by Emil Petaja
"Uncanny Stories" Macmillan Co. This splendid collection contains F.
Marion Crawford's "For the Blood is the Life" (considered one of the
best vampire stories ever written) and Sinclair's "Where their Fire is
not Quenched." Other of its stories are equally interesting.
Algernon Blackwood is well known to lovers of fantasy. Of the books
containing his short stories "Wolves of God" and "The Dance of Death"
are two of the best. "The Man Who Found Out" (in "Wolves of God")
I consider one of the best short stories I have ever read. Like
Lovecraft, he merely hints at unmentionable things, leaving the reader
with a vague sense of fear.
"Visible and Invisible," E. F. Benson, Doubleday, Doran & Co. This
is probably Benson's best work of fantasy. Readers of "Weird Tales"
will remember some of his splendid stories that have appeared in this
magazine.
Lord Dunsany's two delightful books, "A Dreamer's Tales" and "Book of
Wonder" can now be had in the Modern Library list. After reading the
dark tales of Lovecraft, Howard, etc., these are a refreshing change.
Some of the other good collections of stories of ghosts, vampires,
ghouls, etc. are "Physic Stories" French, "The White Ghost Book," "The
Grey Ghost Book" Middleton, "Sinister Stories" Walker, "Stories of the
Seen and Unseen" Oliphant. Frank Owen's two fantasies "The Wind
that Tramps the World" and "The Purple Sea"--and Birch's "The Moon
Terror" should be mentioned. A rare treat is Clark Ashton Smith's
booklet "The Double Shadow." These tales range from the wild terror of
Edgar Allen Poe, to the weird, imaginative beauty of Lord Dunsany.
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