The Weird Fiction Megapack Read online

  Table of Contents

  COPYRIGHT INFO

  A NOTE FROM THE PUBLISHER

  THE MEGAPACK SERIES

  BOY BLUE, by Steve Rasnic Tem

  TAP DANCING, by John Gregory Betancourt

  TO BECOME A SORCERER, by Darrell Schweitzer

  THE GOLGOTHA DANCERS, by Manly Wade Wellman

  THE DEATH OF ILALOTHA, by Clark Ashton Smith

  THE SALEM HORROR, by Henry Kuttner

  THE DISINTERMENT, by H.P. Lovecraft and D.W. Rimel

  THE SEA-WITCH, by Nictzin Dyalhis

  VINE TERROR, by Howard Wandrei

  THE PALE MAN, by Julius Long

  WEREWOLF OF THE SAHARA, by G.G. Pendarves

  TRAIN FOR FLUSHING, by Malcolm Jameson

  THE DIARY OF PHILIP WESTERLY, by Paul Compton

  MASK OF DEATH, by Paul Ernst

  THE GIRL FROM SAMARCAND, by E. Hoffmann Price

  THE MONKEY SPOONS, by Mary Elizabeth Counselman

  THE VENGEANCE OF NITOCRIS, by Tennessee Williams

  THE NINTH SKELETON, by Clark Ashton Smith

  BIMINI, by Bassett Morgan

  THE CURSE OF YIG, by H.P. Lovecraft and Zealia Bishop

  THE HAUNTER OF THE RING, by Robert E. Howard

  THE MEDICI BOOTS, by Pearl Norton Swet

  THE LOST DOOR, by Dorothy Quick

  DOOM OF THE HOUSE OF DURYEA, by Earl Peirce, Jr.

  IN THE DARK, by Ronal Kayser

  ABOUT THE AUTHORS

  COPYRIGHT INFO

  The Weird Fiction Megapack is copyright © 2014 by Wildside Press LLC. All rights reserved.

  * * * *

  “Boy Blue,” by Steve Rasnic Tem, originally appeared in Weird Tales #2, edited by Lin Carter. Copyright © 1980 by Steve Rasnic Tem. Reprinted by permission of the author.

  “Tap Dancing,” by John Gregory Betancourt, originally appeared in Weird Tales #300, Spring 1991. Copyright © 1991 by John Gregory Betancourt. Reprinted by permission of the author.

  “To Become a Sorcerer,” by Darrell Schweitzer, originally appeared in Weird Tales #303. Copyright © 1991 by Darrell Schweitzer. Reprinted by permission of the author.

  “The Golgotha Dancers,” by Many Wade Wellman, originally appeared in Weird Tales, October 1937.

  “The Death of Ilalotha,” by Clark Ashton Smith, originally appeared in Weird Tales, September 1937.

  “The Salem Horror,” by Henry Kuttner, originally appeared in Weird Tales, May 1937.

  “The Disinterment,” by H.P. Lovecraft and D.W. Rimel, originally appeared in September, 1935.

  “The Sea-Witch,” by Nictzin Dyalhis, originally appeared in Weird Tales, December 1937.

  “Vine Terror,” by Howard Wandrei, originally appeared in Weird Tales, September 1934.

  “The Pale Man,” by Julius Long, originally appeared in Weird Tales, September 1934.

  “Werewolf of the Sahara,” by G.G. Pendarves, originally appeared in Weird Tales, August-September 1936.

  “Train for Flushing,” by Malcolm Jameson, originally appeared in Weird Tales, March-April 1940.

  “The Diary of Philip Westerly,” by Paul Compton, originally appeared in Weird Tales, August-September 1936.

  “Mask of Death,” by Paul Ernst, originally appeared in Weird Tales, August-September 1936.

  “The Girl from Samarcand,” by E. Hoffmann Price, originally appeared in Weird Tales, March 1938.

  “The Monkey Spoons,” by Mary Elizabeth, originally appeared in Weird Tales, May 1950.

  “The Vengeance of Nitocris,” by Tennessee Williams, originally appeared in Weird Tales, August 1928.

  “Bimini,” by Bassett Morgan, originally appeared in Weird Tales, January 1929.

  “The Curse of Yig,” by H.P. Lovecraft and Zealia Bishop, originally appeared in Weird Tales, November 1929.

  “The Haunter of the Ring,” by Robert E. Howard, originally appeare in Weird Tales, June 1934.

  “The Medici Boots,” by Pearl Norton Swet, originally appeared in Weird Tales, August-September 1936.

  “The Lost Door,” by Dorothy Quick, originally appeared in Weird Tales, October 1936.

  “Doom of the House of Duryea,” by Earl Peirce, Jr., originally appeared in Weird Tales, October 1936.

  “In the Dark,” by Ronal Kayser, originally appeared in Weird Tales, October 1936.

  A NOTE FROM THE PUBLISHER

  Weird fiction (a term coined by no less an expert than H.P. Lovecraft) has been around for hundreds of years…and it has expanded to include not just the ghost story, but all manner of horror stories, fantasy stories, and the just plain uncanny. Before the term came to be, pulp magazines billed tales of the supernatural as “different” stories (using the quotation marks) as a sort of code so readers would know ahead of time what they were going into.

  Weird Tales magazine—founded in 1923—became a centerpoint for weird fiction throughout its original run (ending in 1954), then to varying degrees throughout its revivals. I was involved (along with George Scithers and Darrell Schweitzer) in the fourth—and most successful—of the Weird Tales revivals (starting in the late 1980s…and still continuing to this day, but now under the skilled editorship of Marvin Kaye).

  For The Weird Fiction Megapack, I have selected tales both modern and classic from Weird Tales, ranging throughout the 20th Century, but focusing mainly on the classic era of the 1930s. I have tried to pick less-well-known stories (how many times have we seen the same few Lovecraft and Robert E. Howard stories anthologized?)

  From the current incarnation, I’ve taken the liberty of including my own story “Tap Dancing”—one of the best supernatural stories I’ve written—along with Darrell Schweitzer’s “To Become a Sorcerer” (the first story from Weird Tales to be nominated for a World Fantasy Award). From the 4-volume Lin Carter-edited 1980s revival, I selected Steve Rasnic Tem’s “Boy Blue,” a truly chilling tale that stays with you long after you’ve finished it. From the classic run, I’ve picked some of the classic authors—Lovecraft, Smith, Howard, etc.—but rarer stories you may not have encountered before. And, of course, there are great stories from writers like Manly Wade Wellman, E. Hoffmann Price, Mary Elizabeth Counselman, Dorothy Quick, etc.

  Enjoy. And if you want to see what’s currently happening with weird fiction and Weird Tales, just search the ebook store where you purchased this volume “Weird Tales”—you should find a healthy selection of back issues, plus the current one. (As I write this, the current issue is #361.)

  —John Betancourt

  Publisher, Wildside Press LLC

  www.wildsidepress.com

  ABOUT THE MEGAPACKS

  Over the last few years, our “Megapack” series of ebook anthologies has grown to be among our most popular endeavors. (Maybe it helps that we sometimes offer them as premiums to our mailing list!) One question we keep getting asked is, “Who’s the editor?”

  The Megapacks (except where specifically credited) are a group effort. Everyone at Wildside works on them. This includes John Betancourt (me), Carla Coupe, Steve Coupe, Bonner Menking, Colin Azariah-Kribbs, A.E. Warren, and many of Wildside’s authors…who often suggest stories to include (and not just their own!)

  A NOTE FOR KINDLE READERS

  The Kindle versions of our Megapacks employ active tables of contents for easy navigation…please look for one before writing reviews on Amazon that complain about the lack! (They are sometimes at the ends of ebooks, depending on your reader.)

  RECOMMEND A FAVORITE STORY?

  Do you know a great classic science fiction story, or have a favorite author whom you believe is perfect for the Megapack series? We’d love your suggestions! You can post them on our message board at http://movies.ning.com/forum (t
here is an area for Wildside Press comments).

  Note: we only consider stories that have already been professionally published. This is not a market for new works.

  TYPOS

  Unfortunately, as hard as we try, a few typos do slip through. We update our ebooks periodically, so make sure you have the current version (or download a fresh copy if it’s been sitting in your ebook reader for months.) It may have already been updated.

  If you spot a new typo, please let us know. We’ll fix it for everyone. You can email the publisher at [email protected] or use the message boards above.

  THE MEGAPACK SERIES

  MYSTERY

  The Achmed Abdullah Megapack

  The Charlie Chan Megapack*

  The Craig Kennedy Scientific Detective Megapack

  The Detective Megapack

  The Father Brown Megapack

  The Girl Detective Megapack

  The Jacques Futrelle Megapack

  The Anna Katharine Green Mystery Megapack

  The First Mystery Megapack

  The Penny Parker Megapack

  The Philo Vance Megapack*

  The Pulp Fiction Megapack

  The Raffles Megapack

  The Victorian Mystery Megapack

  The Wilkie Collins Megapack

  GENERAL INTEREST

  The Adventure Megapack

  The Baseball Megapack

  The Cat Story Megapack

  The Second Cat Story Megapack

  The Third Cat Story Megapack

  The Third Cat Story Megapack

  The Christmas Megapack

  The Second Christmas Megapack

  The Classic American Short Stories Megapack, Vol. 1.

  The Classic Humor Megapack

  The Dog Story Megapack

  The Doll Story Megapack

  The Horse Story Megapack

  The Military Megapack

  The Sea-Story Megapack

  SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY

  The Edward Bellamy Megapack

  The First Reginald Bretnor Megapack

  The Fredric Brown Megapack

  The Ray Cummings Megapack

  The Philip K. Dick Megapack

  The Randall Garrett Megapack

  The Second Randall Garrett Megapack

  The Edmond Hamilton Megapack

  The C.J. Henderson Megapack

  The Murray Leinster Megapack

  The Second Murray Leinster Megapack

  The Martian Megapack

  The Andre Norton Megapack

  The H. Beam Piper Megapack

  The Pulp Fiction Megapack

  The Mack Reynolds Megapack

  The Darrell Schweitzer Megapack

  The Science-Fantasy Megapack

  The First Science Fiction Megapack

  The Second Science Fiction Megapack

  The Third Science Fiction Megapack

  The Fourth Science Fiction Megapack

  The Fifth Science Fiction Megapack

  The Sixth Science Fiction Megapack

  The Seventh Science Fiction Megapack

  The Eighth Science Fiction Megapack

  The Robert Sheckley Megapack

  The Steampunk Megapack

  The Time Travel Megapack

  The Wizard of Oz Megapack

  HORROR

  The Achmed Abdullah Megapack

  The Second Achmed Abdullah Megapack

  The E.F. Benson Megapack

  The Second E.F. Benson Megapack

  The Algernon Blackwood Megapack

  The Second Algernon Blackwood Megapack

  The Cthulhu Mythos Megapack

  The Erckmann-Chatrian Megapack

  The Ghost Story Megapack

  The Second Ghost Story Megapack

  The Third Ghost Story Megapack

  The Haunts & Horrors Megapack

  The Horror Megapack

  The M.R. James Megapack

  The Macabre Megapack

  The Second Macabre Megapack

  The Arthur Machen Megapack**

  The Mummy Megapack

  The Occult Detective Megapack

  The Darrell Schweitzer Megapack

  The Vampire Megapack

  The Werewolf Megapack

  WESTERNS

  The B.M. Bower Megapack

  The Max Brand Megapack

  The Buffalo Bill Megapack

  The Cowboy Megapack

  The Zane Grey Megapack

  The Western Megapack

  The Second Western Megapack

  The Wizard of Oz Megapack

  YOUNG ADULT

  The Boys’ Adventure Megapack

  The Dan Carter, Cub Scout Megapack

  The Doll Story Megapack

  The G.A. Henty Megapack

  The Girl Detectives Megapack

  The Penny Parker Megapack

  The Pinocchio Megapack

  The Rover Boys Megapack

  The Tom Corbett, Space Cadet Megapack

  The Tom Swift Megapack

  AUTHOR MEGAPACKS

  The Achmed Abdullah Megapack

  The Edward Bellamy Megapack

  The B.M. Bower Megapack

  The E.F. Benson Megapack

  The Second E.F. Benson Megapack

  The Algernon Blackwood Megapack

  The Second Algernon Blackwood Megapack

  The Max Brand Megapack

  The First Reginald Bretnor Megapack

  The Fredric Brown Megapack

  The Wilkie Collins Megapack

  The Ray Cummings Megapack

  The Guy de Maupassant Megapack

  The Philip K. Dick Megapack

  The Erckmann-Chatrian Megapack

  The Jacques Futrelle Megapack

  The Randall Garrett Megapack

  The Second Randall Garrett Megapack

  The Anna Katharine Green Megapack

  The Zane Grey Megapack

  The Edmond Hamilton Megapack

  The Dashiell Hammett Megapack

  The C.J. Henderson Megapack

  The M.R. James Megapack

  The Selma Lagerlof Megapack

  The Murray Leinster Megapack***

  The Second Murray Leinster Megapack***

  The Arthur Machen Megapack**

  The George Barr McCutcheon Megapack

  The Talbot Mundy Megapack

  The Andre Norton Megapack

  The H. Beam Piper Megapack

  The Mack Reynolds Megapack

  The Rafael Sabatini Megapack

  The Saki Megapack

  The Darrell Schweitzer Megapack

  The Robert Sheckley Megapack

  * Not available in the United States

  ** Not available in the European Union

  *** Out of print.

  OTHER COLLECTIONS YOU MAY ENJOY

  The Great Book of Wonder, by Lord Dunsany (it should have been called “The Lord Dunsany Megapack”)

  The Wildside Book of Fantasy

  The Wildside Book of Science Fiction

  Yondering: The First Borgo Press Book of Science Fiction Stories

  To the Stars—And Beyond! The Second Borgo Press Book of Science Fiction Stories

  Once Upon a Future: The Third Borgo Press Book of Science Fiction Stories

  Whodunit?—The First Borgo Press Book of Crime and Mystery Stories

  More Whodunits—The Second Borgo Press Book of Crime and Mystery Stories

  X is for Xmas: Christmas Mysteries

  BOY BLUE, by Steve Rasnic Tem

  Alice worked the cigarette vigorously with quick, nervous puffs. The floors and walls seemed to whimper.

  “You know, it’s okay if you’re not sure you love me anymore.”

  She stirred, focused her enormous blue eyes on him, scowled. “Don’t you have any respect for yourself?”

  He looked past her. “Maybe…I don’t know anymore. I do know…I’d do anything for you.”

  “Oh, Morgan, you make me feel guilty all the time!”

  His heart
wasn’t in the argument, but he reacted because he knew she wanted him to defend himself. He pulled out something from one of the many pop psychology books he had read; it was the only way he knew to program himself to argue. “I can’t make you feel guilty.”

  He knew immediately he had made a mistake.

  “That’s right, Morgan; you can’t make me feel.”

  He could just stare at her now, the nimbus of yellow hair crowning the puffy, sleep-starved face, and listen for the noises. The noises were more persistent when they argued: the scrapings, tappings, wood creakings so like whimpers. He was getting another migraine.

  She examined him slowly. “I’m sorry I said that. We did it again, didn’t we?”

  “Yeah. We get weird every time we go to a party. Pretty nasty business tonight.”

  The noises were getting louder. Alice looked around the walls, and stared at the cellar door. “I want you to go down there.”

  “You know…it’s probably just a field mouse, or a gopher.”

  He looked at the door. He had been avoiding it. He needed to know what was going on—if it was a mouse, perhaps a trapped cat, some small animal living in the crawl spaces. But he hadn’t checked it out.

  “Morgan…please.”

  His headache was getting worse. But he’d do anything for her.

  Morgan stood silently on the first landing, wiping the sweat up off his forehead and into the thick black hair. Then he started down the long flight of steps. Like many other old handmade houses in this mountainous part of Virginia, this one had been built into the side of a hill. No ground had been leveled, and the floors were left staggered up and down the hill. The living room was six inches above the bedroom, the kitchen a good two feet below that. Alice insisted it was dangerous.

  As he descended the steps, Morgan grabbed a flashlight off a slanting shelf attached to the railing, and played the light over the chaotic substructure of the house, where joints and floor braces came into each other at strange angles. Large crawlways and shelves were left between the separated walls. Down below he could see the mouth of a long tunnel off the cellar which led to a small coal outcropping mined out of the hill. The air was moist and cloying.

  The noises seemed to have stopped. But Morgan could hear water dripping.

  A large crevice behind the staircase was full of trash and fallen mud. Morgan’s great-uncle and the two families who had lived there after him had dumped their garbage there for an old underground stream, now diminished to a trickle, to dispose of. For most mountain dwellers the area streams had been their dishwasher, garbage collector, and sewer line. Someone had tried to bury the trash by hauling in dirt, but that had only made individual bits of trash stand out like jewels.