The Terror and Other Stories

Arthur Machen produced some of the most evocative weird fiction in all literary history. Written with impeccably mellifluous prose, infused with a powerful mystical vision, and imbued with a wonder and terror that he felt with every fiber of his being, his novels and tales will survive when works of far greater technical accomplishment fall by the wayside. "The Terror" is a short novel that inspired a host of imitations of its basic plot -- animals turning against human beings -- ranging from Philip Macdonald s brief tale "Our Feathered Friends" to Daphne du Maurier s much better-known (but sadly mediocre) novelette, "The Birds." "The Terror" reveals several features characteristic of Machen s later fiction. The first, perhaps, is frank autobiography. The first-person narrative voice not only seems to be Machen himself, but he plays upon his own role as a journalist and reporter.