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Horror Hall of Fame Novellas
The Terror & The Coming of the Terror
“IN A MAJOR WEIRD FICTION EVENT, TWO VERSIONS OF A RARE SUPERNATURAL CLASSIC – TOGETHER FOR THE FIRST TIME!”
A new Introduction and Notes
Experience the literary sorcery of an undisputed master of cosmic horror and weird fiction in a pair of forgotten masterpieces…
THE TERROR, by ARTHUR MACHEN, is a folk-horror and eco-weird classic whose terrifying themes of infectious rage, sentient Nature, and supernatural revenge speaks directly to our modern culture. Originally published in serial installments in the Evening News in 1916, this horrifying supernatural mystery finally appears with its even rarer 1917 short story version, “THE COMING OF THE TERROR”, which was substantially revised for Century magazine.
SHADOW HOUSE PUBLISHING presents these numinous nightmares complete and uncut as the debut of HORROR HALL OF FAME NOVELLAS a new series devoted to preserving our horror heritage with affordable special editions of important weird fiction ignored by major publishing houses.
“There are sacraments of evil as well as good about us, and we live and move, to my belief, in an unknown world.” – Arthur Machen.
Arthur Machen is considered a master of weird fiction, admired by such authorities as H.P. Lovecraft, Stephen King, and S.T. Joshi. His stories of “Sin and Sanctity” unveil the terror and awe of supernatural evil hiding just beyond the frail surface of reality. The malignant mysticism of THE TERROR is every bit as profound as “The Great God Pan” and “The White People”, the classics which originally scandalized Victorian readers.
In THE TERROR and “THE COMING OF THE TERROR” are fascinating examples of both Machen’s stylistic transformation and the evolution of his occult philosophy. In anticipation of metafiction, he plays himself–a journalist investigating unexplained murders in rural Wales during the first World War. Blurring fact and legend, he reveals a dark Natural world rebelling against the violence and apathy of humankind–a world we are living in still. This is a warning for the 21st century.
Supernatural author and critic WILLIAM P. SIMMONS edits this nightmarish synthesis of Machen’s chief themes of sacrament, ecstasy, and transformation. Including an informative introduction, this authoritative special edition of the Welsh mystics last truly great work is a desirable addition to any weird library.
HORROR HALL OF FAME NOVELLAS, VOLUME ONE
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Introduction
The Terror
”The Coming of the Terror”
__________
About the Editor: William P. Simmons is a supernatural fiction author, critic, & journalist. Seven of his stories earned Honorable Mentions in The Year’s Best Fantasy & Horror. By Reason of Darkness was praised by Publisher’s Weekly, All Hallows & Cemetery Dance. Graham Masterton, Hugh B. Cave & T.M. Wright endorsed his fiction. He has interviewed such authors as Richard Matheson, F. Paul Wilson & Caitlin Kiernan.
HORROR HALL OF FAME NOVELLAS Series: “Horror hundreds of years in the making!” This series presents classic and rare supernatural, horror, and weird novellas that have been neglected due to major publisher’s commercial disdain for the form.
SHADOW HOUSE PUBLISHING preserves our horror heritage with authoritative and affordable special editions of supernatural literature.
A new Introduction and Notes
Experience the literary sorcery of an undisputed master of cosmic horror and weird fiction in a pair of forgotten masterpieces…
THE TERROR, by ARTHUR MACHEN, is a folk-horror and eco-weird classic whose terrifying themes of infectious rage, sentient Nature, and supernatural revenge speaks directly to our modern culture. Originally published in serial installments in the Evening News in 1916, this horrifying supernatural mystery finally appears with its even rarer 1917 short story version, “THE COMING OF THE TERROR”, which was substantially revised for Century magazine.
SHADOW HOUSE PUBLISHING presents these numinous nightmares complete and uncut as the debut of HORROR HALL OF FAME NOVELLAS a new series devoted to preserving our horror heritage with affordable special editions of important weird fiction ignored by major publishing houses.
“There are sacraments of evil as well as good about us, and we live and move, to my belief, in an unknown world.” – Arthur Machen.
Arthur Machen is considered a master of weird fiction, admired by such authorities as H.P. Lovecraft, Stephen King, and S.T. Joshi. His stories of “Sin and Sanctity” unveil the terror and awe of supernatural evil hiding just beyond the frail surface of reality. The malignant mysticism of THE TERROR is every bit as profound as “The Great God Pan” and “The White People”, the classics which originally scandalized Victorian readers.
In THE TERROR and “THE COMING OF THE TERROR” are fascinating examples of both Machen’s stylistic transformation and the evolution of his occult philosophy. In anticipation of metafiction, he plays himself–a journalist investigating unexplained murders in rural Wales during the first World War. Blurring fact and legend, he reveals a dark Natural world rebelling against the violence and apathy of humankind–a world we are living in still. This is a warning for the 21st century.
Supernatural author and critic WILLIAM P. SIMMONS edits this nightmarish synthesis of Machen’s chief themes of sacrament, ecstasy, and transformation. Including an informative introduction, this authoritative special edition of the Welsh mystics last truly great work is a desirable addition to any weird library.
HORROR HALL OF FAME NOVELLAS, VOLUME ONE
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Introduction
The Terror
”The Coming of the Terror”
__________
About the Editor: William P. Simmons is a supernatural fiction author, critic, & journalist. Seven of his stories earned Honorable Mentions in The Year’s Best Fantasy & Horror. By Reason of Darkness was praised by Publisher’s Weekly, All Hallows & Cemetery Dance. Graham Masterton, Hugh B. Cave & T.M. Wright endorsed his fiction. He has interviewed such authors as Richard Matheson, F. Paul Wilson & Caitlin Kiernan.
HORROR HALL OF FAME NOVELLAS Series: “Horror hundreds of years in the making!” This series presents classic and rare supernatural, horror, and weird novellas that have been neglected due to major publisher’s commercial disdain for the form.
SHADOW HOUSE PUBLISHING preserves our horror heritage with authoritative and affordable special editions of supernatural literature.
- GenresHorror
160 pages, Paperback
Published September 9, 2020
About the author
Arthur Machen
1,116 books1,054 followersArthur Machen was a leading Welsh author of the 1890s. He is best known for his influential supernatural, fantasy, and horror fiction. His long story The Great God Pan made him famous and controversial in his lifetime, but The Hill of Dreams is generally considered his masterpiece. He also is well known for his leading role in creating the legend of the Angels of Mons.
At the age of eleven, Machen boarded at Hereford Cathedral School, where he received an excellent classical education. Family poverty ruled out attendance at university, and Machen was sent to London, where he sat exams to attend medical school but failed to get in. Machen, however, showed literary promise, publishing in 1881 a long poem "Eleusinia" on the subject of the Eleusinian Mysteries. Returning to London, he lived in relative poverty, attempting to work as a journalist, as a publisher's clerk, and as a children's tutor while writing in the evening and going on long rambling walks across London.
In 1884 he published his second work, the pastiche The Anatomy of Tobacco, and secured work with the publisher and bookseller George Redway as a cataloguer and magazine editor. This led to further work as a translator from French, translating the Heptameron of Marguerite de Navarre, Le Moyen de Parvenir (Fantastic Tales) of Béroalde de Verville, and the Memoirs of Casanova. Machen's translations in a spirited English style became standard ones for many years.
Around 1890 Machen began to publish in literary magazines, writing stories influenced by the works of Robert Louis Stevenson, some of which used gothic or fantastic themes. This led to his first major success, The Great God Pan. It was published in 1894 by John Lane in the noted Keynotes Series, which was part of the growing aesthetic movement of the time. Machen's story was widely denounced for its sexual and horrific content and subsequently sold well, going into a second edition.
Machen next produced The Three Impostors, a novel composed of a number of interwoven tales, in 1895. The novel and the stories within it were eventually to be regarded as among Machen's best works. However, following the scandal surrounding Oscar Wilde later that year, Machen's association with works of decadent horror made it difficult for him to find a publisher for new works. Thus, though he would write some of his greatest works over the next few years, some were published much later. These included The Hill of Dreams, Hieroglyphics, A Fragment of Life, the story The White People, and the stories which make up Ornaments in Jade.
At the age of eleven, Machen boarded at Hereford Cathedral School, where he received an excellent classical education. Family poverty ruled out attendance at university, and Machen was sent to London, where he sat exams to attend medical school but failed to get in. Machen, however, showed literary promise, publishing in 1881 a long poem "Eleusinia" on the subject of the Eleusinian Mysteries. Returning to London, he lived in relative poverty, attempting to work as a journalist, as a publisher's clerk, and as a children's tutor while writing in the evening and going on long rambling walks across London.
In 1884 he published his second work, the pastiche The Anatomy of Tobacco, and secured work with the publisher and bookseller George Redway as a cataloguer and magazine editor. This led to further work as a translator from French, translating the Heptameron of Marguerite de Navarre, Le Moyen de Parvenir (Fantastic Tales) of Béroalde de Verville, and the Memoirs of Casanova. Machen's translations in a spirited English style became standard ones for many years.
Around 1890 Machen began to publish in literary magazines, writing stories influenced by the works of Robert Louis Stevenson, some of which used gothic or fantastic themes. This led to his first major success, The Great God Pan. It was published in 1894 by John Lane in the noted Keynotes Series, which was part of the growing aesthetic movement of the time. Machen's story was widely denounced for its sexual and horrific content and subsequently sold well, going into a second edition.
Machen next produced The Three Impostors, a novel composed of a number of interwoven tales, in 1895. The novel and the stories within it were eventually to be regarded as among Machen's best works. However, following the scandal surrounding Oscar Wilde later that year, Machen's association with works of decadent horror made it difficult for him to find a publisher for new works. Thus, though he would write some of his greatest works over the next few years, some were published much later. These included The Hill of Dreams, Hieroglyphics, A Fragment of Life, the story The White People, and the stories which make up Ornaments in Jade.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
October 31, 2020
Arthur Machen has a way with gluing me to my seat. The Terror is no exception.
Horror Hall Of Fame #1 contains both The Terror, in its original form, and The Coming Of The Terror, which is essentially the condensed version.
I was actually very pleased that both were included in this book. It allowed me to see what would have inevitably became a huge question in my mind. Every time I hear that a story isn't in its original format, I get a little heavy hearted...it makes me feel like I'm being cheated or that the author's originality may have been tarnished by the more recent edits.
Apparently, in the instance of The Terror, the original story wasn't very popular and so in a later edition, the story was condensed. Honestly, after reading this book, I can say that I completely understand why this was done and it was for the better.
It's an amazing eco-horror story, where nature revolts against mankind but the original form was a bit bogged down with unnecessary scenes. The second edit read much smoother and allowed the feelings of dread and terror to really come forth.
I received a copy in exchange for an honest review.
My honest opinion....read both versions. Read The Terror first and then see how the edit really did the story justice. It's a great tale and I wish it was more well known.
Horror Hall Of Fame #1 contains both The Terror, in its original form, and The Coming Of The Terror, which is essentially the condensed version.
I was actually very pleased that both were included in this book. It allowed me to see what would have inevitably became a huge question in my mind. Every time I hear that a story isn't in its original format, I get a little heavy hearted...it makes me feel like I'm being cheated or that the author's originality may have been tarnished by the more recent edits.
Apparently, in the instance of The Terror, the original story wasn't very popular and so in a later edition, the story was condensed. Honestly, after reading this book, I can say that I completely understand why this was done and it was for the better.
It's an amazing eco-horror story, where nature revolts against mankind but the original form was a bit bogged down with unnecessary scenes. The second edit read much smoother and allowed the feelings of dread and terror to really come forth.
I received a copy in exchange for an honest review.
My honest opinion....read both versions. Read The Terror first and then see how the edit really did the story justice. It's a great tale and I wish it was more well known.
November 3, 2022
Introduction by William P. Simmons ✔
The Terror (Novella)3.5 ⭐
The Coming of the Terror (Short Story) 4.5⭐
The Terror (Novella)3.5 ⭐
The Coming of the Terror (Short Story) 4.5⭐
September 20, 2020
Note: I was given a copy of this book by Shadow House Publishing for the Morbidly Beautiful site.
Always a fan of classic literature, it's one thing to keep in mind that because they're classics, and because they're from a different age, they can be a bit harder to read. And boy if that wasn't the case with this one.
A fantastic story, mystery, and atmospheric in the best sort of ways. However, its length really works against it. Parts meander, things go on for too long, at times there doesn't seem to be a point, at least not until we get to story beats that are truly inspired. That said, it is a great story, it is a tale that should not be forgotten, and a must read.
If you don't want to go through the whole sort of long lulls in the story, this copy from SHP includes the short story version of the novel/novella "The Coming of the Terror" which in my opinion is far more tighter, straight to the point (although does lose a tiny bit of the gut punch if only because of its length. Sort of a damned if you do, damned if you don't situation).
Always a fan of classic literature, it's one thing to keep in mind that because they're classics, and because they're from a different age, they can be a bit harder to read. And boy if that wasn't the case with this one.
A fantastic story, mystery, and atmospheric in the best sort of ways. However, its length really works against it. Parts meander, things go on for too long, at times there doesn't seem to be a point, at least not until we get to story beats that are truly inspired. That said, it is a great story, it is a tale that should not be forgotten, and a must read.
If you don't want to go through the whole sort of long lulls in the story, this copy from SHP includes the short story version of the novel/novella "The Coming of the Terror" which in my opinion is far more tighter, straight to the point (although does lose a tiny bit of the gut punch if only because of its length. Sort of a damned if you do, damned if you don't situation).
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews