Customer Reviews

Who Fears the Devil

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An authentic foray into Carolinian folklore, calling forth stories of witches, ghosts, familiars, and an assortment of other supernatural creatures, all set against the protagonist, John the Balladeer, a likable southern bard with a silver-strung guitar and a bit of occult knowledge. The book is a collection of short stories and vignettes written over a period of nearly forty years. All are good, some are excellent. The vignettes are often simply beautiful. All of the writing is first person with a genuine southern voice, without making the people or area seem ignorant or uncivilized. A wonderful collection of tales with from the much forgotten American mythology.

Alfred Bester tells how he used to listen to Manly Wade Wellman recount many anecdotes in which Southerners would repeatedly get the better of Northerners. Bester decided that he could tolerate such stories, since the North had, after all, won the war. But there is no question that Manly Wade Wellman was unabashedly Southern-- more particularly, he was unabashedly a native of North Carolina. Many-- though certainly not all-- of his stories had Southern settings. And one of his nonfictional books, _Dead and Gone_ (1954), is an excellent historical study of North Carolina murderers. _Who Fears the Devil?_ (1963) is the first of Wellman's Silver John books and is also set in North Carolina. There are eleven full length short stories that appeared in _Fantasy and Science Fiction_ between 1951 and 1958. Seven vignettes appeared in _F&SF_ in 1962 under the title, "Wonder As I Wander". Four other vignettes appeared in the book for the first time. A vignette preceeds each of the longer stories in the collection. There are other Silver John stories, some novels and some short stories, that appeared later. But there is a kind of unity to _Who Fears the Devil?_ that makes it worth reading by itself.

For readers not familiar with this series, John is a folksy balladeer who wanders the Southern mountains with a silver stringed guitar and who helps deserving people get out of magical scrapes. His knowlege of music and magic, along with his basic decency, often saves the day. I am not going to spend a lot of time with the plots of the stories, which are actually straightforward enough. What I would like to call attention to is the style. All of the pieces are first person narrations by John. Here is a representative example:

_If the gardinel's an old folk's tale, I'm honest to tell you it's a true one.
Few words about them are best, I should reckon. They look some way like a shed or a cabin, snug and rightly made, except the open door could be a mouth, the two little windows might could be eyes. Never you'll see one on the main roads or near towns; only back in the thicketty places, by high trails among tall ridges, and they show themselves there when it rains and storms and a lone farer hopes to come to a house to shelter him._ (31)

There is not a false note in this passage. Wellman catches John's dialect without using phoney grammatical mistakes or unnatural rhetoric. There are a great many stories that attempt Appalachian dialect and fail abysmally... because the authors don't really know it. Wellman knows the language of his region, and it makes all the difference. Here is John again:

Another lightning flash, another thunder growl. Old Mr. Jay hunched his thin shoulders under his jeans coat, and allowed he'd pay for some crackers and cheese if the storekeeper'd fetch them out to us.
"I ain't even now wanting to talk against Forney Meechum," said the farmer. "But they tell he'd put his eye on Lute for himself, and he'd quarreled with his own son Derwood about who'd have her. But next court day at the county seat, was a fight betwixt Jeremiah Donovant and Derwood Meechum, and Jeremiah put a knife in Derwood and killed him dead."
Mr. Jay leaned forward. The lantern light showed the gray stubble on his gentle old face. "Who drew the first knife?" he asked. (118)

Wellman also nails the dialogue of his North Carolina characters. It is not just that the basic story ideas are good-- though they are. The style of the tales carries the day; there is frequently a poetry to it. It isn't easy to do this successfully, but Wellman does so. This book is highly recommended.

I went and bought this book after I came across a copy of one of his old books on the street. However, I recommend you check out 5 volume series from Night Shade Books of all of Wellman's short stories. One volume has all of the Silver John Stories.

Wonderful stories by a wonderful writer. But take note of the intro -"The original stories were somewhat revised (Manley grumbled that this was done to give the collection some semblance of a novel)". Which means some of the best lines from the opener, "O Ugly Bird", are gone. Still a good tale, but not the one that burned a hole in my brain when I was a kid. Overall, though, a great collection.

Manly Wade Wellman (1903-1986) is probably best known for his novels and short stories about John the Balladeer, who roamed the Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina during the middle of the twentieth century. John does battle against various fiends and incarnations of Satan, with a silver-stringed guitar and his Christian faith as his only weapons (although he occasionally takes out a monster with a silver dime or quarter).

In the very first story, "O Ugly Bird" a link is implied between our hero and John the Baptist: "It was foretold about you in the Bible," said Winnie, her voice soft again. "'There was a man sent from God, whose name was John...'"

Of course, like any true hero would, John manages to `aw shucks' his way out of that accolade. He sings "Lady, I never loved witchcraft,/ Never dealt in privy wile,/ But evermore held the high way/ Of love and honor, free from guile..." Then like the Lone Ranger, he is off to another mountain valley to do musical combat with yet another aspect of Evil.

These stories are rich in Appalachian tradition and folklore. There is even a tale about the feud between the Hatfields and the McCoys: "Old Devlins was A-Waiting." Many of the songs John sings are authentic as well, although Wellman did introduce some original music to fit his story themes.

A complete list of novels and short story collections featuring John:

Novels:
"The Old Gods Waken" (1979)
"After Dark" (1980)
"The Lost and Lurking" (1981)
"The Hanging Stones" (1982)
"Voice of the Mountain" (1984)

Short story collections:
"Who Fears the Devil?" (1963)
"John the Balladeer" (1988)
"Owls Hoot in Daytime and Other Omens" (2003)

Who Fears the Devil? is a collection of Manly Wade Wellman's "Silver John" short fiction. There are also 5 novels, if you want to look further, but they are not currently in print. These stories were written over 30 years, from the 50's to the 80's, but you would not know it to read over them, as the tone of the stories is remarkably stable.

This Paizo reprint includes two stories from before John got his guitar, as a young man - at least, that's what Wellman sometime claimed these stories were, and they read like enough that could be the case. There are also a couple of illustrations that are nicely atmospheric.

The stories are wonderful, told in a unique American voice that better judges than I say is accurate in its depiction of the Appalachian mountains and inhabitants. John is a traveller, a religious man without being a preacher, an explorer rather than soldier or warrior, but a man who will fight evil wherever it is found. This is a world of demons, ancient spirits and things that..."didn't relish to be pestered" as it was put in "Nobody ever goes there". Faith has a real (but simple) role in these stories that is rarely seen in horror fiction these days.

This is a good book, worth buying, worth reading, and worth keeping on the shelf to read again.

This slim volume of 197 pages contains treasures that exceed those offered by many of the recent door-stoppers that are being dished us as "epic"-proportioned fantasies. The name of Manly Wade Wellman, as well as that of his creation: John the Balladeer, more commonly known as Silver John, needs no introduction to lovers of good stories. My review is aimed at praising Paizo books for doing these very story-lovers (old & new) a terrific service by offering the `Silver John' stories in a truly affordable format which would rekindle the love of pulps in many a reader's mind. The contents are: -

1. Introduction:
a. `Manly and John' by Mike Resnick
b. `Just Call Me John' by Karl Edward Wagner

2. Stories:
a. O Ugly Bird!
b. The Desrick on Yandro
c. Vandy, Vandy
d. One Other
e. Call Me From the alley
f. The Little Black Train
g. Shiver in the Pines
h. Walk Like a Mountain
i. Old Devlins Was A-Waiting
j. On the Hills and Everywhere
k. Nine Yards of Other Cloth
l. Trill Coster's Burden
m. The Spring
n. Owls Hoot in the Daytime
o. Nobody Ever Goes There
p. Can These Bones Live?
q. Where Did She Wander?
r. Sin's Doorway (although I don't consider it as a Silver John story)
s. Frogfather (this inclusion is also questionable, but I accept it).

3. Vignettes:
a. John's My Name
b. Why They're Named That
c. The I Wasn't Alone
d. You Know the Tale of Haph
e. Find the Place Yourself
f. The Stars Down There
g. Blue Monkey
h. I Can't Claim That
i. Who Else Could I Count On?
j. None Wiser for the Trip
k. Nary Spell

It has been stated by numerous critics that Manly Wade Wellman was unique in the way he had morphed American folklore and Biblical stories into proper old-fashioned good-v/s-evil stories, and in the process had shown such storytelling skills that can't be measured even by the horde of awards that he had won. But I recommend this volume to you so that you yourself can get a measure of these wonderful tales, and in the process gift the jewel of an author the best possible posthumous gift: remembrance.

It would seem the Manly Wade Wellman's Silver John stories were tailored made for me. Silver John is a guitar-playing, God-fearing, humanity-loving, traveling balladeer who roams around the Appalachian mountains fighting evil (both natural and supernatural) and writing wrongs. Think of H.P. Lovecraft by way of Uncle Remus, with a bit of Lansdale and King. As a matter of fact, I'd be surprised if both Lansdale and King weren't highly influenced by Wellman.

These stories make up what is a uniquely American fantasy, as the legends and myths are drawn from Appalachian folklore and an American-brand of Christianity. There are giants bigger than Paul Bunyan, strange creatures like the Behinder (no one has ever seen one because it always attacks from behind), witch-men cursing with the hoodoo, Satan, perhaps, Jesus makes an appearance, and all manner of evil, scary, wondrous beings.

The stories themselves are episodic in nature, entirely monster-of-the-week in their formula. I would heed the editor's suggestion and read one or two here or there, rather than digging into them all in a few sittings. So while some may argue that the stories are too samey, I would argue that Wellman had a singular idea with Silver John and perfected and nailed the execution.

Wellman's voice rings true with authenticity. Silver John's narration reads and sounds exactly how I think a character from the deep south would. The dialog is quaint without being sappy, and the descriptions of things are kind of rough around the edges, but also full of folksy insight.

In addition to the longer form stories in this collection, there are also little micro-stories (probably around ~300 words) that act as transitions and little asides. These are neat, especially "The Stars Down There," which is really one of the coolest things I've read.

If you are looking for something unique, and different, something that stands out in the glut of the fantasy and horror genres, then definitely pick up Who Fears the Devil? It is thoroughly enjoyable.

Manly Wade Wellman was a pulp author who wrote from the early days of "Weird Tales" right up until his death in the mid-1980s. This is a collection of the short stories of his best-known character, John (no last name), sometimes called "Silver John" or "John the Balladeer."

Wellman favored heroic characters overcoming danger; unlike Lovecraft, C.A. Smith, or R.E. Howard, Wellman celebrated the power of good and the inferiority of evil. Most of his tales, therefore, have happy endings and make a nice contrast with the darker vision of so many of his contemporaries.

Wellman also had an amazing ability to depict voice and place. John is an Appalachian and his dialect is presented without any sense of cultural or intellectual inferiority; landscape is a key dramatic element in the stories and wonderfully atmospheric. Also, the stories present adventures involving aspects of Appalachian myths and legends, together with references to the real occultism of the region (Hohman's "Pow-Wows," "The 7th Book of Moses," etc.)

I have heard different things about this collection. Wellman added new introductions/linking tales to the original stories, but supposedly Arkham house publisher August Derleth edited some of the original material to fit. I have the 'definitive' collection of Silver John stories presented in "Owls Hoot in the Daytime" and haven't noticed any difference, but I haven't really looked closely. Anyway the stories are (mostly) great:

"John's My Name" (intro/linking tale) & "O Ugly Bird!"
"Why They're Named That" & "One Other"
"Then I Wasn't Alone" & "Shiver in the Pines"
"You Know the Tale of Hoph" & "Old Devlins Was A-Waiting"
"Find the Place Yourself" & "The Desrick on Yandro"
"The Stars Down There" & "Vandy, Vandy"
"Blue Monkey": "Dumb Supper"
"I Can't Claim That" & "The Little Black Train"
"Who Else Could I Count On" & "Walk Like a Mountain"
"None Wiser for the Trip" & "On the Hills and Everywhere"
"Nary Spell" & "Nine Yards of Other Cloth"
"Wonder as I Wander".)

They can't be too highly recommended to weird fiction fans!!!

I first read "O Ugly Bird!" as a child in a paperback anthology of my Dad's and was struck by John's bravery and courage. I have 2 or three different editions of "Who Fears the Devil?" that were printed over the years and I have extra copies of Baen Book's "John The Balladeer" collection for myself (I keep one at the office) and to give away. I am hoping the Planet Stories edition will include a Silver John story involving invisibility and maybe a story or two that I didn't know existed like John The Balladeer. I love the character, I love the stories, I love the 1-page vignettes, and especially the folk music lyrics worked into the tales. If the Planet Stories version lives up to its description, I'll be buying more copies as gifts. I recommend "Go Tell It On The Mountain" as a great Christmas read-a-long story for the kids.
John the Balladeer