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Night Fears: Weird Tales in Translation
With its unique blend of fantasy, horror, and science fiction, Weird Tales was the quintessential pulp magazine of the early 20th century. While classic American writers like H.P. Lovecraft and Robert E. Howard established the magazine’s reputation, Weird Tales also regularly published work from abroad. Its longstanding editor Farnsworth Wright took a keen interest in translation as a literary artform, as did frequent contributors such as Clark Ashton Smith. Night Fears gathers fourteen stories and four poems from the magazine’s initial run, showcasing an eclectic mix of voices and genres, from lurid tales of revenge to brooding meditations on mortality, all congealing into a strange new form of literature, into something…weird.
Among the authors included here are Charles Baudelaire, Alexander Pushkin, Guy de Maupassant, Honoré de Balzac, Leonid Andreyev, Alphonse Daudet, Fyodor Sologub, Friedrich Schiller, Wilhelm Hauff, Jean Richepin, Alexander Kielland, Pedro Antonio de Alarcón, Alphonse Daudet, and Clark Ashton Smith.
Among the authors included here are Charles Baudelaire, Alexander Pushkin, Guy de Maupassant, Honoré de Balzac, Leonid Andreyev, Alphonse Daudet, Fyodor Sologub, Friedrich Schiller, Wilhelm Hauff, Jean Richepin, Alexander Kielland, Pedro Antonio de Alarcón, Alphonse Daudet, and Clark Ashton Smith.
326 pages, Paperback
Published November 30, 2023
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
December 25, 2023
Three Low Masses by Alphonse Daudet. The first story of the book and already we have something instantly becoming one of my all time favourite stories. The Devil himself infiltrates a church in an effort to get the oafish priest to sin. The central image of had me in stitches. And yet the familiarity/solemnity of midnight mass at Christmas combined with the strangeness of the castle chapel on a mountain setting, somehow these elements allow the story to take a serious, haunting turn.
The Tall Woman by Pedro Antonio de Alarcón. Liked how it used framing devices to complicate, "Yo, I saw a ghost once." But yeah, pretty straightforward ghost story.
On the River by Maupassant. Another nice, neat ghost story. The river doesn't come off as all that creepy or even atmospheric though, and I don't take him seriously when he says it's scarier than the ocean in its way.
Lazarus by Leonid Andreyev. I remember bugging out as a kid hearing some ghost story on the radio about a dead mother (father?) who woke up during her wake/funeral and resuming life as normal, except she stopped smiling and refused to talk about her experience. Lazarus brilliantly evokes the same terror.
The White Dog by Fyodor Sologub: awwwoooouuu (wolf howl) <-- me when i get a werewolf story
On a Train With a Madman by Pan-Appan. For such a hokey premise it was actually one of the most compelling stories so far. I think it works by interrupting the narrative with exposition, giving your brain time to mull the situation over?
Poems by Baudelaire and Schiller. Feel like there's not a whole lot I can say about poetry, though I guess they are atmospheric. And short.
A Masterpiece of Crime by Jean Richepin. Sort of a reverse Edgar Allan Poe, who is even mentioned in the story, where a criminal goes crazy because no one will believe his confessions to a series of heinous crimes.
The Queen of Spades by Alexander Pushkin. My favourite story yet. Paints a vivid picture of gambling culture in Russia, as Herman the German, an officer in the engineers of the Russian army, hears a rumour about a friend's grandmother who might know three cards secretly guaranteed a win.
The Severed Hand by Wilhelm Hauff. Really loved the pan-Mediterranean setting of this, as the guy is just constantly hopping from one place to another.
The Mystery of the Four Husbands by Gaston LeRoux. The initial premise and framing story are really interesting, as is the murder method, but the reveal of the murderer and the method both left me wanting a little more. The method really comes out of left field, whereas the true murderer's reveal is fitting, but doesn't quite feel earned, somehow? I dunno, didn't really care for this one.
The Long Arm. A guy returns to his hometown in Germany after years away and meets a friend who who confesses to using black magic to off his his father, his first wife, and their former schoolmaster. The guy hearing the story doesn't quite believe it until he realizes he's next.
A Passion in the Desert by Honoré de Balzac. These sort of Beau Geste stories are so out of fashion that I kept imagining it in my head with the one pop culture analogue I have: those old cartoons where Yosemite Sam is chasing Bugs Bunny through the desert. It works because the main story is a really straightforward one about a muttering man and an animal (it wasn't quite clear to me if it was a lion or a panther, although the part where he talks about the rings on its tail made me wonder if it was a actually a cheetah) becoming friends in the desert but also still ready to kill each other at a moment's notice. There's some really beautiful descriptions of the desert, and the otherworldly element is revealed in retrospect when the narrator describes the desert as 'God without mankind.'
Siesta by Alexander L. Kielland. A dinner party of madness.
A Ghost by Guy de Maupassant. The better of the two Maupassant stories, and the one that feels more like a traditional ghost story.
The Tall Woman by Pedro Antonio de Alarcón. Liked how it used framing devices to complicate, "Yo, I saw a ghost once." But yeah, pretty straightforward ghost story.
On the River by Maupassant. Another nice, neat ghost story. The river doesn't come off as all that creepy or even atmospheric though, and I don't take him seriously when he says it's scarier than the ocean in its way.
Lazarus by Leonid Andreyev. I remember bugging out as a kid hearing some ghost story on the radio about a dead mother (father?) who woke up during her wake/funeral and resuming life as normal, except she stopped smiling and refused to talk about her experience. Lazarus brilliantly evokes the same terror.
The White Dog by Fyodor Sologub: awwwoooouuu (wolf howl) <-- me when i get a werewolf story
On a Train With a Madman by Pan-Appan. For such a hokey premise it was actually one of the most compelling stories so far. I think it works by interrupting the narrative with exposition, giving your brain time to mull the situation over?
Poems by Baudelaire and Schiller. Feel like there's not a whole lot I can say about poetry, though I guess they are atmospheric. And short.
A Masterpiece of Crime by Jean Richepin. Sort of a reverse Edgar Allan Poe, who is even mentioned in the story, where a criminal goes crazy because no one will believe his confessions to a series of heinous crimes.
The Queen of Spades by Alexander Pushkin. My favourite story yet. Paints a vivid picture of gambling culture in Russia, as Herman the German, an officer in the engineers of the Russian army, hears a rumour about a friend's grandmother who might know three cards secretly guaranteed a win.
The Severed Hand by Wilhelm Hauff. Really loved the pan-Mediterranean setting of this, as the guy is just constantly hopping from one place to another.
The Mystery of the Four Husbands by Gaston LeRoux. The initial premise and framing story are really interesting, as is the murder method, but the reveal of the murderer and the method both left me wanting a little more. The method really comes out of left field, whereas the true murderer's reveal is fitting, but doesn't quite feel earned, somehow? I dunno, didn't really care for this one.
The Long Arm. A guy returns to his hometown in Germany after years away and meets a friend who who confesses to using black magic to off his his father, his first wife, and their former schoolmaster. The guy hearing the story doesn't quite believe it until he realizes he's next.
A Passion in the Desert by Honoré de Balzac. These sort of Beau Geste stories are so out of fashion that I kept imagining it in my head with the one pop culture analogue I have: those old cartoons where Yosemite Sam is chasing Bugs Bunny through the desert. It works because the main story is a really straightforward one about a muttering man and an animal (it wasn't quite clear to me if it was a lion or a panther, although the part where he talks about the rings on its tail made me wonder if it was a actually a cheetah) becoming friends in the desert but also still ready to kill each other at a moment's notice. There's some really beautiful descriptions of the desert, and the otherworldly element is revealed in retrospect when the narrator describes the desert as 'God without mankind.'
Siesta by Alexander L. Kielland. A dinner party of madness.
A Ghost by Guy de Maupassant. The better of the two Maupassant stories, and the one that feels more like a traditional ghost story.
November 25, 2024
You think Weird Tales, you think pulp. Garbage. Junk. Trash. Stories not worth the paper they're written on. But this thing here has got guys like Pushkin, Baudelaire, Maupassant (x2), even Schiller! That's the "On the Aesthetic Education of Man" guy! No, there must be some crossed wires here. No way the smart book guys got put in the dime magazine, right? Well, guess what? They did! Turns out this little pulp magazine from back in the day knew a thing or two about world lit-er-a-cher. And now the fine folks at Paradise Editions collected all the best ghost stories and spook 'ems and put 'em in a book for you to read! I thought they were great, and so will you!
July 7, 2025
An excellent curation of translated stories published in Weird Tales between 1924-1940. The editor, Eric Williams (whose own collection of weird shorts titled Toadstones is a must read, made sure that the collection featured lesser known works that maybe haven't gotten the recognition they deserve...Knocked it out of the park.
There were many great stories that were new to me, and that I now think of as some of the best Weird stories I've ever read. Stories like:
The Three Low Masses by Alphonse Daudet
Lazarus by Leonid Andreyev
On A Train with A Madman by Pan-Appan
The Severed Hand by Wilhelm Hauff
The Long Arm by Franz Nabl
Also included a couple of stories by Guy de Maupassant (A Ghost and On The River) stories known to me and also excellent. Also Alexander Pushkin's Queen of Spades - another known to me tale that was quite enjoyable to read again.
If you like Weird fiction or old ghost stories and gothic vibes, definitely check this out.
There were many great stories that were new to me, and that I now think of as some of the best Weird stories I've ever read. Stories like:
The Three Low Masses by Alphonse Daudet
Lazarus by Leonid Andreyev
On A Train with A Madman by Pan-Appan
The Severed Hand by Wilhelm Hauff
The Long Arm by Franz Nabl
Also included a couple of stories by Guy de Maupassant (A Ghost and On The River) stories known to me and also excellent. Also Alexander Pushkin's Queen of Spades - another known to me tale that was quite enjoyable to read again.
If you like Weird fiction or old ghost stories and gothic vibes, definitely check this out.
March 4, 2024
The unsettling “Lazarus” made me into an immediate Leonid Andreyev fan, so I bought “The Abyss,” one of his collections. That translation was not as effective or readable as the one found in “Night Fears.”
A great collection.
A great collection.
July 10, 2024
Received a copy from the editor; very kind of him. This is my first proper exposure to Weird Tales proper. I’ve read a couple Lovecraft stories, but that’s it. I really appreciate this decision to compile specifically translated stories, as I think the art of literary translation is not appreciated as often as it ought to be.
Altogether, a nice time. Some stories less interesting than others, but a couple heavy hitters. Andreyev’s “Lazarus” is one of the best short stories I’ve read, and has not left my mind since I turned the final page. “The Severed Hand” would probably be my next favorite.
It’s really solid stuff, and feels like a properly eclectic collection given the source.
Altogether, a nice time. Some stories less interesting than others, but a couple heavy hitters. Andreyev’s “Lazarus” is one of the best short stories I’ve read, and has not left my mind since I turned the final page. “The Severed Hand” would probably be my next favorite.
It’s really solid stuff, and feels like a properly eclectic collection given the source.
July 23, 2024
Fabulous collection of classic weird fiction, consistently surprising and unsettling. And also somehow kinda cozy? Maybe that's just me...
March 14, 2024
NIGHT FEARS: WEIRD TALES IN TRANSLATION is both an excellent little anthology, and an excellent look into an often-neglected aspect of WEIRD TALES. Editor Farnsworth Wright's decision to include non-English weird tales in translation gave WT a cosmopolitan flair during a period when pulp magazines often considered their readers unsophisticated and focused solely on American heroes and interests, and helped broaden the horizons of even H. P. Lovecraft, who first encountered some of these stories in the pages of WT.
From a strictly pleasure reading perspective, these stories are often different enough from the standard pulp stories to be interesting - they don't share in all of the same tropes, weren't written for that audience, and you can see why they might have stood out from the other strange stories of the supernatural, science fiction, and weird crimes which were on offer.
From a strictly pleasure reading perspective, these stories are often different enough from the standard pulp stories to be interesting - they don't share in all of the same tropes, weren't written for that audience, and you can see why they might have stood out from the other strange stories of the supernatural, science fiction, and weird crimes which were on offer.
November 22, 2025
This might be the least read publication I've reviewed yet on Goodreads. I love pulp horror, so this was an obvious impulse buy during a vacation to Sleepy Hollow a few weeks ago, and I breezed through it pretty quickly. As a reader of folklore and ghost stories, I often find myself focusing on those of English and Colonial American origin, so I was happy to be introduced to the small scale horrors of other cultures here.
July 20, 2024
I selected, edited, and wrote the introduction to this book, which you should take as clear evidence that I thought the stories in here are worth reading. C'mon, its translated fiction that appeared in the pulp magazine Weird Tales in the 1920s-1930s! It's rad as hell! Buy it!
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews