R. Chetwynd-Hayes - Cornish Tales Of Terror

[Craig Herbertson]

R. Chetwynd-Hayes - Cornish Tales Of Terror (Fontana, 1970)

Introduction - R. Chetwynd-Hayes

Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch - The Roll-Call Of The Reef
J. D. Beresford - The Misanthrope
R. S. Hawker - The Botathen Ghost
A. L. Rowse - All Souls' Night
R. Ellis Roberts - The Narrow Way
M. H. - The Phantom Hare
Eden Phillpots - The Iron Pineapple
A. H. Manhood - Wish Me Luck
Hugh Walpole - Mrs. Lunt
Daphne du Maurier - The Birds
Robert Hunt - The Spectre Bridegroom
R. Chetwynd-Hayes - The Bodmin Terror

I can't find this on the Vault which might say more about me than the Vault. After the superb intro it starts with a neat quote about Cornish superstition and the dangers of a limp corpse in the family.

The Limp Corpse

If a corpse stiffens shortly after death all is thought to proceed naturally...

[Johnlprobert]

I read this about ten years ago and remember finding it an enjoyable read. The Quiller-Couch and the du Maurier are probably the most famous stories (and they're both pretty good) and RCH's end piece about a Cornish giant discovered by one of his typical holidaying couples is fun as well.

[dem]

never did get around to writing it up, but J. D. Beresford's The Misanthrope poses the question 'just how disgusting are you?' An incredibly effective piece of work. some other highlights, lazily recycled from bad threads past;

Daphne du Maurier - The Birds: (Kiss Me Again, Stranger, 1952).

"Owing to the exceptional nature of the emergency, there will be no further transmission from any broadcasting station until 7a.m. tomorrow.

They played God Save The Queen. Nothing more happened."

Cornish coast. On the morning of December 3rd, disabled World War II veteran Nat Hocken wakes to find that winter has arrived and the birds are acting strangely. During the night they attack he and his family in their cottage and the next day there are reports on the radio that the same situation has been played out across the British Isles. At first the BBC announcer treats the story as an amusing aside to the real news, but within days there have been several casualties and the air force are sent in - to no avail. When Nat calls in at the farm where he's employed as a handyman, he finds the Trigg family slaughtered, literally pecked to pieces. Together with his wife, he gathers all the provisions he can, drives home with his well-stocked car (neatly avoiding the dead postman in the drive) and sets to boarding all his windows in readiness for the nights attack.

Published so soon after the war, the Luftwaffe's bombing sprees were still fresh enough in the memory of those who'd lived through it for this creepy, doom-laden story to strike a haunting and frightening chord. The Birds was famously adapted by Alfred Hitchcock, although there was little left of Du Maurier in Evan Hunter's screenplay and the action was relocated to Botany Bay.

R. Ellis Roberts - The Narrow Way: Was it a black miracle, or did Father Lascelles poison his congregation and single-handedly "convert" the parish of Uny to Catholicism in August 1912? According to Lascelles, he prayed to the Lord on All Souls Night to visit the community as the Grim Reaper and, as a result, a plague decimated the population. To Lascelles, the end justifies the means as "all of those who died were reconciled to the Holy Church before death. Of those who remain, nearly all have adhered to the church." He has even converted Mr. Trengrowse of "the primitives." Dr. Marlowe and Sir Joshua confront the fanatic and he assures them there'll be no more deaths as he has prayed for them to cease.

Hugh Walpole – Mrs. Lunt: Runceman accepts an invitation from a novelist whose book he’d praised to spend Christmas with him at Penzance. Mr. Lunt is so pathetic in his gratitude and so desperate to befriend him that his guest is soon working on an excuse to high tail it back to London. It’s not just his host; the dreary, depressing old house also affects him badly. And who’s that silent, evil looking old woman in black who keeps showing up, usually preceded by an abominable stench?

R. Chetwynd-Hayes – The Bodmin Terror: Artist James is warned by his doctor that he’s on the verge of a nervous breakdown and must avoid stress at all costs. Being married to Lydia, James knows just how tall an order that is, but decides to take them both away on holiday to Cornwall. En route to the Lizard, the car breaks down in the middle of nowhere, sending Lydia into a spasm of rage. An extraordinarily sprightly crone ambles out of the mist and leads them back to her home which turns out to be a foul-smelling cave. But her Good Samaritan act is just that: she’s intent on serving up Lydia to Dunmore, the last of the Ice Age giants.

yet again it's like I'm reading an entirely different sub-genre with RCH - confirmed bachelor horror - a morbid fear of a woman coming into his life and disrupting his stubbornly protected routine.

[Craig Herbertson]

In his introduction Hayes says he is no judge of what terrifies others so he's going for variety.

He begins with a strong story. Q's - The Roll-Call Of The Reef which he says deals with the theme of wreckers - but perhaps salvagers would be a better term as these 'wreckers' seem intent only on rescuing the soldiers, after which they go for the goodies.

Q is a favourite of mine - a superb writer really. This story begins well in creating a realistic and terrifying vision of a storm observed from the shore. They way the wind builds and the tempest roars until we find the two ships - one wrecked, one in trouble - is magnificent. The scenes aboard the Mariner's ship as it breaks up - the men clinging on the side, captain shouting orders, trumpeter bugling inspirational tunes as they meet death - call me an old cynic but I found it incredibly moving.

Two survive the disaster - The trumpeter from the Mariners ship and a drummer boy from The Primrose. The friendship between the saved drummer boy and the giant, but brain damaged, Trumpeter is finely and gently observed: depictions of battles and glories and marital rivalry and bluff comradeship. In fact the only weak point in the whole tale is where our simple natured narrator is called out at the end by the ghost of the drummer boy to attend the last role call. If Q had just given this a bit of distance (it merges too much into the 'ordinary' narrative to be truly 'believable') this would have been in the top hundred of any greatest hits. Even with this minor failing, which still delivers a magnificent image, its probably somewhere near.

[Jojo Lapin X]

Feb 7, 2011 20:54:22 GMT dem said:

the action was relocated to Botany Bay.

Bodega Bay, California.

[Craig Herbertson]

After a brief description of The Hooting Cairn which doesn't sound too scary but doubtless gets a bit scary if you go there alone at night we have

The Misanthrope by Beresford.

The great thing about age is that you forget these stories even though you've read them hundreds of times. I started by not liking it. It was sort of clumsy intimate smoking room writing with lots of apologies. Hermit on island and muggins wants to find out what its all about. The hermit doesn't like looking over his shoulder at folks because he sees them as they really are. Thank goodness he can't see my face because even our mild mannered and apparently moralistic hero gets a bit of comeuppance at the end. Thoroughly enjoyable tale.

[dem]

Feb 8, 2011 10:11:09 GMT Jojo Lapin X said:

Bodega Bay, California.

God, but I'm sloppy.

This collection is actually quite important in that it was RCH's first anthology for Fontana (or anyone else) and sold well enough for him to take over from Aickman as editor of the Fontana Ghost series. Soon he was banging them out with such frequency that Scottish Tales Of Terror (Fontana, 1972) was published as by 'Angus Campbell'.

J. D. Beresford will be eligible for the Wordsworth treatment by the end of the decade and he'd make for an ideal candidate as I don't believe his short supernatural fiction has yet been collected?

[Craig Herbertson]

Arise Tucker

A brief excerpt about a ghost that sits behind you on your midnight horse ride. It's a stock theme, a grannies tale by the fire and its still scary. This leads to The Botathen Ghost by R. S. Hawker a tale of the Cornish Clergy -

'A single infelicity, he declared, had befallen young master Bligh...'

You're young, heir to the land and suddenly you see a rather attractive ghost skimming toward you at night. This makes you infelicitous, of course, and you become pale faced, prone to gloom, taciturn and so.The symptoms and cure sound vaguely like a Victorian description of the perils of masturbation. The clergyman has the cure but he must resort to exorcism so he seeks advice from the bishop. The ghost apparently doesn't want to give young Bligh the succubus treatment but instead warn of the perils of the Plague. No record of the young hopeful's disappointment is provided.

There's a certain smugness in being proven correct about the coming plague. Might have been more helpful of the ghost to offer preventative tips but its a perfectly placed tale with a really comfortable feel to it. My admiration for Hayes editorialship grows with each story.

[Craig Herbertson]

The Phantom Ship

A brief excerpt whose implicit advice is avoid Croft Pasco Pool or you'll see an ethereal boat - unless of course you are a witch in which case get straight there. It'll be more fun than you imagine. Bring your own virgin.

All Souls Night by A.L. Rowse.

It's Oxford, young Tristam Colenso is the subject of the Dean's conversation. A clever lad but not clever enough to avoid taking Sir Richard's job of researching the family history at his splendid mansion. Apparently the old aunt liked tormenting priests. If only Tristam had lived in the motion picture age he would have been safe - Just don't go in that room where the priests hung out.

An absolutely brilliant story. The portrayal of the Dean is created with such exactitude it must have been drawn from life. An atmospheric treat.

[Craig Herbertson]

The Calling of the Dead

Another snippet. Sailors often hear names of the dead shouted from the sea in death's roll call. The sort of ghostly tidbit that kept me and schoolboy friends endlessly entertained when we required an immediate dose of nightmares.

The Narrow Way by R. Ellis Roberts is another grand churchy tale covered by Dem above.

The Hour has Come... ...but not the man - another snippet from the pen of Robert Hunt. Should you be strolling the beach in Cornwall watch out for a fellow - he'll be very dark - dashing down to the sea in response to this call. Don't follow him.

So far its been all joy and nastiness but The Phantom Hare by M. H. was perhaps one of the tales that Hayes included for other tastes. It certainly floored me.

If you maltreat young ladies - I think sex is involved but its not mentioned - they come back as a white hare and you die. You might die of boredom before you find this out. The gossipy tone, the Mills and Boon sets and the constant stream of dull characters who spent a lot of time knitting finally wore me down and I skipped bits. Perhaps it wasn't as bad as this but the preceding stories have all been exceptionally good.

[Craig Herbertson]

Was it the Flying Dutchman? - another snippet of the lurid life of Cornwall by Roger Hunt. Ship appears, everyone rushes off to help but on arrival it disappears. Next morning they find that another ship has been wrecked with 'all hands lost' - a poignant enough ghostly bit.

The Iron Pineapple by Eden Phillpotts

Mr Noy, the local grocer is a small bloke with a large obsession. To be more accurate he is simply obsessive and the object of his obsession changes. One minute its grasshoppers, the next a graveyard memorial. His long suffering wife helps him out by grounding him but has no answers when he becomes obsessed by an artist and shortly after an iron pineapple.

Beautifully poised story which draws a fine picture of obsession. The description of Noy's interest in objects and people - the thing - are quite wonderful. To give one example he just has to sit in the artist's chair when the artist has gone for a stroll. Having done so he runs off when he see the artist coming back across the strand. There is no chance the artist can get to him and the poor bloke is left wondering what it was all about. Sounds absurd. well it is but its intriguing absurd. Events move to a surprising conclusion where Noy becomes the vehicle for something else. Top marks.

[Craig Herbertson]

Wish Me Luck by A. H. Manhood follows after a tiny excerpt called 'Give me teeth' which is quite horrible yet fun.

I'd put this tale on the level of 'The Phantom Hare'. It's quite well written, a bit too many flourishes, but a reasonable enough story about a young chap called Dan back from America who annoys the local Squire by wearing a beard. The Squire 'accidentally' tramples him with his horse and makes the mistake of accepting a drink for luck from Dan's mother - after he imparts the sad news. Don't mess with Cornish mums...

The HellHounds is the next excerpt. A typical hammer horror scene with dogs chasing a young chap across the fields. Christianity saves him this time.

[Craig Herbertson]

In Mrs. Lunt by Hugh Walpole we get a somewhat amusing portrayal of two sensitive literary men meeting up. With a few transformations it could well be a description of modern horror writers of the literary bent. But is that Mrs Lunt hovering in the background and if so does she stink?

Another highly enjoyable tale.

[Craig Herbertson]

The Suicide's Spearman. More from Robert Hunt's musings. Commit suicide in Cornwall and they bury you upside down and stick a spear in you to keep you there. This was before blue tac and araldite. The next generation of sceptics will of course dig you up and unleash all sorts of apparitions...

The Birds by Daphne du Maurier follows. As Dem has remarked a fair bit different from the film but stood out for me as something of a 'modern' classic. The old-world male/female relationship is interesting where our hero witnesses all sorts of horrors but never tells the missus even though she really knows something is up. Then she doesn't elaborate on the horror that she has just witnessed. Makes you wonder how anyone got anything done when it wasn't talked about except by cryptic allusion.

On a list of well chosen and delightful snippets The Bargest appears - a spectre hound as big as a bear. Make sure you have trainers on and head for water.

The Spectre Bridegroom by Hunt is a well worn folktale with deep generic significance, matter-of-factedly told by Hunt. It's followed by our final snippet on the Kenidzhek Witch - a somewhat passive old crone who like to spy on people filling buckets of water.

It's a good prelude to R. Chetwynd-Hayes and his The Bodmin Terror: The artist, James who appears to have an 'On the Buses' relationship with his girlfriend Lydia, meets an unlikely troll woman on the road. She's looking after a giant. This story is an uncomfortable mix of fairy tale, horror, pulp and misogyny and at the risk of being ejected from the vault for sacrilege it was in the bottom three of tales in this anthology and seemed to jar with the mood. Frankly, it was impossible to suspend disbelief and go with the story at any level.

However, taken as a whole I can see why Hayes went on to do more. It's a superb anthology, well balanced, interesting and rarely lets you down. The tales are mixed in approach but of a high standard and always entertaining. If I'd owned a publishing house I would have hired him immediately.

[Johnlprobert]

Feb 24, 2011 9:52:33 GMT Craig Herbertson said:

However, taken as a whole I can see why Hayes went on to do more. It's a superb anthology, well balanced, interesting and rarely lets you down. The tales are mixed in approach but of a high standard and always entertaining. If I'd owned a publishing house I would have hired him immediately.

I hadn't realised this was the first one he did until it was mentioned on here. It's a good while since I've read it but I remember cracking through it and overall it was a good read. The concept of regional British horror anthologies is fun as well, and far better than the 'Ghosts of Somerset' type books you find around here. That particular volume details, amongst other dubious "supernatural" occurrences, the activites of The Knicker Snatching Phantom of Portishead. Of course I've mentioned that purely for academic interest only although now I've typed it I think I quite like that title.