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The Man Who Found Out
Mark Ebor, as Dr. Laidlaw knew him in his laboratory, was one man; but Mark Ebor, as he sometimes saw him after work was over, with rapt eyes and ecstatic face, discussing the possibilities of "union with God" and the future of the human race, was quite another. "I have always held, as you know," he was saying one evening as he sat in the little study beyond the laboratory with his assistant and intimate, "that Vision should play a large part in the life of the awakened man-not to be regarded as infallible, of course, but to be observed and made use of as a guide-post to possibilities-" "I am aware of your peculiar views, sir," the young doctor put in deferentially, yet with a certain impatience.
Unknown Binding
First published January 1, 2009
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About the author
Algernon Blackwood
1,368 books1,185 followersAlgernon Henry Blackwood (1869–1951) was an English broadcasting narrator, journalist, novelist and short story writer, and among the most prolific ghost story writers in the history of the genre. The literary critic S. T. Joshi stated, "His work is more consistently meritorious than any weird writer's except Dunsany's" and that his short story collection Incredible Adventures (1914) "may be the premier weird collection of this or any other century".
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.
H.P. Lovecraft wrote of Blackwood: "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.
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.
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.
H.P. Lovecraft wrote of Blackwood: "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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
August 22, 2020
Prof Edor completely changed when translating The Tablets of the Gods. What is written on them? A friend of his and admirer tries to solve the riddle. Interesting story with an eerie undertone. But I had expected a bit more from this tale. To me it was well plotted and started out very compelling but the denouement fell a bit short. Recommended though for fans of psychological horror!
October 25, 2022
Algernon Blackwood is nearly forgotten today: in his own time, he was a legend in fantasy/horror short fiction and HP Lovecraft admired him greatly. He even send him fan mail, but Blackwood disdained his fan's terrible prose and lack of imagination.
While I do like some of Lovecraft's works, he is undeniably a misogynist loner and also a raging racist who, in most of his stories, manages to somehow insult POC and women even when neither makes an appearance!
The good news is that Blackwood isn't like that, at all. So far in all his stories I have read, he has been surprisingly broad-minded, especially for a British man of his time.
The fact that he isn't a horrible bigot I want to spit at at a party is not the only thing to recommend him, either: his prose is polished and lacks Lovecraft's over-indulgence with "eldritch" words. He also understands human emotions much better than Lovecraft and many fellow fantasy writers. His characters are three dimensional, varied and believable. They are not the odd, loner virgin self-inserts that Lovecraft wrote all the time.
What might turn off today's crowd from enjoying his works is that the "mystery" at the center of each story is often left veiled, vague and unclear until the end of the stories.
In this story, a renowned biologist sets up to find the Tablets of God that reveal the truth of the purpose of life, and man. He finds them, but comes back a shell of his former self.
A modern public often wants to be spoon fed everything, like the big reveal in a Marvel movie. Blackwood's approach is indirect, and his goal in telling a story isn't just to scare the reader or entertain, but also to ask questions: what does the shocking knowledge do to a person? And that's a psychological one.
So yes, Blackwood writes about ghosts, and haunted places and mysterious artifacts, but mostly he writes about what they do to the human minds that encounter them! And the answer isn't always madness from fright and alcoholism.
So that's interesting.
I loved this story. I think it would be a great plot for a subdued horror movie.
While I do like some of Lovecraft's works, he is undeniably a misogynist loner and also a raging racist who, in most of his stories, manages to somehow insult POC and women even when neither makes an appearance!
The good news is that Blackwood isn't like that, at all. So far in all his stories I have read, he has been surprisingly broad-minded, especially for a British man of his time.
The fact that he isn't a horrible bigot I want to spit at at a party is not the only thing to recommend him, either: his prose is polished and lacks Lovecraft's over-indulgence with "eldritch" words. He also understands human emotions much better than Lovecraft and many fellow fantasy writers. His characters are three dimensional, varied and believable. They are not the odd, loner virgin self-inserts that Lovecraft wrote all the time.
What might turn off today's crowd from enjoying his works is that the "mystery" at the center of each story is often left veiled, vague and unclear until the end of the stories.
In this story, a renowned biologist sets up to find the Tablets of God that reveal the truth of the purpose of life, and man. He finds them, but comes back a shell of his former self.
A modern public often wants to be spoon fed everything, like the big reveal in a Marvel movie. Blackwood's approach is indirect, and his goal in telling a story isn't just to scare the reader or entertain, but also to ask questions: what does the shocking knowledge do to a person? And that's a psychological one.
So yes, Blackwood writes about ghosts, and haunted places and mysterious artifacts, but mostly he writes about what they do to the human minds that encounter them! And the answer isn't always madness from fright and alcoholism.
So that's interesting.
I loved this story. I think it would be a great plot for a subdued horror movie.
April 4, 2019
A short, simple, and elegant story in the Weird Fiction tradition as only Algernon Blackwood can write. It’s a story of a seeker of mystical wisdom who uncovers tablet which will answer all his biggest questions. Only, it turns out, he maybe would have been better off if they had been left unanswered. Maybe the world would have been better off. Certainly, the life of his assistant would have.
Great spooky fun than will leave you uncomfortable and unsettled in your own skin. And that’s exactly what Mr Blackwood was hoping for!
Great spooky fun than will leave you uncomfortable and unsettled in your own skin. And that’s exactly what Mr Blackwood was hoping for!
January 24, 2021
The Man Who Found Out may contain the first instance of the most (in)famous Lovecraftian trope of all time. "Erudite scholar/learned man discovers an unutterable secret which eventually drives him mad." Needless to say, said secret is never actually revealed to the reader in Blackwood's story. Which is why I'm only giving it two stars, since it's such a cheap thing to do...
April 15, 2011
Argh. I want to know what those papers said!
A tight, suspenseful short story. I quite enjoyed it!
A tight, suspenseful short story. I quite enjoyed it!
July 7, 2024
“So horrible yet so obvious!”
This messed with me! I read this right after reading Blackwood’s first cosmic horror short story, “The Willows.” I don’t want to spoil it but I found “The Man Who Found Out” MUCH more effective in its horror. The short story is only 15 to 30 pages (depending on the format) so I don’t want to give away its premise. I will say this lingered with me, without really revealing anything at all. Proof that there is nothing more terrifying than what your own imagination can stir up.
This messed with me! I read this right after reading Blackwood’s first cosmic horror short story, “The Willows.” I don’t want to spoil it but I found “The Man Who Found Out” MUCH more effective in its horror. The short story is only 15 to 30 pages (depending on the format) so I don’t want to give away its premise. I will say this lingered with me, without really revealing anything at all. Proof that there is nothing more terrifying than what your own imagination can stir up.
July 19, 2018
So I tried to give this a 4 Star but No, a 3.5 Maximum.
A very Bold start, with a well known Biologist seeking knowledge beyond our world, going for a Journey, finding it, and Losing his Soul for knowing this Knowledge. Yet when His friend Dr Laidlaw knows about this knowledge as well, he seeks to forget it.
Maybe it’s a Novel predicting the inevitable doom of Mankind’s future, telling us that living in ignorance of this inevitability is a blessing in disguise no matter how much we yearn for knowing what the future behold.
Maybe it’s a Novel saying that ‘Time’ makes no difference, and that we have no choice when it comes to reaching our dreams or running from our fears, and that death is the one solid truth in our world.(evidenced by Dr. Laidlaw destroying yhe Clock)
Maybe it’s a Novel that tells there is nothing beyond our world, that our time here is measured and by the end of it, nothing awaits us but a void of no means of purpose.(Evidenced by the sudden loss of interest in life by both Doctors upon knowing the truth)
Maybe it’s a Novel saying that this unknown future of ours that drives us to get out of bed, seeking more knowledge and seeking for our purpose. And once that Unknown future unfolds its secrets, our life has no longer a meaning or a purpose.
It’s this open ending that makes me irritated, I just wanted to know more.
A very Bold start, with a well known Biologist seeking knowledge beyond our world, going for a Journey, finding it, and Losing his Soul for knowing this Knowledge. Yet when His friend Dr Laidlaw knows about this knowledge as well, he seeks to forget it.
Maybe it’s a Novel predicting the inevitable doom of Mankind’s future, telling us that living in ignorance of this inevitability is a blessing in disguise no matter how much we yearn for knowing what the future behold.
Maybe it’s a Novel saying that ‘Time’ makes no difference, and that we have no choice when it comes to reaching our dreams or running from our fears, and that death is the one solid truth in our world.(evidenced by Dr. Laidlaw destroying yhe Clock)
Maybe it’s a Novel that tells there is nothing beyond our world, that our time here is measured and by the end of it, nothing awaits us but a void of no means of purpose.(Evidenced by the sudden loss of interest in life by both Doctors upon knowing the truth)
Maybe it’s a Novel saying that this unknown future of ours that drives us to get out of bed, seeking more knowledge and seeking for our purpose. And once that Unknown future unfolds its secrets, our life has no longer a meaning or a purpose.
It’s this open ending that makes me irritated, I just wanted to know more.
July 7, 2019
I read this for a read-a-ton. I found it on a compilation of horror stories called “classic tales of horror”.
I don’t doubt it’s classic- but it’s got very little horror, mystery or suspense.
The whole story is built on these tables of which the contains we never find out. I suspect this is because after all build up anything the tables had would have been underwelming- and so the readers minds fill in the blanks. Even so, it could have been better executed even without the reveal. Maybe it’s to short to have any sort of impact, maybe more time spent understanding the characters and their peculiarities would help in the feeling it’s supposed to invoque - one where the tables hold an importance to the reader.
I don’t doubt it’s classic- but it’s got very little horror, mystery or suspense.
The whole story is built on these tables of which the contains we never find out. I suspect this is because after all build up anything the tables had would have been underwelming- and so the readers minds fill in the blanks. Even so, it could have been better executed even without the reveal. Maybe it’s to short to have any sort of impact, maybe more time spent understanding the characters and their peculiarities would help in the feeling it’s supposed to invoque - one where the tables hold an importance to the reader.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 23, 2023
The truth? You can’t handle the truth. Humankind cannot bear very much reality and should you translate the Gods you will be decrying “skellingtons” as damned lies.
August 17, 2023
Blackwood's tale of unearthing what was never meant to be found is, of course, a classic staple of the cosmic horror genre. The chronicle of a young man watching his predecessor and superior steadily crumble beneath the weight of knowledge he dedicated his whole life to is chilling, as we fearfully anticipate his pupil falling to the same fate. If we were to draw parallels to common real world issues, one could argue this is a parallel to the ever-present fear of dedicating yourself to a specific career or scientific field, only for the passion for said work slowly withering overtime.
A good cosmic horror author will understand that the imagination can prove to be the audience's own worst enemy, and that shows in Blackwood's short story; He provides just enough hints regarding what Prof. Ebor and Dr.Laiward learned (it apparently originated from ancient worship, it's written in an obscure language, it causes the concepts of death and time to lose all meaning), without spoon feeding his readers a possibly anticlimatic/convoluted explanation, letting the unspeakable nature of the text, alongside its mind-altering impacts, do all the work.
The only major flaw I'd attribute to this work is the way the story comes to a halt after Laiward's hypnotism, even if it's a understandable outcome that was set up by both his innate desire to unlearn what he read and him burning the tablets' only translation. Alongside leaving the unexplored implications of what the tablet would do to Laiward dead in the water--with the readers being left little in the way of interpretation regarding Laiward's happy ending--it also reduces the supposed reach of the tablet's revelations and inadvertently makes Prof. Ebor--this paragon of knowledge and curiosity--seem somewhat stupid by comparison. The way his decline was set up implied that all attempts to erase both the tablets and his memory of them had failed, giving Laiward the titanic task of trying not to succumb to his mentor's fate after reading his translation. But, in reality, all Prof. Ebor had to do was walk two blocks from his office to get his mind-wiped.
A good cosmic horror author will understand that the imagination can prove to be the audience's own worst enemy, and that shows in Blackwood's short story; He provides just enough hints regarding what Prof. Ebor and Dr.Laiward learned (it apparently originated from ancient worship, it's written in an obscure language, it causes the concepts of death and time to lose all meaning), without spoon feeding his readers a possibly anticlimatic/convoluted explanation, letting the unspeakable nature of the text, alongside its mind-altering impacts, do all the work.
The only major flaw I'd attribute to this work is the way the story comes to a halt after Laiward's hypnotism, even if it's a understandable outcome that was set up by both his innate desire to unlearn what he read and him burning the tablets' only translation. Alongside leaving the unexplored implications of what the tablet would do to Laiward dead in the water--with the readers being left little in the way of interpretation regarding Laiward's happy ending--it also reduces the supposed reach of the tablet's revelations and inadvertently makes Prof. Ebor--this paragon of knowledge and curiosity--seem somewhat stupid by comparison. The way his decline was set up implied that all attempts to erase both the tablets and his memory of them had failed, giving Laiward the titanic task of trying not to succumb to his mentor's fate after reading his translation. But, in reality, all Prof. Ebor had to do was walk two blocks from his office to get his mind-wiped.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 21, 2022
This is the third story I've read from Mr. Blackwood which was first published in 1912 according to ISFDB. I have to say I didn't enjoy this as much as I expected to considering it was written shortly after the Willows (1907) and The Wendigo (1910) - arguably his two most popular and beloved stories - so I expected this to be representative of him at the top of his game. It is an interesting story open to interpretation but it seemed to me that it was basically a "what if" tale about finding out the unknowable regarding why we're here and what may happen to us after we die. Unfortunately, instead of the good news that most religions promise awaits us if we behave accordingly, it just turns out to be a bleak truth that makes this life seem pointless and not worth living in any longer than necessary. My main issue with the story is that Professor Ebor learns this secret knowledge and it ruins his livelihood and ultimately shortens his life and yet he still decides to leave this knowledge intact for his assistant to suffer the same fate after he dies. I suppose if this was better explained I'd have enjoyed it a little more.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 16, 2024
3.25⭐
The Man Who Found Out (A Nightmare) was co-written with Wilfred Wilson and published in 1912. It is a horror short story about a researcher, Professor Mark Ebor who embarks upon an expedition to find "The Tablet of the Gods". He has dreamed a vision since his childhood. that he will be the one to find the Tablets which will reveal the secret of the world, the secret of the soul, the meaning of life and death and the explanation of our being here, and to what great end we are destined to achieve. However, his discovery leads to a devasting revelation.
The Man Who Found Out (A Nightmare) was co-written with Wilfred Wilson and published in 1912. It is a horror short story about a researcher, Professor Mark Ebor who embarks upon an expedition to find "The Tablet of the Gods". He has dreamed a vision since his childhood. that he will be the one to find the Tablets which will reveal the secret of the world, the secret of the soul, the meaning of life and death and the explanation of our being here, and to what great end we are destined to achieve. However, his discovery leads to a devasting revelation.
March 3, 2025
The Man Who Found Out is a great cosmic horror.
One that plants a bomb that I don't think will set off until well after I read it. A Horror story that is not quantifiable with a 'boogeyman' or designated horror. Rather the horror of knowledge and what happens to one once they become wise with the information that was sought after.
I really enjoyed following these two scientists and the pace of this story. This story I think is one of those that no matter how many times you read it you can pick up something new each time.
I look forward to continuing the work of this forgotten author. Grateful to the 'Week of Weird' challenge for introducing me to this book.
One that plants a bomb that I don't think will set off until well after I read it. A Horror story that is not quantifiable with a 'boogeyman' or designated horror. Rather the horror of knowledge and what happens to one once they become wise with the information that was sought after.
I really enjoyed following these two scientists and the pace of this story. This story I think is one of those that no matter how many times you read it you can pick up something new each time.
I look forward to continuing the work of this forgotten author. Grateful to the 'Week of Weird' challenge for introducing me to this book.
December 23, 2024
This is the fifth story I’ve read by Algernon Blackwood and it is my least favorite so far. Everything I have read up until this point has been at the very least interesting and thought provoking. This story just had very little effect on me. Don’t get me wrong it is very well written, but not in a way that evokes any awe or wonder that his previous works have managed to do. I do hope to come back to this one later and hopefully I will have a change of heart. For now I just thought this was kind of a letdown.
July 16, 2025
An astonishing read, with captivating prose and thought-provoking characters. This short story leaves readers with a sense of uneasiness and wonder. I highly recommend it to any horror lover or classic literature enthusiast.
June 6, 2018
This was a somewhat cool little story but lacked the magic that I think his other stories have.
October 12, 2021
This kept me entertained and it was easy to follow. This would've easily been 4 stars but I feel like I want more from this story
August 17, 2023
No 💩, time is only that which is _____.
October 17, 2023
I actually REALLY enjoyed this one. The mother of all 'forbidden knowledge' stories.
July 26, 2024
Interesting enough.
August 15, 2024
A great quick story that really leaves you wanting more!!!
What did the papers say!!!!!????
What did the papers say!!!!!????
October 11, 2025
Wish I knew what the slabs said but I liked this story anyways
November 6, 2025
It’s basically an early 20th century Mormon horror short story.
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews