Essence of Kali

 

Algernon Blackwood, Arthur Machen and M R James were the premier horror writers of their day, though Blackwood perhaps the more prolific. He shared a deep interest in the occult with Aleister Crowley, and H P Lovecraft regarded him as a formative influence. One of his more interesting creations was the Occult Detective – Dr John Silence. Think Sherlock Holmes fighting demons and ghosts. With his mischievous black cat named Smoke and a world-weary golden collie called Flame, he battled ‘malevolent ghosts, astral werewolves, fire elementals, the cult of Asmodeus, and other fiends.’ 

I remember enjoying the stories on first reading them and being disappointed that he wrote only six! It’s why I was intrigued by a new and unexpected challenge, and one that paid: an anthology of new John Silence stories. Could I master the mannered Edwardian prose of Blackwood himself – never mind write a convincing story of the occult?

Glad to say, I could, and my story—Essence of Kali is one of seven in an impressive new anthology:

SILENCE

UNTOLD TALES

OF

ALGERNON BLACKWOOD’S PSYCHIC DOCTOR