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Post by cauldronbrewer on Jun 3, 2019 18:54:18 GMT
I think what's she most famous for is her "Damp Man" trilogy. The first story, "The Damp Man" ( Weird Tales, July 1947), was reprinted in Marvin Kaye's Weird Tales anthology, but I don't think "The Damp Man Returns" ( Weird Tales. September 1947) and "The Damp Man Again" ( Weird Tales, May 1949) have ever been reprinted.  I'm sorry to report that "The Damp Man Returns" (recently reprinted in Volume 14 of Gregory Luce's Horror Gems series), is a disappointing sequel. Between awkward recapping of the original and an out-of-nowhere ending, Allison V. Harding seems to have had a difficult time figuring out what to do with a potentially interesting recurring villain. The only new wrinkle is the method of the Damp Man's defeat: {Spoiler}Instead of being frozen like last time, he's boiled this time. On the bright side, Volume 14 features several stories I liked better, including... Manly Banister - Loup-Garou ( Weird Tales, May 1947)  John Giunta ...an old-fashioned but solid werewolf tale by Manly Banister, who seems to have been fond of the theme; he also wrote "Eena," which I remember liking, too. Other entries include "The Screaming Shapes," by Franklin ( The White Wolf) Gregory, an odd tale about suicide-inducing telepathic octopi that can't stand the sight of magic squares, and "The Horror in the Attic," by Alex Merriman (better known as Robert Silverberg, who's light-years away from the likes of Downward to the Earth here), a story about two horny teenagers who pull over at an abandoned house (in a rainstorm, of course) on their way to elope. When the young gentleman goes upstairs to investigate a sound in the attic, the inevitable happens--but in impressively lurid fashion. |
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Post by Jojo Lapin X on Jun 3, 2019 19:23:20 GMT
I read a lot of Allison V Harding some years ago (and reported about it on this board), and the only work of hers that has any merit to speak of is "The Underbody." That one, however, is magnificent and in a category all its own. It should appear in anthologies of great American short stories that children should be coerced to read in school.
Edit: And once again, I left out an "l" in Ms Harding's name.
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Post by cauldronbrewer on Jun 3, 2019 20:51:36 GMT
I read a lot of Allison V Harding some years ago (and reported about it on this board), and the only work of hers that has any merit to speak of is "The Underbody." That one, however, is magnificent and in a category all its own. It should appear in anthologies of great American short stories that children should be coerced to read in school. Edit: And once again, I left out an "l" in Ms Harding's name. I wasn't going to point that out. Next thing, you'll be telling us that Elizabeth Engstrom's When Darkness Loves Us is about a woman who falls down a well on her wedding night. "The Underbody" is by far and away my favorite among the eight Harding stories I've read. For the curious, further discussion of the enigmatic Weird Tales author appears in this thread. |
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Post by Jojo Lapin X on Jun 3, 2019 20:56:18 GMT
Next thing, you'll be telling us that Elizabeth Engstrom's When Darkness Loves Us is about a woman who falls down a well on her wedding night. Are you saying it is not? |
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Post by cauldronbrewer on Jun 3, 2019 21:21:14 GMT
Next thing, you'll be telling us that Elizabeth Engstrom's When Darkness Loves Us is about a woman who falls down a well on her wedding night. Are you saying it is not? In any event, it's the creepiest story I've ever read about a pregnant woman who blunders into a subterranean location--perhaps through a well, perhaps through a sinkhole, perhaps through some other sort of opening in the earth--on or around her wedding night. |
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Post by Jojo Lapin X on Jun 4, 2019 14:33:21 GMT
Are you saying it is not? In any event, it's the creepiest story I've ever read about a pregnant woman who blunders into a subterranean location--perhaps through a well, perhaps through a sinkhole, perhaps through some other sort of opening in the earth--on or around her wedding night. That is so vague it could be the description of the plot of any story, including GONE WITH THE WIND. |
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