The Lure of the Unknown

Introduction by Mike Ashley
Cover image by Chloe Cumming

“Every thing possible to be believ’d is an image of truth.” – William Blake

The Lure of the Unknown is a collection of Algernon Blackwood’s essays, talks, reviews and anecdotes exploring encounters with the strange and unusual or, in Blackwood’s preferred word, the “odd”. They include his first attempts to investigate alleged haunted houses, his association with such luminaries as W. B. Yeats, “A.E.”, and Gurdjieff; his thoughts on telepathy, reincarnation, elemental spirits, other dimensions, and his beliefs in what lies beyond our normal perceptions. These writings reveal not only Blackwood’s diverse experiences, but his depth of reading and analysis of the unexplained. Few of these essays have been reprinted beyond their first publication or their broadcast on radio and television. They provide another dimension to an understanding of one of the great writers of the supernatural.

Contents

"Hidden Thoughts" by Mike Ashley
"Looking Back at Christmas"
"I Speak for Myself"
"How I Became Interested in Ghosts"
"The Midnight Hour"
"Minor Memories"
"My Strangest Christmas"
"The Little People & Co."
"The Birth of an Idea"
"Our Former Lives"
"The Fire Bodies"
"Passport to the Next Dimension"
"Adventures in Thought-Transference"
"Oddities"
"Gooseflesh"
"Along Came a Spider"
"The Fear of Heights"
"Superstition and the Magic 'Curse'"
"The Psychology of Places"
"Dreams and Fairies"
"Explorers’ Ghost Stories"
"The Lure of the Unknown"
"Queer Stories"
"Sources"

Algernon Blackwood (1869-1951) — journalist, novelist, broadcaster — is best remembered for his occult detective John Silence and, in particular, two terrifying tales of otherworldly encounters: “The Willows” and “The Wendigo”. The intensity of Blackwood’s stories often arose from personal experiences: his days struggling to survive in the hell of 1890s New York, his travels down the Danube, across the Caucasus, into the depths of Egypt, or the remote mountain passes in Switzerland — all fed his fascination with Nature.

Limited Edition Hardcover