Mystic Fiction

[nihilsum]

"The White People" by Machen may be my all time favorite story. Though I've read plenty of Lovecraft and Ligotti before I discovered it - it is the one story in which can truly attribute my obsession with weird and fantastic literature.

There is some magic in Machen's prose and imagery in that story especially that resonates with me like no other. Machen shows you the beauty and mystery of nature and what glorious (and/or) infernal things may lie within it. This is a recurring theme in many of his stories due to his interest in religion, folklore, and the occult, and yet no other story has left me with a greater sense of wonder, and of "sorcery and sanctity".

Reading it is like gazing upon one of the most masterful and enigmatic paintings of the Pre-Raphaelites or Symbolists (art has been my passion long before I turned to literature). The same feeling of mystery I've often times felt reading certain passages from the Bible or William Blake's poetry. As for weird fiction and horror, some of Algernon Blackwood's stories are in a similar vein, even sometimes Lovecraft when he is describing the hills of New England. Some of Richard Gavin's fiction applies, too.

Here I note a distinct, subtle branch of the supernatural: a kind that evokes a sense of sublime mysticism. Not necessarily only the weird or horrific. I think Machen's work is a prime example of this, in particular his stories dealing with paganism/the occult, the holy grail, and the little people.

Am I alone in these observations? Are there any authors or stories that in which you feel convey a sense of mysticism very well? Ron Weighell's fiction seems to be what I'm looking for by the looks of it, but I don't know when I'll ever get to read his work!

[Mr. Veech]

"The Inmost Light" is my favorite Machen piece.

[nihilsum]

Quote Originally Posted by Mr. Veech

"The Inmost Light" is my favorite Machen piece.

My man. That is also one of my favorites as well. A very fin-de-siècle story with some elements of mysticism, I think.

[Arthur Staaz]

I think John Crowley's novel Little, Big does a great job capturing the mystical. In particular, he gives us mere mortals the sense of something that we can nearly grasp but that is always just out of reach. The novel does a great job conveying a wonderful and heartbreaking sense of longing. And he situates the story in the modern world (one of the early authors to successfully do so).

His Aegypt series of novels did a good job of it, too. But Little, Big is the best of his novels, IMO.

[njhorror]

Quote Originally Posted by Mr. Veech

"The Inmost Light" is my favorite Machen piece.

I've also mentioned that "The Inmost Light" is one of my favorite, if not my favorite Machen story. There is something so supernaturally chilling about the whole concept.

[T.E. Grau]

"The Eldritch Faith" by Richard Gavin.

[Ibrahim]

Quote Originally Posted by Arthur Staaz

I think John Crowley's novel Little, Big does a great job capturing the mystical. In particular, he gives us mere mortals the sense of something that we can nearly grasp but that is always just out of reach. The novel does a great job conveying a wonderful and heartbreaking sense of longing. And he situates the story in the modern world (one of the early authors to successfully do so). His Aegypt series of novels did a good job of it, too. But Little, Big is the best of his novels, IMO.

Crowley's prose is extremely well-crafted, too.

Whenever i try to describe Little, Big, i end up spouting nonsense; it's about fairies, but not really; it's a dystopian novel, but disguised as bildungsroman; nothing really happens, a lot happens. &c &c.

What i love about Aegypt ( what i've read of it - the first two books) is that at each turn it reveals itself as something so different from the thing it promises- it seems to refute easy narrative rewards, without ever losing its allure. And the prose, oh man.
He's something, this Crowley guy.

[Ibrahim]

Quote Originally Posted by nihilsum

"The White People" by Machen may be my all time favorite story. Though I've read plenty of Lovecraft and Ligotti before I discovered it - it is the one story in which can truly attribute my obsession with weird and fantastic literature. There is some magic in Machen's prose and imagery in that story especially that resonates with me like no other. Machen shows you the beauty and mystery of nature and what glorious (and/or) infernal things may lie within it. This is a recurring theme in many of his stories due to his interest in religion, folklore, and the occult, and yet no other story has left me with a greater sense of wonder, and of "sorcery and sanctity". Reading it is like gazing upon one of the most masterful and enigmatic paintings of the Pre-Raphaelites or Symbolists (art has been my passion long before I turned to literature). The same feeling of mystery I've often times felt reading certain passages from the Bible or William Blake's poetry. As for weird fiction and horror, some of Algernon Blackwood's stories are in a similar vein, even sometimes Lovecraft when he is describing the hills of New England. Some of Richard Gavin's fiction applies, too. Here I note a distinct, subtle branch of the supernatural: a kind that evokes a sense of sublime mysticism. Not necessarily only the weird or horrific. I think Machen's work is a prime example of this, in particular his stories dealing with paganism/the occult, the holy grail, and the little people. Am I alone in these observations? Are there any authors or stories that in which you feel convey a sense of mysticism very well? Ron Weighell's fiction seems to be what I'm looking for by the looks of it, but I don't know when I'll ever get to read his work!

The negative initiation of 'the White People' is complemented by the more positive one of 'A Fragment of Life,' and i believe it's only together that they give full expression to the spectrum encompassed by Machen's mysticism.

A story which presents these various angles together in one, is Yeats' The Tables of the Law- it's more sobering than ecstatic, though.

[nihilsum]

Quote Originally Posted by T.E. Grau

"The Eldritch Faith" by Richard Gavin.

Absolutely. This story is what I had in mind when I mentioned Gavin. It certainly blew me away and begs a re-read. I also really loved "A Pallid Devil, Bearing Cypress". Can't wait to read more Gavin, it despairs me that I haven't been able to read "Sylvan Dread" yet - stories with pastoral settings resonate with me far more than the urban (perhaps due to living in the sticks my whole life and my dislike of cities).

Quote Originally Posted by Ibrahim

The negative initiation of 'the White People' is complemented by the more positive one of 'A Fragment of Life,' and i believe it's only together that they give full expression to the spectrum encompassed by Machen's mysticism. A story which presents these various angles together in one, is Yeats' The Tables of the Law- it's more sobering than ecstatic, though.

Ah yes - Yeats wrote several short stories of occult mysticism at one point, correct? The others being "The Secret Rose", "Rosa Alchemica" and "The Adoration of the Magi" as far as I know, though I haven't read them. They appear very intriguing.

Been meaning to read Crowley too - but there is never enough time for anything.

[beakripped]

Richard Gavin's great.

Kenneth Grant's short fiction is worth seeking out. My favourite is Gamaliel, the Diary of a Vampire.