Description: English writer John Metcalfe (1891-1965) was a major contributor to weird literature in the early decades of the twentieth century. His two collections, The Smoking Leg and Other Stories (1925) and Judas and Other Stories (1931), contain an array of outstanding work. H.P. Lovecraft thought that “The Bad Lands” contained “graduations of horror that strongly savour of genius.” The story may well have been an inspiration upon Lovecraft’s own tale of regional horror, “The Colour Out of Space.” Metcalfe’s work is unique in fusing supernatural and psychological horror, and the author is also adept in depicting social and domestic strife. “The Tunnel” is a chilling narrative of psychological horror about a man who perennially seeks to escape from unjust imprisonment. In “Time-Fuse,” an experiment in spiritualism goes hideously wrong at the end. “The Firing-Chamber” tells of a cleric who becomes so fascinated with the accidental death of a man in a firing-chamber that he is impelled to undergo the experience himself…with unexpected results. In the 1950s Metcalfe compiled a third volume, The Feasting Dead and Other Stories, and offered it to August Derleth of Arkham House. Derleth published the title novella (a superb vampire tale) as a separate book and included other tales from the collection in his anthologies. Some of these tales venture into the genre of science fiction, while “Beyondaril” is an effective tale of fate and precognition. This volume collects for the first time the complete short fiction of this skilled and distinctive writer, including numerous previously unpublished stories that Metcalfe wrote late in life.This collection is enclosed in a handsome slipcase with ribbon marker and interior illustrations by Rainer Kalwitz, and a stunning dustjacket by Ben Baldwin. The complete contents are shown below. The edition is limited to 400 signed and numbered copies, with around 20 unsigned copies. Each copy is signed by S. T. Joshi.
Price: 340 USD
Location: Phoenix, Arizona
End Time: 2024-11-25T00:33:00.000Z
Shipping Cost: 7.63 USD
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Item Specifics
All returns accepted: ReturnsNotAccepted
Binding: Hardcover
Language: English
Special Attributes: 1st Edition, Collector's Edition, Dust Jacket, Illustrated, Limited Edition, Numbered
Signed: Yes
Author: john metcalfe
Publisher: Centipede Press
Topic: weird fiction
Subject: Horror
