Manly Wade Wellman
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Manly Wade Wellman (May 21, 1903 - April 5, 1986) was an American writer of fiction and non-fiction. He is best known for his fantasy and horror stories set in the Appalachian Mountains, many of which featured the wandering minstrel with the silver-stringed guitar, Silver John. Wellman also wrote in other genres including: science fiction, fantasy, historical fiction, detective fiction, western fiction, juvenile fiction and non-fiction. He also wrote several comic book stories, mostly issues of The Spirit written while Will Eisner was at war.
During the 1950s, he wrote several science-fiction novels. In the area of horror (or weird fiction), he created several 'occult detective' characters, such as Judge Pursuivant and John Thunstone, and his most well known character, Silver John (also known as John the Balladeer).
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[edit] Works
[edit] SF/Weird Fiction
- The Invading Asteroid (1929)
- Sojarr of Titan (1941)
- Devil's Planet (1951)
- The Beasts from Beyond (1950) [also known as Strangers on the Heights]
- Twice in Time (1957)
- The Dark Destroyers (1959) [short version of Nuisance Value]
- Giants from Eternity (1959)
- Island in the Sky (1961)
- The Solar Invasion (1968) (Captain Future novel)
- Worse Things Waiting (1973) (collection) (Winner, World Fantasy Award for Best Collection, 1975)
- Sherlock Holmes's War of the Worlds [With Wade Wellman] (1975)
- The Beyonders (1977)
- The Valley So Low: Southern Mountain Stories (1987) (Ed. Karl E. Wagner, collection)
Nightshade Books edition, The Collected Stories of Manly Wade Wellman:
- The Third Cry to Legba and Other Invocations (2000) (John Thunstone and Lee Corbet stories)
- The Devil is Not Mocked and Other Warnings (2001)
- Fearful Rock and Other Precarious Locales (2001) (Judge Pursivant and Sergeant Jaeger stories)
- Sin’s Doorway and Other Ominous Entrances (2003)
- Owls Hoot in the Daytime and Other Omens (2003) (John the Balladeer stories)
[edit] Silver John stories & novels
- Who Fears the Devil? (1963) (collection of short stories)
- The Old Gods Waken (1979)
- After Dark (1980)
- The Lost and Lurking (1981)
- The Hanging Stones (1982)
- Voice of the Mountain (1984)
- John the Balladeer (1988) (Ed. Karl E. Wagner, revised collection of short stories)
[edit] John Thunstone stories & novels
- Lonely Vigils (1981) (Thunstone and Judge Pursuivant short stories)
- What Dreams May Come (1983)
- The School of Darkness (1985)
[edit] Young Adult
- The Lion Roared. (Thrilling Tales) 1927.
- The Sleuth Patrol. 1947.
- The Mystery of Lost Valley. 1948.
- The Raiders of Beaver Lake. 1950.
- The Haunts of Drowning Creek. 1951.
- Wild Dogs of Drowning Creek. 1952.
- The Last Mammoth. 1953.
- Gray Riders: Jeb Stuart and His Men. 1954.
- Rebel Mail Runner. 1954.
- Flag on the Levee. 1955.
- To Lands Unknown. 1956.
- Young Squire Morgan. 1956.
- Lights over Skelton Ridge. 1957.
- The Master of Scare Hollow. 1957.
- Third String Center. 1960.
- Rifles at Ramsour's Mill: A Tale of the Revolutionary War. 1961.
- Battle for King's Mountain. 1962.
- Clash on the Catawba. 1962.
- The South Fork Rangers. 1963.
- The River Pirates. 1963.
- Settlement on Shocco: Adventures in Colonial Carolina. 1963.
- Mystery at Bear Paw Gap. 1964.
- The Specter of Bear Paw Creek. 1966.
- Battle at Bear Paw Gap. 1966.
- Jamestown Adventure. 1967.
- Brave Horse: The Story of Janus. 1968.
- Carolina Pirate. 1968.
- Frontier Reporter. 1969.
- Mountain Feud. 1969.
- Fast Break Five. 1971.
- The Ghost Battalion: A Story of the Iron Scouts. 1958.
- Ride, Rebels!: Adventures of the Iron Scouts. 1959.
- Appomattox Road: Final Adventures of the Iron Scouts. 1960.
[edit] Other Novels
- Candle of the Wicked (1960)
- A Double Life (movie tie-in) (1947)
- Find My Killer (mystery) (1947)
- Fort Sun Dance (western) (1955)
- Not At These Hands (mystery)
- Cahena (1986) (historical novel)
[edit] Non-Fiction
- Giant in Gray: A Biography of Wade Hampton III of South Carolina. 1949.
- Dead and Gone: Classic Crimes of North Carolina. 1954. (Winner, Edgar Award for Best Fact Crime, 1956)
- Rebel Boast: First at Bethel, Last at Apppomattox. 1956.
- Fastest on the River: The Great Race Between the Natchez and the Robert E. Lee. 1957.
- The Life and Times of Sir Archie. With Elizabeth A. C. Blanchard. 1958.
- The County of Warren, 1586-1917. 1959.
- They Took Their Stand: The Founders of the Confederacy. 1959.
- The Rebel Songster: Songs the Confederates Sang. 1959.
- Harpers Ferry, Prize of War. 1960.
- The County of Gaston. With Robert F. Cope. 1961.
- The County of Moore, 1947-1947. 1962.
- Winston-Salem:The Founders. 1966.
- Napoleon of the West: A Story of the Aaron Burr Conspiracy. 1970.
- The Kingdom of Madison: A Southern Mountain Fastness And Its People. 1971.
- The Story of Moore County. 1974.
- A City's Culture: Painting, Music, Literature. 1976.
[edit] Awards
- North Carolina Writers' Network Literary Hall of Fame inductee, 1996
- British Fantasy Award winner, Lifetime Achievement 1985
- World Fantasy Award winner, Life Achievement 1980
- World Fantasy Award nominee, Best Short Fiction 1976, The Ghastly Priest Doth Reign
- World Fantasy Award winner, Best Collection/Anthology 1975, Worse Things Waiting
- Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine Award winner, Best Story 1946, A Star for a Warrior
- Mystery Writers of America Edgar Award for Best Fact Crime Story 1956, Dead and Gone
[edit] Adaptations
Two of Wellman's short stories which have been adapted as television productions are "The Valley Was Still", made into an episode of The Twilight Zone starring Gary Merrill, and "Rouse Him Not", made into an episode of Monsters starring Alex Cord as John Thunstone.
The Silver John stories were the inspiration for "Who Fears the Devil", a 1994 recording by Joe Bethancourt that featured both traditional Appalachian folksongs that Silver John would've known, and Wellman's original lyrics that were in many of the Silver John stories, set to the traditional melodies that Wellman used as models.
