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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
Leonard Cline’s The Dark Chamber
Lovecraft’s essay Supernatural Horror in Literature is a great starting source for finding very good but relatively unknown horror gems. I’ve been slowly working my way through Lovecraft’s picks, and recently Leonard Cline’s The Dark Chamber (1927) caught my eye: … Continue reading
Posted in Horror
4 Comments
Lord Dunsany’s Pegana
A bit over a month ago, I decided to read a few of Lord Dunsany’s plays after reading Lovecraft’s glowing review of them in Supernatural Horror in Literature. The plays are wonderfully eerie and capture the spirit of ancient myths … Continue reading
Posted in Fantasy fiction, Lovecraft
4 Comments
Edward Lee’s Ghouls
When I was a teenager, I used to read a lot of horror novels, some good, many very bad. In fact, I gave up on reading horror for a number of years due to my frustration. After starting the blog, … Continue reading
Posted in Horror
4 Comments
Francis Stevens’ The Nightmare and Other Tales of Dark Fantasy
In my readings for this blog, I am constantly surprised by how many truly excellent authors and works of weird fiction have been (mostly) lost in the passage of time. Fortunately, a number of publishers have valiantly taken up the … Continue reading
Posted in Horror, Weird fiction
5 Comments
Here’s some Lord Dunsany to perform…
I’m currently in Oklahoma visiting a collaborator, so my time is rather short. While I’m away, I’ve been reading through Lovecraft’s Supernatural Horror in Literature, and came across descriptions of some of the short plays of Lord Dunsany (1878-1957). They’re … Continue reading
Herbert S. Gorman’s The Place Called Dagon
As I’ve noted previously, H.P. Lovecraft had a voluminous library of weird fiction, and basically defined himself as the foremost expert on such tales in his time with his essay Supernatural Horror in Literature. Hippocampus Press, in collaboration with Lovecraft … Continue reading
Posted in Horror, Lovecraft
5 Comments
William Beckford’s Vathek
I’ve been working my way through a number of weird fiction tales that weird fiction writer and enthusiast H.P. Lovecraft was fond of. Vathek, by William Beckford (1760-1844), is the type of story I find nearly irresistible: a proud, arrogant … Continue reading
Posted in Horror, Lovecraft
6 Comments
Mrs. Carver’s The Horrors of Oakendale Abbey
Generally, I’m a bit tired of the genre of Gothic fiction, though I have enjoyed the few that I’ve read for the blog (see The Animated Skeleton and The Witch of Ravensworth). One other caught my eye when I was … Continue reading
Posted in Horror
6 Comments
Mary Shelley’s The Last Man
I have to admit that the collapse of the world economy has gotten me into a rather pessimistic, even doomed, mindset. Some months ago I decided to use this mindset constructively and began reading a series of novels with a … Continue reading
Posted in Horror
13 Comments
Surprising fact about… Louisa May Alcott!
One of the fun things about studying pulp horror stories is learning unexpected trivia about the authors. Just as often, though, the trivia learned is that a famous author ever indulged in such “sensationalist” writings! As a case in point, … Continue reading
Posted in Horror
5 Comments
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