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Henry S. Whitehead (1882–1932)

Auteur de The Loved Dead And Other Revisions

35+ oeuvres 322 utilisateurs 3 critiques

A propos de l'auteur

Œuvres de Henry S. Whitehead

The Loved Dead And Other Revisions (1997) 112 exemplaires
Jumbee and Other Uncanny Tales (1944) 25 exemplaires
West India Lights (1946) 22 exemplaires
Jumbee and Other Voodoo Tales (1976) 10 exemplaires
Jumbee y otros relatos (2001) 8 exemplaires
The Trap 5 exemplaires
The Devil's Children (1974) 3 exemplaires
Lääne-India valgus (2014) 3 exemplaires
Cassius [short story] 2 exemplaires

Oeuvres associées

100 Ghastly Little Ghost Stories (1993) — Contributeur — 338 exemplaires
100 Wild Little Weird Tales (1994) — Contributeur — 187 exemplaires
100 Creepy Little Creature Stories (1994) — Contributeur — 183 exemplaires
100 Crooked Little Crime Stories (1994) — Contributeur — 165 exemplaires
Weird Tales: 32 Unearthed Terrors (1988) — Contributeur — 143 exemplaires
American Fantastic Tales: Boxed Set (2009) — Contributeur — 92 exemplaires
Zombies! Zombies! Zombies! (2011) — Contributeur — 73 exemplaires
Isaac Asimov's Magical Worlds of Fantasy, Volume 9: Atlantis (1988) — Contributeur — 73 exemplaires
Tales of the Dead (1981) — Contributeur — 64 exemplaires
65 great tales of horror (1981) — Contributeur — 59 exemplaires
The Century's Best Horror Fiction Volume 1 (2011) — Contributeur — 51 exemplaires
Alfred Hitchcock's Fear and Trembling (1948) — Contributeur — 49 exemplaires
Fighters of Fear: Occult Detective Stories (2020) — Contributeur — 48 exemplaires
100 Fiendish Little Frightmares (1997) — Contributeur — 46 exemplaires
To Sleep, Perchance to Dream...Nightmare: 30 Terrifying Tales (1993) — Contributeur — 45 exemplaires
The Sixth Fontana Book of Great Ghost Stories (1970) — Contributeur — 42 exemplaires
100 Tiny Tales of Terror (1996) — Contributeur — 33 exemplaires
Dangerous Dimensions: Mind-Bending Tales of the Mathematical Weird (2021) — Contributeur — 32 exemplaires
Sea-Cursed: Thirty Terrifying Tales of the Deep (1994) — Contributeur — 31 exemplaires
Nursery Crimes (1993) — Contributeur — 24 exemplaires
Tales of the Occult (1975) — Auteur, quelques éditions16 exemplaires
The "Not at Night" Omnibus (1936) — Contributeur — 10 exemplaires
M Is for Monster: A Modern Bestiary of Classic Monsters (2011) — Contributeur — 9 exemplaires
Ghosts and Ghastlies (1976) — Contributeur — 5 exemplaires
The Sleeping and the Dead (1963) — Contributeur — 5 exemplaires
Strange Desires (1954) — Contributeur — 5 exemplaires
The Unquiet Grave (1964) — Contributeur — 4 exemplaires
Chill to the Sunlight: Tropical Stories of the Macabre (1978) — Contributeur — 3 exemplaires
Weird Tales Volume 11 Number 1, January 1928 — Contributeur — 3 exemplaires
Weird Tales Volume 21 Number 2, February 1933 — Contributeur — 2 exemplaires
Weird Tales Volume 31 Number 2, February 1938 — Contributeur — 2 exemplaires
Voodoo: A Chrestomathy of Necromancy (1980) — Contributeur — 2 exemplaires
Weird Tales Volume 12 Number 6, December 1928 — Contributeur — 1 exemplaire

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Los relatos incluídos son: Jumbee, Cassius, El Negro Tancredo, Las sombras, Dulce hierba, La bestia negra, Siete vueltas en la soga del ahorcado, El hombre árbol, Muerte de un dios, La señora Lorriquer, Los tambores de la colina, La proyección de Armand Dubois, Los labios y La chimenea. Todos ellos muy buenos, aunque mi favorito en esta primera lectura es "siete vueltas en la soga del ahorcado".
 
Signalé
darioha | Nov 7, 2022 |
Strepitoso, presto sul blog!
 
Signalé
louchobi | May 12, 2022 |
This entry in the Wordsworth Tales of Mystery and the Supernatural, Voodoo Tales is a true treasure trove, collecting 37 of Henry S. Whitehead's exotic brand of weird tales. H. P. Lovecraft was a great admirer of Whitehead’s work, describing it as “subtle, realistic, and quietly potent.” This is a hefty brick of a paperback, checking in at nearly 700 pages, and well worth the effort of reading through in its entirety. The book includes stories from the three original anthologies, West India Lights; Jumbee and Other Voodoo Tales; The Black Beast and Other Voodoo Tales; as well as six other stories. Many of these highly entertaining tales feature Gerald Canevin, likely derived from Whitehead's own persona, as the narrator, often accompanied by his esteemed friend Lord Carruth, both with a keen interest in all things uncanny. His writing is crisp and tight, and his stories invariably intriguing. Occasionally Whitehead throws a sharp curveball by having some dire situation end happily, as an unexpected twist. These stories stand among the upper echelon of weird fiction. It must be noted that although Whitehead generally tries to present the West Indies black population in sympathetic and respectful terms, racism still bleeds through with occasional racial stereotypes, and crude and offensive vernacular spoken by characters.

Here are the story synopses, with the standouts asterisked ***:

WEST INDIA LIGHTS
Black Terror - This is a great way to open the anthology, as it gives some insight into Voodoo beliefs and the associated psyche of West Indies natives.
West India Light - A strangely animated element of an old painting points the way to uncovering a dark family secret.
Williamson - A brilliant but somewhat heavy-handed tale, but that ham-fisted style is not surprising as this is the first story Whitehead wrote, circa 1910, but not published until 1946. Nevertheless, a classic. ***
The Shut Room - Lord Carruth and Mr Canevin seek the solution to the mysterious disappearance of leather goods at the Coach and Horses Inn.
The Left Eye - This is a wonderfully lurid pulp story, which first appeared in a 1927 issue of Weird Tales. ***
The Tea Leaves - A tale of fate foretold from the bottom of a teacup. ***
The Trap - Canevin must deduce the cause of the mysterious disappearance of one of his young students, and devise a method to ensure his safe return.
The Napier Limousine - Responding to an urgent request, Canevin and Lord Carruth take an unusual short hop in the title vehicle to help avert a tragedy. A neatly constructed story with a satisfying coda. ***
The Ravel Pavane - In this romantic tale with an otherworldly element, a pianist experiences a deep reverie when hearing the title piece.
Sea Change - Any synopsis might just give away too much here; best to go into this one cold. Be assured though, this is top shelf. ***
The People of Pan - Great atmospheric story of Grosvenor, the world’s richest man, and his amazing adventure on the mysterious island of Saona. ***
The Chadbourne Episode - Farm animals and a young boy have gone missing in Connecticut in this gruesome tale, spiced with a heavy dose of 1930’s era xenophobia.
Scar-Tissue - The strange mystery behind Joe Smith's ghastly scar is revealed in this intriguing tale of ancestral memory and poetic justice.
In Case of Disaster Only - A good yarn about precognition and telepathy.
Bothon - Powers Meredith receives a sharp blow to the head, and then experiences a strange aural phenomena.
The Great Circle - A wonderful panoramic description via a descending aircraft opens this adventure tale of a lost-race. While there are some exciting moments, this bloated story would have been far more effective if its length were halved. ***
Obi in the Caribbean - A very short treatise on West Indian obi (magic) superstitons.

JUMBEE AND OTHER VOODOO TALES
Jumbee - A Caribbean-flavored ghost story.
Cassius - Chilling West Indian tale of a “Thing” which viciously attacks a St Thomas houseman, and seems to reside in a miniature hut, fashioned by all appearance as a child’s dollhouse. ***
Black Tancrède - Though this one starts in convoluted fashion, it eventually finds its footing midway though to deliver a creepy tale of revenge.
The Shadows - What exactly are those strange shadows that appear in the house where Old Morris died? And how exactly did he die?
Sweet Grass - This may be Whitehead’s quintessential voodoo tale, which ncludes some of his most lush and intoxicating prose. ***
The Tree-Man - Canevin relates the incredible story of Silvio Fabricus, who has a strange devotion to a certain tree. Another one of the best! This one will linger with you... ***
Passing of a God - Doctor Pelletier relates to Canevin the strange story of a Mr Carswell and his frightful medical condition. ***
Hill Drums - When travel writer William Palgrave disparages Charlotte Amalia, capital town of St. Thomas, in a magazine article, repercussions ensue from even the lowest layers of the social strata.

THE BLACK BEAST AND OTHER VOODOO TALES
The Black Beast - Whitehead perfectly sets the scene with an ominous description of the old House known as Gannett’s, now shuttered for half a century. But after the property passes to younger heirs, the Gannett’s is leased to a Mrs Garde, who experiences something frightful and inexplicable. Canevin sets out to discover exactly what happened there in the autumn of 1876. ***
Seven Turns in a Hangman’s Rope - The dreadful tragedy of Saul McCartney is eerily relived in a most unusual oil painting which Canevin discovers among the artifacts in a house in Fredericksted on the island of Vera Cruz. Canevin, after exhaustive research, recounts the infamous events of 1825 in this extraordinary pirate tale, hinging on the sure hand of one skilled in the arts of darkness. ***
Mrs Lorriquer - Being the story of the title character and her odd demeanor whilst playing cards.
The Projection of Armand Dubois - After Mrs du Chaillu collects an old debt from Dubois, she is visited by strange apparitions.
The Lips - Lurid tale of one slave’s vengeance on a cruel master of a slave ship.

OTHER STORIES
The Fireplace - When the Planter’s Hotel in Jackson, Mississippi, burns to the ground on December 23, 1922, four prominent Southern citizens lose their lives. Whitehead neatly unwraps the sublime backstory, making this one of his best. ***
The Moon Dial - The story of Said Yussuf, the young son of the Maharajah of Kangalore, and his eternal fascination with the full moon.
No Eye-Witness - Everard Simon’s subway ride back to Brooklyn is usually uneventful, but on this one particular evening it leads him into a highly unusual situation.
Across the Gulf - Alan Carrington’s mother had always believed that if a deceased mother comes to a child in a dream it portends a disaster in the family. Six years after she dies, she finally comes to Alan in a dream, leaving him to wonder if it is indeed a warning.
The Tabernacle - Kashmir Strod places his Sanctissimum cloth inside his new beehive, with remarkable consequence.
The Door - The ending is really no surprise in this trifle in which a man belatedly attempts to right a wrong he committed against his parents.
Sea-Tiger - Arthur Hewitt, en route for the West Indies, is thrown overboard in a violent storm, but miraculously survives this near-death experience - followed by a very strange aftermath.
… (plus d'informations)
 
Signalé
ghr4 | Mar 15, 2019 |

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Statistiques

Œuvres
35
Aussi par
40
Membres
322
Popularité
#73,505
Évaluation
½ 3.7
Critiques
3
ISBN
26
Langues
4

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