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Southern Star, v. 1, issue 4, December 1941

Page 25

Munsey Panorama     SOUTHERN STAR     Page 25

Then a lady of his acquaintance began to exhibit many of the late wife's mannerisms. Hernden[[?]] connected this phenomenon with the last letter he'd had from his wife, which said, in part: "There are people int his world, unloved, unfound, who stand like empty houses waiting for occupants. . . . Somewhere, somehow, you will find me again."
[[underline]]THE CONFESSION OF CHARLES LINKWORTH[[end underline]], by E. F. Benson, 9pp, Jan. 13, 1912.
Until they hanged him from the murder of his mother, Charles Linkworth would not confess the crime; but after he was dead, he pestered everybody concerned until he got the confession off his--er--chest.
First-hand description of the operations of a first-rate ghost. Interesting theorizing on matters occult, and no "explanation" at the end. Good, if you like ghost stories.
[[underline]]WITCH-WOMAN[[end underline]], by Faith Baldwin. P. 741, Jan. 27, 1912.
Poem. So-so.
[[underline]]A MYSTERY OF THE AIR[[end underline]], by Joe H. Ranson. 3pp. Feb. 10, 1912. 
Here are decades crowded into three little pages. I haven't decided what I think of it, and meanwhile I am inclined to ruminate on what a wonderful thing it would have been if Conan Doyle, for example, had written it.
Wel-l-l, long before the Wright brothers went aloft at Kitty Hawk, the European village of Mentz was the world's aviation center. To settle the question of who was to win a beautiful girl, two fliers entered on an endurance contest, and the first to land had to renounce the gal. They circled out of sight, and neither came down -- ever.
Years later, a third man took off from the same spot, aiming for altitude. A mysterious cross force seized his ship, carried it to undreamed heights; and then he saw the ancient planes -- skeletons now, with human skeletons in the pilot seats, wheeling onward through eternity.
A powerful picture is painted here, a fascinating picture. You may say for publication that the story is no great shakes, but I defy you to forget it.
With the lightest backing, I'd say it's great stuff.
[[underline]]THE OCCULT DETECTOR[[end underline]], by J. U. Giesy and Junius B. Smith. Serial, 3 parts, Feb. 17, 1912.
This is the first of the many stories of  Semi Dual. For the reason that fantasy fans seem not to rate them highly, I shall have little to say concerning them; yet I cannot omit them entirely, for unquestionably they belong in these articles.
Personally, I recall Semi Dual with pleasure, but I know (from experience Chick!) that one's taste changes with the years, and it may be that as I look at the tales again I shall not care so much for them.
With the second glance, I insist that they are well written, but I notice at once that these first ones are quite different from, for example, [[underline]]The Wolf of Erlik[[end underline]], notably in the lack of the pervading, resistless atmosphere that I have always associated with the [[underline]]Wolf[[end underline]]. Ah, how the [[underline]]Wolf[[end underline]] beat itself into your brain! But we'll talk of that, if at all, summat later.
Some of the undoubted popularity of the series may be traced to the fact that thirty years ago the detective story was in a pretty awful rut and Dual was a refreshingly new kind of detective. His specialty was astrology, but he also practiced mind-reading, telepathy, crystal gazing, analysis of handwriting, and, as my uncle has often said, so fo'th an' so fo'th.
The Occult Detector plumbed the unexplored depths of human minds, and his feats were quite convincing.

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Munsey Panorama SOUTHERN STAR Page 25 Then a lady of his acquaintance began to exhibit many of the late wife's mannerisms. Hernden[[?]] connected this phenomenon with the last letter he'd had from his wife, which said, in part: "There are people int his world, unloved, unfound, who stand like empty houses waiting for occupants. . . . Somewhere, somehow, you will find me again." [[underline]]THE CONFESSION OF CHARLES LINKWORTH[[end underline]], by E. F. Benson, 9pp, Jan. 13, 1912. Until they hanged him from the murder of his mother, Charles Linkworth would not confess the crime; but after he was dead, he pestered everybody concerned until he got the confession off his--er--chest. First-hand description of the operations of a first-rate ghost. Interesting theorizing on matters occult, and no "explanation" at the end. Good, if you like ghost stories. [[underline]]WITCH-WOMAN[[end underline]], by Faith Baldwin. P. 741, Jan. 27, 1912. Poem. So-so. [[underline]]A MYSTERY OF THE AIR[[end underline]], by Joe H. Ranson. 3pp. Feb. 10, 1912. Here are decades crowded into three little pages. I haven't decided what I think of it, and meanwhile I am inclined to ruminate on what a wonderful thing it would have been if Conan Doyle, for example, had written it. Wel-l-l, long before the Wright brothers went aloft at Kitty Hawk, the European village of Mentz was the world's aviation center. To settle the question of who was to win a beautiful girl, two fliers entered on an endurance contest, and the first to land had to renounce the gal. They circled out of sight, and neither came down -- ever. Years later, a third man took off from the same spot, aiming for altitude. A mysterious cross force seized his ship, carried it to undreamed heights; and then he saw the ancient planes -- skeletons now, with human skeletons in the pilot seats, wheeling onward through eternity. A powerful picture is painted here, a fascinating picture. You may say for publication that the story is no great shakes, but I defy you to forget it. With the lightest backing, I'd say it's great stuff. [[underline]]THE OCCULT DETECTOR[[end underline]], by J. U. Giesy and Junius B. Smith. Serial, 3 parts, Feb. 17, 1912. This is the first of the many stories of Semi Dual. For the reason that fantasy fans seem not to rate them highly, I shall have little to say concerning them; yet I cannot omit them entirely, for unquestionably they belong in these articles. Personally, I recall Semi Dual with pleasure, but I know (from experience Chick!) that one's taste changes with the years, and it may be that as I look at the tales again I shall not care so much for them. With the second glance, I insist that they are well written, but I notice at once that these first ones are quite different from, for example, [[underline]]The Wolf of Erlik[[end underline]], notably in the lack of the pervading, resistless atmosphere that I have always associated with the [[underline]]Wolf[[end underline]]. Ah, how the [[underline]]Wolf[[end underline]] beat itself into your brain! But we'll talk of that, if at all, summat later. Some of the undoubted popularity of the series may be traced to the fact that thirty years ago the detective story was in a pretty awful rut and Dual was a refreshingly new kind of detective. His specialty was astrology, but he also practiced mind-reading, telepathy, crystal gazing, analysis of handwriting, and, as my uncle has often said, so fo'th an' so fo'th. The Occult Detector plumbed the unexplored depths of human minds, and his feats were quite convincing.