Algernon Blackwood

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Algernon Blackwood
Algernon Blackwood.jpg
Born Algernon Henry Blackwood
(1869-03-14)14 March 1869
Shooter's Hill, Kent
Died 10 December 1951(1951-12-10) (aged 82)
Bishopsteighton, Kent
Occupation Writer, broadcaster
Nationality British
Genres Fantasy, Horror, Weird fiction
Notable work(s) The Centaur, "The Willows", "The Wendigo"

Algernon Henry Blackwood, CBE (14 March 1869 – 10 December 1951) was an English short story writer and novelist, one of the most prolific writers of ghost stories in the history of the genre. He was also a journalist and a broadcasting narrator. S. T. Joshi has stated that "his work is more consistently meritorious than any weird writer's except Dunsany's"[1] and that his short story collection Incredible Adventures (1914) "may be the premier weird collection of this or any other century".[2]

Contents

Life and work[edit]

Blackwood was born in Shooter's Hill (today part of south-east London, but then part of northwest Kent) and educated at Wellington College. His father was a Post Office administrator who, according to Peter Penzoldt, "though not devoid of genuine good-heartedness, had appallingly narrow religious ideas".[3] Blackwood had a varied career, working as a milk farmer in Canada, operating a hotel, as a newspaper reporter in New York City, bartender, model, journalist for the New York Times, private secretary, businessman, and violin teacher.[4]

Throughout his adult life, he was an occasional essayist for various periodicals. In his late thirties, he moved back to England and started to write stories of the supernatural. He was very successful, writing at least ten original collections of short stories and eventually appearing on both radio and television to tell them. He also wrote fourteen novels, several children's books, and a number of plays, most of which were produced but not published. He was an avid lover of nature and the outdoors, and many of his stories reflect this. To satisfy his interest in the supernatural, he joined the Ghost Club. He never married; according to his friends he was a loner but also cheerful company.[5]

Jack Sullivan points out that "Blackwood's life parallels his work more neatly than perhaps that of any other ghost story writer. Like his lonely but fundamentally optimistic protagonists, he was a combination of mystic and outdoorsman; when he wasn't steeping himself in occultism, including Rosicrucianism and Buddhism, he was likely to be skiing or mountain climbing."[4] Blackwood was a member of one of the factions of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn,[6] as was his contemporary Arthur Machen.[7] Qabalistic themes are at the heart of his novel The Human Chord.[8]

His two best known stories are probably "The Willows" and "The Wendigo". He would also often write stories for newspapers at short notice, with the result that he was unsure exactly how many short stories he had written and there is no sure total. Though Blackwood wrote a number of horror stories, his most typical work seeks less to frighten than to induce a sense of awe. Good examples are the novels The Centaur, which climaxes with a traveller's sight of a herd of the mythical creatures; and Julius LeVallon and its sequel The Bright Messenger, which deal with reincarnation and the possibility of a new, mystical evolution in human consciousness. In correspondence with Peter Penzoldt, Blackwood wrote[9]

My fundamental interest, I suppose, is signs and proofs of other powers that lie hidden in us all; the extension, in other words, of human faculty. So many of my stories, therefore, deal with extension of consciousness; speculative and imaginative treatment of possibilities outside our normal range of consciousness. ... Also, all that happens in our universe is natural; under Law; but an extension of our so limited normal consciousness can reveal new, extra-ordinary powers etc., and the word "supernatural" seems the best word for treating these in fiction. I believe it possible for our consciousness to change and grow, and that with this change we may become aware of a new universe. A "change" in consciousness, in its type, I mean, is something more than a mere extension of what we already possess and know.

Blackwood wrote an autobiography of his early years, Episodes Before Thirty (1923), and there is a biography by Mike Ashley (ISBN 0-7867-0928-6).

Blackwood died after several strokes. Officially his death on 10 December 1951 was of cerebral thrombosis with arteriosclerosis as contributory. He was cremated at Golders Green crematorium. A few weeks later his nephew took his ashes to Saanenmoser and scattered them over the mountains that he had loved for over forty years.

Critical responses and legacy[edit]

  • H. P. Lovecraft included Blackwood as one of the "Modern Masters" in the section of that name in "Supernatural Horror in Literature".
  • Peter Penzoldt devotes the final chapter of The Supernatural in Fiction (1952) to an analysis of Blackwood's work, and the book is dedicated "with deep admiration and gratitude, to Algernon Blackwood, the greatest of them all".
  • There is an extensive critical analysis of Blackwood's work in Jack Sullivan's book Elegant Nightmares: The English Ghost Story From Le Fanu to Blackwood (1978).
  • There is a critical essay on Blackwood's work in S. T. Joshi's The Weird Tale (1990).
  • The plot of Caitlin R. Kiernan's novel Threshold (2001) draws upon Blackwood's "The Willows", which is quoted several times in the book. Kiernan has cited Blackwood as an important influence on her writing.[citation needed]
  • In The Books in My Life, Henry Miller chose Blackwood's The Bright Messenger as "the most extraordinary novel on psychoanalysis, one that dwarfs the subject."[10]
  • Algernon Blackwood appears as a character in the novel The Curse of the Wendigo by Rick Yancey

Works[edit]

Novels[edit]

In sequence of first publication:

  • Jimbo: A Fantasy (1909a)
  • The Education of Uncle Paul (1909b)
  • The Human Chord (1910)
  • The Centaur (1911)
  • A Prisoner in Fairyland (1913); sequel to The Education of Uncle Paul
  • The Extra Day (1915)
  • Julius LeVallon (1916a)
  • The Wave (1916b)
  • The Promise of Air (1918a)
  • The Garden of Survival (1918b)
  • The Bright Messenger (1921); sequel to Julius LeVallon
  • Dudley & Gilderoy: A Nonsense (1929)

Children's novels:

  • Sambo and Snitch (1927)
  • The Fruit Stoners: Being the Adventures of Maria Among the Fruit Stoners (1934)

Plays[edit]

In sequence of first performance:

  • The Starlight Express (1915), coauthored with Violet Pearn; incidental music by Edward Elgar; based on Blackwood's 1913 novel A Prisoner in Fairyland
  • Karma a reincarnation play in prologue epilogue and three acts (1918), coauthored with Violet Pearn;
  • The Crossing (1920a), coauthored with Bertram Forsyth; based on Blackwood's 1913 short story "Transition"
  • Through the Crack (1920b), coauthored with Violet Pearn; based on Blackwood's 1909 novel The Education of Uncle Paul and 1915 novel The Extra Day
  • White Magic (1921a), coauthored with Bertram Forsyth
  • The Halfway House (1921b), coauthored with Elaine Ainley
  • Max Hensig (1929), coauthored with Frederick Kinsey Peile; based on Blackwood's 1907 short story "Max Hensig — Bacteriologist and Murderer"

Short fiction collections[edit]

In sequence of first publication:

  • The Empty House and Other Ghost Stories (1906); original collection
  • The Listener and Other Stories (1907); original collection
  • John Silence (1908); original collection; reprinted with added preface, 1942
  • The Lost Valley and Other Stories (1910); original collection
  • Pan's Garden: a Volume of Nature Stories (1912); original collection
  • Ten Minute Stories (1914a); original collection
  • Incredible Adventures (1914b); original collection
  • Day and Night Stories (1917); original collection
  • Wolves of God, and Other Fey Stories (1921), honorarily coauthored with Wilfred Wilson; original collection
  • Tongues of Fire and Other Sketches (1924); original collection
  • Ancient Sorceries and Other Tales (1927a); selections from previous Blackwood collections, and pre-publication abridgment of 1932's planned The Willows and Other Queer Tales
  • The Dance of Death and Other Tales (1927b); selections from previous Blackwood collections; reprinted as 1963's The Dance of Death and Other Stories
  • Strange Stories (1929); selections from previous Blackwood collections
  • Short Stories of To-Day & Yesterday (1930); selections from previous Blackwood collections
  • The Willows and Other Queer Tales (1932); selected by G. F. Maine from previous Blackwood collections
  • Shocks (1935); original collection
  • The Tales of Algernon Blackwood (1938); selections from previous Blackwood collections, with a new preface by Blackwood
  • Selected Tales of Algernon Blackwood (1942); selections from previous Blackwood collections (not to be mistaken for the identical title to a 1964 Blackwood collection)
  • Selected Short Stories of Algernon Blackwood (1945); selections from previous Blackwood collections
  • The Doll and One Other (1946); original collection
  • Tales of the Uncanny and Supernatural (1949); selections from previous Blackwood collections
  • In the Realm of Terror (1957); selections from previous Blackwood collections
  • The Dance of Death and Other Stories (1963); reprint of 1927's The Dance of Death and Other Tales
  • Selected Tales of Algernon Blackwood (1964); selections from previous Blackwood collections (not to be mistaken for the identical title to a 1942 Blackwood collection)
  • Tales of the Mysterious and Macabre (1967); selections from previous Blackwood collections
  • Ancient Sorceries and Other Stories (1968); selections from previous Blackwood collections
  • Best Ghost Stories of Algernon Blackwood (1973), selected and introduced by Everett F. Bleiler; selections from previous Blackwood collections; includes Blackwood's own preface to 1938's The Tales of Algernon Blackwood
  • The Best Supernatural Tales of Algernon Blackwood (1973); selected and introduced by Felix Morrow; selections from 1929's Strange Stories
  • Tales of Terror and Darkness (1977); puts together Tales of the Mysterious and Macabre and Tales of the Uncanny and Supernatural.
  • Tales of the Supernatural (1983); selected and introduced by Mike Ashley; selections from previous Blackwood collections
  • The Magic Mirror (1989); selected, introduced, and notes by Mike Ashley; original collection
  • The Complete John Silence Stories (1997); selected and introduced by S. T. Joshi; reprint of 1908's John Silence (without the preface to the 1942 reprint) and the one remaining John Silence story, "A Victim of Higher Space"
  • Ancient Sorceries and Other Weird Stories (2002); selected, introduced, and notes by S. T. Joshi; selections from previous Blackwood collections
  • Algernon Blackwood's Canadian Tales of Terror (2004); selected, introduced, with notes by John Robert Colombo; eight stories of special Canadian interest plus information on the author's years in Canada

Weird fiction[edit]

This list of all Blackwood's known short stories in the Weird Fiction vein is presented in sequence of first publication or, where first publication is not traceable, collection:

Title Earliest known date of appearance Earliest known location of appearance Earliest known date of collection Earliest known collection Summary
A Haunted Island xx/04/1899 Pall Mall Magazine, Vol. 17 #72 xx/11/1906 The Empty House and Other Ghost Stories A supernatural vision on an Island, in which a man encounters a group of natives with particularly ill intent.
A Case of Eavesdropping xx/12/1900 Pall Mall Magazine, Vol. 22 #92 xx/11/1906 The Empty House and Other Ghost Stories A man residing in a New York apartment hears conversations from the room next door that turn out to be supernatural in origin. Based on Blackwood’s time living in New York.
The House of the Past 15/04/1904 The Theosophical Review, Vol. 34 #200 23/02/1914 Ten Minute Stories A vaguely psychological story expressed in supernatural terms about the relationship between memories, dreams and past lives.
The Empty House xx/11/1906 The Empty House and Other Ghost Stories A standard haunted house story involving an adventurous Aunt and her nephew who attempt to spend a single night in a house of ill-repute... The story is likely based on Blackwood’s early haunted house investigations with the Psychical Research Society.
Keeping His Promise xx/11/1906 The Empty House and Other Ghost Stories Possibly a re-telling of a tale Blackwood came across during his years as an undergraduate in Edinburgh. An old agreement between two old friends, in effort to prove the existence of the supernatural, is realised in terrible circumstances.
With Intent to Steal xx/11/1906 The Empty House and Other Ghost Stories A barn is haunted by a spirit with the power to possess the living. Another tale possibly based on Blackwood’s own experiences researching haunted properties.
The Wood of the Dead xx/11/1906 The Empty House and Other Ghost Stories A visitor to the West Country comes upon the ghost of an old man, whose appearance is an omen of death, which spells doom for the residents of a small mountain village.
Smith: An Episode in a Lodging House xx/11/1906 The Empty House and Other Ghost Stories A man's neighbour in an apartment appears to be dabbling in the black arts. Another story inspired by Blackwood’s time in New York. The events depicted are likely based on Blackwood's learning whilst a member of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn.
The Strange Adventures of a Private Secretary in New York xx/11/1906 The Empty House and Other Ghost Stories A highly Gothic story of a Butler, a reporter, and a mad would-be chemist, who may also be lycanthropic... One of the more humorous tales in Blackwood’s ouvre.
The Listener xx/11/1907 The Listener and Other Stories One of Blackwood's few epistolary stories, told solely through diary extracts. A man of nervous temperament, with a history of mental ill-health in his family, may or may not be receiving visits by a previous tenant. A tenant very dead. Another tale most likely inspired by Blackwood's time in New York.
The Willows xx/11/1907 The Listener and Other Stories A man known only as 'the Swede' (based on Blackwood's friend of many years Wilfred Wilson), and an unnamed narrator journey into the wilderness and become trapped by flood on an Island in the Danube. The stay proves to be an exercise in terror for two men who are beset by forces neither of them can never fully see, nor wholly hear, and barely even begin to comprehend.
The Insanity of Jones xx/11/1907 The Listener and Other Stories A tale of revenge in the present, for the wrong's done in a past life. Or is Jones completely out of his mind?
The Dance of Death xx/11/1907 The Listener and Other Stories A dance with a mysterious lady proves disastrous to one man’s health...
The Old Man of Visions xx/11/1907 The Listener and Other Stories A character study of an old man who is able to see the world that lies beyond the veil. The man is based on one of Blackwood's many aquaintances, as related in his auto-biography Episodes Before Thirty.
May Day Eve xx/11/1907 The Listener and Other Stories Visions of the spirit world on May Day eve.
Miss Slumbubble—and Claustrophobia xx/11/1907 The Listener and Other Stories A woman's apparent hysteria in a train compartment has roots in a macabre haunting.
The Woman's Ghost Story xx/11/1907 The Listener and Other Stories A spirit is set free from its prison by a woman's love.
A Psychical Invasion 16/09/1908 John Silence: Physician Extraordinary A man's experimentation with drugs opens his mind to an attack by a supernatural force. The tale is based on both Blackwood's own experiments with drugs and his occult learning whilst in the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn.
Ancient Sorceries 16/09/1908 John Silence: Physician Extraordinary A village in a Cathedral town in France, with an above average population of cats, turns out have in its midst a number of dabblers in the dark arts.
The Nemesis of Fire 16/09/1908 John Silence: Physician Extraordinary A fire elemental from millennia ago lays siege to a country mansion and only Dr. Silence can stop it.
Secret Worship 16/09/1908 John Silence: Physician Extraordinary Based partially on Blackwood's own boyhood experiences studying in the Black Forest with the Moravian brotherhood, only the Brotherhood in this tale have been corrupted by the dark arts.
The Camp of the Dog 16/09/1908 John Silence: Physician Extraordinary A group's visit to the outback is disturbed by the presence of a werewolf.
The Story of Mr. Popkiss Told 24/12/1908 The Westminster Gazette A haunting vision of the future on a train.
The Kit-Bag xx/12/1908 Pall Mall Magazine, Vol. 42 #188 xx/xx/1989 The Magic Mirror: Lost Supernatural and Mystery Stories A kit-bag proves to be the source of an unusual haunting.
Entrance and Exit 13/02/1909 The Westminster Gazette 23/02/1914 Ten Minute Stories A man is sucked out of reality into a world that lies beyond that of mortal men.
You May Telephone From Here 27/02/1909 The Westminster Gazette 23/02/1914 Ten Minute Stories A telephone call has supernatural implications.
Carlton's Drive 17/07/1909 The Westminster Gazette xx/06/1910 The Lost Valley and Other Stories A man has a stroke and then dreams that death is coming for him.
The Man Who Played upon the Leaf 30/10/1909 and 05/11/1909 Country Life, Vol. 26 #669 & Vol. 26 #670 xx/06/1910 The Lost Valley and Other Stories The tale of one man's encounter with another—the mysterious 'Man who Played Upon the Leaf', hated by adults; loved by children, and the music he plays to his God Pan.
The Terror of the Twins 06/11/1909 The Westminster Gazette xx/06/1910 The Lost Valley and Other Stories Two young men are scorned by their father in life, and seek the help of a Priest for fear that they are to be equally scorned in death.
The Occupant of the Room xx/12/1909 Nash's Magazine, Vol. 2 #9 xx/02/1917 Day and Night Stories Feelings of malaise in a mountain location are attributed to the ghost of a suicide.
The South Wind 29/01/1910 The Westminster Gazette 1911 Pan's Garden, A Volume of Nature Stories
If the Cap Fits— 12/02/1910 The Westminster Gazette 23/02/1914 Ten Minute Stories The memories contained within and about inanimate objects.
Perspective xx/03/1910 Pall Mall Magazine, Vol. 45 #203 xx/06/1910 The Lost Valley and Other Stories Two lovers are saved from separation thanks to a Priest who receives a pantheistic visitation in the mountains.
Special Delivery xx/05/1910 Pall Mall Magazine, Vol. 45 #205 23/07/1912 Pan's Garden, A Volume of Nature Stories
The Lost Valley xx/06/1910 The Lost Valley and Other Stories Two twin brothers, their lives inseparable, are threatened in their bond by the appearance of a woman who has mysterious ties to a place of local legend, where the souls of the suicidal and lost are free to roam in peace.
The Wendigo xx/06/1910 The Lost Valley and Other Stories Based on Blackwood's experience's hunting in the backwoods of Canada. A group of men are visited by a creature of Native American lore on their visit to the outback.
Old Clothes xx/06/1910 The Lost Valley and Other Stories The reincarnation in a young girl of a woman whose lover met a terrible fate. Blackwood was an ardent believer in reincarnation and the tale is a heart-warming dramatisation of his own beliefs.
The Man From the 'Gods' xx/06/1910 The Lost Valley and Other Stories A story of creative inspiration for a musician who is struggling to achieve true greatness until he receives a special visitation.
The Eccentricity of Simon Parnacute xx/06/1910 The Lost Valley and Other Stories Professor Parnacute, a hater of eccentricity, suddenly finds himself compelled to unleash a bird from its cage, and in doing so summons the attention of a mysterious 'world-policeman' who takes him on an incredible journey.
The Message of the Clock xx/06/1910 Nash's Magazine, vol. 2 #15 xx/xx/1989 The Magic Mirror: Lost Supernatural and Mystery Stories The ticking of a click and the passing of a life appear to have a strange kind of unity.
The Sea Fit 25/06/1910 Country Life, Vol. 27 #703 23/07/1912 Pan's Garden, A Volume of Nature Stories A man of Viking descent hears the call of his ancestors from the sea.
Imagination 17/12/1910 The Westminster Gazette 23/02/1914 Ten Minute Stories A case of writer's block is overcome thanks to the intervention of a supernatural agent.
The Singular Death of Morton xx/12/1910 The Tramp, Vol. 2 #10 xx/xx/1989 The Magic Mirror: Lost Supernatural and Mystery Stories Two men, abroad in Switzerland, are pursued by a vampire. Blackwood’s only traditional vampire tale.
The Empty Sleeve xx/01/1911 The London Magazine, Vol. 25 #149 26/05/1921 The Wolves of God and Other Fey Stories
The Deferred Appointment xx/01/1911 The Westminster Gazette 23/02/1914 Ten Minute Stories A photographer is visited by a very sickly looking man... Deathly sick.
The Prayer 17/06/1911 The Westminster Gazette 23/02/1914 Ten Minute Stories Two young men who experiment with drugs find themselves able to see other people's thoughts.
The Return 22/06/1911 The Eye-Witness, Vol. 1 #1 23/07/1912 Pan's Garden, A Volume of Nature Stories
Two in One 20/07/1911 The Eye-Witness, Vol. 1 #5 23/02/1914 Ten Minute Stories A romance about a single which soul appears to be reincarnated into two different people.
Accessory Before the Fact 02/09/1911 The Westminster Gazette 23/02/1914 Ten Minute Stories A man has a strange premonition about meeting two German tramps who may not be quite what they seem...
Clairvoyance 19/10/1911 The Eye-Witness, Vol. 1 #11 23/07/1912 Pan's Garden, A Volume of Nature Stories
Dream Trespass 24/10/1911 The Morning Post 23/02/1914 Ten Minute Stories A house appears to be the site of a reincarnation
The Transfer 09/12/1911 Country Life, Vol. 30 #779 23/07/1912 Pan's Garden, A Volume of Nature Stories
The Messenger 09/12/1911 The Westminster Gazette 23/07/1912 Pan's Garden, A Volume of Nature Stories
The Golden Fly 29/12/1911 The Eye-Witness, Vol.2 #2 23/07/1912 Pan's Garden, A Volume of Nature Stories
The Glamour of the Snow xx/12/1911 Pall Mall Magazine, Vol. 48 #224 23/07/1912 Pan's Garden, A Volume of Nature Stories
The Heath Fire 20/01/1912 Country Life, Vol. 31 #785 23/07/1912 Pan's Garden, A Volume of Nature Stories
The Destruction of Smith 29/02/1912 The Eye-Witness, Vol. 2 #11 23/07/1912 Pan's Garden, A Volume of Nature Stories
The Man Whom the Trees Loved xx/03/1912 The London Magazine, Vol. 28 #17 23/07/1912 Pan's Garden, A Volume of Nature Stories
The Attic 20/04/1912 The Westminster Gazette 23/07/1912 Pan's Garden, A Volume of Nature Stories
The Whisperers 23/05/1912 The Eye-Witness, Vol. 2 #23 23/02/1914 Ten Minute Stories A library is haunted by books.
The Second Generation 06/07/1912 The Westminster Gazette 23/02/1914 Ten Minute Stories A man returning home to visit his wife encounters the supernatural.
Ancient Lights 11/07/1912 The Eye-Witness, Vol. 3 #4 23/02/1914 Ten Minute Stories
Sand 23/07/1912 Pan's Garden, A Volume of Nature Stories
The Temptation of the Clay 23/07/1912 Pan's Garden, A Volume of Nature Stories
The Goblin's Collection 05/10/1912 The Westminster Gazette 23/02/1914 Ten Minute Stories Missing artifacts at an overnight stay at a hotel are attributed to a mischievous little Goblin.
La Mauvaise Riche 30/11/1912 The Westminster Gazette xx/xx/1989 The Magic Mirror: Lost Supernatural and Mystery Stories The ghost of an evil old woman haunts a cemetery.
The Man Who Found Out xx/12/1912 The Canadian Magazine, Vol. 40 #2 26/05/1921 The Wolves of God and Other Fey Stories A researcher goes on an expedition to find "The Tablets of the Gods" which have plagued his dreams since his boyhood. He finds them, and the horrible truth of humanity's true purpose in the universe.
Wayfarers xx/12/1912 The English Review, Vol. 13 #1 06/11/1914 Incredible Adventures
The Sacrifice xx/04/1913 The Quest, Vol. 4 #3 06/11/1914 Incredible Adventures
H.S.H. xx/10/1913 The British Review, Vol. 6 #1 xx/02/1917 Day and Night Stories
The Tradition 29/11/1913 The Westminster Gazette xx/02/1917 Day and Night Stories
Transition 11/12/1913 The New Witness, Vol. 3 #58 xx/02/1917 Day and Night Stories
A Desert Episode 10/01/1914 Country Life, Vol. 35 #888 xx/02/1917 Day and Night Stories
By Water 19/04/1914 The Westminster Gazette xx/02/1917 Day and Night Stories
The Falling Glass 23/05/1914 Country Life, Vol. 35 #907 23/11/1924 Tongues of Fire and Other Sketches
The Regeneration of Lord Ernie 06/11/1914 Incredible Adventures
The Damned 06/11/1914 Incredible Adventures
A Descent into Egypt 06/11/1914 Incredible Adventures A long, carefully constructed story in which a man's soul is gradually subsumed into eternity.
The Wings of Horus xx/11/1914 Century Magazine, Vol. 89 #1 xx/02/1917 Day and Night Stories
A Victim of Higher Space xx/12/1914 The Occult Review, Vol. 20 #6 xx/02/1917 Day and Night Stories
The Paper Man 09/10/1915 The Saturday Westminster Gazette Comic fantasy in which a man obsessed with the papers finds himself turning into one.
Cain's Atonement 20/11/1915 Land and Water, Vol. 66 #2793 xx/02/1917 Day and Night Stories
The Other Wing xx/11/1915 McBride's, Vol. 96 #575 xx/02/1917 Day and Night Stories
Initiation xx/07/1916 The Quest, Vol. 7 #4 xx/02/1917 Day and Night Stories
The Tryst xx/02/1917 Day and Night Stories
The Touch of Pan xx/02/1917 Day and Night Stories
S.O.S. xx/03/1918 The Story-Teller 23/11/1924 Tongues of Fire and Other Sketches
The Garden of Survival xx/03/1918 The Garden of Survival 1918 The Garden of Survival A short novella of the sentimental variety concerning reincarnation and mysticism. One of Blackwood's most personal tales.
The Little Beggar 10/05/1919 The Saturday Westminster Gazette 23/11/1924 Tongues of Fire and Other Sketches
The World-Dream of McCallister xx/09/1919 Vision, Vol. 1 #5 23/11/1924 Tongues of Fire and Other Sketches
Alexander Alexander 06/09/1919 The Saturday Westminster Gazette 23/11/1924 Tongues of Fire and Other Sketches
Wireless Confusion xx/10/1919 The Quest, Vol. 11 #1 26/05/1921 The Wolves of God and Other Fey Stories
The Other Woman 08/11/1919 The Saturday Westminster Gazette 23/11/1924 Tongues of Fire and Other Sketches
The Decoy xx/12/1919 Lloyd's Magazine, Vol. 32 #385 26/05/1921 The Wolves of God and Other Fey Stories
The Call 06/12/1919 Nash's Illustrated Weekly, Vol. 2 #13 26/05/1921 The Wolves of God and Other Fey Stories
First Hate xx/02/1920 McClure's Magazine 26/05/1921 The Wolves of God and Other Fey Stories
Chinese Magic xx/06/1920 Romance, Vol. 2 #2 26/05/1921 The Wolves of God and Other Fey Stories
Running Wolf 04/08/1920 Century Magazine, Vol. 100 #4 26/05/1921 The Wolves of God and Other Fey Stories
Confession xx/03/1921 Century Magazine, Vol. 101 #5 26/05/1921 The Wolves of God and Other Fey Stories
The Valley of the Beasts xx/03/1921 Romance Magazine 26/05/1921 The Wolves of God and Other Fey Stories
The Wolves of God 26/05/1921 The Wolves of God and Other Fey Stories
The Tarn of Sacrifice 26/05/1921 The Wolves of God and Other Fey Stories
Egyptian Sorcery 26/05/1921 The Wolves of God and Other Fey Stories
Vengeance Is Mine 26/05/1921 The Wolves of God and Other Fey Stories
The Olive xx/07/1921 Pearson's Magazine, Vol. 52 #307 23/11/1924 Tongues of Fire and Other Sketches
The Lane That Ran East and West xx/09/1921 McCall's, Vol. 48 #12 26/05/1921 The Wolves of God and Other Fey Stories
Nephelé xx/12/1921 Pears Annual 23/11/1924 Tongues of Fire and Other Sketches
Lost! 14/10/1922 Living Age 23/11/1924 Tongues of Fire and Other Sketches
Tongues of Fire xx/04/1923 The English Review, Vol. 36 #4 23/11/1924 Tongues of Fire and Other Sketches
The Man Who Was Milligan xx/11/1923 Pearson's Magazine, Vol. 56 #335 23/11/1924 Tongues of Fire and Other Sketches
Malahide and Forden 23/11/1924 Tongues of Fire and Other Sketches
Playing Catch 23/11/1924 Tongues of Fire and Other Sketches
The Pikestaffe Case 23/11/1924 Tongues of Fire and Other Sketches
A Continuous Performance 23/11/1924 Tongues of Fire and Other Sketches
The Open Window 23/11/1924 Tongues of Fire and Other Sketches
Petershin and Mr. Snide 23/11/1924 Tongues of Fire and Other Sketches
A Man of Earth 23/11/1924 Tongues of Fire and Other Sketches
Laughter of Courage 23/11/1924 Tongues of Fire and Other Sketches
Full Circle xx/05/1925 The English Review, #198 xx/10/1935 Shocks
Hands of Death xx/12/1925 The Bolton Evening News xx/10/1935 Shocks
Chemical xx/xx/1926 The Ghost Book (ed. Cynthia Asquith) xx/10/1935 Shocks
The Stranger xx/06/1927 The Fortnightly Review, Vol. 121 #6 xx/10/1935 Shocks
The Land of Green Ginger 23/12/1927 The Radio Times xx/10/1935 Shocks
Dr. Feldman xx/05/1928 The Strand Magazine, Vol. 72 #449 xx/10/1935 Shocks
Shocks xx/09/1930 The Strand Magazine, Vol. 80 #477 xx/10/1935 Shocks
The Survivors xx/12/1930 The Occult Review, Vol. 52 #6 xx/10/1935 Shocks
The Man Who Lived Backwards 12/12/1930 World Radio, Vol. 11 #281 xx/10/1935 Shocks
Revenge 19/12/1930 The Radio Times xx/10/1935 Shocks
The Fire Body xx/09/1931 The North American Review, Vol. 232 #3 A woman is convinced she has met the protagonist before on an astral plane in his 'Fire Body'.
A Threefold Cord... xx/xx/1931 When Churchyards Yawn (ed. Cynthia Asquith) xx/10/1935 Shocks
Elsewhere and Otherwise xx/10/1935 Shocks
Adventures of Miss de Fontenay xx/10/1935 Shocks
The Blackmailers xx/10/1935 My Grimmest Nightmare xx/xx/1989 The Magic Mirror: Lost Supernatural and Mystery Stories
At a Mayfair Luncheon xx/03/1936 Windsor Magazine, #495 xx/xx/1989 The Magic Mirror: Lost Supernatural and Mystery Stories A man receives a rare kind of divine meeting in the most uninspiring of social gatherings...
The Man-Eater xx/03/1937 Thrilling Mystery, Vol. 6 #2 xx/xx/1989 The Magic Mirror: Lost Supernatural and Mystery Stories A variation on the were-wolf story.
The Magic Mirror 16/03/1938 The Bystander, Vol. 137 #1787 xx/xx/1989 The Magic Mirror: Lost Supernatural and Mystery Stories
King's Evidence 09/01/1941 London Calling, #70 xx/xx/1989 The Magic Mirror: Lost Supernatural and Mystery Stories A re-write of the earlier story ‘Confession’, done originally for radio, but also published in the BBC’s journal London Calling.
The Doll xx/04/1946 The Doll and One Other The gift of a doll to a little girl is actually a malignant supernatural entity that has macabre designs upon her Father. One of the few of Blackwood's tales to feature a female protagonist, in this case a Governess (in the Turn of the Screw mould).
The Trod xx/04/1946 The Doll and One Other An unusual love-triangle between a man and a woman who hears the call of the fairy world. The price is eternal life, but the loss of a soul and mortal love.
Roman Remains xx/03/1948 Weird Tales, Vol. 40 #3 xx/xx/1989 The Magic Mirror: Lost Supernatural and Mystery Stories

Children's stories and non-Weird tales[edit]

As well as his supernatural tales for adults, Blackwood also wrote a considerable number of children's tales, some supernatural and some not, as well as other pieces for an adult readership that were not in the weird fiction mode. These included love stories and, at the height of the first world war, propaganda pieces.

Title Earliest known date of appearance Earliest known location of appearance Earliest known date of collection Earliest known collection Summary
The Story of Karl Ott xx/10/1896 Pall Mall Magazine, Vol. 10 #42 A tragic love story of typical Victorian sentimentalism.
A Mysterious House xx/07/1889 The Belgravia, Vol. 69, #203 1989 The Magic Mirror: Lost Supernatural and Mystery Stories A story of faux supernaturalism.
The Last Egg in the Nest 23/08/1902 The Boy's Own Paper, Vol. 24 #1232
Testing His Courage — The Story of a Quaint Device xx/09/1904 Pearson's Magazine, Vol. 18 #105 A love story in which a ritual of facade is performed that a man might prove his true love's worth.
How Garnier Broke the Log-Jam 31/12/1904 The Boy's Own Paper, Vol. 27 #1355
A Suspicious Gift 1906 The Empty House and Other Ghost Stories A crime story in which the gift of an immense sum of money turns out to be not as beneficent as hoped.
Skeleton Lake: An Episode in Camp 1906 The Empty House and Other Ghost Stories A crime story set in the Canadian outback.
Max Hensig — Bacteriologist and Murderer 1907 The Listener and Other Stories A suspense tale of the non-supernatural variety in which a reporter is pursued by the murderer he wrote about.
The Secret 07/11/1908 The Westminster Gazette 1914 Ten Minute Stories A conversation between two old friends.
Stodgman's Opportunity 05/12/1908 The Westminster Gazette A nightmare encounter on a train inspires a spark of creativity
The Invitation 03/04/1909 The Westminster Gazette 1914 Ten Minute Stories Two friends attempt to arrange lunch.
The Lease 22/05/1909 The Westminster Gazette 1914 Ten Minute Stories Solicitors, leases, and the problems therein...
Faith Cure on the Channel 19/06/1909 The Westminster Gazette 1914 Ten Minute Stories Two friends attempt to overcome the evils of sea-sickness.
The Laying of a Red-Haired Ghost xx/09/1909 The Lady's Realm 1989 The Magic Mirror: Lost Supernatural and Mystery Stories A tale of faux supernaturalism and pseudo-seances.
Up and Down 09/10/1909 The Westminster Gazette 1914 Ten Minute Stories Two friends discuss holidays.
The Strange Disappearance of a Baronet 27/11/1909 The Westminster Gazette 1914 Ten Minute Stories A baronet dreams that he has shrunk to the size of a mouse.
The Price of Wiggins's Orgy 1910 The Lost Valley and Other Stories A man in need of a meal, a mysterious waiter in a mysterious restaurant, and a room full of cannibals. One of Blackwood's more humorous tales.
The Impulse 08/04/1911 The Westminster Gazette 1914 Ten Minute Stories An impulsive act of non-materialism makes a man feel better.
News vs Nourishment 04/11/1911 The Westminster Gazette 1914 Ten Minute Stories The story of a gentleman's odd eating habits
In A Jura Village 26/12/1911 The Morning Post A man reminisces about the characters and experiences associated with a small country village.
The Bitter Bit 17/02/1912 The Saturday Westminster Gazette
Egyptian Antiquities 09/04/1912 The Morning Post A man struggles to make his way in life as a dealer of Egyptian antiquities.
Let Not the Sun — 19/11/1912 The Morning Post 1914 Ten Minute Stories The tragedy of a couple whose vacation together never comes...
Her Birthday 03/05/1913 The Westminster Gazette 1914 Ten Minute Stories The finishing of a letter to a special lady.
Violence 22/05/1913 The New Witness, Vol. 2 #29 1914 Ten Minute Stories A vaguely conte-cruel story of madness.
Who Was She? 26/06/1913, 17/07/1913, and 28/08/1913 The New Witness, Vol. 2 #34, Vol. 2 #37, & Vol. 2 #43 A philosophical story about a man's realisation of who he is.
The Barmecide Feast 19/07/1913 Country Life, Vol. 34 #863 A suspenseful but ultimately comic tale in which disturbances in the house are not what they seem...
The Kiss of a Psychologist 13/09/1913 Country Life, Vol. 34 #871 A love story about a man who gets 'caught in the act' of kissing another woman.
The Story Hour 18/11/1913 The Morning Post Children's fantasy, reprinted in part in The Extra day.
What Nobody Understands 17/02/1914 The Morning Post Children's fantasy, reprinted in part in The Extra day.
Maria 28/03/1914 The Morning Post Children's fantasy concerning the plotting of a train crash. Reprinted as Chapter III of The Extra Day
A Bit of Wood 29/04/1914 The Morning Post 1917 Day and Night Stories The fateful role a piece of wood plays in the lives of human beings.
The Night Wind 09/05/1914 Country Life, Vol. 35 #905 Children's fantasy in which an Uncle and his nieces and nephews encounter the mysterious nightly wonder that is 'the Night-Wind'. Reprinted as Chapter VII of The Extra Day.
Breakfast Honey 09/06/1914 The Morning Post A gentleman in a Hotel is most displeased at the apparent lack of quality honey.
The Philosopher 13/06/1914 The Westminster Gazette A dog looks after his master, proving himself to be a most astute and loyal companion in the process.
Jimbo's Longest Day 24/06/1913 The Morning Post 1914 Ten Minute Stories A child's understanding of the longest day of the year.
The Daisy World xx/07/1914 The Quest, Vol. 5 #4 An uncle and his niece experience life among the daisies.
Non-Human 10/12/1914 The New Witness, Vol. 5 #110 Two men are stalked by a night predator.
An Egyptian Hornet xx/03/1915 Reedy's Mirror 1917 Day and Night Stories An encounter between a man and a very large Egyptian buzzing insect of malignant potency...
The God 07/08/1915 The Saturday Westminster Gazette A propaganda piece.
The Soldier's Visitor 09/10/1915 Land and Water, Vol. 65 #2787 1989 The Magic Mirror: Lost Supernatural and Mystery Stories A war story about a man in a hospital bed who receives a very special visit.
The Celestial Motorbus 18/12/1915 The Saturday Westminster Gazette A propaganda piece on jobs during the war.
The Snake 18/03/1916 The Saturday Westminster Gazette Two gentlemen discuss snakes.
Proportion 05/08/1916 The Saturday Westminster Gazette Two gentlemen discuss astronomy and the wonders of the modern telescope.
Camping Out xx/xx/1916 Blackie's Children's Annual 1916
The Memory of Beauty 03/01/1918 Land and Water, Vol. 70 #2904 1989 The Magic Mirror: Lost Supernatural and Mystery Stories
The Perfect Poseur xx/07/1919 The Saturday Westminster Gazette
Picking Fir-Cones xx/07/1919 The English Review, Vol. 29 #1 23/11/1924 Tongues of Fire and Other Sketches
Onanonanon xx/03/1921 The English Review, Vol. 32 #3 1989 The Magic Mirror: Lost Supernatural and Mystery Stories A gruesome dream story of psychological doubling about a dog whose bark drives a man to distraction. One of Blackwood's rare non-supernatural horror tales.
Changing 'Ats 16/12/1921 Time and Tide, Vol. 2 #50 A study of different personalities in a social setting.
Genius 15/07/1922 The Weekly Westminster Gazette Two men's creative inspirations from a forest. One receives a kind of spiritual awakening, the other sees only darkness.
The Impulse 06/12/1924 T.P.'s & Cassell's Weekly, Vol. 3 #59
Toby's Birthday Presents xx/xx/1926 The Treasure Ship (ed. Cynthia Asquith)
The Cross-word Alien 07/01/1927 Time and Tide, Vol. 8 #1 The wonders of language emerge between two friends, with the aid of a cross-word.
Mr. Cupboard, or The Furniture's Holiday xx/09/1927 Number Five Joy Street
The Water Performance xx/xx/1927 Sails of Gold (ed. Cynthia Asquith)
By Underground xx/09/1928 Number Seven Joy Street
When Nick Dressed Up xx/xx/1928 The Treasure Cave (ed. Cynthia Asquith)
The Chocolate Cigarettes xx/xx/1928 Number Six Joy Street
The Adventure of Tornado Smith 07/12/1929 Country Life, Vol. 66 #1716 xx/10/1935 Shocks
The Graceless Pair - The Saving of Colonelsirarthur 23/04/1930 The Sketch #1943
The Graceless Pair - French and Italian 30/04/1930 The Sketch #1944
The Graceless Pair - Burglars 07/05/1930 The Sketch #1945
The Graceless Pair - 'Anyopedoctor? Abaslesboches! Etc.' 14/05/1930 The Sketch #1946
The Graceless Pair - The Fish Pond 21/05/1930 The Sketch #1947
The Graceless Pair - The Afternoon Call 28/05/1930 The Sketch #1948
Mr. Bunciman at the Zoo xx/xx/1930 The Children's Cargo: Lady Cynthia Asquith's Annual (ed. Cynthia Asquith)
The Parrot and the — Cat! xx/08/1930 Number Eight Joy Street Prequel to Blackwood's 1929 novel Dudley & Gilderoy: A Nonsense and to his 1930 serial The Graceless Pair.
The Colonel's Ring 31/12/1931 The Morning Post 1935 Shocks
The Italian Conjuror xx/xx/1931 Number Nine Joy Street (ed. Michael Lynn)
Maria (of England) in the Rain xx/09/1932 Number Ten Joy Street
Sergeant Poppett and Policeman James xx/xx/1933 Number Eleven Joy Street
What the Black Chow Saw xx/xx/1933 The Princess Elizabeth Gift Book (ed. Cynthia Asquith)
The Fruit Stoners xx/xx/1934 Number Eleven Joy Street Linked to, but not part of, Blackwood's 1934 novel The Fruit Stoners: Being the Adventures of Maria Among the Fruit Stoners.
Journey to London xx/xx/1934 Just Cats (ed. Richard Miller) A cat and parrot get along far better than their owners perceive and plan escape. A reprint of Chapter 5 of Dudley & Gilderoy: A Nonsense.
Dudley & Gilderoy 1936 My Best Animal Story (ed. Anon) A reprint of chapters 1 & 2 of Dudley & Gilderoy: A Nonsense.
How the Circus Came to Tea xx/xx/1935 Number Twelve Joy Street
That Mrs. Winslow xx/10/1936 Pearsons' Magazine, Vol. 82 #490 A love story about a lawyer, a will, and a widow would-be Egyptologist.
By Proxy 17/11/1937 The Bystander, Vol. 136 #1770 1989 The Magic Mirror: Lost Supernatural and Mystery Stories A crime story about a thief after some jewels, and the cruel trick he plays on a young boy in obtaining them.
The Reformation of St. Jules 29/12/1937 The Bystander, Vol. 136 #1776 1989 The Magic Mirror: Lost Supernatural and Mystery Stories An apparent practical joke on a small rural community.
Eliza Among the Chimney Sweeps xx/xx/1950 The Children's Ship (ed. Cynthia Asquith)

Nonfiction[edit]

Aside from well over a hundred published articles, essays, prefaces, and book reviews which remain to be collected, Blackwood authored only one nonfiction book, a memoir of his youth:

  • Episodes Before Thirty (1923); reissued in 1950 with newly incorporated photographic plates and a brief prefatory "Author's Note".

See also[edit]

Portal icon Novels portal

References[edit]

  • Ashley, Mike (1987). Algernon Blackwood: A Bio-Bibliography. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. ISBN 0-313-25158-4. 
  • Ashley, Mike (2001). Algernon Blackwood: An Extraordinary Life. New York: Carroll & Graf. ISBN 0-7867-0928-6.  U.S. edition of Starlight Man: The Extraordinary Life of Algernon Blackwood.
  • Ashley, Mike (2001). Starlight Man: The Extraordinary Life of Algernon Blackwood. London: Constable & Robinson Ltd. ISBN 1-84119-417-4.  U.K. edition of Algernon Blackwood: An Extraordinary Life.
  • Blackwood, Algernon (2002). Episodes Before Thirty. New York: Turtle Point Press. ISBN 1-885586-83-3.  Modern reissue of subject's memoir; originally published in 1923 (London: Cassell & Co.).
  • Goddin, Jeffrey. "Subtle Perceptions: The Fantasy Novels of Algernon Blackwood" in Darrell Schweitzer (ed) Discovering Classic Fantasy Fiction, Gillette NJ: Wildside Press, 1986, pp. 94–103.
  • Joshi, S. T. (1990). The Weird Tale. Austin, TX: University of Texas Press. pp. 87–132, 236–38, 246–48, 266–69. ISBN 0-292-79057-0. 
  • Tuck, Donald H. (1974). The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction and Fantasy. Chicago: Advent. pp. 47–49. ISBN 0-911682-20-1. 

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ S. T. Joshi, The Weird Tale (University of Texas Press, 1990), p.132.
  2. ^ S. T. Joshi, The Weird Tale (University of Texas Press, 1990), p.131.
  3. ^ Peter Penzoldt, The Supernatural in Fiction (1952), Part II, Chapter 7.
  4. ^ a b Jack Sullivan, ed. The Penguin Encyclopedia of Horror and the Supernatural (1986), p. 38
  5. ^ Jack Sullivan, ed. The Penguin Encyclopedia of Horror and the Supernatural (1986), p. 39
  6. ^ Regardie, Israel. (1982). The Golden Dawn. Llewellyn Publications. ISBN 0-87542-664-6. Page ix.
  7. ^ "Shadowplay Pagan and Magick webzine - HERMETIC HORRORS". Shadowplayzine.com. 1904-09-16. Retrieved 2012-06-05. 
  8. ^ Dirda, Michael (2005). Bound to please. W.W. Norton & Co. p. 221. ISBN 0-393-05757-7. "After these adventures in the New World..." 
  9. ^ Quoted in Peter Penzoldt, The Supernatural in Fiction (1952), Part II, Chapter 7.
  10. ^ Dirda, Michael (2005). Bound to please. W.W. Norton & Co. p. 222. ISBN 0-393-05757-7. "During the First World War..." 

External links[edit]

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