FROM THE GREAT LIBRARY OF DREAMS 133 - The Empty House by Algernon Blackwood

A classic eerie tale from Mr Algernon Blackwood  concerning a vigil held in an allegedly haunted house.

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FROM THE GREAT LIBRARY OF DREAMS 096 - The Kitbag by Algernon Blackwood

In our second ghost story for Christmas we have a classic festive chiller from Algernon Blackwood in which a plan to go away skiing from Christmas go badly awry... 

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FROM THE GREAT LIBRARY OF DREAMS 059 - Ancient Lights by Algernon Blackwood

In this visit to the Great Library we have a sunlit tale of folk horror from Mr Algernon Blackwood, where  a walk in the woods is no picnic... 

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FROM THE GREAT LIBRARY OF DREAMS 21 - A Walk in the Blackwoods

This week Mr Jim Moon delves into the works of one of the all-time great writers of weird tales Mr Algernon Blackwood. As an introduction to this classic author, we sample two of his shorter tales - we stay for the weekend in a very curious room in The Goblin's Collection, and then take an ill-advised stroll in the woods in Ancient Lights...




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World Book Day - An Important Tome For Me

As it is World Book Day, I thought I'd share with you all one of my most beloved tomes. It's a book that used to be my grandfather's and I vividly remember as a young child, when visiting my grandparents, taking it off the shelf to sneak a peek at the evocative illustrations. And later when I was little older being thrilled by the line-up of famous writers in its contents, not to mnetion being intrigued by the Sealed Section at the back that contained the most terrifying tales. 

This gorgeous thick leatherbound tome is The Mammoth Book of Thrillers, Ghosts & Mysteries, published in 1936 by Odhams. It was edited by Messrs. J. M. Parrish and John R. Crosslands, who selected a very fine array of tales and top notch authors as you will now see - 

A. J. Alan – The Diver

Michael Arlen – The Ghoul Of Golders Green

Arnold Bennett – The Murder Of The Mandarin

J. D. Beresford – Powers Of The Air

Algernon Blackwood – Keeping His Promise

Gerald Bullett – Dearth’s Farm

G. K. Chesterton – The Hammer of God

Agatha Christie – The Blue Geranium

Joseph Conrad – The Secret Sharer

A. E. Coppard – The Tiger

Walter De La Mare – The Looking Glass

Guy De Maupassant – The Hostelry

Lord Dunsany – A Large Diamond

Jeffrey Farnol – The Cupboard

J. S. Fletcher – The Other Sense

Pamela Hansford Johnson – Ghost Of Honour

O. Henry – Roads Of Destiny

C. D. Heriot – The Trapdoor

C. F. Hoffman – Ben Blower’s Story

Tom Hood – The Shadow of A Shade

Aldous Huxley – The Dwarfs

Washington Irving – Guests From Gibbet Island

M. R. James – The Mezzotint

Jerome K. Jerome – The Dancing Partner

D. H. Lawrence – The Woman Who Rode Away

Somerset Maugham – Honolulu

Oliver Onions – Rooum

Barry Pain – The Green Light

Eden Phillpotts – The Iron Pineapple

J. B. Priestly – The Demon King

Alexander Pushkin – The Queen Of Spades

Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch – The Seventh Man

Saki – Laura

W. B. Seabrook – Goat-Cry, Girl-Cry

May Sinclair – The Mahatma’s Story

H. De Vere Stacpool – Deep In The Forest

R. L. Stevenson – The Island Of Voices

Edgar Wallace – Man Of The Night

Hugh Walpole – Major Wilbraham

H. G. Wells – The Inexperienced Ghost

Rebecca West – The Salt Of The Earth

Anon – A Tale Of A Gas-Light Ghost

The Inexperienced Ghost by HG Wells, illustrated by FG Moorsom

And in the tantalizing Sealed Section we had this selection of spinechillers - 

E. F. Benson – The Confession Of Charles Linkworth

Ambrose Bierce – The Moonlit Road

L. P. Hartley – A Visitor From Down Under

W. H. Hodgson – The Voice In The Night

W. W. Jacobs – His Brother’s Keeper

Edgar Allen Poe – Berenice

A. E. D. Smith – The Coat

Bram Stoker – The Squaw

P. C. Wren – Presentiments

Keeping His Promise by Algernon Blackwood, illustrated by Lampitt

And backing up the excellent choice of stories were a fine roster of artists who delivered atmospheric and intriguing illustrations of the tales in gorgeous pen and ink. 

The Mezzotint by MR James, illustrated by Clive Uptton

The volume was later reissued in a cheap paperback as Great Ghost Stories by Chancellor in 2005, with a handful of tales trimmed from it and sadly lacking the illustrations. Therefore I would recommend tracking down the original edition if you can. 

This is a truly wonderful book. Obviously I have a huge personal connection to it, and I treasure it as a link to my grandfather who died when I was very young and hence never really knew. But more than that, this is truly a book made for book lovers - not only handsomely bound and lavishly illustrated, but packed with great tales by great writers, serving up a hearty mix of old favourites, undoubted classics and undiscovered gems. In its pages I discovered so many great tales and fantastic authors, indded to this day I'm still tracking down stories from authors contained within it. My granddad had this book on a shelf within reaching distance of his armchair by the fire, and today it lives in a similar position in my own home. 

THE WILLOWS by Algernon Blackwood

Mr Jim Moon joins the SFFaudio Podcast to discuss Algernon Blackwood's seminal weird tale The Willows

SFFaudio 212 - The Willows