THE DEEP ONES: "The Letters of Cold Fire" by Manly Wade Wellman
DiscussionsThe Weird Tradition
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1semdetenebre
"The Letters of Cold Fire" by Manly Wade Wellman
Discussion begins February 17, 2021.
First published in the May 1944 issue of Weird Tales.
ONLINE VERSIONS
https://books.google.com/books?id=XVQ4CgAAQBAJ&pg=PT60#v=onepage&q&f...
https://archive.org/details/Weird_Tales_v37n05_1944-05_LPM-AT
BIBLIOGRAPHY
http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?87954
SELECTED PRINT VERSIONS
Lonely Vigils
The Third Cry to Legba and Other Invocations
Acolytes of Cthulhu
The Complete John Thunstone
MISCELLANY
http://clarkesworldmagazine.com/wellman_interview/
https://thepulp.net/pulpsuperfan/2014/04/07/john-thunstone-occult-detective/
http://www.oddlyweirdfiction.com/2014/05/pulpy-goodness-with-big-touch-of-weird....
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Thunstone
https://tinyurl.com/y2upt4vb
Discussion begins February 17, 2021.
First published in the May 1944 issue of Weird Tales.
ONLINE VERSIONS
https://books.google.com/books?id=XVQ4CgAAQBAJ&pg=PT60#v=onepage&q&f...
https://archive.org/details/Weird_Tales_v37n05_1944-05_LPM-AT
BIBLIOGRAPHY
http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?87954
SELECTED PRINT VERSIONS
Lonely Vigils
The Third Cry to Legba and Other Invocations
Acolytes of Cthulhu
The Complete John Thunstone
MISCELLANY
http://clarkesworldmagazine.com/wellman_interview/
https://thepulp.net/pulpsuperfan/2014/04/07/john-thunstone-occult-detective/
http://www.oddlyweirdfiction.com/2014/05/pulpy-goodness-with-big-touch-of-weird....
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Thunstone
https://tinyurl.com/y2upt4vb
2semdetenebre
I actually have this story in the Carcosa, Night Shade, and Haffner editions. I think I'll choose.... Carcosa! And hit those great Lee Brown Coye illustrations (at MWW/LBC signed bookplate) and the same time.
3housefulofpaper
I have the Haffner edition too. I think it was this group that alerted me to it. So I have read all the Thunstone stories collected in it.
Taking this story in isolation, the fact that Thunstone was designed as a recurring character for a pulp magazine (even though that magazine was Weird Tales) was maybe a bit too apparent - the elegant apartment and social ease of a man-about-town/amateur detective, the slightly complicated love interest, the recurring villain, and the punch-up as a climax to the action - brings to mind any number of mid-20th century films, TV shows, radio programmes, and so on.
That's not to say it wasn't enormous fun to read - I relished working through the Haffner edition - but I don't think these stories repay revisiting as much as the work of Lovecraft, CAS, etc. do.
And there are genuinely strange (or Weird) moments, such as the vague details of the Deep School. I gather that Wellman included genuine pieces of folklore and magical practices in his stories, alongside his own inventions.
Interesting that the world of these stories is apparently one where prayer and symbols such the the Cross have efficacy, but also one where the Necronomicon is real and to be feared. I wonder if that's all Wellman, or is an instance of August Derleth's influence on Mythos writing after Lovecraft's death?
And the resolution of the story - getting Thorne committed to an asylum, strikes me all at the same time as ingenious, comic-bookish, and chilling in its implications (if it's so easy to make someone "disappear" for their stated beliefs or writings).
Taking this story in isolation, the fact that Thunstone was designed as a recurring character for a pulp magazine (even though that magazine was Weird Tales) was maybe a bit too apparent - the elegant apartment and social ease of a man-about-town/amateur detective, the slightly complicated love interest, the recurring villain, and the punch-up as a climax to the action - brings to mind any number of mid-20th century films, TV shows, radio programmes, and so on.
That's not to say it wasn't enormous fun to read - I relished working through the Haffner edition - but I don't think these stories repay revisiting as much as the work of Lovecraft, CAS, etc. do.
And there are genuinely strange (or Weird) moments, such as the vague details of the Deep School. I gather that Wellman included genuine pieces of folklore and magical practices in his stories, alongside his own inventions.
Interesting that the world of these stories is apparently one where prayer and symbols such the the Cross have efficacy, but also one where the Necronomicon is real and to be feared. I wonder if that's all Wellman, or is an instance of August Derleth's influence on Mythos writing after Lovecraft's death?
And the resolution of the story - getting Thorne committed to an asylum, strikes me all at the same time as ingenious, comic-bookish, and chilling in its implications (if it's so easy to make someone "disappear" for their stated beliefs or writings).
4semdetenebre
Haffner Press has a long-standing pre-order up for the Complete John the Balladeer, to match the Thunstone volume. "Complete" as in including the novels as well as the short stories. It'll be released eventually. Looking forward to it.
I like the Thunstone stories as far as their being Wellman's second take on the occult investigator sub-genre (the first being the Judge Pursuivant series) but I don't find them to be as enjoyable as the unique, Appalachia-set Silver John stories., which as housefulofpaper notes, were also full of local myth and folklore.
If you haven't, take a peek at Wellman's insanely lengthy bibliography up in >1 semdetenebre:. I see it's missing his comic book work, including ghost writing some of Will Eisner's classic newspaper strip, The Spirit.
I like the Thunstone stories as far as their being Wellman's second take on the occult investigator sub-genre (the first being the Judge Pursuivant series) but I don't find them to be as enjoyable as the unique, Appalachia-set Silver John stories., which as housefulofpaper notes, were also full of local myth and folklore.
If you haven't, take a peek at Wellman's insanely lengthy bibliography up in >1 semdetenebre:. I see it's missing his comic book work, including ghost writing some of Will Eisner's classic newspaper strip, The Spirit.
5RandyStafford
>3 housefulofpaper: My reactions were similar. I liked the background details and hinted relationships more than the story. (Presumably, Thorne's and Thunstone's previous battles are covered in earlier stories, and Harlan's relationship with Thunstone too.)
I liked that the "schoolbook" is, in Thorne's eyes, a substitute for the Necronomicon.
I too wondered about the detail with the hat on the bed being "bad luck". I've heard Wellman used actual folklore in his John the Ballader stories, so maybe it's an actual superstition.
There was a strong Christian element in the story from Cavet saying Thorne will be a great name in hell to the end bit with the conversation with the Countess. I suppose an immortal soul is a common element in the occult detective sub-genre.
Yes, the committal of Thorne was a bit disturbing. I mean Thunstone isn't an official or family member. And it was a nice play on all those people in Lovecraftian stories who end up in mental hospitals.
I liked that the "schoolbook" is, in Thorne's eyes, a substitute for the Necronomicon.
I too wondered about the detail with the hat on the bed being "bad luck". I've heard Wellman used actual folklore in his John the Ballader stories, so maybe it's an actual superstition.
There was a strong Christian element in the story from Cavet saying Thorne will be a great name in hell to the end bit with the conversation with the Countess. I suppose an immortal soul is a common element in the occult detective sub-genre.
Yes, the committal of Thorne was a bit disturbing. I mean Thunstone isn't an official or family member. And it was a nice play on all those people in Lovecraftian stories who end up in mental hospitals.
6semdetenebre
>5 RandyStafford:
I just remembered that "no hats on the bed" is a key plot point in Gus Van Sant's really great 1989 druggie-noir DRUGSTORE COWBOY with Matt Dillon, Kelly Lynch, and James Remar. No bad-luck origin details there, but it was the first time I'd heard of it.
I just remembered that "no hats on the bed" is a key plot point in Gus Van Sant's really great 1989 druggie-noir DRUGSTORE COWBOY with Matt Dillon, Kelly Lynch, and James Remar. No bad-luck origin details there, but it was the first time I'd heard of it.