DIY History | Transcribe | Hevelin Fanzines | Reader and Collector, v. 3, issue 3, June 1944

Transcribe
Translate

Reader and Collector, v. 3, issue 3, June 1944

Page 1

WILLIAM HOPE HODGSON
MASTER OF THE WEIRD AND FANTASTIC
by
H. C. Koenig
In 1931 Faber and Faber published an anthology of ghost stories under the title "They Walk Again." The tales were selected by Colin de la Mare. Most of the stories included in this splendid anthology were by well-known writers such as Blackwood, Dunsany and Bierce. Many of them were familiar to the inveterate reader of ghost stories -- "The Monkey's Paw", "Green Tea", and "The Ghost Ship." However, one new story was included in the book; one comparatively new name was included in the list of authors. The story was "The Voice in the Night", a horrifying and yet pathetic tale of human beings turned into fungoid growths; the author was William Hope Hodgson.
Who was William Hope Hodgson? I had a vague recollection of some short stories in old pulp magazines. I dimly remembered a book of short stories about a ghost detective. That was all. But, it was sufficient to start me on the trail of one of the great masters of the weird story. Letters to various readers and collectors of fantasy in this country produced negligible results. Except for one or two of the older readers of weird stories, the name of Hodgson meant nothing.
I consulted Edith Birkhead's excellent study of the growth of supernatural fiction in English literature "The Tale of Terror" (1921) in an effort to get some information about Hodgson and his writings. I found references to Pain, Jacobs, Le Fanu, Stoker, Marsh, Rohmer and a host of other writer's of weird tales -- but no mention of Hodgson. I searched through H. P. Lovecraft's informative essay "Supernatural Horror in Literature" (in its original form)* without success. Hundreds of titles were covered. Among them I found "Seaton's Aunt", "The Smoking Leg", "The Dark Chamber", "A Visitor from Down Under", and many other tales - familiar and unfamiliar. But not a single on of Hodgson's stories was discussed - or even mentioned. I paged through numerous anthologies - by Bohyn Lynch, Dashiell Hammett, Dorothy Sayers, Mantague Summers, T. Everett Harre and Harrison Dale - but the name of Hodgson was conspicuous by its absence. Then followed a period of time during which I traced him through innumerable book stores in England. Percy Muir of Elkin Matthews, London, took an interest in my search and obtained several of Hodgson's first editions for me. he also put me in touch with Dennis Wheatley, the writer of English thrillers and an admirer and collector of Hodgson. As a result of these contacts, I learned that Hodgson had written a number of stories which compared favorably with any of our modern weird stories; tales which ranked high in the fantasy field and which deserved far more popularity and publicity than they had ever received.
Hodgson was the son of an Essex clergyman. he left home as a youngster and spent eight years at sea. During that time he voyaged around the world three times, visiting all sorts of places. Incidently, he received the
*First appeared in W. P. Cook's magazine Teh Recluse (1927). After having Hodgson's novels called to his attention, Lovecraft revised the essay. The article, in its final form may be found in the Arkham House book "The Outsiders".

Saving...

WILLIAM HOPE HODGSON MASTER OF THE WEIRD AND FANTASTIC by H. C. Koenig In 1931 Faber and Faber published an anthology of ghost stories under the title "They Walk Again." The tales were selected by Colin de la Mare. Most of the stories included in this splendid anthology were by well-known writers such as Blackwood, Dunsany and Bierce. Many of them were familiar to the inveterate reader of ghost stories -- "The Monkey's Paw", "Green Tea", and "The Ghost Ship." However, one new story was included in the book; one comparatively new name was included in the list of authors. The story was "The Voice in the Night", a horrifying and yet pathetic tale of human beings turned into fungoid growths; the author was William Hope Hodgson. Who was William Hope Hodgson? I had a vague recollection of some short stories in old pulp magazines. I dimly remembered a book of short stories about a ghost detective. That was all. But, it was sufficient to start me on the trail of one of the great masters of the weird story. Letters to various readers and collectors of fantasy in this country produced negligible results. Except for one or two of the older readers of weird stories, the name of Hodgson meant nothing. I consulted Edith Birkhead's excellent study of the growth of supernatural fiction in English literature "The Tale of Terror" (1921) in an effort to get some information about Hodgson and his writings. I found references to Pain, Jacobs, Le Fanu, Stoker, Marsh, Rohmer and a host of other writer's of weird tales -- but no mention of Hodgson. I searched through H. P. Lovecraft's informative essay "Supernatural Horror in Literature" (in its original form)* without success. Hundreds of titles were covered. Among them I found "Seaton's Aunt", "The Smoking Leg", "The Dark Chamber", "A Visitor from Down Under", and many other tales - familiar and unfamiliar. But not a single on of Hodgson's stories was discussed - or even mentioned. I paged through numerous anthologies - by Bohyn Lynch, Dashiell Hammett, Dorothy Sayers, Mantague Summers, T. Everett Harre and Harrison Dale - but the name of Hodgson was conspicuous by its absence. Then followed a period of time during which I traced him through innumerable book stores in England. Percy Muir of Elkin Matthews, London, took an interest in my search and obtained several of Hodgson's first editions for me. he also put me in touch with Dennis Wheatley, the writer of English thrillers and an admirer and collector of Hodgson. As a result of these contacts, I learned that Hodgson had written a number of stories which compared favorably with any of our modern weird stories; tales which ranked high in the fantasy field and which deserved far more popularity and publicity than they had ever received. Hodgson was the son of an Essex clergyman. he left home as a youngster and spent eight years at sea. During that time he voyaged around the world three times, visiting all sorts of places. Incidently, he received the *First appeared in W. P. Cook's magazine Teh Recluse (1927). After having Hodgson's novels called to his attention, Lovecraft revised the essay. The article, in its final form may be found in the Arkham House book "The Outsiders".