Carnacki, Supernatural Detective and Others

Carnacki, Supernatural Detective and Others is an excellent companion volume to the six Carnacki stories collected in Carnacki the Ghost-Finder.One of the few late-Victorian writers of the supernatural who remains popular and is frequently reprinted today, William Hope Hodgson might be surprised to learn that his work has stood the test of time, because he had not achieved great critical or popular success during his own lifetime. Some of his longer works were not reprinted in America until the 1940's, while Hodgson, during his early life, served in the merchant marine (both adventurously and heroically) and in later life, volunteered for the Royal Field Artillery during the first World War. Hodgson's years at sea fueled his interest in both the supernatural and in sea-tales, which make up the majority of the stories in Carnacki, Supernatural Detective and Others, an excellent companion volume to the six Carnacki stories collected in Carnacki the Ghost-Finder. One of the non-nautical tales is "Eloi Eloi Lama Sabachthani," which tells the eerie tale of Baumoff, a German scientist whose explosives inspire much curiosity, even as his supernaturally-charged death mirrors the Passion of Christ - in all but one small, horrific detail. Hodgson's supernatural/scientific detective Carnacki could easily be thought of as the original "Ghostbuster." Each of Carnacki's tales involves twists both supernatural and pseudo-scientific. Carnacki's electric pentacle has caught many an eldritch spirit. Those who have enjoyed Hodgson's longer works including The Night Land and Boats of the Glen Carrig will enjoy each one of the stories in Carnacki, Supernatural Detective and Others.

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