Edwin Baird (; 1886 – September 27, 1954) was the first editor of ''

Weird Tales ''Weird Tales'' is an American fantasy and horror fiction pulp magazine founded by J. C. Henneberger and J. M. Lansinger in late 1922. The first issue, dated March 1923, appeared on newsstands February 18. The first editor, Edwin Baird, pri ...

'', the pioneering pulp magazine that specialized in

horror fiction Horror is a genre of fiction which is intended to frighten, scare, or disgust. Horror is often divided into the sub-genres of psychological horror and supernatural horror, which is in the realm of speculative fiction. Literary historian ...

, as well as ''Detective Tales'', later re-titled ''Real Detective Tales''. Argosy 191504

Career

Baird, hired by ''Weird Tales'' publisher J. C. Henneberger, put out the magazine's premiere issue, dated March 1923. Over the course of the next year, Baird published some of the magazine's most famous writers, including H. P. Lovecraft, Clark Ashton Smith, and

Seabury Quinn Seabury Grandin Quinn (also known as Jerome Burke; December 1889 – December 24, 1969) was an American government lawyer, journalist, and pulp magazine author, most famous for his stories of the occult detective Jules de Grandin, published in ' ...

. Baird—in marked contrast to his successor—accepted everything that Lovecraft submitted to the magazine, including "

The Hound "The Hound" is a short story written by H. P. Lovecraft in September 1922 and published in the February 1924 issue of ''Weird Tales''. It contains the first mention of Lovecraft's fictional text the ''Necronomicon.'' Plot The story opens with ...

", " Arthur Jermyn", "

The Statement of Randolph Carter "The Statement of Randolph Carter" is a short story by American writer H. P. Lovecraft. Written in December 1919, it was first published in ''The Vagrant'', May 1920. It tells of a traumatic event in the life of Randolph Carter, a student of t ...

", "

The Cats of Ulthar "The Cats of Ulthar" is a short story written by American fantasy author H. P. Lovecraft in June 1920. In the tale, an unnamed narrator relates the story of how a law forbidding the killing of cats came to be in a town called Ulthar. As the nar ...

", "

Dagon Dagon ( he, דָּגוֹן, ''Dāgōn'') or Dagan ( sux, 2= dda-gan, ; phn, 𐤃𐤂𐤍, Dāgān) was a god worshipped in ancient Syria across the middle of the Euphrates, with primary temples located in Tuttul and Terqa, though many attes ...

", "

The Picture in the House "The Picture in the House" is a short story written by H. P. Lovecraft. It was written on December 12, 1920, and first published in the July issue of ''The National Amateur''

", "

The Rats in the Walls "The Rats in the Walls" is a short story by American author H. P. Lovecraft. Written in August–September 1923, it was first published in '' Weird Tales'', March 1924. Plot In 1923, an American named Delapore, the last descendant of the De la ...

", "

Hypnos In Greek mythology, Hypnos (; Ancient Greek: means 'sleep') also spelled Hypnus is the personification of sleep; the Roman equivalent is known as Somnus. His name is the origin of the word hypnosis. Pausanias wrote that Hypnos was a dear ...

" and "

Imprisoned with the Pharaohs "Imprisoned with the Pharaohs" (called "Under the Pyramids" in draft form, also published as "Entombed with the Pharaohs") is a short story written by American fantasy author H. P. Lovecraft in collaboration with Harry Houdini in February 1924. ...

". He did, however, insist that Lovecraft retype his first submissions using double spacing, causing the author to remark, "I am not certain whether or not I should bother." Under Baird's editorship, ''Weird Tales'' lost a considerable amount of money—estimated at $51,000. After the April 1924 issue, Henneberger fired him and offered his job to Lovecraft. When Lovecraft declined, the publisher made

Farnsworth Wright Farnsworth Wright (July 29, 1888 – June 12, 1940) was the editor of the pulp magazine ''Weird Tales'' during the magazine's heyday, editing 179 issues from November 1924 to March 1940. Jack Williamson called Wright "the first great fantasy ...

, until then Baird's assistant, the editor of ''Weird Tales'', a position he held until 1940. Baird remained as editor of another of Henneberger's titles, ''Detective Tales''. In this post, he rejected Lovecraft's "

The Shunned House "The Shunned House" is a horror fiction novelette by American author H. P. Lovecraft, written on October 16–19, 1924. It was first published in the October 1937 issue of ''Weird Tales''. Inspiration The Shunned House of the title is based ...

" in July 1925.Joshi and Schultz, p. 14. ''Detective Tales'' was sold off, and Baird remained editor when it retitled as ''Real Detective Tales''.

Notes

References

* Lin Carter, ''Lovecraft: A Look Behind the Cthulhu Mythos''. * S. T. Joshi and David E. Schultz, ''An H. P. Lovecraft Encyclopedia''. {{DEFAULTSORT:Baird, Edwin American magazine editors Horror fiction H. P. Lovecraft 1886 births 1957 deaths Weird Tales editors American male non-fiction writers