“Good Lord!” said my companion. “Who in the world is the fool out there? He will be cut off by the tide and won't be able to get out of the bay by now. He will have to come up by the cliff path. I had better warn him.” And he let out a halloo.
But the wind was blowing towards us, and the figure, out there in the noise of the surf, did not hear. My companion went striding over the sand towards the solitary wader, but I, who had somewhat better eyes than he had, did not elect to accompany him, for I had seen long hair blown out like seaweed and the flying folds of a skirt.
I saw him walk into the ankle-deep water that creamed over the flat sands, forerunner of the advancing line of breakers. He called again to the wader, who turned but did not come towards him, but instead held out her hand with a strange welcoming gesture. Slowly, as if fascinated by that summoning hand, he advanced into the water, till he was within touch of her. The first of the advancing waves smote her knees and ran past her in yeasty foam. The next smote her hip; the tide was rising fast with the wind behind it. A shower of over-carried spray hit him in the face. Still the girl would not move, and the waves were mounting up perilously behind her. It was not until he caught the outstretched hand that she yielded and let him draw her ashore.
They came towards me over the sand, still hand in hand, for they had forgotten to loosen their fingers, and I saw that the life had come back to his face and that his eyes sparkled with the brilliancy of fire. I drew back into the shadow of a rock, and oblivious of me, they passed up the steep path to the cliff dwelling. A glow of firelight shone out as he opened the door to admit her, and I saw her wet hair streaming over her shoulders like seaweed and his profile was like the rock-cut statue of a Roman emperor.
Above this eruptive cadaver, the head, tumultuous, enormous, encircled by a disordered crown of thorns, hung down lifeless. One lacklustre eye half opened as a shudder of terror or of sorrow traversed the expiring figure. The face was furrowed, the brow seamed, the cheeks blanched; all the drooping features wept, while the mouth, unnerved, its under jaw racked by tetanic contractions, laughed atrociously.
FROM LA BAS BY JK HUYSMANS
FURTHER READING
Many of the stories in this collection were first published in pamphlets, journals, or what would have been considered “zines” of their day. The following is our attempt to track the first publications, or at least some of the earliest ones containing the author's works. We realize there may be discrepancies, as so many editions of the stories ran and were included in collections not unlike the one you are holding in your hands. This book is meant as an homage to such collections, and we hope that it inspires you to seek out more stories by the authors or thumb through the original collections.
Sir Edward Bulwer Lytton's “The House and the Brain” had an alternate title of “The Haunters and the Haunted” and was published in The Haunters and the Haunted: Ghost Stories and Tales of the Supernatural, and edited by Ernest Rhys, London: Daniel O'Connor, 1921.
Montague Rhodes James' “Casting the Runes” was published in More Ghost Stories of Antiquary, London: Edward Arnold. 1911.
Mary Wilkens Freeman's “Luella Miller” was published in The Wind in the Rose-Bush and Other Stories of the Supernatural. New York: Doubleday, Page & Company. 1903.
Ambrose Bierce's “An Inhabitant of Carcosa” was first published in the San Francisco News Letter and California Advertiser. San Francisco. 1886.
Ralph Adams Cram's “No. 252 Rue M. le Prince” was first published in Black Spirits & White: A Book of Ghost Stories. Chicago: Stone and Kimball, 1895.
Aleister Crowley's “The Testament of Magdalen Blair” was first published in The Equinox: Vol. 1, No. 9 by in London, 1913.
Robert W. Chamber's “The Messenger” was published in Famous Modern Ghost Stories, selected with an introduction by Dorothy Scarborough, PhD. G.P. New York and London: Putnam's Sons. 1921.
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's “The Ring of Thoth” was published as part of the collection The Captain of the Pole Star and Other Tales. London: Lonngman's, Green, and Co. 1890.
Bram Stoker's “The Dream of Red Hands” was published in The Sketch: A Journal of Art and Actuality. Ingram Brothers. London. 1894, and then as part of the collection Dracula's Guest. Ireland: George Routledge and Sons. 1914.
Edgar Allan Poe's “Ligeia” was published in The American Museum in 1838, Baltimore. It was republished, revised, and edited throughout Poe's life. This version appeared first in Famous Modern Ghost Stories and selected with an introduction by Dorothy Scarborough, PhD. G.P. New York and London: Putnam's Sons. 1921.
Frank Belkamp Long's At the Home of Poe was first published in The United Amateur, Volume XVI, No. 4. Georgetown, IL: United Amateur Press Association. 1916.
Howard Phillips Lovecraft's The Alchemist was first published in The United Amateur, Volume XVI, No. 4. Georgetown, IL: United Amateur Press Association. 1916.
Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu's “Dickon the Devil” was published in numerous collections. It appeared first in London Society, Christmas Number, 1872, and later in Madam Crawl's Ghost and other Tales of Mystery, collected and edited by M.R. James, London: G. Bell & Sons Limited, 1923.
Arthur Machen's “The White People” published in The House of Souls, London: Grant Richards Ltd. 1906.
Dion Fortune's “The Sea Lure” was first published as part of The Secrets of Dr. Taverner, London: Society of the Inner Light. 1922.
ABOUT THE EDITOR
Lon Milo DuQuette is a bestselling author and lecturer on such topics as magick, tarot, and the Western Mystery Traditions. He is currently U.S. Deputy Grand Master of Ordo Templi Orientis and is on the faculty of the Omega Institute and the Maybe Logic Academy. Among his many books, he is the author of My Life with Spirits, Understanding Aleister Crowley's Thoth Tarot, Enochian Vision Magick, and Tarot of Ceremonial Magick. He is also the curator for the Magical Antiquarian Curiosity Shoppe series of e-books, which includes Robert Chamber's The King in Yellow and Sir Edward Bulwer-Lytton's Zanoni. He lives in Costa Mesa, CA with his beautiful wife Constance. Visit Lon online at: www.facebook.com/lonmilo.
To our Readers
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Weiser Book of Horror and the Occult Page 34