Strange Tales #7

by John Gregory Betancourt

When Strange Tales first appeared in 1931 as a pulp magazine, it was clearly something new. Edited by Harry Bates as a companion to Astounding Stories, it combined the supernatural horror and fantasy of Weird Tales with vigorous action plots. Strange Tales rapidly attracted the most imaginative and capable writers of the day, including such Weird Tales regulars as Robert E. Howard, Clark Ashton Smith, Henry S. Whitehead, Hugh B. Cave, Ray Cummings, and numerous others. Had the Great Depression not intervened and killed it after seven issues, the whole history of fantastic fiction might have been different. The January 1933 issue features Hugh B. Cave's classic 'Murgunstrumm,' as well as stories by Robert E. Howard, Henry S. Whitehead, and many more.

144 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2004

About the author

John Gregory Betancourt is a writer of science fiction, fantasy and mystery novels as well as short stories. He has worked as an assistant editor at Amazing Stories and editor of Horror: The Newsmagazine of the Horror Field, the revived Weird Tales magazine, the first issue of H. P. Lovecraft's Magazine of Horror (which he subsequently hired Marvin Kaye to edit), Cat Tales magazine (which he subsequently hired George H. Scithers to edit), and Adventure Tales magazine. He worked as a Senior Editor for Byron Preiss Visual Publications (1989-1996) and iBooks. He is the writer of four Star Trek novels and the new Chronicles of Amber prequel series, as well as a dozen original novels. His essays, articles, and reviews have appeared in such diverse publications as Writer's Digest and The Washington Post.

Reviews

[Andy Oerman · Rating 4 out of 5]

A mixed bag, to be sure, but good overall.

Hugh B. Cave’s Murgenstrumm is the main draw here. It begins great and ends well, but is bogged down by a padded, circuitous middle.

Cairn in the Headland is typically red-blooded, propulsive Robert E. Howard. Another reviewer called it obvious; I would counter with “inevitable,” a distinction in which much suspense can still be derived.

The Derleth tale did indeed bring to mind Blackwood’s Wendigo, but it was still quite entertaining. The story about the plant that just may be alive in the human sense—and deadly jealous—was another good, unnerving read.

The downers were Clark Ashton Smith’s story (approximately the 10,000th take on premature burial) and the Whitehead story, which ended well but wasted a lot of its mere 11 pages getting there.

As gruesome as these tales are, a surprising number end with the defeat of evil by Christianity or Christian symbols. (Which is okay by me.)

[S. Zahler · Rating 2 out of 5]

In this issue of Strange Tales is Hugh B. Cave's Murgunstrumm, an intense, chilling and well told vampire tale that is marred somewhat by an anticlimactic resolution. Still, this story is very atmospheric and the plotting is smartly done in medias res.

The remainder of this issue of Strange Tales is mediocre or bad, featuring a below par tale by the often superb Clark Ashton Smith, whose riff on premature burial seems more like a discarded sketch than an actual story. Also similarly disappointing is the tale by Robert E. Howard that is choked with exposition and obvious. August Derleth provides a sloppy simulacrum of Algernon Blackwood (rather than his more typical Lovecraft worship), and the overwritten tale by Henry S. Whitehead proves to be both obvious and stultifying.

Recommended pulps would include issues of Weird Tales, Dime Detective, The Spider, Operator #5, Secret Agent X, Terror Tales, Uncanny Tales, and Adventure.