40th Anniversary of Wagner’s “In The Pines” Debut

Ever since Lovecraft and his friend began to introduce arcane and mouldering books into their stories, the idea has been a popular prop for horror stories. One of the best modern practitioners of this style of fantasy fiction was the late Karl Edward Wagner (1945-1994). Beginning in the 1960′s, and usually staying in the low end and limited press markets, Wagner attracted a loyal audience and became a noted celebrity among them.

The Fantasy and Science Fiction Magazine debuted (1949) as primarily a reprint pulp magazine, but Anthony Boucher had big plans. He began to create what might be considered a high brow approach to what had been sicentifiction in the 1930′s and was being coined Sci-Fi in the 1950s, and the magazine and the concept were magnificent triumphs ushering in the mature era of “SF”.

F&SF was already venerable and venerated by 1973. This blogger, as a teenager, was grabbing copies at the local drug store as often as he could. But, senior year of High School came and then college and eventually this collection of magazines ended up in a box, and then moved from place to place. The numerous copies from the 1970s began to be jostled and one by one given away to friends, or to some charity, or simply disapperead until only one was left, alone, forgotten, and rotting away in the garage. Until last week.

Note the mildew coating, and the ratted edges where the paper became friable and fell away. The cover, by Don Davis is a take off of the flag planting on Iwo Jima (23 Feb 1945).

Like a forgotten copy of the Necronomicon or a tattered copy of a play about the King in Yellow, there lay at the bottom of a cardboard box a mildewed copy of the August 1973 F&SF. The pages were yellowed, and covered in fungus. A healthy dose of paper towels and lysol, and much of the microbial detritus was removed, and then a quick flip of the pages in a fresh breeze cleared most of the rest of the dirt stuck on the edges of the pages.

Inside, a treasure trove was re-discovered.

Table of Contents including now legendary writers and artists.

It included the 1973 debut of Karl Edward Wagner’s classic In the Pines, a story by a young David J. Skal, and the results of a “Feghoot” contest.

I suddenly realized that this was a 40 year old magazine. But how could that be? It seemed like only yesterday I had bought it and brought it home. But if I were honest, after 40 years the mildewed copy that was once freshly minted had fared only a little better than my 57 year old arthritic body.

In the Pines has been eloquently reviewed by Stefan Dziemianowicz:

… he published the book’s lead-off story, “In the Pines”, in a 1973 issue of The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction. The tale is a retelling of sorts of Oliver Onions’ classic ghost story “The Beckoning Fair One” (which Wagner references in his story) and it shows how well Wagner understood the mechanics of the horror tale. Onions’ story tells of an author who rents a house and who crumbles psychologically under the influence of a former female tenant whose ghostly presence has imbued the place. In Wagner’s story, a husband who moves temporarily with his wife to a remote cabin in Tennessee to recuperate emotionally following the death of their young child falls under the spell of a ghostly woman who disappeared from the premises half a century before. Atmospheric and laden with portents and foreshadowings, the story builds to a powerful climax in the final paragraphs. It’s the first of several of Wagner’s tales to feature a femme fatale as an embodiment of supernatural horror.

Skal has become a notable scholar of Dracula movies and a legendary film critic. We lost Wagner at a much too young of an age. And the heady days of scientifiction, Sci-Fi, and SF are now mostly reflected by a television network called SyFy.

And a “feghoot”? Now almost forgotten, the original feghoots were penned by Reginald Bretnor under his pseudonym of Grendel Briarton (an anagram), and collected most notably in Through Time and Space with Ferdinand Feghoot. We would now call these flash fiction, and they almost always contained or ended with a tortured pun of a notable phrase. (A tradition now carried on by Stephen Pastis in his comic strip Pearls Before Swines).

Here is a Pastis “feghoot” from a Sunday strip, 27 Jan 2013:

Below, a selection of the badly damaged pages featuring “In the Pines”. They were salvageable enough for scanning. Click any image to expand to full size for closer examination.

Don Davis. As noted, above, Don Davis paid homage to the 1945 photograph of the Planting of the American flag on Iwo Jima. In the years since, the photograph has become mildly controversial, but at the time – only slightly more than a generation after the end of WWII – it was still considered a powerful patriotic symbol. Then only 21 years old (b. 1952), Davis has had an amazing career in space art.

 

 

To see the Karl Edward Wagner titles that we have available just click the Miskatonic Books Banner below

 

Who First Mentioned “Aliens From Outer Space”?

The First Real Extrasolar Alien in Scientifiction

You ever sit around and think up a mystery to solve?  The first extra-solar planet was proposed about 1963, and proven in the 1990s.  But way back, in the early days of science-fiction, who thought up aliens from way our yonder? Who had that kind of amazing imagination when astronomers themselves stared wondering into their telescopes, more focused on Martians than aliens from outer space.

Of course, you might say H. G. Wells, Burroughs, or any number of folks.  But wait!  These were Martians, Venusians, Moon Men, Asteroid dwellers, or people from Jupiter and Saturn.  Even Lovecraft speculated about those from Yuggoth, the 9th planet - when we only knew there were 8.  Well, I guess we’re back to eight planets again, but that is beyond our discussion here.

No, these won’t do to solve our puzzle.  We need a planet around a star not our own, and we need sentient life that can travel or at least communicate with us.

After a great deal of searching, I have narrowed the choices to two. And there may be a connection.

The first is obvious. H. P. Lovecraft in the Call of Cthulhu.  ”They had, indeed, come themselves from the stars, and brought Their images with Them.” We know that Lovecraft began to write his story sometime in the Summer of 1926.

The next is The Thing from —  “Outside” by George Allen England written about 1923, and as published in Amazing Stories #1 in 1926.  Almost as the story begins (page 69) he paraphrases H. G. Wells famous line, “…intellects vast and cool and unsympathetic, regarded this earth with envious eyes, and slowly and surely drew their plans against us …”, as, “Pale, cold stars watched down from spaces infinitely far beyond man’s trivial world.”

England had sold the story to Gernsback for his forerunner, Science and Adventure renamed in 1920 from its predecessor the Electrical Experimenter . England’s story appeared in Vol. 10, No. 2 of 1923, and was then reprinted in the first issue of Amazing Stories along with reprint stories by Wells, Verne, and Poe and a few others.

England also fictionalized aliens of the fourth dimension “beyond the galactic rim” in a 1914 All Story serialization called Empire of the Air. This is remarkable as Shapley was still piecing together theories about what the galaxy was and how big it was.

Another connection is that S. T. Joshi has noted that in 1914, a youthful 23 year old H. P. Lovecraft praised England’s story telling ability in the 15 August 1914 All-Story Cavalier Weekly.

England has been pegged by historians as almost as popular in the pulp magazines as Burroughs. Lovecraft was known to have followed All Story, and may have followed England into Science and Invention.

The two stories have uncanny coincidences mentioning a creature from another star system that has influenced by happenstance until only madness and mayhem resulted. While Cthulhu is usually seen as an upgraded Dagon, it had to be upgraded from some literary substance percolating in Lovecraft’s mind.

No less a scholar than Robert Price has reclassified this as part of the Ithaqua Cycle of Lovecraftian fiction. Prior to this, August Derleth was so enamored of the story he used it in his 1948 Strange Ports of Call anthology.

Lovecraft is well known, of course, but England’s story is so similar to the modern UFO alien abduction scenario, it could read as if extracted from a Ray Fowler case book.

“Things. Things that reckon with us no more than we do with ants. Less, perhaps.”

“It’ll do any infernal thing it takes a fancy to, yes! If it happens to want us—”

“But what could Things like that want of us? Why should They come here, at all?”

“Oh, for various reasons. For inanimate objects, at times, and then again for living beings. They’ve come here lots of times, I tell you…”

“Superior beings use inferior, for their own ends. To assume that man is the supreme product of evolution is gross self-conceit. Might not some superior Thing want to experiment with human beings?”

“It was observing us while we slept”

“…everywhere they felt that It was watching…”

“there are forms of life as superior to us as we are to ants. We can’t see ‘em. No ant ever saw a man. And did any ant ever form the least conception of a man? These Things have left thousands of traces, all over the world. “

And at last, we see England’s source: “Charles Fort, the greatest authority in the world on unexplained phenomena,” persisted Jandron, “gives innumerable cases of happenings that science can’t explain, in his ‘Book of the Damned…”.

We need to use caution. Fort in 1919 did not necessarily consider aliens and alien ships as coming from other star systems. They may have simply been from the ether, or from some theosophanic dimension. We need to be careful to give England the credit for making this leap of faith that they are creatures from another star system. This seems very much England’s origination, and considering his 1914 story, he predates even Fort’s publication.

If you have opinions or thoughts about this, or wish to offer your own opinion who first wrote about “aliens from outer space” drop Miskatonic Books an email: miskatonicbooks@me.com

 

Esoterica and the Crisis in Ufology

Here at Miskatonic Books, we love a good story, especially if it has horrific elements.  From Little Red Riding Hood to The Horror at Red Hook and beyond, we like it.

We also follow the emerging field of esoterica.  In the old days this would be divided into paranormal, metaphysics, para-religious ideas, exotic philosophy, magick, alchemy, astrology, spiritualism, ghosts, and in modern times, the “flying saucer”.  The latter subject burst on the scene as a series of “flying discs” that skipped along like a saucer on the water, or so said Kenneth Arnold in June 1947.  In a short window that included both Arnold’s sighting and the Roswell incident, the U. S. media was flooded with hundreds of reports of odd flying phenomenon, most of them disc shaped.  The excitement went to the Pentagon and to Truman’s office, before the hammer came down and generals sent to tell everyone to calm down.  But they didn’t – not at first.

If you read the media reports, and study the history of the phenomenon, the disc reports began to slowly subside though outbreaks popped up from time to time.  Interested parties began to publicize in books two branches:  a religio-spitualism where the observers received prophetic advice, and “nuts and bolts” saucer people who believed the objects were coming from mars or another planet.  Remember, in the years between 1947 and 1950, no other planet had been discovered or was suspected outside of our own solar system.  Only in the mid-1950′s did scientifiction ideas of extra-solar worlds become mainstream.  The movie, Forbidden Planet, was the most notable leap in that direction, and highly influential.

While many civilian and military people researched the sightings deep into the late 1960′s, many books were sold but little understanding was reached other than the media becoming more cynical and flippant with those who reported the flying saucers.   Then a game changer.  A nice New England couple named Betty and Barney Hill revealed that through hypnotic regression, they had come to believe they had been kidnapped by aliens.  A best selling book by John Fuller was snapped up by millions of Americans, but civilian UFO agencies who had all but eradicated the paranormal from their “nuts and bolts” investigations were overwhelmed by those coming froward with similar kidnapping stories, and finally with the rise of Bud Hopkins and others, the UFO phenomenon became plagued with tens of thousands of dream-like reports.

The resurrection of the Roswell story by Stanton Friedman brought back the “nuts and bolts” investigations, but instead of dreams and hypnosis sessions being used as “proof” of aliens, they presented “oral histories” as proof of a crashed saucer.  This is not to nit-pick whether any of this is true, or even to discuss what “true” means, because these were rip-roaring good stories, and many of them hair-raising and horrific.

A twin attack in the mid-1990s came.  Neurologists showed that hypnotic regression was not reliable, and that recalled memories were faulty.  At the same time, the Air Force put out a controversial series of reports trying to rip the Roswell story to shreds.    In both cases, the assault had mixed effects, and believers kept believing.

However, the rise of the internet and reality television has exposed the history of the UFO phenomenon to millions if not billions, and now that all those eyes are watching, and books have become less important than instantaneous viral visual media, the same “classic cases” that used to be exciting are now torn to pieces by the media and eager participants at the site Above Top Secret.  In fact, while there are still many believers, cynicism seems to prevail more often than not.

Arguably starting with the work of Jacques Vallee, the idea of an extraterrestrial visit to Earth is becoming less of interest than a paranormal-based extra-dimmensional series of creatures or events.  This has opened the door for a crisis in ufology.

On one side, there are true believers who believe that we have been visited millions of times and as far back as man began to walk upright.  That there are innumerable species from aliens a few centuries smarter than us to Q-like god-beings, the latter many times resembling the gods that Lovecraft and Derleth created.  On the other hand, UFO books and conferences are not drawing crowds, and those who do go are decidedly baby-boomers.  There is buzz whether or not only septuagenarians will attend UFO conferences by the end of this decade.  Young esotericans such as Tim Binnall are openly scornful of ufology, though Coast to Coast AM still has fondness and treats the subject with dignity.

That being said, there seems to be momentum to begin to classify ufology into a broader field now being referred to as esotericism.  This begins to lump everything from folklore to Fortean, from saucers to sorcery, and maybe paranormal to parasailing.   It is a rapid growth market, and may be what has pudhed the CE-5 phenomenon to the forefront.

In the CE-5 technique, through meditation and special techniques, one can come into the presence and even the consciousnesses of the pan-multiverse alien sentience.  In many cases flying saucers and other esoteric conveyances can be called at will to Earth.  Telepathic communication is typical, and multiple possibilities include lucent dreaming, skin-walking, teleportation, out of body experiences, paranormal events, and prophetic messaging.

We could almost say to the past, welcome to the future.  The more we at Miskatonic Books study esoteric trajectories, and more and more we are reminded of the 19th century experiences we read of in the history books.

Ufology may be in crisis, but esotericism seems here to stay for quite some time.

Necronomicon Press Titles

We bought a large collection of Necronomicon Press titles.

A little about this fascinating genre press:

Necronomicon Press was founded in 1976, originally as an outlet for the works of H. P. Lovecraft, after whose fictitious grimoire, the Necronomicon, the firm is named. However, its repertoire expanded to include authors such as Robert E. Howard, Clark Ashton Smith, Ramsey Campbell, Hugh B. Cave, Joyce Carol Oates, Brian Lumley and Brian Stableford.

Necronomicon Press published critical works by such pioneering Lovecraft scholars as Dirk W. Mosig, Stefan R. Dziemianowicz, Kenneth W. Faig and S. T. Joshi.

Below is just a small amount of what we have in stock.

CLARK ASHTON SMITH: Letters to H. P. Lovecraft by Clark Ashton Smith (Chapbook)

CLARK ASHTON SMITH: Letters to H. P. Lovecraft by Clark Ashton Smith (Chapbook) edited by Steve Behrends

Collects correspondence between Smith and Lovecraft, with an introduction (and edited) by Steve Behrends.
Cover art by Robert H. Knox.
70 pages. Stapled illustrated wrappers. Stated “First printing – July 1987″ on the copyright page.

A fine copy. Very rare and tough find in this condition

 

WITCHES OF THE MIND: A Critical Study of Fritz Leiber by Bruce Byfield (Chapbook)

A critical guide to Leiber’s work plus a primary and secondary bibliography.
“First Printing” on copyright page.

Contents:

Introduction (Witches of the Mind: A Critical Study of Fritz Leiber) • (1991) • essay by Bruce Byfield
Lovecraftian Period (1936-1949) • (1991) • essay by Bruce Byfield
Gravesian Period (1949-1958) • (1991) • essay by Bruce Byfield
Early Jungian Period (1958-1972) • (1991) • essay by Bruce Byfield
Late Jungian Period (1973-Present) • (1991) • essay by Bruce Byfield
Bibliography: Primary Sources • (1991) • essay by Bruce Byfield
Bibliography: Secondary Sources • (1991) • essay by Bruce Byfield
Index • (1991) • essay by Bruce Byfield

Chapbook is in near fine condition with light toning due to age and very light shelf wear. Else fine.

Great copy of this rare edition.

 

THE DARK MAN #1: The Journal of Robert E. Howard Studies (Chapbook)

THE DARK MAN #1: The Journal of Robert E. Howard Studies (Chapbook)

Contents:

“Editorial”
“The Frost-Giant’s Daughter; An Early Draft” by REH

Articles
“Swords at the Acadamy Gates; Or, Robert E. Howard is There, Where are the Critics?” by Don Herron
“King Conan and the Aquilonian Dream”by Steven R. Trout
“Toward Other Lands: An Approach to Robert E. Howard” by Rusty Burke
“The Howard Complex” by Dan Stumpf
“Herbert Klatt” by Glenn Lord

Reviews:
“Echoes of Valor II” by Rusty Burke
“Post Oaks and Sand Roughs” by Charles Hoffmann
“Guidelines for Submissions”

Notes
Editor: Rusty Burke
Submission guidelines include Rusty Burke’s list of “pure” Conan sources.

Chapbook is in near fine condition with light toning due to age and very light shelf wear. Else fine.

 

 

DAY OF THE STRANGER: Further Memories of Robert E. Howard by Novalyne Price Ellis (Chapbook)

DAY OF THE STRANGER: Further Memories of Robert E. Howard by Novalyne Price Ellis (Chapbook)

Contents
“A Conversation with Novalyne Price Ellis” by Rusty Burke
“Day of the Stranger” by Novalyne Price Ellis
“Speech about Robert E. Howard”given by Novalyne Price Ellis

Notes: Compiled and with notes by Rusty Burke

Chapbook is in near fine condition with light toning due to age and very light shelf wear. Else fine.

 

LOVECRAFT STUDIES #2 Chapbook Magazine Spring 1980

CONTENTS OF ISSUE #2:

Reflections on “The Ousider”, by William Fulwiler
Humour Beneath Horror: some Sources for “The Dunwich Horror” and “The Whisperer in Darkness, by Donald R. Burlseon
Introduction to Hoag’s Poetical Works, by H.P. Lovecraft
Briefly Noted
Sources for the Chronology of Lovecraft’s Fiction, by S.T. Joshi
Briefly Noted
Reviews:

Selected Letters V, by H.P. Lovecraft edited by August Derleth & James Turner (Paul Buhle)

Lovecraft’s Providence & Adjacent Parts by Henry L.P. Beckwith, Jr (Donald R. Burleson)

Lovecraft’s Library: A Catalogue edited by S.T. Joshi & Marc A. Michaud(R. Boerem)

Contributors

Chapbook is in near fine condition with some light toning due to age.

 

LOVECRAFT STUDIES #22/23 Chapbook Magazine Fall 1990

A scholarly journal on all things Lovecraft

LOVECRAFT STUDIES #22/23 Chapbook Magazine Fall

Contents of issue #22/23

Notes on the Cinematic Interpretation of the Works of H. P. Lovecraft by Wheeler Winston Dixon
On Lovecraft’s Fragment “Azathoth” by Donald R. Burleson
“Pickman’s Model”: H. P. Lovecraft’s Model of Terror by James Anderson
The Outsider: A Woman? by Mollie L. Burleson
An Interview with Harry K. Brobst conducted by Will Murray
Six Views of Lovecraft by Donald R. Burleson, PeterCnnon, Les Daniels, Kenneth W. Faig, Jr,. S. T. Joshi, And Will Murray
Reviews
Correspondence

Chapbook is in near fine condition with some light toning to front and back and very light shelf wear.

To see all our Neconomicon Press titles click here

This Week’s New and Interesting Arrivals

We’ve had some very cool new items arrive this week.

All of these items are rare and we likely have only one in stock. Books will be sold on a first come first serve basis. Click on the image to get more information and to secure your copy.

AT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS by H. P. Lovecraft (Signed Limited Edition Hardcover)

1/1000 copies signed by the illustrator Fernando Duval. Oversize, oblong format [13.5" x 9.5"] hardcover with silver gilt pictorial design lettering against a black “leather” background, 95 pages, with dozens of color illustrations plus pictorial endpapers.

Copy is in near fine condition. Beautiful copy of this title with many illustrations.

 

SESQUA VALLEY AND OTHER HAUNTS by W. H. Pugmire (RARE! Advance Readers Copy)

A very rare Advance Readers Copy of Sesqua Valley and Other Haunts by W. H. Pugmire 2003. Also included is the original letter sent to reviewers signed by the publisher. This is likely one of the rarest Wilum Pugmire titles in existence. Book is spiral bound in near fine condition with accompanying signed letter from the publisher.

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

 

ANCIENT EYES by David Niall Wilson (Signed Lettered Hardcover)

There is an ancient evil lurking in the mountains of California. One peak over from Friendly, California, there is another, darker place. In that place there are two churches. Displaced from a time and place far distance, an ancient carving watches from an alcove above the door of a broken down, nearly forgotten church. When the evil it embodies reaches out and snags the soul of Silas Greene, roots creep down into the mountain and out into everything they touch. There is another church on the mountain. It is made of stone, carved into the stone of the mountain, and also all but forgotten.

A message goes out to Abraham Carlson. “He’s Back. Come home, boy.” When young Abraham returns to the mountain, and to that stone church, a battle is rejoined that should have ended decades in the past. When the cleansing began – and was never completed. The only question is, does Abraham have the strength…or will he, and everyone he loves, fall into the depths of those evil, ancient eyes…

Book is in new unread condition

One of only 26 leather bound hardcover copies, with custom endpapers, illustrated signature sheet, custom traycase, Handmade resin sculpture, Silk Ribbon marker. Very unique production. Click image tab for more pictures.

 

THE CHECKLIST OF FANTASTIC LITERATURE edited by Everett F. Bleiler (Hardcover) 1948

The Checklist of Fantastic Literature is a bibliography of English language science fiction, fantasy and weird books compiled and edited by Everett F. Bleiler with a preface by Melvin Korshak and a cover by Hannes Bok.

This was the first title from Shasta Publishers. The bibliography is nearly complete and lists over 5,000 titles published prior to 1949. The books are listed by author and indexed by title. Willy Ley described it as “indispensable to librarians, book dealers, and especially antiquarians.

Book is in very good condition, with some toning due to age, small chipping and shelfwear. A very tough to find book and a must have for the fantastic literature antiquarian. Second printing.

 

THE TRAIL OF CTHULHU by August Derleth (1st UK Hardcover Edition)

The Trail of Cthulhu is a series of interconnected short stories written by August Derleth as part of the Cthulhu Mythos genre of horror fiction. The stories chronicle the struggles of Laban Shrewsbury and his companions against the Great Old Ones, particularly Cthulhu.

The stories, with their date of first publication, are:

“The House on Curwen Street” (“The Trail of Cthulhu”) (March 1944)
“The Watcher from the Sky” (July 1945)
“The Gorge Beyond Salapunco” (“The Testament of Claiborne Boyd”) (March 1949)
“The Keeper of the Key” (May 1951)
“The Black Island” (January 1952)
“A Note on the Cthulhu Mythos”

This is a first British hardcover edition. Book is in near fine condition with a price clipped dust jacket else fine.

Last Chance and New Arrivals

If you want to receive your signed limited edition of the 2012 Cthulhu Christmas Ornament before Christmas order soon!

 

 

What can no H. P. Lovecraft fan be without during the holiday season?  A 2012 limited edition Cthulhu Christmas Ornament!

Miskatonic Books has commissioned renowned artist Alex McVey to create a unique, signed, limited edition Christmas ornament specially designed for the H. P. Lovecraft enthusiast.

This ornament is limited to only 250 signed and numbered sculptures. Each ornament is hand-cast, hand painted, and hand numbered by the artist. Each year we will be creating a new holiday sculpture and those purchasing this years ornament will have first chance at getting matching numbers on next years Lovecraft Christmas ornament.

• Limited edition resin sculpture ornament of only 250
• Hand-cast
• Hand painted
• Signed by the artist
• Comes with golden tie string.
• Approximately 4 inches tall and nearly an inch thick.

For a more detailed picture click on the “image” tab above.

 

 

New Items just arriving in the store:

THE FOURTH BOOK OF OCCULT PHILOSOPHY by Henry Cornelius Agrippa (Limited Edition Hardcover)

This is the first corrected edition of THE FOURTH BOOK OF OCCULT PHILOSOPHY by the noted Renaissance magician Henry Cornelius Agrippa. A student under the tutelage of Johann Trithemius who later took on the role of mentor to the famous Johann Wierus, Cornelius Agrippa has proven to be one of the most influential occultist in history.

Professor Marc Huys has corrected, translated and annotated the Greek provided in the original edition of the Forth Boo and provided their sources for the modern reader.

As has become the custom since the first English edition of this work in 1655, this volume includes the Heptameron or Magical Elements of Peter de Abano, the twelfth century esotericist.

The artwork from the original edition has been restored for inclusion in the volume. We have included a selection of dedications by colleagues of the original editor along with the original preface to the book.

One of only 1000 hardcover copies this being number 28 of 1000s. Book is in fine condition in a fine dust jacket.

THE BUFFALO HUNTER by Peter Straub (Signed Limited Edition Hardcover)

Hardcover Limited Edition of 450 signed and numbered copies bound in full-cloth and Smyth sewn

About the Book
The Buffalo Hunter chronicles the fixations of a 35-year-old man who numbs his fear of women in some very unusual ways. This Peter Straub novella was inspired by an art opening that stuck with the author longer than expected, leading him to purchase an unusual number of baby bottles and discover the haunting story of Bobby Bunting in the process…

About the Inspiration:
“(The Buffalo Hunter) was inspired by a show — an art opening. Her work is often primal, and this show included several beds with baby bottles lashed to them. The next morning, as soon as I woke up, I wondered what that kind of thing would look like if it were made without any artistic impulse. And what kind of person would make it? That morning, I went out and bought a bunch of baby bottles. Bobby Bunting came into view very early on. I knew I wanted to write a novella, and I had so much fun that it turned out to be a little longer than I had expected it to be.”
— Peter Straub

NIGHT WINDS by Karl Edward Wagner (Mass Market Paperback 1978) Signed and Inscribed

World Fantasy Award nominee 1979.

KANE – The Mystic Swordsman ranges Earth and Time to confront the demons of darkness.

Where once the mighty Kane has passed, no one who lives forgets. Now, down the trails of past battles, Kane travels again. To the ruins of a devastated city peopled only by half-men and the waif they call their queen. To the half-burnt tavern where a woman Kane wronged long ago holds his child in keeping for the Devil. To the cave kingdom of the giants where glory and its aftermath await discovery. To the house of death itself where Kane retrieves a woman to love.

The past, the future, the present – all are one for Kane as he travels through the ceturies, “an intriguing hero – part savage, part savant – with a dash of Satanic seasoning.” –John Jakes

Contents:

Lynortis Reprise
The Dark Muse
Two Suns Setting
Sing a Last Song of Valdese
Raven’s Eyrie
Undertow

Book is in near fine condition with some very light edge wear else fine. Looks to have never been read. Book is inscribed as follows, “To John, 4th World Fantasy Con, Karl Edward Wagner”

THE BEETLE by Richard Marsh (1st UK Edition Paperback) 1959 Import

The Beetle (1897) tells the story of a fantastical creature, “born of neither god nor man,” with supernatural and hypnotic powers, who stalks British politician Paul Lessingham through fin de siecle London in search of vengeance for the defilement of a sacred tomb in Egypt. In imitation of various popular fiction genres of the late nineteenth century, Marsh unfolds a tale of terror, late imperial fears, and the “return of the repressed,” through which the crisis of late imperial Englishness is revealed.

Lovecraft wrote in his essay Supernatural Horror in Literature: “Dracula evoked many similar novels of supernatural horror, among which the best are perhaps The Beetle, by Richard Marsh, Brood of the Witch-Queen, by “Sax Rohmer” (Arthur Sarsfield Ward), and The Door of the Unreal, by Gerald Bliss.

This is a first UK edition mass market paperback. Book is in very good plus condition. Pages are toned due to age spine is lightly creased and small chip to the head of the spine. For a book of this age it is in terrific shape and a difficult find.

THE MONK by M. G. Lewis (Mass Market Paperback 1960)

This is the book which took the reading public by storm when it was first published in 1796 – and modem readers find it just as exciting today. One critic has called it `A mass of murder, outrage, diablerie and indecency’.

The monk, Ambrosio, of saintly reputation, is seduced by a young woman, Matilda, who has entered his monastery disguised as a boy and captured his interest. Once his vows are broken Ambrosio’s fall is rapid. With the help of Matilda, who is in league with the Devil, he courts one of his penitents, but has to commit murder before his desires are satisfied. Then, in a panic, he kills his mistress to escape detection. But it is too late. The inquisition captures and tortures him. One last pact with the Devil seems to hold out hopes for his escape, but even Satan has deceived him.

Book is in very good condition. Pages are toned due to age spine is lightly creased spine. Bump to bottom corner. For a book of this age it is in terrific shape and a difficult find.

THE CITADEL OF THE AUTARCH by Gene Wolfe (Signed Limited Edition Hardcover)

In the fourth volume of The Book of the New Sun, Severian completes the tale of how he rose from an apprentice torturer to Autarch, ruler of the Commonwealth. After fighting in the war against the Ascians, he encounters the dying Autarch, who urges Severian to eat his brains and thereby gain his memories. Severian then returns to the Citadel and ascends to the throne, discovering the secret that may save Urth from destruction. Contains full color, full page illustrations. Each copy is signed by Gene Wolfe.

Limited to 100 copies, each signed by Gene Wolfe.
Gorgeous full-page, full-color artwork by German artist Alexander Preuss.
Slipcase, ribbon marker, head and tail bands, three-piece cloth construction.

Back in stock and in short supply:

THE DEAD VALLEY AND OTHERS: H. P. Lovecraft’s Favorite Horror Stories Volume 2 edited by S. T. Joshi (Signed Limited Hardcover)

THE DEAD VALLEY AND OTHERS: H. P. Lovecraft’s Favorite Horror Stories Vol 2 edited by S. T. Joshi (Signed Limited Hardcover)

This is an advance order will will be shipping in approximately 90 days. Reserve your copy now to ensure you get a copy of this limited edition.

Limited to only 150 signed and numbered hardcover copies.  Each story is hand picked by Lovecraftian scholar S. T. Joshi, with introduction.

H. P. Lovecraft was a voracious reader of supernatural and fantastic fiction, and he was continually on the hunt for powerful and stimulating works in these genres. Many of the stories he read directly influenced his own writings

Here is the second volume in the very popular Lovecraft’s Favorite series.

Contents

• Introduction by S. T. Joshi
• The Diamond Lens by Fitz-James O’Brien
• The Horla by Guy de Maupassant
• The Moon Pool by A. Merritt
• Count Magnus by M. R. James
• The Damned Thing by Ambrose Bierce
• The Dead Valley by Ralph Adams Cram
• The Bad Lands by John Metcalfe
• Ooze by Anthony M. Rud
• Fishhead by Irvin S. Cobb
• The Harbor-Master by Robert W. Chambers
• Ancient Sorceries by Algernon Blackwood
• Cassius by Henry S. Whitehead
• The Spider by Hanns Heinz Ewers
• Blind Man’s Buff by H. Russell Wakefield

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?

 

13 Horror Classics That Every Horror Fiction Fan Should Read

It is almost Halloween, our favorite holiday here at Miskatonic Books.  Below is a list of great horror fiction compiled by Online Education Database. If you haven’t read one of these great titles pick it up pronto, you won’t be disappointed!

 

Halloween looms like so many ghouls in a graveyard! To get in the mood, fans of all things creepy and crawly curl up with some hot apple cider (Or tea. Or coffee. Or you get the idea.) and soak up some of literature’s most intense offerings. Horror piques something primitive, adrenaline-fueled, and visceral within us, and even the most pants-poopingly scary jawdropper keeps us begging for MORE, MORE, MORE! Here’s some of that more for you.

1. The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole:

   The literati generally consider The Castle of Otranto the first novel of the gothic genre, whose deeply psychological tones and darkly anxious atmospheres continue deeply impacting horror on the whole today. And what a way to kick everything off! Spooky, foreboding castles. Curses. Prophecies. Murder. Secret identities. All the intense ingredients that have challenged readers to explore the portions of their minds (and the minds of others) that harbor ugliness since gothic horror launched.

2. Carmilla by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu:

   Count Dracula might be the most famous figure in vampire literature of all time, but Carmilla appeared a quarter of a century sooner; in fact, author Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu actually established many of the familiar narrative tropes related to the entire subgenre of horror. Like sleeping in a coffin and doctors of the occult sent in intending to unwrap the surrealities of reality. Beautiful and seductive, the eponymous monster routinely preys upon and traumatizes a little girl, all while disguising herself as a cherished playmate.

3. Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley:

   Horror collides with science fiction in one of British literature’s most provocative (not to mention influential) dissections of what it means to be human and how ambition occasionally leads to corruption. Though considered an abomination, Dr. Frankenstein’s creation is far more pitiable than truly horrifying; in fact, Victor’s toying with reanimated flesh and subsequent rejection of a new being with his own feelings and desires makes him the truly terrifying figure here. After all, we need to be loved just like everybody else does.

4. At the Mountains of Madness by H.P. Lovecraft:

   Really, most of H.P. Lovecraft’s oeuvre could work here! At the Mountains of Madness, however, almost perfectly embodies everything the author eventually garnished such acclaim over. Miskatonic University researchers, references to The Necronomicon, and Shoggoths populate this chilling (pun absolutely intended) story of scientists discovering some unearthly truths during an Antarctic expedition. Fans (not believers) of conspiracy theories involving alien interactions with ancient peoples particularly will find this novella a riveting and strange delight.

5. Carrie by Stephen King:

   Stephen King’s first novel — an epistolary outline of a teenage girl’s pyrokinetic breakdown — remains one of his most timely and socially provocative. With bullying finally receiving widespread attention as a genuine problem rather than “just how kids are,” Carrie seems remarkably contemporary as it illustrates the overboiling frustration of constant unaddressed harassment; not to mention the physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual abuse the central character receives at home. For any student feeling marginalized and helpless amongst peers and/or family members who just won’t leave them alone, Carrie Walsh provides a safe, legal, and relatively healthy outlet for channeling their fears.

6. The Stepford Wives by Ira Levin:

   Few things prove more effectively terrifying than the idea of completely losing your autonomy; it’s an understandably common plot, one rife with potential directions. Ira Levin took inspiration from the nascent second wave of feminism and wrapped his essential horror novel (we would’ve also accepted Rosemary’s Baby as an answer) around anxieties experienced by postwar women desiring more life options than housewife, mother, and secretary looking to become a housewife and mother. After moving to Stepford, an independent woman named Joanne finds herself growing more and more suspicious of her submissive contemporaries and the secret men’s club claiming her husband’s time.

7. Dracula by Bram Stoker:

   Like we said before, Carmilla is technically how contemporary vampire media more or less started. But Bram Stoker’s Dracula still possesses the greater degree of pop cultural awareness. To put it mildly. Because so much of the original story has been toyed with and parodied over time, anyone interested in horror and vampires should head back to the source and learn what the author originally had in mind. Specifically, a warning that Victorian women should probably stop with the whole embracing their inherent sexuality thing, because it pretty much makes them wanton, bloodthirsty, undead monsters. Oh my.

8. The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson:

   Great horror obviously doesn’t have to involve vampires or interdimensional eldritch horrors or just people in general. Ghosts and demons work just as well! This National Book Award finalist follows four individuals as they determine the supernatural status of a creepy old mansion. Imagination and reality begin blurring together, with the inhabitants wondering if they’re genuinely encountering something surreal or succumbing to a psychosomatic madness. The ambiguity of it all only adds to the novel’s overarching fearfulness.

9. The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty:

   Undeniably the quintessential novel regarding demonic possession, William Peter Blatty researched real-life claims of the phenomenon to craft one of literature’s more queasy horror stories. A little girl’s increasingly erratic mental and behavioral state absolutely mystifies medical science, and it might be the responsibility of nearby Jesuits to cure her. One currently struggles with his own faith in any sort of higher power or religious beings, adding another layer of psychological intensity and dread to the proceedings.

10. World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War by Max Brooks:

    The Walking Dead comic on which the beloved AMC show bases itself beat Mel Brooks’ son to the current zombie craze by three years, but World War Z (and its predecessor by the same author, The Zombie Survival Handbook) managed to give it the momentum needed to absolutely explode. Part sociopolitical commentary, part rip-‘em-up war story, this novel proves that even incredibly visual, visceral monsters like zombies can still terrorize audiences on the printed page. Famously, Max Brooks researched all the politics, economics, weapons, and survival skills included in the narrative and depicted them with absolute reality; aside from the zombie part, everything is as accurate as possible.

11. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson:

    Long before Fight Club, the idea of an id-driven alter-ego (oh, yeah, spoilers for a 126-year-old novel and all that) already plagued bibliophiles. Dr. Jekyll’s struggle with dissociative identity disorder — brought about because of his scientific curiosity — slowly begins consuming his ego and superego in a gradual and shocking display of losing the very core of what makes a human a human. Don’t worry. We’re not ruining the story here. After all, “Jekyll and Hyde” is a commonly used entry in the English idiomatic vernacular.

12. Blindness by Jose Saramago:

    Following an outbreak of … uhhhh … blindness in their metropolitan area, a small throng struggles to survive in a collapsing society thanks to one of the only individuals fortunate enough to not lose her sight. Nobel Prize winner Jose Saramago ratchets up the panic as the epidemic swells and those in power attempt to address it. Squalid conditions, disease, and bureaucratic incompetence perpetuate psychological torment even more than the horrendous physical decay surrounding them.

13. The Mysteries of Udolpho by Ann Ward Radcliffe:

    Horror buffs who enjoy their tales of terror splashed with a little romantic intrigue might want to check out this gothic classic of a young, adventurous woman who, by chance, manages to meet her true love along the way. But once she finds herself an orphan, she must live amongst apathetic, even abusive, family. Can she return to her beloved? Will she be forced to marry an overbearing count? Will she eventually lose her land holdings? It’s a swashbuckling horror story with all the requisite violence and drama one would expect from the woman who eventually inspired Jane Austen.

    

If Dr. Seuss Did H. P. Lovecraft

From the creative mind of the Australian artist, R.J. Ivankovic, comes an adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft’s The Tomb in the technique of Dr. Seuss and is particularly created with the younger reader in mind.

 

Ivankovic discusses his creation of this classic on his divianArt page:

“Howdy.

You may have noticed that I have finally come back to H.P.Lovecraft’s The Tomb.  After many months of uncertainty I think I’ve finally rekindled the desire to get this done (a small voice in the back of my mind constantly reminding me, “Finish it – Dagon is next!” probably had something to do with it).  Thanks for your patience, one and all!

Anyways, I finished writing the rhymes a few weeks ago, and have been working on the illustrations to bring us back to the place where we left off last time.  These are now up, and I’m hoping (not promising) to complete a page every other day.  Of course, sometimes these things encounter some difficulty in making it from the mind to the page, so don’t be too disappointed if some take a little longer than others.

With the rhymes done, however, I am happy to report that I am expecting H.P.Lovecraft’s The Tomb (for beginning readers) to conclude with page 60.

Take care of yourselves, and be excellent to each other.“

As we learn more about when this interesting book we’ll update it here on the Miskatonic Book Blog.

You can see the rest of the illustrations here.

Rocky: A Terrific Bigfoot Story

In the 19th century, much horror sprung from ghost stories. In other words, what we would call folk tales today. H. P. Lovecraft specifically and with intent crafted his weird tales around real and fictitious folklore creating a novel cast of horror characters and secret books.

Miskatonic Books continues that tradition by expanding it’s antiquarian horror blog post into more esoteric frontiers. Today, we highlight The Locals, a small press book from Hancock House published in 2003 and written by Thom Powell. A high school science teacher, Powell used to use Bigfoot legends in a scoffing manner to show students the downside with pseudoscience. One problem, along the way he studied the phenomenon so much, he became a believer!

Thom Powell

Deep in the book, we read a story that could have come right out of Jack London, only it t’weren’t about wolves, it was about Bigfoot. Here is an abbreviated version of the 16 page adventure.

Rocky had went to hunt elk, and ran smack into some bigfoots. he began to notice twisted off saplings (Bigfoot territory markers), found some scat, hair, and other signs.

As is typical, they hooted, knocked sticks against trees, played mindgames with him in the shadows, and generally made him nervous enough to leave.

He contacted Thom Powell, a researcher at Bigfoot Field Research Organization, and after rehearsing the story and giving Rocky tips, Powell sent Rocky back out to find more evidence. He got more than he bargained for.

“I’m never going back there as long as I live”, he said to Thom. “I saw two with my own eyes…”, and he heard two more. On a trail, they surrounded him, but he stood his ground. This caught the bigfoots off guard, and they were not happy. “That’s when the big one stepped out … I’ve never been so scared …”

It began, this time, by laying out a big pile of apples to lure the bigfoots. They indeed, did so, but instead of approaching the apples like a bear, chimp, or other mammal, one laid on its stomach, and crawled toward the apples in order to leave no footprints. “I couldn’t believe it! I got out my camera …”.

Not a good move. The bigfoot was fixed, and could not run, and Rocky said, “Hemm no! … I didn’t take my eyes off …”. The other bigfoots made a racket, and escalated to hoots and screams. Still Rocky moved closer to get a photo, and never took his eyes away. Undeterred, Rocky moved forward. Then a nine foot bigfoot emerged from the trees. Rocky lowered the camera, looked away from the apples, glanced back, and the apple-crawling-bigfoot was gone.

Now Rocky was in trouble. He backed away, and then ran as fast as he could back to the car, and zipped back to civilization.

Would the bigfoots have killed Rocky? We have no known reports of death by Bigfoot, but why would one take a chance?

We don’t know what to make of the many stories in Powell’s book, or the hundreds of reports over the last 150 years, but we know a great story when we hear it, and this is as great a legend as there is. We also know that new species of primates are discovered all the time so maybe one day we will get the evidence we’ve always wanted.

13 September 2012: Scientists have found a new monkey species in remote central Congo – a slender, medium-sized primate—called a Lesula.