Charles Lloyd - Powers Of Darkness

[dem]

Mention of Mr. Weinberg reminds me there are still some Creeps to go up. Who couldn't love this cover?

Charles Lloyd (ed) - Powers Of Darkness (Phillip Allan,1934)

Philip Simmonds

Many thanks to Robert Weinberg for kindly granting me permission to use his cover scans.

POWERS OF DARKNESS

INCLUDED in this volume of the "CREEPS" series are many famous names, and while stories of the supernatural will delight lovers of the psychic world, thrill seekers will find sensations in plenty.

Lord Dunsany gives the explanation of a horrible and baffling murder; Hastings Turner a grisly tale of retribution from an unexpected source; C. Fox Smith, the noted writer of the sea, a story of the fate of three mutineers under tropic skies; and other contributors of considerable merit and literary reputation.


Lord Dunsany - The Two Bottles Of Relish
A.E.D. Smith - The Coat
Charles Lloyd - Obsession
Kenneth Ingram - The Third Time
J.H. Turner - The Guillotine
Cicely Fox-Smith - The Mutineers
Russell Thorndike - November The Thirteenth
L.A. Westney - The Miniature In Black
E.R. Morrough - The Temple Servant
Maureen E. Shaw - A Nice Cup Of Tea

includes:

Lord Dunsany - The Two Bottles Of Relish: The police know that Steeger killed Nancy Elth but nobody can work out what he did with the body. And why did he cut down all those trees?

A ghoulish mystery, solved by a chance remark by Num Numo salesman Smithers to his genius flatmate Linley. Killer kiss off line.

Charles Lloyd - Obsession: Hartledean. Doris Carson and Henry Russell are to wed. Joe, the village idiot, has a massive crush on Doris as she's the only person who has ever been kind to him. After she gently declines his offer of marriage, Joe takes to stalking both she and her burly fiancé. Henry beats him up.

Events reach their grim conclusion at the old quarry when, with a superhuman effort, Joe dislodges a huge boulder, intending for it to crush the life out of his rival. It takes a nasty deflection on the way down ..

Hannes Bok (The Coat. Famous Fantastic Mysteries, Dec. 1952)

A. E. D. Smith - The Coat: On a cycling holiday in France, the narrator stops off to mend a puncture at a deserted chateau near Vosges where he is seen off by an animated coat. He later learns that it belonged to a sadistic murderer in Napoleon's army whose own daughter was obliged to shoot him in the back.

[Craig Herbertson]

two bottles of Relish - one of my all time favourites. What a great cover

[dem]

I think this may have been its first book publication, too, which would've been a tremendous scoop for Birkin who was famously running the operation on a sub-shoestring budget. Once he'd exhausted the famous names on the Philip Allen roster (Wakefield, Elliott O'Donnell, Tod Robbins), it was up to the readers to send in their stories and, it seems, they were happy to oblige. He got lucky on many an occasion, but the ineptitude of some of these aspiring Poe's gives the series added charm. As you probably guessed, i'm shy a copy of Powers Of Darkness, so if anyone can provide details of the remaining stories please do so!

[fullbreakfast]

Sept 8, 2009 8:38:47 GMT dem said:

Lord Dunsany - The Two Bottles Of Relish: The police know that Steeger killed Nancy Elth but nobody can work out what he did with the body. And why did he cut down all those trees?

A ghoulish mystery, solved by a chance remark by Num Numo salesman Smithers to his genius flatmate Linley. Killer kiss off line.

One I know from the Pans I think. For a chap who spent a lot of time writing about elves and fairies he could be a nasty bastard when he wanted to be!

[jamesdoig]

That's a great cover. Weinberg must have a fine collection - he was a dealer in rare fantasy and horror books for a long time, wasn't he?

John Eggeling of Todmorden Books has sent out a catalogue of stuff he's taking to the York Book Fair later in the year - ámongst other wonders are 9 William Hope Hodgson 1st editions from the library of Dennis Wheatley - now that would be nice set to own.