Clark Ashton Smith Picks his Favorite Tales
Big Three Weird Tales Horror/Fantasy Writer Names Best Stories
Sep 21, 2008
Little known outside the field today, Clark Ashton Smith was one of the best writers of the early horror-fantasy genré, working largely in Weird Tales and Strange Tales. His work is as fresh today as it was in the 1920s and 1930s when he was writing.
Smith’s first claim to fame was his poetry, published in 1912 in a volume titled The Star-Treader and Other Poems published by A.M. Robertson. He became best known for his horror fiction and was one of the “Big Three” writers — along with H.P. Lovecraft and Robert E. Howard — at Weird Tales magazine at the periodical’s peak.
Since Smith corresponded frequently with Lovecraft and his other fellow writers, they discussed “weird” fiction a lot and named their top stories in the field. Smith, who was one of the best, made a list that spoke volumes about the influences that changed the field.
Clark Ashton Smith's Picks
According to The Eldritch Dark Web site that focuses on the works of Smith, he listed the following:
The Favorite Weird Stories of C.A. Smith
1. “The Yellow Sign” by Robert W. Chambers
2. “The House of Sounds” by M.P. Shiel
3. “The Willows” by Algernon Blackwood
4. “A View from a Hill” by M.R. James
5. “The Death of Halpin Fraser” by Ambrose Bierce
6. “The Fall of the House of Usher” by Edgar Allen Poe
7. “The Masque of the Red Death” by Edgar Allen Poe
8. “The White Powder” by Arthur Machen
9. “The Call of Cthulhu” by H.P. Lovecraft
10. “The Colour Out of Space” by H.P. Lovecraft
Special Writers
In this list, by a master of the horror tale, note Dracula and Frankenstein are not listed. While they are novels, they also don’t fit Smith’s view of the horror-fantasy world.
Of particular note in the list are:
“The Yellow Sign” by Robert W. Chambers, a name now largely unknown. He became a successful historical romance writer, but first gained fame with his horror stories. In particular, those connected stories in The King in Yellow — of which “The Yellow Sign” is part — influenced Smith, Lovecraft and Howard, among many others.
“The Call of Cthulhu” by H.P. Lovecraft actually is where Cthulhu makes his first appearance. HPL never called the connected writings — including those by himself, Smith, Howard, Robert Bloch and others — the Cthulhu Mythos, but this is a pivotal piece in that posthumously named world.
“The Colour Out of Space” by H.P. Lovecraft is more a science fiction piece than straight horror, but it is one of HPL’s best short pieces.
“The Willows” by Algernon Blackwood has the kind of atmospheric horrors that Smith, Lovecraft and Howard loved to use themselves. It has a creeping ominous feel that builds slowly.
In all, Smith’s list could be a “best-of” compilation for any avid horror-fantasy reader. It just helps to know what one of the best writers thought.
