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Fantasy Fan, v. 1, issue 5, January 1934
Page 80
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80 THE FANTASY FAN January, 1934 Supernatural Horror in Literature (continued from page 74) erating toward the same end we may note the activities of those whose aims were somewhat mor[[?]] scientific or philosophical--the astrologers, cabbalists, and alchemists of the Albertus Magnus or Raymond Lully type, with whom such rude ages invariably abound. The prevalence and depth of the mediaeval horror-spirit in Europe, was intensified by the dark despair which waves of pestilence brought, may be fairly gauged by the grotesque carvings slyly introduced into much of the finest later Gothic ecclesiastical[[?]] work of the time; the demoniac gargoyles of Notre Dame and Mont St. Michel being among the most famous specimens. And throughout the period, it must be remembered, there existed amongst educated and uneducated alike, a most unquestioning faith in every form of the supernatural; from the gentlest of the Christian doctrines to the most monstrous morbidities of witchcraft and black magic. It was from no empty background that the Renaissance magicians and alchemists --Nostradamus, Trithemius[[?]], Dr. John Dee. Robert Fludd, and the like--were born. In this fertile soil were nourished types and characters of somber myth and legend which persist in weird literature to this day, more or less disguised or altered by modern technique. Many of them were taken from the earliest oral sources, and form part of mankind's permanent heritage. The shade which appears and demands the burial of its bones, the demon lover who comes to bear away his still living bride, the death-fiend or psychopomp riding the night-wind, the man-wolf, the sealed chamber, the deathless sorcerer--all these may be found in that curious body of mediaeval lore which the late Mr. Baring-Gould so effectively assembled in book form. Wherever the mystic Northern blood was strongest, the atmosphere of the popular tales became most intense; for in the Latin races there is a touch of basic rationality which denies to event heir strangest superstitions many of the overtones of glamour so characteristic of our own forest-born and ice-fostered whisperings. (continued next month) ADVERTISEMENTS FIRST PRINT of A. Merritt's "Moon Pool." The most valuable edition of any science fiction book. What am I offered? Ted Lutwin, 315 Henderson Street, Jersey City, N. J. CLARK ASHTON SMITH presents THE DOUBLE SHADOW AND OTHER FANTASIES--a booklet containing a half-dozen imaginative and atmospheric tales.--Stories of exotic beauty, glamor, terror, strangeness, irony and satire. Price: 25 cents each, (coin or stamps). Also a small reminder of EBONY AND CRYSTAL--a book of prose poems published at $2.00, reduced to $1.00 per copy. Everything sent postpaid. Clark Ashton Smith, Auburn, California. BACK NUMBERS OF THE FANTASY FAN - September, 20 cents; October, November, December, 10 cts. (Only a few Septembers left.) IF YOU HAVE any copies of Weird Tales dated 1923-24-25-26-27, that you would like to part with, please communicate with the Editor.
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80 THE FANTASY FAN January, 1934 Supernatural Horror in Literature (continued from page 74) erating toward the same end we may note the activities of those whose aims were somewhat mor[[?]] scientific or philosophical--the astrologers, cabbalists, and alchemists of the Albertus Magnus or Raymond Lully type, with whom such rude ages invariably abound. The prevalence and depth of the mediaeval horror-spirit in Europe, was intensified by the dark despair which waves of pestilence brought, may be fairly gauged by the grotesque carvings slyly introduced into much of the finest later Gothic ecclesiastical[[?]] work of the time; the demoniac gargoyles of Notre Dame and Mont St. Michel being among the most famous specimens. And throughout the period, it must be remembered, there existed amongst educated and uneducated alike, a most unquestioning faith in every form of the supernatural; from the gentlest of the Christian doctrines to the most monstrous morbidities of witchcraft and black magic. It was from no empty background that the Renaissance magicians and alchemists --Nostradamus, Trithemius[[?]], Dr. John Dee. Robert Fludd, and the like--were born. In this fertile soil were nourished types and characters of somber myth and legend which persist in weird literature to this day, more or less disguised or altered by modern technique. Many of them were taken from the earliest oral sources, and form part of mankind's permanent heritage. The shade which appears and demands the burial of its bones, the demon lover who comes to bear away his still living bride, the death-fiend or psychopomp riding the night-wind, the man-wolf, the sealed chamber, the deathless sorcerer--all these may be found in that curious body of mediaeval lore which the late Mr. Baring-Gould so effectively assembled in book form. Wherever the mystic Northern blood was strongest, the atmosphere of the popular tales became most intense; for in the Latin races there is a touch of basic rationality which denies to event heir strangest superstitions many of the overtones of glamour so characteristic of our own forest-born and ice-fostered whisperings. (continued next month) ADVERTISEMENTS FIRST PRINT of A. Merritt's "Moon Pool." The most valuable edition of any science fiction book. What am I offered? Ted Lutwin, 315 Henderson Street, Jersey City, N. J. CLARK ASHTON SMITH presents THE DOUBLE SHADOW AND OTHER FANTASIES--a booklet containing a half-dozen imaginative and atmospheric tales.--Stories of exotic beauty, glamor, terror, strangeness, irony and satire. Price: 25 cents each, (coin or stamps). Also a small reminder of EBONY AND CRYSTAL--a book of prose poems published at $2.00, reduced to $1.00 per copy. Everything sent postpaid. Clark Ashton Smith, Auburn, California. BACK NUMBERS OF THE FANTASY FAN - September, 20 cents; October, November, December, 10 cts. (Only a few Septembers left.) IF YOU HAVE any copies of Weird Tales dated 1923-24-25-26-27, that you would like to part with, please communicate with the Editor.
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