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A collection of hidden worlds. A journey through the beautiful and terrifying secrets of the soul.
The House of Souls is not a single story but a landmark collection of works by Arthur Machen, serving as a comprehensive showcase of his most profound and enduring weird fiction. First published in 1906, it gathers several of his most celebrated novellas and short stories, which collectively map out his mystical philosophy of horror and ecstasy.
The core of the collection explores the theme that the mundane world is merely a thin veil concealing two primary, opposing realities: a sphere of ancient, primordial horror and a realm of unseen spiritual glory.
The collection typically features Machen's defining narratives, including:
The Great God Pan: The devastating tale of a surgical operation that allows a woman to perceive the true, terrifying reality of the universe, leading to madness and a monstrous offspring.
The Inmost Light: A chilling medical mystery about a doctor who attempts to swap human consciousnesses, with disastrous and psychologically devastating results.
The Three Impostors: A complex, interconnected series of tales, often considered Machen's most labyrinthine work, that weave together modern London with ancient Roman sacrifice, degeneration, and the survival of a pagan cult.
The Shining Pyramid: The eerie story of two friends who discover a cryptic message in a field, revealing a human sacrifice being conducted by the "Little People," Machen's term for a primitive, subterranean race.
The House of Souls is the essential volume for understanding Arthur Machen's genius. It offers readers a grand tour of his literary landscape, from the terrifying atavism of the "Little People" to the sublime spiritual beauty of transcendent experience, confirming his status as a pioneer of cosmic and philosophical horror.
A propos de l'auteur
Arthur Machen, baptized Arthur Llewellyn Jones-Machen, was a Welsh writer in the 19th and 20th centuries. He received a classical education as a boy; however, he couldn't afford to attend university, so he lived a life of relative poverty as he attempted to work in several professions before finding literary success.In 1897, Machen married his first wife, Amelia Hogg, who introduced him to A. E. White, who became close friends with Machen and helped him break into literary circles. Soon after, Machen also began receiving legacies from distant relatives, which allowed him to devote more time to writing.While he wrote fiction and nonfiction, Machen is best known for his supernatural and horror stories, which were inspired by Celtic, Roman, and medieval history as well as his own childhood in Wales. His books were popular, though his success fell after some unfortunate events-including a scandal from Oscar Wilde that hurt the reputation of the genres Machen wrote and the death of his first wife, and he was eventually forced to take on a full-time journalist position to provide for his family. This trend of success followed by poverty repeated throughout the years until an appeal was launched, naming Machen as a distinguished man of letters, which allowed him to finally live in some amount of comfort until his death in 1947.
