The reputation of early-twentieth century British writer Algernon
Blackwood currently resides with his two novellas `The Willows' (1907)
and `The Wendigo' (1910), and with good reason. They are perfectly
crafted horror tales that convey feelings of mystical otherness; they
hint at the possibility that there are forces which lie beyond the
confines of our everyday understanding of the world and which may, given
the right circumstances, manifest to humans. In `The Willows',
`unearthly' creatures are responsible for arousing `some dim ancestral
sense of terror more profoundly disturbing than anything' the
protagonists have ever known.
In `The Wendigo', fear of the
titular monster from Native American folklore is used to create a
discombobulating atmosphere of dread. In both novellas, as in many other
of Blackwood's fictions, wild landscapes (a desolate island, a
labyrinthine forest) act as more than enhancing backdrops to the action -
they become essential elements to the generation of anxiety and
metaphysical awe. Both stories have become staples of the weird literary
tradition, of which Blackwood was undoubtedly a modern master.
Blackwood's slow and measured prose, deeply psychological and
descriptive, grants his fiction an intrinsic cumulative effect. It both
builds up to potent climaxes and brilliantly chronicles the aftermath of
horrific encounters. His poignant narrative pace, sparse use of action
and marked interest in how the mind filters perceptions, rather than on
objective physical descriptions, makes Blackwood truly unique.
Only a handful of other stories in horror fiction manage to conjure up
the type of uncanny ambience found in `The Willows' and `The Wendigo'.
This is why they are included in this collection.
Roarings from Further Out : Four Weird Novellas by Algernon Blackwood
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