The cover art for Magazine of Horror No. 26 (March 1969) is a haunting image by Virgil Finlay, which originally illustrated a story in a 1951 issue of Famous Fantastic Mysteries. There are fewer stories in this issue than in the previous one I reviewed, because the first part of the Seabury Quinn serial takes up the bulk of the pages.

The Editor’s Page
Robert A.W. Lowndes discusses the history of David H. Keller’s “Tales from Cornwall” series, which chronicled events of the Hubelaire family through the centuries. Four stories from the series appeared in Weird Tales between October 1929 and October 1930. Many years later two more were published, one in Marvel Science Stories and another in Stirring Science Stories. After getting so many requests from readers to reprint the series, Lowndes discovered there were a considerable number of unpublished tales, enough for a full-length collection. Lowndes describes the tales as “rich in legend and folklore, rather than tightly plotted stories… There is a touch of grue, to be sure; but the manner is light, almost whimsical.”

The Devil’s Bride by Seabury Quinn (part one of three)
(First publication: Weird Tales, February and March 1932)
Although Quinn wrote over 90 short stories about the occult detective Jules de Grandin, The Devil’s Bride is the only novel starring the character. It begins with the sudden disappearance of a young woman, Alice Hume, during the rehearsal of her wedding nuptials. De Grandin deduces the culprits used a rare narcotic powder known as bulala-gwai to abduct her. In his investigation, de Grandin uncovers evidence to confirm his suspicion that those responsible for the crime are Yezidees, a sect of Satan worshipers from Kurdistan. More kidnappings and mysterious deaths follow, with the demonolaters always one step ahead of de Grandin. To be continued!

The Oak Tree by David H. Keller, M.D.
Although this is the first of Keller’s “Tales from Cornwall” series, it was previously unpublished. It takes place circa 100 B.C., before the Hubelaire family came to Cornwall, and even before they took that name. At this time they reside in Jutland and are known as “The Wolves.” Lord Balder, the aged patriarch of the family, entertains his many grandchildren with various tales, such as the story of the god Balder he was named after. When Balder dozes off, it is his son Holga’s turn to play the storyteller. He recounts the heroic deeds of his father, such as how he slew a giant with his massive hammer. Balder is awakened by a satyr, Pan, who warns him of reavers pillaging the coast of Jutland. Upon hearing this news, he orders Holga to take the family and sail southward to find a new home. Balder and Pan remain to make a stand against the reavers. This story would have fit well in the Ballantine Adult Fantasy Series, alongside works by Dunsany, Cabell, etc.

The Reckoning
The readers’ choice for best story of issue No. 24 was “The Eye of Horus” by Steffan B. Aletti, marking the first time a new story, rather than a reprint, won first place. Tied for second were “Once in Thousand Years” by Frances Bragg Middleton and “Four Prose Poems” by H.P. Lovecraft.

“The Milk Carts” by Violet A. Methley
(first publication: Weird Tales, March 1932)
A new golf course is being built, but every night tracks appear around the twelfth hole. A crazy old man tells the developer he saw people driving milk carts over it. The developer waits that night to discover the vandals. It turns out to be the ghosts of Roman charioteers. No, that doesn’t make any sense to me either.

“Cliffs That Laughed” by R.A. Lafferty
Someone named Galli tells the convoluted tale of a Welsh pirate named Willy Jones. Jones captures an island owned by a Dutch spice merchant, and takes the merchant’s daughter Margaret as his bride. He sets sail again, and Margaret warns him that when he returns many years later, “I will not own you for my husband when you do come back. You will not even know whether I am the same woman that you left, and you will never know.” Twenty years later he returns to find two Margarets. I think this story was supposed to be funny, but it would have been better without the attempts at humor. It also would have been far more effective without the irritating conceit of the storyteller Galli, who frequently gets interrupted by rabble at the bar, and constantly adds details he forgot to mention earlier.

“Flight” by James W. Bennett & Soong Kewn-Ling
(first publication: Weird Tales, March 1932)
A man hears the voices of his brothers who were recently killed in an accident, and he follows them to the afterworld. This dreamlike piece is light on plot, and reads more like a prose poem than a short story.

“The White Dog” by Feodor Sologub
(first publication: The Old House and Other Tales, 1915. The translation that appears here is the same one used in Weird Tales, February 1926.)
One of Alexandra Ivanova’s co-workers calls her a dog. Later she disrobes and howls at the moon. A man mistakes her for a werewolf and shoots her. I really don’t get what the point of this was supposed to be.

It is Written…
This issue’s letter column begins with Lowndes discussing some of the difficulties in running serials in the magazine. When asking readers if he should reprint The Devil’s Bride, 90% of response was favorable, so he couldn’t refuse such an overwhelming demand. One of those opposed to it, Daniel F. Cole, writes in, saying “Psychical detectives are a dime a dozen. You have Hodgson’s Carnacki; Blackwood’s John Silence; Rohmer’s Nayland Smith; etc. etc. And at the bottom of the heap is Quinn’s Jules de Grandin—a very cheap imitation of the others.” Elsewhere, a letter from August Derleth notes that Arkham House intends to keep their volumes of H.P. Lovecraft’s fiction in print, even after the current print runs are sold out.

Reader’s Preference Page
My ballot ranking the stories of the issue from best to worst, with an X denoting dislike:

(1) The Oak Tree
(2) The Devil’s Bride (part one)
(3) Flight
(X) The Milk Carts
(X) Cliffs That Laughed
(X) The White Dog

While 50% of the stories this issue were stinkers, the lengthy serial and the Cornwall tale more than made up for it. But still, let’s hope for a better ratio next issue!

Previous issues reviewed on the DMR Blog:
Magazine of Horror No. 14 (Winter 1966/67)

D.M. Ritzlin founded DMR Books in 2015 with the aim of revitalizing sword-and-sorcery literature. DMR’s publications include reprints of classic material by authors such as Robert E. Howard and Clark Ashton Smith, as well as brand-new collections and anthologies by some of the finest fantasy writers active today. A collection of his own stories, Necromancy in Nilztiria, was released in October 2020. Nilztiria is a world of adventure and strangeness, peopled by lusty heroes and callous villains. The thirteen sword-and-sorcery stories presented in Necromancy in Nilztiria place the emphasis on sorcery and mix in a touch of gallows humor. Click the cover for more information.