Arthur Machen

This early work by Arthur Machen was originally published in 1895 and we are now republishing it with a brand new introductory biography as part of our Cryptofiction Classics series. 'The Novel of the Black Seal' is a short story of a professor who discovers markings on some Welsh limestone that correspond to characters found in ancient Babylon. Arthur Machen was born in Caerleon, Monmouthshire, Wales in 1863. At the age of eleven, he boarded at Hereford Cathedral School, where he received a comprehensive classical education. His first major success came in 1894, with the novella 'The Great God Pan'. Although widely denounced by the press as degenerate and horrific because of its decadent style and sexual content, it has since garnered a reputation as a classic of horror; indeed, author Stephen King has called it "maybe the best horror story] in the English language." His legacy remains formidable; his work has influenced countless other artists, and is seen as setting the stage for - amongst other things - the Cthulhu horrors of H. P. Lovecraft. The Cryptofiction Classics series contains a collection of wonderful stories from some of the greatest authors in the genre, including Ambrose Bierce, Arthur Conan Doyle, Robert Louis Stevenson, and Jack London. From its roots in cryptozoology, this genre features bizarre, fantastical, and often terrifying tales of mythical and legendary creatures. Whether it be giant spiders, werewolves, lake monsters, or dinosaurs, the Cryptofiction Classics series offers a fantastic introduction to the world of weird creatures in fiction.

This early work by Arthur Machen was originally published in 1895 and we are now republishing it with a brand new introductory biography as part of our Cryptofiction Classics series. 'The Shining Pyramid' is a short story of a mysterious arrangement of stones found on a doorstep which lead to the discovery of underground dwellers best left untouched. Arthur Machen was born in Caerleon, Monmouthshire, Wales in 1863. At the age of eleven, he boarded at Hereford Cathedral School, where he received a comprehensive classical education. His first major success came in 1894, with the novella 'The Great God Pan'. Although widely denounced by the press as degenerate and horrific because of its decadent style and sexual content, it has since garnered a reputation as a classic of horror; indeed, author Stephen King has called it "maybe the best horror story] in the English language." His legacy remains formidable; his work has influenced countless other artists, and is seen as setting the stage for - amongst other things - the Cthulhu horrors of H. P. Lovecraft. The Cryptofiction Classics series contains a collection of wonderful stories from some of the greatest authors in the genre, including Ambrose Bierce, Arthur Conan Doyle, Robert Louis Stevenson, and Jack London. From its roots in cryptozoology, this genre features bizarre, fantastical, and often terrifying tales of mythical and legendary creatures. Whether it be giant spiders, werewolves, lake monsters, or dinosaurs, the Cryptofiction Classics series offers a fantastic introduction to the world of weird creatures in fiction.

Decadent, perverse and unreal, the strange stories of Arthur Machen uncover a lingering, ancestral horror, distantly remembered in the language of fairy tales, pagan lore, and in the secret old games that nurses teach to children. Deeply controversial in their own time, some of Machen's stories had to wait decades to for changing social mores to permit their publication. This new collection by Lowood Press combines all of Machen's most celebrated works in one volume. Herein are his greatest short stories, including The White People, The Great God Pan, The Bowmen and The Shining Pyramid; his semi-autobiographical novel, Hill of Dreams; and the original, complete version of The Three Impostors, with its interconnecting tales of occult intrigue. An unrivaled master of sacred terror and pioneer of the weird fiction genre, Machen's work has directly influenced such notable horror writers as H. P. Lovecraft, Peter Straub, and Stephen King-but it has yet to be surpassed.

Machen's weird tales of the creepy and fantastic finally come to Penguin Classics. With an introduction from S. T. Joshi, editor of American Supernatural Tales, The White People and Other Weird Stories is the perfect introduction to the father of weird fiction. The title story "The White People" is an exercise in the bizarre leaving the reader disoriented and on edge. From the first page, Machen turns even fundamental truths upside-down, as his character Ambrose explains, "there have been those who have sounded the very depths of sin, who all their lives have never done an 'ill deed'" setting the stage for a tale entirely without logic.

“Trots att skräck och ett vämjeligt illamående tilltog inom mig, och en chockerande stank av förruttnelse följde med varje andetag, förblev jag orubblig. Jag välsignades sedan, eller fördömdes – jag törs inte säga vilket – av att se det som fanns på sängen, liggande där svart som bläck. Huden och köttet, musklerna och benen, och människokroppens fasta form, som jag hade trott var oföränderlig och bestående som diamant, började att smälta och lösas upp.” "Den store guden Pan" är Arthur Machens klassiska och dekadenta skräckberättelse från 1894. Här publiceras den för första gången på svenska, oförkortad och med Machens egen introduktion, tillsammans med novellen "Det innersta ljuset". Utgåvan innehåller också Vincent Starretts inflytelserika essä "Arthur Machen - Hänryckningens och syndens författare" från 1918 samt ett efterord om Machens liv och verk. Upplev en av de verkligt stora giganterna inom genren från sin allra bästa sida! H. P. Lovecraft korade Machen som en av de främsta skräckförfattarna genom tiderna och tillägnade honom ett helt kapitel i sin “Supernatural Horror in Literature“; Arthur Conan Doyle ansåg honom vara ett geni, och Stephen King, Clive Barker, H. G. Wells, Jorge Luis Borges och Henry Miller har samtliga intygat Machens betydelse för skräcklitteraturen.