Claude Seignolle (25 June 1917 – 13 July 2018) was a French author. His main interests were

folklore Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, ranging ...

and

archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...

before he turned to fiction. He also wrote under the pseudonyms 'Starcante', 'S. Claude' and 'Jean-Robert Dumoulin'.

Early and later life

At the age of twelve his family moved to Chatenay-Malabry and he went to school in Lakanal at Sceaux where his history teacher encouraged his interests in archaeology. He was expelled from this school for absenteeism. He later joined the French Prehistoric Society, where he met the renowned folklorist

Arnold Van Gennep Arnold van Gennep, in full Charles-Arnold Kurr van Gennep (23 April 1873 – 7 May 1957) was a Dutch–German-French ethnographer and folklorist. Biography He was born in Ludwigsburg, in the Kingdom of Württemberg (since 1871, part of the G ...

. With his brother Jacques, Claude toured

Hurepoix Hurepoix () is an area of the Île-de-France, to the southwest of Paris, situated between the departments of Yvelines, Hauts-de-Seine and Essonne. It was an old province of the French Kingdom and the main city was Dourdan. Geography This area i ...

for two years collecting folklore and legends, and in 1937 he co-wrote with his brother ''The Folklore of Hurepoix'', which was praised by

Pierre Mac Orlan Pierre Mac Orlan, sometimes written MacOrlan (born Pierre Dumarchey, February 26, 1882 – June 27, 1970), was a French novelist and songwriter. His novel '' Quai des Brumes'' was the source for Marcel Carné's 1938 film of the same name, starring ...

and

Blaise Cendrars Frédéric-Louis Sauser (1 September 1887 – 21 January 1961), better known as Blaise Cendrars, was a Swiss-born novelist and poet who became a naturalized French citizen in 1916. He was a writer of considerable influence in the European mod ...

. In 1945 he published his first novel ''Le Rond des sorciers''. He lived in the liberation St. Montaine, still in

Sologne Sologne (; ) is a natural region in Centre-Val de Loire, France, extending over portions of the departements of Loiret, Loir-et-Cher and Cher. Its area is about . To its north is the river Loire, to its south the river Cher, while the districts ...

, where he collected local folklore and stories that inspired several of his books. Seignolle wrote several books of supernatural horror, including ''The Accursed''.

Franz Rottensteiner Franz Rottensteiner (born 18 January 1942) is an Austrian publisher and critic in the fields of science fiction and speculative fiction in general. Biography Rottensteiner was born in Waidmannsfeld, Lower Austria. He studied journalism, Englis ...

, ''The Fantasy Book:an illustrated history from Dracula to Tolkien''. Collier Books, 1978, (p. 140). He is considered by some to be one of the best French fantasists;

Lawrence Durrell Lawrence George Durrell (; 27 February 1912 – 7 November 1990) was an expatriate British novelist, poet, dramatist, and travel writer. He was the eldest brother of naturalist and writer Gerald Durrell. Born in India to British colonial pare ...

has written of Seignolle: "The devils, the werewolves and the vampires...appear in his novels as disturbing realities, and the attitude he adopts towards them is so matter-of-fact that the reader rapidly finds himself believing in them...." Horror historian R.S. Hadji included Seignolle on his list of the greatest horror writers. He turned 100 in June 2017 and died in July 2018 at the age of 101.

Awards

In November 2008 he received the Prix Alfred Verdaguer from the French Academy.Drouet S, Claude Seignolle sous la coupole, Le Journal de la Sologne, Hiver 2008, p. 4-5 A literary prize bearing his name recognizes the works relating to French folklore. It is awarded annually since 2004, in Épinal, at the Festival Imaginales.

Bibliography of works in English

*''Man with Seven Wolves'', The Child's World (Minn.), 1992 (novel, with Jacqueline Kergueno) *''The Accursed'', George Allen & Unwin Ltd. (London), 1967 (two novellas) *''The Nightcharmer: And Other Tales'', Texas A&M University Press (College Station, Texas), 1983 (stories) *''The Black Cupboard'', Ex Occidente (Bucharest, Romania), 2010 (novella)

References

External links

Claude Seignolle, 70 ans de couvertures
official author site {{DEFAULTSORT:Seignolle, Claude People from Périgueux 1917 births 2018 deaths Knights of the Ordre national du Mérite French horror writers French male writers French centenarians Weird fiction writers Men centenarians