"The Return of the Sorcerer" is a horror

short story A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest ...

by American writer Clark Ashton Smith, first published in '' Strange Tales of Mystery and Terror'' in September 1931. The story ties into H. P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos due to its references to Lovecraft's invented book of occult lore the ''

Necronomicon The ', also referred to as the ''Book of the Dead'', or under a purported original Arabic title of ', is a fictional grimoire (textbook of magic) appearing in stories by the horror writer H. P. Lovecraft and his followers. It was first men ...

''. It tells of one Mr. Ogden being hired by scholarly recluse John Carnby to translate passages from the ''

''.

Critical response

According to ''The Complete H.P. Lovecraft Filmography'', "The Return of the Sorcerer" is the first published story by a writer other than Lovecraft to adopt the Cthulhu cosmology. It is the title story of Robert Weinberg's collection of Smith's short fiction, ''The Return of the Sorcerer: The Best of Clark Ashton Smith''. In a review of the

August Derleth August William Derleth (February 24, 1909 – July 4, 1971) was an American writer and anthologist. Though best remembered as the first book publisher of the writings of H. P. Lovecraft, and for his own contributions to the Cthulhu Mythos and th ...

anthology '' Sleep No More'',

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

reviewer Orvile Prescott commented that the story "skates perilously close to parody of its own genre" but "should upset even hardened stomachs." A ''New York Times'' review of '' Out of Space and Time'' praised "The Return of the Sorcerer" as one of the best stories in the volume, "partly because it is one of the least overwritten". Jason Colavito singled it out in his horror genre study ''Knowing Fear'' as a standout amongst Smith's horror stories.

Media adaptation

"The Return of the Sorcerer" was adapted as an episode of the television series ''

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 ...

'' starring

Vincent Price Vincent Leonard Price Jr. (May 27, 1911 – October 25, 1993) was an American actor, art historian, art collector and gourmet cook. He appeared on stage, television, and radio, and in more than 100 films. Price has two stars on the Hollywood Wal ...

(as John Carnby) and Bill Bixby (as Noel Evans in Mr. Ogden's role). It was also adapted for radio in an episode starring

Tucker Smallwood Tucker Smallwood (born February 22, 1944) is an American actor, author, and vocalist. Early life From 1967 to 1970, Smallwood served in the United States Army Airborne Infantry. Commanding a Mobile Advisory Team during the Vietnam War, he was n ...

and

Ron Bottitta Ron is a shortening of the name Ronald. Ron or RON may also refer to: Arts and media * Big Ron (''EastEnders''), a TV character * Ron (''King of Fighters''), a video game character *Ron Douglas, the protagonist in '' Lucky Stiff'' played by Joe ...

produced for the revival of the classic radio series '' Suspense'', which premiered on

Sirius XM Radio Sirius XM Holdings Inc. is an American broadcasting company headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City that provides satellite radio and online radio services operating in the United States. It was formed by the 2008 merger of Sirius Sat ...

in November 2012. In August 2010,

Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. In ...

band

Orne Orne (; nrf, Ôrne or ) is a département in the northwest of France, named after the river Orne. It had a population of 279,942 in 2019.Rochester Rochester may refer to: Places Australia * Rochester, Victoria Canada * Rochester, Alberta United Kingdom *Rochester, Kent ** City of Rochester-upon-Medway (1982–1998), district council area ** History of Rochester, Kent ** HM Prison ...

-based doom metal band Blizaro released a split 7" record based on the Night Gallery episode. In April 2018, Cadabra Records released a vinyl LP read by Anthony D.P. Mann and scored by composer Seizon.

References

External links

*
The Return of the Sorcerer
– full text of the story * *
The Return of the Sorcerer: The Best of Clark Ashton Smith
' at

Prime Books Sean Wallace (born January 1, 1976) is an American science fiction, fantasy, and horror anthologist, editor, and publisher best known for founding the publishing house Prime Books and for co-editing three magazines, '' Clarkesworld Magazine'', '' ...

1931 short stories American short stories Cthulhu Mythos short stories Fantasy short stories Works originally published in American magazines Short stories by Clark Ashton Smith Works originally published in horror fiction magazines {{1930s-fantasy-story-stub