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The author of Skulls in the Stars is a professor of physics, specializing in optical science, at UNC Charlotte. The blog covers topics in physics and optics, the history of science, classic pulp fantasy and horror fiction, and the surprising intersections between these areas. -
Category Archives: Horror
“Supernatural Buchan”, by John Buchan
One of the truly fascinating things about writers of weird fiction is how many of them are remarkably accomplished in other aspects of their lives. We have folks such as A. Merritt, who had a very successful career as a … Continue reading
Posted in Horror, Weird fiction
3 Comments
Sesqua Valley and Other Haunts, by W.H. Pugmire
One of H.P. Lovecraft’s enduring legacies as a writer is the creation of a cosmology that could and would be imitated by his followers. Many great authors of horror fiction got their start writing Lovecraft pastiches, such as Brian Lumley … Continue reading
Posted in Horror, Lovecraft
9 Comments
Which Winston Churchill wrote “Man Overboard!”?
Horror fiction is often burdened by the popular impression that it is the refuge of the anti-social, the unliterary, the morbid, and even the perverse. However, a surprising number of authors of classic literature have dabbled in macabre fiction, such … Continue reading
Posted in ... the Hell?, Horror
9 Comments
Richard Marsh’s A Spoiler of Men
I have yet to be really disappointed by the works of Richard Marsh (1857-1915)! Over the Christmas holiday, I spent some time reading A Spoiler of Men (1905) , which has recently been reprinted by the always great Valancourt Books, … Continue reading
Posted in Horror, Mystery/thriller
2 Comments
The Beast with Five Fingers by W.F. Harvey
I’ve been trying to keep up with my weird fiction reading while I’ve been working on my physics textbook, though it’s been pretty hard to read a major work considering I spend most of my evenings doing research for the … Continue reading
Posted in Horror, Mystery/thriller
3 Comments
Yay! More Richard Marsh available!
Another book by the awesome Richard Marsh has been released by Valancourt! You can purchase A Spoiler of Men (1905) through Amazon. I’m a big fan of Marsh’s work, and have read a lot of things reprinted by Valancourt — … Continue reading
Horror writers on horror films, from Focus Features
A few days ago, I got a nice email from FilminFocus.com, the film culture website of film company Focus Features (A Serious Man, Brokeback Mountain, Coraline). For Halloween, they asked five horror writers to each list their five favorite horror … Continue reading
Posted in Entertainment, Horror
3 Comments
Halloween treats 2009
It’s time again for my yearly dose of Halloween chills, courtesy of some classic horror stories! The 2007 edition can be found here, and the 2008 edition can be found here. Have a happy Halloween! The Willows, Algernon Blackwood. This … Continue reading
Posted in Horror
4 Comments
Claimed! by Francis Stevens
Not too long ago, I took a first look at the weird short fiction of Francis Stevens (1883-1948), a groundbreaking author who has been credited with helping create the genre of “dark fantasy“. Though Stevens was a somewhat uneven writer … Continue reading
Posted in Horror
4 Comments
Marie Corelli’s Ziska
(I’ve had a backlog of fiction I’ve wanted to blog about, and a lack of energy for physics blogging thanks to heavy work on my book. I’ll get back to science-y posts in a few days.) 1897 was a very … Continue reading
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