"Where there is no imagination, there is no horror."
Arthur Conan Doyle, "A Study in Scarlet"
As readers of my blog may remember, I love Sherlock Holmes pastiches. I discussed this in more detail in a post of the work of Ralph E. Vaughan, which you can find at the links below.
https://dunwichhorrors.blogspot.com/2019/03/ralph-e-vaughan-sherlock-holmes-in.html
These can be works patterned on Conan Doyle's original stories or stories that have a supernatural element. I was reading some when I received an email update that the anthology, Sherlock Holmes, and the Occult Detectives (2 volumes) edited by John Linwood Grant was available. I have long been a fan of Grant's website
and have mentioned his anthologies here before. Hells Empire; tales of the incursion is excellent, and his short story collection A Persistence of Geraniums about Mr. Dry the Deptford Assassin is a must-read for those who like the fog-shrouded London of Edwardian England. So I figured these books would be good and they are. I had expected that most tales would involve some of the more well known occult detectives. While we have stories linking Holmes to Poe's C. Auguste Dupin, Stoker's Van Helsing and Blackwood's John Silence, there was no story featuringWilliam Hope Hodgson's Carnacki , who I missed. Instead, a number involve sleuths that appear to have been created especially for the story. This was not a problem; these are some of my favourites. While Grant provides some notes in his Editor's Note I would have preferred a note for each story, which would have saved me some fruitless googling. As with any anthology of this type, I enjoyed some, found others less interesting and encountered some real gems. Typically with anthologies, pick and choose here I started volume one read to the end and then started volume two. While I have not finished volume two, I want to discuss one favourite from each volume.
Volume one. "The Adventure of Marylebone Manor" by Naching T. Kassa. Holmes and Watson have been summoned to Marylebone Manor in Sussex. Lord Charles Lightfoot has been found dead in a locked room. The room shows signs of a struggle, and Lightfoot has bruising on his throat. The doctor claims, however, that he died of a heart attack. Predictably the police have arrested the groom. Lady Catherine Rose Lightfoot, his wife, believes a ghost is responsible. She is a devoted spiritualist and holds regular seances in the house. Before Holmes and Watson can leave, two members of the Baker Street Irregulars appear. One, Jimmy Hampstead, tells Holmes the groom is innocent and that he can help find the actual murderer. Holmes knows that Hampstead has solved several recent mysteries. Then Hampstead offers a demonstration of his powers. He drinks from a flask, and his eyes change colour. He relates an incident from Holmes's youth that even Watson did not know.
Holmes gives Hampstead money for more respectable clothing and agrees he can accompany them. While Hampstead is absent, Holmes consults his files. Holmes tells Watson Hampstead is actually James King, who briefly disappeared at age three on Hampstead Heath. When found, he could only say he was with a bloofer lady. At age eight, Hampstead disappears again this time with a group of gipsies (sp) who have apparently raised him. The three set off to Sussex meeting Conan Doyle who is also headed for Maryleborne Manor on the train. Conan Doyle is a friend of the family and has attended several seances at the house.
This story had everything: mediums, hauntings, seances, gipsies (sp), and a locked room mystery complete with the creator of Sherlock Holmes. Kassa knows her Holmes and remains faithful enough to the original stories to satisfy me. There is no distortion of the relationship between Holmes and Watson, and Hampstead is a fabulous character. There was one point where I just said, wow, I will let you guess where.
Volume two. "The Ironwood Wardrobe" by Josh Reynolds. This story pairs Holmes with the Royal Occultist Charles St. Cyprian and his assistant Ebe Gallowglass. Holmes has requested St. Cyprian's assistance through Mycroft's government connections. A young girl, Sarah Goodwin, has disappeared while visiting her uncle Alfred Ransom. It appears she climbed into a curiously carved ironwood wardrobe. Holmes has already checked that the room, and the wardrobe are solid, with no passages or hidden panels. When St. Cyprian touches it, he has a vision of a snowy forest and hears the howling of wolves. Reynolds has written a number of stories featuring St. Cyprian, he was an apprentice of Carnacki and investigates other worldly occurrences for the crown. His assistant, the rather pragmatic Ebe Gallowglass, was born in Cairo and sports a handy Webley-Fosberg revolver. I loved this and nominated it as my favourite story before I finished the volume. I enjoyed "The Ironwood Wardrobe" so much I reread the last half immediately after finishing it. I won't tell you all the influences I detected, the story travels beyond just Sherlock's realm, but Holdstock's Mythago Woods came to mind. I also purchased Reynolds collection Casefiles of the Royal Occultist; Monmouth's Giants.
I enjoyed these books. They also exposed me to other authors and collections I can enjoy in the future. Grant has an excellent knowledge of both the literature of this period and the pastiches that followed. These volumes capture the feel of the period nicely. If you want to return to Baker street but with a ghost or ghoully included, these are for you. These pastiches have also lead me back to the originals, and yesterday I reread "The Problem of Thor Bridge" and "The Adventure of the Creeping Man" can the hound be far behind? I read an interview with horror writer Thomas Ligotti last night in which he mentioned the importance of Conan Doyle's Holmes stories in his early reading. I have to agree with his importance in my own reading life. Yesterday I experienced again what a good writer Conan Doyle was.
If you want to learn more about Arthur Conan Doyle, I recommend Michael Dirda's book, pictured below.
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