W. Elwyn Backus: Weird Tales Science Fiction Writer
W. Elwyn Backus (1892-1979) was predominantly a Science Fiction writer for Weird Tales, his only market. People sometimes forget that Weird Tales published “Off Trail” Read More
Tag: Weird Tales
Fantasy on the March – Fritz Leiber’s Rallying Call
“Fantasy on the March” was Fritz Leiber’s rallying call to fans of Fantasy, both heroic and dark. The piece appeared in The Arkham Sampler (Spring Read More
Golden Age Islands of Terror!
Golden Age Islands of Terror! Not your vacationing hotspot but a physical cage for bad things to happen in. Islands offer the Horror/Suspense writer a Read More
The Beast Plants: Monstrous Adventures
The Beasts Plants always appear in monstrous adventures. It is part of the formula from the beginning. And it makes sense. Giant, man-eating plants don’t Read More
The Meteoric Carl Selwyn
The Meteoric Carl Selwyn was a space opera writer who specialized in Science Fiction. This adjective is apt since he went from unknown to one Read More
More Robert E. Howard Pastiches
Conan the Cimmerian was the first Robert E. Howard character to be written about by others. This began when L.Sprague de Camp converted non-Conan tales Read More
Jamesian Complaint II: Not at Night
If you missed the last one… In “Ghosts– Treat Them Gently!” (Evening News, 17 April 1931) , M. R James writes: On the whole, then, Read More
Next Stop: The Thirteenth Floor
Last year my favorite television episode was “E is For Elevator” on Evil. This segment used the old idea of the “Thirteenth Floor”, a Read More
Blithe Spirits
I recently watched Blithe Spirit (2020) and was struck by how much of the Ghost Story genre is actually in this comedy. The film version Read More
Robert Bloch Comic Adaptations
Robert Bloch’s first comics appeared in unauthorized versions that “borrowed” the ideas from his stories without acknowledging where they came from. A perfect example of Read More