Richard Martin Oscar Cook (17 March 1888 – 23 February 1952) was a British author of novels, non-fiction works and short stories with a supernatural theme.

Life

Cook worked as a Government official in

British North Borneo (I persevere and I achieve) , national_anthem = , capital = Kudat (1881–1884);Sandakan (1884–1945); Jesselton (1946) , common_languages = English, Kadazan-Dusun, Bajau, Murut, Sabah Malay, Chinese etc. , gove ...

from 1911 until 1919. In December 1914 he was Assistant District Officer at

Semporna Semporna ( ms, Pekan Semporna) is the capital of the Semporna District in the Tawau Division of Sabah, Malaysia. Its population was estimated to be around 35,301 in 2010. History Semporna was founded soon after the British North Borneo Char ...

, and it was at this time that he compiled a vocabulary of

Bajau The Sama-Bajau include several Austronesian ethnic groups of Maritime Southeast Asia. The name collectively refers to related people who usually call themselves the Sama or Samah (formally A'a Sama, "Sama people"); or are known by the exonym ...

words. He later held District Officer posts. On returning to Britain, Cook wrote an autobiographical account of his time in Borneo. It was suggested that he should approach the

Curtis Brown literary agency Curtis Brown is a literary and talent agency based in London, UK. One of the oldest literary agencies in Europe, it was founded by Albert Curtis Brown in 1899. It is part of The Curtis Brown Group of companies. History Albert Curtis Brown was a ...

and the book was allocated to Christine Campbell Thomson, an agent there. It was she who gave the book its title, ''Borneo: Stealer of Hearts'', and placed it with Hurst & Blackett, who published it in 1924. At the time it was considered one of the most authoritative books on Borneo. Cook was also then writing short stories concerned with supernatural themes, several of which were directly influenced by his time in Borneo. By 1934 an autobiographical note accompanying one of his short stories stated that since his return to England he had been an author, editor, publisher, actor, secretary to a dramatic school, and in business. Cook married Christine Campbell Thomson, but they were divorced in 1938. He died on the twenty-third of February 1952.

Publications

Non fiction

* ''Borneo: the Stealer of Hearts'' Hurst and Blackett London 1924

Novels

* ''The Second Wave'' 1930 or earlier, translated into the Dutch as ''Gij zult niet'' (set on a rubber estate near Mount Kinabalu, North Borneo, with a theme of adultery)

Short stories

* Golden Lilies (''Hutchinson's Adventure-Story Magazine'', September 1922; ''Keep On The Light'', 1933; ''More Not At Night'', ed. Christine Campbell Thompson, Arrow 1961, 1963) * Si Urag of the Tail (''Hutchinson's Adventure-Story Magazine'', January 1923; ''

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 ...

'', July 1926; ''You'll Need A Night Light'', ed. Christine Campbell Thompson Selwyn & Blount September 1927; ''A Century Of Creepy Stories'', Hutchinson 1934; ''50 Strangest Stories Ever Told'', Odhams, 1937; ''Still Not At Night'', Arrow 1962, ''Creepy Stories'' Bracken 1994) * On the Highway (''Weird Tales'', January 1925) (uncertain attribution since in the index is actually bylined “Cargray Cook”) * The Great White Fear (''Hutchinson's Adventure-Story Magazine'', June 1925; ''Grim Death'' Selwyn & Blount, 1932; ''A Century of Creepy Stories'' Hutchinson, 1934; ''Creepy Stories'' Bracken, 1994) * The Creature of Man (''Weird Tales'', November 1926, reprinted as Dog Death in''Terror By Night'', 1934) * The Sacred Jars (''Weird Tales'', March 1927. Reprinted as When Glister Walks in ''Gruesome Cargoes'', Selwyn and Blount July 1928; ''A Century Of Creepy Stories'', Hutchinson 1934; ''50 Strangest Stories Ever Told'', Odhams, 1937; ''Not At Night: Tales That Freeze The Blood'', Arrow, 1960, 1962; ''Creepy Stories'' Bracken, 1994) * Piecemeal (''By Daylight Only'', October 1929; ''Weird Tales'', Feb 1930; ''Not At Night Omnibus'', 1937; ''The Second Pan Book of Horror Stories'', Pan 1960) * Boomerang (''Switch on the Light'' Selwyn & Blount, 1931; ''A Century of Creepy Stories'', Hutchinson, 1934; ''The Second Pan Book of Horror Stories'', Pan, 1960; ''Creepy Stories'', Bracken, 1994. Dramatised by

Rod Serling Rodman Edward Serling (December 25, 1924 – June 28, 1975) was an American screenwriter, playwright, television producer, and narrator/on-screen host, best known for his live television dramas of the 1950s and his anthology television series ' ...

as the

Night Gallery ''Night Gallery'' is an American anthology television series that aired on NBC from December 16, 1970, to May 27, 1973, featuring stories of horror and the macabre. Rod Serling, who had gained fame from an earlier series, ''The Twilight Zone'', ...

television series episode "The Caterpillar", first broadcast 1 March 1972) * His Beautiful Hands (''At Dead of Night'' Selwyn & Blount November 1931; ''Not At Night Omnibus'', Selwyn and Blount 1937; ''The Pan Book of Horror Stories'', ed Herbert Van Thal, 1959) * The Crimson Head-Dress (''Nightmare By Daylight'', 1936)

External links

* *
Cambridge University Library Royal Commonwealth Society holding - Cook's Bajau vocabulary

Discussion page about Cook's short stories.
* Oscar Cook (1924, Reprint 2007)
Borneo: The Stealer of Hearts
' {{DEFAULTSORT:Cook, Oscar 1888 births 1952 deaths English short story writers English horror writers Colonial Administrative Service officers British North Borneo Administrators in British Borneo