At the recent Windy City Pulp and Paper Convention I picked up a stack of copies of Magazine of Horror. For its 36-issue run between 1963 and 1971, editor Robert A.W. Lowndes published lots of reprints from Weird Tales, but some original fiction as well. I thought it would be interesting to take a closer look at the contents of the issues I acquired. I’ll begin with the earliest issue I have, No. 14 (Winter 1966/67).

Introduction
The editor’s column this issue is devoted to Dr. David H. Keller, who passed away in the summer of 1966. Lowndes praises Keller for his ability to write realistic dialogue and defends him from naysayers: “In recent years, various literary-minded science fiction critics have claimed that people do not talk this way at all; I can only say that these critics never lived in a small town, or on farms, in the early part of the century—and while the precise word choices vary, these critics just haven’t really listened to people around them—people generally beneath the notice of high-minded critics.”

“The Lair of the Star-Spawn” by August Derlith and Mark Schorer
This story first appeared in the August 1932 issue of Weird Tales. It was also included in Colonel Markesan & Less Pleasant People, a collection of collaborations between Derlith and Schorer, which Arkham House released around the time this issue of MOH appeared on newsstands. “Lair of the Star-Spawn” was allegedly “found among the private documents of the late Eric Marsh, whose death followed so suddenly upon his return from that mysterious expedition into Burma, from which only he returned alive almost three decades ago.” During this expedition Marsh is captured by a strange race known as the Tcho-Tcho people, who worship the Old Ones Lloigor and Zhar. Fortunately Marsh’s fellow captive Doctor Fo-Lan possesses the power of astral projection, which he uses to thwart the Tcho-Tcho’s sinister schemes. This story reads less like Lovecraftian cosmic horror than a Haggard-style lost race adventure on fast forward.

“Proof” by S. Fowler Wright
“Proof” first appeared in the 1932 collection The New Gods Lead, which Arkham House reprinted in 1949 under the title The Throne of Saturn. It’s a satire that takes place in the future (1984) during a new French Revolution, where the members of society with the lowest intelligence are sent to the guillotine. It’s a bit over the top, but I found it amusing enough.

The Reckoning
Readers were encouraged to send in ballots ranking their favorite stories of each issue, and the results were published in a column entitled The Reckoning. The most popular story in issue No. 13 was Austin Hall’s “Almost Immortal.” Its closest competitors were “Valley of the Lost” by Robert E. Howard and “The Thing in the House” by H.F. Scotten. Roger Zelazny’s “Divine Madness” seemed to be a love-it-or-hate-it story, as it got almost as many “dislike” votes as “outstanding” or “first place” votes.

“The Vacant Lot” by Mary Wilkins-Freeman
A New England family buys a fancy house at an unbelievable bargain. Turns out they got such a great deal because it’s next to a haunted vacant lot. The folksy prose and wooden dialogue remove any chance of this cliché-ridden story being scary or believable.

“Comes Now the Power” by Roger Zelazny
Milt Rand is one of a select few who have the power to telepathically share visions and memories with one another. Or at least he was. The power is blocked now, and he is desperate to regain it. Even though the story is only five pages, that’s all Zelazny needs to build to an emotional and effective conclusion. I wouldn’t be surprised if it got another love-it-or-hate-it reaction from the readers.

“The Moth Message” by Laurence Manning
This was one of five stories in the “Stranger Club” series which ran in Wonder Stories in the ‘30s. The tale begins when LaBrot, one of the members of the club, tells the others that in Colorado he discovered a new variety of Sphinx moth with markings upon its wings. These markings bear an extraordinary resemblance to the script of the ancient Phoenicians. When translated, the markings are surprisingly intelligible, telling of “children of the Sun” and “hills near the source of water.” LaBrot intends to explore the Colorado country where he found the moths, and the other members of the club readily agree to join him. What follows is another lost race adventure story, and I can’t say I ever expected to read one where an outpost of Atlantis is discovered in America!

“The Friendly Demon” by Daniel DeFoe
Ghosts try to drag a man away, but another ghost tries to stop them. Lowndes doesn’t know where this story first appeared, and neither do I. I’d look it up but reading this story (only four pages) wasted enough of my time already.

“Dark Hollow” by Emil Petaja
A great job opportunity has landed in writer Adam Monfret’s lap. A manuscript written by a Salem warlock has been discovered, and editor Edith Spinney wants Adam to “translate it into readable modern English without losing all the seventeenth century flavor.” She even rents a cottage in Salem for him to live in while he does his work. (That’s a hell of a job perk!) Things go well at first, but one day, while walking in the woods, Adam suffers an uncanny experience which leaves him permanently altered. Soon after, rumors of resurgent witch cults spread… Rather than risk spoiling the story, I’ll say no more.

“An Inhabitant of Carcosa” by Ambrose Bierce
A man finds himself wandering an ancient graveyard. Nothing interesting happens until the end. This vignette reminded me of one of Clark Ashton Smith’s prose poems, although not nearly as well-written.

“The Monster-God of Mamurth” by Edmond Hamilton
“Monster-God” was Hamilton’s debut as a writer, first appearing in the August 1926 issue of Weird Tales. An archaeologist comes across the ruins of the lost city of Mamurth in the North African desert. He discovers a temple which, inexplicably, is invisible, as well as a many-limbed spider-like monstrosity, which is also invisible. Not bad, but not one of Hamilton’s best. Reading about a guy wandering around an invisible city just isn’t super-exciting.

It is Written…
The letters column was always a staple of magazines in the old days (“old” meaning “pre-internet” I suppose). This installment of “It is Written…” is notable for a message from Glenn Lord, who writes “Six boxes of Robert E. Howard’s papers and files were just uncovered by me, where they had been lost for the past twenty years, approximately… There seems to be quite a bit of unpublished REH in the boxes, all mixed up as it is.” That must have been intriguing news at the time. Elsewhere, other readers weigh in on whether or not science fiction stories belong in MOH. Apparently Lowndes felt the magazine would be better sticking to horror and weird fiction, and announced the launching of a new title, Famous Science Fiction, where readers could get their SF fix.

The last page is a ballot for the readers to numerically rank the stories from their most favorite to least (outstanding stories are to marked with an “O” and stories the reader disliked with an “X.”) Here’s how I’d vote:

(1) Dark Hollow
(2) The Moth Message
(3) The Monster-God of Mamurth
(4) Comes Now the Power
(5) Proof
(6) Lair of the Star-Spawn
(7) An Inhabitant of Carcosa
(X) The Vacant Lot
(X) The Friendly Demon

It would be interesting to compare my preference to those who actually read Magazine of Horror at the time, but unfortunately, I don’t have the issue the results appear in. The next one I have is No. 26 (March 1969), with stories by Seabury Quinn and David H. Keller, so look for a review of that in the near future.

D.M. Ritzlin founded DMR Books in 2015 with the aim of revitalizing sword-and-sorcery literature. DMR’s publications include reprints of classic material by authors such as Robert E. Howard and Clark Ashton Smith, as well as brand-new collections and anthologies by some of the finest fantasy writers active today. A collection of his own stories, Necromancy in Nilztiria, was released in October 2020. Nilztiria is a world of adventure and strangeness, peopled by lusty heroes and callous villains. The thirteen sword-and-sorcery stories presented in Necromancy in Nilztiria place the emphasis on sorcery and mix in a touch of gallows humor. Click the cover for more information.