commits similar faults. The point is that individual actions are only facets of karma. Facets may change, but karma does not. [c] HEAVEN. Nouvelle. Sessions, pampered by his mother, at death is placed in her heaven, a vulgar, unpleasant place where he is very unhappy. It is all a swindle. But he is saved, extricated by the psychic power of a young woman who loves him. He is placed in her heaven, but is it better? [d] THE INTERCESSOR. A very sordid family history told in terms of supernaturalism. Garvin, staying for a time with the Falshaws, a peasant family in the North of England, sees and hears the ghost of a little girl. His experience serves as a catalyst to resolve a complex series of hates and guilts. [e] THE VILLA DESIREE. Described elsewhere. * Excellent mainstream material. [dj is very fine. SLEIGH, BERNARD (1872 - ? ) British writer, artist, art teacher. Author of several books of art instruction, especially wood engraving. Also occasional writer of fiction. 1480. THE GATES OF HORN BEING SUNDRY RECORDS FROM THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY FOR THE INVESTIGATION OF FAERY FACT AND FALLACY Aldine House; London 1926 A tongue-in-cheek collection of stories purportedly written seriously for a (mythical) society, but actually poking fun at A. C. Doyle's acceptance of fairies. Individual stories are set in Wales, are loosely interconnected, and deal with human-sized fairies in the Celtic tradition. * [a] ANDREW HOOGAN. Early 19th century. Hoogan, an early student of folklore, rescues a wounded sea-woman from the waves. She lives with him as his mistress, but is obviously unhappy. Speechless, alien, after a time she escapes back to the sea. [b] MARCHLYN FARM. To Owen's farm comes a strange young woman who obviously has fairy blood in her. She stays with the Owens for a time, working for her keep, and repulses the attentions of the farmer's son. One of her own kind, she says, shall be her husband. It turns out to be the local kelpie, and she disappears with him. [c] MIDSUMMER EVE. Midsummer Eve. In the city, where the fairy lore has been forgotten, the good people are insulted, and very soon a changeling takes the place of the child. But there is a country relative who knows what to do about such things. [d] THE JERRY-BUILDER. A contractor foolishly builds cheap housing in a valley consecrated to Pan in Roman times. His venture is supernaturally beset-- flood, lightning, funguses-- and he himself is carried bodily away by the good people. [e] MESCAL. Sir Edward comes into possession of mescal buttons. When he takes them, his spiritual perceptions are opened and he sees the good people. A fairy woman sets her cap at him and takes him away into fairyland. [f] MATTER OF FACT. Essay-like material on cases where supernatural help has

SLEIGH, BERNARD been received from leprechauns and fairy-like folk. [g} KILMENY OF THE COTSWOLDS. The reference is to James Hogg's poem "Kilmeny." Marygold Morton, wandering in the meadows, sees a gay folk dancing and enjoying themselves. She joins them and is not seen again by mortals for a long time. She suddenly appears at her home one night and says that she has been in fairyland, where she has married and born a child. The child, which she has along with her, is an obvious fairy-human hybrid. Her husband summons them both back. [hI THE GIRL IN THE TRAMCAR. The narrator hears her play fairy music, which he recognizes intuitively. She is a music teacher, but refuses to talk about the music. [i} THE VICAR AND THE DRYAD. The Rev. James Minshull, walking alone at night, sees a fairy maiden. He is enticed into the fairy dance, falls in love with her, and marries her. She adjusts nicely to human life. [j} A REPORT OF THE FAERY INVESTIGATION SOCIETY BY BERTRAM JUNE, SECRETARY. Two anecdotes: a fairy woman and romance, and a naturalist who sees a faun. * Individual stories are entertaining, although the vehicle of a society for psychical research is obtrusive and rather pointless. Considerable Welsh dialect. 1481. WITCHCRAFT The Oriole Press; Berkeley Heights, New Jersey 1934 106 copy edition Like 1480 material purportedly from the Faery Investigation Society; with a tongue-in-cheek introduction by "Bertram June." * Supernatural nouvelle. Scotland. Lawrence Chalfont visits the farm Grailwyn Towers, where he stays with the Ferguses. Among the residents are Jessamy, the young daughter of the house, with whom Chalfont falls in love, and old Mrs. Moule and her son Crinal. Mrs. Moule, who wears the traditional Welsh garb we associate with witches, is really a witch of considerable power. The neighborhood lives in fear of her. A problem arises with the romance between Chalfont and Jessamy, for Mrs. Moule wants Jessamy for her son, mostly for the sake of the real estate involved. She warns off Chalfont, with no success, then bewitches Jessamy. The local doctor brings into the case Professor Molineaux, a psychic doctor of great power, who recognizes Mrs. Moule for what she is and undertakes to combat her. Molineaux, Chalfont, and others go to the ruined tower where Mrs. Moule works magic, break through her magical defences, and defeat her. She drops dead and ages enormously, for she was about 120 years old. * Routine and insipid. * This seems to be the only publication of this work, and it is not known why Sleigh, a British artist, should be represented from an American private press. SLOANE, WILLIAM M[ILLIGAN} (1906-1974) American publisher, novelist, playwright. Held positions at various times with Longmans Green, Farrar and Rinehart, Henry Holt; head of Rutgers University Press. Associated with wartime activities to provide servicemen with books. 1482. THE EDGE OF RUNNING WATER Farrar and Rinehart; New York [1939}

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SMITH, CLARK ASHTON Difficult to categorize, perhaps best termed weird science-fiction. * Professor Richard Sayles, a psychologist specializing in electroencephalography, receives an urgent invitation to visit his former teacher and friend, Dr. Julian Blair, whom he has not seen for several years. He finds Blair, a worn shadow of himself, living in a coastal area of Maine, hated and feared by the rustic natives, who suspect him of working on a death ray. Blair is very secretive, but finally reveals that he is working on an electronic device for contacting the world of the dead. In association with a medium, he has created a piece of equipment that projects a black void that sucks things into it. From the void emerge massive sounds that Blair takes to be the many voices of the dead. (What the apparatus really does is questionable.) Against this background take place a romance, an accidental death that is concealed and causes a great deal of trouble, and Blair's destruction of himself and his apparatus while temporarily insane. * A good mystery, with apt characterizations and local color, but not quite so successful as the author's sciencefiction mystery, TO WALK THE NIGHT. SMITH, CLARK ASHTON (1893-1961) American (California) poet, author of weird fiction and science-fiction. Achieved early local recognition, largely through enthusiasm of George Sterling, for traditional Swinburnian verse, which Smith handled with some facility. In 1930's a fairly frequent contributor to the supernatural fiction and science-fiction magazines, where work was both popular and controversial, some readers objecting to his violation of pulp traditions and morbidness. Member of Lovecraft circ le, where was second only to Lovecraft in general esteem and importance. Self educated. A very difficult author to evaluate. Was obsessed with enrichment of vocabulary, sometimes garishly and insensitively applied, but original in a narrow range: modern version of decorated prose of fin de si~cle period. Sciencefiction unusual in its day for considering philosophical and psychological points, sometimes excellent in idea, but badly written. Weird fiction generally macabre in subject matter, gloatingly preoccupied with images of death, decay, and abnormality. Central theme of much of his work is egotism and its supernatural punishment. Sometimes his work is effective; at other times, simply pretentious. * Most of Smith's weird fiction falls into four series set variously in Hyperborea, Poseidonis, Averoigne, and Zothique. Hyperborea, which is a lost continent of the Miocene period, and poseidonis, which is a remnant of Atlantis, are much the same, with a magical culture characterized by bizarreness, cruelty, death, and post-mortem horrors. Averoigne is Smith's version of pre-modern France, comparable to Cabell's Poictesme. Zothique exists millions of years in the future. It is "the last continent of earth, when the sun is dim and tarnished." Otherwise it is much like

SMITH, CLARK ASHTON Hyperborea or Poseidonis, not a pleasant place to live unless one is a sadist with great magical powers. 1483. THE DOUBLE SHADOW AND OTHER FANTASIES [Printed by the Auburn Journal Press and published by Smith; Auburn, California 1933] paperbound 1000 copy edition Large pamphlet with six stories. * [a] THE VOYAGE OF KING EUVORAN. Zothique. The king, a nasty petty tyrant, enrages a wandering magician who causes the stuffed gazolba bird on the king's head to flyaway with his crown. Since the bird is the king's symbol of office, the king sails in quest of it and undergoes many humiliating adventures. [b) THE MAZE OF THE ENCHANTER. Set on the planet Xiccarph, in an alien system. The magician Maal Dweb has summoned the girl AthIe to his harem, and Tiglari, her lover, follows. He penetrates the magician's maze and evades some of his guards, but is trapped and partly transformed into an animal. AthIe, like other women taken by Maal Dweb, is turned into a statue by means of a magic mirror. Maal Dweb is bored. Usually reprinted as THE MAZE OF MAAL DWEB, with a slightly different text. A good example of a theme Smith often employed: the powerlessness of the individual against raping, supernatural horrors. [c) THE DOUBLE SHADOW. Poseidonis. The magician Pharpetron finds in the sea a curious tablet with indecipherable hieroglyphs. He and his fellow magician Avyctes try to read it, and succeed only by sending a ghost back in time to the land of the serpent men. It is a magical formula, although what it evokes is unknown. The two magicians and Oigos, an animated mummy, perform the proper ceremony, but it seems that nothing happens. Some time later, however, a monstrous second shadow is seen to be creeping up toward Avyctes. Magic is powerless to avert the horrible doom that befalls the two magicians and the mummy. Don't meddle. [d) A NIGHT IN MALNEANT. At all times the town of Malneant prepares for the funeral of the Lady Mariel. Conscience. [e) THE DEVOTEE OF EVIL. Averaud theorizes that evil is an ultimate, monistic essence, and he designs an experiment to invoke it. He is successful, but is turned to a statue for his pains. Ultimate evil paralyzes. [f) THE WILLOW LANDSCAPE. China. Shih Liang, to pay family debts and to pay for his brother's education, gradually strips himself of the family possessions. He bitterly regrets having to part with the last piece, a willow landscape painted on a roll of silk, for he loves it. He is permitted to enter the landscape as a picture, and the new purchaser sees a figure talking to the maiden on the bridge. * [b) and [c) are richer than they sound in summary and are worth reading. 1484. OUT OF SPACE AND TIME Arkham House; Sauk City, Wisc. 1942 Brief introduction by August Derleth and Donald Wandrei. * Including, described elsewhere, [a] A NIGHT IN MALNEANT. [b) THE DOUBLE SHADOW. * Al so [c) THE END OF THE STORY. (WT 1930) 18th century Averoigne. Christophe, a young law student, finds hospitality in a

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SMITH, CLARK ASHTON monastery, and in the library (despite his host's prohibition), reads an ancient document that describes surviving pagan delights in the area. He betakes himself to nearby ruins, descends to worlds below, and finds a voluptuous WGman awaiting him. She is a serpent woman and a lamia. The abbot saves him on this occasion, but Christophe will return to the lamia. [d) A RENDEZVOUS IN AVEROIGNE. (WT 1931) When Guerard is wandering through the forest to meet Fleurette, he is lured from his path by magic and becomes a guest of the Sieur du Malinbois and his wife. Vampires. [e] THE CITY OF THE SINGING FLAME. A combination of two short stories, THE CITY OF THE SINGING FLAME (WONDER STORIES, 1931) and BEYOND THE SINGING FLAME (WONDER STORIES, 1931). Borderline science-fiction. Dimensional doors lead to an other-world where a gigantic flame-like phenomenon is the entrance to states of bliss. The flame and the city surrounding it are under attack, and it is questionable if the earthmen will survive. Drugs? [f) THE UNCHARTED ISLE. (WT 1930) Borderline science-fiction. The shipwrecked narrator comes to an uncharted island inhabited by barbaric people who perform strange actions, apparently completely unaware of him. The skies are different. After watching a seemingly living monstrous idol, he tries to escape and is picked up at sea. Is there a time fault in the Pacific? [g) THE SECOND INTERMENT. (WT 1932) Premature burial told from the point of view of the buried person, with horrible illusions and dreams. Probably not intended to be supernatural. [h) THE CHAIN OF AFORGOMON. (WT 1935) Ages ago, on another planet, the priest Calaspa's magic thrust the whole world back an hour in time so that he could reexperience the love of his dead Belthoris. His punishment, the god Aforgomon (Time) decrees, is death by a white-hot chain, reincarnation always separated from Belthoris. He will know that he is released when once again he dies of the white-hot chain. [i) THE DARK EIDOLON. (WT 1934) Zothique. The beggar boy Narthos, trampled by Prince Zotulla, vows revenge. He leaves the land, studies magic under the greatest master, vows himself to Thasaidon (the god of evil), and returns as the magician Namirrha. He plans a horrible revenge on Zotulla, who has now become emperor, and the whole land, but learns to his astonishment that Thasaidon will not help him. In his fury Namirrha turns to deities from Outside. He attains his revenge, but Thasaidon is angry and Namirrha, too, is punished. [j] THE LAST HIEROGLYPH. (WT 1935) Zothique. Nushain the astrologer sees a portent in the sky and learns that he must undertake a journey. Accompanied by his slave and his dog he passes through earth, water, and fire to the abode of Vergama, or Destiny. There he meets the same fate as all of us-- a record on the pages of a book. [k] SADASTOR. (WT 1930) In Ancient Egypt the demon Charnadis comforts the lamia, who is lonely, by telling her of the death of the planet Sadastor and of a mermaid who lived in its seas. [1] THE DEATH OF ILALOTHA. (WT 1937) While Thulos is

SMITH, CLARK ASHTON away, Ilalotha, lady in waiting to Queen Za:ntlicha, suddenly dies. On returning, Thulos insists on viewing her corpse and hears her voice inviting him to visit her in the tomb at midnight. A demon awaits him. Perhaps set in Zothique. [m] THE RETURN OF THE SORCERER. (WT 1931) The narrator, who acts as assistant to Carnby, learns that Carnby is a student of magic. According to the Necronomicon, a wizard of strong will can arise from the dead. Carnby's twin brother, whom he murdered, also a magician, returns. [n] THE TESTAMENT OF ATHAMMAUS. (WT 1932) Hyperborea. Told by the headsman of Commorion. Like certain other Hyperborean stories, with touches of grisly humor. He has to decapitate the vicious criminal Knygathin Zhaum several times, for Zhaum keeps returning to life, each time more monstrous physically. It is finally necessary to abandon the city to him. [0] THE WEIRD OF AVOOSL WUTHOQQUAN, (WT 1932) Hyperborea. Also with touches of grisly humor. Avoosl Wuthoqquan is the most miserly of moneylenders, and when one of the fine emeralds the stranger left as security rolls away, the moneylender must follow it-- to a pit full of jewels, in which squats a horror that eats him. [p] UBBO SATHLA. (WT 1933) Paul Tregardis, student of occultism, obtains the magic crystal of an ancient Hyperborean wizard. The crystal takes him back to Hyperborea, and finally to Ubbo Sathla, the ultimate, where Tregardis and the wizard, as parts of the same entity, assume a horrible amoebic form. [q] FROM THE CRYPTS OF MEMORY (BOHEMIA, 1917) and [r] THE SHADOWS (from EBONY AND CRYSTAL, 1922), two short prose poems. * The other stories are science-fiction. * til and [0] are the best stories. 1485. LOST WORLDS Arkham House; Sauk City, Wisc. 1944 Short stories, including, described elsewhere, [a] THE MAZE OF MAAL DWEB. Alternate title for THE MAZE OF THE ENCHANTER. * Also [b] THE TALE OF SATAMPRA ZEIROS. (WT 1931) Hyperborea. Satampra Zeiros and Tirouv Ompallios, two thieves, decide to loot the kingly treasures of the deserted city of Commorion. They violate the temple of Tsathoggua, with dire results. Tirouv Ompallios is eaten and Satampra Zeiros is fortunate to escape with the loss of a hand. [c] THE DOOR TO SATURN. (STRANGE TALES, 1932) Hyperborea. The sorcerer Eibon (whose Book of Eibon has since become famous as a prop in the Cthulhu Cycle) is in danger from the religionist Morghi, who plans to seize and torture him. Eibon escapes through a dimensional door given to him by the god Zhothaqquah, and finds himself on Saturn. Saturn is inhabited by a few gods like Zhothaqquah and several races of natives, among whom Eibon, who has been joined amicably by Morghi, settles. Occasional humorous nOLes. [d] THE SEVEN GEASES. (WT 1934) Hyperborea. Ralobar Vooz disturbs a spell being performed by the great magician Exdagor, who in annoyance puts a geas on him: he must offer himself to Tsathogguah as a sacrifice. Tsathogguah has just eaten and has no use for him, but passes him along, as

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SMITH, CLARK ASHTON do others. Ralibar Vooz visits the spider god, the prehuman wizard Haon-Dor, the scientific serpent people, the Archetypes of humanity, and Abhoth-- the final ultimate. He, like the others, is disgusted with Ralibar Vooz's appearance, and bids him return to the outside world. But after escaping the horrors of the universe, Ralibar Vooz succumbs to chance. tel THE COMING OF THE WHITE WORM. (STIRRING SCIENCE 1941) Hyperborea. The white worm (as the symbol of impending glaciation and the death of the old world) dwells on an iceberg, and freezes mankind wherever it goes. It wishes to be accompanied by human priests, and Evagh the warlock is selected for its company of priest-worshippers. But the white worm is is not entirely frank: it also devours its priests. [f] THE LAST INCANTATION. (WT 1930) Poseidonis. The great magician Malygris calls up the shade of the beloved Nylissa, but it is not the Nylissa he remembers. He has learned a lesson. The deficiency is not in his magic, nor in the shade, but in himself. He cannot regain his lost youth and its enthusiasms. [g] A VOYAGE TO SFANOMOE. (WT 1931) Poseidonis. Two Atlantean scientists create a space ship and journey to Venus, where they arrive as old men. But they are absorbed into the planet's vegetable life almost as soon as they land. [h] THE DEATH OF MALYGRIS. (WT 1934) In the city of Sus ran the king and the magicians wonder if Malygris, the greatest of sorcerers, who has dominated the area, is dead. Magical viewing shows that he has been sitting motionless in his chair for over a year. Two magicians enter his palace, explore its wonders, and are about to take a ring from Malygris's finger, when his snake familiar destroys them, as they hear Malygris's voice. As a second attempt, other magicians rot Malygris's corpse by magic, but when they enter his chamber, the dead Malygris places a powerful curse on them. The moral, as occasionally expressed by Smith, is that a dead magician can be more dangerous than a living magician. til THE HOLINESS OF AZEDARAC. (WT 1933) Averoigne, circa 1275. To protect himself against a special inquisition, the magician Azedarac causes the monk Ambrose (who is bearing strong evidence against him) to be hurled back in time to Druidic days. There he is saved from sacrifice by the sorceress Moriamis, who finds him a comely man. Moriamis also has the potion for time travelling, and she uses it to good advantage. [j] THE BEAST OF AVEROIGNE. (WT 1933) C. 1370. When the red comet blazes in the sky, a horrible monster appears in Averoigne, causing many deaths. The wizard Ie Chaudronnier consults the demon imprisoned in the ring of Eibon, and learns how the monster can be destroyed. Possession is involved. [k] THE EMPIRE OF THE NECROMANCERS. (WT 1932) Zothique. Two necromancers come to the dead land of Cincor, which is a desert land filled with mummies. They raise the dead and establish their empire. Most of the dead are zombie-like, but Illeiro, the last king of the land, has a spark of individuality and learns the way to overcome the necromancers. [1]

SMITH, CLARK ASHTON THE ISLE OF THE TORTURERS. (WT 1933) Zothique. When the Silver Death strikes the land of Yoros, all die except the King, Fulbra, who is protected by a magic ring, and three slaves. They take to sea to find a new land, but are captured by the magic of the men of Uccastrog, the Isle of Torturers. Here they are tormented horribly until Fulbra, by a subterfuge, tricks his torturers into removing his ring, whereupon the Silver Plague is released. [m] NECROMANCY IN NAAT. (WT 1936) Zothique. Yadar, shipwrecked off the notorious island of Naat, is rescued from the sea by an animated corpse controlled by three magicians, Vacharn and his two sons. The corpse happens to be Yadar's drowned sweetheart. The magicians maintain an easy life with enslaved animated corpses, but Vacharn must offer a living man to his familiar demon once a month. Yadar is to be the next victim. The magicians quarrel and Yadar is killed in the melee, but he is reanimated to serve in a shadowy love along with his sweetheart, long after all the magfcians are dead. [n] XEETHRA. (WT 1934) Zothique. The goatherd Xeethra wanders into one of Thasaidon's deceptive hells and eats the fruit there. This awakens him to his previous incarnation, as King Amero of Calyz. He goes to seek his kingdom, but discovers only centuries-old ruins in the desert. Thasaidon offers to restore Calyz in exchange·for Xeethra's soul, but the bond is to be forfeit if Amero regrets the deed. [0] THE FLOWER-WOMEN. (WT 1935) Sequel to [a], on a planet near Xiccarph. Maal Dweb is bored, but examining his magical orrery, he sees an interesting situation on another planet. Divesting himself of all but the simplest magical protections, he battles lizard sorcerers that might have become a danger to him had they continued to advance in their art. Also vampiric plant-women. [p] THE DEMON OF THE FLOWER. (ASTOUNDING STORIES, 1933) On the planet Lophai the Voorqual, a demonic flower that lives on human sacrifices, must be appeased. Lunithi, to save the woman he loves, plans to destroy the Voorqual and enlists the aid of another demon. He is successful, but the result is worse than before. [q] THE PLANET OF THE DEAD. (WT 1932) Francis Melchior leads a double life, as an antique dealer on earth, and as the poet Antarion on a planet whose sun is doomed. Dunsanean. [r] THE GORGON. (WT 1932) The old man offers the narrator a mirror glimpse of the gorgon's head. The studio is filled with statuary. [s] THE HUNTERS FROM BEYOND. (STRANGE TALES, 1932) Cousin Cyprian sculpts horrors based on demonic entities that he evokes. They make off with his model and return her soulless. [t] THE TREADER OF THE DUST. (WT 1935) Quachil Uttaus is the utmost dissolver, turning body to dust and soul nothing. Few mages are hardy enough to summon him, but he often comes of his own accord. * Best stories are [d], [1], [m], which may well be Smith's three best weird stories. * The remaining stories are science-fiction, occasionally with weird motifs.

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SMITH, CLARK ASHTON 1486. GENIUS LOCI AND OTHER TALES Arkham House; Sauk City, Wisc. 1948 Short stories, including, described elsewhere, [a] THE WILLOW LANDSCAPE. * Also [b] GENIUS LOCI. (WT 1933) There is something odd about the old Chapman place, particularly the filthy pool in the mead. The artist catches this mood, and it is as if a horrible face peers from his landscapes. The pool and its inhabitants have an attraction that cannot be resisted, even by the narrator. [cl THE NINTH SKELETON. (WT 1928) The narrator, waiting in a graveyard for his friend Guenevere, sees the graves disgorge a succession of skeletons, each of which holds a skeleton baby. The ninth, without a baby, approaches him and solicits him. Love and dea~h. [d] THE PHANTOMS OF THE FIRE. (WT 1930) Jonas McGillicuddy, who deserted his wife and children during the Depression, returns to their shack and sees them for a moment, then is overcome by a blast of heat. The house disappears, and he learns that his family died in a fire days before. [e] THE PRIMAL CITY. (THE FANTASY FAN, 1934) Andes. The explorers, trying to reach the peak on which stand the ruins of the primal city, are dissolved by supernatural cloud-like beings. [fj THE DISINTERMENT OF VENUS. (WT 1934) Averoigne. The monks disinter a Roman statue of Venus, whose sexual influence disrupts the monastery. [g] THE COLOSSUS OF YLOURGNE. (WT 1934) Averoigne. The infamous sorcerer Nathaire has a grudge against the people of Vyones. He leaves the city secretly and sets up operations in the deserted castle of Ylourgne. From all around, corpses leaves their graves and march toward the castle. Gaspard du Nord, a former pupil of Nathaire's, has reuounced evil and is concerned at what is going on. He spies on Nathaire, is captured, and learns what the dying Nathaire is doing. With the aid of his pupils and demons, he is assembling from the corpses a hundred-foot-high giant, which he plans to animate with his own soul. Gaspard escapes, defeating the giant as it is about to to lay Vyones waste. [h] THE SATYR. (WT 1931) Averoigne. The wife of Comte Raoul is committing adultery with a young poet. As the count watches, she is seized and carried off by a satyr. [i] THE GARDEN OF ADOMPHA. (WT 1938) Probably Zothique. King Adompha and his court magician Dwerulas maintain a magic garden in which Dwerulas creates monstrosities out of parts of Adompha's discarded harem and various plants. At the moment Dweru.las is grafting the hands of Thuloneah onto a plant, since Adompha liked the way Thuloneah used her hands in the act of love. On an inexplicable impulse Adompha kills Dwerulas, but his turn comes when he is trapped in the garden, caressed by the hands of Thuloneah and torn by the other plants, led by a.n emergent Dwerulas. [j] THE CHARNEL GOD. (WT 1934) Probably Zothique. In the city of Zul-Bha-Sair the dead are the property of the god Mordiggian and his priests •. This situation affects the traveller Phoriom, whose wife

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lies in a cataleptic trance, and the magician Abnon-Tha, who plans to steal a reanimated young woman. The god takes a hand. Also ghouls. [k] THE BLACK ABBOT OF PUTHUUM. [WT 1936) Probably Zothique. Two soldiers and a eunuch who are escorting a girl to the harem of the king have the r;,isfortune to accept the hospitality of Ujuk, Black Abbot of Puthuum. As is revealed, he is the son of a demon and a sorcerer whose living skeleton lies imprisoned in the vaults. [1] THE WEAVER IN THE VAULT. (WT 1934) Ccrpse-eating spiderlike monster in a tomb. Probably Zothique. 'k Best stories are [c], [d], which is wellhandled i f trite in theme, and Ul. Some of the other stories are derivative * Also present are three sci.ence-fiction stories, two of which have points of interest: "The Eternal World," a world of essences beyond time, and ;;A Star-Change," altered senses and modes of experience. If crude in development, unusual in ideA.. 1487. THE ABOMINATIONS OF YONDO Arkham House; Sauk City, Wisc. 1960. Short stories, including, described elsewhere, La] THE DEVOTEE OF EVIL. [b] THE WHITE SIBYL. lc] THE VOYAGE OF KING EUVORAN. * Also [d] THE NAMELESS OFFSPRING. (STRANGE TALES, 1932) Lady Agatha Tremoth was buried alive and was rescued by a white "thing" that disappeared. Nine months later she bore a monstrous child. Now, twenty-years later, when Sir John Tremoth dies, the ghoul-like offspring breaks loose. le] THE WITCHCRAFT OF ULUA. (WT 1934) Zothique. The youth Amalzain goes to the corrupt court of Famorgh as cupbearer. His sorcerer uncle gives him a token to preserve him from the wiles of the lecherous princess Ulua. It works, but is powerless against foul sendings. The land is destroyed for its evil. [f] THE EPIPHANY OF DEATH. (WT 1942) Alternate title, WHO ARE THE LIVING? Probably Zothique. Tomeron tells Theolus that the time has come for a revelation. He takes Theolus into the vaults, then asks him to leave for a short time. When Theolus returns, he finds a longdead corpse, presumably animated by Tomeron's spirit. 19] A VINTAGE FROM ATLANTIS. (WT 1933) The buccaneers of the Black Falcon find a strange earthenware jar which is identified as from Atlantis. The buccaneers drink the wine in the jar, see visions of lost Atlantis, and are drawn irresistibly away. [h] THE ABOMINATIONS OF YONDO. (OVERLAND MONTHLY, 1926) The narrator, whose speech has profoundly offended the priests of Ong, is first tortured, then released into the desert of Yondo, which makes the tortures seem pleasant. [i] THE ICE-DEMON. (WT 1933») King Haalor and the wizard Ommum-Vog declared war on the polar ice and were defeated. Their frozen forms are still to be seen in an icy cavern. Generations later Quanga the hunter and two jewellers determine to raid the frozen corpses. But the glaciation is a living thing, and none escapes. Hyperborea. [j] THE MASTER OF THE CRABS. (WT 1948) Zothique. Mior Lumivix and his assistant determine to acquire the treasure of Omvor,

SMITH, CLARK ASHTON but the hostile wizard Sarcand has been there before them. He has acquired power over the sea and its denizens through a ring that he has found. [k] THE ENCHANTRESS OF SYLAIRE. (T.JT 1941) Averoigne. Anse lme pas ses through the dolmens with the enchantress Sephora, into an other-world, where they make love. Also present is a previous lover, the werewolf Malachie, who can assume human form at times. He warns Anselme, but Anselme prefers love to knowledge, refusing to see Sephora's true appearance in a mirror. More obviously in imitation of Cabell than is usual with Smith. [1] THE THIRD EPISODE OF VATHEK. THE STORY OF THE PRINCESS ZULKAIS AND THE PRINCE KALILAH. (LEAVES, 1937) This is Smith's continuation and conclusion of William Beckford's unfinished narrative from THE EPISODES OF VATHEK. Kalilah dies, and Zulkais, to revive him, pledges fealty to Eblis. Smith's continuation, which begins on page 212, with "Muffled hissings appeared. "is unremarkable, and does not capture either the mood or the imagination of the original. * A weak collection. 1488. TALES OF SCIENCE AND SORCERY Arkham House; Sauk City, Wisc. 1964 An excellent memoir by E. Hoffmann Price. Mostly science-fiction, but including [a] THE MAKER OF GARGOYLES. (WT 1932) Averoigne. Master Stone Carver Reynard's gargoyles are horrible to see. They come alive and several deaths resuIt. [b] MOTHER OF TOADS. (WT 1938) Averoigne. Mere Antoinette, an old witch, develops a passion for young Pierre, the apothecary's apprentice. She transforms herself into a beautiful young woman, but Pierre sees her true form and tries to escape from her. Hordes of frogs and toads hold him back, and he discovers, the hard way, that she is a gigantic toad. [c] THE TOMB-SPAWN. (WT 1934) Zothique. The tomb of Ossaru contains treasures, also the body of Nioth Korghai, a monster from the stars. Two thieves penetrate the tomb. ld] SCHIZOID CREATOR. (FANTASY FICTION, 1953) The demon Bifrons is evoked by Dr. Moreno (presumably cryptomnesia on Smith's part), who wants to cure the demon's "schizophrenia" by shock treatment. The demon pretends to be cured and to have become angelic, but reports back to the Devil-who is also God. [e] SYMPOSIUM OF THE GORGON. (FANTASTIC UNIVERSE, 1958) The narrator is present in the hall of the gorgons when Perseus arrives and kills Medusa. The narrator receives a chill from Medusa's glance, but seems otherwise unaffected. Pegasus drops him off on a tropical isle, peopled with cannibals. The narrator then learns that he has immunity to heat. [f] THE THEFT OF THE THIRTY-NINE GIRDLES. (SATURN SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY, 1958) Alternate title, THE POWDER OF HYPERBOREA. The master thief Satampra plans to steal the gold, jewel-encrusted chastity belts of the temple prostitutes. In exchange he receives a magical powder. [g] MORTHYLLA. (WT 1953) Zothique. Belzain the poet, jaded with love, decides to try the charms of a lamia. He finds Morthylla, with whom he falls in love, but learns that she is an impostor. He has a sec-

SMITH, CLARK ASHTON ond chance with the real M3rthylla. * By and large afterthoughts and leftovers. 1489. OTHER DIMENSIONS Arkham House; Sauk City; Wisc. 1970 Short stories, including [a] THE NECRO~~NTIC TALE. (WT 1931) When Sir Roderick Hagdon assumes the ancestral title and lands, he becomes curious about his early 17th century ancestors Roderick and Elinore, who are slighted in the records. He finds a manuscript account of their being burned as witches. This find opens a passage through time for both Rodericks to merge, and for the 17th century Hagdon to escape the pyre. [b] THE RESURRECTIO~ OF THE RATTLESNAKE. (WT 1931) The stuffed snake comes to life for a moment. [c] THE SUPERNUMERARY CORPSE. (WT 1932) The narrator poisons Trilt, but Trilt's wife reports that Trilt died at horne at the same time. There is an extra corpse which is incorruptible and indestructible. [d] THE MANDRAKES. (WT 1933) Averoigne. When sorcerer Gilles Grenier murders his shrewish wife and buries her among the wtld mandrakes, the roots assume her form, and one of them, kept in his house, can utter shrill sQunds. Love potions made from them cause hatred. [e] THIRTEEN PHANTASMS. (FANTASY FAN, 1936) As Alvington lies dying, he protests that he has been true to dead Elspeth, but thirteen phantasms, in her likeness, testify to other women. [of] AN OFFERING TO THE MOON. (WT 1953) Marquesas. What begins as an archeological investigation ends as a journey into the past. Moon worship in Mu. [g] MONSTERS IN THE NIGHT. (MFSF 1954) Alternate title, A PROPHECY OF MONSTERS. In the 21st century werewolves and vampires still survive, protected by scepticism. A werewolf has the misfortune to attack a humanoid robot. [h] THE GHOST OF MOHAMMED DIN. (OVERLAND MONTHLY, 1910) India. I t reveals its murderer. [i] A TALE OF SIR JOHN MAIDIDEVILLE. (FANTASY FAN, 1933) Alternate title, THE KINGDOM OF THE WORM. Sir John wanders off his route and is captured by gigantic muffled figures who are ruled by a hypertrophied corpse worm. [j] THE GHOUL. (FANTASY FAN, 1934) During the days of the Caliph Vathek. NQureddin is captured after a series of atrocious murders. His explanation: to save the corpse of his beloved Amina from a ghoul, he agreed to supply the ghoul with eight meals. * Inferior work, gathered to complete Smith's corpus. SMITH, LADY ELEANOR [FURNEAUX] (1902-1945) British writer, daughter of first Earl of Birkenhead. Society reporter and film critic for various London newspapers. Claimed Gipsy ancestry; an enthusiast for Gipsy culture in England. Best-known work, in America, FLAMENCO (1931) 1490. SATAN'S CIRCUS AND OTHER STORIES Gollancz; London 1932 Short stories, including [a] SATAN'S CIRCUS. The Circus Brandt, which is a fine professional organization, is regarded with horror and fear by performers, none of whom stay with it long. The reason: the Brandts, who are vam-

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SMITH, MRS. J. GREGORY piric. The story describes the sad fate of an Alsatian deserter from the French Foreign Legion. [b] MRS. RAEBURN'S WAXWORK. The new guard at the mwax museum sees and talks to an evil old lady. It is the soul of the notorious Mrs. Raeburn, who was executed. [c] CANDLELIGHT. The Gipsy woman, who had been lurking in the shrubbery, gives readings and predictions that are all too true. Rottenness. [d] LYCEUM. Ashford, a dramatist, notices the beautiful woman and the vicious-looking old man in an opposite box at the theatre. The woman sends him a note; he takes her away in a taxi, while she tells him of a murder. Actually she, the victim, the murderer are characters in search of a dramatist to give them renewed life. [e] WHITTINGTON'S CAT. Martin, who is writing a book on pantomime, attends the theatre frequently. The cat leaves the stage and accompanies him home, soon taking over his life. What was it? An elemental? Delusion? [e] TAMAR. Balkans. The Devil meets Tamar, a Gipsy woman, and tells her that he will take her to wife, since she is the wickedest woman he knows. Tamar poisons him, but the Devil is still with her. [g] THE BROTHERS. The Brothers Konsky, acrobats. Sympathy beyond normality. Capable, interesting stories. 1491. LOVERS' MEETING Hutchinson; London 1940 Egotism and love, with probably more than a hint from Dunne's AN EXPERIMENT WITH TIME. * The supernatural rationale of the novel is an ancient book of spells which permits travel in time. In a prologue set in 1812, a young Englishwoman, Lady Harriet Vane, and her would-be lover, George Taylor, a tutor in her family, use the spell, hoping that it will free them from the social bonds that prohibit their love. This, though a minor episode, opens a channel to their future. * Venice and England, 1934-8. When Lord George Barradale meets Captain Sholto Forest and his young daughter Martina in Venice, he knows that the captain is an adventurer and probably a scalawag, but finds him amusing. The entertainment is worth £150. The episode is almost forgotten three years later when Barradale is married and living in England. His marriage is not entirely happy. He believes, with some reason, that his wife and his father have been trying to govern his life, and since he is somewhat selfish and egotistical, he cannot forgive his wife, even though she has come to respect his wishes. Thus, when he encounters Forest and Martina in London acting as card sharks, it is no surprise that he and Martina fall in love. Barradale's wife will not give him a divorce; his father cuts off his funds; and George and Martina run off to one of his estates. He knows of the book of spells and uses it. * They awaken in 1812 with their social positions reversed. Martina is now Harriet Vane, and George is Taylor the tutor. They retain their 20th century memories, but there are odd gaps and weaknesses. Under the social circumstances of 1812 their romance is ham-

*

SMITH, LADY ELEANOR pered, especially since the Vane family is aware of a previous escapade between the true Harriet Vane and the true Taylor. George hates 1812, but Martina enjoys the luxury and is unwilling to leave immediately via the magical book. Life becomes complex. During a drunken carousal George reveals too much about the future, and is regarded with suspicion, the more ignorant considering him either Satan or a Satanist. Harriet, who is considered a spoiled virgin, has limited marriage options, and her family is trying to force her into an unwanted marriage for money. George and Martina agree to leave, but circumstances are against them. Part of their plan is overheard. George is ignominiously expelled from the estate, while Martina is held captive by her brother and her would-be husband. George does not know that Martina is unable to meet him and assumes that she is still reluctant to leave the period. He returns alone to the 1930's, and after a breakdown makes peace with his wife. His egotism shuts out a pitiful attempt by Martina to rejoin him after she died in the Regency period. * There are also repeated patterns in time and examples of reincarnation. * While the time mechanism is fudged and the Barrie-like dramatic structure is somewhat unnecessary, the personalities are well handled, as are the excellent coriversation and period detail. A relief from the usual sugary romances of this sort. SMITH, MRS. J. GREGORY (nee BRAINARD, ANN ELIZA) (1818-1905) American (New England) author. Best-known work, apart from ATLA, NOTES OF TRAVEL IN MEXICO AND CALIFORNIA (1886). 1492. SEOLA Lee and Shepard; Boston; C. T. Dillingham, New York 1878 (published anonymously) A strange potpourri of the Bible, Hinduism, and fantasy. * In a mountain of Syria is found a tomb, within which is a large amethyst cylinder. It contains a manuscript, the journal of Seola, the wife of Japhet, the son of Noah. In the days before the Flood, the earth was ruled by Lucifer and other fallen angels, whom Mrs. Smith terms devas. Lucifer's capital is Sippara, an incredible, magical Oriental city. The fallen angels lust after the daughters of men, and Lucifer, after killing Seola's father, persuades the widow .to marry him. Similarly, Hesperus, Lucifer's rival in power, falls in love with Seola and wants to marry her. Seola rejects him, but her virtue converts Hesperus back to allegiance to God. After a fair amount of miscellaneous supernaturalism, the devas war against Heaven and are crushed. Seola meets Noah, who has been working on his ark for the past century, marries Japhet, and the events of the Biblical Flood take place. Seola dies about 700 years later. * A curious work. 1493. ATLA A STORY OF THE LOST ISLAND Harper; New York 1886

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SMITH, THORNE Romance against a pseudo-historical background. One of the outgrowths of Ignatius Donnelly's ATLANTIS, THE ANTEDILUVIAN WORLD, upon which it is frankly built. * The Kingdom of Atlantis is ruled by King Kron, who has a beautiful and pleasant daughter, Astera, and a scheming brother, Thalok. Other characters are Atla (a beautiful blond girl of Viking parentage; her mother was saved from shipwreck, but died almost immediately in childbirth); Prince Herakla of Phoenicia (he visits Atlantis and falls in love with Atla); Prince Zemar (an honest youth, son of the wicked Thalok). With the aid of a sorceress Thalok murders Kron and usurps the throne. Earthquakes strike the land, which sinks beneath the sea. Zemar and Astera flee to New Atlantis (presumably Yucatan) and set up a new kingdom; Herakla and Atla flee to Phoenicia. All the villains die. * Supernatural elements include visions, a magical opal, and a Theosophical philosophy of history expounded at the end of the novel. The style is imitation Biblical. * A curiosity only. SMITH, [JAMES] THORNE [JR] (1893-1934) American author, son of Commodore James Thorne Smith; born at U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis. First achieved fame during World War I with series BILTMORE OSWALD in service paper, later in book form. In later life humorous novelist, writer for motion pictures. Best-known for TOPPER and TOPPER TAKES A TRIP, which became patterning works for a particular type of topical fantasy and also were sources for series of films and television programs. Significant in cultural history for voicing (in dionysiac fashion) both the dissatisfactions of Depression and Prohibition America and the disillusionment and despair of the middle-aged American male. Remedy suggested for all evils is a modern version of wine, women, and song. Work very uneven. Some novels both amusing and thought-provoking, others obviously hastily thrown together for commercial reasons. Despite erratic artistry, a man who saw problems and had something to say. It is an error to categorize him as would-be soft porn of the 1930's. 1494. TOPPER AN IMPOSSIBLE ADVENTURE McBride; New York 1926 Male liberation of the roaring twenties. * Cosmo Topper, commuting banker resident in New Jersey, lives in marital and suburban boredom, and is, in general, a good man going to waste. He is taken in hand by a group of immoral ghosts who introduce him to speed, alcohol, and sexual freedom. The ghosts include Marion Kerby, who insists that "until death do you part" is meant literally, and her jealous husband, who takes the opposite point of view. Topper first meets them when he buys their old car , in which they had been killed while driving drunkenly. With them he engages in riotous escapades, which culminate in his leaving horne with Marion Kerby for an extended vacation upstate. There they meet other, similarly depraved ghosts-- Colonel Scott and his

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and their semi-invisible dog Oscar. Oscar, who has not quite gotten the hang of materialization, usually manifests himself in fractions, rear half first. The adventure ends much as it began. Topper crashes his car into the same tree that had killed the Kerbys. When he recovers, he is willing to return home, although his life will now be enhanced by memories of his former freedom. Marion Kerby, too, leaves, evolving into a higher sphere of existence. * Better and more significant than it is usually rated. While S~ith's later works sometimes degenerated into slackly written slapstick, TOPPER is relatively tightly written, humorous rather than titillating, thought-provoking, and even a little pathetic. 1495. DREAM'S END M::Bride; N,=w York 1927 Not the usual raucous, bawdy humor, but a sentimental romance mixed with heavy, literal eroticism. A somewhat weak young man finds himself torn between two loves, sacred and profane. One cannot say that he is trapped, since he yields to profane only once, even though the woman in question habitually wanders about nude and throws herself at him regularly. * D3vid L3ndor, repressed young poet, goes to a seashore settlement to stay with an elderly artist friend. The artist is painting a new Maja, and Scarlet, his model, can only be called lascivious, malicious, and teasing. She sets her cap at Landor, but Landor falls in love with Hilda, the wife of one of the neighbors. Hilda is a somewhat ethereal woman who has accepted her drunken husband's abuse for several years. She reciprocates Landor's love in a lukewarm way. A supernatural element enters when an abnormal empathy develops between them during Landor's dreams. Hilda's husband rapes her; she leaves him and dies-- Landor knowing this through their paranormal sympathy. * Twenty years later Landor returns to the area. Old memories arise, he senses Hilda's presence, and as he dies, finds her with him. * A wasted effort. The humorist occasionally tries to emerge, but is immediately repressed. 1496. THE STRAY LAMB Cosmopolitan Book Corp.; New York 1929 P2rsonality release. * Mr. Lamb, a middleaged inv~stment banker, although a man with much potential, has settled in a rut with a stodgy life style and an adulterous wife. He obtains a certain amount of sympathy from his liberated daughter, but he needs a strong external impulse. This comes from two sources, Sandra, an underwear model who is his daughter's friend, and a little russet man who is a pixie of some sort. Sandra persistently tries to seduce him, while the little man offers him transformations for new experiences. Lamb, at will, successively becomes a horse, a seagull, a kangaroo, a goldfish, a dog, a cat, a lion, and a composite beast. The last monster is too much for the local citizenry, and Lamb is stoned and left for dead. When he revives, the little man explains that Lamb has now been delivered from the curse of respectability. * Alcohol and courtroom confrontations, without the verbal panache of Smith's better books.

*

SMITH, THORNE 1497. THE NIGHT LIFE OF THE GODS Doubleday, Doran; Garden City, N. Y. 1931 Fantastic humor. Freedom through alcohol, sex, and riot. * Hunter Hawk, wealthy but repressed inventor, discovers two rays. One will turn flesh into marble; the other will reverse the process. While on a drunken spree, he meets Meg (short for Megaera), a descendant of the Greek Furies, who has the complementary magical secret of turning statues into human beings. Meg, who is wildly uninhibited, decides to awaken Hawk, and takes up with him. After a small initial resistance, Hawk succumbs to her charms and his own impulses, and the two embark on wild riotous actions involving petrifying local suburbanites, harassing the police, and disrupting courtrooms. Meg and Hawk invade the Metropolitan Museum and release several Greek gods and demigods (including Perseus with the Gorgon's head), and the whole company goes on a seemingly endless binge and sex frolic. After a time, however, the raucous uproar becomes tiresome to even the Olympians and they are willing to be returned to the state of statues. Hawk and Meg, too, decide that life is more than they can cope with, and Hawk's last action is to petrify them both in the act of love, in the Metropolitan Museum. * Padded and formula, but with some very amusing moments. 1498. TURNABOUT Doubleday, Doran; Garden City, N. Y. 1931 Sex roles and self-realization. * Tim and Sally Willows are a typical modern couple of the jazz age: disoriented, unfulfilled, unhappy in some vague way that works itself out in perpetual quarrels and bickering. Each thinks that the other has a sinecure, while he or she is enslaved. And each has a problem with sexual desires. Listening to the perpetual warfare is Mr. Ram, an Ancient Egyptian idol, whom both Willows are fond of. Ram decides to take a hand. One morning Tim and Sally awaken in interchanged bodies. After moments of horror and despair, they decide to continue their daily routine. Sally-in-Tim goes to work, to the ad agency where Tim is a copywriter, and Tim-in-Sally stays at home with the bottle. * The situation established, Smith now plays on all the aspects of transvestism and homosexuality permissible in the 1930's. An attempted seduction of Tim-in-Sally; the drunken escapades of Sally-in-Tim with a client; an orgified church supper, and similar adventures culminate in the discovery that Tim-in-Sally is pregnant and in the final destruction of a would-be lecher. * Perhaps the most amusing horseplay in Smith's fantasies. 1499. TOPPER TAKES A TRIP Doubleday, Doran; Garden City, N. Y. 1932 Sequel to TOPPER. * Topper, now retired, and his wife have rented a villa on the Riviera. Marital life has deteriorated again, and Topper looks back with longing on his escapades with Marion Kerby and the other ghosts. It is no surprise, therefore, when the ghosts reappear and the antics begin again. Marion, it

SMITH, THORNE seems, was unfit for life on a higher plane and and was sent back to earth, while there never was any question of evolution for her husband, Col. Scott, and Scott's mistress. The story progresses through cartoon-strip Frenchmen, "English as she is spoke," bathing beach antics, lechery, boozing, troubles with the police, but without the charm of the first book. 1500. SKIN AND BONES Doubleday, Doran; Garden City, N. Y. 1933 Fantastic humor. * Quintus Bland, a photographer, accidentally mixes up a batch of chemicals which react with the alcohol normally in his system and transform him into a skeleton. He is not simply transparent; his flesh is no longer present, although-- as a mystery-- he can still drink large quantities of whiskey. His condition is not permanent, and he shifts back and forth from a normal flesh body to a skeleton. This is the idea behind adventures which involve a drunken undertaker, a coffin, a beard, sexually jealous gangsters, and finally a lynch mob. Bland's dog, too, is affected. * Improbable slapstick, but often very amusing. 1501. THE GLORIOUS PQQL Doubleday, Doran; Garden City, N. Y. 1934 Rejuvenation via sex and alcohol. * Rex (60 years old) and Spray, his mistress, who is a little younger, are comfortable, but mildly dissatisfied in their old age. Somewhat outside the situation is Sue, Rex's wife. In Spray's garden stands a statue of a voluptuous woman, which Rex refers to as Baggage, because of its obvious loose morality. Baggage comes to life and leaps into the garden pool, thereby charging it with the power to restore youth. Typical escapades follow, including involvement with the fire department and a hook and ladder, as Rex, Spray, and Sue make use of the pool. A second plunge in the pool turns Rex temporarily into a baby. As the book ends, Rex has two beautiful young women and has discovered that he will be able to face old age better when it returns. * Some good verbal plays, which Smith milks, but the best thing in the book is the Japanese fairytale on page 50ff. WITH MATSON, NORMAN: 1502. THE PASSIONATE WITCH Doubleday, Doran; Garden City, N. Y. 1941 When Smith died in 1934, he left the present work in partial manuscript, which was finished by Norman Matson. Although no exact information is available, it seems likely that Smith wrote large sections of copy, but that Matson finished the work. The book is unusual in associating sexuality with evil, the opposite point of view from the earlier books. One might guess that this is Matson's contribution. * T. Wallace Wooly, Jr., a prosperous, middleaged businessman, is a somewhat pompous and puritanical widower who has not had much fun out of life. He becomes prey to Jennifer Broome, a witch who is well-endowed, both physically and magically. Wooly is under some sort of glamour and marries her, but he gradually recognizes that she is a witch. Among

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SNOW, JACK other things, she would ride a goat, nude, into the orchard nights, and converse with a limping man. They have a bitter quarrel. Jennifer works evil magic around the town, but is killed by a falling cross from a church that she had magically fired. Before her death, however, she had placed on Wooly the curse of hearing, which means that willy-nilly he hears the thoughts of those around him. His only way of evading the curse is by getting drunk, which temporarily suspends it. At Jennifer's death the curse stops for a time, then returns, and Wooly discovers that Jennifer has reincarnated herself into his riding horse. She is as malicious as ever and seems inescapable, until she falls into a street excavation and impales herself. This fulfills the classic requirements of staking at a crossroads. Wooly is now free to marry his secretary. * Essentially a horror plot bedizened with court scenes, erotic titillation, and double-entendres. * Rather limp. This volume and its sequel by Matson alone (BATS IN THE BELFRY) were the source for the motion picture I MARRIED A WITCH. SNOW, JACK (1907- 1957?) American journalist, radio figure, remembered for several excellent sequels to L. Frank Baum's Oz books. Much more at home in children's fantasy than in adult works. 1503. DARK MUSIC AND OTHER SPECTRAL TALES Herald Publishing Co.; New York 1947 Short stories. [a] DARK MUSIC. Borderline supernatural. The narrator has become acquainted with an eccentric old hermit who uses the forces of nature to create his own macabre music: small whistles inserted in the throats of bats. Old Aaron conducts his musical bats in a horrible, evil symphony. [b] CORONATION. On the 75th anniversary of her coronation, the aged queen reenacts the original ceremony. But always in front of her is a little girl-- herself as of 75 years earlier. [c] THE ANCHOR. Ailil anchors his cabin cruiser and suddenly sees a beautiful young woman sitting in his boat. She is gone at dawn. When Ailil raises his anchor, he finds her remains. [d] "THE PENHALE BROADCAST." The ghost of the great singer Sonya Parrish sings from the graveyard. [e] THE MONARCH. Old blind Nahum, musician, plays before the monarch in the castle. He is really playing to Death. [f] SEED. (WT 1946) Borderline science-fiction. Woman explorer Myra Bradshaw lies dying, and doctors cannot identify her illness. She reveals it. In an obscure African tribe, a maiden is chosen to swallow the seed of a sacred plant. It sprouts and grows through her body, killing her. Myra swallowed the unique seed. [g] "THE ROPE." When Nicholas Carter saves the life of an Indian yogi, he asks as a reward the secret of the rope trick. He climbs the rope into a weird land. [h] FAULTY VISION. Mavis and her mother move around George, but he is spectreblind. [i] NIGHT WINGS. (WT 1927) Nerle soars and flies from the tower, but next morning his broken body is found at the foot of the tower.

SNOW, JACK [j] THE DIMENSION OF TERROR. Setting foot on the new island in the lake precipitates one into a horrible, alien desert. Little twisting abominations gradually eat one. [k] POISON. (WT 1925) Crispin poisons himself with prussic acid and departs to a heavenly meadow. But there was no poison. [1] "LET'S PLAY HOUSE." Miniaturization. Two children, who love a doll house, die of diphtheria. They are seen playing in the tiny house. [m] THE CHINA TEA CUP. When Deeping fills the cup with liquid, the face of a beautiful woman is to be seen in the cup. "You have swallowed my soul," she says, when he has drunk the tea. He joins her in teacup land. [n] BUSINESS HOURS. Johnny, a bum, is invited in by an antique dealer and is permitted to experience the pleasures of life, meted out by clock. He is found dead the next morning. [0] THE DICTATOR. The great dictator, staring at a map, finds himself reduced in size and in a strange land. Coming toward him like an automaton is the animated desk ornament of a storm trooper, with bayonet. [p] THE MOUNTAIN. Cabin on a mountain. The men have a feeling that the mountain is trying to tell them something. It is warning them to leave the cabin: avalanche. [q] THE SUPER ALKALOID. It increases blood flow to certain brain cells, permitting wonderful romances and visions. The narrator undertakes a trip to China, but finds that the drug has physical effects. [r] MIDNIGHT. (WT 1946) John Ware, diabolist, performs a ceremony that unites his consciousness with evil. He is trapped in perpetual midnight evil. * Occasionally unusual ideas, not always matched by technique. Dated at times. * Best stories are [j] and [n]. SOANE, GEORGE (1790-1860) British literary figure. Translator, prolific author of stage works. Best-known work FAUSTUS (1825), with music by H. R. Bishop. Also prepared stage version of UNDINE. Very important in early 19th century popular stage. AS EDITOR AND TRANSLATOR: 1504. SPECIMENS OF GERMAN ROMANCE G. B. Whittaker: London 1826 3 vol. Mostly routine material, but including [a] THE MANTLE, B. Naubert. (DER BEZAUBERTE MANTEL) A fictionalization of the Child ballad about the chastity test that befell the court of King Arthur. A dwarf enters bearing a mantle, which he challenges the women to wear. Only a pure woman can wear it, he says; it will shear when placed on a whore. All the women fail except one. [b] MASTER FLEA, E. T. A. Hoffmann. (MEISTER FLOH, 1822) One of Hoffmann's delightful fairy tale extravaganzas linking fantasy and reality. In the "land" of Famagusta, which is reminiscent of Atlantis in THE GOLDEN POT, the great magical king Sekakis, manifesting himself into phenomenality, loses his identity and becomes incarnated as a human being. His beautiful daughter, the Princess Gamaheh, who has been kissed by the evil Leech Prince, dies of its poison and not

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SOUTHWORTH, E. D. E. N. all the arts of the Genius Thetel or the Thistle Zeherit can revive her. But the devices of the scientists Leeuwenhoek and Swammerdam (secretly aided by the Master Flea) bring her back to a semblance of life and she, too, is incarnated as a human. * On earth in Frankfurt Peregrine Tyss, a wealthy young recluse, breaks into this strange situation when he encounters the fair Princess Gamaheh in the person of Doertje Elverdink, the niece of the microscopist Leeuwenhoek. Leeuwenhoek, although dead for a century and a half, is still alive and active. Tyss meets other persons in this strange drama, chief of whom is the Master Flea, the lord of all fleas, by whose magical arts Leeuwenhoek manages a flea circus. The Master Flea escapes to Tyss, bringing with him a telescope by means of which Tyss can read thoughts. The flea also shows Tyss the true heart of the situation. Eventually the great carbuncle which lies hidden in the heart of Sekakis (and is Sekakis) resumes life. The primal situation in the otherworld is restored. Tyss is revealed to be King Sekakis and he wins a bride. His friend Pepusch is the cactus prince Zeherit, and so on. Among the fine moments in the story are the duel which Leeuwenhoek and Swammerdam conduct with magical projective microscopes, and the insane squabble between the incarnated Leech Prince and the Genius Thetel in an inn. * [a] is trivial. The ballad is better. [b] is one of Hoffmann's finest works, with much whimsy that does not lend itself well to summary. Hoffmann's contemporaries occasionally asked, in bewilderment, whether the story was about fleas, young lovers, or ghosts. The answer is that there is a hidden allegory in which Gamaheh-Doertje stands for passion; another character for love; Pepusch for anger; Leeuwenhoek and Swammerdam for the lower reaches of intellect (Verstand) and the Master Flea for insight or reason (Vernunft). But one certainly need not follow the allegory. SOUTHWORTH, E[MMA] D[OROTHY] E[LIZA] N[EVITTE] (nee NEVITTE) (1818-1899) American author. Washington, D.C. in early career; later Yonkers, New York. Prolific and very popular writer of trashy sentimental fiction for women, often set in the South. Bestknown work probably ISHMAEL. 1505. THE HAUNTED HOMESTEAD: AND OTHER NOUVELLETTES T. B. Peterson; Philadelphia [1860] Short stories, including [a] THE HAUNTED HOMESTEAD. A Christmas visit to the Legare estate at Wolfbrake, Virginia. There is a haunted chamber. The narrator sees a ghostly figure on several evenings, and identifies it with a portrait of one of the former owners of the estate. There is also a door that opens by itself, even after being locked. The door is explained by a visiting Yankee as a matter of mechanics, but the ghost is demolished by simply calling it, without explanation, an optical illusion. This is cheating! [b] THE SPECTRE REVELS. A TALE OF ALL HALLOW'S EVE.

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Aunt Madeleine's ghost story. A haunted cottage. All a practical joke. WITH BADEN, MRS. FRANCES HENSHAW: 1506. THE SPECTRE LOVER T. B. Peterson; Philadelphia 1875 Short stories. O~ly the title story is by Mrs. Southworth, the others being by her sister Mrs. Baden. >~ Including [a] THE SPECTRE LOVER. Reminiscences of a woman, with some reference to Spiritualism. During her childhood the narrator had several horrible experiences with the ghost of an old woman who used to visit her bedside. As an adult, shortly after the Civil War, she is visited by the ghost of a long-forgotten beau. * Negligible. SPECTORSKY, A[UGUSTE] C[OMTE] (1910-1972) American author, editor (French birth), associated with various book publishers. AS EDITm.: 1507. MAN INTO BEAST STRANGE TALES Ol TRANSFORMATION Doubleday; Garden City, N.Y. 1947 A theme anthDlogy, transformation into other forms of life. * Described elsewhere, [a] THE ADVENTURES OF PROFESSOR EMMETT, Ben Hecht. Ant. [b] GREEN THOUGHTS, John Collier. Orchid. [c] MR. SYCAMORE, Robert Ayre. Tree. [d] LAURA, Saki. Otter. [e] THE MONKEY, Isak Dinesen. Monkey. [f] THE KING OF THE CATS, S. V. Bene t • Cat, although, strictly speaking, not a transformation. [g] MR. LIMPET, Theodore Pratt. Fish. [h] THE CYPRIAN CAT, Dorothy Sayers. Cat. [i] TARNHELM, Hugh Walpole. A treacherous, vicious little street cur. * Also [j] METAMORPHOSIS, Franz Kafka. A Czech turns into a cockroach, is rejected by his family, and dies miserably. The point seems to be an absurdist treatment of the limitations of love ani understanding. SPENCE, [JAMES] LEWIS (1874-1955) Scottish antiquarian, fiction writer, author of occult books. Best-known for series of books about Atlantis, in which an attempt was made to adjust classical (Donnelly's) theory of Atlantis to more modern knowledge. Earlier work in folklore fairly reasonable, but in later life wrote extravagantly about magic and occult to?ics. 1508. THE ARCHER IN THE ARRAS AND OTHER TALES OF MYSTERY ~Grant and Murray; Edinburgh [1932] [1932] Short stories, mostly supernatural, including, [a] THE ARCHER IN THE ARRAS. Caught in a storm while wandering in France, a young Briton takes refuge in a chateau owned by a family which had once feuded with his own. He is shot by an archer from a tapestry that hangs in his bedroom. [b] THE GREEN MIRROR. Scotland. An undine uses a mirror to drown her lover. [c] THE HUDART. A Scottish girl with the second sight sees a shadow following her in the future. It is the hudart, a demon evoked against James VI of Scotland. The witch who evoked it made a bond that included her descendants. [d] COCK LOREL'S BOAT. A room in an old Scottish hotel is shaped like a boat. There is a legend, "To Elfame bourne gif ye would flote, then maun ye

SPENCER, R. E. tak' Coke Lorel's bote." The narrator awakens and finds himself in a boat surrounded by elves. [e] HUN-BAATZ. Spain, 16th century. A curse from Yucatan. [f] ENCHANTMENT ON THE UNICORN. After Flodden Field a Scottish ship comes to Yucatan, where a fanatical Lollard member of the crew smashes an idol. The natives, who cherish a jaguar cult, bite him and the ship is thereafter bothered with werewolves. [g] THE GUARDIAN. A Scottish soldier from the American wars is haunted by the guardian spirit of an Indian whom he had sold to the Hessians to be tortured. [h} THE TEMPLE OF THE JAGUARS. A young man in a peyote den is saved by an American girl who had married a local lycanthrope. Theriomorphy is caused by a virus. [i} THE SORCERESS IN STAINED GLASS. A figure in a stained glass window moves. It is a sorceress who used knot magic centuries earlier for controlling winds and wrecking ships. [j} THE CARPET WITH A HUNDRED EYES. Central America. Aztec. It kills the man who killed its owner. [k] THE STAFF OF DOCTOR DOMINGO. A nagual priest kills with a stick shaped like a snake. The stick comes to life, but when it is killed, the nagual dies. [1] THE GHOST IN "HAMLET." A real ghost. [m] THE RED FLASKET. An old Scot, whose life had been preserved by Helmont's alchemy, retains his vitality with the heart blood of virgins. Helmont's ghost breaks his flask. [n} THE SIEGE OF SERGULATH. A haunted chair, elementals, ghosts. [0] THE HORN OF VAPULA. A folklorist is haunted by a demon imprisoned in a mobile stone gargoyle. [p} THE HAME-COMER. An unintelligible tale in Scots that mayor may not be supernatural. [q} THE STANE FINGER. Scots. Supernatural death. [r] MAISTER MUDIE. Scots. A warlock whose soul is in a picture. [s] HIMSEL'. Scots. Christ appears and heals a leper woman. * Uneven. Most of the stories are in the rawhead and bloody bones tradition, but the folkloristic snippets are sometimes interesting. [c] and [d} are best. Some of the other stories should not have been published. SPENCER, R[OBIN] E[DGERTON] (1896-1956) American author, male. Playwright. 1509. THE LADY WHO CAME TO STAY Knopf; New York 1931 Sophisticated ghosts representing modes of emotion. Told in four chronologically separate episodes, probably with stage presentation in mind. * When the widowed Katherine learns that she has a terminal illness, she forgets old grudges for the sake of her small child, Mary, and moves in with her late husband's wealthy old maid sisters. The situation is not altogether pleasant. Phoebe almost immediately takes a pathological dislike to Katherine and Mary, while Milly, who is sly and nasty, tries to corrupt the child. Katherine dies trying to protect Mary, and it seems as if the child is without protection, but when the sisters abuse the child, they find that they must contend with Katherine's ghost. Terror forces Milly to reform, while the ghost kills the horror figure of Phoebe. But now Phoebe's ghost con-

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SPOFFORD, MRS. HARRIET ELIZABETH (nee PRESCOTT) (1835-1921) American (Maine) writer. Frequent contributor to the quality magazines of the 19th century. Author of poetry, fiction, books on household management, similar topics. 1511. SIR ROHAN'S GHOST A ROMANCE J. E. Tilton; Boston 1860 (published anonymously) Retribution; a wicked English baronet, told with the baronet as the center of the story. * Sir Rohan for years has been haunted by a ghost: that of a woman whom he loved, whom he betrayed and (as he thought) killed when he learned she was pregnant. The ghost is almost ever-present with him, and it has the power to manipulate objects. When Rohan falls in love with young Miriam, the adopted daughter of a friend, the situation rapidly changes. The ghost becomes more active, and detective work by a scoundrel (Arundel) uncovers the shameful past. Defying the ghost, Rohan confesses his crime to Miriam, who is his daughter. He is struck dead by the ghost. Perhaps conscience, perhaps something more supernatural. * A standard Victorian situation, but told in a heated, luxuriant prose, with occasional good touches.

Crane, A. B. Houghton, and others. * Including, [a] DEVEREUX'S DREAM, Anonymous. Devereux has a prophetic dream: he is in a railroad carriage and sees a man stabbing a woman. Some years later his wife is stabbed under such circumstances and he vows to find the murderer, whom he identifies with the man of his dream. He does. [b] CATHERINE'S QUEST, Anonymous. After a powerful dream Catherine requests that the dais in the laundry be removed. In it is found a chest with human bones. Catherine had seen the reenactment of murder in the 17th century. [cl AN AMERICAN GHOST, Anonymous. Presumably of American origin. British settlers in Wisconsin, and a triangle. Clapp murders Hosmer in order to have Hosmer's wife. Years later, the ghost strikes him down with the murder axe. [d] HAUNTED, Anonymous. Charleston, South Carolina. A ghost approaches Colonel Demarion and gives him full particulars of its murder. The Colonel is to notify the authorities so that they can capture the culprit. [e] PICHON & SONS, OF THE CROIS ROUSSE, Anonymous. Lyons, the French Revolution. M. de Senanges, an aristocrat, has been entrusted to the Pichons, who are stone masons, for refuge. But the Pichons murder him for his money. His fianc~e sees his death portent. Some time later when the Pichons set up a scaffold near the place where the corpse is hidden, the scaffold collapses supernaturally and they are killed. [f] MRS. BROWN'S GHOST-STORY, Anonymous. Reminiscences about a ghost, told in Cockney dialect. [g] FALCONEST, Anonymous. Linda is married to Mr. Falconer of Falconest. Her close friend Cissie first sees death portents, then Linda's ghost, and eventually finds Linda's murdered corpse beneath the chapel floor. [h] THE PHANTOM FOURTH, Anonymous. On a railroad line in northern France three teetotalers cut loose. But they discover that there is a fourth person present who outdoes them in indulgence and riot. The narrator, whose sympathies are dry, explains it as a projection of their group personality. [i] THE SPIRIT'S WHISPER, Anonymous. The narrator hears a ghostly voice bidding him to follow Captain Cameron. The captain has murdered his wife. Her ghost appears. [j] THE OLD GENTLEMAN'S STORY. Melodramatic. Lady Margaret has pushed her rival Rosamond Price into a well. As Lady Margaret lies dying, the ghost of Rosamond appears to her. Borderline supernatural; perhaps conscience. [kJ DR. FEVERSHAM'S STORY, Anonymous. In the north of England the Collinghams have the equivalent of a banshee, a murdered ancestress who appears, screams, and warns of impending death. The current Miss Collingham also has a good vision of a death taking place elsewhere. * Typical fiction of the day, ranging from low level commercial to quite competent. * [a] and [h] are best.

[ANONYMOUS ANTHOLOGY] 1512. A STABLE FOR NIGHTMARES Trusley Brothers; London [1867] A Christmas volume; supernatural and sensational fiction and poetry, illustrations by Walter

[ANONYMOUS ANTHOLOGY] 1513. A STABLE FOR NIGHTMARES OR WEIRD TALES BY J. SHERIDAN LE FANU •• SIR CHARLES YOUNG, BART • • • • AND OTHERS New Amsterdam Book Co.; New York 1896

tinues the feud, and Mary grows up as a battleground between the two ghosts, Phoebe threatening her, Katherine protecting her. Time passes. Mary marries and has a son. Phoebe would like to lure the young people back to the house, so that she can work on the child, but Milly, the last living sister, fights her off. The book ends with all the sisters dead. Evil has not been destroyed, but it has been restrained by the stronger power of good. * Well written and enjoyable. 1510. FELICITA Bobbs-Merrill; Indianapolis and New York [1937] Fictionalization of the death quest. * Malcolm, a writer on aesthetic topics, undertakes to spend several months in a house owned by a friend. He is alone, except for a family of servants. He soon discovers that the house has a bad reputation, for residents waste away and die for no obvious reasons. "Six weeks," says the old butler. Malcolm likes the house and speculates on its past inhabitants, deciding to write a poetic, tender story about one such person. He creates a character, a young woman, who comes into being before his mind's eye; accepts existence; and gradually becomes endowed with personality, history, and life. As they converse, she reveals that she is in love with him, and he falls in love with her. And, like the previous inhabitants of the house, Malcolm wastes away. When he finally accepts Felicita as his lover, he accepts death. * Developed with sensitivity and tenderness.

A STABLE FOR NIGHTMARES A partial reissue of the supernatural fiction from A STABLE FOR NIGHTMARES published in 1867. * [a) DEVEREUX'S DREAM, Anonymous. [b) CATHERINE'S QUEST, Anonymous. [c) HAUNTED, Anonymous. [d) PICHON & SONS, OF THE CROIX ROUSSE, Anonymous. [e) THE PHANTOM FOURTH, Anonymous. [f) THE SPIRIT'S WHISPER, Anonymous. [g) DR. FEVERSHAM'S STORY, Anonymous. * Also [h) DICKON THE DEVIL, J. S. LeFanu. [i) WHAT WAS IT? Fitz-James O'Brien. * Also [j) A DEBT OF HONOR, perhaps by Sir Charles Young. A young man has been swindled out of his inheritance by a murder committed a generation earlier. A missing will. A romance. An aunt's ghost that tells Westcar that the Mere is his; and his father's ghost, who confronts the murderer and forces a confession of the crime. * A nicely produced little book. STAPLEDON, [WILLIAM) OLAF (1886-1950) British educator (University of Liverpool), philosopher, writer. Important author of science-fiction. Major works are LAST AND FIRST MEN (1930), STAR MAKER (1937), ODD JOHN (1935), SIRIUS (1935). Work is characterized by strong social interests, good imagination, somewhat weak novelistic skills. 1514. STAR MAKER Methuen; London 1937 Just as LAST AND FIRST MEN describes the attempt of mankind (in the largest sense) to achieve fulfillment .through evolutionary peaks and slumps, STAR MAKER is the history of intelligence throughout the cosmos and intelligence's quest for ultimate meaning. Since ultimate meaning is quasi-supernatural, STAR MAKER is more readily classed as mystical fiction than as science-fiction. * The narrator, in a cosmic vision, leaves his body on earth and wanders through space and time, visiting and merging with other intelligences. At the beginning of his voyage his receptivity is limited because of his human origin, and his first contact with another intelligence is with a humanoid, the so-called Other Men. His experience deepens and he proceeds through the cosmos meeting and merging with intelligences more and more remote from the human pattern. As he explores space and time with an ever-larger intelligence group, he recognizes that the reconciliation of two opposed needs-- individualism and group consciousness-- occupies the most serious efforts of all intelligence in the cosmos. Vegetable intelligence, non-material intelligence, cycloid intelligence, and most important of all, symbiotic inte lligences, contribute their share to this problem. Finally, a greater problem is approached, the mystical perception of the Star Maker. After experience has been enlarged to include the stars and their strange dance, the intelligences of the galaxies, and finally the pregalactic plasma, the assembled intelligences of the universe pierce reality to meet, in a single blinding moment, the Star Maker Himself. Since He is incomprehensible, little can be said save that as Natura naturans He creates and Himself evolves by creation, and is making or has made many universes. Our present universe is one of His nearly mature at-

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STAPLEDON, OLAF tempts. This mystical meeting over, ending in shock, the intelligences meditate on it. As entropy progresses, the cosmos gradually dies, and the last life consists of strip-like primitive worms crawling about dead giant stars. * While the earlier section on the Other Men contains some misplaced mild satire that disturbs the otherwise almost religious mood of the narrative, STAR MAKER is one of the richest books in fantastic literature. It is much more profound than LAST AND FIRST MEN, and also much more readable. 1515. DARKNESS AND LIGHT Methuen; London 1942 Borderline science-fiction: a future history which is to "give a symbolic expression to two dispositions in conflict in the world," darkness and light. * After World War III the Chinese and Russians control most of the world. The Tibetans, however, remain independent, and in Tibet a new order of lamas, the Servants of Light, emerges. They are able to provide spiritual answers to the problems of the world. * The future bifurcates here. In the first future Tibet plays Russia and China off against each other for a time, but war breaks out, and the Servants of Light are exterminated. The Chinese dominate the world, and it is a horrible place: the unemployed are placed in suspended animation, thought control and recording devices are inserted into the brain, raw materials give out, the sun changes, mankind becomes extinct, and giant rats overrun the world. * In the second future, that of Light, the Tibetans are more aggressive and maintain their independence. The great empires crumble and a Federation of Mankind emerges with a culture of compromise: Tibetan spiritual wisdom combined with American restrained capitalism, handcrafts reconciled with industrialization. A great spiritual attempt is then made to see if the philosophy of Light is in harmony with the universe. Surprisingly enough, it is not. The universe turns out to be a "snowflake trampled by titans," with great and obscure forces confusedly unaware of mankind. The spiritual organizations set a sacred year to battle the titans with spiritual weapons, in order to save all universes, but the project collapses when fearful plagues erupt and the crust of the earth shifts. This is presumably counterattack from the titans. A new human race emerges from the chaos. * Imaginative and insightful, but very dull. 1516. DEATH INTO LIFE Methuen; London 1946 Mysticism in semi-fictional form, based on ideas from STAR MAKER. * During World War II a rear-gunner on a plane is killed over Germany, along with the rest of the crew. His spirit hovers over the war wreckage for a time, and he reviews his past life with increased understanding. As he grows spiritually, he comes into contact with the spirits of his comrades, who are at first repelled by each other's past life, but grow to understanding and acceptance. They merge into a community of spirit and move on, combining with ever larger groups, eventually to include non-humans. * Also much topical reference. * Not as profound as STAR MAKER, but nicely written.

STAPLED ON , OLAF 1517. THE FLAMES Secker and Warburg; London 1947 Nouvelle; borderline science-fiction; Stapledon's usual concerns about socialization and the purpose of the universe. Told as a letter and an epilogue. * On an impulse Cass picks up a stone, brings it home, and places it in his fire grate. A flame-being emerges from the stone and establishes telepathic communication with him. It describes its origin in the sun; its isolation on earth, when a portion of the sun's matter was pulled out to become the planets; and its history on earth. He also overhears the flame-being's conversation with other flame-beings, which can emerge only under great heat. The salamander offers Cass a symbiosis between flames and humans: the flames are to obtain heat, while the humans will be given psychic guidance. Cass is favorable toward the offer until he learns that the flames, aware of his potential at telepathy, had driven him into psychic research and had deliberately destroyed his marriage. Cass reacts with outrage when he learns this, and pours a pitcher of water on the salamander, killing it. The flame had also threatened as the alternative to hu~an cooperation, psychic control into atomic wars and devastation. * In the epilogue, however, Cass is reconciled to the flames and learns of the cosmic quest. He is, of course,· mad. * Nicely told, going far to make the incredible credible. O~Le might criticize the ambivalence of the flames, but this is not important. STARRETT, [CHARLES] VINCENT (1886-1974) American newspaper man (China, Chicago), mystery story writer, bibliomath. In crime fiction important for Jimmy Lavender stories, also for publicizing Chinese detective stories. Often called America's last bookman in the traditional sense. 1518. COFFINS FOR TWO Covici-McGee; Chicago 1924 Short stories, mostly in the Stevensonian Arabian Nights tradition. Including [a] THE ELIXIR OF DEATH. Irony about two undertakers, one of whom prepares an Elixir of Life, the other an Elixir of Death. [b] THE HEAD OF CROMWELL. Cromwell's skull, after he was posthumously hanged, has a life of its own and rolls about England. [c] COFFINS FOR TWO. Irony of fate ends with two ghosts in comradeship. [d] THE PLEASANT MADNESS OF THE FACULTY. A painting by a pupil of Leonardo's has the property of arousing lust. In a school. * The best story is the crime story "The Fugitive." 1519. THE QUICK AND THE DEAD Arkham House; Sauk City, Wisc. 1965 Short stories, including, described elsewhere, [a] THE HEAD OF CROMWELL. [b] PENELOPE. [c] THE ELIXIR OF DEATH. [d] COFFINS FOR TWO. [e] THE QUICK AND THE DEAD. * Also [f] THE SINLESS VILLAGE. Old Traherne visited Heaven when he was clinically dead for a short time, but he refuses to talk about what he experienced. He promised St.--- he would not tell. He dies, and his manuscript is burned, the se-

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cret lost. [g] THE TATTOOED MAN. Ruthven the explorer has.been on Roraima Plateau, which is inhabited by a lost race of Egyptians who have developed magical powers. On his body is tattooed a gigantic snake, which he wants removed. The physician tries to remove it, but without success. But Ruthven is found dead, his body completely clear, and a gigantic snake in the room.

STEAD, CHRISTINA [ELLEN] (19Q2 Australian novelist, sometime resident in Great Britain and the United States. Well regarded critically in the 1930's for intellectually oriented psychological fiction, but never very popular in the U.S.A. 1520. THE SALZBURG TALES Peter Davies; London 1934 A situation like THE DECAMERON. Various persons are assembled at Salzburg for the music festival and tell stories within a framework. Individual stories, which are usually narratives rather than developed, formal short stories, are told in varied styles. * Including [a] DON JUAN IN THE ARENA. The great lover is also a remarkable bull fighter. The bull that causes his death, however, is not an ordinary bull, but an incarnation of the Commendatore. [b] THE GOLD BRIDE. When Carlos's wife Zelis commits suicide to avoid the unwelcome advances of a friend, Carlos has portions of her body inserted in a life-sized golden statue of her. The statue has a life of its own. [c] THE DEATH OF SVEND. Death is seen as a horrible old woman. [d] SILK-SHIRT. The Raeburn picture of the boy. The boy leaves the picture. [e] THE MIRROR. Supernatural properties of a mirror, which is fancifully personalized as Metternich. [f] THE TRISKELION. At times of crisis the living device is seen. [g] THE CENTENARIST'S TALES, III. A version of the legend of Orpheus. Ailu descends to Hell. Before he can return to earth he needs a substitute. [h] THE SENSITIVE GOLDFISH. Goldfish, of Chinese imperial origin, who indicate financial matters to their owner and have other supernatural properties. [i] SAPPHO. The poetess Sappho, in Heaven, looks for Eve, for sexual purposes, but Eve is back on Earth. [j] THE CENTENARIST'S TALES, V. Episodes in the legendary life of Albertus Magnus, the magLcLan. Albertus undertakes the investigation of a series of sex murders. Diabolic. [k] THE CENTENARIST'S TALES, VII. An ancestral doctor wishes his skeleton to be kept by his descendants. Attempts to be rid of it cause supernatural difficulties. * [e] and [h] are best. Many of the non-supernatural tales are superior to those considered above. STEELE, WILBUR DANIEL (1886-1970) American (born in North Carolina) author. Was most highly rated for his short stories, although also wrote novels and plays. Work is usually hard-textured and psychological. 1521. THE MAN WHO SAW THROUGH HEAVEN AND OTHER STORIES Harper; New York 1927 Short stories, including [a] SOOTH. Told by

STEELE, WILBUR DANIEL indirection, through cultural clash. Mathilda, gin-soaked flapper of the Roaring Twenties, is desperate for a new sensation and decides to shoot one of the protected seals out on the reef. Roboam, illiterate young Black roustabout, wanders around the world, perpetually changing his name, trying to escape the fate that Zara the Great foretold for him. Paths cross. * A good story, suggestive of early Faulkner. STEPHENS, JAMES (1882-1950) Irish poet, writer of fiction, cultural figure. Important in attempted reestablishment of Gaelic language in Eire. At his best a very or i- . ginal, whimsical writer. 1522. THE CROCK OF GOLD Macmillan; London 1912 A work with mixed levels of interpretation: satire on aspects of contemporary Ireland, folk humor, admiration for the heroic past of the mythic cycles, and an allegory of freedom and the intellect. * The plot line: In the pine wood called Coilla Doraca there live two philosophers, their wives, and their two children. The philosophers know everything that is to be known on a rational basis, plus much that is not rational, while their shrewish wives are semi-supernatural beings in contact with the ancient nature forces of Ireland. One of the philosophers discovers that there is nothing more to be learned or experienced, and commits suicide magically, his wife following his example. The surviving philosopher buries them under the hearthstone and thinks no more of it. * The main theme of the story begins with a local peasant, whose cat has killed a bird belonging to the leprechauns of Cloca Mora. The leprechauns, in revenge, steal his wife's washboard, and the peasant asks the philosopher for advice. Following the philosopher's instructions, the peasant finds a pot of gold belonging to the leprechauns and makes off with it, burying it under a rowan tree, whence it cannot be recovered by the fairy folk. This incenses the leprechauns against the philosopher. Their first impulse is to kidnap the children, but they decide against this, since the Thin Woman, the philosopher's wife, is a member of the most powerful clan of the Shee. Instead, they inform the police that the philosopher has committed murder and buried the corpses under the hearthstone. The police drag the philosopher off to jail and things look bad, for the philosopher is defenceless against such tactics. But his wife appeals to the god Angus Og, who works his release. The children happen to find the pot of gold and return it to the leprechauns, and the grudge is cancelled. As a secondary plot the god Pan appears in Ireland and runs off with a local young woman. The philosopher invokes the god Angus Og to rescue her. The young woman, asked to choose between Pan and Angus Og, chooses the Irish god, and Pan leaves. * A delightful book. The philosopher's diatribes are most amusing, as are the various characterizations. Told in beautiful Irish English. Angus Og can be forgiven.

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STEPHENS, JAMES 1523. IN THE LAND OF YOUTH Macmillan; London 1924 Three stories from the Old Irish heroic cycles, told in an odd mixture of the ancient noble style and modern pixy-like humor. * This is the world of Irish legendry, where the worlds of the mortals and the Shee (adult-sized Fairies, identified as the Tuatha de Danaan) interpenetrate at certain points (like dimensional worlds in science-fiction). On certain occasions mortals and Shee can move from one world to the other. In both worlds the culture is that of almost Homeric Iron-Age heroism, with ruthlessness, chivalry, intense preoccupation with matters of rank and etiquette, magic, and love. Ireland is still ruled by a high king, and the world of the Shee is similarly organized. The stories are not titled. * [a] [THE TALE OF NERA]. At Samhain the courtiers of Queen Maive and King Ailil of Connacht remain indoors for fear of the wandering Dana, who are free to enter our world on this night. Nera, a brave warrior, is the only man bold enough to venture out, and on what amounts to a dare he agrees to visit a corpse on the gallows. His reward is to be the king's sword. When he reaches the gallows, the corpse begs for a drink of water, and Nera obligingly carries the corpse to water. But when he returns to the king's hall, he discovers that the Shee of King Ethal Anbual have invaded the land and slaughtered the court. For lack of anything better to do Nera accompanies the Shee back to their own world, where the king permits him to live and assigns him a role in life. Nera and a young woman fall in love, and he is happy, but he is bitter at not receiving the sword he had earned. His wife now informs him, to his amazement, that the slaughter in Ireland was all illusion, a projection of Ethal Anbual's mind, a "dress rehearsal" for a raid next year. Nera returns to Ireland, warns Maive and Ailil, receives his sword, and rejoins his wife in the land of the Shee. [b] [THE ROMANCE OF ANGUS OG AND CAER]. A story told by Queen Maive on Nera's return to her court. In the land of the Shee the young god Angus Og is sickening for love, because of a vision of a beautiful young female Shee. The various magicians of the Shee have difficulty in identifying her, but she is finally discovered to be Caer, the daughter of King Ethal Anbual. This poses a problem, since the two Shee clans are hostile. Angus's party turns to mortals for help, and Queen Maive agrees to aid them. In one of the very few mortal victories over the Shee, Maive invades Fairyland, captures Ethal Anbual, and renders the marriage possible. While the raid is forgiven by the Shee, there will be repercussions in Connacht. [cl [THE STORY OF MIDIR AND ETAIN] One of the more familiar stories from Ancient Irish literature. After a very jumpy, semicomic beginning, the classical tale unfolds, but with many variant details. The two wives of the Shee king, Midir, cause problems. Both are in love with Angus Og, and Fuamnach, presumably first wife, em-

STEPHENS, JAMES ploys a magician to wither Etain to almost nothing and blow her out of the land of the Shee. In Ireland she is born again, grows up, and is married to Eochain Airem, the High King of Ireland, who loves her deeply. Since time passes differentially between earth and Fairyland, it is only a matter of minutes before Midir finds her as a woman on earth. He tries to arouse her memories, but fails. His next tactic is to challenge Eochain, who also happens to be chess champion of Ireland, to a match, the winner to name the stakes. After a bad beginning Midir wins and demands Etair as his prize. Eochain yields ungraciously, hoping to withstand Midir (whose identity he does not know), but Midir awakens Etain's memories and they fly off as swans. * The blend of thatched hut coyness, irony, and heroic splendor is jarring, although there are excellent moments. 1524. ETCHED IN MOONLIGHT Macmillan: London 1928 Short stories, including [a] DESIRE. The husband saves a person (perhaps an angel?) from being struck by a car and is offered a single wish. He ponders over the matter and decides to be preserved as he is, at age 48, indefinitely. During the night his wife has a horror dream of the Arctic, caused by her husband's cold corpse. There is only one way to stop time. [b] ETCHED IN MOONLIGHT. A vaguely medieval world experienced in a dream. The narrator is a lover rejected in favor of a friend. While the three of them are walking about in the ruins of an ancient building, he traps the other two in a tower, closing the door on them. The assumption is that they will not be found and will die. He leaves the land and for years suffers from remorse. Years later he returns to the land, and finds his friends alive and happy. They welcome him as if nothing had happened. But on his wedding night they take him for a walk and place him in the same situation. He is trapped. Hours later they return and release him. In neither his case nor the previous case was there any problem: the door did not lock. Obviously allegorical in import. A beautiful handling of dreamy atmosphere. STERLING, JOHN (1806-1844) British journalist, writer; one-time owner of the ATHENAEUM. A member of the Cambridge Apostles. Friend of Coleridge. Subject of a life by Carlyle, who regarded him and his work highly. 1525. ESSAYS AND TALES J. W. Parker; London 1848 2 vol. Miscellaneous material, including [a] THE ONYX RING, a novel. Maturation novel, said to have been in part at least autobiographical and A clef. Arthur Edmondstone, a young lawyer, is unhappy, and exclaims at the impossibility of changing places with others more happy. He happens to be looking at a book of necromancy when h~ makes this point, and on looking up, sees an old man who offers him an onyx ring and what he desired: once a week he can change places with another person, losing the ability if he returns to his own body. For one hour

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STERN, PHILIP VAN DOREN he will have memory of what has happened. Arthur accepts the ring and experiences various personality and occupational types: vulgar, dissolute baronet; solid farmer; adventurous traveller; clergyman; poet; recluse; old man. He finds happiness nowhere, and decides to return to his own body. But it has all been delirium-- although there is an element of saving doubt. * For the specialist in Victorian literature only. * The first separate publication seems to be as THE ONYX RING (Whittemore, Niles, and Hall; Boston, Mass. 1856). STERN, PHILIP VAN DOREN (1900American author, historian, advertising figure, anthologist. Best-known works, novel THE DRUMS OF MORNING, historical work AN END TO VALOR. A tasteful anthologist. AS EDITOR: 1526. THE MIDNIGHT READER GREAT STORIES OF HAUNTING AND HORROR Holt; New York [1942] Short stories, described elsewhere: [a] THE BECKONING FAIR ONE, Oliver Onions. [b] THE MEZZOTINT, M. R. James. [c] TARNHELM, Hugh Walpole. [d] THE WILLOWS, Algernon Blackwood. [e) THE MARK OF THE BEAST, Rudyard Kipling. [f] COUCHING AT THE DOOR, D. K. Broster. [g] THE FAMILIAR, J. S. LeFanu. [hI THE UPPER BERTH, F. Marion Crawford. [i] THE YELLOW WALL PAPER, Charlotte Perkins Gilman [Stetson]. [j} AFTERWARD, Edith Wharton. [k] FULL FATHOM FIVE, Alexander Woollcott. [1] THE TURN OF THE SCREW, Henry James. [m] AUGUST HEAT, W. F. Harvey. * Also [m] THE MILLVALE APPARITION, Louis Adamic. Perhaps fiction, perhaps folklore. An anecdote of a ghost which appeared in a small church in Pennsylvania. 1527. THE MOONLIGHT TRAVELER GREAT TALES OF FANTASY AND IMAGINATION Doubleday, Doran; Garden City, N. Y. 1943 Including [a] THE CELESTIAL OMNIBUS, E. M. Forster. [b} THE MAN WHO COULD WORK MIRACLES, H. G. Wells. Short version. [c} THE BOTTLE IMP, R. L. Stevenson. [d} ALL HALLOWS, W. de la Mare. [e} SAM SMALL'S BETTER HALF, Eric Knight. [f} MR. ARCULARIS, Conrad Aiken. [g] WILLIAM WILSON, Edgar Allan Poe. [hI THE MOST MADDENING STORY IN THE WORLD, Ralph Straus. [i} PHANTAS, Oliver Onions. [j] ROADS OF DESTINY, O. Henry. [k} "WIRELESS," Rudyard Kipling. [1] THE MUSIC ON THE HILL, Saki. [m] ENOCH SOAMES, Max Beerbohm. [n} ADAM AND EVE AND PINCH ME, A. E. Coppard. [oj DESIRE, James Stephens. * Also [pI LORD MOUNTDRAGO, W. Somerset Maugham. (from THE MIXTURE AS BEFORE, 1929) Mountdrago, a cabinet member, comes to Dr. Audlin, a psychotherapist, for help. Mountdrago, who is an incredibly arrogant, brutal, snobbish man, is having horror dreams which involve a man whom he has injured, a Welsh labor M. P. of low social class. A further problem is that Griffiths, the M.P., seems to be having the same dreams, and the dreams have physical effect. Audlin interprets the situation as conscience, but the reader may have doubts when Mountdrago and Griffiths die on the same day. [q} COBBLER, COBBLER, MEND MY SHOE, Jan Struther. St. Crispin is the patron saint of cobblers,

STERN, PHILIP VAN DOREN and on his name day he tries to get one of his sandals fixed in modern London. It is difficult. * Of the new material [pI is excellent. As always with Stern, a tasteful anthology. 1528. TRAVELERS IN TIME STRANGE TALES OF MAN'S JOURNEYS INTO THE PAST AND THE FUTURE Doubleday; Garden City, N. Y. 1947 A theme anthology which oddly enough does not contain any material from modern science-fiction. * Including, described elsewhere, [al ELSEWHERE AND OTHERWISE, Algernon Blackwood. [bl ENOCH SOAMES, Max Beerbohm. [cl THE ROCKING-HORSE WINNER, D. H. Lawrence. [dl ON THE STAIRCASE, Katharine F. Gerould. [el AUGUST HEAT, W. F. Harvey. [fl THE ANTICIPATOR, Morley Roberts. [gl THE ROUSING OF MR. BRADEGAR, H. F. Heard. [hI A VIEW FROM A HILL, M. R. James. [il OPENING THE DOOR, Arthur Machen. [jl PHANTAS, Oliver Onions. [kl THE HOMELESS ONE, A. E. Coppard. [11 BETWEEN THE MINUTE AND THE HOUR, A. M. Burrage. [ml THE OLD MAN, Holloway Horn. [nl THE TAIPAN, W. Somerset Maugham. [01 "THE FINEST STORY IN THE WORLD," Rudyard Kipling. [pI THE SILVER MIRROR, A. Conan Doyle. [ql NO SHIPS PASS, Lady Eleanor Smith. [rl THE CLOCK, A.E.W. Mason. [sl THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON, F. Scott Fitzgerald. [tl ETCHED IN MOONLIGHT, James Stephens. * Also, [ul A FRIEND TO ALEXANDER, James Thurber. Andrews has repetitive, connected dreams in which he is a friend of Alexander Hamilton's and is forced to watch Aaron Burr's provocative conduct, including the shooting of Hamilton. He practices with a pistol for the time when he has to duel with Burr, but one morning he is found dead, his hand clenched as if holding a weapon. Perhaps intended to be fantastic. * A good selection, those stories which really are not concerned with time offering variety. STETSON, CHARLOTTE ANNA (nee PERKINS) (18601935) American writer, prominent figure in various social movements: Bellamism, feminism, socialism (Fabian variety), social welfare, peace movement. First marriage to Stetson (18841893); second marriage to Gilman (1900), whence often carried biographically as Mrs. Gilman. 1529. THE YELLOW WALL PAPER Small, Maynard; Boston 1901 Short story. (NEW ENGLAND MAGAZINE, 1892) Madness, with or without supernatural accompaniments. * The narrator and her physician husband are staying in a neglected colonial mansion while their home is being remodelled. The wife is on the edge of a breakdown, but her insensitive husband, a sprain and pill materialist, insists that there is nothing wrong with her. She is emotionally disturbed by the bedroom wall paper, a dingy yellow paper with an irregular pattern. She fancies that the pattern moves, and as her mind deteriorates, believes that people are behind the paper. As the story ends, she believes that she is the woman behind the paper and scuttles around the floor of her locked bedroom. * It is common knowledge that this story is at least partly

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STEVENS, FRANCIS autobiographical, based on the author's breakdown after a year or so of marriage, and that the husband reflects Mr. Stetson and Dr. S. Weir Mitchell. This origin, obviously, does not mean that the story is no more than reminiscence. Many readers have taken the story, as written, to have supernatural implications, for there are hints that the wife is repeating the behavior of a previous resident. In such an interpretation predisposition to mental illness is exacerbated by a haunting of a sort. * On the covers of this little book artist E. B. Bird has tried to render the horrible pattern. STEVENS, FRANCIS (pseud. of BENNETT, MRS. GERTRUDE, nee BARROWS) (1884 - ? ) American occasional writer of pulp fiction, flourished second and third decades of this century, disappeared mysteriously around 1940. Not a skilled writer, but ideas are sometimes interesting. 1530. THE HEADS OF CERBERUS Polaris Press; Reading, Pa. 1952 1500 copy edition Biographical introduction by Lloyd A. Eshbach. * (THRILL BOOK, 1919) A good example of one of the minor subgenres of the day combining adventure, science-fiction, metaphysics, and social thought. * In the crystal vial said to have been carved by Benvenuto Cellini is a gray dust which some claim to be the Dust of Purgatory, brought back by Dante. Trenmare (a gigantic, hot-tempered Irishman), Drayton (an unjustly disbarred lawyer), and Viola (Trenmare's sister) breathe the dust when the vial is opened and find themselves transported to a dream-like land peopled with supernatural entities. This proves to be an antechamber to other worlds, and they arrive at alternate time track Philadelphia, where material culture is that of 1918, though calendar date is 2118. The state of Pennsylvania is a sealed world ruled by a murderous, sadistic, utterly corrupt oligarchy called Penn Service. All civil liberties have been lost; citizens must wear identifying badges; and the penalty for the slightest infraction is death in the Pit. The government is formed by a mockery of civil service in which completely fraudulent competitions are held to fill such positions as Strongest, Most Beautiful, Cleverest, Quickest. Those who fail end in the Pit. The three earthlings, too, are destined to the Pit, since they have no badges, but they hope to survive by playing one faction of Penn Service against the other. Their ultimate recourse may be sounding the Bell. When Penn Service was formed, the Liberty Bell was recast with a new metal that embodied a disintegration factor, so that if the Bell were struck, the land would disappear. The rulers use the threat of the Bell to hold the populace in check. When all else fails, Trenmare strikes the bell, the land is disintegrated, and the three earthlings (and a burglar who had accompanied them) find themselves back in their own Philadelphia. * The author deliberately leaves the nature of the alternate world unclear. At one point she re-

STEVENS, FRANCIS fers to it as a parallel world, branching off from ours at a specific point, while elsewhere Scarboro, who is in a position to know, states that the experiences have been illusion from the drug. According to the second explanation, the Dust of Purgatory is a modern product, and the corrupt world was caused by corruption in the minds of the three travelers. * The ideas are much more interesting than the execution, which is flawed. STEVENSON, BURTON E[GBERT) (1872-1962) American author, anthologist, journalist (NEW YORK TIMES). Founder and director, American Library in Paris. Now remembered for various reference collections of poetry, especially THE HOME BOOK OF VERSE (1912), which has gone through many editions. 1531. A KING IN BABYLON Small, Maynard; Boston [19171 Romance, reincarnation, repeated patterns of fate, and the motion picture industry. The story was suggested by W. E. Henley's poem, irA King in Babylon." * Warren Creel and his associates decide to make a motion picture about love and death in Ancient Egypt: an ancient pharaoh thought that his favorite had been untrue to him and killed her, learning to his embarrassment later that he had been wrong. The company proceeds to Egypt, where Dr. Davis, an archeologist; is to provide suitable surroundings. As the team approaches Egypt, however, it soon becomes apparent that other factors than a motion picture are involved, and that in some way the ancient world is manifesting itself in the actors. The film script is reproducing an event in Egyptian history, as is corroborated by the discovery of the tomb of the Hyksos king, mummies of the king and his favorite, and all. A confusion of past and present personalities takes place, complicated by the activities of a being which may be either the animated mummy of the favorite Tina or a wild chimpanzee. As the story ends, the male lead departs, whip in hand, errant leading lady/ancient favorite in tow. Ancient and present personalities have been integrated. * In 1955 the author prepared a play version (Baker and Taylor; Hillside, N. J., 500 copy edition) with a simplified plot and an ending that suggests tragedy. * A period piece only. STEVENSON, ROBERT LOUIS (1854-1894) British writer, born Edinburgh, died in Samoa. Excellent children's poet (A CHILD'S GARDEN OF VERSES); fine essayist. Brought mainstrear,l standards to adventure subgenre with succession of good novels, notably TREASURE ISLAND (1883), KIDNAPPED (1886). THE STRANGE CASE OF DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE (occult-mystery) is one of the great patterning works in supernatural fiction, with scores of imitations, In addition to the works described Stevenson" wrote a few fables in the Victorian manner. 1532. THE STRANGE CASE OF DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE George Munro; New York [1886) This American pirated edition preceded the

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STEVENSON, ROBERT LOUIS British (Longmans) edition. * Fantastic shocker with allegorical elements. It is narrated as a mystery, but the solution is so widely known that there will be no harm in revealing Stevenson's secret. * Dr. Jekyll (apparently pronounced Jee-kill), a physician of great ability and probity, discovers a drug that will dissociate his personality, permitting his suppressed evil tendencies to assume control of his body and mind. This evil self (with appropriate physical changes in Jekyll's body) emerges as Mr. Hyde, who is as vicious as Jekyll is good. The two personalities alternate, with Hyde behaving abominably, until Jekyll learns that Hyde is growing too strong for him. * Said to have been based on dreams, with an earlier version which Stevenson destroyed, but the germs are to be found in Bulwer Lytton's A STRANGE STORY. * An excellent story, although some modern readers might find the dated mannerisms and idiosyncratic development a little obtrusive. 1533. THE MERRY MEN AND OTHER TALES AND FABLES Chatto and Windus; London 1887 Short stories, including [a) WILL 0' THE MILL. A fabular study of utter selfishness or utter independence, take it as one wills. The innkeeper has built himself a private psychological world and will not venture out of it, even to marry a woman he loves. When he is 72 Death appears to him and they converse for a time. [b) MARKHEIM. A modern Prodigal Son. Markheim, a wastrel, has just murdered an elderly pawnbroker for his money. A stranger enters and converses with Markheim, who thinks it is the Devil. The stranger offers him advice and protection, but Markheim refuses, saying that though he has done evil, it is in his power to stop doing evil. The stranger is obviously an angel. Ultimately anti-Calvinistic. [c) THRAWN JANET. Early 18th century Scotland, told in heavy dialect. The minister takes as his servant Janet, who has a very bad reputation as a witch. The minister is at first skeptical about her ill repute, but when he sees the Black Man around the manse and Janet's corpse hanging by a thread-- to be reanimated later-- he changes his opinion. The word "thrawn" means misshapen. * Excellent craftsmanship, although the moralistic tone of the first two is annoying. 1534. ISLAND NIGHTS' ENTERTAINMENTS Cassell; London 1893 Short novel and two short stories, including [a) THE BOTTLE IMP. A restatement, for a Polynesian market, of Fouqu~'s story. Hawaii. Keawe, a Hawaiian, buys the magical bottle, which has the usual conditions: it will grant wishes; it can be passed only by being sold at a price less than that of its last purchase; and it will bring eternal hellfire to anyone who dies with it in his possession. Keawe uses the bottle, passes it on, reacquires it, but finally escapes. Nicely told in terms of local folkways, bringing in the contrary forces of selfishness and love. There was a belief among the Samoans that Stevenson owned such a bottle. [b) THE ISLE OF VOICES.

STEVENSON, ROBERT LOUIS Keola, a fairly shiftless young man, has a great magician for a father-in-law. On one occasion the magician transports them to the Isle of Voices, where coins are to be picked up like shells on a beach. But Keola presumes on his knowledge, and the magician decides to be rid of him. During a magical journey, he drops Keola into the sea, but the young man is fortunate enough to be picked up by a passing ship. After some mishaps, including another visit to the Isle of Voices, he escapes back to Hawaii with the magical aid of his wife. * Excellent. 1535. THE BODY-SNATCHER The Merriam Company; New York [1895] Short story. (PALL MALL CHRISTMAS EXTRA, 1884) First publication in book form. * Edinburgh, probably the 1820's, around the time of Burke and Hare, upon whom the story is obviously based. * Fettes, a medical student, was the second demonstrator for the anatomy classes held by Dr. K---, and it was one of his functions to accept and pay for corpses brought in by resurrection men. His immediate superior was Toddy Macfarlane, a more intelligent, cynical, and ruthless man than the naive and opportunistic Fettes. Their first confrontation with crime comes when they recognize a corpse. It is that of a local prostitute, and they know that she must have been murdered. They agree to close their eyes to the situation. At a later time Fettes witnesses Macfarlane's humiliation by Gray, a low criminal type who is obviously blackmailing him, and a day or two later sees Gray's corpse, murdered by Macfarlane. Again, he weakly yields to Macfarlane's arguments. On the third occasion the two students are stealing a corpse on their own. As they are driving away, they chance to open their sack and see the corpse of the long dead, long dissected Gray. The story is told within a half-frame, as Fettes, now an old drunkard, life ruined by what he saw, meets the suave, prosperous Macfarlane. * Very nicely told. STITZER, DAN (i.e. DANIEL) A[HRENS] (1869 - ?) American author. 1536. STORIES OF THE OCCULT Richard G. Badger; Boston [1917] Vanity publication, a nouvelle and two short stories based on the current occult theory of objective (unconscious) vs. subjective (conscious) minds. * [a] DUAL PERSONALITY. Nouvelle. Amnesia. The narrator awakens from a train accident without memory. Long adventures then follow, including gold hunting in Alaska, visions of the future and clairvoyance produced by the objective mind. [b] THE OCCULT HAND. The narrator, who has lost a hand, comes under the sway of an evil hypnotist, the Professor, who causes him to grow a new hand. Violent personality disturbances. [c] THE RESURRECTION. Faith healing of a child via the objective mind. * Subliterate curiosities. STOCKTON, FRANK (i.e. FRANCIS) [RICHARD] (18341902)

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STOCKTON, FRANK Popular American writer of humorous fiction in the light, genteel tradition. Associated with various periodicals, including VANITY FAIR, SCRIBNERS MAGAZINE, ST. NICHOLAS. Much of his work was written for a juvenile market, where whimsical imagination and light touch were useful. Much less successful in adult supernatural fiction. Best work for adults lies in contrived, folksy, small-people comedy of manners. Most famous work short story, THE LADY, OR THE TIGER? (1882), which can still arouse debate. 1537. THE LADY, OR THE TIGER? AND OTHER STORIES Scribner; Ne~ York 1884 Short stories, including [a] THE TRANSFERRED GHOST. Old Mr. Hinckman's ghost, who has been assigned to haunt the house, is embarrassed because Hinckman is still living, and he is in terror of meeting Hinckman. The ghost is finally transferred to Russia. It also unintentionally acts as an obstacle in a romance. [b] THE SPECTRAL MORTGAGE. Sequel to [a]. The young man and woman are married, her sister Belle is living with them, and Hinckman has just died. The new ghost assigned to the house is a rake of about 50 years earlier, one Buck Edwards, and he tries to establish a romance with Belle. * Smooth, slick, but very artificial. 1538. STOCKTON'S STORIES. SECOND SERIES THE CHRISTMAS WRECK AND OTHER STORIES Scribner; New York 1886 Short stories, including [a] A BORROWED MONTH. Switzerland. The tourist narrator, who has been laid up with crippling rheumatism, discovers that by force of will he can abstract energy and vitality from his absent friends. The vehicle for a romance. 1539. THE BEE-MAN OF ORN AND OTHER FANCIFUL TALES Scribner; New York 1887 Fabular pieces indecisively juvenile and adult, ironical and moralistic. Stories are set in a fantasy-land, but are not necessarily supernatural. * Including [a] THE BEE-MAN OF ORN. The bee-man wanders about with a portable hive, surrounded by a haze of bees, and has even corne to look something like a bee larva. A junior sorcerer wonders what the bee-man originally was before he became a travesty of humanity, and the bee-man, curiosity aroused, decides to find out. After underground adventures with gnomes and a dragon, he decides that he wants to be a baby. He is suitably transformed, but several decades later he is the bee-man again. [b] THE GRIFFIN AND THE MINOR CANON. The griffin, a fearsome specimen of its sort, has heard that there is a stone image of it on the cathedral. It comes to town to see the image, and only the minor canon is brave and altruistic enough to meet the griffin. The two become friendly, although the griffin would probably have eaten the minor canon at the autumnal equinox, if the townsmen had not driven the canon out. The griffin restores him and the canon's virtues are recognized. But the griffin pines away. [c] OLD PIPES AND THE DRYAD. Old Pipes is becoming senile and can no longer summon the

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cattle from the pastures. But he releases a trapped dryad, and her kiss rejuvenates him. Also present is a malicious echo-dwarf. * [b] is one of the better Victorian fables; [c] while syrupy, has an appeal. 1540. AMOS KILBRIGHT HIS ADSCITITIOUS EXPERIENCES WITH OTHER STORIES Scribner; New York 1888 Title nouvelle and short stories. Including [a] AMOS KILBRIGHT: HIS ADSCITITIOUS EXPERIENCES. Told by Richard Colesworthy, attorney at law. The narrator becomes acquainted with a diffident young man who speaks a little strangely, yet is obviously an American. The young man, Kilbright, reveals his secret. He is a materialization effected by a local group of Spiritualists; he had drowned in 1785. He is trying to make a living, though without much success since things are so different, but he is threatened with immediate dissolution, for the Spiritualists are trying to dematerialize him. Colesworthy expostulates with the head of the Sp1ritualists, but with no·success, for the Spiritualists are determined to use Kilbright as a repeated demonstration at seances, alternately materializing and dematerializing him. A German expert, Dr. Hildstein, is crossing the Atlantic to accomplish the dematerialization. In the meanwhile Kilbright adjusts to life, taking up his old profession of civil engineer. He is· about to be married when Hildstein dematerializes him. Colesworthy's wife saves the situation by threatening the German with a lynch mob, and Kilbright is brought back. * Amusing in the ironic contrast between the stiff, mannered narrative, and the odd events. One of Stockton's better pieces. 1541. THE STORIES OF THE THREE BURGLARS Dodd, Mead; New York 1889 The householder is greatly concerned about burglars and sets out drugged wine as a trap. He captures three burglars, who tell stories to exculpate themselves. Including [a] [THE STORY OF THE THIRD BURGLAR]. The young journalist is vacationing in Karinthia, where he becomes acquainted with his future wife, the beautiful Marie. Also involved are her former suitor, the murderous Colonel Kaldhein, and an invisible entity that has a head like a dog's and a long serpentine body, perhaps scores of feet long. It is entirely friendly, benevolent, and very intelligent. A lie, of course. 1542. THE WATCHMAKER'S WIFE AND OTHER STORIES Scribner; New York 1893 Short stories, including [a] THE PHILOSOPHY OF RELATIVE EXISTENCES. A dream-like story of a town across the river. It has been built by an eccentric who insisted that the town be completely finished, churches, schools, and all, before inhabitants would be permitted. He died, and the town has stood empty, except for strange hauntings. The narrator and a friend venture into the haunted town and find it peopled by ghosts of the future, who are extraordinarily timid where mortals are concerned. But perhaps we are ghosts of the past. A curious fabular statement of land development in America. [b] THE KNIFE THAT KILLED PO HANCY.

STOCKTON, FRANK Po Hancy was a Burmese dacoit of exceptional vigor, agility, and savagery. The narrator happens to have a large native knife with stains of the life blood of Po Hancy. He accidentally cuts himself with the knife. Some of the Burman's blood finds its way into the cut, and the narrator assumes the characteristics of the dacoit. As he later reasons: If inoculation to prevent disease is effective, why shouldn't inoculation with human blood also have an effect? Blood from a placid woman reverses the change; he becomes remarkably docile. Borderline science-fiction. [c] THE CHRISTMAS SHADRACH. In metallurgy a shadrach is a piece of ore that passes through the furnace without melting. In folklore, it has the property of cooling hot passions. The narrator buys such a shadrach and finds that his romance goes up and down as the shadrach is transferred from person to person. It finally saves him from a raging bull. * [a] is unusual. The other two stories are trivial. 1543. A STORY-TELLER'S PACK Scribner; New York 1897 Short stories, including [a] THE MAGIC EGG. Loring, who has been travelling in the Orient, has hired a small theatre and is giving a private showing of "Korean fireworks." These are really light effects created by moving pieces of colored glass. He follows this with a remarkable exhibition of either legerdemain or supernatural magic: he produces an egg, hatches it, grows it into a large rooster, reduces it back to chick, and into the egg again. But it is all hypnosis. The "fireworks" were a hypnotic device; there was no egg or chicken. He was simply testing suggestibility. All well and good, but Loring did not observe that his fiancee came too late to see the lights and saw only his hypnotic activities. She is so horrified at his violation of personality (including her own, if she had come on time) that she breaks the engagement and never speaks to him again. [b] THE BISHOP'S GHOST AND THE PRINTER'S BABY. Fabular and sentimental. The ghost of the bishop is sealed out of its tomb when a mason repairs it, but is offered shelter by a friendly young woman ghost, who thereupon incarnates herself as a baby. When she grows up, she and the ghost have many conversations. [c] STEPHEN SKARRIDGE'S CHRISTMAS. A parodic imitation of Dickens's A CHRISTMAS CAROL IN PROSE. Skarridge, a most mean miser, is converted to new benevolence by a talking mackerel, a fairy, a dwarf, and a giant. * [a] has a solid point, though it is treated somewhat shallowly, but the best story in the book is the non-fantastic ''The Widow's Cruise." 1544. AFIELD AND AFLOAT Scribner;. New York 1900 Short stories, including [a] OLD APPLEJOY'S GHOST. Christmas is approaching and no preparations have been made for celebrating. The ghost of great grandfather Applejoy is offended and stirs things up. [b] THE GREAT STAIRCASE AT LANDOVER HALL. The narrator buys a fine old house with furnishings, and on Christmas Eve is visited by a ghost, a beautiful young woman who

STOCKTON, FRANK died of a fall, perhaps a hundred years earlier. She is allowed to visit for one hour each Christmas Eve. He falls in love with her, but settles for a descendant of hers who resembles her. [c] THE GHOSTS IN MY TOWER. Fabular approach. The ghosts run up and down the lightning rod and annoy the narrator. He greases the rod, which helps somewhat, but is not completely rid of the ghosts until a demon moves into the tower. * Trivial. 1545. JOHN GAYTHER'S GARDEN AND THE STORIES TOLD THEREIN Scribner; New York 1902 Stories told mostly by John Gayther, a superior gardener in charge of a fine old garden. * Including [a] WHAT I FOUND IN THE SEA. When a young man, Gayther went to sea. While in the Caribbean his brig stove a hole and came to rest on the wrecks of 17th century ships, an English ship, and a Spanish ship. Gayther descends in a diving suit and finds gold, but on his second trip, his air hose is cut by a villainous stock broker. Gayther utilizes air trapped in the hogsheads in the English ship to save his life. But when he returns to the surface he swears and demeans himself like an Elizabethan Englishman. [b] THE LADY IN THE BOX. Florence, Italy. Dr. paltravi's wife is subject to cataleptic trances. He learns how to control them and gets the brilliant idea of letting her sleep for fifty years so that she can experience a sleeper-awakes situation. Actually only forty years pass before she awakens. She is horrified at her husband's action as well as at his aged appearance. A church separation seems inevitable and a young poet and a middle-aged doctor seem possible new husbands, but the lady suddenly ages rapidly and in a short time is 71 years old and reconciled with her husband. [c] THE CONSCIOUS AMANDA. Told by one of the young ladies of the house. Amanda, dying of consumption, wills to awaken fifty years in the future. She does so, as a disembodied spirit. She overhears the story of her nephew's machinations in marriage matters, and is somewhat more content. Supernaturalism is used only as a device to tell a story in retrospect. * [a] is amusing. The other stories have some social interest as survival of late Victorian mores. STOKER, BRAM (i.e. ABRAHAM) (1847-1912) Irish author. Graduate of Trinity College; studied for bar; entered journalism as drama critic; became manager of Sir Henry Irving's dramatic company for remainder of Irving's life. Wrote a fair amount of fiction and miscellaneous work (including a life of Irving), but now remembered for DRACULA, easily the most famous and most influential va1l1?ire story, the exploitation of which has become a small industry in itself. Although DRACULA, despite technical weaknesses, is a remarkable book, Stoker's ot~2r fiction does not reach the same level, and he is essentially a one-book author. An early collection of fables, UNDER THE SUNSET (1882), is one of those curious books that the Victorians considered children's literature, and is therefore not described here.

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STOKER, BRAc'1 1546. DRACULA Constable; London 1897 Certainly the best-known and most influential supernatural novel of modern times. The story is told in the manner of Wilkie Collins via a succession of letters, memoirs, diaries, and newspaper clippings. The first portion of the novel deals with the experiences of Jonathan Harker, member of a British estate agency, who visits Count Dracula in his castle in Transylvania and encounters all the wonders now associated with classical vampires. The second section covers Dracula's presence in England, beginning with the transportation of his coffins by sea. The final sections concern a band of Englishmen and a woman (plUS an American from the prairies) who set out, under the guidance of Professor van Helsing, to track down and destroy Dracula. * Althou6h it is based in part on the crude VARNEY, THE VAMPYRE and the superior CARMILLA by LeFanu, DRACULA remains the definitive treatment of the classical vampire, a work of great imagination and conviction. While it is generally conceded that it has technical weaknesses-- wooden characters, sentimental writing, needless complexity-its virtues overweigh its flaws and it is one of the great classics of superi1atural fiction. 1547. THE HYSTERY OF THE SEA A NOVEL Heinemann; London 1902 Adventure and romance, with background supernaturalism. Elements are: Archibald Hunter, the narrator, on visit to Cruden Bay, near Aberdeen. Without being hitherto aware of it, he has the second sight and can see impending deaths. Gormala, an old Scottish woman, well-practiced in the second sight. Marjory Anita Drake, a young American. A redhot patriot, she hates Spaniards and has presented a warship to the American navy. Treasure, of 16th century Spanish origin, hidden in the area. Don Bernadino, a gentlemanly Spanish nobleman, descended from the men who hid the treasure. He feels a sacred obligation to deliver the treasure to the Pope, but first he must find it. Blackmailers and kidnappers from America, who are after Ms. Drake. The Spanish-American War, about which Stoker feels strongly. Lammastide supernaturalism, when the spirits of those drowned in Cruden Bay emerge and wander on land to a holy well. * Hunter finds documents with cryptographic material on them. This enables him to find the treasure. He and Ms. Drake are married. Marjory is kidnapped. Hunter uses the second sight of the dying and dead Gormala to locate Marjory. Almost everyone else dies. * Begins interestingly, but degenerates into vapid romance and chases. 1548. THE JEWEL OF SEVEN STARS Heinemann; London 1903 A somewhat confusing supernatural novel told in the mode of a mystery story. * Trelawney, learned amateur Egyptologist, has been assaulted in his horne. He lies in a trance, with severe wounds like cat marks. The properties which lead to a solution of the mys-

*

STOKER, BRAM tery are: the mummy of Queen Tera, an Ancient Egyptian witch queen who had prepared herself for awakening in the North around 1900 A.D.; her astral body, which wanders about; the mummy of her giant pet cat familiar; the cat's astral body; and Trelawney's daughter Margaret, who is in some way "a phase of Queen Tera herself." Most of the book is concerned with the seemingly supernatural events that take place while Trelawney lies in a trance. Much occult lore is imparted. The investigators, obtaining the approval of the Tera facet of Margaret after Trelawney's awakening, undertake to revive the mummy. It is understood that if the experiment fails, Queen Tera will be finally and irrevocably dead. But something goes wrong during the ceremony. The original ending is sketchy and unclear, but it seems as if all the experimenters are killed. * Apparently there must have been complaint about this ending, for the 1919 (Rider; London) reissue has a different ending, in which, though the experiment has failed, Trelawney, 'Margaret, and the others survive. It is not known who prepared this second ending, which sits jarringly on preceding events. It has been attributed to Stoker, but I have found no evidence for this and the date renders Stoker unlikely. * Carelessly written and poorly developed, despite interesting ideas. 1549. THE LADY OF· THE SHROUD Heinemann; London 1909 A rather clumsy attempt to combine vampirism, Ruritania, and current events in the Balkans. * The story is told in documents, beginning with a report from the JOURNAL OF OCCULTISM: a ship passing along the (present-day) coast of Yugoslavia passes a floating coffin in which a woman in white stands. This is followed by a very complicated mesh of family squabbles, the upshot of which is that Rupert St. Leger (sometimes also spelled Sent Leger and pronounced Sellenger) inherits a colossal fortune from his uncle on certain conditions. He is to reside in his uncle's castle in Vissarion in the Land of the Blue Mountains (presumably a parallel to Montenegro) and interest himself in local affairs. When Rupert is settled in the castle, a beautiful young woman in a shroud appears at his window one evening and converses with him. She has to leave at dawn. Her visit is repeated, under the same circumstances. Since Rupert had previously been an occult investigator, he recognizes that the lady is probably a vampire, an opinion which is strengthened when he sees her body asleep in a coffin during the day. But he refuses to yield to vulgar prejudice and marries her-- one evening. * At this point the story takes a different turn. It is revealed that the young woman is Teuta Vissarion, the daughter of the local voivode; that she is not a vampire, but suffers occasionally from catalepsy; and that much of her milieu had been staged to interest and influence Rupert. St. Leger is delighted. He takes on responsibilities in the Land of the Blue Mountains; rescues Teuta from Turks who have kidnapped her; is

479 hailed as King of the Blue Mountains; sets up a Balkan conglomerate state, Balka, of ,.hich he becomes overlord. * True supernaturalism enters with the second sight of Rupert's Aunt Janet, who usually sees what is happening elsewhere and elsewhen. * Little to recommend. 1550. THE LAIR OF THE WHITE WORM Rider; London [1911 ] Stoker's last significant work, which reads at times more like the summary of a bad dream than an organized work of fiction. The story is built around the White Worm, an evil serpent of incredible age and size. It lives underground, emerging through an ancient wellhead. In intelligence it is at least equal to a human, and it also has strange abUities. It can assume the form of Lady Arabella March, a beautiful woman. Stoker does not analyze the situation, but the relationship between tne White Worm and Lady Arabella seems to involve identity yet separate existence, an individualized projection in human form. It does not seem to be routine possession. * The present purpose of the Worm is assault, both sexual and murderous. After many complications and plots, the Worm, including Arabella, is destroyed by dynamite charges dropped down into its lair. There is also a mesmerist with remarkable powers. * Stoker was old and very ill when he wrote THE LAIR OF THE WHITE WORM, and he obviously was not in complete control of his material. It is regrettable that he could not have written it twenty years earlier. 1551. DRACULA'S GUEST AND OTHER WEIRD STORIES Routledge; London 1914 Preface by Florence Stoker, widow of the author. A posthumous collection of previously published stories. Including [a] DRACULA'S GUEST. A fragment omitted from the novel DRACULA. Jonathan Harker, on his way to Transylvania, on Walpurgisnacht wanders about the haunted countryside. He sees a female vampire struck by lightning and is attacked by a werewolf. He is saved by a telegram from Dracula, alerting the authorities. An interesting fragment, but the editors were wise in not including it in the novel. [b] THE JUDGE'S HOUSE. Dublin. The young student of mathematics spends nights in a haunted house where suicides of supernatural causation have occurred. Involved is a supernatural rat, which is also the ghost of a very vicious hanging judge. Modelled on LeFanu's HOUSE ON AUNGIER STREET, but well worth reading on its own account. [c] THE SECRET OF THE GROWING GOLD. The corpse of Margaret Delandre, buried beneath a hearthstone, traps her killer. Her hair grows out from beneath the stone. Borderline supernatural, presumably based on the folk belief that hair continues to grow significantly after death. [dJ A GYPSY PROPHECY. The fortuneteller sees a severed wedding ring and blood. This means, she says, that Joshua will murder his wife. The prophecy is literally fulfilled. [e] THE COMING OF ABEL BEHENNA. Cornwall. Abel is allowed to die (manslaughter by negligence) by a rival in love, but Abel's

STOKER, BRAM corpse is washed ashore on the date set for his return and marriage. [f] A DREAM OF RED HANDS. A murderer dreams that his hands are red with blood. When he gives his life to save another person, his hands are clean. [g] CROOKEN SANDS. Seemingly a doppelganger in Scotland. Rationalized. Rather intolerant humor. * Much the best story is [b], which has a certain power. The other stories are negligible. * H. Ludlam in his A BIOGRAPHY OF DRACULA (London, 1962) mentions a special edition of DRACULA'S GUEST printed in 1925 for the 250th performance of the British stage version of DRACULA. The book contained a little spring-operated bat that leaped up when the cover of the book was opened! STOt-l""E, MARY E. American author. 1552. A RIDDLE OF LUCK Lippincott; Philadelphia 1893 Sentimental occult novel. * Richard Dartmouth, a young, would-be author on-the tramp, settles in an abandoned haunted house. The ghost, who also happens to be an author, approaches him, and they make a bargain. Allan Joyce, the ghost, is to dictate a novel to Dartmouth, and in exchange Dartmouth will permit Joyce to occupy his body six months out of each year. Joyce's novel is successful, and Dartmouth, with his new prosperity, marries a local young woman. When he is unwilling to fulfill his end of the bargain, Joyce drugs him and occupies his body for six months. But Joyce is.a lecher and a drunkard, and he soon alienates Dartmouth's wife, so that when Dartmouth returns to his own body his marital situation is desperate. He explains the situation to his wife, and they try to find an occult means of preventing Joyce's return. A Theosophist provides a recipe. But Joyce does not come back, and they are later informed that he has renounced this plane of existence. * Little to recommend. STONG, PHIL[IP] [DUFFIELD] (1899-1957) American newspaper man, periodical editor. Born Iowa. Author of many books, best-known of which is STATE FAIR (1932). Has achieved a historical position as the first editor to publish American science-fiction in mainstream collection. The selection was representative only of certain trends. AS EDITOR: 1553. THE OTHER WORLDS W. Funk; New York [1941] Anthology based on current pulp fiction, including [a] THE CONSIDERATE HOSTS, Thorp McClusky. (WT 1939) A traveller, beset by bad weather, takes shelter in a haunted house. The ghosts, man and wife, tell him that they plan to take revenge on the district attorney who railroaded the man for murder. But the ghosts have human feelings, too. A good twist to an old theme. lb] THE MAN IN THE BLACK HAT, Michael Fessier. (ESQUIRE 1934) Fortune, personified as an old man. The narrator, a gambler and grifter, receives a stake from the man in

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STONG, PHIL the black hat. The final appearance of the man is after his execution for murder. Not explained. Brisk, irrational. [c] NAKED LADY, Mindret Lord. (WT 1934) A vicious millionaire art collector plans revenge on his runaway, golddigger wife. A most realistic portrait is painted and used as a voodoo doll. She suffers when the portrait is exposed. [d] THE HOUSE OF ECSTASY, Ralph Milne Farley. (Pseud. of Roger S. Hoar) Voyeurism. Told as a plea to the reader, remember! A wicked hypnotist absorbs emotions vicariously. [e] ESCAPE, Paul Ernst. (WT 1938) Gannet, in an asylum, works very hard to build his invisible apparatus. His actions are proof of his insanity, but he escapes by means of the apparatus. [f] THE WOMAN IN GRAY, Walker G. Everett. (WT 1935) Bill, not at all seriously, claims_that he has a woman in gray whom he can use as a sending against those whom he hates. When the claim proves valid, he momentarily hates himself. Hate hypostatized. [g] THE PIPES OF PAN, Lester del Rey. (UNK 1940) Pan, surviving from Classical days, adjusts to the modern world as a jitterbug king. [h] AUNT CASSIE, Virginia Swain. Senile Aunt Cassie annoys the relatives she lives with by perpetually talking to the air. Ghosts, she says. But when Neddy is killed in an accident and returns home, he discovers that she was not mad. [i] A GOD IN A GARDEN, Theodore Sturgeon. (UNK 1939) Kenneth, compulsive truth stretcher, unearths a remarkable stone god while digging for a rock garden. The god, being good natured, offers Kenneth a gift: everything he says will be true. It works nicely, except that Kenneth's wife has little to do with the god's truth. Paradox ending. [j] THE MAN WHO KNEW ALL THE ANSWERS, Donald Bern. (AMAZING STORIES, 1940) Nasty capitalist Scuttlebottom has bought a book which gives him the ability to read minds. The power is of no great advantage and it eventually kills him. [k] A PROBLEM FOR BIOGRAPHERS, Mindret Lord. An ancient ring, found on Corfu, conveys infinite sex attraction to the person who wears it. [1] IN THE VAULT, H. P. Lovecraft. (WT 1932) Horrible experiences; locked in with the animate dead. [m] SCHOOL FOR THE UNSPEAKABLE, Manly Wade We1lman.(WT 1937) A boy newly arrived at a boarding school learns that it is a horrible place where Devil worship still flourishes and the students have long been dead. He is saved in an unusual manner. In] THE MYSTERY OF THE LAST GUEST, John Flanders. (Pseud. of Jean Ray) (WT 1935) Horror in a summer resort when the footsteps of Death are heard. [0] SONG OF THE SLAVES, Manly Wade Wellman. (WT 1940) A slaver who has thrown the slaves overboard when a patrol vessel came in sight is overtaken by supernatural punishment. [p] THE PANELLED ROOM, August Derleth. (WESTMINSTER MAGAZINE, 1933) When one sees the panels starting to move, it is time to leave. [q] THE GRAVEYARD RATS, Henry Kuttner. (WT 1936) An early work. Giant rats and living corpses in an old graveyard. Written under

STO:-lG, PHIL the influence of Lovecraft. [r] THE RETURN OF ANDREW BENTLEY, August Derleth and Mark Schorer. (WT 1933) The narrator discovers that his uncle was a black magician. The dead uncle had murdered Bentley, and Bentley's spirit and familiar are trying to get the dead uncle's body. The familiar will remain as long as its patron's body exists. * An incongruous selection, but with occasional good material: [a], [b], [c], [i], em]. STONIER, G[EORGE] W[ALTER] (1903 British critic, journalist associated with the NEW STATESMAN. 1554. THE MEMOIRS OF A GHOST Grey Walls Press; London 1941 This is not the same work as the short story of the same title published in Asquith's THE SECOND GHOST BOOK, even though the themes are similar. The life history of the individual and the narrative mode differ. The short story is conventional, while the book is written in experimental, sensationist ~rose. * The narrator is killed during the bombing of London in World War II and discovers that he is a ghost. After a time he merges back into life, but discovers that "the ghost lives on his own energy; he must draw the lines of every perspective, mould every curve, distribute form, animation and colour." In the end his energy is exhausted. A few scenes haunt him, "scenes that can never have taken place." * Nicely imagined in detail, stylistically superior, but unclear in intention. It is possible that the author is simply discussing problems of readjustment during and after the war. STOWE, HARRIET [ELIZABETH] BEECHER (1811-1896) Famous American writer, daughter of Lyman Beecher. Fairly prolific writer, but all her other work is overshadowed by UNCLE TOM'S CABIN (1852), based in part on the reminiscences of Josiah Henson. Possibly the 19th century American book that achieved widest world renown. 1555. OLD TOWN FIRESIDE STORIES James R. Osgood; Boston 1871 Regionalistic fiction. Narratives told to children, mostly by Sam Lawson; setting is early 19th century Massachusetts. Told in varying degrees of local dialect. * Including, [a] THE GHOST IN THE MILL. Peddler Lommedieu disappeared quite a while ago. One wild night old Ketury, an Indian witch woman, comes to the mill house, calls up into the chimney and summons a ghost, which appears in fragments. It is Lommedieu, murdered by the miller and his father. [b] THE SULLIVAN LOOKING-GLASS. When the old general died on a visit to England, his will could not be found. Ruth Sullivan has a mirror vision, showing an ancient room with high cupboards and the missing will. [c] CAPTAIN KIDD'S MONEY. A rock with private marks on it is assumed to be a locater for Kidd's treasure. Excavation reveals a kettle, probably filled with treasure, but supernatural forces intervene and the kettle flies back into

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STRIBLING, T. S. the ground, which closes over it. Spirits. [d] THE GHOST IN THE CAP'N BROWN HOUSE. A questionable story. Did Cinthy dream when she saw a ghost in her bedroom, or did Sally Dickerson dream when she saw a mysterious, unknown woman emerge from the house? The answer is not known. eel HOW TO FIGHT THE DEVIL. Fraudulent supernaturalism. Three yokels try ~o frighten old Sarah Bunganuck, an Indian woman. One of them disguises himself as the Devil, horns and all, but Sarah is too much for him. * The 1881 reprint (Houghton, Mifflin; Boston) is titled SAM LAWSON'S OLD TOWN FIRESIDE STORIES and adds two more supernatural stories. [f] TOM TOOTHACHE'S GHOST STORY. Up at the Grand Banks the Albatross accidentally runs down a small schooner, all of whose crew are lost. The ghosts of two men appear on the Albatross, trying to warm themselves at a fire. [g] A STUDENT'S SEA STORY. Anecdotes: a death apparition, a poltergeist, a ghost that appears at sea and tells its son what to do. This story is not narrated by Sam Lawson and is not in dialect. * Competent commercial work of the period. STRIBLING, T[HOMAS] S[IGISMUND] (1881-1965) American regionalist (Tennessee, Alabama) writer. Pulitzer Prize for THE STORE (1932), member of trilogy spanning Civil War to the near past in Deep South. Important in history of detective story for stories about Dr. Poggioli. A good satirist who never wrote the great novel that he should have. 1556. EAST IS EAST L. Harper Allen Co.; New York; Consolidated Book Publishers, Inc.; Chicago [1928] Adventure fantasy set around Algiers, with a strong element of satire. Stribling was one of the first to write about foolish ugly-Americans abroad. * Jimmy Million is in Algiers looking for a parasite to control the cotton boll weevil. He becomes entangled in romance, desert adventure, and (in the background) the supernatural. He falls madly in love with an Arab girl and plans to steal her from Count Nalaczi, her guardian, and he also helps a Tuareg kidnap his own wife back from Nalaczi's harem. (The Tuareg had lost her to Nalaczi at gambling.) A maze of adventures follows, with kidnappings, desert chases, gun battles, until Million, wounded by the Arab girl, comes to his senses. In the background is the Eye of Allah, a mysterious crystal, which can change hands only by gift, and offers sight of the future. It apparently works. * Action fiction written for a living. Too much pistoling and punching, but the satirical aspects are sometimes amusing. 1557. THESE BARS OF FLESH Doubleday, Doran; Garden City, N. Y. 1938 Satire on American political institutions, college life, academic pursuits, and science; based in part on Stribling's brief stint at teaching the American novel at Columbia university a few years before. * Andrew Barnett, a small-time cotton farmer and politician from Georgia, comes to the great university at

STRIBLING, T. S.

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Megalopolis to get a college degree. It is a state law that country school superintendents must have such a degree, and by an irony of fate it was Barnett himself who introduced the law. At the university Barnett meets the full range of campus types and activities: student agitation, feminism, sexual freedom, academic politics, Communism, and the researches of Professor Myron Fyke. Fyke, who is a brilliant scholar but also an academic charlatan, is working on an enormous project investigating survival after death. He is conducting word association tests with the students and anyone else who will submit, and is also employing a medium (who is no better than she should be) to converse with the dead. The theory is that should a ghost claim to be a particular person, it should be able to match the word association test and thereby prove its identity. Such positive results as have been obtained Fyke dismisses as telepathy and clairvoyance, At the end of the book, as Fyke is scheduled to deliver his final report that there is no evidence for survival, a test received by the medium matches a recorded score. It is Fyke's. He has just been shot and killed. * A very amusing novel thI Davies, Fred The Stranger Child * Hoffmann, E. T. P The Stranger from Kurdistan * Price, E. H.

STRANGER THINGS * Cram, Mildred Stranger Things * Cram, Mildred Strangers and Pilgrims * de la Me.re, Walter THE STRP.TAGEM >I Crowley, Aleister Strategy at the BilliardG Club * Dunsar.y, Lord THE STRAY LP~ Smith, Thorne A Stray Reveler * Dawson, Emn~ STRAYERS FROM SHEOL >I Wakefield, H. R. The Street * Lovecraft, H. P. THE STREET OF QUEER HOUSES >I Knowles, Vernon The Street of Queer Houses * Knowles, Vernon THE STREEl OF THE EYE * Bullett, Gerald The Street of the Eye * Bullett, Gerald The Striding Place * Atberton, Gertru( The Striking of the Geng * Howard, R. E. THE STRING OF PEARLS * James, G. P. R Strong in the Arms * Knight, Eric The Stronger Spell * de Camp, L. S. THE S'I'UOEtojT * Bulwer-Lytton, E. G. A Student's Sea Story * Stowe, H. B. STUDIES IN LOVE AND TERROR >I Lowndes, Mrs. Belloc A Study in Darkness * Jacobi, Carl A Study in Psychology * Currmins, H. O. A Study in Smoke * Leslie, Shane Sub Specie * Capes, Bernard The Subletting of the Mansion, * Fortune, Dion SUGGESTION * Collins, Mabel Suggestions for a Reading Guide * Lovecraft, H. P. THE SUICIDE'S GRAVE * Hogg, James The Suitable Surroundings * Bierce, Ambrose

*

TITLE INDEX The Sullivan Locking-Glass * Stowe,

712

A SYSTEM OF MAGIC * Defoe, Daniel

H. B.

The Summer-House * Burrage, A. M. SL'II'lllerland * Da.vidson, Avram The Summons * Evans, Don THE SUN QUEEN * Kaner, Hyman The Sundial * Malden, R. H. SVNDRY ACCOL~S * Cobb, I. S. The Sunken Land * Leiber, Fritz The Sunset Harp * Bradbury, Ray The Super Alkaloid * Sncw, Jack Supernatural Horror in Literature * Lovecraft, H. P. THE SVPERNATL~AL IN THE ENGLISH SHORT STORY * Search, pamela THE SI:PERtiATURAL O~NIBUS * SUlluuers, Mcntague . THE SU~ERNATURAL READER * Conklin, Groff and Lucy The Supernumerary Corpse * Smith, C. A. The Superstitious Man's Story * Hardy, Thomas The Supper at Elsinore * Dinesen, Isak The Suppressed Edition * Curle, Richard THE SURLY SULLEN BELL * Kirk, Russell The Surly Sullen Bell * Kirk, Russell Surprise Item * Wakefield, H. R. The Surprising Adventures of Allan Gordon * Hogg, James The Survivor * Lov.ecraft, H. P. and Derleth, August THE SURVIVOR * Parry, Dennis THE SURVIVOR AND OTHERS * Lovecraft, H. P. and Derleth, August The Survivors * Blackwocd, Algernon A Suspicious Gift * Blackwood, Algernon The Sutor of Selkirk * Ancnymous The Swan * Heath-Stubbs, John The Swap * Heard, H. F. The Swarthy Man's Story * Hawthorne, Julian The Sweeper * Ex-Private X SkEET CEARIOT * Baker, Frank Sweet Grass * Whitehead, H. S. Sweet Rocket * Johnston, Mary Sweet Sixteen * Bloch, Robert Sweetheart Primeval * Burroughs, E. R.

Sweets to the Sweet * Bloch, Robert A Swiss Legend * Anonymous SwITCH ON THE LIGHT * Thomson, C.C. The Sword and the Idol * Dunsany, Lord THE SWORD IN THE STONE * White, T. H. The Sword in the Stone * White, T. H. The Sword of Avalon * Malory, Thomas THE SwORD OF CONAN * Howard, R. E. THE SWORD OF WELLERAN * Dunsany, Lord The Sword of Welleran * Dunsany, Lord SWORDS AND SORCERY * de Camp, L. S.

A Sworn Statement * Dawson, Emma Sylvia * Kyffin-Taylor, Bessie Symposium of the Gorgon * Smith, C.A.

The Table~ Turned * Kellett, E. E. The Taipan * Maugham, W. S. "Take My Drum to England •• "* Bond, Nelson Take Your Partners * Blythe, Ronald Taking up Piccadilly * Dunsany, Lord The Tale * Goethe, J. W. von Tale for a Chimney Corner * Hunt, Leigh Tale of a Conjurer * Anonymous A Tale of a Gas-Light Ghost * Anonymous A Tale of an Empty House * Benson, E. F.

The Tale of Henry and Rowena * Shiel, M. P.

The Tale of Kosem Kesamtm * BulwerLytton, E. G. A Tale of London * Dunsany, Lord A Tale of Mystery * Anonymous The Tale of Satampra Zeiros * Smith, C. A.

A TALE OF SECOND SIGHT * Johnson, M. T. A Tale of Seccnd Sight * Johnson, M. T. A Tale of Sir John Mandeville * Smith, C. A. A Tale of the Martyrs * Hogg, Jam.E.s The Tale of the Mysterious Mirror * Scott, Walter Tale of the Piper * Byrne, Donn The Tale of the Porcelain-God * Hearn, Lafcadio A Tale of the Ragged Mountains * Poe, E. A. A Tale of Two Pictures * Holmes, C. H. The Tale That the Ming Bell Told * Ccrley, Donald Talent * Bloch, Robert Talent * Sturgeon, Theodore TALES AND SKETCHES OF THE ETTRICK SHEPHERD * Hogg, James TALES AND STORIES * Shelley, M. W. TALES BEFORE MIDNIGHT * Benet, S. V. TALES BY WILHELM HAUFF * Hauff, Wilhelm TALES FOR CHRISTMAS EVE * Broughton, Rhoda TALES FOR WINTER NIGHTS * Anonymous Anthology TALES FRCM A MOTHER-OF-PEARL CASKET * France, Anatole TALES FROM GAVAGAN'S BAR * Pratt, Fletcher and de Camp, L. S. TALES FROM NIGHT'S DARK AGENTS * Leiber, Fritz TALES FROM THE GERMAN * Oxenford, John and Feiling, C. A. TALES FROM THE PHANTASUS * Tieck, J. L.

TALES FROM UNDERWOOD * Keller, D. H. TALES OF A TRAVELLER * Irving, Washington THE TALES OF ALGERNON BLACKWOOD * Blackwood, Algernon TALES OF ALL NATIONS * Anonymous Anthology TALES OF CHINATOWN * Rohmer, Sax

TITLE INDEX TALES OF CCNAN * Ho.ward, R. E. and de Camp, L. S. TALES OF E. A. POE * Poe, E. A. TALES OF EAST AND WEST * Rohmer, Sax TALES OF FACT AND FANTASY * Matthews, Brander TALES OF FAIRYLAND * Tieck, J. L. TALES OF FEAR * Anonymous Anthology TALES OF GOOSEFLESH AND LAUGHTER * Wyndham, John TALES OF HOFFMANN * Hoffmann, E. T. A. TALES OF HORROR AND THE SUPERNATURAL * Machen, Arthur TALES OF MEN AND GHOSTS * Wharton, Edith TALES OF MYSTERY * Rhys, Ernest and Dawson-Scott, C. TALES OF OTHER DAYS * Akerman, J. Y. TALES OF PIRACY, CRIME, AND GP.OSTS * Defoe, Daniel TALES OF SCIENCE AND SORCERY * Smith, C. A. TALES OF SECRET EGYPT * Rohmer, Sax TALES OF SOLDIERS AND CIVILIANS * Bierce, Ambrose TALES OF SPACE AND TIME * Wells, H. G. TALES OF TERROR * Donovan, Dick TALES OF TERROR * Karloff, Boris TALES OF TERROR * Muspratt, Rosalie TALES OF TERROR * St. Clair, Henry TALES OF THE UNDEAD * Anonymous Anthology TALES OF THE GENII * Morell, Charles TALES OF THE GROTESQUE * Lewis, L. A. TALES OF THE GROTESQUE AND ARABESQUE * Poe, E. A. TALES OF THE RUG AND THE CAMP * Doyle, A. C. TALES OF THE UNDEAD * Blaisdell, Elinore TALES OF THE UNEASY * Hunt, Violet TALES OF THE WILD AND THE WONDERFUL * Anonymous Anthology Tales of the Wisdom of the Ages * Anonymous TALES OF THE WONDER CLUB * Dryasdust TALES OF THREE HEMISPHERES * Dunsany, Lord TALES OF WAR * Dunsany, Lord Tales of Widow Weeks * Mayor, F. M. TALES OF WONDER * Dunsany, Lord TALES TO BE TOLD IN THE DARK * Davenport, Basil The Talisman * Alexander, S. B. The Talisman,* de la Mare, Walter The Talisman * Field, Eugene The Talismans * Garnett, Richard THE TALKERS * Chambers, R. W. THE TALKING HORSE AND OTHER TALES Anstey, F. THE TALKING HORSE * Anstey, F. THE TALKING IMAGE OF URUR * Hartmann, Franz The Talking Ships * Quiller-Couch, A.

T. The Tall Ghost * Alarcon, Pedro de The Tall One * Van Doren, Mark Tall Tales but True * Caldecott, Andrew THE TALL VILLA * Malet, Lucas The Tall Woman * Alarcon, Pedro de Tamar * Smith, Eleanor TAMAR CURZE * St. Luz, Berthe Tanhuser and the Gods * Lee, Vernon The Tannenhaeuser * Tieck, J. L.

TITLE INDEX The Tapestried Chamber * Scott, Walter Tarbis of the Lake * Price, E. H. The Tarn * Walpole, Hugh The Tarn of Sacrifice * Blackwood, Algernon and Wilson, Wilfred Tarnhelm * Walpole, Hugh The Tattooed Man * Starrett, Vincent Tatuana * Asturias, Miguel Taureke's Eyes * Bolitho, Hector Tcheriapin * Rohmer, Sax Tea Leaves * Whitehead, H. S. Technical Slip * Harris, J. B. Teig O'Kane and the Corpse * Hyde, Douglas The Telegram * Hunt, Violet The Telepather * Hering, H. A. The Telephone,* Treadgold, Mary The Telephone in the Library * Derleth, August Tell Your Fortune * Bloch, Robert The Temple * Benson, E. F. The Temple * Lovecraft, H. P. The Temple of Death * Benson, A. C. THE TEMPLE OF DREAMS * Bo'ld, Paul The Temple of Jaguars * Spence, Lewis The Temple Servant * Morrough, E. R. The Temptation of Harringay * Wells, H. G. The Temptation of the Clay * Blackwood, Algernon TEN MINUTE STORIES * Blackwood, Al gernon Ten O'Clock * MacDonald, Philip TEN OF US * Alexander, S. B. Ten Percenter * Brown, Fredric The Tenants * Tenn, William The Tenants of Broussac * Quinn, Seabury Tendebant Manus * Buchan, John Terence O'Flaherty * Macnish, Robert The Terrible Answer * Gallico, Paul A Terrible Night * Anonymous The Terrible Old Man * Lovecraft, H. P.

The Terrible parchment * Wellman, M. W.

A Terrible Vengeance * Riddell, Mrs. J. H. The Terrible Voyage of the "Toad" * Mitchell, E. P. TERRIBLE TALES * Anonymous Anthology THE TERROR * Machen, Arthur Terror * Maupassant, Guy de TERROR BY GASLIGHT * Lamb, Hugh The Terror by Night * Benson, E. F. The Terror by Night * Lister, Lewis The Terror by Night * Trimble, Ismay TERROR IN THE MODERN VEIN * Wollheim, D. A. The Terror of the Devereux Vaults * Nicholson, John The Terror of the Twins * Blackwood, Algernon

713 Terror on the Links * Quinn, Seabury The Terror on Tobit * Lloyd, Charles TERRORS * Anonymous Anthology A Test of Courage * Leadbeater, C. W. The Testament of Athammaus * Smith, C. A.

The Testament of Claiborne Boyd * Derleth, August The Testament of Magdalen Blair * Crowley, Aleister That Dieth Not * Wakefield, H. R. That Haunting Thing * Abdullah, Achmed That Hell-Bound Train * Bloch, Robert THAT HIDEOUS STRENGTH * Lewis, C. S. That Low * Sturgeon, Theodore That of Granny Magone * Bierce, Ambrose That Receding Brow * Brand, Max That's What Happened to Me * Fessier, Michael The Theft of the Thirty-Nine Girdles * Smith, C. A. Their Dear Little Ghost * Peattie, Elia There Is a Tide * Finney, Jack THERE IS ANOTHER HEAVEN * Nathan, Robert "There Shall Be Light at Thy Death" * Mayor, F. M. There Shall Be No Darkness * Blish, James THERE WAS A DOOR * Mundy, Talbot THERE WAS A LITTLE MAN * Jones, Guy and Constance There Was a Man Dwelt by a Churchyard * James, M. R. There Was an Old Woman * Bradbury, Ray THERE WERE TWO PIRATES * Cabell, J. B. THESE BARS OF FLESH * Stribling, T. S. THESE CHARMING PEOPLE * Arlen, Michael These Doth the Lord Hate * Wellman, M. W.

THESE WILL CHILL YOU * Wright, Lee and Sheehan, R. G. They * Heinlein, R. A. "They" * Kipling, Rudyard They Bite * Boucher, Anthony THEY CHOSE TO BE BIRDS * Dearmer, Geoffrey They Come for Their Own * Claxton, A. H.

They Found My Grave * Shearing, Joseph THEY RETURN AT EVENING * Wakefield, H. R. They Shall Rise * Derleth, August and Schorer, Mark THEY WALK AGAIN * de la Mare, Colin THEY WENT * Douglas, Norman The Thief * de la Mare, Walter THE THIEF OF BAGDAD * Abdullah, Achmed The Thief's Taper * Campbell, Gilbert Thieves' House * Leiber, Fritz Thimgs [sicl * Cogswell, T. R. A Thin Gentleman with Gloves * Derleth, August A THIN GHOST AND OTHERS * James, M. R.

A Thing about Machines * Serling, Rod The Thing at Nolan * Bierce, Ambrose THE THING FROM THE LAKE * Ingram, E. M.

TITLE INDEX The Thing from the Pit * Aylmer, A. S. THE THING IN THE CELLAR * Ke ller, D. H. The Thing in the Forest * Capes, Bernard The Thing in the Hall * Benson, E. F. The Thing in the Moonlight * Lovecraft, H. P. The Thing in the Upper Room * Morrison, Arthur THE THING IN THE WOODS * Williams, Harper The Thing Invisible * Hodgson, W. H. The Thing on the Doorstep * Lovecraft, H. P.

The Thing on the Roof * Howard, R. E. The Thing That Smelt * Blayre, Christopher The Thing That Walked on the Wind * Derleth, August "Things'll Reach out for You" * Gloag, John The Thinking Cap * Bloch, Robert The Third Coach * Wakefield, H. R. The Third Episode of Vathek (Conclusion) * Smith, C. A. THE THIRD EYE * Cogswell, Theodore THIRD FROM THE SUN * Matheson, Richard THE THIRD GHOST BOOK * Asquith, Cynthia THE THIRD LEVEL * Finney, Jack The Third Level Finney, Jack THE THIRD OMNIBUS OF CRIME * Sayers, Dorothy The Third Performance * Gittins, Anthony The Third Person * James, Henry Third Person Singular * Dane, Clemence The Third Shadow * Wakefield, H. R. The Third Time * Ingram, Kenneth THIRTEEN * Austin, F. B. Thirteen at Table * Dunsany, Lord THIRTEEN O'CLOCK * Benet, S. V. Thirteen O'Clock * Kornbluth, Cyril Thirteen Phantasms * Smith, C. A. 13 SECONDS THAT ROCKED THE WORLD * Meyer, John J. The Thirteenth Tree * Malden,iR. H. Thirty * Preston, Guy The Thirty and One * Keller, D. H. THIRTY STRANGE STORIES * Wells, H. G. THE THIRTY-FIRST OF FEBRUARY * Bond, Nelson THIS ABOVE ALL * Shiel, M. P. This Is All * Pain, Barry THIS MAN'S WORLD * Cobb, I. S. THIS MORTAL COIL * Asquith, Cynthia THIS WAS IVOR TRENT * Houghton, Claude This Way to the Regress * Knight, Damon Those Who Seek * Derleth, August Those Whom the Gods Love * Hughes, Hilda Thou Shalt Not Suffer a Witch * Hughes, D. K. Though One Rose from the Dead * Howells, W. D. The Thought * Hartley, L. P. The Thought Monster * Long, A. B. Thrawn Janet * Stevenson, R. L. Three and One Are One * Bierce, Ambrose Three Coffins * Burks, A. J. ::: * Hepworth, George THREE FANTASTIC TALES * Houghton, Claude THE THREE GENTLEMEN * Mason, A. E. W.

*

TITLE INDEX

714

Three Gentlemen in Black * Derleth, August The Three Gods * Knowles, Vernon THREE GOTHIC NOVELS Bleiler, E. F. THREE HEARTS AND THREE LIONS * Anderson, Poul The Three Hermits * Tolstoi, Leo Three Hours with H. P. Lovecraft * Walter, D. C. THE THREE IMPOSTORS * Machen, Arthur The Three Infernal Jokes * Dunsany, Lord THREE LINES OF OLD FRENCH * Merrit, A. Three Lines of Old French * Merrit, A. The Three Low Masses * Daudet, Alphonse Three Marked Pennies * Counselman,

*

M. E.

The Three Marvels of Hy * Macleod, Fiona THREE MIDNIGHT STORIES * Drake, Alexander Three Miles Up * Howard, E. J. The Three Nails * Jackson, Charles Loring Three, or Four, for Dinner * L. P. Hartley The Three Palaces * Garnett, Richard Three Pennyworth of Luck * Murray, Basil The Three Sailors' Gambit * Dunsany, Lord The Three Sisters * Jacobs, W. W. The Three Sleeping Boys of Warwickshire * de la Mare, Walter Three Stories for Christmas EVeJerome, J. K. THREE SUPERNATURAL NOVELS OF THE VICTORIAN PERIOD * Bleiler, E. F. The Three Swans Anonymous THREE TALES * 0' Connor, W. D. The Three Wishes * Carleton, William Three Young Ladies Stoker, Bram A Threefold Cord * Blackwood, A. The Threepenny Piece * Stephens, J. Threesie * Cogswell, T. R. Threshold * Kuttner, Henry THRILLS * Anonymous Anthology THRILLS, CRIMES AND MYSTERIES * AI.onymous Anthology THRO' SPACE * Rock, James The Throme of the Erril of Sherill * McKillip, P. A. "Through" * Benson, E. F. Through Hyperspace with Brown Jenkin * Leiber, Fritz Through the Dragon Glass * Merritt,

*

*

A. -

Through the Eyes of a Child * Ex-Private X Through the Gate of Dreams * Sullivan, T. R. Through the Gates of Horn * Austin, F. B.

Through the Gates of the Silver Key * Lovecraft, H. P. THROUGH THE RED-LITTEN WINDOWS * Hertz-Garten, Theodor Through the Red-Litten Windows * Hertz-Garten, Theodor

TITLE INDEX

Through the Veil * Doyle, A. C. THRU THE DRAGON GLASS * Merritt, A. The Thug Beck, L. A. THE THUNDER DRAGON GATE Mundy, Talbot THUNDER ON THE LEFT Morley, Christopher Thunderbolt * Stuart, Mi~anda Thurlow's Christmas Party * Bangs, J. K. Thurnley Abbey * Landon, Perceval Thursday Evenings * Benson, E. F. Thus I Refute Beelzy * Collier, John Thus Spake the Prophetess * Burks, A. J. Tibby Hislop's Dream * Hogg, James Tibby Johnston's Wraith * Hogg, James The Tiger * Walpole, Hugh Tiger Dust * Morgan, Bassett Time and Space * Lovecraft, H. P. TIME AND THE GODS * Dunsany, Lord Time and the Gods * Dunsany, Lord Time and the Tradesman * Dunsany, Lord THE TIME BARGAIN * Anstey, F. Time Can Frisk * Marlow, Louis TIME MUST HAVE A STOP * Huxley, Aldous A Time to Keep * Wilhelm, Kate Time Trammel * DeFord, M. A. Time-fuse * Metcalfe, John TIMELESS STORIES FOR TODAY AND TOMORROW * Bradbury, Ray The Tincture of Success * Sullivan, T. R. The Tinkle of the Camel's Bell * Owen, Frank THE TINTED VENUS * Anstey, F. The Tipster * Marsh, Richard TITAN, SON OF SATURN * Burroughs, J. B. Titania's Faretqell * Besant, Walter and Rice, James Title Fight * Gault, W. C. To Arkham and the Stars * Leiber, Fritz To Be Accounted For * Abdullah, Achmed To Be Let Unfurnished * Vallings, Gabrielle TO BE READ AT DUSK * Dickens, Charles To Be Read at Dusk * Dickens, Charles To Be Taken with a Grain of Salt * Dickens, Charles To Fell a Tree * Young, R. F. To Fit the Crime * Matheson, Richard To Lamoir * Arlen, Michael "TO LET" * Croker, B. M. "To Let" * Croker, B. M. To Saragossa or Back" to the Pond * Caballero, Fernan To Starch a Spook * Benedict, Andrew TO THE DEVIL--A DAUGHTER * Wheatley, Dennis To the New York Public * "Raymond, Henry J." To Whom This May Come * Bellamy, Edward Tobermory * Saki Tobias Martin, Master Cooper * Hoffmann, E. T. A.

*

*

*

THE TOE AND OTHER TALES * Harvey, Alexander The Token * Sinclair, May TOLD AFTER SUPPER * Jerome, J. K. TOLD IN THE DARK * Van ThaI, Herbert The "Toll-House" * Jacobs, W. W. TOM OSSINGTON'S GHOST * Marsh, Richard Tom Toothache's Ghost Story * Stowe, H. B.

Tomas and Pepina * Gilbert, William TOMATO CAIN * Kneale, Nigel The Tomb * Lovecraft, H. P. The Tomb from Beyond * Jacobi, Carl The Tomb of Heiri * Benson, A. C. The Tomb of Pan * Dunsany, Lord The Tomb of Sarah * Loring, F. G. The Tombling Day * Bradbury, Ray The Tomb-Spawn * Smith, C. A. Tommy's Hero * Anstey, F. Tomorrow Is Forever * Cave, H. B. The Tomtom Clue * Morgan, Cecil and Jarvis, Scudamore TONGUES OF CONSCIENCE * Hichens, Robert TONGUES OF FIRE * Blackwood, Algernon Tongues of Fire * Blackwood, Algernon Tony's Drum * Capes, Bernard Too Far * Brown, Fredric The Tool * Harvey, W. F. The Tooth of Tuloo * Dehan, Richard The Topley place Sale Munby, A. N. TOPPER * Smith, Thorne TOPPER TAKES A TRIP * Smith, Thorne TOPPLETON'S CLIENT * Bangs, J. K. The Tortoise-Shell Cat * La Spina, Greye The Totem-Pole * Bloch, Robert Totteridge Priory * Neele, Henry A Touch of Grapefruit * Matheson, Ric~ ard THE TOUCH OF NUTMEG * Collier, John The Touch of Pan * Blackwood, Algernon A Touch of Strange * Sturgeon, Theodore A Tough Tussle * Bierce, Ambrose TOURMALIN'S TIME CHEQUES * Anstey, F. The Tower * Laski, Marghanita The Tower * Pain, Barry The Tower Gargoyle * Couldrey, Oswald The Tower of Moab * Lewis, L. A. The Tower of the Elephant * Howard,

*

R. E.

Toys

* Robbins,

Tod

* Saki The Tractate Middoth * James, M. R. The Tradition * Blackwood, Algernon The Tradition of the Tea-Plant * Hearn, Lafcadio TRADITIONAL TALES OF THE ENGLISH AND SCOTTISH PEASANTRY * Cunningham, Allan TRAFFICS AND DISCOVERIES * Kipling, Rudyard The Tragedy at the "Loup Noir" * Stern, G. B. The Tragedy of the Gnomes * Holmes, THE TOYS OF PEACE

I

C. H.

The Tragedy of the White Tanks * Cory, C. B. THE TRAIL OF CTHULHU * Derleth, Augu~ The Trail of Cthulhu * Derleth, Augu~ The Traitor * Hart, J. S. The Transfer * Blackwood, Algernon The Transferred Ghost * Stockton, Frank

I

TITLE INDEX

715

Transformation * Shelley, M. G. THE TRANSIENTS * Van Doren, Mark Transition * Blackwood, Algernon The Transition of Juan Romero Lovecraft, H. P. TRANSMIGRATION * Collins, Mortimer The Transmutation of Ling * Bramah, Ernest The Transplanted Ghosts * Irwin, Wallace The Trap * Whitehead, H. S. The Trapdoor * Heriot, C. D. Traumerei * Beaumont, Charles THE TRAVEL TALES OF MR. JORKENS * Dunsany, Lord TRAVELERS IN TIME Stern, P. v. D. The Traveling Salesman * Bloch, Robert The Traveller * Benson, R. H. The Traveller * Bradbury, Ray The Travelling Companion * Jackson,

*

*

C. L.

THE TRAVELLING COMPANIONS * James, Henry THE TRAVELLING GRAVE * Hartley, L. P. Travels * Mandeville, Jehan de The Travels of Prince Acbar * James, G. P. R.

Treachery Its Own Betrayer * Eberhard, C. A. The Treader of the Dust * Smith, C. A. The Treasure of Abbot Thomas * James, M. R. THE TREASURE OF HO * Beck, L. A. The Treasure of the Blue Nuns * Pater, Roger TREASURE OF THE LAKE * Haggard, H. R. The Treasure of Tranicos * Howard, R. E. and de Camp. L. S. The Treasure Seeker * Musaeus, J. K. TREASURY OF VICTORIAN GHOST STORIES * Bleiler, E. F. The Tree * Lovecraft, H. P. The Tree of Death * Pain, Barry The Tree of Life * Moore, C. L. A TREE OF NIGHT * Capote, Truman The Tree-Man * Whitehead, H. S. The Tree's Wife * Counselman, M. E. The Tregannet Book of Hours * Mumby, A. N. The Tregethen's Curse * Anonymous The Tress * Maupassant, Guy de The Tress of Hair * Maupassant, Guy de The Trial for Murder * Dickens, Charles A Trick or Two * Novotny, John The Tricolour Death * Muspratt, Rosalie The Triflin' Man * Miller, W. M. TRILBY * DuMaurier, George The Trimmer * Newton, Douglas TRIPLE W * Serling, Rod A Triple Warning * Leadbeater, C.

W.

The Triptych * Meyerstein, E. H. W. The Triskelion * Stead, Christina Triton * Hubbard, L. Ron TRITON AND BATTLE OF WIZARDS * Hubbard, L. Ron THE TRITONIAN RING * de Camp, L. S. The Tritonian Ring * de Camp, L. S.

The Triumph of Death R.

The The The The

TITLE INDEX

* Wakefield, H. * Wharton, Edith

Triumph of Night Trod Blackwood, Algernon Troll * White, T. H. Trouble in Leafy Green Street * Dunsany, Lord Trouble with Water * Gold, H. L. The True Legend of Prince Bladud * Dickens, Charles A TRUE RELATION OF THE APPARITION OF ONE MRS. VEAL [etc} * Defoe, Daniel The Trumpet * de la Mare, Walter The Trunk * Murray, Philip The Trusty Eckhart * Tieck, J. L. The Truth * Carter, Frederick The Truth about Pyecraft * Wells, H.

*

G.

Truth and Her Companions * Garnett, Richard The Truth, the Whole Truth, and Nothing But the Truth * Broughton, Rhoda Try This for Psis * Bloch, Robert The Tryst * Blackwood, Algernon T'sais * Vance, Jack The Tsantsa in the Parlor * Derleth, August The Tudor Chimney * Munby, A. N. Tug of War * Lie, Jonas Tulsah * Shiel, M. P. Turjan of Miir * Vance, Jack The Turn of the Screw * James, Henry TURNABOUT * Smith, Thorne TURNING ON * Knight, Damon THE TURTLES OF TASMAN * London, Jack Twelve O'Clock * Whibley, Charles TWELVE STORIES AND A DREAM * Wells, H. G.

TWELVE TALES * Allen, Grant TWELVE TALES OF SUSPENSE AND THE SUPERNATURAL * Grubb, Davis TWENTY-FIVE GHOST STORIES * Holland, W. Bob 25 MODERN STORIES OF MYSTERY AND IMAGINATION * Stong, Phil TWENTY-FIVE SHORT STORIES * Benet, S. V.

26 MYSTERY STORIES, OLD AND NEW

*

Rhys, Ernest and Dawson-Scott, C.

A. TWENTY-TWO STRANGE STORIES J. L.

*

Hardie,

TWICE-TOLD TALES * Hawthorne, Nathaniel THE TWILIGHT OF THE GODS * Garnett, Richard The Twilight of the Gods * Garnett, Richard Twilight of the Gods * Hamilton, Edmond TWILIGHT TALES * Broughton, Rhoda The Twins * Kyffin-Taylor, Bessie The Twins * Robertson, Morgan TWISTED Conklin, Groff Twister * Counselman, M. E. Two Actors for One Role * Gautier, Theophile Two and a Third * Harvey, W. F. TWO AND TWO MAKE FIVE * Knowles, Vernon Two Black Bottles * Talman, W. B. TWO BOTTLES OF RELISH * Burnett, Whit

*

Two TWO Two The TWO

Comments * Lovecraft, H. P. DESTINIES * Collins, Wilkie Doctors * James, M. R. Two Drovers * Scott, Walter HUNDRED MILLION A. D. * van Vogt,

A. E.

Two Lighted Candles * Hichens, RObert Two Little Red Shoes * Kyffin-Taylor, Bessie The Two Lovers * Gilbert, William THE TWO MAGICS * James, Henry Two Military Executions * Bierce, Ambrose The Two Old Women * Meik, Vivian The Two Selves * Knowles, Vernon TWO SIDES OF THE FACE * Quiller-Couch, A. T.

TWO SOUGHT ADVENTURE * Leiber, Fritz TWO STORIES OF THE SEEN AND UNSEEN * Oliphant, Mrs. M. TWO TALES * de la Mare, Walter THE TWO TOWERS * Tolkien, J. R. R. Two Trifles * Onions, Oliver Typewriter in the Sky * Hubbard, L. Ron

Ubazakura * Hearn, Lafcadio Ubbo-Sathla * Smith, C. A. Ugly Sister * Struther, Jan Ulad of the Dreams * Macleod, Fiona Ulan Dhor Ends a Dream * Vance, Jack The Ultimate Adventure * Hubbard, L. Ron The Ultimate Wish * Hull, E. M. Ultor de Lacy * LeFanu, J. S. An Unbidden Guest * Anonymous The Unbolted Door * Lowndes, Mrs. Belloc The Unbroken Chair * Cobb, I. S. Unburied Bane * Dennett, N. The Uncanny Bairn * Baldwin, Mrs. Alfred The Uncanny Guest * Hoffmann, E. T. A. UNCANNY STORIES * Sinclair, May UNCANNY TALES * Crawford, F. M. UNCANNY TALES * Molesworth, Mrs. M. Uncanonized * Quinn, Seabury The Uncharted Isle * Smith, C. A. The Unchristened Child * Pearce, J. H. UNCLAY * Powys, T. F. Uncle Abraham's Romance * Nesbit, E. UNCLE ARTHUR * Pudney, John Uncle Arthur * Pudney, John Uncle Einar * Bradbury, Ray Uncle Ezekiel's Long Sight * Burke, Thomas Uncle Isaiah * Kirk, Russell Uncle Phil on"TV * Priestley, J. B. An Uncomfortable Night * Jackson, C. L. THE UNCOMMERCIAL TRAVELLER * Dickens, Charles The Uncommon Prayer-Book * James, M. R. An Uncommon Sort of Spectre * Mitchell, E. P. Uncovenanted Mercies * Kipling, Rudyard The Undead Soldier * Wellman. M. W. UNDER THE HERMES * Dehan, Richard Under the Hermes * Dehan, Richard Under the Knife * Wells, H. G.

TITLE INDEX

716

Under tne Lens * Austin, F. B. Under tne Mistletoe * Caldecott, Andrew Under tne Sun * Roberts, R. E. Under Which King? * Benson, 'R. H. Underground * Bloch, Robert The Undertaker * Pushkin, A. N. THE UNDESIRED PRINCESS * de Camp, L. S.

The Undesired Princess

*

de Camp,

L. S.

UNDINE * Fouque, F. de la Motte An Undiscovered "Isle in the Far Sea" * Jackson, C. L. THE UNDYING MONSTER * Kerruish, J. D. The Undying Thing * Pain, Barry UNEASY FREEHOLD * Macardle, Dorothy Uneasy Lie the Drowned * Wand rei, Donald THE UNEXPECTED * Margulies, Leo An Unexpected Journey * Pearce, J. H.

Unexplained * Moleswortn, Mrs. M. An Unexplained Miracle * Housman, Laurence An Unfair Exchange * Holmes, C. H. The Unfinished Game * Pain, Barry An Unfinished Race * Bierce, Ambrose , THE UNFORTUNATE FURSEY * Wall, Mervyn The Unhappy Body * Dunsany, Lord The Unholy Compact'Abjured * Pigault-Lebrun, Charles The Unholy Grail,* Leiber, Fritz UNHOLY RELICS * Dare, M. P. Unholy Relics * Dare, M. P. THE UNINHABITED HOUSE * Riddell, Mrs. J. H. THE UNINVITED * Macardle, Dorothy The Uninvited Face * Asquith, Michael Union in Gehenna * Bond, Nelson The Unknown! * Anne of Swansea THE UNKNOWN * Bensen, D. R. The Unknown * Maupassant, Guy de THE UNKNOWN FIVE * Bensen, D. R. Bousfield, The Unknown Island

*

H. T. W.

The Unknown Patient * Fouque, F. de la Motte Punshon, E. The Unknown Quantity

*

R.

Tne Unnamable * Lovecraft, H. P. Tne Unpardonable Sin * Hawthorne, Natnaniel THE UNPLEASANT PROFESSION OF JONATHAN HOAG * Heinlein, R. A. Tne Unpleasant Profession of Jonatnan Hoag * Heinlein, R. A. The Unquiet Grave * Mayor, F. M. An Unrecorded Instance * Lowndes, Mrs. Belloc An Unrecorded Test Match * Dunsany, Lord Unrehearsed * Wakefield, H. R. The Unseen Man's Story * Hawthorne, Julian The Unseen Power * Pain, Barry Unseen-Unfeared * Stevens, Francis The Unspeakable Betrothal * Bloch, Robert

The Untimely Toper * Pratt, Fletcher and de Camp, L. S. Unto Babes * Benson, R. H. Unto Salvation * Forrest, Julian Unto the Fourth Generation * Asimov, Isaac UNTOUCHED BY HUMAN HANDS * Sheckley, Robert The Unwanted * Counselman, M. E. Unwinding * Harvey, W. F. Up Under the Roof * Wellman, M. W. UPON THE MIDNIGHT * Bull, R. C. THE UPPER BERTH * Crawford, F. M. The Upper Berth * Crawford, F. M. Used Car * Wakefield, H. R. Usher II * Bradbury, Ray Usury * Dunsany, Lord UTINAM * Arkwrignt, William The Uttermost Farthing * Benson, A. C.

TITLE INDEX The Vengeance of Ai * Derleth, August and Schorer, Mark The Vengeance of Men * Dunsany, Lord The Vengeance of the Dead * Barr, R. S. Venus * Baring, Maurice The Venus of Ille * Merimee, Prosper Vera * Villiers de l'Isle-Adam, Jean Vermont: A First Impression * Lovecraft, H. P. Le vert galant * Anonymous The Very Last Day of a Good Woman * Ellison, Harlan 'The Very Old Folk * Lovecraft, H. P. Vessels of Clay * Housman, Laurence The Vial Genie * Fouque, F. de la Motte The Vicar and the Dryad * Sleigh, Bernard The ''Viccolo'' of Madam Lucrezia * Merimee, Prosper VICE VERSA Anstey, F. The Victim * Sinclair, May A Victim of Higher Space * Blackwood, Algernon A Victim of Medusa * Caldecott, Andrew VICTORIAN GHOST STORIES * Summers, Montague VICTORIAN NIGHTMARES * Lamb, Hugh The Victorian Room and James * Hughes, Richard VICTORIAN TALES OF TERROR * Lamb, Hugh The Victor's Wreath * Fouque, F. de la Motte The View * Aickman, Robert A View from a Hill * James, M. R. The Villa Desiree * Sinclair, May The Village Apparition * Anonymous The Village Bully * LeFanu, J. S. A Vine on a House * Bierce, Ambrose VlNEGAR-- AND CREAM * Bousfield, H.

*

The Vacant Lot * Freeman, M. W. The Vacation * Bradbury, Ray Vaila * Shiel, M. P. VAIN OBLATIONS * Gerould, K. F. VALDAR THE OFT-BORN * Griffith, George Valdrwulf * Anonymous Vale of the Corbies * Burks, A. J. Valerius * Shelley, M. W. VALIANT DUST * Gerould, K. F. Valley of Bones * Keller, D. H. The Valley of the Eeasts * Blackwood, Algernon and Wilson, Wilfred The Valley of the Just * Rohmer, Sax The Valley of the Worm * Howard, R. E.

The Valley Was Still * Wellman, M. W. The Valor of Cappen Varra * Anderson, Poul rhe Va~pire * Gautier, Theophile The Vampire * H::lffma'::.n, E. T. A. THE VAMPIRE * Horler, Sydney The Vampire Neruda, Jan The Vampire Maid * Nisbet, Hume THE VAMPYRE * Polidori, John Vandy, Vandy * Wellman, M. W. The Vanished Prime Minister * Hering, H. A. The Vanishing American * Beaumont, Charles The Vanishing House * Capes, Bernard The Vanishing Trick * Davy, Charles VARIATION ON A THEME * Collier, John VARNEY, THE VAMPYRE * Anonymous VATHEK * Beckford, William VEENI THE MASTER * Lamport, R. E. The Veiled Portrait * Grant, James VEILS OF FEAR * Meik, Vivian The Veldt * Bradbury, Ray A Venetian Ghost Story * Muspratt, Rosalie THE VENETIAN GLASS NEPHEW * Wylie, Elinor "Vengeance Is Mine" * Blackwood, Algernon and Wilson, Wilfred The Vengeance of a Tree * Lewis, Eleanor

*

T. W.

THE VINTAGE * West, Anthony A Vintage from Atlantis * Smith, C•. A. The Violet Apple * Lindsay, David THE VIOLET APPLE AND THE WITCH * Lindsay, David The Violin * Marsh, Richard The Virgin as Nun * Keller, Gottfried The Virgin of the Seven Daggers * Lee, Vernon A Virtuoso's Collection * Hawthorne, Nathaniel VISIBLE AND INVISIBLE * Benson, E. F. Vision and Television * Megroz, R. L. The Vision of Bruce * Macnish, Robert The Vision of Campbell of Inverawe * Lauder, Sir Thomas The Vision of Charles XI * Merimee, Prosper A Vision of Judgment * Wells, H. G. A Vision of Learning * Dilke, E. F. A Vision of Purgatory * Maginn, Willia. The Vision of the Dead * Hearn, Lafcadio The Vision of Tom Chuff * LeFanu, J. S.

The Vision of Yin * Bramah, Ernest Visions of the Night * Bierce, Ambrose A Visit at Midnight * Steiner-Prag, Hugo A Visit to the Clerk of the Weather Hawthorne, Nathaniel The Visitation * Sandoz, Maurice

*

TITLE INDEX

717

A Visitor at Ashcombe * Rolt, L. T. C. A Visitor from Down Under * Hartley, L. p. A Visitor from Egypt * Long, F. B. Viy Gogol, Nicolai The Voice * Alan, A. J. The Voice * Capes, Bernard The Voice * Gale, Zona A Voice from the Pit * Capes, Bernard The Voice in the Dark * Christie, Agatha The Voice in the Earphones * Schramm, Wilbur The Voice in the Night * Hodgson,

*

W. H.

The Voice in the Night * Wintle, W. J. THE VOICE OF DASHIN * Ganpat The Voice of En-Lil * Howard, R. E. The Voice of God * Holtby, Winifred The Voices * Robertson, Morgan Voodoo * Brown, Fredric The Vow * Fouque, F. de la Motte The Vow * Hoffmann, E. T. A. The Voyage of King Euvoran * Smith, C. A. A VOYAGE TO ARCTURUS * Lindsay, David A Voyage to Sfanomoe * Smith, C. A.

W. S. * Hartley, L. ·P. A Wager and a Ghost * O'Donnell, Elliott WAGNER, THE WEHRWOLF * Reynolds, G. W. M. WAILING WELL * James, M. R. Wailing Well * James, M. R. Wake Not the Dead * Tieck, J. L. WAKE UP SCREAMING * Wright, Lee and Sheehan, R. G. Waldeck * Anonymous Waldo * Heinlein, R. A. WALDO, AND MAGIC, INC. * Heinlein, R. A. A Walk in the Night * Dunsany, Lord Walk Like a Mountain * Wellman, M. W. The Walk to Lingham * Dunsany, Lord A WALK WITH THE BEAST * Collins, C. M. The Walker in the Picture Gallery * Nicholson, John Walking Aunt Daid * Henderson, Zenna Walking Distance * Serling, Rod WALKING SHADOWS * Noyes, Alfred Walks with H. P. Lovecraft * Eddy, C.

M. THE WALL AROUND THE WORLD T. R.

The Wall around the World

* *

Cogswell, Cogswell,

T. R.

WALL OF SERPENTS * de Camp. L. S. and Pratt, Fletcher Wall of Serpents * de Camp, L. S. and Pratt, Fletcher The Walled-in Door * Hoffmann, E.

T. A. The Walled-up Door

T. A.

*

Hoffmann, E.

TITLE INDEX

Walnut-Tree House * Riddell, Mrs. J. H. THE WANDERER'S NECKLACE * Haggard, H. R.

*

WANDERING GHOSTS Crawford, F. M. WANDERING HEATH * Quiller-Couch, A.

T.

THE WANDERING JEW * Sue, Eugene Wandering Willie's Tale * Scott, Walter WAR IN HEAVEN * Williams, Charles The Wardrobe * Mann, Thomas The Warlock of Glororum * Pease, Howard Warm * Sheckley, Robert Warm, Dark Places * Gold, Horace The Warning * Anonymous The Warning * Dunsany, Lord The Warning of the Sword * Campbell, Gilbert A WARNING TO THE CURIOUS * James, M. R.

A Warning to the Curious

*

James,

M. R.

The Warnings * Pater, Roger Warrior in Darkness * Wellman, M. W.

Was It a Dream? * Maupassant, Guy de THE WASHER OF THE FORD * Macleod, Fiona The Washer of the Ford * Macleod, Fiona Waste Manor * Beck, L. A. The Watch * Knowles, Vernon WATCH THE NORTH WIND RISE * Graves, Robert The Watcher * Benson, R. H. The Watcher * LeFanu, J. S. THE WATCHER AND OTHER WEIRD STORIES * LeFanu, J. S. A Watcher by the Dead * Bierce, Ambrose THE WATCHER BY THE THRESHOLD * Buchan, John The Watcher by the Threshold * Buchan, John The Watcher from the Sky * Derleth, August The Watcher in the Green Room * Cave, H. B. The Watcher in the Hill * Wintle, W. J.

A Watcher of the Dead * Guinan, John The Watchers * Bradbury, Ray The Watchers * Derleth, August THE WATCHMAKER'S WIFE * Stockton, Frank The Watchman Pater, Roger The Watch-Tower * Dunsany, Lord THE WATER GHOST * Bangs, J. K. The Water Ghost of Harrowby Hall * Bangs, J. K. The Water Lady * Anonymous THE WATER OF THE WONDROUS ISLES * Morris, William The Water Spectre * Lathom, Francis The Water Spirit * Anonymous A Water Witch * Everett, Mrs. H. D. The Waters of Death * ErckmannChatrian THE WAVE * Blackwood, Algernon Wave Length * Gloag, John The Waxen Image * Dryasdust

*

The Waxwork * Ex-Private X Waxworks * Bloch, Robert The Way He Died * Preston, Guy A Way Home * Sturgeon, Theodore The Way It Came * James, Henry THE WAY OF ECBEN * Cabell, J. B. THE WAY OF STARS * Beck, L. A. A Way of Thinking * Sturgeon, Theodore Wayfarers * Blackwood, Algernon The Ways of Ghosts * Bierce, Ambrose WE ARE FOR THE DARK * Howard, E. J. and Aickman, Robert We Print the Truth * Boucher, Anthony The Weaver in the Vault * Smith, C. A. WEAVERS AND WEFT * Braddon, M. E. THE WEB OF EASTER ISLAND * Wand rei, Donald Web of Wizardry * Price, E. H. The Wedding * Matheson, Richard Wednesday's Child * Tenn, William The Weeping God * Knowles, Vernon THE WEIGHER OF SOULS * Maurois, Andre THE WEIRD GATHERING * Curran, Ronald The Weird Gilly Leslie, Shane The Weird of Avoosl Wuthoqquan * Smith, C. A. The Weird of the Walfords * Baldwin, Mrs. A. THE WEIRD OF THE WANDERER Pro spero and Caliban THE WEIRD SHADOW OVER INNSMOUTH * Lovecraft, H. P. WEIRD STORIES * Riddell, Mrs. J. H. The Weird Tailor * Bloch, Robert WEIRD TALES * Hoffmann, E. T. A. WEIRD TALES * Margulies, Leo WEIRD TALES, AMERICAN * Anonymous Anthology WEIRD TALES, ENGLISH * Anonymous Anthology WEIRD TALES FROM NORTHERN SEAS * Lie, Jonas WEIRD TALES, GERMAN * Anonymous Anthology WEIRD TALES, IRISH * Anonymous Anthology WEIRD TALES OF TERROR AND DETECTION * Heard, H. F. WEIRD TALES, SCOTTISH * Anonymous Anthology WEIRD TIT-BITS, AMERICAN· * Anonymous Anthology WEIRD TIT-BITS, ENGLISH * Anonymous Anthology WEIRD TIT-BITS, GERMAN * Anonymous Anthology WEIRD TIT-BITS, IRISH * Anonymous Anthology WEIRD TIT-BITS, SCOTTISH * Anonymous Anthology The Weird Woman * Anonymous The Well * Jacobs, W. W. THE WELL AT THE WORLD'S END * .Morris, William Well of the Angels * Price, E. H. THE WELL OF THE UNICORN * Fletcher,

*

*

G. U.

Welldean Hall * Hogg, James WELSH RAREBIT TALES * Cummins, H. O. The Wendigo * Blackwood, Algernon Wentworth's Day * Lovecraft, H. P. and Derleth, August The Werewolf * Field, Eugene

TITLE INDEX THE WERE-WOLF * Housman. Clemence The Werewolf * Marryat. Frederick THE WEREWOLF OF PARIS * Endore. Guy THE WEREWOLF OF PONKERT * Munn. H. W. The Werewolf of Ponkert * Munn. H. W. The Werewolf Snarls * Wellman. M. W. The Werewolf's Daughter * Munn. H. W. The Were-Snake * Long. F. B. Werewoman * Moore, C. L. WEST INDIA LIGHTS * Whitehead. H. S. West India Lights * Whitehead. H. S. The Western Islands * Masefield, John What Became of the Ghost of Mike O'Flynn * de Camp. Etta What Became of the Money * Holmes. C. H.

What Can a Dead Man Do? * Shaw, Herbert "What Dreams May Come" * de la Mare, Walter What Fell out in the Ancient Keep of Caldicot * Machen. Arthur What I Found in .the Sea * Stockton. Frank What Shadows We Pursue * Kirk. Russell What the Moon Brings * Lovecraft. H. P.

What Was in the Box * Matheson. Richard What Was It? * Campbell, Gilbert What Was It? * O'Brien. Fitz-James What Was the Matter * Phelps, E. S. What's in a Name * Caldecott. Andrew WHAT'S IT LIKE OUT THERE * Hamilton. Edmond The Wheelbarrow Boy * Parker. Richard WHEN CHURCHYARDS YAWN * Asquith, Cynthia When Glister Walked * Cook. Oscar When I Was Dead * O'Sullivan, Vincent When It Was Moonlight * Wellman. M. W.

When Old Gods Wake * Merritt. A. When Reginald Was Caroline * Van Zile. E. S. When That Sweet Child Lay Dead * Pain, Barry When the Gods Slept * Dunsany. Lord When the Graves Were Opened * Burks. A. J. When the Night and the House Are Still * Derleth. August When the Night Wind Howls * Pratt. Fletcher and de Camp. L. S. When the Sea King's Away * Leiber. Fritz When the Twilight Fell * Wintle, W. J.

WHEN THE WORLD SHOOK * Haggard, H. Rider When the World Was Young * London. Jack When Time Stood Still'* Wintle, W. J.

"Where Angels Fear • • ." * Wellman. M. W. Where Is Everybody? * Serling. Rod Where the Tides Ebb and Flow * Dunsany. Lord

718

Where the Woodbine Twineth * Grubb. Davis Where Their Fire Is Not Quenched * Sinclair, May "Where To. Please" * Pratt. Fletcher and de Camp. L. S. Whessoe * Barker. Nugent WHICH HATH BEEN * McLaren. Mrs. Jack Whiffs of the Sea * Caldecott. Andrew The Whimpus * Robbins, Tod The Whippoorwills in the Hills * Derleth. August The Whirlpool * Dunsany. Lord The Whisperers * Blackwood. Algernon The Whisperers * Cave. H. B. The Whispering Gallery * Temple. W. F. Whispering Leaves * Glasgow. Ellen THE WHISTLING ANCESTORS * Goddard. R. E.

The Whistling Room * Hodgson, W. H. The White and the Black * ErckmannChatrian The White Ape * Lovecraft. H. P. The White Cat of Drumgunniol * LeFanu. J. S.

The White Doe * Anonymous The White Dog * Austin. F. B. The White Egbert * Tieck, J. L. The White Flag * Baring-Gould, Sabine White Goddess * Seabright. Idris The White Hare * Capes. Bernard White Horse with Wings * Kersh. Gerald White Man's Magic * Dehan. Richard The White Moth * Asquith, Cynthia The White Moth * Derleth, August The White Old Maid * Hawthorne. Nathaniel THE WHITE PEOPLE * Burnett. F. H. The White People * Machen. Arthur The White Powder * Machen, Arthur White Rabbits * Carrington. Leonora The White Road * Merritt. A. THE WHITE ROBE * Cabell. J. B. White Roses * Jacks, L. P. The White Sack * Munby. A. N. The White Shadow * Chambers, R. W. The White Ship * Lovecraft. H. P. The White Sleep of Auber Horn * Rice. Richard The White Sybil * Smith. C. A. THE WHITE SYBIL BY CLARK ASHTON SMITH AND MEN OF AVALON BY DAVID H. KELLER * Anonymous Anthology The White Villa * Cram. R. A. THE WHITE WITCH OF ROSEHALL * de Lisser. Herbert THE WHITE WOLF * Gregory. Franklin THE WHITE WOLF * Quiller-Couch. A. T. The White Wolf of Kostopchin * Campbell. Gilbert The White Wolf of the Hartz Mountains * Marryat. Frederick White Zombie * Meik, Vivian Whitewash * Macaulay, Rose Whittington's Cat * Smith. Eleanor Who Are the Living * Smith. C. A. Who Believes in Ghosts * London. Jack Who Can Tell? * Maupassant. Guy de WHO FEARS THE DEVIL? * Wellman. M. W.

TITLE INDEX Who Is Sylvia * Asquith. Cynthia WHO KNOCKS? * Derleth. August Who Knocks at the Door * Schreiner. Olive Who Knows? * Maupassant, Guy de "Who Shall I Say Is Calling" * Derleth. August WHO WANTS A GREEN BOTTLE * Robbins, Tod Who Wants a Green Bottle * Robbins, Tod WHO WILL REMEMBER * Irwin. Margaret Why Dr. Cray Left Southam * Riddell. Mrs. J. H. Why I Have Given up Writing Novels * Anstey. F. Why I Write Ghost St~ries * Wakefield. H. R.

Why New Houses Are Haunted * Keith. Elwyn Wicked Captain Walshawe. of Wauling * LeFanu. J. S. A Wicked Voice * Lee. Vernon WIDDERSHINS * Onions, Oliver Widdershins * Quiller-Couch. A. T. The Widow Flynn's Apple Tree * Dunsany. Lord The Widow He Lost * de Camp. Etta The Widower * Pain. Barry The Wife of King Tolv * Anonymous The Wife of Lochmaben * Hogg, James A Wig for Miss De Vore * Derleth. August WILD AND WEIRD * Campbell. Gilbert The Wild Ass's Skin * Balzac, Honore de Wild Grapes * Derleth. August WILD LOVE * Fouqu~. F. de la Motte The Wild Wood * Clingerman, Mildred Wild Wullie. the Waster * Robbins, Tod Will 0' Phaup * Hogg. James Will 0' the Mill * Stevenson. R. L. Will You Wait? * Bester. Alfred William Riley and the Fates * Benet., S. V.

William Tyrwhitt' s "Copy" * Capes, Bernard William Wilson * Poe. E. A. WILLMOTH THE WANDERER * Dail, C. C. The Willow Landscape * Smith, C. A. The Willow Tree * Rice. Jane The Willows * Blackwood. Algernon The Wind * Bradbury. Ray The Wind * Roberts, R. E. THE WIND BETWEEN THE WORLDS * Brown. Alice THE WIND BLOWS OVER * de la Mare, Walter The Wind from the River * Derleth. August The Wind in the Lilacs * Derleth, August The Wind in the Portico * Buchan. John THE WIND IN THE ROSE-BUSH * Freeman. M. W.

The Wind in the Rose-Bush M. W.

*

Freeman,

The Wind in the Woods * Kyffin-Taylor. Bessie The Wind of Dunowe * Everett, Mrs. H. D. The Wind That Is in the Grass * Barlow. R. H. THE WIND THAT TRAMPS THE WORLD * OWen. Frank

The Wind That Tramps the World * Owen, Frank The Wind-Gnome * Lie, Jonas WINDSOR CASTLE * Ainsworth, W. H. The Wine of pantinelli * Cummins, H. O.

WINGS * Abdullah, Achmed Wings * Abdullah, Achmed WINGS ABOVE THE CLAYPAN * Upfield, Arthur WINGS ABOVE THE DIAMANTINA * Upfield, Arthur Wings in the Night * Howard, R. E. The Wings of Horus * Blackwood, Algernon THE WINGED BULL * Fortune, Dion Winged Death * Heald, Hazel THE WINK * Bennett, Kem Winter * de la Mare, Walter WINTER EVENING TALES * Hogg, James WINTER'S TALES * Dinesen, Isak Winthrop's Adventure * Lee, Vernon Wireless * Christie, Agatha "Wireless" * Kipling, Rudyard Wireless Confusion * Blackwood, Algernon and Wilson, Wilfred A Wireless Message * Bierce, Ambrose A Wisconsin Balzac * Bishop, Z. B. The Wisdom of the East * de Camp, L. S.

WISDOM'S DAUGHTER * Haggard, H. R. The Wish * Dahl, Roald The Wishes We Make * Hull, E. M. The Wishing Well * Benson, E. F. The Witch * Gogol, N. The Witch * Lindsay, David The Witch * van Vogt, A. E. The Witch Caprusche * Ellet, Mrs. E. F.

The Witch from Hell's Kitchen * Howard, R. E. WITCH HOUSE * Walton, Evangeline The Witch in the Fog * Altschuler, Harry THE WITCH IN THE WOOD * White, T. H. Witch In-Grain * Gilchrist, Murray The Witch of Eye * Baculard d'Arnaud, Francois The Witch of Laggan * Stewart, W. G. THE WITCH OF PRAGUE * Crawford, F, M. The Witch of Roseberry Topping * Anonymous The Witch of the Willows * Dunsany, Lord A Witch Shall Be Born * Howard, R. E. Witch War * Matheson, Robert Witchcraft * Machen, Arthur WITCHCRAFT * Sleigh, Bernard The Witchcraft of Ulua * Smith, C. A. Witches in the Cornfield * Jacobi, Carl The Witches of Traquair * Hogg, James WITCHES THREE * Anonymous Anthology WITCHES, WRAITHS AND WARLOCKS * Curran, Ronald THE WITCHING TIME * Norman, Henry The Witch's Cat * Wellman, M. W. A Witch's Den * Blavatsky, H. P. The Witch's Vengeance * Seabrook, W.

TITLE INDEX

719

TITLE INDEX

THE WITCH-WOMAN * Cabell, J. B. With Dyed Garments * Benson, R. H. With Intent to Steal * Blackwood, Algernon The Withered Arm * Hardy, Thomas The Withering of a Rose * Corelli, Marie WITHOUT SORCERY * Sturgeon, Theodore The Witness * Hunt, Violet Witnessed by Two * Molesworth, Mrs. M. THE WIZARD OF THE MOUNTAIN * Gilbert, William WIZARDS AND WARLOCKS * Ghidalia, Vic Wizards and Warriors * de Camp, L. S. Woe Water * Wakefield, H. R. Wolf * Fouqu~, Karoline de la Motte THE WOLF IN THE GARDEN * Bill, A. H. The Wolf of Saint Bonnot * Quinn, Seabury Wolf Pack * Miller, W. M. Wolfert Webber * Irving, Washington WOLFERT'S ROOST * Irving, Washington Wolfie * Cogswell, T. R. THE WOLF-LEADER * Dumas, Alexandre THE WOLF" S BRIDE * Kallas, Aino Wolfshead * Howard, R. E. Wolmar * Horne, R. H. Wolverden Tower * Allen, Grant Wolves beyond the Border * Howard, R. E. and de Camp, L. S. Wolves Don't Cry * Elliott, Bruce The Wolves of Czernogratz * Saki THE WOLVES OF GOD * Blac~yood, Algernon and Wilson, Wilfred The Wolves of God * Blackwood, Algernon and Wilson, Wilfred The Woman at Loon Point * Derleth, August and Schorer, Mark The Woman at Seven Brothers * Steele,

The Wooden Woman * Cunningham, Allan The Wooden-Legged Ghost * Waters, John The Wooing of Master Fox * BulwerLytton, E. G. A Word from Our Sponsor * Brown, Fredric The Word of Santiago * Price, E. H. The Words of Guru * Kornbluth, Cyril The Workman * Dunsany, Lord The World the Children Made * Bradbury, Ray THE WORLD, THE FLESH AND THE DEVIL * Braddon, M. E. The World-Dream of Mr. McCallister * Blackwood, Algernon THE WORLD'S DESIRE * Haggard, H. R. and Lang, Andrew The World's End * Christie, Agatha World's End * Rolt, L. T. C. THE WORLD'S GREAT CRIME STORIES * Sayers, Dorothy WORLD'S GREAT MYSTERY STORIES * Cuppy, Will THE WORLDS OF ROBERT F. YOUNG * Young, Robert F. WORLDS OF WEIRD * Margulies, Leo WORLDS OF WONDER * Pratt, Fletcher THE WORM OUROBOROS * Eddison, E. R. Worms of the Earth * Howard, R. E. WORSE THINGS WAITING * Wellman, M. W. WOVEN IN DARKNESS * Fenn, W. W. The Wraith of Barnjum * Anstey, F. Wrastler's End Burrage, A. M. The Writer * Gorki, Maxim THE WRONG ENVELOPE * Molesworth, Mrs.

*

M.

The Wrong Station * Burrage, A. M. WULFHEIM * Furey, M.

W. 'D.

The Woman from Purgatory * Lowndes, Mrs. Belloc The Woman in Black * George, Daniel The Woman in Gray * Everett, W. C. Woman in the Case * Price, E. H. Woman in the Mirror * MacDonald, George The Woman in the Road * Pain, Barry The Woman in the Way * Onions, Oliver The Woman in the Wood * Merritt, A. The Woman of Stone * Barr, Robert A Woman of the Streets * Maupassant, Guy de The Woman Who Thought She Could Read * Davidson, Avram The Woman's Ghost Story * Blackwood, Algernon A Woman's Hair * Maupassant, Guy de The Women of the lvood * Merritt, A. Wonder As I Wander * Wellman, M. W. THE WONDERFUL ADVENTURES OF PHRA THE PHOENICIAN * Arnold, Edwin The Wonderful Cat of Cobbie Bean * Carleton, B. O. The Wonderful Corot * Mitchell, E. P. THE WONDERFUL VISIT * Wells, H. G. The Wonderful Window * Dunsany, Lord The Wonders in the Spessart * Immermann, Karl The Wondersmith * O'Brien, F.-J. THE WONDROUS TALE OF ALROY * Disraeli, Benjamin The Wood of the Dead * Blackwood, Algernon

Xeethra * Smith, XELUCHA * Shiel, Xelucha * Shiel, XINGU * Wharton,

C. A. M. P. M. P. Edith

The Yarn of Lanky Job * Masefield, John Ye Impys of Helle * Burks, A. J. THE YEAR THE YANKEES LOST THE PENANT * Wallop, Douglass THE YEAR'S GREATEST SCIENCE-FICTION AND FANTASY * Merril, Judith Yegor's Portrait * Hepworth, George The Yellow Cat * Joseph, Michael The Yellow Curtains * Burrage, A. M. The Yellow Dwarf * Anonymous Drake, Alexander The Yellow Globe THE YELLOW GOD * Haggard, H. R. Yellow Magic * Austin, F. B. The Yellow Paw * Konstanz, Zayn The Yellow Sign * Chambers, R. W. THE YELLOW WALL PAPER * Stetson, C. P. The Yellow Wall Paper * Stetson, C. P. Yesterday Street * Burke, Thomas Yesterday Was Monday * Sturgeon, Theodore YEZAD * Babcock, George YONDER * Beaumont, Charles You Could Be Wrong * Bloch, Robert You Know Willie * Cogswell, T. R.

*

TITLE INDEX You ~ Telephone from Here * Blackwood, Algernon YOU NEVER KNOW, DO YOU? * Coppard, A. E.

"You'll Come to the Tree in the End" * Landon, Cyril YOU'LL NEED A NIGHT LIGHT * Thomson, C. C. THE YOUNG DIANA * Corelli, Marie The Young Englishman * Hauff, Wilhelm

720

Young Goodman Brown * Hawthorne, Nathaniel Young Strickland's Career * Beresford, J. D. Young-Man-With-Skull-at-His Ear * Wellman, M. W. You're Another * Knight, Damon YOURS TRULY, JACK THE RIPPER * Bloch, Robert Yours Truly, Jack the Ripper * Bloch, Robert Yuki-Onna * Hearn, Lafcadio Yvala * Moore, C. L.

TITLE INDEX Zachary Crebbin's Angel * Kneale, Nigel ZACHERLEY'S MIDNIGHT SNACKS * Zacherley ZANONI * Bulwer-Lytton, E. G. Zero * Pain, Barry ZERUB THROOP'S EXPERIMENT * Whitney, Mrs. A. D. T. Zicci * Bulwer-Lytton, E. F. ZISKA * Corel Ii, Marie ZOFLOYA * Dacre, Charlotte ZOTZ! * Karig, Walter

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Barron, Neil. Anatomy of Wonder. A Critical Guide to Science Fiction. R. R. Bowker Co.; New York 1981. Second edition. Bleiler, Everett F. The Checklist of ScienceFiction and Supernatural Fiction. Firebell Books; Glen Rock, N. J. 1978. Revised enlarged edition of The Checklist of Fantastic Literature, Chicago 1948. ___ (Editor) Science. Fiction Writers. Charles Scribner's Sons; New York 1982. Boyle, Andrew. An Index to the Annuals. Volume 1, The Authors. Andrew Boyle, Ltd.; Worcester [England] 1967. Cockcroft, T. G. L. Index to the Weird Fiction Magazines [Author] Lower Hutt, New Zealand. Vol. 1, Index by Titles, 1962. Vol. 2, Index by Author, 2nd edition, 1967. Cole, W. R. A Checklist of Science Fiction Anthologies. [Author; Brooklyn, N. Y.] 1964. Contento, William. Index to Science Fiction Anthologies and Collections. G. K. Hall; Boston [1978]. Currey, L. W. Science Fiction and Fantasy Authors. A Bibliography of First Printings o~f_T~h~e::i~r_FL:i~c~t=i~o~n. G. K. Hall; Boston, 1979. Day, Bradford M. The Checklist of Fantastic Literature in Paperbound Books. Wehman Bros.; Hackensack, N. J. 1965. ___ An Index on the Weird and Fantastica in Magazines. [Author] South Ozone Park, N. Y. 1953. ___ The Supplemental Checklist of Fantastic Literature. Science-Fiction and Fantasy Publications; Denver, New York 1963. Day, Donald B. Index to the Science-Fiction Magazines 1926 * 1950. Perri Press; Portland, Oregon 1952, Doyle, Brian. Who's Who of Boys' Writers and Illustrators. Brian Doyle; London 1964. Flanagan, Graeme. Robert Bloch. A Bio-biblio~. [Author] Canberra City, A.C.T., Australia 1979. 723