Born in 1908, Donald Wandrei was an American writer, poet and editor. He went on to appear regularly in influential publications such as Weird Tales, Astounding Stories, Esquire and many more. He specialized in the science fiction, horror and fantasy genres. In 1939, he and August Derleth co-founded the small press publication Arkham House to keep the works of their friend H. P. Lovecraft alive. Wandrei passed away in 1987. All these stories were a lot of fun and are concise, well-written and imaginative.
THE STORIES:
1. “The Red Brain” (1927) – Antares is the lone remaining planet in the galaxy to avoid being ravaged by a roving cloud of cosmic dust. The aliens that live there are hyper-intelligent beings whose physical form is primarily a large brain. They put all their mental powers to work in attempts to stop the dust from obliterating them as well. The strangeness of these alien life forms are a highlight of this story which has a sharp finale. Listen here for free: http://www.hypnogoria.com/gl_redbrain.html
2. “The Green Flame” (1930) – A man’s obsession to attain the trove of emeralds his grandfather keeps inside his twisted, old house intensifies once he spies a particularly enormous one called The Green Flame. This emerald proves unsafe to be around, however. You can listen her for free: https://horrorbabble.bandcamp.com/album/the-green-flame
3. “The Tree-Men of M’Bwa” (1932) – An adventurer traveling through Africa encounters the legless, lone survivor from a previous expedition to the area where he’s planning to venture. The survivor warns him away from going and recounts the bizarre story of what happened to him and his comrades when they encountered the supernatural power of The Tree-Men of M’Bwa. You can listen here for free: https://horrorbabble.podbean.com/e/the-tree-men-of-m-bwa-by-donald-wandrei/
4. “The Lady In Gray” (1933) – A man is plagued by hideous nightmares involving monstrous creatures every time he goes to sleep. The presence of his deceased love in them makes these dreams no less dreadful. There are lots of Lovecraftian references in this brief tale. You can listen here for free: https://player.fm/series/the-horrorbabble-podcast/the-lady-in-gray-by-donald-wandrei
5. “The Fire Vampires” (1933) – Set in the future, a scientist theorizes that the strangely maneuvering comet headed toward Earth may be controlled by an alien intelligence. While he is widely ridiculed for this idea, he is eventually proven correct when a group of electrical beings begin feeding on the populace of Earth and demanding human sacrifices. You can listen here for free: https://horrorbabble.bandcamp.com/track/the-fire-vampires
6. “The Chuckler” (1934) – An occultist insists in being buried with a rare gem of his as well as a few of his grimoires. After he dies, his edicts are carried out per his wishes. When later the crypt is disturbed, an eerie chuckling is heard from inside it. You can listen here for free: https://horrorbabble.podbean.com/e/the-chuckler-by-donald-wandrei/
7. “The Destroying Horde” (1935) – A police officer working at a university campus is forced to try and halt a relentlessly multiplying horde of giant, single-called organisms which devour the flesh off anyone they encounter and can’t be stopped by bullets in this sci-fi/horror story. You can listen here for free: https://horrorbabble.podbean.com/e/the-destroying-horde-by-donald-wandrei/
8. “Uneasy Lie the Drowned” (1937) – A man paddling his boat across a lake is accosted by the corpse of a drowned man which has a disturbing tale to tell. You can Listen here for free: https://player.fm/series/the-horrorbabble-podcast/uneasy-lie-the-drowned-by-donald-wandrei
9. “It Will Grow On You” (1942) – A man enters a doctor’s office seeking help with a peculiar situation which has befallen him. He explains that he had been cut and then cursed by a former lover. Afterwards, the miniature form of a woman begins to sprout from a wound she inflicted on his leg. This doll-like growth aggressively resists any attempt to remove it. You can listen here for free: https://horrorbabble.podbean.com/e/it-will-grow-on-you-a-story-of-body-horror-by-donald-wandrei/
Article by Matt Cowan
Horror Delve 