obscure horror writer of the month

[joysilence]

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY dfordoom)

My obscure horror writer of the month is Count Stanislaus Eric Stenbock. He was born in one of the Baltic states but educated in England, where he spent much of his life. His literary output was small, and was written in English. I’ve just finished his story Viol D’Amor, about a violin-maker who wants to make an obsolete stringed instrument, halfway between a ’cello and a viola, called a viol d’amor. He discovers that to get the purest tone from the instrument human skin must be used in its manufacture, and to get the sweetest tone of all the skin must come from someone who loves the instrument-maker. It’s quite a good little story. I’ve read one or two of his other stories, and they’re also very good.

more obscure horror writers

[joysilence]

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY dfordoom)

R. Murray Gilchrist is a 19th century writer whose stories appear in both the Dedalus Books of Decadence, Moral Ruins and The Black Feast. I also managed to find another of his stories, The Crimson Weaver, on the web (and a great story it is too). His stories commonly involve witchcraft, and he seemed to like medieval settings, or at least settings that to me have a medieval flavour. A decadent writer, but I think he also fits into the gothic category. There was a paperback collection of his stories, Night on the Moor and Other Tales of Dread, but I haven’t so far been able to locate a copy.

I can discover no information whatsoever about this author. Does anyone else know anything about him? Anyone else have any opinions on his work?

Incidentally, The Crimson Weaver can be found here.