The Weird Tales - Horror & Macabre Ultimate Collection

The Great God Pan was widely denounced by the press as degenerate and horrific because of its decadent style and sexual content, although it has since garnered a reputation as a classic of horror. H. P. Lovecraft praised the story, saying: «No one could begin to describe the cumulative suspense and ultimate horror with which every paragraph abounds»; he added that «the sensitive reader» reaches the end with «an appreciative shudder.» Lovecraft also noted, however, that «melodrama is undeniably present, and coincidence is stretched to a length which appears absurd upon analysis.» Bennett Cerf described the story as a «masterpiece». The Three Impostors is an episodic novel incorporating several weird stories, including «The Novel of the White Powder» and «The Novel of the Black Seal», and culminates in a final denouement of deadly horror, connected with a secret society devoted to debauched pagan rites. The three impostors of the title are members of this society who weave a web of deception in the streets of London—relating the aforementioned weird tales in the process—as they search for a missing Roman coin commemorating an infamous orgy by the Emperor Tiberius and close in on their prey: «the young man with spectacles». The White People is a fantasy-horror book. A discussion between two men on the nature of evil leads one of them to reveal a mysterious Green Book he possesses. It is often described as one of the greatest of all horror stories. Arthur Machen (1863-1947) was a Welsh author and mystic of the 1890s and early 20th century. He is best known for his influential supernatural, fantasy, and horror fiction. Table of Contents: The Three Impostors The Terror The Secret Glory A Fragment of Life The White People The Great God Pan The Inmost Light The Shining Pyramid The Red Hand The Great Return