Great Weird Tales
Edited by S.T. Joshi
Dover Publications
Reviewed by Jess Landry
Weird tales — exquisitely chilling works of fiction dealing with supernatural horrors, fantasy, and pseudo-science — became an established genre with the enduring masterpieces of Edgar Allan Poe. The 14 spellbinding stories assembled in this outstanding collection are by later writers, who produced a great outpouring of weird fiction in the “Golden Age” of the genre, between 1880 and 1940.
After an introduction from the anthology editor (and weird tale expert) S.T. Joshi, Great Weird Tales begins its journey into…great weird tales with the haunting “The Dead Valley” by American architect Ralph Adams Cram. After stories of ghosts, fantasy, and other-worldly beings (to name a few), the anthology comes to a close with none other than H.P. Lovecraft and his tale, “Facts Concerning the Late Arthur Jermyn and His Family.”
The collection is divvied up by category: Tales of Supernatural Horror, Non-Supernatural Horror, Tales of Awe, of Fantasy, and of Pseudo-Science. Though the aforementioned Poe is not included here, there are plenty of other great names to make up for it. Aside from Lovecraft, other authors whose stories grace the pages are Arthur Machen, Lord Dunsany, and Algernon Blackwood, among others.
Great Weird Tales is, in fact, just that – it’s a great introduction to weird tales from authors you may not be familiar with. And if you just so happen to be familiar with them, it’s a great way to get reacquainted.
