only true fantasy, The Black Hole of Carcosa,a
blend of magic and tough detective story set in the
world created by J. Michael Reaves in Darkworld
Detective(1982). Shirley was by now well estab-
lished, but his output at novel length slowed con-
siderably. His next novel was controversial because
of its violent sexual theme. Wetbones(1993) in-
volves the direct stimulation of the pleasure and
pain centers in the human brain and the conse-
quences when a group uses the ability to manipu-
late these sensations in order to sexually enslave
others.
During the 1980s and 1990s Shirley produced
short fiction of consistently high quality, much of it
horror, sometimes rationalized and sometimes su-
pernatural. Most of his stories from this period can
be found in Black Butterflies(1998), Really, Really,
Really, Really Weird Stories(1999), and Darkness Di-
vided(2001). Black Butterflieswon the Bram Stoker
Award for a single-author collection.
Demons(2000) is a short, violent novel set in
the near future and is horror rather than science
fiction. Demons have overrun the world, and the
surviving humans face a variety of horrible fates at
their hands. The novel was reprinted under the
same title in 2002, but with a second, book-length
sequel included. Discorporate creatures manipu-
late the lives of human beings in The View from
Hell(2001), and an actor is overwhelmed by vi-
sions of supposedly imaginary entities in And the
Angel with Television Eyes(2001). Shirley’s fiction
often takes chances, and he is rarely satisfied with
writing a predictable story. Sometimes the results
are less successful, but in most cases he has proven
to be an exciting and innovative writer who often
startles his readers with unexpected and occasion-
ally bizarre twists.
“Shottle Bop”Theodore Sturgeon(1941)
The magic shop is a standard device in contempo-
rary fantasy, a store where magical objects can be
bought, although usually with a concealed catch.
The protagonist of this classic by Theodore Stur-
geon has been recently spurned by the woman he
has been wooing and is generally a failure, to a
large extent through his own shortcomings. He en-
ters the odd little shop on a whim and is told by
the unusual proprietor that he sells bottles with
things in them, anything, in fact, that you could
possibly want. Although skeptical, a touch of
magic convinces him something odd is going on,
and he leaves with a small bottle in his possession,
one that the proprietor insists will cure his prob-
lems. Once outside, he decides that it was all a
hoax, but nonetheless he holds on to the bottle
and brings it home with him.
Predictably, he gives in to temptation and
drinks the contents, not expecting any actual re-
sults, but after which he discovers he has a strange
new ability. In an interesting anticipation of the
movie The Sixth Sense(1999), he can now see dead
people, the ghosts of those who died with some act
incomplete, tied to their old existence until they
somehow accomplish it and usually unwilling to
accept the fact that they are actually dead. Sympa-
thetic to their plight, he tries to help and eventu-
ally opens a business as a psychic consultant,
conveying messages back and forth to the land of
the dead. The one complication to his new talent
is that while he can see ghosts, ghosts cannot see
him, although they can hear his voice.
Unfortunately, he decides to give in to temp-
tation and taunt some former acquaintances who
never thought he would amount to anything. He
places a bet with one of them that he can summon
a frightening ghost and then spends a night with
him in a haunted house. The resident spirit, a typi-
cal malevolent entity, arrives, and despite the nar-
rator’s intercession, causes the other man to die of
shock. This use of his talent for such a mean pur-
pose results in its immediate loss. Visible to the
angry ghost, the narrator dies horribly and, we re-
alize now, is telling this story from beyond the
grave. Despite the somewhat horrific ending, the
tone of the story is surprisingly light, suggesting an
allegory about wasting one’s talents rather than an
attempt to horrify the reader.“The Shunned House”H. P. Lovecraft
(1937)
Many of the stories by H. P. LOVECRAFTare set in
his native Providence, Rhode Island, and involve
actual places and structures, many of which sur-
vive to this day. That is the case with the building“The Shunned House” 319