Algernon Blackwood
 

I just searched this forum and there's not a single mention of Algernon Blackwood, which baffles me. He was one of my favorite authors when I was younger.

Lovecraft admired him. Many of his stories have been adapted for films, radio and television. His story "The Doll" was probably the first to feature a doll that's come to life so he could be said to have created that subgenre...

Just wondering if any of the esteemed members of this community are familiar with his work. If not, it's a shame as he was certainly one of the pioneers in the horror literature field.

Have read only a few Algernon Blackwood books when i was younger. Rather rare here. From what i have read, i like. But reading him, like Poe and Lovecraft, requires slow reading.....

Downloaded an e-book of his short stories. Will be getting it printed and bound soon to keep me company a few nights.

Very cool. Nice to see an appreciation of the classics.

I've always wanted to read some of his work, but his stuff is hella hard to find. I've got a "best of" volume in my Amazon wish list, so I may get around to ordering that one before too very much longer.

It's a shame quality classics like that are hard to find. I was fortunate that my parents gave me a hardcover anthology of his work when I was young.

Quality classics are VERY VERY hard to find. Went to a local "mega" bookstore and asked the sales desk for Ray Bradbury & translated Maupassant collections... She looks at me, blinks and goes "Who?" .... Sigh ... Sad but true

I'm ashamed to admit I've never read any Algernon Blackwood. What stories should I start with?

Is he as good as Ray Bradbury?

I don't think they're really comparable. It's like asking if Beethoven is as good as Jim Morrison. They're both amazing authors with totally different aesthetics and the products of very different times. Blackwood is a master of Gothic horror and a big influence on Lovecraft. If you're the sort of person who can enjoy Le Fanu and M.R James, then you'll love Blackwood. If you're not, then you won't.

What Doc said...

M.R. James - did he write 'Whistle And I'll Come To You'?

My daughter informed me I should read Pan's Garden and Wendigo by Algernon Blackwood and The Great God Pan by Arthur Machen. How were these stories?

Iconic. Extremely relevant to the development of horror fiction as we know it.

I will also add The White People by Machen to that list.

One story by Blackwood that has always stuck with me is The Trees or The Woods or something like that... sorry to be so vague... I'm trying to reach back 40 years in memory....

And of cource The Doll.

Cool, thanks guys.:)

@Neverending - was the Blackwood story you were trying to remember The Willows? That is my favorite from him.

Possibly- about a man who keeps feeling the call of the trees that surround the house he lives in.

The Man Whom The Trees Loved?

Ha- that must be it!

I definitely need to get more classic horror. I have Poe, Lovecraft, Shirley Jackson and Ray Bradbury. I have Dracula, Frankenstein, and Turn Of The Screw. I will put Algernon Blackwood on my Amazon Wish List. What other great classic (pre-Stephen King) horror stories would you recommend?

P.S. Murderland is going on my Wish List too.;)

As Doc mentioned- Le Fanu (Carmilla and other stories)
Robert Louis Stevenson (Dr. Jeckyl & Mr. Hyde)
Oscar Wilde (Dorian Gray and other stories)

I have Oscar Wilde, but not the others. Thank You.

Are Ambrose Bierce or Saki worth reading?

Absolutely!

Though it's not horror, Bierce's Devil's Dictionary is indispensable.

I've got to get to Border's! Thank you.

The King in Yellow- Robert W. Chambers
Anything by Dunsany
anything by Theodore Sturgeon

I always thought The King In Yellow was a Lovecraft creation. I'd love to read the original story. Thank you.

Try to give Le Fanu a go. My copy of his short stories is well read.
Can I also reccommend The Yellow wallpaper, by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. (it is actually a collection of short stories) Not so much gory as a description of the downward spiral into madness. Wonderfully gothic x

Sounds interesting. Thank you.

Picked up The Devil's Dictionary (my daughter told me to get it about 5 minutes before you did). FANTASTIC!! Thank you for recommending it.