Karl Edward Wagner (and his "39 List")

Murony_Pyre

Murony_Pyre

Chymist
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.
 
Murony_Pyre said:
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.
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What 39 books made the list?
 
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.
 
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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.
 
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.
 
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.
​
 
I wasn't aware of this list. This should keep me busy for a few years. I'm especially curious about R.R. Ryan.
 
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!?:drunk:

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...
 
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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.
 
I recently obtained a copy of Busson's The Fire-Spirits through interlibrary loan. While definitely enjoyable, I didn't think it was anywhere near as good as his book The Man Who Was Born Again, which was included with the edition of Meyrink's The Golem that I read. I had never heard of Busson before this, so read The Man Who... on a whim. What a pleasant surprise, as I thought it was simply incredible! That is the main reason I sought out The Fire-Spirits, it had nothing to do with Wagner's list.

I've only read a few others on the list (Frankenstein, Torture Garden), have one more waiting on my shelves (Alraune), and I've recently ordered Dark Sanctuary and Echo of a Curse. I've also just discovered that there is a copy of Medusa available at my boyfriend's library so I will probably read that soon too.

That's my entire experience with this list. I doubt it will get more comprehensive than this, except that I will most likely keep collection the Ewers volumes as they come out.
 
@Soukesian:
The Busson story you are referring to is called "Folter's Gems" it is in The Dedalus Book of Austrian Fantasy 1890-2000 edited by Mike Mitchell. The story sits prominently beside stories by Meyrink, Schnitzler, Kafka, Perutz, Rilke, Strobl and so many other fantastic writers who deserve wider recognition. I have to disagree about "Hell! Said the Duchess" I adored the brevity and tone of the prose very much, I love the sudden shift that occurs, seemingly out of nowhere, near the end. A daring and admirable move on the part of Arlen in my estimation. Arlen also wrote quite a few ghost stories, some of which appear in in his collection "These Charming People". One of the best of his ghost stories is "The Gentleman from America" which appeared in Alexander Laing's "The Haunted Omnibus", one of the great collections.
I almost put down "Land Under England" myself, by the way. I believe it is the least appealing book on the list. "Vampires Overhead", I must say I wasn't too crazy about either, though the fact that Hyder seems to have been drunk when he wrote it, does add a charm of a kind and I can actually see myself reading it again somewhere down the line.

@Freyasfire:
I have the same Dover "The Golem"/"The Man Who Was Born Again" dual edition but I am remiss in that I have yet to read either work in that volume. As Soukesian has pointed out, John Dickson Carr and Fredric Brown are never dull and I definitely would recommend reading them at least as both epitomize the mystery genre at its finest.
 
Murony_Pyre said:
@Soukesian:
I have to disagree about "Hell! Said the Duchess" I adored the brevity and tone of the prose very much, I love the sudden shift that occurs, seemingly out of nowhere, near the end. A daring and admirable move on the part of Arlen in my estimation.
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De gustibus non est disputandum est - no accounting for tastes. "Hell" is not an expensive book, so people can judge for themselves without getting burned. I'll check out Arlen's short stories when I get the chance - the charm of his prose is undeniable.

John Dickson Carr is a particular favorite - Sherlockian atmosphere, spiced with supernatural elements - I'd recommend "Fire, burn" or "The Devil in Velvet" to just about anyone.
 
How "weird" is Carr's writing? I know Joshi wrote a study on him. It is now available at a reasonable price from a print on demand publisher. My library has a copy, but I haven't read it. I never read studies on authors until I have read their stories myself and have formed my own opinon. Not to mention the spoilers!

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Carr, who closely resembled Gomez Addams, was primarily an old-school whodunnit writer, but Gothic elements were never far away from his work, and he often used time slip devices to put then-contemporary characters into historical situations that interested him. If any of that attracts you, check him out - he is a supremely accomplished and entertaining writer, and you should be able to pick Wagner's recommendations up for pennies.

If you are looking for a writer that concentrates purely on the supernatural, or for something experimental, misanthropic or pessimistic - perhaps not.
 
Soukesian said:
Carr, who closely resembled Gomez Addams, was primarily an old-school whodunnit writer, but Gothic elements were never far away from his work, and he often used time slip devices to put then-contemporary characters into historical situations that interested him. If any of that attracts you, check him out - he is a supremely accomplished and entertaining writer, and you should be able to pick Wagner's recommendations up for pennies.

If you are looking for a writer that concentrates purely on the supernatural, or for something experimental, misanthropic or pessimistic - perhaps not.
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I'm not exclusively devoted to weird fiction, I was just curious. I have a copy of The Burning Court that KEW included on his Best Supernatural List. I also have a copy of The Plague Court Murders recommended by Ramsey Campell. This is what he had to say about Carr in contribution to The Book of Lists Horror:

Ramsey Campbell's Thirteen Novels on the Edge of Horror

The Plague Court Murders, by Carter Dickson (1934)

"This was John Dickson Carr's first novel under this transparent pseudonym. Most of Carr's work is detective fiction influenced by Chesterton, especially in a fondness for apparently impossible crimes. He had a strong sense of the macabre, not least in his titles - The Hollow Man, Skeleton in the Clock, He Who Whispers, It Walks by Night (his very first novel, close to Poe in its Gothic atmosphere and gruesomeness). Another influence is the ghostly fiction of M.R. James - the short story "Blind Man's Hood" is a spectral tale in that tradition - and this is apparent in The Plague Court Murders, which even quotes James's "A School Story" near the end. While murders are solved, the book conveys an almost palpable sense of evil and dread. The haunted house of the title feels oppressively authentic, and a chapter devoted to its history never explains away the supernatural horror. Under both his names, Carr is worth reading, but don't read The Hollow Man first; it includes a chapter that lists many of the solutions to his tricks."


Carr (under the name of Carter Dickson) also wrote one called The Punch and Judy Murders that I find intriguing since I am a big fan of the puppet play.
 
Interesting sidelight on this is the number of the titles on the list that have been filmed. Apart from the very obvious ones like Frankenstein and Psycho, you have less well known items like: Alraune (three times!), The Burning Court, Doctors Wear Scarlet, The Screaming Mimi, Burn Witch Burn . . any others?
 
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As mentioned, Hjortsberg's "Falling Angel" was filmed as "Angel Heart" with Mickey Rourke and Robert DeNiro. It is neither a great film nor a particularly bad one.
 
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