The Weird Fiction Megapack
COPYRIGHT INFO
The Weird Fiction Megapack is copyright © 2014 by Wildside Press LLC. All rights reserved.
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“Boy Blue,” by Steve Rasnic Tem, originally appeared in Weird Tales #2, edited by Lin Carter. Copyright © 1980 by Steve Rasnic Tem. Reprinted by permission of the author.
“Tap Dancing,” by John Gregory Betancourt, originally appeared in Weird Tales #300, Spring 1991. Copyright © 1991 by John Gregory Betancourt. Reprinted by permission of the author.
“To Become a Sorcerer,” by Darrell Schweitzer, originally appeared in Weird Tales #303. Copyright © 1991 by Darrell Schweitzer. Reprinted by permission of the author.
“The Golgotha Dancers,” by Many Wade Wellman, originally appeared in Weird Tales, October 1937.
“The Death of Ilalotha,” by Clark Ashton Smith, originally appeared in Weird Tales, September 1937.
“The Salem Horror,” by Henry Kuttner, originally appeared in Weird Tales, May 1937.
“The Disinterment,” by H.P. Lovecraft and D.W. Rimel, originally appeared in September, 1935.
“The Sea-Witch,” by Nictzin Dyalhis, originally appeared in Weird Tales, December 1937.
“Vine Terror,” by Howard Wandrei, originally appeared in Weird Tales, September 1934.
“The Pale Man,” by Julius Long, originally appeared in Weird Tales, September 1934.
“Werewolf of the Sahara,” by G.G. Pendarves, originally appeared in Weird Tales, August-September 1936.
“Train for Flushing,” by Malcolm Jameson, originally appeared in Weird Tales, March-April 1940.
“The Diary of Philip Westerly,” by Paul Compton, originally appeared in Weird Tales, August-September 1936.
“Mask of Death,” by Paul Ernst, originally appeared in Weird Tales, August-September 1936.
“The Girl from Samarcand,” by E. Hoffmann Price, originally appeared in Weird Tales, March 1938.
“The Monkey Spoons,” by Mary Elizabeth, originally appeared in Weird Tales, May 1950.
“The Vengeance of Nitocris,” by Tennessee Williams, originally appeared in Weird Tales, August 1928.
“Bimini,” by Bassett Morgan, originally appeared in Weird Tales, January 1929.
“The Curse of Yig,” by H.P. Lovecraft and Zealia Bishop, originally appeared in Weird Tales, November 1929.
“The Haunter of the Ring,” by Robert E. Howard, originally appeare in Weird Tales, June 1934.
“The Medici Boots,” by Pearl Norton Swet, originally appeared in Weird Tales, August-September 1936.
“The Lost Door,” by Dorothy Quick, originally appeared in Weird Tales, October 1936.
“Doom of the House of Duryea,” by Earl Peirce, Jr., originally appeared in Weird Tales, October 1936.
“In the Dark,” by Ronal Kayser, originally appeared in Weird Tales, October 1936.
A NOTE FROM THE PUBLISHER
Weird fiction (a term coined by no less an expert than H.P. Lovecraft) has been around for hundreds of years…and it has expanded to include not just the ghost story, but all manner of horror stories, fantasy stories, and the just plain uncanny. Before the term came to be, pulp magazines billed tales of the supernatural as “different” stories (using the quotation marks) as a sort of code so readers would know ahead of time what they were going into.
Weird Tales magazine—founded in 1923—became a centerpoint for weird fiction throughout its original run (ending in 1954), then to varying degrees throughout its revivals. I was involved (along with George Scithers and Darrell Schweitzer) in the fourth—and most successful—of the Weird Tales revivals (starting in the late 1980s…and still continuing to this day, but now under the skilled editorship of Marvin Kaye).
For The Weird Fiction Megapack, I have selected tales both modern and classic from Weird Tales, ranging throughout the 20th Century, but focusing mainly on the classic era of the 1930s. I have tried to pick less-well-known stories (how many times have we seen the same few Lovecraft and Robert E. Howard stories anthologized?)
From the current incarnation, I’ve taken the liberty of including my own story “Tap Dancing”—one of the best supernatural stories I’ve written—along with Darrell Schweitzer’s “To Become a Sorcerer” (the first story from Weird Tales to be nominated for a World Fantasy Award). From the 4-volume Lin Carter-edited 1980s revival, I selected Steve Rasnic Tem’s “Boy Blue,” a truly chilling tale that stays with you long after you’ve finished it. From the classic run, I’ve picked some of the classic authors—Lovecraft, Smith, Howard, etc.—but rarer stories you may not have encountered before. And, of course, there are great stories from writers like Manly Wade Wellman, E. Hoffmann Price, Mary Elizabeth Counselman, Dorothy Quick, etc.
Enjoy. And if you want to see what’s currently happening with weird fiction and Weird Tales, just search the ebook store where you purchased this volume “Weird Tales”—you should find a healthy selection of back issues, plus the current one. (As I write this, the current issue is #361.)
—John Betancourt
Publisher, Wildside Press LLC
www.wildsidepress.com
ABOUT THE MEGAPACKS
Over the last few years, our “Megapack” series of ebook anthologies has grown to be among our most popular endeavors. (Maybe it helps that we sometimes offer them as premiums to our mailing list!) One question we keep getting asked is, “Who’s the editor?”
The Megapacks (except where specifically credited) are a group effort. Everyone at Wildside works on them. This includes John Betancourt (me), Carla Coupe, Steve Coupe, Bonner Menking, Colin Azariah-Kribbs, A.E. Warren, and many of Wildside’s authors…who often suggest stories to include (and not just their own!)
A NOTE FOR KINDLE READERS
The Kindle versions of our Megapacks employ active tables of contents for easy navigation…please look for one before writing reviews on Amazon that complain about the lack! (They are sometimes at the ends of ebooks, depending on your reader.)
RECOMMEND A FAVORITE STORY?
Do you know a great classic science fiction story, or have a favorite author whom you believe is perfect for the Megapack series? We’d love your suggestions! You can post them on our message board at http://movies.ning.com/forum (there is an area for Wildside Press comments).
Note: we only consider stories that have already been professionally published. This is not a market for new works.
TYPOS
Unfortunately, as hard as we try, a few typos do slip through. We update our ebooks periodically, so make sure you have the current version (or download a fresh copy if it’s been sitting in your ebook reader for months.) It may have already been updated.
