"He is the one absolute and unquestioned master of weird atmosphere," pronounced H. P. Lovecraft of Algernon Blackwood (1869-1951). The preeminent British supernaturalist of the twentieth century, Blackwood combined elements of philosophy and modern psychology to introduce a new sophistication to a genre formerly dominated by traditional ghost stories. His tales of terror, occult detective stories, fantasies, and other thrillers possess an unprecedented degree of subtlety and finesse.
This trio of tales showcases Blackwood's best and most gripping work. An idyllic camping trip along the Danube goes horribly wrong in "The Willows," as supplies start to disappear, trees begin to move, and a hole inexplicably forms in the bottom of the canoe. The dark terror of "The Wendigo" unfolds in the remote Canadian wilderness, where a hunting party encounters a creature from Algonquin myth. "The Listener," a ghost yarn set in a rundown house in London, recounts a struggling writer's dawning realization of the chilling connection between his headaches, a mysterious sound of footsteps, and the sensation of being watched while he sleeps. All three of these stories feature Blackwood's characteristically high level of sustained suspense and offer readers a refined supernatural experience.