Standing Stones That Are Out To Get You

[Swampirella]

I thought I'd start a thread to see how many horror short stories/books there are about standing stones (and/or what may lurk within them). So far I've come up with:

Ringstones - Sarban

Night of the Crone - Anna Taborska (Terror Tales of the Lake District)

In the Quiet In The Dark - Alison Littlewood (Terror Tales of the Cotswolds)

[Jojo Lapin X]

I believe our beloved boardmaster's favorite literary work of all time, THE MOORSTONE SICKNESS, is one, but I could be remembering incorrectly.

[cauldronbrewer]

Apr 29, 2019 19:25:17 GMT Swampirella said:

I thought I'd start a thread to see how many horror short stories/books there are about standing stones (and/or what may lurk within them). So far I've come up with:

Ringstones - Sarban

Great topic, and Ringstones might be my favorite novel on the theme. A few others:

Creep, Shadow, Creep - A. Merritt

Grey Shapes and Maker of Shadows- Jack Mann

The Hanging Stones - Manly Wade Wellman

"Worms of the Earth" - Robert E. Howard (my top pick among all his stories, standing stone-themed or otherwise)

"The Dunwich Horror" - H. P. Lovecraft

"The Menhir" - L. Sprague de Camp

[cromagnonman]

Ah, you beat me to a couple of those CB. But I'll add;

"The Black Stone" by Robert E Howard

"The Curse of the Monolith" by Lin Carter & L.Sprague de Camp

THE SERPENT AND THE BUTTERFLY by Sue Mallinson

and, if man-made columns qualify,

"The Pillars of Melkarth" by Richard L Tierney

[andydecker]

Now that I think about it, hard to believe that Haining, Greenberg or Jones never produced an anthology with that theme. Stonehenge Horror.


But I can't remember a lot of stories with this, which are not already mentioned.


The Wormstone by Derek Tyson.


The Witchfinders by Ralph Comer.

The Devil Rides Out by Wheatley. (The Orgy Scene in the woods.)

I am not sure, but wasn't there at least one  tale by Machen? 

Also I have a hazy recollection of one or two novels in the series Night Hunter by Holdstock. The last one, The Labyrinth? He also used it in his Berserker Fantasy.

I also would have said Casting the Runes, but of course this was only in the the movie Night of the Demon.

[cauldronbrewer]

Then, of course, there’s this:

Behold the look of horror etched upon the face of David St. Hubbins when the standing stone descends ...

[Dr Strange]

"The Temple" by EF Benson.

"Where The Stones Grow" by Lisa Tuttle.

[Michael Connolly]

N. Dennett, "The Menhir", Panics (1934) and The Sorceress in Stained Glass (1971) edited by Richard Dalby.

[cromagnonman]

Apr 30, 2019 9:59:03 GMT andydecker said:

Now that I think about it, hard to believe that Haining, Greenberg or Jones never produced an anthology with that theme. Stonehenge Horror.

In this day and age it would probably be called Monstrous Erections.

[cauldronbrewer]

Apr 30, 2019 11:55:11 GMT Michael Connolly said:

N. Dennett, "The Menhir", Panics (1934) and The Sorceress in Stained Glass (1971) edited by Richard Dalby.

The Sorceress in Stained Glass has always been one of my white whale books, along with Jean Ray's Ghouls in My Grave and E.H. Visiak's Medusa. But reading your post prompted me to search again, and I found a copy of it for sale at a halfway reasonable price, so now I'll have a chance to read Dennett's tale.

[mrhappy]

Children of the Stones by Jeremy Burnham and Trevor Ray.

[ropardoe]

There are a few of those in Ghosts & Scholars.  One by Jeffrey Lee called "The Menhir" springs to mind.  And then there is M.R. James's experience in Brittany, as described to his young friend Sibyl Cropper in "Letters to a Child": "But all this you will say—and rightly, has nothing to do with the rudeness of the Rude Stone Monuments, which I visited in Brittany this spring; and certainly they were extremely rude. Whether it was because they were pro- Boers or Anglophobes or remembered the Battle of Quiberon, which they are quite old enough to do, or whether it was simply because they had never seen a hat exactly like mine before (which is the reason given by those who were with me) I do not know; anyhow that fact remains that I could not pass a single megalith (as they are called—though they prefer almost any name to this) without incurring a series of most damaging criticisms. At first I thought it was boys concealed behind the stones, but when I came to notice one or more of the larger stones shuffling forward andlying down across the road just where they expected my bicycle to pass I realised the true state of the case. After all, perhaps we ought not to be too hard on them. It must be dull work standing there from one year’s end to another".

[Swampirella]

Apr 30, 2019 15:11:34 GMT ropardoe said:

There are a few of those in Ghosts & Scholars.  One by Jeffrey Lee called "The Menhir" springs to mind.  And then there is M.R. James's experience in Brittany, as described to his young friend Sibyl Cropper in "Letters to a Child": "But all this you will say—and rightly, has nothing to do with the rudeness of the Rude Stone Monuments, which I visited in Brittany this spring; and certainly they were extremely rude. Whether it was because they were pro- Boers or Anglophobes or remembered the Battle of Quiberon, which they are quite old enough to do, or whether it was simply because they had never seen a hat exactly like mine before (which is the reason given by those who were with me) I do not know; anyhow that fact remains that I could not pass a single megalith (as they are called—though they prefer almost any name to this) without incurring a series of most damaging criticisms. At first I thought it was boys concealed behind the stones, but when I came to notice one or more of the larger stones shuffling forward andlying down across the road just where they expected my bicycle to pass I realised the true state of the case. After all, perhaps we ought not to be too hard on them. It must be dull work standing there from one year’s end to another".

What a wonderful quote, thanks for posting!

[helrunar]

If you're interested in Pagan-slanted/focused accounts of various people who have had real life experiences in stone circles and other megalithic sites, this book is a very interesting read:

www.goodreads.com/book/show/2245135.Spirits_of_the_Stones

When I was in Ireland with some friends several years ago doing ritual work at a couple of ancient sites, I was very aware of the site Guardians and did my best to be respectful. There were no untoward incidents and the vibes were excellent. Take that for what you will. (I realize this should perhaps be an entry on the "crank book" thread.)

cheers, Helrunar

[Swampirella]

Apr 30, 2019 15:38:47 GMT helrunar said:

If you're interested in Pagan-slanted/focused accounts of various people who have had real life experiences in stone circles and other megalithic sites, this book is a very interesting read:

www.goodreads.com/book/show/2245135.Spirits_of_the_Stones

When I was in Ireland with some friends several years ago doing ritual work at a couple of ancient sites, I was very aware of the site Guardians and did my best to be respectful. There were no untoward incidents and the vibes were excellent. Take that for what you will. (I realize this should perhaps be an entry on the "crank book" thread.)

cheers, Helrunar

Just bought myself a copy, thanks for the link, Steve!