Manly Wade Wellman

Manly Wade Wellman (May 21, 1903 – April 5, 1986) was an American writer. He is best known for his fantasy and horror stories set in the Appalachian Mountains and for drawing on the native folklore of that region, but he wrote in a wide variety of genres, including science fiction, fantasy, historical fiction, detective fiction, western fiction, juvenile fiction, and non-fiction. In the later 1920s, during the silent film era, Wellman wrote movie reviews for the Wichita Beacon. He also contributed to the writing of the comic book The Spirit while the franchise's creator, Will Eisner, was serving in the US military during World War II.

Three of Wellman's most famous reappearing protagonists are Silver John, aka John the Balladeer, the wandering backwoods minstrel with a silver-stringed guitar; the elderly 'occult detective' Judge Pursuivant; and the playboy-adventurer John Thunstone.

Wellman was born in Angola. He was of partial Native American ancestry. After graduating from Wichita Municipal University (now Wichita State University) in Kansas, he went on to receive a bachelor of laws degree from Columbia University. Wellman was a long-time resident of North Carolina. He has been the recipient of many awards, including the World Fantasy Award and Edgar Allan Poe Award.

Bibliography

• Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, Vol. 6, William S. Powell, Ed. (1996) at 160-161 (Article by William S. Powell)
• Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers: A Bibliography of First Printings of Their Fiction, L. W. Currey, G. K. Hall & Co., 1979

Works

Science fiction and fantasy

• The Invading Asteroid (1929)
• Sojarr of Titan (1941)
• The Devil's Asteroid (1941)
• Devil's Planet (1951)
• The Beasts from Beyond (1950) [also known as Strangers on the Heights]
• Twice in Time (1957)
• The Dark Destroyers (1959) [short version of Nuisance Value]
• Giants from Eternity (1959)
• Island in the Sky (1961)
• The Solar Invasion (1968) (Captain Future novel)
• Worse Things Waiting (1973) (collection) (Winner, World Fantasy Award for Best Collection, 1975)
• Sherlock Holmes's War of the Worlds [With Wade Wellman] (1975)
• The Beyonders (1977)
• The Valley So Low: Southern Mountain Stories (1987) (Ed. Karl E. Wagner, collection)
• The Collected Stories of Manly Wade Wellman:

1. The Third Cry to Legba and Other Invocations (2000) (John Thunstone and Lee Cobbett stories)
2. The Devil is Not Mocked and Other Warnings (2001)
3. Fearful Rock and Other Precarious Locales (2001) (Judge Pursuivant and Sergeant Jaeger stories)
4. Sin’s Doorway and Other Ominous Entrances (2003)
5. Owls Hoot in the Daytime and Other Omens (2003) (John the Balladeer stories)

Silver John anthologies and novels

• Who Fears the Devil? (1963)
• The Old Gods Waken (1979)
• After Dark (1980)
• The Lost and the Lurking (1981)
• The Hanging Stones (1982)
• The Voice of the Mountain (1984)
• John the Balladeer (1988) (Ed. Karl E. Wagner, revised collection containing all Silver John short stories)
• Owls Hoot In The Daytime And Other Omens (2003) (Ed. Night Shade Press, also contains all Silver John short stories)

John Thunstone anthologies and novels

• Lonely Vigils (1981) (Thunstone and Judge Pursuivant short stories)
• What Dreams May Come (1983)
• The School of Darkness (1985)

Young Adult

• The Lion Roared. (Thrilling Tales) 1927.
• The Sleuth Patrol. 1947.
• The Mystery of Lost Valley. 1948.
• The Raiders of Beaver Lake. 1950.
• The Haunts of Drowning Creek. 1951.
• Wild Dogs of Drowning Creek. 1952.
• The Last Mammoth. 1953.
• Gray Riders: Jeb Stuart and His Men. 1954.
• Rebel Mail Runner. 1954.
• Flag on the Levee. 1955.
• To Lands Unknown. 1956.
• Young Squire Morgan. 1956.
• Lights over Skelton Ridge. 1957.
• The Master of Scare Hollow. 1957.
• Iron Scouts Trilogy
  • The Ghost Battalion: A Story of the Iron Scouts. 1958.
  • Ride, Rebels!: Adventures of the Iron Scouts. 1959.
  • Appomattox Road: Final Adventures of the Iron Scouts. 1960.
• Third String Center. 1960.
• Rifles at Ramsour's Mill: A Tale of the Revolutionary War. 1961.
• Battle for King's Mountain. 1962.
• Clash on the Catawba. 1962.
• The South Fork Rangers. 1963.
• The River Pirates. 1963.
• Settlement on Shocco: Adventures in Colonial Carolina. 1963.
• Mystery at Bear Paw Gap. 1964.
• The Specter of Bear Paw Creek. 1966.
• Battle at Bear Paw Gap. 1966.
• Jamestown Adventure. 1967.
• Brave Horse: The Story of Janus. 1968.
• Carolina Pirate. 1968.
• Frontier Reporter. 1969.
• Mountain Feud. 1969.
• Fast Break Five. 1971.

Other Novels

• Cahena (1986) (historical novel)
• Candle of the Wicked (1960)
• A Double Life (movie tie-in) (1947)
• Find My Killer (mystery) (1947)
• Fort Sun Dance (western) (1955)
• Not At These Hands (mystery)

Non-Fiction

• Giant in Gray: A Biography of Wade Hampton III of South Carolina. 1949.
• Dead and Gone: Classic Crimes of North Carolina. 1954. (Winner, Edgar Award for Best Fact Crime, 1956)
• Rebel Boast: First at Bethel, Last at Apppomattox. 1956.
• Fastest on the River: The Great Race Between the Natchez and the Robert E. Lee. 1957.
• The Life and Times of Sir Archie. With Elizabeth A. C. Blanchard. 1958.
• The County of Warren, 1586-1917. 1959.
• They Took Their Stand: The Founders of the Confederacy. 1959.
• The Rebel Songster: Songs the Confederates Sang. 1959.
• Harpers Ferry, Prize of War. 1960.
• The County of Gaston. With Robert F. Cope. 1961.
• The County of Moore, 1947-1947. 1962.
• Winston-Salem:The Founders. 1966.
• Napoleon of the West: A Story of the Aaron Burr Conspiracy. 1970.
• The Kingdom of Madison: A Southern Mountain Fastness And Its People. 1971.
• The Story of Moore County. 1974.
• A City's Culture: Painting, Music, Literature. 1976.

Awards

Nominated

• Hugo Award, Best Short Story, Nine Yards of Other Cloth (1959)
• World Fantasy Award, Life Achievement (1975)
• World Fantasy Award, Best Short Fiction, The Ghastly Priest Doth Reign (1976)
• World Fantasy Award, Life Achievement (1977)
• World Fantasy Award, Life Achievement (1978)
• World Fantasy Award, Life Achievement (1979)
• Balrog Award, Professional Achievement (1980)

Won

• Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine Award winner, Best Story, A Star for a Warrior (1946)
• Mystery Writers of America Edgar Award, Best Fact Crime Story, Dead and Gone (1956)
• World Fantasy Award winner, Best Collection/Anthology, Worse Things Waiting (1975)
• World Fantasy Award, Life Achievement (1980)
• Locus Award, Best Fantasy Novel, After Dark (Place: 15) (1981)
• British Fantasy Award winner, Special Award (1985)
• Locus Award, Best Collection, John the Balladeer (Place: 5) (1989)
• North Carolina Writers' Network Literary Hall of Fame inductee (1996)

Adaptations

The Silver John stories were the inspiration for "Who Fears the Devil", a 1994 recording by Joe Bethancourt that featured both traditional Appalachian folk songs that Silver John would have known, and Wellman's original lyrics that were in many of the Silver John stories, set to the traditional melodies that Wellman used as models.

Additionally, the progressive bluegrass band, The Dixie Bee-Liners, recorded an original song inspired by the Silver John stories titled "Yellow-Haired Girl" on their 2008 album "RIPE."

Much of the following information is taken from Mark Cannon's bibliography of Wellman.

Larroes Catch Meddlers:
Adapted for television for Lights Out as “The Meddlers”, aired 7 July 1951
Director: Unknown
Screenwriter: Douglas Wood Gibson, Richard E Davis
Starring: John Carradine, E G Marshall, Dan Morgan

School for the Unspeakable:
Adapted for television for Lights Out as “The School for the Unspeakable”, aired 7 January 1952
Director: Unknown
Screenwriter: Richard E Davis
Starring: Donald Buka, Don Hanmer, Leon Tokatyan, Dick Kallman, Maurice Kenney, Jason Jonson, John Gerstad, Harold Webster

The Valley Was Still:
Adapted for television for The Twilight Zone as “Still Valley," aired 24 November 1961
Director: James Sheldon
Screenwriter: Rod Serling
Starring: Gary Merrill (Paradine), Vaughn Taylor (Old Man), Ben Cooper (Dauger), Addison Myers (Sentry); Mark Tapscott (Lieutenant), Jack Mann (Mallory)

The Devil is Not Mocked:
Adapted for television for Night Gallery, aired 27 October 1971
Director: Gene Kearney
Screenwriter: Gene Kearney
Starring: Helmut Dantine (General), Francis Lederer (Master), Hank Brandt (Kranz)

Rouse Him Not:
Adapted for TV for Monsters, aired December 1988
Director: Mark Shostrom
Writer: Michael Parry
Starring: Laraine Newman, Terrance Evans and Alex Cord as John Thunstone.

Who Fears The Devil?
1972 feature film, edited and re-released in 1973 as The Legend of Hillbilly John
Producer: Barney Rosenzweig
Director: John Newland
Screenwriter: Melvin Levy
Starring: Hedge Capers (John), Susan Strasberg (Poly Wiltse), Denver Pyle (Grandpappy John), Severn Darden (Mr Marduke), Percy Rodriguez (Capt Lojoie H Desplain IV), R G Armstrong (Bristowe); Sharon Henesy (Lily); Sidney Clute (Charles); William Traynor (Rev. Millen); Harris Yulin (Zebulon Yandro); Alfred Ryder (O J Onselm); Chester Jones (Uncle Anansi); Val Avery (Cobart); “White Lightnin’” (themselves); “Honor Hound” (himself).

Film based on the character of Silver John. Two segments of the film were based on the stories O Ugly Bird and The Desrick on Yandro.

School for the Unspeakable
(on audiotape with Unfortunate Obsession by Matthew Costello)
Brilliance Corp 1997

Up Under the Roof
2010 short film (35mm, 20 minutes)
Producer: Danielle Stallings & Darin Read
Director: Darin Read
Screenwriter: Danielle Stallings & Darin Read
Starring: Jonathan Milliken, Shawnna Youngquist, Geoff Elliot, Jill Hill, Vince Froio, Alice Taylor and voice of Greg Finley

based on Wellman's short story entitled "Up Under the Roof"

External links

• Voice of the Mountains - fan site
• North Carolina Writers' Network Literary Hall of Fame
• Oregon Literary Review Feature Article on Wellman with interviews
• Works by Manly Wade Wellman at Project Gutenberg
• Manly Wade Wellman at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
• Manly Wade Wellman at Find a Grave
• Ruehlmann, Bill (May 5, 1996). "Hall of Fame Honors a South-steeped Imagination". The Virginian-Pilot. p. J3.
• Audio recording of Mr. Wellman participating in author panel discussion during the First World Fantasy Convention in 1975 at archive.org