Librarians in peril

[dem bones]

Preferably PUBLIC LIBRARIANS, though I don't suppose we can afford to be too choosey.

M. R. James - The Tractate Middoth: (More Ghost Stories of an Antiquary, 1911).

August Derleth - The Slayers And The Slain: (Weird Tales, Sept. 1949: Peter Haining, [ed.], The Nightmare Reader, 1979).

August Derleth - Adventure of the Haunted Library: ('Alfred Hitchcock' [ed], A Hearse of a Different Color, 1962: Borrowers of the Night, 1983).

William Croft Dickinson - The Work of Evil: (Dark Encounters, 1963).

Max Nugor - The Indoor Safari: (Startling Mystery Stories #10, Fall 1968).

Ramsey Campbell - Call first: (Kirby McCauley [ed.], Night Chills, 1975).

Ted Hart - File it Under Fear: (More Stories From Thriller, 1975).

Ramsey Campbell - in the Shadows: (Hugh Lamb [ed.], Return From The Grave, 1976).

Ramsey Campbell - Root Cause: (George R. R. Martin [ed.], Night Visions, 1979).

Jeremy Dyson - Apparitions Of Darkness. Case One: (The Haunted Book, 2013).

Surely there are loads?

[mrhappy]

Jane Jakeman - Lock Me Out! (Ghosts & Scholars 22, 1996)

[humgoo]

Christopher Harman - The Abbey Hoard: (Supernatural Tales #48, 2021). "He's washed his hands of it. Says even if it's from the abbey, it's not suitable for a town library. No, but it is for one of the county's five 'infotainment hubs,' I told him. He's old school, bless him. Thinks we're all about books," says Mr Peake, manager of a town library in Lancashire. He's referring to Mr Cuthbert, a senior and severe librarian, who has called sick (which is not like him) since last Saturday when someone donated a sack of bronze and brass ware to the library. The stuff was found by the sea, and the speculation is that it's from the old abbey, which was destroyed by a great storm in the 16th century. Abbot Hacking has lived on in the locals' memory though, as he was supposed to be a black magician and to have summoned some horrible creature from the sea.

The library being a progressive one, it's inevitable that there'll be a "History and Health Month", with the (supposed) treasure from the abbey on display. Cuthbert having called sick, the responsibility of sorting out the stuff for display falls on Sean, who is not impressed by the stuff but performs the job dutifully. A CPR course (the "Health" part, see) is also held in the library, with the staff members "going down on" a dummy to perform CPR. Sean is repulsed by the dummy (named Les), and is later delighted to know that it has vanished without a trace overnight. Must have been stolen. Or has it? Meanwhile, Sean is fascinated by a tentacle-like bracelet among the artefacts, and ends up pinching it. Bad decision. Like many a black magic-practising abbot, Abbot Hacking is always guarding his treasure jealously.

[Swampirella]

Dec 31, 2022 14:37:37 GMT humgoo said:

Christopher Harman - The Abbey Hoard: (Supernatural Tales #48, 2021). "He's washed his hands of it. Says even if it's from the abbey, it's not suitable for a town library. No, but it is for one of the county's five 'infotainment hubs,' I told him. He's old school, bless him. Thinks we're all about books," says Mr Peake, manager of a town library in Lancashire. He's referring to Mr Cuthbert, a senior and severe librarian, who has called sick (which is not like him) since last Saturday when someone donated a sack of bronze and brass ware to the library. The stuff was found by the sea, and the speculation is that it's from the old abbey, which was destroyed by a great storm in the 16th century. Abbot Hacking has lived on in the locals' memory though, as he was supposed to be a black magician and to have summoned some horrible creature from the sea.

The library being a progressive one, it's inevitable that there'll be a "History and Health Month", with the (supposed) treasure from the abbey on display. Cuthbert having called sick, the responsibility of sorting out the stuff for display falls on Sean, who is not impressed by the stuff but performs the job dutifully. A CPR course (the "Health" part, see) is also held in the library, with the staff members "going down on" a dummy to perform CPR. Sean is repulsed by the dummy (named Les), and is later delighted to know that it has vanished without a trace overnight. Must have been stolen. Or has it? Meanwhile, Sean is fascinated by a tentacle-like bracelet among the artefacts, and ends up pinching it. Bad decision. Like many a black magic-practising abbot, Abbot Hacking is always guarding his treasure jealously.

Sounds delightful, thanks for posting. I must buy Supernatural Tales #48, not to mention #49 & #50.