Page:Weird Tales Volume 24 Issue 4 (1934-10).djvu/124



OUR editor has just returned from a three-weeks' vacation, and is appalled at the number of manuscripts waiting for him to read. Stacked neatly in two piles on the desk in front of him, they completely shut off his view of the outer office, thereby aiding him, perhaps, in concentrating on the work in hand, which is the preparation of the Eyrie for this month. Though such a prolific outpouring of manuscripts by authors from all parts of the globe makes the editor work hard to earn his keep, still it would be an ill-favored wind indeed that blew nobody good. The very lavishness of the literary offerings from which to make our selection assures you that will continue to keep up the high standard which it has maintained since this magazine was first issued, more than eleven years ago. The bulk of the manuscripts are from unknown authors, and the editor is always hoping that he may discover among them a new C. L. Moore, a new Robert E. Howard, a new Edmond Hamilton, a new August Derleth, a new Arthur J. Burks, to mention just a few of the literary discoveries that have been made by. Where there is plenty to choose from, a high quality is assured. Our difficulty is not so much in picking out good stories as in deciding which good stories are the best; for it would take a magazine many times the size of to publish all the good stories that are read in the editorial offices.

Edith Hurley, of Welch, West Virginia, writes: "I have been a reader of since its inception, and have followed with much interest the letters in the Eyrie, and the vote for the month's best story. Two stories which struck me as being outstanding, both as to idea and phrasing, received no mention so far as I know. One was The Last Magician, by David H. Keller—a jewel of a story, the idea fresh, and the handling delightful. Donald Wandrei, author of The Lady in Gray, shows a real knowledge of the rules governing the weird story, although his debt to Poe is obvious. So gracefully does he blend prose and poetry, so hauntingly musical are his words, that the result is enchanting. Your readers who laud certain contemporary writers as being the superiors of Poe, stating that none of the latter's stories is sufficiently horrifying as compared with their favorites, overlook the fact that horror suggested is always more effective than the effort to set down concrete facts. There is nothing particularly terrifying actually set out in The Fall of the House of Usher or The Mask of the Red Death, or in Arthur Machen's fantastical collection Ornaments in Jade and his The White People, but no one can be impervious to the horror that lies beneath the surface of these stories. The mind will go only so far; ultimate horror is to be dreamed of and whispered, not set down in black and white. Apropos of all this, I believe almost any lover of the weird will concede that Mr. Lovecraft is the finest craftsman among your contributors. I thought his The Dreams in the Witch-House and The Whisperer in Darkness truly remarkable examples of modern weird fiction. Clark Ashton Smith and A. Merritt are also favorites of mine."

Julius Hopkins, of Washington, D. C., writes: "I have just completed reading the August issue and I find it another superb number. I enjoyed, most of all, The Isle of Dark Magic by Hugh B. Cave. This story has an atmosphere of sinister feeling all the way through, as is the trend of all of Mr.