Frank Belknap Long

Frank Belknap Long (1901-1994) was born on this date, April 27.  A correspondent of Lovecraft, Long was a prolific author in the 1920s, 30s, and 40s. He wrote science fiction as well as weird fantasy and horror.  His quality varied quite a bit, which is to to be expected when an author is that prolific.When he was good, he was very good.  Case in point, “The Hounds of Tindalos” is, in my opinion, one of the best Mythos stories ever written.  You may not agree, but that’s okay. It’s a free country. You can be wrong if you want to.

Let’s look at two of his shorter works.  Time has been tight today, or I would have reviewed a longer piece, such as “The Horror From the Hills.”  Maybe some other time.

“A Visitor From Egypt” was first published in the September 1930 issue of Weird Tales. The curator of museum in New England has just opened an exhibit on ancient Egypt when a distinguished scholar from England drops in to see the exhibit.

Or so  he says. The man is covered from head to toe with only his eyes visible. He says it was due to injuries he sustained while on the ship from England.

The curator and the Englishman have a rather heated discussion about Osiris, with the English scholar claiming Osiris was a much darker deity than modern scholars realize.

At one point, he excuses himself to go to the restroom, which is in the basement. While he’s gone a fire breaks out in the basement.

While the curator and the staff are trying to extinguish the flames, the English scholar runs past them to the exhibit on the floor above. The curator follows and finds a pile of clothes on the floor. What he finds when he catches up to his visitor, well, I’ll let you read the story. I especially liked the ending.

“A Visitor From Egypt” was typical of the type of things Weird Tales was publishing in the late 20s and early 30s, but even so, it’s a well done tale. I quite liked it.

Despite having a title reminiscent of one of Lovecraft’s best stories, “The Whisperer in Darkness”, the next story, “The Creeper in Darkness” isn’t quite as good. Or maybe it just wasn’t what I was expecting. It’s more lighthearted.

It was published in the April 1939 issue of Strange Stories. An antiquarian is poking around in a private home in Salem that has opened some of its rooms as a museum. That’s when a familiar appears and informs the man that he was born in that house and his grandfather was a member in good standing of a coven. He’s the family familiar, if you will, and it’s his job to possess the antiquarian.

While the premise is dark,  unlike “A Visitor From Egypt”, “The Creeper in Darkness” has a happier ending.  This is a story I could see having been published in Uknown but not Weird Tales.

Both of these stories, along with “The Hounds of Tindalos”, “The Horror From the Hills”, and many other stories and poems are available in The 8th Golden Age of Weird Fiction Megapack: Frank Belknap Long Vol. 1 (yes, there is a second volume).  It’s only ninety-nine cents.  That’s a bargain, so check it out.