Tales of Horror and the Supernatural

I think that his 'The White People' is about one of my favourite pieces of writing ever - especially if you disregard the rather annoying prologue and epilogue, which in my opinion let it down badly. They add nothing whatever to the story. But that central section - the supposed diary narrative of a young girl involved with some very strange happenings - I just cannot get over it. It is just so - so perfect somehow and one of the few pieces I have read that can be said to have totally changed my attitudes towards fiction and imagination. Certainly it is no horror story as such - but it is filled full with that certain pagan frisson of magic that is central to a lot of British horror and dark fantasy even to the present day. I remember when I first read it - it just bowled me over. It is no exaggeration to say that I was so excited by it that I couldn't sleep that night!!

That, of course is a personal 'click' - and yet the pieces remarkable atmosphere is indisputable - probably the most concentrated and powerful example of Machen's tremendous power in the collection.

These stories are exquisitely quiet images of the supernatural and of strange presences and influences, both terrifying and beautiful. Not ghost stories as such and perhaps not even horror stories as such. Certainly he is deeply connected with the genera and there are few modern British writers of the macabre who do not owe him a debt of some sort. But Machen's place in, and connection with the Horror Genre always seemed to me to be a bit diffuse. His writing is so individual that it bears little comparison with any of the familiar horror names and it is to generalise far to much to describe him as a horror writer full stop. However, having said that, his stories are certainly are not without terror - far from it. Perhaps the quietness and even tranquillity of much of the prose only heightens the effect of the relatively few moments of real horror. The climax of The Shining Pyramid for instance and certain episodes from The Terror remain some of the most chilling passages I have read.

This is a Tartarus Press edition - and that means it is both a beautiful and very high quality book. The pale coloured luxury paper dust jackets of Tartarus books are fragile and delicate in some ways. They show up damage and stains like a sore thumb! Certainly they are books to be treasured and looked after, and Tales of Horror and the Supernatural makes a quiet but impressive presence on the bookshelf. If you have never read Machen then this collection represents by far the best way to get acquainted with his work and if you are like me, a devotee of the macabre then it is a chance to acquire some extremely powerful and important writings that are next to impossible to find otherwise.