Translation and introduction by António Monteiro. Cover art by Johnny Bekaert.
Ever since that
unfortunate incident at the Babel Tower, language differences have often constituted a serious barrier to the ecumenical diffusion of literary
works in their original forms. Even if we restrict ourselves to European – or even Western European – literary production, English-speaking
readers will often be unable to read books by French or German authors,
French-speaking readers will have difficulty with the works of British
authors, and so forth. Unless, of course, someone actually produces a
translation. In the field of the supernatural – or to use a more general and mostly continental term, the "fantastic" – literature, a number of
masters have left their indelible imprint. Names such as Bram Stoker, M. R. James, E. F. Benson, H. P. Lovecraft, Algernon Blackwood, Arthur
Machen and (fortunately) many others, readily spring to mind, from the
Anglo-Saxon world alone; outside that language-sphere, however, and of
much the same stature, we find authors such as Claude Seignolle, Gérard
de Nerval, Erckmann-Chatriam, Guy de Maupassant, Thomas Owen and of
course Jean Ray.
Jean Ray (Jean-Raymond-Marie De Kremer, 1887–1964; aka John Flanders, etc.) was a prolific Belgian author whose pen left us a varied oeuvre,
ranging from journalism to adventure stories for youngsters and
including a large number of gems of the fantastic, not least the
well-known novel Malpertuis, which was adapted to the cinema in
1971 by Harry Kümel. Despite De Kremer's well deserved prestige among
French and Belgian audiences – although part of his texts were
originally written in Flemish, the "Jean Ray" fantastic and supernatural were in French and have appeared largely during the Second World War: Le Grand Nocturne (1942), La Cité de l'Indicible Peur, Malpertuis, Les Cercles de L'Epouvante (all 1943), Les Derniers Contes de Canterbury (1944) and Le Livre des Fantômes (1947) – the work of Jean Ray is still far from well known by
Anglo-Saxon audiences. A couple of published anthologies rapidly went
out of stock, preventing new generations of readers from getting
acquainted with it.
That is a great pity indeed, since few writers have succeeded in
creating the same ambiance of suffocating anguish, often with more than a touch of the surrealistic, than the old master from Ghent. His stories
range from the straight, classic supernatural tale (Le Guardien du Cimetière) to the macabre (Dents d'or), the bizarre (La Scolopendre) and even science-fiction (Le Formidable Secret du Pôle). Whether or not already familiar with the writings of Jean Ray, this new collection of short stories will not fail to impress, enchant and
excite readers interested in weird fiction. And those who meet the
author for the first time will have the gratification of discovering a
true master of the genre. An indispensable volume for any cognoscenti of the fantastic.
Contents:
- Introduction by António Monteiro
- The Story of the Wûlkh
- I Have killed Alfred Heavenrock
- The Inn of Spectres
- Merry-Go-Round
- The Black Mirror
- The Graveyard Guardian
- The Man Who Dared
- The Night at Camberwell
- Cousin Passeroux
- The Head of Mr. Ramberger
- The Bench and the Door
- In the Fenn Marshes
- Between Two Glasses
- The Monsters at the Window
- The White Beast
- The Horrifying Presence
- Rounde Dance at Koenigstein
- The Formidable Secret of the Pole
- House for Sale
- The Choucroute
- M. Wohlmut and Franz Benschneider
- The Night at Pentoville
- God, You and I...
- The Moustiers Plate
- The Prettiest Little Girl in the World
- The Wedding of Mademoiselle Bonvoisin
- The Tesseract
