Various

“ In the horror story, one can find true beauty—beauty that is glorified from tossing seas of blackness—shining beauty that comes with cosmic fear, lurid silence, frightful death—all [Pg 27] this and more fascinates one's appreciation of true art. 'When people read these and say that they are distasteful to the well and normal mind' then these certain people should not read them. No one is compelling them to do such. And why do we wish to read a sinister tale of evil or monstrosities? Listen, readers! ”

“ R. H. Barlow
"The element of horror in a tale often makes the story; it gives you that weird, creepy sensation and cold chills. Thus, the greater those feelings affect us after, or during, the reading of the yarn, the greater we say the story is. Of course, if the horror part is of too intense a nature in that it causes a continued after-effect producing nervousness in the reader, then the virtue of the use of horror may be questioned. However, strong horror can be read by strong minds, or by uncomprehending minds, without damage. ”

“ A nobleman on a dark and lonely moor, attracted by a tolling bell and distant light, enters a strange and ancient turreted castle whose doors open and close and whose bluish will-o'-the-wisps lead up mysterious staircases toward dead hands and animated black statues. ”

“ I should venture that the fascination of the weird is through a vaguely masochistic pleasure that derives delight from frightening one's self! I believe the simile is ancient that our gaze will often return to the ugliest person in a room rather than the most handsome. ”

“ With everything going along smoothly, I turned my eyes in Ross's direction. A good operator can do anything with his eyes while taking routine news; he can even use half his brain to think about other things.
I saw Ross playing with the dial and felt relieved that he was taking my suggestion that something had gone wrong with the works so that the dial was in error. Hegstrom would be awful sore when he got the complaint that Ross had failed to get his call. ”

“ Then his voice became high-pitched and sobbing: "Oh! Dear Mary and Our One God! release me from this mad dream ... save me from the destruction [Pg 22] that will overwhelm me ... how can it be?... it's impossible ... how can it be?"
He repeated that dozens of times while he rumpled his hair and ground his teeth.
I mustered up courage and grabbed him by the shoulders. Next moment I was spinning backward and hit the wall with a thump. I fell down and stayed there, looking up at Ross with an expression that I sometimes wonder could be. ”

“ Those poems by Richard F. Searight and William Lumley in the February issue are great and certainly have a touch of the bizarre that grips one. I am looking forward to the verse by Clark Ashton Smith in much anticipation. The story by Lovecraft hits the [Pg 6] bull's-eye for February, but is closely followed by the excellent series by Barlow, 'The Tomb of the God' in the 'Annals of the Jinns.' I hope, like the rest, that the future instalments of Lovecraft's 'Supernatural Horror in Literature' will be longer. ”

“ Norman Ross and I were operators for the International Radio News Service. Thrown together by chance, we had become good friends in the two years before this happened. We had always been on the day shift and handled calls from Europe. We liked the work and got good pay and often went out together for a little recreation. That is why I can say that Norman Ross was normal; two years of friendship means a lot.
Well, one day just after working hours Hegstrom, our boss, called us into his office—both of us together. ”

“ Please communicate with the editor if you have any of these issues that you would like to part with at these prices.
Wonder Stories presents the cream of science fiction. Why do thousands of of fans call it "the old standby"—because it is owned by Hugo Gernsback, the founder of science fiction as a popular art. Join the Science Fiction League, operated by Wonder Stories. We now present an occasional scientific-weird story for lovers of weird fiction.
[Pg 35]
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Wanted—copies of Strange Tales ”

“ I have [Pg 25] told no one. My friends, they tell me there is a haunted look in my eyes, that lines are deepening in my face. They tell me to buck up, to face life squarely.
But I can't. I simply can't. I'll tell you why. After that night when I ripped out the earphones and blew a fuse in the station by short-circuiting a switch on the panel (I found that out later) I went back in answer to a call from Hegstrom. He was very kind and sympathetic. Wanted to know what had caused me to act so strangely the night before—also wanted to know what had caused Ross's suicide. Hegstrom is sharp. ”

“ Hegstrom was pleased.
So we took up the night work. A veteran Oriental call operator broke us in the first night and then we went on our own.
We found the work mightily interesting. Many of the calls came in in broken English. You know, the English that a foreigner speaks that he learned from a book. I handled Persia and a couple of little countries with funny names. My friend Ross took the calls from China.
It was a little odd at first getting used to being alone. When we had the day shift, we were only two out of fifteen operators taking calls from Europe. ”

“ Truly enough, this tale lacks the real vibration to the note of outer darkness and mystery which distinguishes Mrs. Barbauld's fragment and though less crude than Walpole's novel, and more artistically economical of horror in its possession of only one spectral figure, it is nevertheless too definitely insipid for greatness. Here again we have the virtuous heir to the castle disguised as a peasant and restored to his heritage through the ghost of his father ”

“ Even in different communities, what is considered normal in one is sometimes abnormal in others. This must be constantly kept in mind. On the other hand, how many people are what you might call 'normal'? ”

“ This is what makes a magazine. I hope it will be possible to have Mr. Smith write one of those fine columns every month."
—F. Lee Baldwin
"I was delighted to see the bibliographical note on 'The Time Machine' by R. H. Barlow in the last issue. Similar short items on some of the better known stories should prove of extreme interest to the readers. I hope to see many more of them.
"May I take the liberty of adding a bit of information for the benefit of collectors of Wells' works? The college magazine 'The Science Schools Journal' was founded by Wells in [Pg 7] 1886. ”

“ Down low close to his stomach was the typewriter and he typed with his elbows resting on the arms of the chair. It was his own chair that he had bought for that particular purpose [Pg 15] because he said he couldn't do any work with the regular armless chair that other operators used. He had used that chair for two years; Hegstrom didn't care a bit, so long he did his work and did it good. Personally, I think Ross had a spark of laziness in him.
Well the particular night this whole story centers about—now my hand is trembling, I hate to go on. But I must. It will explain things to others. ”

“ The ones that are probably the most utterly boring, stupid, lifeless creatures that roam this planet are the normal ones. Also, please remember that when a person dislikes something he (or she) usually says it's distasteful to a 'normal' mind. ”

“ Glad you substituted 'Your Views' (a prosaic heading) for 'The Boiling Point.' The readers' department is sometimes too long, but your stories are short and excellent. Lovecraft's article has always been too short. 'The Ghoul' was great. Barlow is consistently good. About the best thing in the February issue was Smith's article on M. R. James. I hope you can [Pg 5] persuade Smith to write some articles on Machen, Blackwood, Bierce, etc. They are highly informative. ”

“ In the April, May and June, 1888, issues Wells contributed and published his serial entitled, 'The Chronic Argonauts'—the main idea being one of time-traveling. As Mr. Barlow points out, this story was the first version of the time-machine. ”

“ Postcard for prices on your favorite de Grandin tales, or stamp for list of all exploits available. In fairness to fans, limit four stories per person.
Forrest J. Ackerman, 530 Staples Ave. San Francisco, Calif. ”