#BookWormSat Fantasy worlds Fantasy of the 20th Century: An Illustrated History (2001) by Randy Broecker. This is a very good history of 20th-century fantasy stories. Illustrated with 250+ book and magazine covers. Includes many subgenres.

#BookWormSat Fantasy worlds Here is a sample of books from favorite authors related to this topic. I often use the work of these authors for weekly hashtags, so likely no surprises! I couldn't decide which to post, so I made one giant image 🤔😅 Alt text contains author - title - cover artist.

#WyrdWednesday Endings Nyarlathotep heralds the end of humankind in the 1920 short story by H. P. Lovecraft. Art credit in alt text.

#BookWormSat Winter A Winter Ride (1912) by Amy Lowell. This text is from the 1919 reprint of her collection A Dome of Many-Coloured Glass.

#WyrdWednesday Any topic The Sci-Fi & Fantasy Art of Patrick J. Jones (Korero Press, 2016) is one of my favorite art books. He is an artist and teacher who does paintings based on speculative fiction and mythology. I tried to pick a broad sample of his work. More info in alt text.

It is the Birthday of Karl Edward Wagner. It was my discovery of Wagner's Kane which led me to his horror fiction, which led me to Manly Wade Wellman, which put me on the path I'm currently on. Karl's essays led me to read the Gothic novels, to discover Hugh B. cave and Joseph Payne Brennan, 1/2

#PhantomsFriday Painting from Elsewhere: The Fantasy Art of Jesper Ejsing (2019). Used as cover art for the Tomb of Ice expansion for the Descent tabletop game. Ejsing has done art for many other games like D&D, Magic: The Gathering, and Hearthstone.

#WyrdWednesday A painting from Out of the Forests: The Art of Paul Bonner (2008) for the tactical miniatures game Confrontation that depicts a huge underground battle. This is a small part of a painting that spans two pages. I was not able to photograph the whole scene well enough to post.

#WyrdWednesday The Dweller in the Gulf (1933) by Clark Ashton Smith. Prospectors discover a malevolent entity deep beneath the surface of Mars in this sci-fi/horror tale. Wonder Stories infuriated Smith by changing the plot without his consent. Night Shade properly restored the original.

#PhantomsFriday Cover art by Virgil Finlay for Weird Tales, September 1952.

#WyrdWednesday Dark night, dark tales Black-and-white illustration by Clyde Caldwell for AD&D 1E module I6 Ravenloft (1983) by Tracy and Laura Hickman. A large carriage drawn by two horses approaches Castle Ravenloft under the dark skies of Barovia. Strahd von Zarovich awaits.

#BookWormSat A Heroine of the World (1989) by Tanith Lee. A girl with a fanciful, artistic mind faces horrors of war, occupation, and life in foreign societies. Set in a fictional world loosely based on northern and eastern Europe. Features the lyrical writing and mysticism that Lee did so well.

#PhantomsFriday Another interior illustration by Stephen Fabian for the 1977 Underwood-Miller reprint of The Eyes of the Overworld (1966) by Jack Vance. This image is from a book that collects his art. In this scene, a ghostly city and ship full of ghost revelers appeared, then disappeared.

#WyrdWednesday The Seven Geases (1934) by Clark Ashton Smith. An arrogant nobleman on a hunting expedition annoys the wrong sorcerer and is sent as a sacrifice to dwellers below. Paddock, as used here, is an archaic word for toad. Tsathoggua idol sculpted by Jason McKittrick.

#PhantomsFriday Two haunted house poems. Tenant by Frances Angevine Gray. I could not find an original publication date. This text is from Fire and Sleet and Candlelight (1961). In the Shadows (1935) by Leah Bodine Drake.

#PhantomsFriday Interior illustration by Stephen Fabian for the 1977 Underwood-Miller reprint of The Eyes of the Overworld (1966) by Jack Vance.

Share the last movie you watched. I knew nothing about this movie and just read the short description on a streaming service before watching. I really enjoyed it.

#WyrdWednesday Elric and Stormbringer. Art credit in alt text.

#BookWormSat Gnomes (1976 Dutch/1977 English) written by Wil Huygen and beautifully illustrated throughout by Rien Poortvliet. A fascinating field guide to gnomes and similar beings. One of my childhood favorites.

#BookWormSat The closing poem of Flower Fables (1854) by Louisa May Alcott. This text is from an 1898 reprint as part of the Altemus' Young People's Library. I don't have a definite credit for the art.

#WyrdWednesday The King in Yellow (1895) by Robert W. Chambers.

#BookWormSat There Will Come Soft Rains (1950) by Ray Bradbury. Published in Collier's. Revised for The Martian Chronicles. "The five spots of paint—the man, the woman, the boy, the girl, the ball—remained. The rest was a thin layer of charcoal." The 1918 Sara Teasdale poem central to the story:

#WyrdWednesday Fire Demon by Frank Frazetta. Used as cover art for the 1977 anthology Swords Against Darkness with stories by Robert E. Howard/Andrew J. Offutt, Poul Anderson, George W. Proctor, Bruce Jones, Manly Wade Wellman, Richard L. Tierney, Raul Garcia Capella, David Drake, Ramsey Campbell.

The first-ever Clark Ashton Smith conference is now just over 2 months away. Discounted hotel reservations are available until Dec 10th. Come out and celebrate the Emperor of Dreams in his own hometown. Tickets and more information can be gotten at thesmithcircle.net

Thank you so much to everyone who has supported our Kickstarter! 🖤 If you would like to dance on strange, wild music with the witches of Flanders, consider backing our project! Every little bit helps! ✨ kck.st/492NqKt

#BookWormSat This collection of Karl Edward Wagner's early novellas has one story with a werewolf and one with ghouls, ghosts, and a vampire. Plus an excellent quasi-Western, but in a sword-and-sorcery setting. Art credit in alt text.

#PhantomsFriday Some One (1913) by Walter de la Mare. Text is from Collected Poems (1921). I like to think of this poem as a counterpart to his more well-known spooky poem The Listeners. Which side of the door was the phantom on...🤔

The Robert E. Howard House & Museum in Cross Plains, TX is in need of imminent repair work to its foundations, as well as moisture and termite damage. If you can afford to give a little to help keep this bit of pulp history alive, it would be appreciated. rehfoundation.org/save-the-reh...

#PhantomsFriday Strindberg's Ghost Sonata (2008) by Tanith Lee. A very moving novella with a tie-in to August Strindberg's play. A man, saved from suicide, is trapped in the household of his rescuers. His destiny intertwines with that of a ghost woman with a strange and traumatic past.

Wyrdlings! We have a special announcement today. Our dear friend @signemaene.com has collaborated with Wyrd Mother @prairiebones.bsky.social and launched a Kickstarter campaign for their newest book of short stories! Link posted below⬇️ Our topic for tomorrow's #WyrdWednesday will be: 🖤WITCHES🖤

#WyrdWednesday Oh foolish fire, encased in lantern skin, Bleed out this night and light my way With elemental grin. Reveal the Horns of Deviltry, Show me the Mask of Death; I'll gaze beyond the dead-grin glow, Beyond the dead-leaf flesh. From: Lantern by Juan J. Gutiérrez Art credit in alt text.

Q&A with Morgan Richter about her new novel, THE UNDERSTUDY. tinyurl.com/4a46f3z3 @morganrichter.bsky.social

#BookWormSat From a Train Window (1934) by Edna St. Vincent Millay. Text is from Collected Poems of Edna St. Vincent Millay (1990).

Official release date is October 14. The weird must flow... ( Now taking pre-orders at tinyurl.com/5xdz5emb )

#PhantomsFriday One Night of the Year (1980) by Tanith Lee, who was born on this day in 1947. Cyrion is a sword-and-sorcery character, private detective, and master of disguise. In this story, a family of ghosts lures him into a sepulchre. To survive, he must solve a 1200-year-old mystery.

#WyrdWednesday The Lord of Cities by Lord Dunsany (1908). Collected in The Sword of Welleran and Other Stories. A rarely mentioned little story with some great passages. Here a spider speaks about the transient nature of humans and all of our works, which it will inherit.

#BookWormSat Lean Times in Lankhmar (1959) by Fritz Leiber. Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser clash when Fafhrd becomes deeply devoted to the obscure god Issek of the Jug, while the Mouser works for a thug extorting priests. A night of drinking and kidnapping ends with an accidental ascension to divinity.

#WyrdWednesday The Death of Malygris (1934) by Clark Ashton Smith. A cabal of sorcerers believes that Malygris is dead and seeks to usurp his position. But even in his current state, he demonstrates why he was the most feared sorcerer in Poseidonis.

#WyrdWednesday Necromancy in Naat (1936) by Clark Ashton Smith. Zombies, a vampiric demon-weasel, patricide, a wild sword fight, and an operatic finale, all wrapped in beautiful prose. Night Shade restored much of the original text removed by Weird Tales editors.

#WyrdWednesday The Empire of the Necromancers (1932) by Clark Ashton Smith. The opening paragraph establishes the setting for this first story of Zothique. In their hubris, two necromancers raise an empire of the dead from the distant past. But the newly arisen have their own prophesy to fulfill.

#BookWormSat Beyond the Black River (1935) by Robert E. Howard. Frontier story reimagined as sword-and-sorcery in the (fictionalized) Pictish wilderness. Main character is Aquilonian, but the Picts' viewpoint is clearly explained. Dark, gloomy, and thought-provoking, with top-notch action.

I am honored to be on a guest panel at the first-ever Smith Circle, a one-day conference celebrating the life and work of Clark Ashton Smith, who has always been one of my favorite writers. Saturday, Jan 10, in Smith's hometown of Auburn, CA. More info, guest list, and tix at: www.thesmithcircle.net

#PhantomsFriday Opening Door (1959?) by Winifred Adams Burr. Text is from Fire and Sleet and Candlelight (1961). I like the analogy between a poltergeist opening a house door and Burr's imagination opening her mind to new ideas for creative works. She was also a painter.

Here’s a piece of video game history up for auction: Minotaur head sculpted for the 3DO version of "Doom" Would look great on the wall over your bed. Current bid is only $120, a steal. bid.rlspear.com/Public/Aucti...

#PhantomsFriday The Mask of the Sorcerer (1995) by Darrell Schweitzer. An outstanding dark fantasy novel with a setting loosely based on ancient Egypt. In an early scene, the main character travels up the River of the Dead, where the substantial and the ghostly worlds are reversed.

#MusicChallenge #GetBackToTheCountry Got this excellent album ~30 years ago after hearing this song on radio. Skip Gorman - Old Paint's a Pony www.youtube.com/watch?v=or0I... Original song was written by former slave Charley Willis, who was a cowboy in late 1800s. Title and lyrics have varied.

#WyrdWednesday Art by François Baranger for the 2023 Design Studio Press illustrated version of The Dunwich Horror (1929). The Call of Cthulhu and At the Mountains of Madness have also been published with full-page illustrations throughout. The Shadow Over Innsmouth out in French; English out soon.

#MusicChallenge #GetBackToTheCountry The Carter Family - When the Roses Come Again One of my favorites. I really like the rhyming pattern and word choices in the lyrics. And also the sentiments. Song-writing credits are in my reply below. www.youtube.com/watch?v=osnJ...

#BookWormSat An excerpt from The Wanderer by Australian poet Christopher Brennan. Collected in Poems:1913 (1914). Text below is from The Verse of Christopher Brennan (Angus & Robertson, 1960).

#PhantomsFriday Le Revenant/The Phantom by Charles Baudelaire, as translated by Clark Ashton Smith in Weird Tales, May 1929. CAS translated most of Baudelaire's poems as prose, but only versified some. Much invention is needed to make the rhythm/rhyming work while keeping the feel of the original.