What Did HP Lovecraft Think About Oliver Onions?

There's been some recent chatter online about what, if anything, H.P. Lovecraft thought about Oliver Onions' spectral work. The quick answer is: not much. Aside from a few passing mentions indicating an intent to read Onions, Lovecraft never had much to say about this weird fiction colleague.

The recent questions about Lovecraft's view on Onions stem from a citation on the back cover of Dover's 2004 Onions reprint, The Beckoning Fair One. The promotional summary states, "Acclaimed by such masters of the genre as Algernon Blackwood and H.P. Lovecraft as one of the best ghost stories in the English language, 'The Beckoning Fair One' is Oliver Onions' most fascinating and eminently readable story." Regrettably, it appears Dover failed to pull up an exact Lovecraft quote. If they had tried, they would have found that Lovecraft had little to say at all about Onions' ghost stories. It's not even completely clear if Lovecraft read enough tales by Onions to make a positive or negative judgment.

This is a case where Lovecraft's rocketing popularity is being used to nudge more obscure weird fiction writers higher. While it's easy to understand the marketing merits of doing this, it can have unintended consequences if not thoroughly researched, least of which is belittling fantastic supernatural works that are more than capable of standing on their own strengths. Oliver Onions is one such writer who shouldn't need praise from others, even the likes of HPL, to appear intriguing.

Mercifully, Wordsworth's new paperback, The Dead of Night: The Ghost Stories of Oliver Onions, which nearly collects Onions' full oeuvre, doesn't resort to erroneous recommendations by Lovecraft. It also contains a universe more than Dover's reprint, and is cheaper to boot.

-Grim Blogger

What Did HP Lovecraft Think About Oliver Onions?

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Wordsworth Brings New Affordability to Weird Fiction with Crowley and Onions

In the small and cozy field of weird fiction, luxurious books housing the supernatural abound. Until recently, expecting to pay $50 or more a pop for old classics, as well as debut works by new writers, was the norm. If strange literature ever becomes a wider niche, it will be due in part to strides made by two publishers: Wordsworth and Chomu Press. The exemplary work by the latter in bringing contemporary authors to the masses has already been noted here.

Wordsworth, however, has quietly re-released two rare collections for a steal. The Dead of Night collects Oliver Onions' spectral fiction in a lengthy paperback that will make the odd Onions' completist rattle with joy. Onions remains one of the more obscure names in weird horror, but mercifully one who can now be sampled by the uninitiated with zero risk to their bank accounts. His tenuous whirlwinds that breach the line between psychological and supernatural horror have earned him a cult following. Wordsmith's other notable release, The Drug and Other Stories, collects fiction written by a household name. Aleister Crowley is notorious for his occult practices, but his fiction has gained far less attention. The Drug and Other Stories, like the Onions volume, herds Crowley's fictional oeuvre in one convenient tome.

I can't ever recall seeing 600+ page collections from some of weird fiction's more shadowy corners available for the same cost as a cup of coffee. Don't miss these curiosities. Though Wordsworth's print runs are generous, chances are high that these short stories will not be seen in bargain paperbacks like this for another generation (and that's only if e-book readers haven't conquered the world by then). Affordability can rehabilitate writers who have become nearly as ghostly as their stories, and Wordsmith deserves thanks from the horror community for delivering a much needed pep shot to two weirdscribes, among others, whose fiction has teetered on the brink of total obscurity for too long.

-Grim Blogger

Wordsworth Brings New Affordability to Weird Fiction with Crowley and Onions

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