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Arthur Machen (1863–1947)

Author of The Great God Pan

212+ Works 5,653 Members 115 Reviews 55 Favorited

About the Author

Series

Works by Arthur Machen

The Great God Pan (1894) 840 copies
The Three Impostors (1895) 399 copies
The Hill of Dreams (1907) 367 copies
The House of Souls (1922) 160 copies
The Terror and Other Stories (2005) 131 copies
The Terror (1917) 112 copies
The Secret Glory (1922) 84 copies
The Shining Pyramid (1923) — Author — 79 copies
The White People (1987) 64 copies
Hieroglyphics (1902) 59 copies
Ritual and Other Stories (1992) 57 copies
Far Off Things (1922) 57 copies
100 Eternal Masterpieces of Literature - volume 1 (2017) — Contributor — 56 copies
The Green Round (1933) 54 copies
Holy Terrors (1946) 44 copies
A Fragment of Life (1987) 39 copies
Ornaments in Jade (1997) 38 copies
Dreads and Drolls (1926) 36 copies
Things Near and Far (1923) 35 copies
The Great Return (1915) 31 copies
Die leuchtende Pyramide (1987) 30 copies
N (2010) 27 copies
The Red Hand (1895) 23 copies
The Novel of the Black Seal (2004) 23 copies
The Chronicle of Clemendy (1923) 22 copies
The Inmost Light (1894) 21 copies
Selected Letters (1988) 18 copies
The Cosy Room (1936) 18 copies
The Canning Wonder (1925) 17 copies
The Collected Arthur Machen (1988) 14 copies
The Glorious Mystery (1924) 14 copies
The Great God Pan and Other Weird Tales (1946) — Author — 13 copies
The anatomy of tobacco (1926) 13 copies
Cuentos (1987) 12 copies
The Children of the Pool (1936) 12 copies
Occult Territory: An Arthur Machen Gazetteer (2021) — Author — 11 copies
Furcht und Schrecken (1993) 9 copies
Eleusinia 9 copies
Der große Pan: Erzählungen (1994) — Author — 7 copies
The Bowmen (1915) 5 copies
Out Of The Earth (2009) 5 copies
De grote god Pan : griezelverhalen (1970) — Author — 4 copies
Precious Balms (1924) 4 copies
Autobiographical Writings (2020) 4 copies
Decadent and occult works (2018) 4 copies
Notes and Queries (1926) 4 copies
A Reader of Curious Books (2020) 4 copies
Levbavi Oculos (2019) 2 copies
Mystisiä kertomuksia (2021) 2 copies
Change (2010) 2 copies
A New Christmas Carol (2016) 2 copies
Rus in Urbe and Others (1992) 2 copies
Short Fiction 2 copies
Hrůza 1 copy
Il terrore (2022) 1 copy
Oltre la soglia (1993) 1 copy
Sad Avallona 1 copy

Associated Works

The Story of My Life (1789) — Translator, some editions — 1,040 copies
The Heptameron (1984) — Translator, some editions — 839 copies
Great Tales of Terror and the Supernatural (1944) — Contributor — 637 copies
Tales Before Tolkien: The Roots of Modern Fantasy (2003) — Contributor — 608 copies
The Book of Fantasy (1940) — Contributor — 601 copies
H.P. Lovecraft's Book of Horror (1993) — Contributor — 307 copies
Extraordinary Tales (1955) — Contributor — 272 copies
Weird Tales (1988) — Contributor — 271 copies
Devils & Demons: A Treasury of Fiendish Tales Old & New (1991) — Contributor — 258 copies
Shudder Again: 22 Tales of Sex and Horror (1993) — Contributor — 231 copies
The Hastur Cycle (1993) — Author — 208 copies
The Omnibus of Crime (1929) — Contributor — 208 copies
The Mammoth Book of Arthurian Legends (1998) — Contributor — 195 copies
Late Victorian Gothic Tales (2005) — Contributor — 187 copies
The Phantom of the Opera and Other Gothic Tales (2018) — Contributor — 177 copies
The Big Book of Classic Fantasy (2019) — Contributor — 166 copies
My Favorite Horror Story (2007) — Contributor — 139 copies
The Mammoth Book of Modern Ghost Stories (2007) — Contributor — 133 copies
Shadows of Carcosa: Tales of Cosmic Horror (2014) — Contributor — 125 copies
The Dunwich Cycle (1995) — Contributor — 116 copies
The Penguin Book of First World War Stories (2007) — Contributor — 107 copies
Damnable Tales: A Folk Horror Anthology (2021) — Contributor — 103 copies
Foundations of Fear (1992) — Contributor — 97 copies
More Stories to Remember, Volume II (1958) — Contributor — 94 copies
Weird Woods: Tales from the Haunted Forests of Britain (2020) — Contributor — 92 copies
Casanova's Escape from the Leads (1988) — Translator, some editions — 90 copies
Famous Modern Ghost Stories (1921) — Contributor — 87 copies
H.P. Lovecraft's Favorite Weird Tales (2005) — Contributor — 83 copies
The 13 Best Horror Stories of All Time (2002) — Contributor — 77 copies
The Horror Hall of Fame (1991) — Contributor — 76 copies
The Mammoth Book of Folk Horror (2021) — Contributor — 75 copies
World's Great Adventure Stories (1929) — Contributor — 75 copies
The Mammoth Book of Twentieth-Century Ghost Stories (1998) — Contributor — 73 copies
Famous Fantastic Mysteries (1991) — Contributor — 65 copies
The World's Greatest Horror Stories (1994) — Contributor — 63 copies
Visitants (2010) — Contributor — 54 copies
The Century's Best Horror Fiction Volume 1 (2011) — Contributor — 51 copies
Into the London Fog: Eerie Tales from the Weird City (2020) — Contributor — 50 copies
Dancing With the Dark (1999) — Contributor — 49 copies
The Black Veil and Other Tales of Supernatural Sleuths (2007) — Contributor — 49 copies
Fighters of Fear: Occult Detective Stories (2020) — Contributor — 48 copies
The Deadly Dowager (1934) — Foreword, some editions — 46 copies
Horror Stories: Classic Tales from Hoffmann to Hodgson (2014) — Contributor — 45 copies
The hundred tales (Les cent nouvelles nouvelles) (1924) — Introduction, some editions — 45 copies
Shadows of Fear (1994) — Contributor — 43 copies
The nightmare reader, volume one (1973) — Contributor — 43 copies
Doorway to Dilemma: Bewildering Tales of Dark Fantasy (2019) — Contributor — 41 copies
The Moons at Your Door (2016) — Contributor — 41 copies
Great Tales of Terror (2002) — Contributor — 39 copies
Six Novels of the Supernatural (1944) — Contributor — 38 copies
The Screaming Skull and Other Classic Horror Stories (2010) — Contributor — 37 copies
The Fifth Fontana Book of Great Ghost Stories (1969) — Contributor — 35 copies
The Ghost Book: Sixteen Stories of the Uncanny (1926) — Contributor — 35 copies
The Garden of Hermetic Dreams (2004) — Contributor — 34 copies
The Best Crime Stories Ever Told (2012) — Contributor — 34 copies
Great Short Stories of Detection, Mystery, and Horror (1928) — Contributor — 32 copies
Witches and Warlocks (1976) — Foreword, some editions — 29 copies
The Night Side: Masterpieces of the Strange and Terrible (1947) — Contributor — 27 copies
Strange Ecstasies (1973) — Contributor — 27 copies
The Best Ghost Stories (1990) — Contributor — 27 copies
The Horned God: Weird Tales of the Great God Pan (2022) — Composer — 27 copies
Welsh Tales of Terror (1766) — Contributor — 27 copies
Memoirs of Casanova, Volume 2 of 6 - To Paris and Prison (1920) — Translator, some editions; Translator; Translator, some editions — 25 copies
Memoirs of Casanova, Volume 6 of 6 - Spanish Passions (1920) — Translator — 24 copies
Crimes of Cymru: Classic Mystery Tales of Wales (2023) — Contributor — 24 copies
The Complete Memoirs of Jacques Casanova de Seingalt (1920) — Translator, some editions — 23 copies
The Best Horror Stories (1977) — Contributor — 22 copies
Memoirs of Casanova, Volume 3 of 6 - The Eternal Quest (1920) — Translator, some editions; Translator, some editions; Translator, some editions — 21 copies
British Weird (2020) — Contributor — 19 copies
The Magicians: Occult Stories (1972) — Contributor — 18 copies
Welsh Short Stories (1937) — Contributor — 17 copies
The Secret Ceremonies: Critical Essays on Arthur Machen (2019) — Contributor — 17 copies
Tales of the Occult (1975) — Author, some editions — 16 copies
Monster Festival: Classic Tales of the Macabre (1965) — Contributor — 16 copies
Lost Souls Short Stories (Gothic Fantasy) (2018) — Contributor — 16 copies
Paha vieras (1996) 15 copies
The Ghost's Companion (1975) — Contributor — 15 copies
The Black Cap: New Stories of Murder and Mystery (1928) — Contributor — 11 copies
Uncanny Tales 2 (1974) — Contributor — 11 copies
The Zinzolin Book of Occult Fiction (2022) — Contributor — 10 copies
Lovecraftin lähteillä (1887) 10 copies
M Is for Monster: A Modern Bestiary of Classic Monsters (2011) — Contributor — 9 copies
Thrills, Crimes and Mysteries (1935) — Contributor — 9 copies
Shudders (1929) — Contributor — 7 copies
More ghosts and marvels (1934) — Contributor — 7 copies
When Churchyards Yawn (1963) — Contributor — 6 copies
The Sleeping and the Dead (1963) — Contributor — 5 copies
Kings of Horror — Author — 5 copies
The Unquiet Grave (1964) — Contributor — 4 copies
The great weird stories (1977) — Contributor — 4 copies
Faunus: Issue 41 — Contributor — 2 copies
The Heptameron or Tales and Novels: Volume Two (1900) — Translator — 2 copies
150 anni in Giallo (1989) — Contributor — 2 copies
Faunus, Number Forty-two (Autumn 2020) — Contributor — 2 copies
The nightmare reader (1973) — Contributor — 2 copies
Pre-Pulitzer Poetry — Introduction — 1 copy
Missing From Their Homes — Contributor — 1 copy

Tagged

18th century (68) 19th century (75) 20th century (56) anthology (849) Arthur Machen (122) autobiography (116) biography (125) classics (79) collection (111) Cthulhu Mythos (62) decadence (59) ebook (108) English literature (62) fantasy (649) fiction (1,267) French (54) French literature (75) ghost stories (110) ghosts (66) gothic (112) history (62) horror (1,586) Kindle (113) literature (228) Lovecraft (55) Machen (72) memoir (83) mystery (115) non-fiction (92) novel (60) read (65) short stories (956) stories (58) supernatural (111) Tartarus Press (56) to-read (777) Tolkien (55) unread (86) weird (71) weird fiction (139)

Common Knowledge

Legal name
Jones, Arthur Llewellyn
Other names
Jones-Machen, Arthur Llewellyn
Birthdate
1863-03-03
Date of death
1947-12-15
Burial location
Saint Mary Churchyard, Buckinghamshire, England, UK
Gender
male
Nationality
UK
Country (for map)
Wales, UK
UK
Birthplace
Caerleon, Monmouthshire, Wales, UK
Place of death
Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, England, UK
Places of residence
Llandewi Fach, Monmouthshire, UK
London, England, UK
Amersham, Buckinghamshire, England, UK
Education
Hereford Cathedral School
Occupations
novelist
essayist
short-story writer
clerk
teacher
actor (show all 8)
translator
journalist
Relationships
Warner, Sylvia Townsend (niece)
Greenwood, Edwin (friend)
מאכן, ארתור
Organizations
Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn
Short biography
Arthur Machen (3 March 1863 – 15 December 1947) was a Welsh author and mystic of the 1890s and early 20th century. He is best known for his influential supernatural, fantasy, and horror fiction.

Members

Discussions

Arthur Machen in The Weird Tradition (August 2021)
THE DEEP ONES: "The Happy Children" by Arthur Machen in The Weird Tradition (May 2021)
THE DEEP ONES: "The Inmost Light" by Arthur Machen in The Weird Tradition (January 2021)
Reading Group #21 ('The Great God Pan') in Gothic Literature (March 2018)
THE DEEP ONES: "The Great God Pan" by Arthur Machen in The Weird Tradition (November 2014)
Underworld: Arthur Machen in BBC Radio 4 Listeners (July 2013)

Reviews

Indescribable horrors are hinted at but never described except in their effects on various unfortunates who come in contact with a woman corrupted by an ambitious and unscrupulous doctor's experiment.
 
Flagged
ritaer | 37 other reviews | Mar 4, 2024 |
Horror in the Mind of the Beholder
Review of the Public Domain Kindle eBook edition (May 16, 2012) excerpted from the John Lane hardcover original (1894*).

The greatest horror tales I ever read is a tie between “The Great God Pan,” by Arthur Machen (novella) and "The Ceremonies," by T.E.D. Klein. - tweeted by Stephen King on February 9, 2024.


While doing research for my review of Stephen King's Holly (2023), I chanced upon the above statement in between the constant stream of King's anti-Trump tweets. Having read neither of the books mentioned, I immediately grabbed a free public domain copy of The Great God Pan. Klein's The Ceremonies (1984) with a rare used paperback listed at $102.55 Cdn. 😮 will have to wait its turn.

You shouldn't expect anything very explicit from this Victorian novella. It primarily consists of the conversations or the recorded letters of various paranormal investigators, doctors, scholars and such. The title villain and its progeny are never directly encountered but are constantly spoken about. The horror of it all is the extent to which your imagination will take you.

The greatest horror for me was actually in the first chapter where a diabolical experiment is performed on a hapless young woman in order for her to "see" into the other world. This "operation" consists of a method which pre-figures lobotomies (which weren't invented until 1935) by 45 years! The resulting spawn is unleashed upon the world until steps are taken to eradicate it.

See title page at https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6e/Title_page--The_great_...
Title page from the John Lane 1894 edition with an illustration by Aubrey Beardsley. Image sourced from Wikipedia.

Footnote
* Goodreads shows 1890 as the year of first publication, but that was only an early version of Chapter 1 which appeared in The Whirlwind magazine. The full novella was not published until 1894 when it was paired with Machen's short story The Inmost Light.

Trivia and Link
The Great God Pan is in the Public Domain and can be read at various online sources such as Project Gutenberg. The Public Domain Kindle eBook is available free at Amazon.
… (more)
 
Flagged
alanteder | 37 other reviews | Feb 15, 2024 |
Strange, influential story. You would need to be focused to read this to not miss anything. Stephen King called it as one of the greatest horror stories in English. Has some sexual scenes that must have been very surprising to readers back when this book came out in 1890. I liked it.
 
Flagged
Vivian_Metzger | 37 other reviews | Jan 14, 2024 |
A couple of times does that thing where it builds up and then when you think it's going to finally describe something, just cuts out. It's pretty pathetic, although I know a lot of people are cool with that sort of thing. To me it kind of blew the atmosphere. Which is a shame because it IS a very good atmosphere and it's pretty suspenseful. Even with that, though, it was enjoyable and I thought the ending was pretty alright considering it was of that style. Despite myself I was kept in suspense and if you don't mind anti-climaxes like that you'll enjoy this quite a bit I think. Good stuff slightly marred by a bit of poor writing.… (more)
 
Flagged
tombomp | 37 other reviews | Oct 31, 2023 |

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Associated Authors

Mark Valentine Editor, Introduction
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Mark Twain Contributor
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Honoré de Balzac Contributor
Anne Brontë Contributor
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Theodor Fontane Contributor
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Jane Austen Contributor
George Sand Contributor
Henry Fielding Contributor
Theodore Dreiser Contributor
Bram Stoker Contributor
D. H. Lawrence Contributor
Homer Contributor
George Eliot Contributor
Oscar Wilde Contributor
E. M. Forster Contributor
Stendhal Contributor
Louisa May Alcott Contributor
Victor Hugo Contributor
Alexandre Dumas Contributor
Lewis Carroll Contributor
Gustave Flaubert Contributor
Leo Tolstoy Contributor
Henry James Contributor
Dante Alighieri Contributor
Washington Irving Contributor
Joseph Conrad Contributor
Marcel Proust Contributor
Aldous Huxley Contributor
Arthur Conan Doyle Contributor
Virginia Woolf Contributor
Sun Tzu Contributor
Charlotte Brontë Contributor
Jonathan Swift Contributor
Blaise Pascal Contributor
Herman Melville Contributor
Sir Walter Scott Contributor
Nikolai Gogol Contributor
S. T. Joshi Editor, Introduction
Jon Preece Editor
Peter Wickham Narrator
Michael Murphy Introduction
Darrell Schweitzer Contributor
Lin Carter Introduction
Robert LoGrippo Cover artist
Julian Symons Foreword
Lord Dunsany Introduction
Sidney H. Sime Illustrator
Roger Dobson Introduction
Stewart Lee Introduction
Stephen E. Fabian Illustrator

Statistics

Works
212
Also by
126
Members
5,653
Popularity
#4,382
Rating
3.8
Reviews
115
ISBNs
638
Languages
16
Favorited
55

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