Peter Haining - The Black Magic Omnibus

[dem bones]

Peter Haining (ed.) - The Black Magic Omnibus: Vols 1 & 2 (Futura, 1977)

Introduction - Peter Haining
Prologue - Dennis Wheatley

Roger Zelazny - The Salvation Of Faust
Dorothy Pitkin Buck - Transgressor's Way
August Derleth - Lesandro's Familiar
Manly Wade Wellman - The Liers In Wait
Seabury Quinn - Is The Devil A Gentleman?
Margaret Irwin - Monsieur Seeks A Wife
Eric Frank Russell - The Rythm Of The Rats
Jerome Bixby - The Magic Potion
Robert Arthur - The Mirror Of Cagliostro
Aleister Crowley - The Dream Circean
M. P. Shiel - The Primate Of The Rose
H. P. Lovecraft - Witches' Hollow
Shirley Jackson - The Daemon Lover
Ursula Le Guin - April In Paris
Fritz Leiber - Cry Witch!

The Black Magic Omnibus: Volume 2 (Futura, 1977)

Introduction – Peter Haining

Robert Graves – An Appointment For Candlemas
Samuel M. Clawson – Double Hex
Gaston Leroux – In Letters Of Fire
Hans Heinz Ewers – Vampire’s Prey
Feodor Sologub – Invoker Of The Beast
William Sambrot – Night Of The Leopard
Jorge Luis Borges – The Circular Ruins
W. B. Seabrook – The Wedding Guests
Avram Davidson – The Power Of Every Root
Richard Matheson – By Appointment Only
MacKinlay Kantor – The Witch Doctor Of Rosy Ridge
Joan Fleming – Writer’s Witch
Larry M. Harris – The Power Of The Job
Gordon MacCreagh – Dr. Muncing, Exorcist

Epilogue – Ray Bradbury

I've never seen the Robson 1976 edition but the contents were recycled over two Futura paperbacks the following year and its a strong selection, the first volume perhaps more-so than the second

Dennis Wheatley - Prologue: Dennis recalls how, as a young officer in the 1914-18 war, he prayed to the Devil during a card game and ended up with a winning hand. This terrifying confirmation of the powers of darkness put him off dabbling in black sorcery for life. He goes on to mention Crowley's alleged attempt to raise Pan in a Paris hotel that left him a "gibbering idiot" although I'm assured that the episode never took place.

Roger Zelazny - The Salvation Of Faust: "The cursed bells of Orgy-time are ringing" is as promising a start as any. We join Faust and the unhappy Helen as our hero resolves to once again conjure the demon. In a neat twist to the legend Faust implores the demon to set him free of the awful pact that has set him apart from all other men: make him the most desperate of beggars but rid him of this accursed soul!

Dorothy Pitkin Buck - Transgressor's Way: Another attempt to rescue a seemingly irreparably damaged reputation, this time Bluebeard's. He didn't murder his wives after all, though they ended up dead anyway. Buck depicts him as a randy, rather dashing Cavalier who - in this instance - weds a young beauty to placate her angry parents and brothers who catch him creeping up on her naked as she bathes. Such situations are not new to him and he's accumulated half a dozen wives to date, all of them living in his tower unaware of the others' existence. What will happen should they ever meet?

August Derleth - Lessandro's Familiar: Cesare Borgia wishes to slay powerful Black Magician Lessandro to avenge the murder of one of his men. disguised as a monk he enters the city of Celsina with Orvolo, a young soldier practiced in the dark arts. But Lessandro is waiting for them. Orvolo is cast into a dungeon and Cesare frozen on the spot while Lessandro summons forth his pet, "a huge, misshapen blasphemous monstrosity", to destroy them ....

Manly Wade Wellman - The Liers In Wait: Worcester. His army routed by the Parliamentarians, Charles Stuart escapes into the woods of Spring Coppice disguised as a woodsman. Presently he comes to the desolate house of Valois Pembraud, the beautiful Regan and young Diccon. The trio recognise him as the King and bid him lay his hand on Diccon who is suffering from scrofula, "the King's evil", and sure enough, the youth is cured. It transpires that the trio are Black Magicians hired by Cromwell's men to win them the battle, but they have no loyalty to either side. Should Charles be prepared to agree to a few conditions they will quite happily restore the monarchy ...

Jerome Bixby - The Magic Potion: Winter in Paris and disgruntled chemist Pierre receives the customer who will change his life. The shrunken, diseased but well-dressed fellow requests that he mix him a concoction to his own specification for which he will pay 500 francs. Pierre is intrigued and rustles up double the formula, half to keep for himself.

The following week, the customer pays a second visit and - what a transformation! He is restored to robust health and looks like he's shed years. Pierre's mind is made up: he will drink the potion himself.

He thoroughly enjoys the last lecherous week of his life but perhaps he would have been wise not to try and outsmart his infamous client - the Marquis de Sade.

[Swampirella]

Just came across Vol. 2 at the Int*rn*t Arch*ve, available for download (for now at least) without borrowing in multiple formats. The conversion isn't the greatest (typos & reproduction of original text) but hopefully still reasonably readable.

[helrunar]

Thanks, Miss Scarlett, that is great to know. I'm curious about the Seabrook tale in that volume, and some of the other entries mentioned.

Best, Hel

[dem bones]

"Good gosh, what does a tangible hate look like?"

Amos Sewell

Gordon MacCreagh - Dr. Muncing. Exorcist: (Strange Tales, Sept. 1931). Dr Muncing Challenges a Malignant Entity — A Thing of Hate Out of the Unknown Void.

Dr. Muncing and bruiser assistant, Dr. James Terry, visit the Catskills to investigate a dangerous case referred them by Rev. Mr. Hendryx. Silly old Mrs. Jarrett's hapless meddling with forces she can neither understand nor control, have enabled a man-hating elemental to break through to our plain of existence. Among the Jarrett household, her brother, an invalid on account of his weak lungs, is woefully vulnerable to the entity's life draining attacks. Muncing arms Terry with an iron blackjack (disembodied evil spirits are allergic to cold metal), tells him to stand guard while he seeks out the thing in the loft. The plan is to guard the sick man around the clock and starve their adversary from the house. As a rule elementals are of low intelligence, but this one ultimately proves smart enough to outwit the exorcist!

Sequel The Case of the Sinister Shape is essentially the same story with new cast of ciphers and different outcome. The vivid description of the thing's physical appearance once manifested is highlight of both.

[dem bones]

William Stout, Double Hex

Samuel M. Clawson - Double Hex: (Coven 13 #2, Nov. 1969). Pennsylvania has always rivalled New England in the art of spells, enchantment, and 'garden' witchcraft. It's a way of life, actually, for many of the people. It's also a highly COMPETITIVE way of life. Dark doings on Gobblers Hill. The tea leaves reveal there will be a death in the Speigell family before the dark of the moon is done. Amanda and her brother Rueben, black magicians both, are the last of the line. Neither likes the other overmuch.

Apr 11, 2021 20:01:47 GMT helrunar said:

Thanks, Miss Scarlett, that is great to know. I'm curious about the Seabrook tale in that volume, and some of the other entries mentioned.

Best, Hel

William Seabrook - The Wedding Guests: An abridged Tousell's Pale Bride (The Magic Island, 1929) with a Haining-bestowed alt. title.

Richard Matheson - By Appointment Only: (Playboy, April 1970). Business is booming for Wiley the barber, and has been since he hired a Haitian manicurist and entered into conspiracy with an unscrupulous doctor. Voodoo for fun and profit.

[dem bones]

Contrary to impression possibly given by the garbage I write, I don't think EVERY Pete Haining anthology is the greatest thing ever. The William Kimber books lack sparkle, and his '90's and '00's efforts are so-so until a dazzling return to form with the outstanding Mammoth Book of Haunted House Stories. On first acquaintance, The Black Magic Omnibus was another didn't quite do it for me, but it seems so much more accomplished second time around. Does anyone have a copy of the hardcover? it appears to be one of his harder-to-find titles.

Zelma Blakely, Writer's Witch

Joan Fleming - Writer's Witch: (London Mystery Magazine #10, June/July 1951). Novelist Amyas moves to a quiet village on the South Downs to concentrate on follow-up to his first best-seller — and soon wishes he hadn't. As Mrs Pegg the housekeeper gleefully informs him, this house, long the doss of derelicts prior to recent Council spruce up, is haunted by the ghost of it's previous owner, Mary Ann Beehag, hung for witchcraft over a century ago. Who doesn't think much of his work in progress.

Robert Graves – An Appointment for Candlemas: (Punch, 1. Dec. 1954). A student approaches prominent North London Mrs. Hipkinson for help with his Philosophy degree while she's doing the weekly shop. He's invited along to the Nudist Hall - "We perform our fertility rites in aid of the allotments" - for the Candlemas meet. Mrs. Hipkinson also provides the briefest account of how she and her Coven master boyfriend hexed Adolf Hitler when his antics grew too offensively tiresome.

William Sambrot - Night of the Leopard: (MFSF, Sept. 1967). Sierra Leone. The people of Koluma village live in the most abject, disease-ridden squalor, which is just how the despotic medicine man, plans to keep it. This Oturu is livid when four American Peace Corps volunteers arrive to build a rudimentary sewer, taking particular exception to Eunice, an indomitable Oakland girl unmoved by his dire threats. Slowly the helpers win over the locals until an old timer allows them to cleanse and bandage his obscenely ulcerated leg. The poor man is found torn to pieces the next morning, the mutilations inflicted by what the Koluma folk insist is a "ghost-leopard." Father Everett, Bush missionary, has been in West Africa long enough to understand that what the Americans are up against is a literal were-creature. He fashions a special bullet for impending loser loses all conflict.

[dem bones]

Fritz Lieber - Cry Witch!: (10 Story Fantasy Spring, 1951). What was it about that young lady that made the villagers bar their doors at night? The girl from the small village in Bohemia is as sexually insatiable as she is irresistible to every man she meets. Still the "friend" of Nemick, our narrator, had to have her. In desperation, he abducts his queen and rides them both out into the wild to lead a life of self-sufficient bliss. To all intents and purposes, she seems truly content, but that's because each night she sneaks back to the village while he sleeps nursing a severed hand in his own. On discovering the deception, the next night he follows her to the church, to surprise her in the arms of the preacher. Nemick's friend fires six bullets into the girl of his dreams to no effect - which comes as a huge relief, as despite all, he loves her above life itself. "....I've given myself to her, and she's beautiful, and however false, she's all there is in the world to be faithful to."

M. P. Shiel - The Primate Of The Rose: (Here Comes the Lady, 1928). Smyth lures Crooks to Cask of Amontillado-inspired doom under the pretext of introducing him to The Friends Of The Rose, a London-based secret society of Black Magicians. Crooks is a thinly disguised H. G. Wells according to some critics.

Roger Zelazny - The Salvation of Faust: (MFSF, July 1964). Perceived wisdom is that Faust traded his soul for immortality. According to this version, Faust, unhappiest of men, did no such thing; instead, he accepted a soul "in return for your lust to live, to know." The Devil, who granted his wish, has no concept of what a soul may be. All he knows is that Faust is a more miserable man for having one.

Some we made earlier:

Robert Arthur, The Mirror of Cagliostro, (Fantastic, June 1963).

Gaston LeRoux, In Letters of Fire, (The Strand, June 1908: Weird Tales, March 1930).