Manly Wade Wellman (May 21, 1903 – April 5, 1986) was an American writer. While his
science fiction
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imagination, imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, Paral ...
and
fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and drama ...
stories appeared in such
pulps as ''
Astounding Stories
''Analog Science Fiction and Fact'' is an American science fiction magazine published under various titles since 1930. Originally titled ''Astounding Stories of Super-Science'', the first issue was dated January 1930, published by William C ...
'', ''
Startling Stories'', ''
Unknown'' and ''
Strange Stories'', Wellman is best remembered as one of the most popular contributors to the legendary ''
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, prin ...
'', and for his fantasy and horror stories set in the
Appalachian Mountains
The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, (french: Appalaches), are a system of mountains in eastern to northeastern North America. The Appalachians first formed roughly 480 million years ago during the Ordovician Period. The ...
, which draw on the native folklore of that region.
Karl Edward Wagner referred to him as "the dean of fantasy writers." Wellman also wrote in a wide variety of other genres, including
historical fiction
Historical fiction is a literary genre in which the plot takes place in a setting related to the past events, but is fictional. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literature, it can also be applied to other ...
,
detective fiction
Detective fiction is a subgenre of crime fiction and mystery fiction in which an investigator or a detective—whether professional, amateur or retired—investigates a crime, often murder. The detective genre began around the same time as spec ...
,
western fiction,
juvenile fiction, and
non-fiction
Nonfiction, or non-fiction, is any document or media content that attempts, in good faith, to provide information (and sometimes opinions) grounded only in facts and real life, rather than in imagination. Nonfiction is often associated with b ...
.
Wellman was a long-time resident of
North Carolina
North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia a ...
. He received many awards, including the
World Fantasy Award and
Edgar Allan Poe Award. In 2013, the North Carolina Speculative Fiction Foundation inaugurated an award named after him to honor other North Carolina authors of science fiction and fantasy.
Three of Wellman's most famous recurring protagonists are
John, a.k.a. John the Balladeer, a.k.a. "Silver John", a wandering backwoods minstrel with a silver-stringed guitar; the elderly "
occult detective"
Judge Pursuivant
Judge Keith Hilary Pursuivant is a fictional character and a supporting character in a series of stories (1938–41) by American author Manly Wade Wellman (1903–1986). Pursuivant is a retired judge, author, and occult scholar who investigates my ...
; and
John Thunstone, also an occult investigator.
Wellman wrote under a number of different pseudonyms, including Gabriel Barclay, Levi Crow, Gans T. Field, Hampton Wells, and Wade Wells.
Biography
Early years
Wellman was born in the village of Kamundongo in
Portuguese West Africa (now
Angola
, national_anthem = "Angola Avante"()
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, capital = Luanda
, religion =
, religion_year = 2020
, religion_ref =
, coordina ...
), where his father,
Frederick Creighton Wellman, was stationed as a medical officer. He spoke the native dialect before he learned English, and became an adopted son of a powerful chief whose vision Dr Wellman restored. As a small child, Manly twice visited London, where the family stayed in Torrington Square (obliterated during the
Battle of Britain). When he was still a young boy, his family moved to the United States, where he attended school in
Washington, D.C., prep school in
Salt Lake City
Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the capital and most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in Utah. With a population of 200,133 in 2020, th ...
, and college at Wichita Municipal University (now
Wichita State University
Wichita State University (WSU) is a public research university in Wichita, Kansas, United States. It is governed by the Kansas Board of Regents. The university offers more than 60 undergraduate degree programs in more than 200 areas of study in ...
) in
Kansas
Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to ...
. After graduating from Wichita State with his
BA in English in 1926, he went on to receive a
Bachelor of Laws
Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of ...
degree from
Columbia Law School
Columbia Law School (Columbia Law or CLS) is the law school of Columbia University, a private Ivy League university in New York City. Columbia Law is widely regarded as one of the most prestigious law schools in the world and has always ranked ...
. A distinguished football player, he received little encouragement from either family or teachers with his plans to become a writer. An early story, "Back to the Beast", resulted in one teacher remarking "Your work is impossible!" Yet this same story became his first professional sale when editor
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 ...
bought it and published it in ''
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, prin ...
'' (November 1927).
He was of partial
Native American ancestry. According to the author note by Gahan Wilson in
Gahan Wilson, ed. ''First World Fantasy Awards'' (NY: Doubleday, 1977, p. 253), Wellman's "ancestry reaches back through the Confederate South to colonial Virginia, with the potent infusion of Gascon French and American Indian."
One of Wellman's brothers,
Paul Wellman
Paul Iselin Wellman (October 15, 1895 — September 17, 1966) was an American journalist, popular history and novel writer, and screenwriter, known for his books of the Wild West: Kansas, Oklahoma, Great Plains. Hollywood movies ''Cheyenn ...
, was also a well published author, another
Frederick Lovejoy Wellman Frederick Lovejoy Wellman (b.1897 Kamundongo, Portuguese West Africa, d. 21 April 1994 Raleigh, North Carolina) was an American phytopathologist who worked mainly on diseases of coffee but also on the fungus ''Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. cubense'', th ...
, was a noted
plant pathologist.
The 1920s and '30s
His first story published, "The Lion Roared" (''Thrilling Tales'', 1927), was based on the stories told to him in his African childhood upbringing. Wellman's first science fiction novel was published in 1929 (''The Invading Asteroid'') but he would not work at full length again until 1941.
Around that time he started a friendship with
Vance Randolph, an acclaimed folklorist and expert on Ozark mountain magic and traditions. Randolf took Wellman on trips through the Arkansas
Ozarks
The Ozarks, also known as the Ozark Mountains, Ozark Highlands or Ozark Plateau, is a physiographic region in the U.S. states of Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma and the extreme southeastern corner of Kansas. The Ozarks cover a significant por ...
, learning folk traditions and meeting the secluded people of the American back country. It was through Randolph that Wellman met folk music legend
Obray Ramsey, whose music would have a profound effect on Wellman and his writing.
In the late 1920s, during the silent film era, Wellman wrote movie reviews for the ''Wichita Beacon'' and also worked for ''The Wichita Eagle'' as a court and crime reporter.
He sold many stories in this period to ''Ozark Stories'' and ''Thrilling Tales''. He married Frances Obrist "Garfield" (her pen name), who was a horror writer in her own right; she sold her first story to ''Weird Tales'' in 1939. During the Depression, Wellman's newspaper work started to dwindle, so in 1934 he moved from Kansas to
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...
where he became Assistant Director of the WPA's New York Folklore Project.
Alfred Bester described meeting Wellman in about 1939: "
Mort Weisinger
Mortimer Weisinger (; April 25, 1915 – May 7, 1978) was an American magazine and comic book editor best known for editing DC Comics' '' Superman'' during the mid-1950s to 1960s, in the Silver Age of comic books. He also co-created such features ...
introduced me to the informal luncheon gatherings of the working science fiction authors of the late thirties... The vivacious ''compère'' of those luncheons was Manley
icWade Wellman, a professional Southerner full of regional anecdotes. It's my recollection that one of his hands was slightly shriveled, which may have been why he came on so strong for the Confederate cause. We were all very patient with that; after all, our side won the
war. Wellman was quite the man-of-the-world for the innocent thirties; he always ordered wine with his lunch."
Moving from New York to New Jersey in 1939, Wellman wrote countless stories for the new field of comic books as well as for the pulps. During the war he served in New Jersey as a first lieutenant.
The 1940s: New York, Weird Tales, Occult Detectives and Comic Books
In the 1930s and 1940s, Wellman began selling to the bigger publications such as ''Weird Tales'', ''Wonder Stories'' and ''Astounding Stories''. At this time, when Wellman was living in New York, ''Weird Tales'' published numerous stories based on three of his most famous characters:
Judge Keith Hilary Pursuivant,
John Thunstone, and Professor Nathan Enderby.
Judge Keith Hilary Pursuivant (written under the pen name Gans T. Fields) is described as "a renowned scholar and retired judge, hero of World War I, and now hero of darker, more dangerous battles. Huge of frame, an epicure, an authority on the occult, Pursuivant strides forth from his reclusive home in West Virginia to confront evil wherever it appears".
[Jacket flap, Manly Wade Wellman, ''Lonely Vigils'', Carcosa, 1981]
John Thunstone is "a hulking Manhattanite playboy and dilettante, a serious student of the occult and a two-fisted brawler ready to take on any enemy. Armed with potent charms and a silver swordcane, Thunstone stalks supernatural perils in the posh night clubs and seedy hotels of New York, or in backwater towns lost in the countryside-- seeking out deadly sorcery as a hunter pursues a man-killer beast".
Thunstone's arch-nemesis was the evil sorcerer, Rowley Thorne. Thorne was based on real-life occultist
Aleister Crowley
Aleister Crowley (; born Edward Alexander Crowley; 12 October 1875 – 1 December 1947) was an English occultist, ceremonial magician, poet, painter, novelist, and mountaineer. He founded the religion of Thelema, identifying himself as the prop ...
, the self-proclaimed "wickedest man in the world".
The lesser-known character Professor Nathan Enderby is a "slender savant and unassuming authority on the supernatural, aided by his sharp wits and his Chinese servant, Quong. His cabin in rural Pennsylvania is a retreat from the frenetic social life of New York City – and a fortress against the powers of black magic".
While the
Edmond Hamilton-led pulp
Captain Future was a going concern, Wellman wrote one novel for it, ''The Solar Invasion''. When ''Captain Future'' was cancelled due to wartime paper shortages, the novel was instead published in
Startling Stories (fall of 1946).
Following a similar path to such pulp writers as
Frank Belknap Long, Wellman also wrote for various comic books (what he called "squinkies") and wrote the first issue of ''Captain Marvel Adventures'' for Fawcett Publishers. Later he would be called into court to testify against Fawcett in a lawsuit by National (DC Comics) about plagiarism of
Superman by the creators of
Captain Marvel. Wellman testified that his editors had encouraged their writers to use Superman as the model for Captain Marvel. Though it took three years, National won their case. He also contributed to the writing of the comic book ''
The Spirit
The Spirit is a fictional masked crimefighter created by cartoonist Will Eisner. He first appeared June 2, 1940, as the main feature of a 16-page, tabloid-sized, newsprint comic book insert distributed in the Sunday edition of Register and Tri ...
'' while the franchise's creator,
Will Eisner, was serving in the US military during World War II. Wellman also wrote for the comic ''Blackhawk''.
Wellman made a return to novel-writing in the 1940s, publishing two science fiction full-length works, ''Sojarr of Titan'' and ''The Devil's Asteroid''. In this decade he published several mystery novels, one a film tie-in.
Amongst Wellman's writer friends during the ''Weird Tales'' years were
Malcolm Jameson,
Seabury Quinn,
Henry Kuttner, and
Otto Binder. Wellman used to meet with these writers in a German restaurant in Times Square on a regular basis. He described these friendships as being "like a brotherhood".
[Stephen Jones, "Better Things Waiting: An Interview with Manly Wade Wellman", ''Fantasy Media'', 2, No 2 (May/June 1980), pp. 14–16]
In 1946 Wellman won the
Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine Award over
William Faulkner
William Cuthbert Faulkner (; September 25, 1897 – July 6, 1962) was an American writer known for his novels and short stories set in the fictional Yoknapatawpha County, based on Lafayette County, Mississippi, where Faulkner spent most ...
for his Native American detective tale "A Star For A Warrior". Apparently Faulkner was quite upset to be placed as second fiddle to a science fiction and horror writer. Faulkner indignantly wrote to the editors of the magazine, proclaiming that he was the father of the French literary movement and the most important American writer in Europe. Wellman's 1956 nonfiction historical work ''Rebel Boast'' was nominated for the
Pulitzer Prize.
Throughout this period Wellman worked as a harvest hand, cowboy, roadhouse bouncer and newspaperman.
The 1950s: North Carolina, Juveniles, Science Fiction and NonFiction
After serving as a lieutenant in World War II, in 1951 Wellman moved his family to
Pinebluff, North Carolina
Pinebluff is a town in Moore County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 1,337 at the 2010 census.
History
Pinebluff was once a regional resort area during the early 1900s, enjoying even greater renown than Pinehurst Resort at the ...
. There he immersed himself in American southern mountain folklore and history, becoming an expert on the
Civil War
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polic ...
and the historic regions and peoples of the
Old South. Later in 1951, he made his final move to the college town of
Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Chapel Hill is a town in Orange County, North Carolina, Orange, Durham County, North Carolina, Durham and Chatham County, North Carolina, Chatham counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Its population was 61,960 in the 2020 United States Ce ...
. Wellman built a vacation cabin on what he called Yandro Mountain in the
Great Smoky Mountains
The Great Smoky Mountains (, ''Equa Dutsusdu Dodalv'') are a mountain range rising along the Tennessee–North Carolina border in the southeastern United States. They are a subrange of the Appalachian Mountains, and form part of the Blue Ridge ...
next to his friend Obray Ramsey's home.
Wellman worked at many jobs to support himself while he wrote, though he sold many stories and books. His jobs included working on farms, in
cotton gins, and working as a bouncer in a dance hall.
During this time, Wellman wrote a number of books that are considered regional classics today. Such books, drawn from his rich knowledge of Southern history, include the critically-acclaimed account of the great steamboat race between the ''Robert E. Lee'' and the ''Natchez''.
Wellman's best-known biographical work, ''Giant in Gray'' (1949), was based on his namesake, Confederate General
Wade Hampton. Wellman wrote and published significant nonfiction works about the
Old South, including county histories, throughout the 1950s and would continue to do so through to the 1970s.
Most of Wellman's work in the 1950s was devoted to young adult stories and science fiction novels. He produced no fewer than five science fiction novels in this decade, though one was a version of a long story previously published in the pulps. Two of his short stories were filmed in this decade for the television show ''
Lights Out
Lights Out may refer to:
Events and times
* Institutional, and thence colloquial, term for bedtime
*Lights Out (event), an event in the UK on 4 August 2014 to commemorate the start of World War I
* Lights Out Hong Kong, a campaign to protest air ...
''. He also wrote a western novel, ''Fort Sun Dance'' (1955), apparently his only venture into that genre.
The 1960s: Science Fiction and Silver John
Wellman wrote two science fiction novels in the sixties – ''Island in the Sky'' and also ''Candle of the Wicked'' (1960); which novelized the events leading up to the discovery of the
Bender killings. His
Captain Future novel ''The Solar Invasion'' was reprinted in paperback. His best-known series dates from this period and is composed of stories featuring the Appalachian woodsman and minstrel hero known as "John". These were first published in ''
The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction
''The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction'' (usually referred to as ''F&SF'') is a U.S. fantasy fiction magazine, fantasy and science fiction magazine first published in 1949 by Mystery House, a subsidiary of Lawrence E. Spivak, Lawrence Spiva ...
''. The first stories of John were collected in ''
Who Fears the Devil?'' (1963), based on the personal enthusiasm of
August Derleth. Although Wellman only ever called the character "John" or "John the guitar picker", his later publishers Doubleday and Dell labelled the series
Silver John as they felt the name was a better way of marketing the books.
The 1970s and '80s: Resurgence and Twilight Years
The 1970s and 1980s marked a resurgence in Wellman's output and an increased attention to his legacy. Much of his best short general fantasy work over the years was collected by
Karl Edward Wagner in ''
Worse Things Waiting'' (1973), which won Wellman a
World Fantasy Award and revived interest in his work. His 1975 novel ''
Sherlock Holmes' War of the Worlds
''Sherlock Holmes's War of the Worlds'' is a sequel to H. G. Wells's science fiction novel '' The War of the Worlds'', written by Manly Wade Wellman and his son Wade Wellman, and published in 1975. It is a pastiche crossover which combines H ...
'' was collected from a series of
Sherlock Holmes pastiches stories co-written with his son Wade Wellman and originally published in ''
The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction
''The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction'' (usually referred to as ''F&SF'') is a U.S. fantasy fiction magazine, fantasy and science fiction magazine first published in 1949 by Mystery House, a subsidiary of Lawrence E. Spivak, Lawrence Spiva ...
''
Between 1979 and 1984 Wellman wrote five new novels featuring
Silver John and in roughly the same period produced two full length novels featuring his character John Thunstone, as well as seeing Thunstone's short adventures, and those of characters such as Judge Pursuivant, collected from the pulps in ''
Lonely Vigils
''Lonely Vigils'' is a collection of fantasy, horror and mystery short stories by author Manly Wade Wellman. It was released in 1981 by Carcosa in an edition of 1,548 copies, of which the 566 pre-ordered copies were signed by the author and artis ...
'' (1981). A movie based on the Silver John stories, ''The Legend of Hillbilly John'', was released in 1973.
In 1980 Wellman received the
World Fantasy Award for Lifetime Achievement.
Wellman was Guest of Honour (with
Gene Wolfe and
Rowena Merrill
Rowena in the Matter of Britain was the daughter of the purported Anglo-Saxon chief Hengist and wife of Vortigern, "King of the Britons". Presented as a beautiful ''femme fatale'', she won her people the Kingdom of Kent through her treacherous ...
) at the
World Fantasy Convention
The World Fantasy Convention is an annual convention of professionals, collectors, and others interested in the field of fantasy. The World Fantasy Awards are presented at the event. Other features include an art show, a dealer's room, and an ...
1983 in
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...
.
At age 82, Wellman suffered a serious fall on June 15, 1985 and sustained severe fractures of his left elbow and shoulder which made him an invalid. A benefit auction for the ailing author was held in London at the annual Christmas Party of the
British Fantasy Society and the funds raised sent to Wellman and his wife in a Christmas card. Due to the onset of gangrene in his legs following double amputation, Wellman's health failed further and he died at his home in
Chapel Hill Chapel Hill or Chapelhill may refer to:
Places Antarctica
*Chapel Hill (Antarctica) Australia
* Chapel Hill, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane
* Chapel Hill, South Australia, in the Mount Barker council area
Canada
*Chapel Hill, Ottawa, a neighbo ...
, North Carolina on April 5, 1986. Before passing on he had been able to finish his historical novel ''Cahena'', about an African warrior princess (see
Kahina) published in 1986, and the final John the Balladeer short story "Where Did She Wander".
The agent for his literary estate was his friend, the writer and editor
Karl Edward Wagner, who edited the posthumous collections ''Valley So Low: Southern Mountain Stories'' and ''John the Balladeer''. A benefit auction was held for Wellman's widow Frances, arranged by Southern fans Beth Gwinn and Sheri Morton, which raised $28,300 in funds.
Harlan Ellison was the auctioneer. Included in the auction were such items as a mug owned by both
H.P. Lovecraft and
Fritz Leiber, a coin from
Mel Brooks
Mel Brooks (born Melvin James Kaminsky; June 28, 1926) is an American actor, comedian and filmmaker. With a career spanning over seven decades, he is known as a writer and director of a variety of successful broad farces and parodies. He began ...
and the shirt which Ellison wore while writing his story "Maggie Money-Eyes".
Frances Wellman died on May 7, 2000. She was cremated and her ashes spread on the lawn of their home at Dogwood Acres in Chapel Hill, NC.
A son, Wade Wellman, died January 25, 2018, in Waukesha, Wisconsin.
Works
Wellman once estimated his output of stories and articles at about 500, of which about 80 were in the fantasy & science fiction genres.
Science fiction and fantasy
* ''The Invading Asteroid'' (1929)
* ''Sojarr of Titan'' (1941)
* ''The Devil's Asteroid'' (1941)
* "Find My Killer" (1948 - as Manly Wellman).
* ''The Solar Invasion'' (
Captain Future novel,
Startling Stories Fall/46; reprinted in paperback in 1968)
* ''Devil's Planet'' (1951)
* ''The Beasts from Beyond'' (1950)
lso known as ''Strangers on the Heights''* ''Twice in Time'' (1957)
* ''The Dark Destroyers'' (1959) [short version of ''Nuisance Value''
parts onean
two(1938/39)]
* ''Giants from Eternity'' (1959)
* ''Island in the Sky'' (1961)
* ''
Worse Things Waiting'' (
Carcosa,1973) (short story collection) (Winner,
World Fantasy Award for Best Collection, 1975)
* ''
Sherlock Holmes's War of the Worlds
''Sherlock Holmes's War of the Worlds'' is a sequel to H. G. Wells's science fiction novel ''The War of the Worlds'', written by Manly Wade Wellman and his son Wade Wellman, and published in 1975. It is a pastiche crossover which combines H. ...
''
ith Wade Wellman(1975)
* ''The Beyonders'' (1977)
* ''The Valley So Low: Southern Mountain Stories'' (1987) (Ed. Karl E. Wagner, collection) Note: Wellman originally intended ''Valley So Low'' to be the title of a sixth
Silver John novel, but his intervening death prevented him writing it. The title was applied instead to this collection of short stories.
* ''The Collected Stories of Manly Wade Wellman'':
# ''The Third Cry to Legba and Other Invocations'' (2000) (John Thunstone and Lee Cobbett stories)
# ''The Devil is Not Mocked and Other Warnings'' (2001)
# ''Fearful Rock and Other Precarious Locales'' (2001) (Judge Pursuivant and Sergeant Jaeger stories)
# ''Sin's Doorway and Other Ominous Entrances'' (2003)
# ''Owls Hoot in the Daytime and Other Omens'' (2003) (John the Balladeer stories)
Silver John collections and novels
*''
Who Fears the Devil?'' (
Arkham House
Arkham House is an American publishing house specializing in weird fiction. It was founded in Sauk City, Wisconsin, in 1939 by August Derleth and Donald Wandrei to publish hardcover collections of H. P. Lovecraft's best works, which ha ...
, 1963) (short stories)
**''John the Balladeer'' (1988) (Ed. Karl E. Wagner, revised collection containing all Silver John short stories)
**''Owls Hoot In The Daytime And Other Omens'' (2003) (Ed. Night Shade Press, also contains all Silver John short stories)
**''Who Fears the Devil?'' (Paizo Publishing, 2010) (reprint of AH edition with two additional stories)
*''The Old Gods Waken'' (1979)
*''After Dark '' (1980)
*''The Lost and the Lurking'' (1981)
*''The Hanging Stones'' (1982)
*''The Voice of the Mountain'' (1984)
John Thunstone collections and novels
*''
Lonely Vigils
''Lonely Vigils'' is a collection of fantasy, horror and mystery short stories by author Manly Wade Wellman. It was released in 1981 by Carcosa in an edition of 1,548 copies, of which the 566 pre-ordered copies were signed by the author and artis ...
'' (
Carcosa,1981) (Thunstone and Judge Pursuivant short stories)
*''
What Dreams May Come'' (1983)
*''The School of Darkness '' (1985)
*''The Complete John Thunstone '' (2012)
Hok stories and collections
*"Battle in the Dawn" (1939)
*"Hok Goes to Atlantis" (1939)
*"The Day of the Conquerors" (1940)
*"Hok Draws the Bow"
*"Hok and the Gift of Heaven" (1941)
*"Hok Visits the Land of Legends" (1942)
*"The Love of Oloana" (1986)
*"Untitled Hok Fragment" (1989)
*''Battle in the Dawn: The Complete Hok the Mighty'' (2010)
Young Adult stories
*The Lion Roared. (Thrilling Tales) 1927.
*The Sleuth Patrol. 1947.
*The Mystery of Lost Valley. 1948.
*The Raiders of Beaver Lake. 1950.
*The Haunts of Drowning Creek. 1951.
*Wild Dogs of Drowning Creek. 1952.
*The Last Mammoth. 1953.
*Gray Riders: Jeb Stuart and His Men. 1954.
*Rebel Mail Runner. 1954.
*Flag on the Levee. 1955.
*To Lands Unknown. 1956.
*Young Squire Morgan. 1956.
*Lights over Skelton Ridge. 1957.
*The Master of Scare Hollow. 1957.
*''Iron Scouts Trilogy''
**The Ghost Battalion: A Story of the Iron Scouts. 1958.
**Ride, Rebels!: Adventures of the Iron Scouts. 1959.
**Appomattox Road: Final Adventures of the Iron Scouts. 1960.
*Third String Center. 1960.
*Rifles at Ramsour's Mill: A Tale of the Revolutionary War. 1961.
*Battle for King's Mountain. 1962.
*Clash on the Catawba. 1962.
*The South Fork Rangers. 1963.
*The River Pirates. 1963.
*Settlement on Shocco: Adventures in Colonial Carolina. 1963.
*Mystery at Bear Paw Gap. 1964.
*The Specter of Bear Paw Creek. 1966.
*Battle at Bear Paw Gap. 1966.
*Jamestown Adventure. 1967.
*Brave Horse: The Story of Janus. 1968.
*Carolina Pirate. 1968.
*Frontier Reporter. 1969.
*Mountain Feud. 1969.
*Fast Break Five. 1971.
Other Novels
* ''Cahena'' (1986) (historical novel)
* ''Candle of the Wicked'' (1960)
* ''A Double Life'' (movie tie-in) (Century Book Publications, 1947) Based on the screenplay by
Garson Kanin and
Ruth Gordon for the
George Cukor movie starring
Ronald Colman.
* ''Find My Killer'' (
mystery) (Farrar, Straus and Giroux,1947)(as by Manly Wellman)
* ''Fort Sun Dance'' (
western) (1955)
* ''Not At These Hands'' (mystery) (1962)
* ''Romance in Black'' (as by 'Gans T. Field'). (UK: Utopian Publications, 1945)
Plays
*''Whom He May Devour''. Written in the 1930s. Published in ''Whispers'', 11/12 (1978).
Non-Fiction
*"Everybody's a Character," ''
The Writer
''The Writer'' is a magazine for writers, published monthly by Madavor Media.
History
''The Writer'' was first established by William H. Hills and Robert Luce, two '' Boston Globe'' reporters, as "a monthly magazine to interest and help all l ...
'', August 1948
*Giant in Gray: A Biography of
Wade Hampton III
Wade Hampton III (March 28, 1818April 11, 1902) was an American military officer who served the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War and later a politician from South Carolina. He came from a wealthy planter family, and ...
of South Carolina. 1949.
*Dead and Gone: Classic Crimes of North Carolina. 1954. (Winner,
Edgar Award for Best Fact Crime, 1956)
*Rebel Boast: First at Bethel, Last at Apppomattox. 1956.
*Fastest on the River: The Great Race Between the Natchez and the Robert E. Lee. 1957.
*The Life and Times of Sir Archie. With Elizabeth A. C. Blanchard. 1958.
*The County of Warren, 1586–1917. 1959.
*They Took Their Stand: The Founders of the Confederacy. 1959.
*The Rebel Songster: Songs the Confederates Sang. 1959.
*Harpers Ferry, Prize of War. 1960.
*The County of Gaston. With Robert F. Cope. 1961.
*The County of Moore, 1947-1947. 1962.
*Winston-Salem:The Founders. 1966.
*Napoleon of the West: A Story of the Aaron Burr Conspiracy. 1970.
*The Kingdom of Madison: A Southern Mountain Fastness And Its People. 1971.
*The Story of Moore County. 1974.
*Winston-Salem In History, Vol. 7: Industry And Commerce 1766–1896. With Larry Edward Tise. 1976.
*A City's Culture: Painting, Music, Literature. 1976.
Awards and honors
Wellman has been nominated for or won the following awards.
Adaptations
The Silver John stories were the inspiration for "Who Fears the Devil?", a 1994 recording by
Joe Bethancourt
Wiltz Joseph Bethancourt III (August 8, 1946 – August 28, 2014) was an American folk musician.
Biography
Bethancourt was born in El Paso, Texas, United States. He began learning banjo at age 9, after he heard his maternal grandfather, C. H. Bu ...
that featured both traditional Appalachian folk songs that Silver John would have known, and Wellman's original lyrics that were in many of the Silver John stories, set to the traditional melodies that Wellman used as models.
Additionally, the progressive bluegrass band,
The Dixie Bee-Liners, recorded an original song inspired by the Silver John stories titled "Yellow-Haired Girl" on their 2008 album "RIPE."
Much of the following information is taken from Mark Cannon's bibliography of Wellman.
''Larroes Catch Meddlers'':
Adapted for television for
Lights Out
Lights Out may refer to:
Events and times
* Institutional, and thence colloquial, term for bedtime
*Lights Out (event), an event in the UK on 4 August 2014 to commemorate the start of World War I
* Lights Out Hong Kong, a campaign to protest air ...
as "The Meddlers",
aired 7 July 1951
Director: Unknown
Screenwriter: Douglas Wood Gibson, Richard E Davis
Starring:
John Carradine
John Carradine ( ; born Richmond Reed Carradine; February 5, 1906 – November 27, 1988) was an American actor, considered one of the greatest character actors in American cinema. He was a member of Cecil B. DeMille's stock company and later ...
,
E G Marshall
E. G. Marshall (born Everett Eugene Grunz;Everett Eugene Grunz in Minnesota, U.S., Birth Index, 1900-1934, Ancestry.comEverett Eugene Grunz in the U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007, accessed via Ancestry.com June 18, ...
, Dan Morgan
''School for the Unspeakable'':
Adapted for television for Lights Out as "The School for the Unspeakable", aired 7 January 1952
Director: Unknown
Screenwriter: Richard E Davis
Starring: Donald Buka, Don Hanmer, Leon Tokatyan, Dick Kallman, Maurice Kenney, Jason Jonson, John Gerstad, Harold Webster
''The Valley Was Still'':
Adapted for television for
The Twilight Zone
''The Twilight Zone'' is an American media franchise based on the anthology series, anthology television program, television series created by Rod Serling. The episodes are in various genres, including fantasy, science fiction, absurdism, dysto ...
as "
Still Valley
"Still Valley" is episode 76 of the American television anthology series ''The Twilight Zone''.
Opening narration
The narration continues after dialogue between Paradine and Dauger.
Plot
During the Civil War, two Confederate Army soldiers ...
," aired 24 November 1961
Director:
James Sheldon
Screenwriter:
Rod Serling
Starring:
Gary Merrill (Paradine), Vaughn Taylor (Old Man), Ben Cooper (Dauger), Addison Myers (Sentry); Mark Tapscott (Lieutenant), Jack Mann (Mallory)
''The Devil is Not Mocked'':
Adapted for television for
Night Gallery, aired 27 October 1971
Director: Gene Kearney
Screenwriter: Gene Kearney
Starring:
Helmut Dantine (General), Francis Lederer (Master),
Hank Brandt (Kranz)
''Rouse Him Not'':
Adapted for TV for
Monsters, aired December 1988
Director: Mark Shostrom
Writer: Michael Parry
Starring:
Laraine Newman, Terrance Evans and
Alex Cord as
John Thunstone.
''Who Fears The Devil?''
1972 feature film, edited and re-released in 1973 as ''The Legend of Hillbilly John''
Producer: Barney Rosenzweig
Director: John Newland
Screenwriter: Melvin Levy
Starring: Hedge Capers (John),
Susan Strasberg (Poly Wiltse),
Denver Pyle (Grandpappy John), Severn Darden (Mr Marduke), Percy Rodriguez (Capt Lojoie H Desplain IV),
R G Armstrong
Robert Golden Armstrong Jr. (April 7, 1917 – July 27, 2012) was an American character actor and playwright. A veteran performer who appeared in dozens of Westerns during his 40-year career, he may be best remembered for his work with directo ...
(Bristowe); Sharon Henesy (Lily); Sidney Clute (Charles); William Traynor (Rev. Millen);
Harris Yulin (Zebulon Yandro); Alfred Ryder (O J Onselm); Chester Jones (Uncle Anansi); Val Avery (Cobart); "White Lightnin'" (themselves); "Honor Hound" (himself).
Film based on the character of Silver John. Two segments of the film were based on the stories ''O Ugly Bird'' and ''The Desrick on Yandro''.
''School for the Unspeakable''
(on audiotape with Unfortunate Obsession by
Matthew Costello
Matthew John Costello (born 1948) is an American writer specializing in the genres of horror, gothic, and science fiction. His articles have appeared in publications including the '' Los Angeles Times'' and '' Sports Illustrated''. He has script ...
)
Brilliance Corp 1997
''Up Under the Roof''
2010 short film (35mm, 20 minutes)
Producer: Danielle Stallings & Darin Read
Director: Darin Read
Screenwriter: Danielle Stallings & Darin Read
Starring: Jonathan Milliken, Shawnna Youngquist, Geoff Elliot, Jill Hill, Vince Froio, Alice Taylor and voice of Greg Finley
Based on Wellman's short story entitled "Up Under the Roof"
Legacy
Karl Edward Wagner referred to him as "the dean of fantasy writers."
[Stephen Jones, "Better Things Waiting: An Interview with Manly Wade Wellman", ''Fantasy Media,'' 2, No 2 (May/June 1980), pp. 14–16]
Manly Wade Wellman Award
The Manly Wade Wellman Award, named in his honor, is given out annually since 2013 by the North Carolina Speculative Fiction Foundation for "outstanding achievement in science fiction and fantasy novels written by North Carolina authors".
The winners of the award are listed below.
*2014 - ''The Shambling Guide to New York City'' by
Mur Lafferty
Mur Lafferty (born July 25, 1973) is an American podcaster and writer based in Durham, North Carolina. She was the editor and host of '' Escape Pod'' from 2010, when she took over from Steve Eley, until 2012, when she was replaced by Norm Sherm ...
*2015 - ''Ghost Train to New Orleans'' by
Mur Lafferty
Mur Lafferty (born July 25, 1973) is an American podcaster and writer based in Durham, North Carolina. She was the editor and host of '' Escape Pod'' from 2010, when she took over from Steve Eley, until 2012, when she was replaced by Norm Sherm ...
*2016 - ''Raising Hell'' by
John G. Hartness
John is a common English name and surname:
* John (given name)
* John (surname)
John may also refer to:
New Testament
Works
* Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John
* First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John
* Second ...
*2017 - ''Steeplejack'' by
A. J. Hartley
Andrew James Hartley (born 1964) is a British-born American novelist, who writes bestselling and award-winning fiction for children and adults. He also writes thrillers as Andrew Hart.
Works
The first of three middle grades and young adult advent ...
*2018 - ''Scourge'' by
Gail Z. Martin
Gail Zehner Martin (born December 1, 1962) is an American writer of epic fantasy and urban fantasy and is most well known for her ''The Chronicles of The Necromancer'' fantasy adventure series for Solaris Books and Double Dragon Publishing.
Biog ...
*2019 - ''Empire of Silence'' by
Christopher Ruocchio
*2020 - ''A Fall in Autumn'' by
Michael G. Williams
Michael G. Williams is an American author, podcaster, and speaker who writes queer-themed science fiction, horror, and urban fiction novels and short stories. His novel, ''Fall in Autumn,'' won the 2020 Manly Wade Wellman Award.
Early life and ...
*2021 - ''Queen of None'' by
Natania Barron
Notes
Further reading
*Robert Coulson. "The Recent Fantasies of Manly Wade Wellman". In Darrell Schweitzer (ed). ''Discovering Modern Horror Fiction''. Mercer Island, WA: Starmont House, 1985, pp,. 99-105.
*
Karl Edward Wagner. "About Manly Wade Wellman". ''World Fantasy 1983: Sixty years of Weird Tales'' (convention program book), pp. 3, 5-6.
*
Karl Edward Wagner. "Manly Wade Wellman: A Biography". ''The Horror Show'' (Spring 1987), 29–31. Accompanied by a Wellman story, "These Doth the Lord Hate" (pp. 24–28).
*''Dictionary of North Carolina Biography'', Vol. 6, William S. Powell, Ed. (1996) at 160–161 (Article by William S. Powell)
*''Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers: A Bibliography of First Printings of Their Fiction'', L. W. Currey, G. K. Hall & Co., 1979
External links
Voice of the Mountains– fan site
*
*
*
*
*
Audio recordingof Mr. Wellman participating in author panel discussion during the First World Fantasy Convention in 1975 at ''archive.org''
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wellman, Manly Wade
1903 births
1986 deaths
20th-century American Episcopalians
American people of Native American descent
American fantasy writers
American science fiction writers
American horror writers
20th-century American novelists
Columbia Law School alumni
Edgar Award winners
World Fantasy Award-winning writers
American male novelists
Appalachian music
20th-century American male writers
Weird fiction writers
American expatriates in Angola