The White People and Other Weird Stories

At the turn of the 20th century, Welsh author Machen (The Hill of Dreams) wrote tales about evil and "ecstasy" (his term for supernatural experience) that made a significant impact on horror fiction. For this volume, weird fiction scholar S.T. Joshi collects 11 key works that typify Machen's vision of the uncanny and the veil that keeps "the Beyond" mercifully concealed from mortal eyes. Included are his masterpieces "The White People," about an innocent's unwitting indoctrination into foul rites of sorcery; "Novel of the Black Seal," which uncovers the survival of a malignant race of "little people" in present times; and "Novel of the White Powder," in which a drug brings on a terrifying transformation in a victim who abuses it. Though the volume doesn't include Machen's best-known tale, "The Great God Pan," it features an insightful foreword by horror movie director Guillermo del Toro, which should help get the book into the hands of contemporary horror fans unfamiliar with Machen's magnificent legacy. (Oct.)