Masters of the Weird Tale John Metcalfe

synopsis

English writer John Metcalfe (1891-1965) was a major contributor to weird literature in the early decades of the twentieth century. His two collections, The Smoking Leg and Other Stories (1925) and Judas and Other Stories (1931), contain an array of outstanding work. H.P. Lovecraft thought that “The Bad Lands” contained “graduations of horror that strongly savour of genius.” The story may well have been an inspiration upon Lovecraft’s own tale of regional horror, “The Colour Out of Space.”
       Metcalfe’s work is unique in fusing supernatural and psychological horror, and the author is also adept in depicting social and domestic strife. “The Tunnel” is a chilling narrative of psychological horror about a man who perennially seeks to escape from unjust imprisonment. In “Time-Fuse,” an experiment in spiritualism goes hideously wrong at the end. “The Firing-Chamber” tells of a cleric who becomes so fascinated with the accidental death of a man in a firing-chamber that he is impelled to undergo the experience himself…with unexpected results.
       In the 1950s Metcalfe compiled a third volume, The Feasting Dead and Other Stories, and offered it to August Derleth of Arkham House. Derleth published the title novella (a superb vampire tale) as a separate book and included other tales from the collection in his anthologies. Some of these tales venture into the genre of science fiction, while “Beyondaril” is an effective tale of fate and precognition. This volume collects for the first time the complete short fiction of this skilled and distinctive writer, including numerous previously unpublished stories that Metcalfe wrote late in life.

This collection is enclosed in a handsome slipcase with ribbon marker and interior illustrations by Rainer Kalwitz, and a stunning dustjacket by Ben Baldwin. The complete contents are shown below.
       The edition is limited to 400 signed and numbered copies, with around 20 unsigned copies. Each copy is signed by S. T. Joshi.

Edition Information

• Limited to 400 copies, each signed by S. T. Joshi with a facsimile signature by John Metcalfe.
• Oversize at 7½ × 11 inches.
• Edited by S. T. Joshi.
• Introduction by S. T. Joshi.
• Slipcase, head and tail bands, full color wraparound dustjacket art.
• Page count: 560.
• Original book price: $265.
• Published October 2024.
• ISBN 978-1-61347-093-0.