Charles Birkin was a long-time editor and author of horror tales, putting together the popular
Creeps Library anthology series in England throughout the 1930s. In the 1960s he began publishing collections of his own short stories, many which were published in the States. The most famous of these seems to be
The Smell of Evil (Award Books/1969). This summer I was able to buy a copy and read the title story--it was cruel, macabre, delicious! For a bibliography of his many books, refer to the
Vault of Evil. For a new trade paperback edition of
Smell of Evil, buy it at
Valancourt Books. Birkin died in 1985.
Never read the guy, through "The witch-baiter" sound like a great title; but I sure like that "Haunted dancers cover"! Something about that cloak in rags contrasted with the woman's dress and the background is just eerily appealing to me.
ReplyDeleteMore people should try and track down Birkin's works. He was really an original. I collected all of the books above except for The Witch Baiter,and Haunted Dancers back in the 70s. I always considered it quite a score when i found one since they were rather scarce in the U.S. They are all creepy fun! There was a recent compilation of his stories published in HB by Midnight House. I grabbed that one too. You can probably still find it on ebay/amazon but it might have gone up in price by now
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Sooner or later I hope to finish reading SMELL OF EVIL and post a review. Sooner or later...
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