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Fantasy Fan, v. 2, issue 4, whole no. 16, December 1934

Page 56

56     THE FANTASY FAN, December, 1934

WILLIAM HOPE HODGSON

by H. Koenig

A few years ago Faber and Faber published an anthology of ghost stories chosen by Colin de la Mare under the title "They Walk Again." Most of the stories included included in this splendid anthology were by well-known writers such as Blackwood, Dunsany, and Bierce and many of the stories were familiar ones--"The Monkey's Paw," "Green Tea" and "The Ghost Ship." However, one new story was included in the book; one comparatively new face appeared among all the old familiar ones. The story was "The Voice in the Night" a horrifying and yet pathetic tale of human beings turned into a fungoid growth; the author is William Hope Hodgson.
Except perhaps for a few of the older readers of weird stories, the name of Hodgson will mean nothing, and yet twenty-five years ago Hodgson wrote a number of books which compare very favorably with any of our modern weird stories, books which rank high in the fantasy field and which deserve more popularity and publicity than they ever received. Five of his books should be read by all weird story lovers: "The Boasts of the Glen Carrig" 1907, "The House on the Borderland" 1908, "The Night Land" 1912, and "Carnacki, The Ghost Finder" 1913.
The first three books form (in Hodgso's words) "what perhaps may be termed a trilogy; for though very different in scope, each of the three books deals with certain conceptions that have an elemental kinship." A few chapter headings will give some idea of the treat in store for fantasy fans fortunate enough to locate these books -- "The Thing that Made Search," "The Island in the Weed," "The Noise in the Valley," "The Weed Men," "The Thing in the Pit," "The Swing Things," etc.
"The Night Land is one of the longest fantastic romances ever written, running close to six hundred pages It is a story of the world in the future when the sun has died and the "Last Millions" are living in a large redoubt, a huge pyramid of gray metal nearly eight miles high and five miles around the base. Beyond the pyramid were mighty races of terrible creatures, half-beast and half-man, night hounds monstrous slugs, and other horrible monsters. As a protection against all these evils a great electric circle was put about the pyramid and lit from the Earth Current. It bounded the pyramid for a mile on each side and none of the monsters were able to cross it due to a subtle vibration which affected their brains.
"Carnacki, The Ghost Finder" is a series of six short ghost stories in which Carnacki investigates ghostly phenomena in various homes. One or two of the tales are somewhat weakened by a natural explanation of the ghosts, but each of the stories is well worth reading.
Hodgson's tales may well have served as source books for many of the stories now being read in our present day pulp magazines. The whole
(continued on page 64)

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56 THE FANTASY FAN, December, 1934 WILLIAM HOPE HODGSON by H. Koenig A few years ago Faber and Faber published an anthology of ghost stories chosen by Colin de la Mare under the title "They Walk Again." Most of the stories included included in this splendid anthology were by well-known writers such as Blackwood, Dunsany, and Bierce and many of the stories were familiar ones--"The Monkey's Paw," "Green Tea" and "The Ghost Ship." However, one new story was included in the book; one comparatively new face appeared among all the old familiar ones. The story was "The Voice in the Night" a horrifying and yet pathetic tale of human beings turned into a fungoid growth; the author is William Hope Hodgson. Except perhaps for a few of the older readers of weird stories, the name of Hodgson will mean nothing, and yet twenty-five years ago Hodgson wrote a number of books which compare very favorably with any of our modern weird stories, books which rank high in the fantasy field and which deserve more popularity and publicity than they ever received. Five of his books should be read by all weird story lovers: "The Boasts of the Glen Carrig" 1907, "The House on the Borderland" 1908, "The Night Land" 1912, and "Carnacki, The Ghost Finder" 1913. The first three books form (in Hodgso's words) "what perhaps may be termed a trilogy; for though very different in scope, each of the three books deals with certain conceptions that have an elemental kinship." A few chapter headings will give some idea of the treat in store for fantasy fans fortunate enough to locate these books -- "The Thing that Made Search," "The Island in the Weed," "The Noise in the Valley," "The Weed Men," "The Thing in the Pit," "The Swing Things," etc. "The Night Land is one of the longest fantastic romances ever written, running close to six hundred pages It is a story of the world in the future when the sun has died and the "Last Millions" are living in a large redoubt, a huge pyramid of gray metal nearly eight miles high and five miles around the base. Beyond the pyramid were mighty races of terrible creatures, half-beast and half-man, night hounds monstrous slugs, and other horrible monsters. As a protection against all these evils a great electric circle was put about the pyramid and lit from the Earth Current. It bounded the pyramid for a mile on each side and none of the monsters were able to cross it due to a subtle vibration which affected their brains. "Carnacki, The Ghost Finder" is a series of six short ghost stories in which Carnacki investigates ghostly phenomena in various homes. One or two of the tales are somewhat weakened by a natural explanation of the ghosts, but each of the stories is well worth reading. Hodgson's tales may well have served as source books for many of the stories now being read in our present day pulp magazines. The whole (continued on page 64)