Karl Edward Wagner (and his "39 List")

[Murony_Pyre]

The place on TLO for all discussions related to this great author's work and news, reviews and discussion of the books and authors which compose Wagner's fabled list of the 39 best horror novels which appeared in Twilight Zone Magazine in the early '80s.

	TLO THOMAS LIGOTTI ONLINE

[Murony_Pyre]

Has anyone attempted to read the whole list?

Any favorite books from this list?

[Spotbowserfido2]

Quote Originally Posted by Murony_Pyre

The place on TLO for all discussions related to this great author's work and news, reviews and discussion of the books and authors which compose Wagner's fabled list of the 39 best horror novels which appeared in Twilight Zone Magazine in the early '80s.

What 39 books made the list?

[Murony_Pyre]

I. The Thirteen Best Supernatural Horror Novels:

1. Hell! Said the Duchess by Michael Arlen
2. The Burning Court by John Dickson Carr
3. Alraune by Hanns Heinz Ewers
4. Dark Sanctuary by H.B. Gregory
5. Falling Angel by William Hjortsberg
6. Maker of Shadows by Jack Mann
7. The Yellow Mistletoe by Walter S. Masterman
8. Melmoth the Wanderer by Charles Maturin
9. Burn Witch Burn by A. Merritt
10. Fingers of Fear by J.U. Nicolson
11. Doctors Wear Scarlet by Simon Raven
12. Echo of a Curse by R.R. Ryan
13. Medusa by E.H. Visiak

II. The Thirteen Best Science Fiction Horror Novels:

1. The Death Guard by Philip George Chadwick
2. Final Blackout by L. Ron Hubbard
3. Vampires Overhead by Alan Hyder
4. The Quatermass Experiment by Nigel Kneale
5. Quatermass and the Pit by Nigel Kneale
6. The Cadaver of Gideon Wyck by Alexander Laing
7. The Flying Beast by Walter S. Masterman
8. The Black Corridor by Michael Moorcock
9. Land Under England by Joseph O'Neill
10. The Cross of Carl by Walter Owen
11. Freak Museum by R.R. Ryan
12. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
13. The Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham

III. The Thirteen Best Non-Supernatural Horror Novels:

1. The Deadly Percheron by John Franklin Bardin
2. Psycho by Robert Bloch
3. Here Comes a Candle by Fredric Brown
4. The Screaming Mimi br Fredric Brown
5. The Fire-Spirits by Paul Busson
6. The Crooked Hinge by John Dickson Carr
7. The Sorcerer's Apprentice by Hanns Heinz Ewers
8. Vampire by Hanns Heinz Ewers
9. Fully Dressed and in His Right Mind by Michael Fessier
10. The Shadow on the House by Mark Hansom
11. Torture Garden by Octave Mirbeau
12. The Master of the Day of Judgment by Leo Perutz
13. The Subjugated Beast by R.R. Ryan

Note: The lists appeared in alphabetical order, so it is unlikely that they are in order of preference.

[slayn666]

Well crap, beaten to the punch...

I haven't read very many of these (less than half a dozen), but on the bright side, I know have a handy reading list of quality horror.

[bendk]

I've read ten of them. My favorites are Frankenstein by Shelley and Falling Angel by Hjorstberg. And I have many more that I have purchased over the years, but haven't gotten around to reading yet. If I remember correctly, The Cross of Carl by Walter Owen is more of a novella than a novel. I really liked it, but I think some of the religious references eluded me at the time.

[Evans]

Hmm there's seems to be quite a lot of people asking about Hell, Said the Duchess recently. I was under the impression that, for
the most part, it is a society novel laced with dark humour and light innuendo until the plot dramatically changes direction in the last twenty or so pages and becomes a story of ultra-mundane primordial Sin.

Wasn't Wagner particularly interested in thriller novels from the 'thirties?

I confess I'm somewhat interested to know why he included Ewers Vampire/The Vampir in the non supernatural horror section. I've only read the plot synopsis contained within the introduction of Side Real Press's Nachmar but, from that, it certainly seems to be a supernatural plot.

[waffles]

I wasn't aware of this list. This should keep me busy for a few years. I'm especially curious about R.R. Ryan.

[Murony_Pyre]

I've read thirty-six of the thirty-nine. I began with "Medusa"which I got on an inter-library loan, photocopied and read in March '09. Also, in the interim I read lots of other "non-list books", as they came to be known to me, embarrassingly enough. Though I had already read "Psycho" & "Frankenstein" in my early teens, I re-read them as part of this reading project. The only one I own which I've yet to read is Ewers' "Vampire". The two I've almost lost all hope of reading are both by R.R. Ryan, "Freak Museum" and "The Subjugated Beast". This is an especially cruel twist of fate considering that Ryan has written, what I believe to be the "best" book on the list in "Echo of a Curse" (psst!....which along with "Feesters in the Lake" are the two best books Midnight House ever published...tell the world). Sadly, it seems "Echo of a Curse" is the only Ryan book I'm destined to ever read.Want to send me your copies of the other two!?

Anyway, here is my "short list" of titles from the supernatural list, with my comments/brief synopsis on/of some of them.

-"Hell! Said the Duchess"
Imagine a more cartoon-ish version of a Robert W. Chambers "future past", yes society intrigue is present but also assumed identities and people who aren't as they seem...are they even people?

-"Falling Angel"
Supernatural noir, plot heavy but never heavy-handed, keeps stringing you along. Threatens to choke the reader with its atmosphere, you panic and do. Saw "Angel Heart" recently, I'm so lucky I had read the book first! It would have ruined it. Also, the movie wouldn't make very much sense if you haven't read the book. Solution: skip the film, read this book.

-"Burn Witch Burn"
The pulp form at its most effective.

-"Echo of a Curse"
Out of all the "overlooked gems" present on this list, this is, for me, its crown jewel. "Echo of a Curse" is well-written and Ryan, while obviously no master prose stylist, is competent and pulls off a weird, off-kilter tale in many ways quite ahead of its time. Savage and, rarity among rarities, actually quite scary. I felt like I'd been through the wringer after this one...usually a good sign for the horror genre (any genre?), I'd say.

-"Medusa"
This tale is so strange, it practically defies description, better to look up what Wagner himself had to say about it in his entry for the Jones/Newman edited "Horror: 100 Best Books". Imagine my excitement when shortly after reading the book, I found out Wagner had a list consisting of 38 more of these wonderful and obscure marvels.

More on these and others later...

[Soukesian]

The lists have fascinated me for years, and there are some undeniable classics here, but I have the feeling that some of the more obscure items may be there as collector's pieces: "Hell, said the duchess" seemed like an unremarkable period supernatural thriller that really didn't come off. "Land under England" is a lost race novel I found too dull to finish. Haven't read 'Medusa', but was very much underwhelmed by other Visiak work I have read. I've read very mixed reports about some of the other entries, notably Hansom and Ryan, though they certainly have their fans.

Having said all that, John Dickson Carr and Frederick Brown are never dull, I haven't yet read the titles here and really should. Perutz is great, but I think 'By night, under the stone bridge' is his best. Finally got to read 'Alraune' in the Bandel translation, and I'm looking forward to the other HHE titles. 'Doctors Wear Scarlet' is a kinky twist on the vampire myth by a minor British literary satirist, no masterpiece but at least worth a look.

The one that I'm really curious about is 'Fire-Spirits', on the basis of a single Busson story in one of the Dedalus anthologies.