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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
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
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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
M.P. Shiel’s The House of Sounds and Others
H.P. Lovecraft was not only a writer of weird fiction, but a voracious reader of the genre, as evidenced by his classic essay, Supernatural Horror in Literature. He collected a voluminous library of weird titles, many of which have not … Continue reading
Posted in Horror, Lovecraft
5 Comments
Bertram Mitford’s The Weird of Deadly Hollow
I’ve been haunted by Bertram Mitford’s novel The Sign of the Spider (1896) ever since I read it (and blogged about it), so I thought the time was past due to investigate some of his other works. The next one … Continue reading
Posted in Horror
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Is it worse, or better, than a creationist on the school board?
Once again the folks at The Onion have demonstrated their satirical genius! They ‘report’ on an Arkham, MA school board member who is pushing to add the unspeakable, sanity-shattering dark arts to the curriculum: “Fools!” said West, his clenched fist … Continue reading
Posted in Lovecraft, Silliness
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A. Merritt’s Dwellers in the Mirage
Abraham Merritt (1888-1943) was one of the greats of pulp fiction, although up until recently his work was largely forgotten. Recently, two of his novels were reprinted, The Moon Pool (1919) and The Metal Monster (1920), both of which I’ve … Continue reading
Posted in Adventure fiction, Lovecraft, Robert E. Howard, Weird fiction
7 Comments
Upcoming horror game: The Path
Via StumbleUpon, I came across the website for a short horror game which will be released in March or April 2009: The Path. Produced by a small independent game company called Tale of Tales (and I mean small: two programmers), … Continue reading
Posted in Entertainment, Horror
4 Comments
