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The 3rd Mayflower Book of Black Magic Stories
CONTENTS
9 • Black Magic • (1930) • short story by Sydney Horler
26 • Borgia Pomade • (1947) • short story by M. P. Dare
36 • Threshold • (1940) • short story by Henry Kuttner
55 • The Altar • (1953) • short story by Robert Sheckley
62 • The Black Kiss • [Michael Leigh] • (1937) • short story by Robert Bloch and Henry Kuttner
84 • The Cave of Echoes • short story by Helena P. Blavatsky (variant of The Cave of the Echoes 1892)
95 • No. 252 Rue M. Le Prince • (1895) • short story by Ralph Adams Cram
111 • Review Copy • (1949) • short story by Anthony Boucher
123 • Instrument of Darkness • short story by Joseph F. Pumilia
142 • Naturally • (1954) • short story by Fredric Brown
144 • The Dreams in the Witch-House • [Cthulhu Mythos (Lovecraft originals)] • (1933) • novelette by H. P. Lovecraft
187 • Incense of Abomination • [Jules de Grandin] • (1938) • novelette by Seabury Quinn
9 • Black Magic • (1930) • short story by Sydney Horler
26 • Borgia Pomade • (1947) • short story by M. P. Dare
36 • Threshold • (1940) • short story by Henry Kuttner
55 • The Altar • (1953) • short story by Robert Sheckley
62 • The Black Kiss • [Michael Leigh] • (1937) • short story by Robert Bloch and Henry Kuttner
84 • The Cave of Echoes • short story by Helena P. Blavatsky (variant of The Cave of the Echoes 1892)
95 • No. 252 Rue M. Le Prince • (1895) • short story by Ralph Adams Cram
111 • Review Copy • (1949) • short story by Anthony Boucher
123 • Instrument of Darkness • short story by Joseph F. Pumilia
142 • Naturally • (1954) • short story by Fredric Brown
144 • The Dreams in the Witch-House • [Cthulhu Mythos (Lovecraft originals)] • (1933) • novelette by H. P. Lovecraft
187 • Incense of Abomination • [Jules de Grandin] • (1938) • novelette by Seabury Quinn
- GenresHorrorShort Stories
220 pages, Paperback
First published December 1, 1975
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
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December 31, 2024PLACEHOLDER REVIEW
Sydney Horler's "Black Magic" has a bland Holmes and Watson... err, I mean Sebastian Quin and Martin Huish, your standard "occult detectives" ("I've seem more fantastic things than yaddayaddayadda...") hire to help Violet Loring, who was accosted by a strange visitor to her little Cornwall town (a visitor who has since taken up residence in the spooky ol' haunted mansion/castle on the cliff, natch), following which her father and suitor both suffered mysterious maladies... Well, while it's nice to discover a heretofore (to me) unknown occult detective duo, Quin & Huish may be the blandest and most formulaic yet. Suffice to say, the action consists of nothing but climbing a steep hill and watching through a window, with all further action reported "after the fact.". Weak, weak tea.
Sydney Horler's "Black Magic" has a bland Holmes and Watson... err, I mean Sebastian Quin and Martin Huish, your standard "occult detectives" ("I've seem more fantastic things than yaddayaddayadda...") hire to help Violet Loring, who was accosted by a strange visitor to her little Cornwall town (a visitor who has since taken up residence in the spooky ol' haunted mansion/castle on the cliff, natch), following which her father and suitor both suffered mysterious maladies... Well, while it's nice to discover a heretofore (to me) unknown occult detective duo, Quin & Huish may be the blandest and most formulaic yet. Suffice to say, the action consists of nothing but climbing a steep hill and watching through a window, with all further action reported "after the fact.". Weak, weak tea.
February 18, 2023
[Mayflower Books Ltd] (1975). SB. 220 Pages. Purchased from ‘Helios Rare and Interesting Books’.
12 stories, selected by the prolific anthologist Michael Parry.
Volume Three (of six), containing work by the likes of Robert Bloch, M. P. Dare, Henry Kuttner and Frederic Brown.
Once again, widely variable in quality.
“The Altar” (Robert Sheckley) is interesting though banal in denouement.
Bloch’s naff “The Black Kiss” references the great Arthur Machen as an “English writer”!
Joseph F. Pumilia’s “Instrument of Darkness”, though nicely titled, is nothing better than a cheap and vile ‘shocker’.
H. P. Lovecraft’s contribution (“Dreams in the Witch-House”) is a predictably convoluted, turgid, nonsense-fest with a few creepy elements related to strange rooms and somnambulism.
12 stories, selected by the prolific anthologist Michael Parry.
Volume Three (of six), containing work by the likes of Robert Bloch, M. P. Dare, Henry Kuttner and Frederic Brown.
Once again, widely variable in quality.
“The Altar” (Robert Sheckley) is interesting though banal in denouement.
Bloch’s naff “The Black Kiss” references the great Arthur Machen as an “English writer”!
Joseph F. Pumilia’s “Instrument of Darkness”, though nicely titled, is nothing better than a cheap and vile ‘shocker’.
H. P. Lovecraft’s contribution (“Dreams in the Witch-House”) is a predictably convoluted, turgid, nonsense-fest with a few creepy elements related to strange rooms and somnambulism.
April 26, 2020
Some great stories compiled here: some others do feel dated and don’t really pass the test of time but I enjoyed myself for a good portion of them. My favourites were Threshold, The Black Kiss, Naturally, and Dreams in the Witch-House. An interesting themed compilation and I only wish there had been some form of note or prelude to the stories by Michel Parry, either to explain how the tales were found or how they tie in. Not a bad short read!
July 6, 2025
A shocking book of unreal tales based on occult occurrences. The content in some of these stories is quite disturbing. While most are well written considering the subject. I enjoyed every one of them. There are stories of people practising witchcraft for their own gain and obscene rites before satanic altars. An interesting collection and well worth it when looking into the history of occultism
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 26, 2014
The third in a series of black magic-themed horror anthologies, edited by the ace Michel Parry. The contents of this volume are as follows:
BLACK MAGIC, by Sidney Horler. An old-fashioned yarn, set in Cornwall, about a black magician. Likeable protagonists, a decent pacing, but not remotely frightening. Reminiscent of Dennis Wheatley. 3/5
BORGIA POMADE, by M. P. Dare. A creaky old house, a secret room, and an Italian jug full of a mysterious face cream. You can work out what happens from the set-up, and the results are inevitably grisly. The structure of this story is great, with an equal mix of shocks and repulsion. 4/5
THRESHOLD, by Henry Kuttner. One of those "deals with the devil" type stories. Kuttner was a fine writer, and his depiction of a battle of wits here between man and demon is well achieved, with a nice little twist at the end. 4/5
THE ALTAR, by Robert Sheckley. Satanic cults hidden in a small town. Some novelty at work here, and the central conceit is a good one, but it's let down by a predictable climax. 3/5
THE BLACK KISS, by Robert Bloch. A house by the beach, weird nightmares, and slithering sea-beasts lurking beneath the waves. Yep, we're back in Lovecraftian territory with this one, and it's a cracker, loaded with atmosphere. 4/5
THE CAVE OF ECHOES, by Helena Blavatsky. A magician and a shaman attempt to solve a mysterious disappearance. This Russian story is very spooky and a delight to read in the best old-fashioned sense. 4/5
NO. 252 RUE M. LE PRINCE, by Ralph Adams Cram. Haunted house shocker set in Paris. This one rips off THE HAUNTERS AND THE HAUNTED and has the cheek to virtually admit to doing so. Nonetheless, it's quite eerie for what it is. 3/5
REVIEW COPY, by Anthony Boucher. A variant on the old black-magic-revenge theme. The tale is quite simplistic and too similar to many other stories to be that good. 3/5
INSTRUMENT OF DARKNESS, by Joseph F. Pumilia. A woman is haunted by a black dog that belonged to a deceased Satanist. Here's the cuckoo in the nest, the worst story in the collection. The writer is obsessed with bestiality and it doesn't really fit with the rest of the old-fashioned stories in the anthology. 2/5
NATURALLY, by Fredric Brown. Anecdotal demon pact joke. Short and to the point. 3/5
DREAMS IN THE WITCH-HOUSE, by H. P. Lovecraft. Of course, I've read this classic work before, but it was a pleasure to see it collected again here. Imaginative, unique, sickening, chilling, disturbing and atmospheric in equal measure; a real gem from an author who wrote many. 5/5
THE INCENSE OF ABOMINATION, by Seabury Quinn. In which Jules de Grandin investigates a series of suicides linked by a deadly perfume. Not one of the author's best, but still a lively mix of detective fiction and horror. 3/5
BLACK MAGIC, by Sidney Horler. An old-fashioned yarn, set in Cornwall, about a black magician. Likeable protagonists, a decent pacing, but not remotely frightening. Reminiscent of Dennis Wheatley. 3/5
BORGIA POMADE, by M. P. Dare. A creaky old house, a secret room, and an Italian jug full of a mysterious face cream. You can work out what happens from the set-up, and the results are inevitably grisly. The structure of this story is great, with an equal mix of shocks and repulsion. 4/5
THRESHOLD, by Henry Kuttner. One of those "deals with the devil" type stories. Kuttner was a fine writer, and his depiction of a battle of wits here between man and demon is well achieved, with a nice little twist at the end. 4/5
THE ALTAR, by Robert Sheckley. Satanic cults hidden in a small town. Some novelty at work here, and the central conceit is a good one, but it's let down by a predictable climax. 3/5
THE BLACK KISS, by Robert Bloch. A house by the beach, weird nightmares, and slithering sea-beasts lurking beneath the waves. Yep, we're back in Lovecraftian territory with this one, and it's a cracker, loaded with atmosphere. 4/5
THE CAVE OF ECHOES, by Helena Blavatsky. A magician and a shaman attempt to solve a mysterious disappearance. This Russian story is very spooky and a delight to read in the best old-fashioned sense. 4/5
NO. 252 RUE M. LE PRINCE, by Ralph Adams Cram. Haunted house shocker set in Paris. This one rips off THE HAUNTERS AND THE HAUNTED and has the cheek to virtually admit to doing so. Nonetheless, it's quite eerie for what it is. 3/5
REVIEW COPY, by Anthony Boucher. A variant on the old black-magic-revenge theme. The tale is quite simplistic and too similar to many other stories to be that good. 3/5
INSTRUMENT OF DARKNESS, by Joseph F. Pumilia. A woman is haunted by a black dog that belonged to a deceased Satanist. Here's the cuckoo in the nest, the worst story in the collection. The writer is obsessed with bestiality and it doesn't really fit with the rest of the old-fashioned stories in the anthology. 2/5
NATURALLY, by Fredric Brown. Anecdotal demon pact joke. Short and to the point. 3/5
DREAMS IN THE WITCH-HOUSE, by H. P. Lovecraft. Of course, I've read this classic work before, but it was a pleasure to see it collected again here. Imaginative, unique, sickening, chilling, disturbing and atmospheric in equal measure; a real gem from an author who wrote many. 5/5
THE INCENSE OF ABOMINATION, by Seabury Quinn. In which Jules de Grandin investigates a series of suicides linked by a deadly perfume. Not one of the author's best, but still a lively mix of detective fiction and horror. 3/5
December 11, 2015
I haven't read volumes 1 or 2 but when I found this in a second hand book shop I snapped it up thinking it would make great reading for around Halloween. Now I've only just finished it and it's well into December but hey ho.
Some of the stories in here felt quite dated but others were perfectly creepy and enjoyable. The Lovecraft story in here being the only I've read before felt somewhat out of place to me although I realise it presents an alternate take on the idea of witch craft. My favourites included "Threshold" by Kuttner in which a man thinks he can outwit a demon with logic and modern psychology, "The Black Kiss" by Robert Bloch in which a man falls prey to a succubus seeking to gain possession over his mortal body, and "Instrument of Darkness" by Joseph F. Pumilia which is one of those great stories of horror in which the reader is left unsure of the protagonist's sanity.
These days, one would expect some form of introduction or preface in which the editor spoke a little about the authors and stories collected herein and the absence of one is disappointing, although, I can't complain for what I paid for it. However, if one is interested in the theme of black magic I'm sure there are more recent and modern collections available.
Some of the stories in here felt quite dated but others were perfectly creepy and enjoyable. The Lovecraft story in here being the only I've read before felt somewhat out of place to me although I realise it presents an alternate take on the idea of witch craft. My favourites included "Threshold" by Kuttner in which a man thinks he can outwit a demon with logic and modern psychology, "The Black Kiss" by Robert Bloch in which a man falls prey to a succubus seeking to gain possession over his mortal body, and "Instrument of Darkness" by Joseph F. Pumilia which is one of those great stories of horror in which the reader is left unsure of the protagonist's sanity.
These days, one would expect some form of introduction or preface in which the editor spoke a little about the authors and stories collected herein and the absence of one is disappointing, although, I can't complain for what I paid for it. However, if one is interested in the theme of black magic I'm sure there are more recent and modern collections available.
December 13, 2013
Judicious selection of old and new horrow (well it was new then)
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews