New and Interesting Titles This Week

Many of our titles are rare and hard to find. All are sold on a first come first serve basis. If you are interested in getting more information on a title just click on the cover art.

Only $5 shipping on any size order in the US and you get points on each purchase that can be used for future purchases.

We are always looking for books in Occult, Witchcraft, Ceremonial Magic, Rosicrucian, Golden Dawn, Aleister Crowley, Kenneth Grant,  Lovecraftian, Weird Tales, etc. If you have books in these categories that you would like to sell or trade you can reach us at miskatonicbooks@me.com

 

AMBROSE BIERCE: MASTERS OF THE WEIRD TALES (Signed Limited Edition Hardcover) Preorder

 

 

Ambrose Bierce (1842-1913?) was an American editorialist, journalist, short story writer, fabulist, and satirist. He wrote the short story An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge and compiled a satirical lexicon, The Devil’s Dictionary. His style often embraces an abrupt beginning, dark imagery, vague references to time, limited descriptions, impossible events and the theme of war. In 1913, Bierce traveled to Mexico to gain first-hand experience of the Mexican Revolution. While traveling with rebel troops, he disappeared without a trace. This 560-page collection includes all of the best horror stories and Civil War stories, plus some other tales and sketches that are only rarely collected in book format. Jason Eckhardt has contributed twenty-four black and white drawings, and a stunning color frontispiece portrait of Bierce. The book also has a woodcut-style illustration of a raven sitting on top of a tattered Union flag stamped into the front cover. This is all the Bierce you need in one single, easy-to-read, gorgeously typeset volume that fits nicely with the other authors in the Masters of the Weird Tale series. The edition is limited t0 200 signed and numbered copies, and the book is signed by S.T. Joshi and Jason C. Eckhardt. Limited to 200 copies, each signed by S.T. Joshi and artist Jason C. Eckhardt. Introduction by S.T. Joshi. Bibliography of published stories. Slipcase, ribbon marker, head and tail bands, three-piece cloth construction.

 

ARCANUM BESTIARUM by Robert Fitzgerald (Limited Edition Hardcover)

Written in the great tradition of the medieval bestiaries, Robert Fitzgerald’s long-awaited new work Arcanum Bestiarum re-imagines the animal menagerie in the context of bestial mystery and atavistic power. Written for the modern magical practitioner and zoophile, the 272-page volume examines the occult virtues and totemic majesties of fifty animals, theriomorphs, and their kindred. Correspondences with deific powers, atavistic wisdom, and mythopoetic emanation are examined, especially in light of the tutelary powers all animals possess.   The Tetramorph – essentially an animalic ‘crown of creation’ – is here transformed into the far broader and innovative concept of the ‘Theriomorph’, or, the Zodiak Entire of Creation as an apotheosis of the animal form and zoötype… One of the greatest of virtues possessed by the Human is its bestial heritage, both spiritually and genetically. These attributes are often seen as primitive, chaotic and dangerous to civilized culture by the custodians of moralism and religion today, but the fact remains that it is our animal heritage that makes us what we are, or, more accurately, what we should and can be.   Special attention is given to the zoomorphic aspects of alchemy, which historically used the bestial emblemata as veils of the stages of the Great Work, as well as shamanism and witchcraft, bodies of knowledge particularly rich in the lore of animals as spirit-helpers. The work is an emergent strand of magical investigation long part of the author’s private life, where he has worked in the ecological field of wildlife rehabilitation, especially raptors.   The text is graced with fifty-five original woodcut illustrations by artist Liv Rainey-Smith, prepared especially for this title in close collaboration with the author. Amongst the more ambitious renderings in the work are the occult cryptofauna Homunculus, Manticore, Ouroboros, and Basilisk, as well as animals prominent in the ancient dawn of magick: the Bear, Goat, Viper, Peacock, and more. Completing the design elements is an original typeface designed for the work by calligrapher Gail Coppock, serving to illuminate this grimoire of the Magician’s Primal Eden.   The book is 248 pages, printed in two colour ink on heavy stock, and illustrated throughout. The book is available in two editions, limit one pre-order copy of each edition per customer. Limited to 1400 copies.

 

THE COMMENTARIES OF AL: The Equinox Vol. V, No. 1 by Aleister Crowley (First UK Edition Hardcover)

 

The Commentaries Of AL – Equinox Vol. V, No. 1. First UK Edition. This copy is in near mint condition, and comes with its original dust jacket. The dust jacket is intact, but has some very minor shelf wear else fine. This is a rare and sought after volume, and will make a very valuable addition to any Thelemic library, or a private collection. It includes both Aleister Crowley’s commentaries on Liber AL vel Legis (or The Book of the Law), as well as further commentaries by Marcelo Motta.

 

 

RETURN OF THE SORCERERS: Black Magic in the Modern World by Manly P. Hall (Chapbook)

 

Ancient man lived in a world of mystery, which resulted in a number of curious beliefs. The origins of magic (black, white and gray) are discussed, as well as the modern misinterpretations of ancient beliefs. ‘In the beginning human beings were isolated in an environment which they did not understand. They lived in a world of mystery and the combination of mysteries and imagination resulted in the rise of a number of curious beliefs. We also realize that these remote people, in trying to explain the nature of Deity, were only able to imagine God as a powerful chieftain — a cult hero, a venerable elder and to a great degree patterned after the living human heroes of the group under consideration. The gods of the Greeks and Romans were mighty kings and we have always had a tendency to create deities in our own image. We have assumed that all intelligence must be embodied and intelligence that impinges upon our experience must be embodied in a being of our kind. The moment we create such an embodiment, we bestow upon it not only our most noble ideals, but our most human and often delinquent tendencies. The deity of antiquity was an autocrat and ruled by the divine right of his own divinity, appointing his earthly representatives and bestowing upon them a divine right of kings. In these times also, strange fetish beliefs and mysterious factors in our social structure — taboos of all kinds — rose in primitive consciousness. It took many thousands of years for rulers to recognize that it was neither wise nor noble to bury their living followers with their own physical remains. Many a great ruler has been responsible for the killing of his entire court at the time or his own demise. These practices gradually faded away but only after thousands of years of what we might call mismanagement, cruelty, and savagery. Most of it in some way related to primitive religions, and we recognize in our background, and therefore to a large measure in our own subconscious life, that there are a number of moral dishonesties which have been deified or made to appear sacred. We have felt it perfectly right to persecute followers of other faiths, and in so doing were merely supporting our own deities and offering proper worship and homage. Even today in an entirely different environment, we find religious tolerance very difficult to maintain. We have made virtues out of many practices which have no essential merit, some of which are comparatively harmless, while others continue to be more or less menacing.’ (Manly P. Hall) Chapbook is in fine unread condition

 

THE SACRED MAGIC OF THE QABBALAH: The Science of the Divine Names by Manly P. Hall (Chapbook)

The Philosophical Research Society is a nonprofit organization founded in 1934 for the purpose of assisting thoughtful persons to live more graciously and constructively in a confused and troubled world. The Society is entirely free from educational, political, or ecclesiastical control. Dedicated to an idealistic approach to the solution of human problems, the Society’s program stresses the need for the integration of religion, philosophy, and the science of psychology into one system of instruction. The goal of this instruction is to enable the individual to develop a mature philosophy of life, to recognize his proper responsibilities and opportunities, and to understand and appreciate his place in the unfolding universal pattern. Chapbook is in fine condition

 

ARTHUR MACHEN: MASTERS OF THE WEIRD TALES (Signed Limited Edition Hardcover)

The largest collection of Arthur Machen stories ever collected in one volume, including original artwork by Matthew Jaffe, a new introduction by T.E.D. Klein, and a new afterword by Caitlín R. Kiernan. Contents include The Great God Pan, the complete Three Imposters, The White People, and many more.. Bound in cloth with a full cloth slipcase. The edition is limited t0 200 signed and numbered copies, and the book is signed by T.E.D. Klein, Matthew Jaffe, and Caitlín R. Kiernan. One of only 200 signed and numbered hardcover copies in custom slipcase

 

THE STUFF OF DREAMS: THE WEIRD STORIES OF EDWARD LUCAS WHITE Edited by S. T. Joshi (Signed Limited Edition Hardcover)

BACK IN STOCK and almost sold out!!!

 

Arcane Wisdom Press is proud to announce our latest project, The Stuff Of Dreams: The Weird Stories of Edward Lucas White, collected and edited with introduction by scholar S. T. Joshi. One of only 150 signed and numbered hardcover copies signed by the editor S. T. Joshi and acclaimed cover artist Alex McVey. (This is an advance order and is not expected to ship until December 2012) American writer Edward Lucas White (1866–1934) produced a memorable body of weird fiction in his two short story collections, The Song of the Sirens (1919) and Lukundoo and Other Stories (1927). The distinctive feature of these stories is that many of them were based on the author’s incredibly bizarre and detailed dreams. The classic story “Lukundoo” tells of a hideous curse inflicted by an African witch-doctor; “Amina” is the innovative tale of a female ghoul; “The Snout” hints loathsomely of a hybrid monster in an old manor house; and “The Song of the Sirens” tells of the latent horror behind the classic Greek myth of the half-bird, half-woman creatures known as the Sirens. These are only some of the potently macabre tales in this book, which shows Edward Lucas White to be a master of the weird tale whose work has been unavailable for too long. Contents: Introduction The House of the Nightmare The Flambeau Bracket Amina The Message on the Slate Lukundoo The Pig-skin Belt The Song of the Sirens The Picture Puzzle The Snout Sorcery Island Azrael The Ghoula Edward Lucas White on Dreams

 

 

Night Tide (filmed 1960)

Even among Lovecraft aficionados, Night Tide is obscure. Only recently, this writer came across it.

For years people have been trying to connect Lovecraft and Aleister Crowley, but in fact here is one case they are connected. Through Marjorie Cameron, Jack Parsons, and L. Ron Hubbard (who did meet H. P. Lovecraft) there is a tangent. Crowley had allowed Parsons to devote his work in California to occultist practices.

Cameron may have lived with Dean Stockton and Dennis Hopper, and both Cameron and Hopper played in Curtis Harrington’s Night Tide. Filmed in 1960 mostly on location, it was not released until 1963. As usual, Lovecraft was considered unfilmable, so the movie is disguised as an Edgar Allan Poe cult film. It is indeed Lovecraft through and through.

Here is an introductory scene with Hopper and his mermaid fetish Linda Lawson. Lawson later traded in her singing career for a busy stint in acting. Her mesmerizing appearance is quite evident, and one can see why Harrrington was taken by her.

To prove that Lovecraft is intended, check out the starfish.

A dead giveaway. The starfish appears intermittently. Here is a closeup.

Filmed in and around Santa Monica’s pier area, it reeks of fish – Lovecraftian fish.

The captain seems clearly to be Obed Marsh was a sea captain from Innsmouth. He visited inhabitants of a Polynesian island and witnessed a ritual to summon the old ones.

This was an amazing screen capture. Note that in the mirror, Hopper has his face split in twain. Classic horror. It is not clear if this was special effects, or not.

If there was any doubt, this sequence has a cephalopod. Nuff said.

Finally the show ends not with a Lovecraft quote, but a Poe quote that inspired Lovecraft.

The entire movie is available on Youtube now, and you should watch it. It has Dennis Hopper. It has Lovecraft. What more could you want?

 

For the more esoterically inclined reader

As we promised several months ago, Miskatonic Books will be broadening its selection of titles to include more small press titles from esoteric publishers. We are proud to include Teitan Press to our featured publishers list.

The Teitan Press. Inc. was incorporated in Illinois in 1985 by Aleister Crowley scholar Martin P. Starr, and his business partner, Frank Winston. In the years that followed they produced an impressive selection of books. These included new editions of Crowley’s Konx om Pax, Snowdrops from a Curate’s Garden, The Winged Beetle, The Scented Garden, his translation of Baudelaire’s Little Poems in Prose, as well as first printings of Crowley’s Scrutinies of Simon Iff, and Golden Twigs, and of course Martin’s acclaimed biography of W. T. Smith, The Unknown God .

After two decades of gentlemanly publishing, The Teitan Press, Inc. was dissolved in December 2006, and custodianship of the imprint was passed to Weiser Antiquarian Books. A year later the first book to be produced under their management came off the presses: Inside Solar Lodge, Outside the Law, by Frater Shiva.

To see a list of all the hardcover limited edition’s by Teitan Press that we currently offer click the Teitan Press logo below.

 

Below is a small sampling of those titles:

Clavis Arcana Magica. by Frederick Hockley, With an Introduction by Alan Thorogood (Limited Edition Hardcover)

Clavis Arcana Magica is an unusual text for Hockley in that it is largely concerned with what might be considered “black magic.” As Alan Thorogood describes in his Introduction, it gives instruction for the performance of a number of magical workings, the details of which were said to have been obtained for Hockley via his seer Emma, during a series of scrying operations undertaken between 1853 and 1856. The workings are preceded by instructions including the form of the “call to the crystal,” the exorcism and the discharge. The first working outlines a method to call the spirits of five material substances or organisms for the purpose of receiving cognate visions, the second is a variety of praestigia for the revivification of animal as well as plant species, the third outlines the construction of a talisman which permits the operator to enter the “spirit state” while asleep, and the fourth is necromantic ritual said to be “of marvellous power and force.” This first publication of the text comprises an Introduction by Alan Thorogood, followed by a typeset transcription of the text of the manuscript, with explanatory footnotes, etc., and a facsimile of the original Hockley manuscript.

Frederick Hockley (1809-1885), was an occultist and freemason whose interests included scrying, ritual magic, alchemy and spiritualism. In later life was associated with the Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia. Hockley’s peers considered him to be one of the great occult scholars of his time in fact he was held in such high regard by one of the founders of the Golden Dawn, W. Wynn Westcott, that he posthumously claimed Hockley as one of the Order’s most outstanding Adepts.

The book is a hardcover, Small quarto. (6 3/4″ x 8 3/4″) xii + 84pp. Bound in heavy black cloth with a gilt design on the front cover, and gilt title to the spine. Colour frontispiece, black and white facsimile of manuscript. Sewn, printed on acid-free paper. Black moire “coffin silk” endpapers.
Edition limited to 650 numbered copies.

 

Sepher Maphteah Shelomoh. Book of the Key of Solomon (Limited Edition Hardcover)

The book centers on a Hebrew manuscript entitled Sepher Maphteah Shelomoh, that dates from around 1700. The original manuscript was discovered in the library of a London Rabbi, Samuel Marcus Gollancz (1819-1900), by his son, Herman, not long after his father’s death. Hermann Gollancz, himself an eminent Hebrew scholar, was fascinated by the manuscript, and felt that its study might give important insight into the history and origins of the “Solomonic” grimoires or books of magic, that are a mainstay of the Western occult tradition. In 1903 Gollancz published his preliminary thoughts and translations in a booklet entitled Clavicula Salomonis, A Hebrew Manuscript, and in 1914 he published a facsimile of the manuscript, along with a twenty-page English-language Introduction discussing the text and citing excerpts, under the title Sepher Maphteah Shelomo in an edition of only 300 copies. Both books are extremely rare, and have never before been reprinted.

This new Teitan Press edition includes the full text of both of Gollancz’s commentaries, a facsimile of the original Hebrew manuscript, and a new Foreword by well-known scholar of the occult Stephen Skinner, in which he explores the history of the grimoire in the light of modern scholarship.

The first section comprises the English-language Foreword and Introductions, and is 64 pages: printed on quality uncoated paper for easy readability. The remaining 158 pages (the facsimile of the original Hebrew manuscript) are printed on special coated paper, that gives a photograph like quality to the reproduction of the manuscript, with its numerous drawings of seals, talismans etc. In keeping with tradition, it has been printed so that the English-language Introductory essays, which are of course read left to right, are back-to-back with the Hebrew facsimile, which is read from right to left. Please note that the English text comprises three commentaries – as detailed above – it is not a translation.

The book is a high quality sewn hardcover, Large Quarto (11 1/4 x 8 3/4 inches, approx 28.5 x 22cm), lxiv + [158]pp. Blue cloth with gilt titling to spine and front covers, and gilt design on front cover. Edition limited to 358 numbered copies.

 

THORN IN THE FLESH: A Grim Memoire by Rosaleen Norton (Limited Edition Hardcover)

Thorn in the Flesh. comprises poetry (often humorous), reminiscences, and various occult jottings, by Rosaleen Norton, with reproductions of two stunning photographs of Norton, as well as some half-a-dozen examples of her art (mainly in color).

Rosaleen Norton, the author of the work, was a natural rebel whose bohemian lifestyle, outspoken occultism, and unusual and often sexually-charged artwork attracted widespread condemnation from the conservative establishment. She suffered frequent arrest, her art exhibitions were raided, a book of her art banned, and in one notorious case, her paintings burned at the censor’s order. She died in relative obscurity in 1979, yet left the world a rich and unusual artistic legacy. Some of this was hidden away in two battered metal trunks which contained fragments of her unfinished autobiography, Thorn in the Flesh, various occult writings, letters, drawings, poems, photographs, small paintings, and scrapbooks. It was Norton’s wish that one day a selection would be made from this material, and it would be published. This book is that selection.

Most of this material has never been publicly seen before. Although by definition fragmentary, the texts combine to give a very personal introduction to the magical world of this truly remarkable woman. They are accompanied by an Introduction by Keith Richmond, who has previously edited a collection of Norton’s short stories: ‘Three Macabre Stories,’ and played a key role in organizing the “Occult Visions of Rosaleen Norton” retrospective of her art that was held in Sydney in 2000.

The book is a high quality sewn hardcover, printed on library-quality paper. It is an Octavo (9 x 6 inches, approx 23.5 x 15.2cm), bound in red cloth with gilt titling to spine, etc. xxiv + 128pp. Full color dustjacket, black and white frontispiece & 8 pages of color & black and white illustrations. Edition limited to 880 numbered copies.

Just Arrived and Shipping

Just click on the cover art to get more information about reserving your copy of any of the books below.

We recently received the new two volume set of CENTURY’S BEST HORROR FICTION edited by John Pelan and published by Cemetery Dance Publications. This has been over a decade in the making and is one of the most anticipated books of the year. If you haven’t reserved your copy do so quickly as we don’t expect these to last long.

About the Books:
Cemetery Dance Publications commissioned a spectacular two-volume anthology project under the editorship of noted author and historian of the horror genre, John Pelan.

John selected one story published during each year of the 20th Century (1901-2000) as the most notable story of that year — all 100 stories were then collected in this amazing two volume set to be published as The Century’s Best Horror Fiction.

The ground rules were simple: Only one selection per author. Only one selection per year.

Two huge volumes, one hundred authors, one hundred classic stories, more than 700,000 words of fiction — history in the making!

Trade Edition hardcovers bound in full-cloth and Smyth sewn with a full color dust jacket — two deluxe volumes

Table of Contents
1901: Barry Pain — The Undying Thing
1902: W.W. Jacobs — The Monkey’s Paw
1903: H.G.Wells — The Valley of the Spiders
1904: Arthur Machen — The White People
1905: R. Murray Gilchrist — The Lover’s Ordeal
1906: Edward Lucas White — House of the Nightmare
1907: Algernon Blackwood — The Willows
1908: Perceval Landon — Thurnley Abbey
1909: Violet Hunt — The Coach
1910: Wm Hope Hodgson — The Whistling Room
1911: M.R. James — Casting the Runes
1912: E.F. Benson — Caterpillars
1913: Aleister Crowley — The Testament of Magdelan Blair
1914: M. P. Shiel — The Place of Pain
1915: Hanns Heinz Ewers — The Spider
1916: Lord Dunsany — Thirteen at Table
1917: Frederick Stuart Greene — The Black Pool
1918: H. De Vere Stacpoole — The Middle Bedroom
1919: Ulric Daubeny — The Sumach
1920: Maurice Level — In the Light of the Red Lamp
1921: Vincent O’Sullivan — Master of Fallen Years
1922: Walter de la Mare — Seaton’s Aunt
1923: George Allen England — The Thing From—”Outside”
1924: C.M. Eddy, Jr. — The Loved Dead
1925: John Metcalfe — The Smoking Leg
1926: H.P. Lovecraft — The Outsider
1927: Donald Wandrei — The Red Brain
1928: H.R. Wakefield — The Red Lodge
1929: Eleanor Scott — Celui-La
1930: Rosalie Muspratt — Spirit of Stonhenge
1931: Henry S. Whitehead — Cassius
1932: David H. Keller — The Thing in the Cellar
1933: C.L. Moore — Shambleau
1934: L.A. Lewis — The Tower of Moab
1935: Clark Ashton Smith — The Dark Eidolon
1936: Thorp McCluskey — The Crawling Horror
1937: Howard Wandrei — The Eerie Mr Murphy
1938: Robert E. Howard — Pigeons from Hell
1939: Robert Barbour Johnson — Far Below
1940: John Collier — Evening Primrose
1941: C.M. Kornbluth — The Words of Guru
1942: Jane Rice — The Idol of the Flies
1943: Anthony Boucher — They Bite
1944: Ray Bradbury — The Jar
1945: August Derleth — Carousel
1946: Manly Wade Wellman — Shonokin Town
1947: Theodore Sturgeon — Bianca’s Hands
1948: Shirley Jackson — The Lottery
1949: Nigel Kneale — The Pond
1950: Richard Matheson — Born of Man & Woman
1951: Russell Kirk — Uncle Isiah
1952: Eric Frank Russell — I Am Nothing
1953: Robert Sheckley — The Altar
1954: Everil Worrell — Call Not Their Names
1955: Robert Aickman — Ringing the Changes
1956: Richard Wilson — Lonely Road
1957: Clifford Simak — Founding Father
1958: Robert Bloch — That Hell-Bound Train
1959: Charles Beaumont — The Howling Man
1960: Fredric Brown — The House
1961: Ray Russell — Sardonicus
1962: Carl Jacobi — The Aquarium
1963: Robert Arthur — The Mirror of Cagliostro
1964: Charles Birkin — A Lovely Bunch of Coconuts
1965: Jean Ray — The Shadowy Street
1966: Arthur Porges — The Mirror
1967: Norman Spinrad — Carcinoma Angels
1968: Anna Hunger — Come
1969: Steffan Aletti — The Last Work of Pietro Apono
1970: David A. Riley — The Lurkers in the Abyss
1971: Dorothy K. Haynes — The Derelict Track
1972: Gary Brandner — The Price of a Demon
1973: Eddy C. Bertin — Like Two White Spiders
1974: Karl Edward Wagner — Sticks
1975: David Drake — The Barrow Troll
1976: Dennis Etchison — It Only Comes Out at Night
1977: Barry N. Malzberg — The Man Who Loved the Midnight Lady
1978: Michael Bishop — Within the Walls of Tyre
1979: Ramsey Campbell — Mackintosh Willy
1980: Michael Shea — The Autopsy
1981: Stephen King — The Reach
1982: Fritz Leiber — Horrible Imagings
1983: David Schow — One for the Horrors
1984: Bob Leman — The Unhappy Pilgrimage of Clifford M.
1985: Michael Reaves — The Night People
1986: Tim Powers — Night Moves
1987: Ian Watson — Evil Water
1988: Joe R. Lansdale — The Night They Missed the Horror Show
1989: Joel Lane — The Earth Wire
1990: Elizabeth Massie — Stephen
1991: Thomas Ligotti — The Glamour
1992: Poppy Z. Brite — Calcutta Lord of Nerves
1993: Lucy Taylor — The Family Underwater
1994: Jack Ketchum — The Box
1995: Terry Lamsley — The Toddler
1996: Caitlín R. Kiernan — Tears Seven Times Salt
1997: Stephen Laws — The Crawl
1998: Brian Hodge — As Above, So Below
1999: Glen Hirshberg — Mr. Dark’s Carnival
2000: Tim Lebbon — Reconstructing Amy

We’ve also just receive some very collectable editions for your genre library.

a beautiful copy of SESQUA VALLEY AND OTHERS by W. H. Pugmire signed limited edition hardcover.

A very rare signed limited edition of Sesqua Valley and Other Haunts by W. H. Pugmire

This is one of only 250 signed and numbered hardcover limited editions.  Book is in fine condition in a fine dust jacket

Contents:

• O, Christmas Tree
• The Ones Who Bow Before Me
• Born In Strange Shadow
• Another Flesh
• Immortal Remains
• Selene
• The Darkest Star
• The Songs of Sesqua Valley
• The Heritage of Hunger
• The Imp of Aether
• The Million-Shadow One
• The Child of Dark Mania
• The Hands That Reek and Smoke
• The Host of Haunted Air
• The Woven Offspring
• The Place of Old Insanity
• The Zanies of Sorrow
• Beneath An Autumn Moon

THE INHABITANT OF THE LAKE & LESS WELCOME TENANTS by Ramsey Campbell (First Edition Hardcover)

The Inhabitant of the Lake and Less Welcome Tenants is a collection of fantasy and horror short stories by British author J. Ramsey Campbell, who dropped the initial from his name in subsequent publications. It was released in 1964 by Arkham House in an edition of 2,009 copies and was the author’s first book. The stories are part of the Cthulhu Mythos. Campbell had originally written his introduction to be included in the book The Dark Brotherhood and Other Pieces under the title “Cthulhu in Britain”. However, Arkham’s editor, August Derleth, decided to use it here.

The Inhabitant of the Lake and Less Welcome Tenants contains the following tales:

•     “A Word From the Author”
•     “The Room in the Castle”
•     “The Horror from the Bridge”
•     “The Insects from Shaggai”
•     “The Render of the Veils”
•     “The Inhabitant of the Lake”
•     “The Plain of Sound”
•     “The Return of the Witch”
•     “The Mine on Yuggoth”
•     “The Will of Stanley Brooke”
•     “The Moon-Lens”

References in popular culture

The band Iron Maiden’s song Still Life ( from the classic 1983 album Piece of Mind ) was inspired by the story The Inhabitant of the Lake. The lyrics deal with a man who sees spirits or beings in the lake and becomes obsessed with them. After many nightmares and visions of the images in the water, he eventually becomes insane and ultimately jumps into the pool with his female companion. The lyrics end with the ominous verse ” Oh,we’ll drown together. It, will be forever. Nightmares…forever calling me. Nightmares…now we rest in peace”, so the listener can safely assume the person has killed himself, as well the female.

FEAR ITSELF:THE HORROR FICTION OF STEPHEN KING with Stephen King, Peter Straub and more (Signed)!

A fascinating examination of King’s early novels (Carrie, Salem’s Lot, The Shining, The Stand, Firestarter, Cujo and The Dark Tower) and short stories. Contributors include Peter Straub, Burton Hatlan (King’s former English professor), Fritz Leiber, Alan Ryan, Deborah Notkin, Don Herron, and others.

This copy is inscribed, signed and dated to the owner of the book by both Stephen King and Chuck Miller  Date signed is 10/30/82

5000 copies of the first edition were printed and very few were inscribed by Stephen King. A true rarity!

This copy is in near fine condition in a near fine dust jacket.

Ech-Pi-El, Klarkashton, and The Beast 666

Previously on the Miskatonic Books blog [ When the Gods Smile on You ] exciting news was reported of the discovery of a new Lovecraft postcard. At the conclusion of the postcard, in tiny script, Lovecraft comments to Clark Ashton Smith on Aleister Crowley. This is arguably the most significant, and to date, earliest find of this type. However, the Miskatonic team doth not rest upon its laurels. More research brings this sly comment into context.

The date seems to be early December 1933 though more research is being done to clarify this. In November 1933, Crowley came again to news headlines when he sued an English author for libel. In those days, newspapers tended to run both “wire service” news and syndicated features as “filler” to entice readership while keeping costs of local reporters low. Thus, when one can’t find a news story in a local contemporary source, one can search other natioanl newspapers of the time, and see a very similar – if not identical – story or feature.

It is possible that such a story has been uncovered, and may very well be the “cuttings” that HPL refers to in the text opf the postcard. Once you read this newspaper excerpt, reflect on HPL’s comment, “…Crowley. What a queer duck! …”

Illustration From "...Nobody Squawked but Beast 666"

The Miami News of 26 November 1933

The rumor that the spectacular cultist, Mr. Aleister Crowley, could not be insulted appears to be unfounded. Not that the rumor was without basis. In fact, when you consider the wealth of abuse and epithet that Crowley has been subjected to, you would come to consider that his imperviousness to insult was not rumor but fact. However, Achilles had his heel.

It is difficult to think of any term of disparagement in the English language that has not been applied to Aleister Crowley either by word of mouth or in print. He has been labeled charlatan, fakir, scoundrel, thief, torturer of women, foe of men, and so on, through the whole gamut of adjectives used to describe an evil person.

He has adopted “Beast” as his own signature. Not just any beast, but “Beast 666″. France and England have each ushered him to the nearest frontier and requested him to be gone and not to come back. The courts of Detroit, Mich., once rang with denunciations of him. The Italian authorities in Sicily haunted his “castle” hoping to find proof enough to get rid of him. In the midst of their investigations Crowley betook himself to Paris and never went back.

A Little Remark Touches Off a Tremendous Ego

Possible Article That Clark Smith Sent to Lovecraft

Never has the man offered the slightest protest in rebuttal of all this. While his far from dainty reputation has been pictured in this way he has kept silent, except on one occasion when he emerged from his calm and announced:

“These are petty contingencies. Eastern philosophy and magic raise the soul above them.”

You may well wonder what searing blast of denunciation has finally overcome the “Eastern philosophy and magic” that have protected his ego until now. You could well expect it to be of such force as has never issued from the human mind in the whole annals of epithet. You would never guess it, so here it is.

“– he is a poseur who has come to believe in his own poses – so that they are no longer poses – and that having built up this sinister reputation for himself he goes on playing it up.”

Just a gentle criticism that is bandied around all the time among less hardy souls with no bad feeling, but Mr. Aleister Crowley rushes to court and sues for libel in England.

Miss Ethel Mannin is the culprit who has stirred Crowley. An English authoress who has lived widely, highly and handsomely, Miss Mannin recently wrote a book called “Confessions and Impressions”. Half the book is autobiographical, and the latter half devoted to word pictures of famous people she has known. Some of the portraits are complementary, many are distinctly critical. Her mention of Crowley is merely in passing. It is a feathery sideswipe compared to some of her other strictures, and of all who endured the blows of her opinion only “Beast 666″ takes umbrage!

{…}

There are those who do not feel Mr. Crowley to be an utter charlatan and who grant him a measure of some strange genius. His life has been unusual and contradictory.

He first attracted attention when, as a young man in his twenties and recently graduated from Oxford, he worte some highly praised poems for the Oxford Book of Mystical Verse. He numbered among his friends distinguished authors, poets, and painters. His early mystical turn developed with his years and he nurtured this leaning by prodigious study and long wanderings throughout the world.

Moonchild by Aleister Crowley - available from Arcane Wisdom

He crossed China on foot; explored Mexico without guides; has climbed the highest mountains of the world; has sat immobile as a naked yogi in India and begged for rice; and has been heard from in every hidden corner of the globe.

During this time he studied esoteric philosophy and finally appeared in New York announcing himself to be the “Beast of the Apocalypse” and as such adopted as his signature, “Beast 666″. He made his headquarters in Greenwich Village, and started what was called a cult of evil.

This was known as the Order of the O. T. O. and was enmeshed in an elaborate ritual designed to impress the participants, or just to make it more fun. Meetings of this group were attended by mysterious circles, black gowns, incense, gibberish, the “Black Mass”, and all the other routine mumbo-jumbo that is associated with such doings.

But when Mr. A. W. Ryerson, of Detroit, was sued for divorce by his young and beautiful ex-model wife it became apparent that there was more to the O. T. O. than secret services. Stories were told of orgies of great barbarity. The details have never been published, because they were so lurid.

It came out that the motto of commandment, of the group was: “DO WHAT THOU WILT SHALL BE THE WHOLE OF THE LAW”

If there was any doubt in the minds of the practitioners as to what to do a hand-book of the creed explained it to them.

Immediately a storm of abuse descended upon Mr. Crowley, as the Purple Priest and head man of the group. He fell into signal disrepute, but was completely unconcerned. He went to Cefalu, Sicily, and for a time nothing was heard of him.

Then Mrs. Betty May Loveday, wife of a young English poet, arrived in London claiming that Crowley had killed her husband. The charge proved unfounded, but as a result of it further details of the carryings-on of the O. T. O. came to light.

Young Loveday had come entirely under the spell of the hypnotic Crowley and had joined the O. T. O. His wife had refused to do so, but she had been present during the ceremonies and told all. It was the same sort of recital as came from Detroit. Again Mr. Crowley moved. This time he went to Paris, as usual, accompanied by violent denunciations by less esoterically inclined people.

Finally came the news that the French government had requested him to leave – a request that would brook no refusal. Further abuse was given him, and he disappeared from public notice.

Now a memoir writer chides him with being a poseur and he resents it. Aleister Crowley is truly a devious person.

Please check out Arcane Wisdom’s very special low imprint version of Aleister Crowley’s Moonchild (introduction by Don Webb). More here … click!

When the Gods Smile on You

About six months ago I purchased some 15 or so boxes of old pre 1970 fanzines and some Arkham House books from an estate sale.  With our recent move from California to Oregon I wasn’t able to really go through the boxes with any thoroughness, however last night at nearly midnight I pulled out an envelope that held a postcard hand written by H. P. Lovecraft to Clark Ashton Smith.  What an amazing surprise indeed!  For the collector/bookseller/lovecraftian that I am it was the equivalent to hitting a jackpot.

The last 15 boxes will be gone through posthaste that I can guarantee. : )

Below you can see a picture of the front and back of the card.

I haven’t be able to transcribe the entire letter but it looks as though H. P. Lovecraft might be talking about Aleister Crowley.   He writes, “Glad to see the item about Crowley. What a queer duck!  He is the original of Clinton in Wakefield’s  “The Return at Evening”"

See pictures below.