Algernon Blackwood

Holy Man of Supernatural Fiction

Algernon Blackwood was a prolific, popular, and influential writer, often associated with “weird fiction,” but whose work spans an array of genre, subject, form, and audience.

“The Willows,” his best known work and Lovecraft’s favorite supernatural tale, narrates a pilgrimage by two men across central Europe⁠—a journey Tolkien’s readers will recognize as Frodoesque. Both Lovecraft and Tolkien acknowledged Blackwood’s influence and this influence is unmistakable any time Tolkien as author finds himself among ancient trees, climbing a mountain, or afloat on a river. For Lovecraft, it is Blackwood who transforms the “higher space” of Einstein’s annus mirabilis into a perilous firmament to be filled with cosmic horrors and it is Blackwood who first writes the eldritch text that is to become Lovecraft’s Necronomicon. But, while Blackwood was an explorer of the macabre corners of “ghostland;” he was captivated by the beauty of nature, believed in “traveling light,” and never confined himself anywhere.

It had been one of Blackwood’s life goals to become a “holy man.” He lived itinerant, unwed, and wrote only because he “could not keep it back.” His words were published in books, magazines, journals, newspapers; presented on stage; and broadcast on radio and television. Writing for any reader, he was published by The Country Gentleman, Lady’s Realm, and⁠—⁠for children⁠—⁠in The Merry Go Round. He wrote for both The Methodist Magazineand The Occult Review. One of his lesser-read stories was printed exclusively by The Burrowa News of New South Wales, in Austalia.

Even Blackwood lost count of what he had published, so that no definitive bibliography exists. Though the present collection is not exhaustive⁠—doubtless some works are lost to time⁠—it is the most extensive of its kind. The fiction includes 940 short works, 6 novellas, a 3-act play, 145 short stories, 5 poems, and 3 songs. Supplementing this are 53 non-fiction works. Most provide background to the fiction stories and some are stories themselves.

While there is no “Blackwood Universe” in the modern sense; themes, characters, and settings are often shared. When Blackwood writes, the categories of fiction, non-fiction, and autobiography become indistinct, some works difficult to place. Of the works in this collection, twenty-one were published for children, but again the distinction is often arbitrary.

In the end, it is all Blackwood.

Works by Blackwood

1889

1890

1891

1892

1893

1894

1895

1896

1897

1898

1899

1900

1901

1903

1904

1905

1906

1907

1908

1909

1910

  • The Message of the Clock
    Short Story.
    Nash's Magazine, vol. 2 No. 15, xx/06/1910, pp793-795

1911

  • In A Jura Village
    The Morning Post, 26 December 1911
  • The Centaur
    London: Macmillan, 1911 New York: Macmillan, 1912 icon The Centaur at Wikisource.org
    • The Call of the Urwelt
      Short Fiction.
      From The Centaur.

1912

  • Egyptian Antiquities
    The Morning Post, 9 April 1912
  • The Bitter Bit
    The Saturday Westminster Gazette 17 February 1912

1913

  • The Story Hour
    The Morning Post 18 November 1913
  • Who Was She?
    The New Witness, Vol. 2 No. 34, Vol. 2 No. 37, & Vol. 2 No. 43; 26 June 1913, 17 July 1913, and 28 August 1913
  • Winter Sports in Switzerland
    Source unknown

1914

  • Breakfast Honey
    The Morning Post 9 June 1914
  • Maria
    The Morning Post 28/03/1914
    This children’s fantasy concerning the plotting of a train crash was reprinted as Chapter III of The Extra Day.
  • Non-Human
    The New Witness, Vol. 5 No. 110 10 December 1914
  • The Philosopher
    The Westminster Gazette 13 June 1914
  • What Nobody Understands
    The Morning Post 17 February 1914

1915

  • The Celestial Motorbus
    The Saturday Westminster Gazette 18 December 1915
  • The God
    The Saturday Westminster Gazette 7 August 1915

1916

  • Camping Out
    Blackie's Children's Annual 1916
  • Julius Le Vallon: An Episode
    Novel.
    London: Cassell, 1916
    New York: Dutton, 1916
  • The Summoning
    Short Story.
    From Julius LeVallon.
  • Proportion
    The Saturday Westminster Gazette 5 August 1916
  • The Snake
    The Saturday Westminster Gazette 18 March 1916

1918

1919

  • The Perfect Poseur
    The Saturday Westminster Gazette 9 October 1915

1920

  • Through the Crack
    Play. (w/Violet Pearn) London, Everyman Theatre, 27 December 1920 Based on the novels The Education of Uncle Paul (1909) and The Extra Day (1915). Book. London: French, 1925

1921

  • Changing 'Ats
    Time and Tide, Vol. 2 No. 50
  • The Halfway House
    Play. (w/Elaine Ainley) London, Victoria Palace, 5 December 1921
  • White Magic
    Play. (w/Bertram Forsyth) Toronto, Hart House Theatre, 21 November 1921

1922

  • Genius
    The Weekly Westminster Gazette 15 July 1922

1923

  • Adventurous Memories
    Cassell’s Magazine of Fiction, July-Nov. 1923

1924

1925

  • Hands of Death
    The Bolton Evening News xx/12/1925

1926

  • Chemical
    The Ghost Book (ed. Cynthia Asquith) xx/xx/1926

1927

  • Mr. Cupboard, or The Furniture’s Holiday
    Story. Children.
    Number Five Joy Street xx/09/1927
    Book.
    Oxford: Blackwell, 1928
    32 pages, illustrated by Benjamin Warren.
  • The Crossing
    Play. (w/Bertram Forsyth) London, Comedy Theatre, 29 September 1920; Based on the short story "“Transition” (1913).
  • The Cross-word Alien
    Time and Tide, Vol. 8 No.1 07/01/1927

1928

1929

  • Dreams and Fairies
    Bookman Christmas Supplement, 77 (December 1929): pp173-175, Hodder & Stoughton
    Purchase
    No Wikisource text.
  • Dudley and Gilderoy: A Nonsense
    Novel. Book.
    icon Dudley and Gilderoy pub, London: Benn, 1929
    New York: Dutton, 1929
    • The Adventures of Dudley and Gilderoy
      Book.
      Adapted from the novel by Marion B. Cothren, illustrated by Feodor Rojankovsky.
      New York: Dutton, 1941
      London: Faber & Faber, 1941
  • Max Hensig
    Play. (w/Frederick Kinsey Peile) London, Gate Theatre Studio, 18 September 1929 Based on the short story "Max Hensig — Bacteriologist and Murderer” (1907).

1930

  • Cosmic Thrillers
    Time and Tide, 11 (20 December 1930): pp1606-1607

1931

  • The Parrot and the——Cat
    Story. Book. Children.
    Oxford: Blackwell, 1931
    Adapted for children by the author from "Dudley & Gilderoy", 32 pages, illustrated by Cecil G. Trew.

1932

1933

  • Maria (of England) in the Rain
    Story. Book. Children. Oxford: Blackwell, 1933 32 pages, illustrated by Irene Mountfort.

1934

  • Pistol Against a Ghost
    Short Story.
    AKA “Blank Cartridges”, Broadcast on the BBC on 28th August 1934, as part of ‘Queer Stories.' An earlier version appeared in The Listener, Sept 12, 1934.
  • Sergeant Poppett and Policeman James
    Story. Book. Children.
    Oxford: Blackwell, 1934
    32 pages, illustrated by May Smith.
  • The Blackmailers
    Short Story.
    BBC London Regional, 11 July 1934
    icon My Grimmest Nightmare p190 (1935) aka Not Long for this World (1936)
  • The Holy Man
    Short Story.
    “Yogi”, Broadcast on the BBC on 28th August 1934, as part of ‘Queer Stories.' An earlier version appeared in The Listener, Sept 12, 1934

1935

  • Elsewhere and Otherwise
    Novelette.
    In Shocks.
  • The Chinese Picture
    BBC Regional Programme, 1 September 1935;
  • The Curate and the Stockbroker
    Short Story.
    Broadcast on the BBC on 11th October 1935
  • The Fruit Stoners
    Story. Book. Children. Oxford: Blackwell, 1935 32 pages.
  • The Wig
    Short Story.
    Originally broadcast on the BBC, 18 October 1935; TV Broadcast, Young Ideas, 1935. A very jolly, throwaway sketch for kids featuring ghost of a pilfering gnome.

1936

  • At a Mayfair Luncheon
    Short Story.
    Windsor Magazine, 495 (March 1936): pp495-500
    icon Fantasy & Science Fiction v071n03 (1986 09)
  • How the Circus Came to Tea
    Short Story. Number 12a Joy Street, p124, Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1936
  • King’s Evidence
    Short Story.
    BBC National Programme, 27 June 1936;
  • You Can’t Tell Ghost Stories on the Radio
    Radio Times (11 December 1936): 11

1937

1938

1939

  • A Boy and His Bag
    BBC Home Service, 25 December 1939;
  • Two of a Kind
    BBC Home Service, 17 December 1939;

1940

  • The Voice
    Short Story.
    BBC Home Service, 17 April 1940;
    Variant of The Reformation of St. Jules.

1941

1942

  • Told in a Mountain Cabin
    BBC Home Service, 13 April 1942;

1943

1944

  • The Castlebridge Cat
    BBC Home Service, 25 October 1944

1945

  • It’s About Time
    BBC General Forces Programme, 26 February 1945;
  • In a Glass Darkly
    BBC General Overseas Service, 23 July 1945;

1946

  • Lock Your Door
    Short Story.
    BBC Home Service, 6 May 1946;
  • The Texas Farm Disappearance
    Short Story.
    Broadcast on the BBC in October 1946. The Listener May 13 1948

1947

  • Our Former Lives
    Prediction, 12 (May 1947): pp400-402
  • The Secret Society
    BBC Home Service, 22 October 1947

1948

1949

  • A Dangerous Gift
    BBC Light Programme, 3 January 1949
  • The Midnight Hour
    Queen (24 November 1948): pp37-64

1989

  • Five Strange Stories
    Short Story.
    Asuumed to have been previously unpublished.
  • Wishful Thinking
    Short Story.
    Asuumed to have been previously unpublished.

Collections

  • John Silence: Physician Extraordinary
    London: Eveleigh Nash, 1908
    Boston: J. W. Luce, 1909
    1. A Psychical Invasion
    2. Ancient Sorceries
    3. The Nemesis of Fire
    4. Secret Worship
    5. The Camp of the Dog
  • The Lost Valley and Other Stories
    Artwork by W. Graham Robertson
    London: Eveleigh Nash, 1910
    New York: Vaughan & Gomme, 1914
    1. Carlton's Drive • short fiction
    2. The Eccentricity of Simon Parnacute • short fiction
    3. The Lost Valley • novella
    4. The Man from the Gods • short fiction
    5. The Man Who Played Upon the Leaf • short fiction
    6. Old Clothes • novelette
    7. Perspective • short fiction
    8. The Price of Wiggins's Orgy • short fiction
    9. The Terror of the Twins • (1909) • short story
    10. The Wendigo • novella
  • Pan's Garden: A Volume of Nature Stories (1912)
    London: Macmillan, (1912)
    New York: Macmillan, (1912)
    1. The Man whom the Trees loved
    2. The South Wind
    3. The Sea Fit
    4. The Attic
    5. The Heath Fire
    6. The Messenger
    7. The Glamour of the Snow
    8. The Return
    9. Sand
    10. The Transfer
    11. Clairvoyance
    12. The Golden Fly
    13. Special Delivery
    14. The Destruction of Smith
    15. The Temptation of the Clay
  • Incredible Adventures
    London: Macmillan, 1914
    New York: Macmillan, 1914
    1. The Regeneration of Lord Ernie • 3
    2. The Sacrifice • 95
    3. The Damned • 131
    4. A Descent Into Egypt • 241
    5. Wayfarers • 339
  • Ten Minute Stories
    London: John Murray, 1914
    New York: Dutton, 1914
    1. Accessory Before the Fact
    2. The Deferred Appointment
    3. The Prayer
    4. Strange Disappearance of a Baronet
    5. The Secret
    6. The Lease
    7. Up and Down
    8. Faith Cure on the Channel
    9. The Goblin's Collection
    10. Imagination
    11. The Invitation
    12. The Impulse
    13. Her Birthday
    14. Two in One
    15. Ancient Lights
    16. Dream Trespass
    17. Let Not the Sun—
    18. Entrance and Exit
    19. You May Telephone from Here
    20. The Whisperers
    21. Violence
    22. The House of the Past
    23. Jimbo's Longest Day
    24. If the Cap Fits—
    25. News vs. Nourishment
    26. Wind
    27. Pines
    28. The Winter Alps
    29. The Second Generation • (1912) • short story
  • Day and Night Stories
    London: Cassell, 1917
    New York: Dutton, 1917
    1. The Tryst • 1
    2. The Touch of Pan • 16
    3. The Wings of Horus • 41
    4. Initiation • 66
    5. A Desert Episode • 94
    6. The Other Wing • 112
    7. The Occupant of the Room • 134
    8. Cain's Atonement • 145
    9. An Egyptian Hornet • 154
    10. By Water • 162
    11. H.S.H. • 171
    12. A Bit of Wood • 187
    13. A Victim of Higher Space • 192
    14. Transition • 216
    15. The Tradition • 223
  • The Wolves of God, and Other Fey Stories
    London: Cassell, 1921;
    New York: Dutton, 1921;
    1. The Wolves of God • 1
    2. Chinese Magic • 27
    3. Running Wolf •52
    4. First Hate • 74
    5. The Tarn of Sacrifice • 86
    6. The Valley of the Beasts • 113
    7. The Call • 137
    8. Egyptian Sorcery• 151
    9. The Decoy • 169
    10. The Man Who Found Out: (A Nightmare) • 192
    11. The Empty Sleeve • 211
    12. Wireless Confusion • 230
    13. Confession • 237
    14. The Lane That Ran East and West • 259
    15. "Vengeance Is Mine" • 279
  • Tongues of Fire and Other Sketches (20/11/1924)
    London: Herbert Jenkins, 1924;
    New York: Dutton, 1925 (as 'Tongues of Fire and Other Stories')
    1. Tongues of Fire
    2. The Little Beggar
    3. Malahide and Forden
    4. Playing Catch
    5. The Pikestaffe Case
    6. Alexander Alexander
    7. Lost in the Alps
    8. The Olive
    9. A Continuous Performance
    10. The World-Dream of McAllister
    11. The Other Woman
    12. Picking Fir-Cones
    13. The Open Window
    14. Petershin and Mr. Snide
    15. The Man Who Was Milligan
    16. The Falling Glass
    17. The Spell of Egypt
    18. A Man of Earth
    19. The Laughter of Courage
    20. S-O-S
    21. Nephele
  • The Willows & Other Queer Tales (1925)
    London & Glasgow: Collins (1932)
    1. The Willows
    2. Ancient Sorceries
    3. The Return
    4. Running Wolf
    5. The Man Whom the Trees Loved
    6. The Man Who Played Upon the Leaf
    7. The Tryst
    8. By Water
    9. The Occupant of the Room
    10. The Decoy
    11. Dream Trespass
  • Ancient Sorceries and Other Tales (1927)
    London & Glasgow: Collins, 1927
    1. Ancient Sorceries
    2. The Willows
    3. The Return
    4. Running Wolf
    5. The Man Whom the Trees Loved
    6. The Man Who Played Upon the Leaf
  • The Dance of Death, and Other Tales (1927)
    London: Herbert Jenkins, 1927
    New York: Lincoln MacVeagh for the Dial Press, 1928
    London: Pan, 1963 (as 'The Dance of Death and Other Stories')
    1. The Dance of Death
    2. A Psychical Invasion
    3. The Old Man of Visions
    4. The South Wind
    5. The Touch of Pan
    6. The Valley of the Beasts
  • Algernon Blackwood - Short Stories of Today & Yesterday (1930)
    London: Harrap, 1930
    1. The Regeneration of Lord Ernie
    2. The Sacrifice
    3. Chinese Magic
    4. The Land of Green Ginger
    5. The Stranger
    6. First Hate
    7. The Olive
    8. Two in One
    9. Dream Trespass
    10. Cain's Atonement
  • Strange Stories (1929)
    London: William Heinemann. 1929
    New York: Arno, 1976
    1. The Man Whom the Trees Loved
    2. The Sea Fit
    3. The Glamour of the Snow
    4. The Tryst
    5. Transition
    6. The Occupant of the Room
    7. The Wings of Horus
    8. By Water
    9. Malahide and Forden
    10. Alexander Alexander
    11. The Man Who Was Milligan
    12. The Little Beggar
    13. The Pikestaffe Case
    14. Accessory Before the Fact
    15. The Deferred Appointment
    16. Ancient Lights
    17. You May Telephone from Here
    18. The Goblin's Collection
    19. Running Wolf
    20. The Valley of the Beasts
    21. The Decoy
    22. Confession
    23. A Descent Into Egypt
    24. The Damned
    25. The Willows
    26. Ancient Sorceries
  • Shocks (1935)
    London: Grayson & Grayson, 1935
    New York: Dutton, 1936
    1. Elsewhere and Otherwise
    2. The Stranger
    3. Full Circle
    4. Dr. Feldman
    5. A Threefold Chord
    6. Chemical
    7. Shocks
    8. The Survivors
    9. The Adventure of Tornado Smith
    10. Hands of Death
    11. The Land of Green Ginger
    12. The Colonel's Ring
    13. Revenge
    14. The Man Who Lived Backwards
    15. Adventures of Miss De Fontenoy
  • The Tales of Algernon Blackwood
    London: Secker & Warburg, 1938
    New York: Dutton, 1939
    1. Introduction (The Tales of Algernon Blackwood) • essay • ix
    2. The Empty House • 1
    3. A Case of Eavesdropping • 18
    4. Strange Adventures of a Private Secretary • 34
    5. With Intent to Steal • 69
    6. Keeping His Promise • 92
    7. The Wood of the Dead • 108
    8. A Suspicious Gift • 122
    9. The Listener • 134
    10. Max Hensig: Bacteriologist and Murderer • 163
    11. The Willows • 214
    12. The Insanity of Jones • 266
    13. The Dance of Death 293
    14. May Day Eve • 304
    15. The Woman's Ghost Story • 327
    16. A Psychical Invasion • 337
    17. Ancient Sorceries • 391
    18. The Nemesis of Fire • 440
    19. Secret Worship • 514
    20. The Camp of the Dog • 549
    21. The Man from the "Gods" • 622
    22. The Wendigo • 635
  • The Doll, and One Other
    Sauk City, Wis.: Arkham House, 1946
    1. The Doll • 3
    2. The Trod • 75
  • In the Realm of Terror; 8 Haunting Tales
    Pantheon Books, 1957, 312 pp
    1. The Willows
    2. The Man Whom the Trees Loved
    3. The Wendigo
    4. A Haunted Island
    5. A Psychical Invasion
    6. Smith: An Episode in a Lodging House
    7. The Empty House
    8. The Strange Adventures of a Private Secretary in New York
  • The Magic Mirror: Lost Tales and Mysteries,
    Edited by Michael Ashley
    N.p.: Equation, 1989
    1. A Mysterious House • p17
    2. The Kit-Bag • p27
    3. The Laying of a Red-Haired Ghost • p38
    4. The Message of the Clock • p48
    5. The Singular Death of Morton • p53
    6. La Mauvaise Riche • p62
    7. The Soldier's Visitor • p68
    8. The Memory of Beauty • p73
    9. Onanonanon • p78
    10. The First Flight • p87
    11. The Vision of the Winds • p98
    12. The Call of the Urwelt • p110
    13. The Summoning • p126
    14. The Blackmailers • p143
    15. The Wig • p152
    16. King's Evidence • p154
    17. Lock Your Door • p161
    18. Pistol Against a Ghost • p166
    19. Five Strange Stories • p166
    20. The Texas Farm Disappearance • p166
    21. The Holy Man • p166
    22. Japanese Literary Cocktail • p166
    23. The Curate and the Stockbroker • p166
    24. At a Mayfair Luncheon • p177
    25. The Man-Eater • p184
    26. By Proxy • p197
    27. The Voice • p205
    28. The Magic Mirror • p209
    29. Roman Remains • p218
    30. Wishful Thinking• p227

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