Page:Weird Tales Volume 7 Number 2 (1926-02).djvu/132

274 I read the first issue ever published, and that led to the others, so now I am a addict. My favorites are stories like The Eternal Conflict and stories of the worlds beyond. I think it's just about impossible to improve this magazine."

Lewis F. Ball, of Havre de Grace, Maryland, writes to The Eyrie: "I am surely an enthusiastic reader of and think it is the best magazine on the market, only it isn't published often enough for me. My favorite story in the December issue is When the Graves Were Opened. It is so different from the ordinary stories, and so well told. But for goodness' sake publish some more stories by H. P. Lovecraft very soon or I'll die of disappointment. My favorite authors are H. P. Lovecraft, Arthur J. Burks, and C. M. Eddy, Jr. Keep  weird."

Dr. C. R. Scheffer, of Delavan, Wisconsin, writes: "The short little yarn, The Fading Ghost, has real literary merit, and one is led to the finish believing the 'ghost' is the real thing, to meet with a genuine surprize. It's a cleverly conceived idea."

Arthur Thatcher, author of the Teeheemen stories, writes: "I have been intending every month to write and express my admiration for the constantly increasing excellence of the material appearing in . The past three months have been splendid in the superlative degree, in my estimation. The Tenants of Broussac is one of the best tales I have read in a long time. The Horror on the Links was another good one, and The Gargoyle was excellent."

Harold S. Farnese, of Los Angeles, writes: "The Waning of a World I have enjoyed tremendously, but with the introduction of earthlike intrigues and earthlike beings on Mars, the climax is somewhat passed and the story seems to pass into the channel of other love-tales. The story by Louise Garwood in last month's issue was wonderful. Somebody ought to tell this lady that she has talents to write a good play, for in all her stories the dramatic element stands foremost. In my opinion she is a born playwright. I vote for The Sea Thing by Long and the reprint of What Was It? by O'Brien as the best stories in the December issue. Keep the magazine weird."

A reader from Fort Sam Houston, Texas, who signs himself with a flock of initials, J. A. E. B. P., writes: "I have been trying for the last five years or so to find some fiction magazine that would suit my taste. Of course I have tried every magazine on the market, and each in its turn has managed to hold my interest for a while. But the sameness of the stories from week to week was appalling. When yon have read one, you have read practically all. It wasn't until last April, when walking into a news stand, that I found It was new to me, so I thought I would give it a trial. Well, that first number got me interested, and since that time I have not missed a copy. I have no intention of missing a copy as long as I can, dig up twenty-five cents. It is the only magazine from which I get any real satisfaction. Let us have more from the pen of Seabury Quinn, H. Thompson Rich, H. G. Wells and Eli Colter. As the best of your writers, Seabury Quinn has my vote by about ten laps."

Well, readers, in the voting for favorite story in the December issue, three stories lead all the rest, but they are so nearly even in votes that it would be unfair to name one and leave out the other two. Here they are: 1. The Sea Thing, by Frank Belknap Long, Jr.; 2. The Tenants of Broussac, by Seabury Quinn; 3. When the Graves Were Opened, by Lieutenant Arthur J. Burks.