Magazine of Horror No. 14 (Winter 1966/67)

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).

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August Derleth -- Fifty Years Gone

August William Derleth died of a heart attack on the Fourth of July, 1971. Thus ended a literary career that spanned six decades. Derleth won awards for his fiction, co-founded one of the most beloved small presses in the history of publishing and nurtured the careers and literary reputations of a legion of legendary authors—H.P. Lovecraft and Ramsey Campbell being just two examples. AWD also helped co-found the Cthulhu Mythos along with HPL, Robert E. Howard and Clark Ashton Smith.

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Stephen Fabian: In Lovecraft's Shadow (Part Two)

Back in May, 2020, I did a blog entry on In Lovecraft's Shadow, which was published in 1998. That book contained most of Derleth's Mythos-related short stories and poetry. It was beautifully illustrated by the legendary Stephen Fabian and those illos were the focus of that post. This post, Part Two of what looks to be a four- or five-part series, picks up from where Part One left off, covering two more chapters from In Lovecraft's Shadow.

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New Arrival -- Lovecraft: The Great Tales by John D. Haefele

Two events of note happened today: the anniversary of August Derleth’s birth rolled around again and my copy of Lovecraft: The Great Tales by John D. Haefele fell from the Outer Dark--like a planet-killer asteroid--into my mailbox. The two events are certainly related and, thus, must be a sign from the Great Old Ones.

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Ramsey Campbell: Swords and Horrors

Author Ramsey Campbell turned seventy-five today. One of the most honored horror authors on the planet, Ramsey has received three Bram Stoker Awards, four World Fantasy Awards, ten British Fantasy Awards, and the Horror Writers' Association's Lifetime Achievement Award. Before taking the horror genre by storm, however, Campbell wrote some bloody tales of darksome sword and sorcery back in the '70s.

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Richard L. Tierney - The DMR Interview

A good many Sword and Sorcery fans know Richard from his Red Sonja novels and maybe his Simon Magus tales published in the Swords Against Darkness anthologies (starting back in the late 1970s) if they are lucky. If that is the case, you are merely scratching the surface. Richard is the author of at least ten published novels, more than forty short stories and enough poetry to choke the proverbial horse.

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