Weird Fiction: Dark Classic Authors

Has anyone heard of the genre Weird Fiction? Me neither. Funny, we read and watch this genre all the time! It’s a subgenre of speculative fiction (umbrella term for fantastical fiction, i.e. fantasy, horror, sci-fi, etc.) and includes the ghost story and other tales of death.

photo credit: Marxchivist via photopin cc    

Cool! 

Apparently it developed in the 19^th and 20^th centuries.  Click on the names of the following authors to learn more:

H.P. Lovecraft (August 20, 1890 – March 15, 1937) – He wrote horror, science fiction, and fantasy. He is known for his philosophy that he called cosmicism or cosmic horror, a belief that life is incomprehensible to people and the universe is ultimately against the interests of man. His stories usually show indifference to common beliefs and ideas. Also known for the Cthulhu Mythos story cycle, Necronomicon, and a fictional grimoire of magical lore.

photo credit: cdrummbks via photopin cc

Lord Dunsany (24 July 1878 – 25 October 1957) – Edward John Moreton Drax Plunkett was the 18th Baron of Dunsany. He was Irish and wrote hundreds of books, short stories and successful plays. This guy even lived in a castle.

Arthur Machen (3 March 1863 – 15 December 1947) – was a Welsh and mystic,. He is known for his supernatural, fantasy, and horror fiction including a novella called The Great God Pan, which Steven King called one of the best horror works in English. Machen is also known for helping to create the legend of the Angels of Mons.

M.R. James (1 August 1862 – 12 June 1936) - This guy wrote ghost stories that are considered some of the best in his genre. He is credited with redefining the ghost story by not using Gothic clichés of his time and by using realism in his settings. He is known as the creator of the “antiquarian (ancient times) ghost story.”

photo credit: California Cthulhu (Will Hart) via photopin cc

Clark Ashton Smith (13 January 1893 – 14 August 1961) – Hey an American! Usually the classics aren’t written by Americans. I’m excited. Smith was a self-educated poet, sculptor, and a painter in addition to being an author of fantasy, horror, and science fiction short stories. As a poet, he is remembered as “The Last of the Great Romantics” and “The Bard of Auburn.” Readers said that no one so loved a well-rotted corpse since Edgar Allen Poe. Tell-tale qualities of his writing include a large vocabulary, a cosmic perspective, and a vein of mocking/cynical humor and rude sexual humor. Yay!

Want to know more about Modern Weird Fiction? Check it out:

Weird Tales Magazine 

Weird Fiction Review 

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

My little summaries above are based on information from the Weird Fiction entry in Wikipedia  – I know it’s a scandal, but don’t deny it. You use it! Nevertheless, clicking on each name will lead you to an alternative resource if you hate Wikipedia that much.