Algernon Blackwood

Author profile

born

March 14, 1869 in Shooter's Hill, The United Kingdom

died

December 10, 1951

gender

male

genre

Horror, Short Stories, Weird Fiction

About this author

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Blackwood was born in Shooter's Hill (today part of south-east London, but then part of northwest Kent) and educated at Wellington College. His father was a Post Office administrator who, according to Peter Penzoldt, "though not devoid of genuine good-heartedness, had appallingly narrow religious ideas".Blackwood had a varied career, farming in Canada, operating a hotel, as a newspaper reporter in New York City, and, throughout his adult life, an occasional essayist for various periodicals. In his late thirties, he moved back to England and started to write stories of the supernatural. He was very successful, writing at least ten original collections of short stories and eventually appearing on both radio and television to tell them. He als...more Blackwood was born in Shooter's Hill (today part of south-east London, but then part of northwest Kent) and educated at Wellington College. His father was a Post Office administrator who, according to Peter Penzoldt, "though not devoid of genuine good-heartedness, had appallingly narrow religious ideas".Blackwood had a varied career, farming in Canada, operating a hotel, as a newspaper reporter in New York City, and, throughout his adult life, an occasional essayist for various periodicals. In his late thirties, he moved back to England and started to write stories of the supernatural. He was very successful, writing at least ten original collections of short stories and eventually appearing on both radio and television to tell them. He also wrote fourteen novels, several children's books, and a number of plays, most of which were produced but not published. He was an avid lover of nature and the outdoors, and many of his stories reflect this.
English writer of ghost stories and supernatural fiction, of whom Lovecraft wrote: "He is the one absolute and unquestioned master of weird atmosphere." His powerful story "The Willows," which effectively describes another dimension impinging upon our own, was reckoned by Lovecraft to be not only "foremost of all" Blackwood's tales but the best "weird tale" of all time. (Unfortunately, Blackwood, who was familiar with Lovecraft's work, failed to return the compliment. As he told Peter Penzoldt, he found "spiritual terror" missing in his young admirer's writing, something he considered all-important in his own.)

Among his thirty-odd books, Blackwood wrote a series of stories and short novels published as John Silence, Physician Extraordinary (1908), which featured a "psychic detective" who combined the skills of a Sherlock Holmes and a psychic medium. Blackwood also wrote light fantasy and juvenile books.

The son of a preacher, Blackwood had a life-long interest in the supernatural, the occult, and spiritualism, and firmly believed that humans possess latent psychic powers. The autobiography Episodes Before Thirty (1923) tells of his lean years as a journalist in New York. In the late 1940s, Blackwood had a television program on the BBC on which he read . . . ghost stories!
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Books by Algernon Blackwood

Average rating: 3.98 · 3,491 ratings · 431 reviews · 215 distinct works

	Best Ghost Stories of Algernon Blackwood 4.12 avg rating — 469 ratings — published 1938 — 7 editions	My rating:
	The Willows 4.18 avg rating — 380 ratings — published 1907 — 16 editions	My rating:
	Ancient Sorceries and Other Weird Stories by Algernon Blackwood, S.T. Joshi (Editor), S. T. Joshi (Annotations) 4.05 avg rating — 310 ratings — published 1927 — 12 editions	My rating:
	The Wendigo 3.97 avg rating — 281 ratings — published 1910 — 17 editions	My rating:
	Tales Of The Uncanny And Supernatural 4.28 avg rating — 76 ratings — published 1969 — 6 editions	My rating:
	The Complete John Silence Stories by Algernon Blackwood, S.T. Joshi (Editor) 3.95 avg rating — 80 ratings — published 1908 — 25 editions	My rating:
	The Empty House and Other Ghost Stories 3.81 avg rating — 91 ratings — published 1906 — 37 editions	My rating:
	The Man Whom the Trees Loved 3.98 avg rating — 55 ratings — published 1912 — 10 editions	My rating:
	The Damned 3.40 avg rating — 58 ratings — published 1914 — 17 editions	My rating:
	Pan's Garden 4.43 avg rating — 21 ratings — published 2000 — 12 editions	My rating:

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Quotes by Algernon Blackwood

“Why not let people differ about their answers to the great mysteries of the Universe? Let each seek one's own way to the highest, to one's own sense of supreme loyalty in life, one's ideal of life. Let each philosophy, each world-view bring forth its truth and beauty to a larger perspective, that people may grow in vision, stature and dedication.”
― Algernon Blackwood

tags: happiness

59 people liked it

“To the Sabbath! To the Sabbath!' they cried. 'On to the Witches' Sabbath!"
Up and down that narrow hall they danced, the women on each side of him, to the wildest measure he had ever imagined, yet which he dimly, dreadfully remembered, till the lamp on the wall flickered and went out, and they were left in total darkness. And the devil woke in his heart with a thousand vile suggestions and made him afraid.”
― Algernon Blackwood, The Complete John Silence Stories

tags: devil , sabbath , witch

6 people liked it

“No place worth knowing yields itself at sight, and those the least
inviting on first view may leave the most haunting pictures upon the
walls of memory.”
― Algernon Blackwood, A Prisoner in Fairyland

6 people liked it

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Topics Mentioning This Author

topics	posts	views	last activity
SFF Chronicles: 2009 Reads	26	14	Dec 21, 2009 10:05am
SFF Chronicles: May Theme - Nominations	51	10	Mar 17, 2010 11:24am
Supernatural Fict...: SHADOWS	1	9	Sep 08, 2010 12:40pm
Dark Fiction: The Human Chord	12	23	Mar 05, 2011 08:47am
The Sword and Laser: Best public domain SFF books	38	157	Mar 16, 2011 09:00pm
UK Book Club: Literature Help Please!	21	112	Jul 24, 2011 11:40am
Classic Horror Lo...: Best Classic Horror TV Shows	80	70	Jul 27, 2011 10:42am
October Horror 2011: Lovecraft	13	18	Oct 13, 2011 05:28am
Dark Fiction: * Dark Fiction MUST Reads	175	1035	Oct 18, 2011 11:57am

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Algernon Blackwood

Author profile

combine editionsBooks by Algernon Blackwood

Quotes by Algernon Blackwood

Topics Mentioning This Author

combine editions
Books by Algernon Blackwood