Jean Ray, known as the Belgian Poe, was born today in 1887. I have written about Ray before, particularly in my essay, The Weird Fiction of Jean Ray. This essay contains a short biography and reviews of Ray’s works that were available in English at the time. Since then Wakefield press has released two more works by Ray, The Great Nocturnal and Circles of Dread, and plans to release more. Also, Black Coat Press plans to release more of his Harry Dickson stories in the future.

I would highly recommend that any fans of Poe and Lovecraft read Ray.

We will look at The Great Nocturnal and Circles of Dread. The first thing one notices about these books is how slim they are. This is because both books originally contained the two novellas The Mainz Psalter and The Gloomy Alley, two of his best works. These are already available in his collection Cruse of Shadows.

The Great Nocturnal

The strongest story in this collection is its titular novella. It is about a recluse who discovers a book of black magic. Written by the sorcerer, Samuel Podgers (who is mentioned in more than one story by Ray), it speaks of a being known as The Great Nocturnal who is, according to the story, “a kind of valet to the Great Powers of Darkness.” The recluse becomes obsessed with summoning the Great Nocturnal and commits terrible crimes in doing so. The story ends with a twist about the nature of the protagonist and the Great Nocturnal that is horrifying.

The book is both similar and different than the works of H. P. Lovecraft. It deals in tropes which Lovecraft dealt with: a reclusive narrator, books of ancient forbidden knowledge and beings beyond the understanding of men. It is suffused with a sense of cosmic dread. Yet, it is different from Lovecraft in that it is written not from the rational materialist context, but a Catholic one. While I am not actually certain of Ray’s beliefs on God, anyone growing up in Belgium at the time could not help be influenced by Catholic Christianity. It is noted that the traditional devil exists and is served by the Great Nocturnal. Implicitly, God must exist, but He does not appear. It is ultimately a story of Sin and the Damnation of the Soul. In some ways this is more horrifying since Lovecraft’s protagonists can escape the horror in death, but Hell lasts for eternity.

The other stories are much smaller. The best of these is “The Centipede,” the final story in the volume. The story involves a legend that the soul of the dead exits the body in the form of a great centipede. Three students hold a wake to see if it is true. It is a creepy and effective story.

Circles of Dread

This collection is overall stronger than The Great Nocturnal, and yet no one story equals the power of the title story of that collection. My favorite story is “The Marlyweck Cemetery.” It is about a sinister and possibly sentient cemetery in London. It has a creepy denouement. There is also the excellent “The Black Mirror” about a man who buys a mirror owned by the historical occultist John Dee. “The Hand of Gotz von Berlichingen” also deals with another historical figure: a knight who had a prosthetic hand which according to legend was as mobile as a real one. “The Man who Dared” deals with a man hired to clean up some supernatural nastiness. “The Story of The Wulkh” is a rewritten Harry Dickson story about what we would call a cryptid. “The Moustiers Plate” is a fanciful story about a magical plate that does not end well for the protagonist. All in all a it is a strong collection.

If you are wondering where to begin with Ray I can advise. You can start with his first collection, Whiskey Tales, if you want though I think it was weaker than his later work. His best collection is probably Cruise of Shadows which contains “The Gloomy Alley” (also known as “The Shadowy Street”) and “The Mainz Psalter”, two of his best works. Both stories are among his best work in horror fiction and the other stories are all excellent. His best-known work is the novel Malpertuis which is due to be reprinted at the end of August. There are also his Harry Dickson stories, two volumes of which, The Heir of Dracula and Harry Dickson vs. The Spider, have been published by Black Coat Press. They represent Ray at his pulpiest. Another volume of Dickson stories should be out in September. Of the two collections reviewed here I’d suggest Circles of Dread as the better of the two, though the title story of The Great Nocturnal is excellent.

Ray is a writer who should be better known in the English-speaking world.