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Gaslight Grotesque: Nightmare Tales of Sherlock Holmes

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Gaslight Grotesque: Nightmare Tales of Sherlock Holmes
Type of material: Trade Paperback
Publisher: Edge Science Fiction and Fantasy Publishing
Year: 2009
Author: J. R. Campbell and Charles Prepolec, eds.
Price: $19.95

Review: This is a collection of Sherlockian tales in which, to quote Leslie S. Klinger's Forward, "...the pillar of Victorian reason and intellect, Sherlock Holmes, would be called upon to confront the forces of darkness in every form." Make no mistake. This is a collection of horror stories, not the usual Sherlockian investigations of human crime. In this book, Holmes and Watson deal with monsters, not twisted humans, but horrors out of myth and nightmare

In the opening tale, "Hounded," by Stephen Volk, Watson attends a seance. What he finds there is what he had hoped to escape, his own memories of The Hound. Once confronted, they lead him to his only escape. "The Death Lantern,"by Lawrence C. Connolly, tells of a magician who filmed himself practicing one of his illusions, catching an explosive bullet in his teeth. The early silent movie is destroyed after Holmes, Watson and Lestrade witness the death(?) of the magician. William Meikle's "The Quality of Mercy" is a story of an old Army friend of Watson's yearning for a dead sweetheart. The form that desire takes is gruesome to say the least.

"Emily's Kiss," by James A. Moore, is one of the most horrifying tales in my opinion. The events are described but the cause and explanation are never stated explicitly, leaving the imagination of the reader to fill in the blanks, over and over and over again. "The Tragic Case of the Child Prodigy," by William Patrick Maynard, has an Aleister Crowley surrogate, disguised as one "Christopher Frawley," preying on an ambitious `stage mother' to control the income generated by a young violinist. "The Last Windigo," by Hayden Trenholm, has Holmes an Watson sent to Canada by Mycroft on The Queen's Business. While waiting for the situation to develop, they stumble on a land theft scheme that is being contested by the local natives. Resolving that dispute requires more than logic and diplomacy.

In "Celeste," by Neil Jackson, Holmes and Watson work, at the request of The Prince of Wales, to put a final end to the recurring nightmare of a ghost ship. "The Best Laid Plans," by Robert Lauderdale, presents an alternative view of events in "The Final Problem," as seen through the eyes of Inspector Lestrade. The view is neither pretty nor simple. "Exalted Are the Forces of Darkness," by Leigh Blackmore introduces Aleister Crowley, this time as an ally of Holmes in dealing with a conjured Demon attacking members of The Golden Dawn. "The Affair of the Heart," by Mark Morris, introduces Holmes to a sort of time travel, which engulfs him and Watson in a trap of double jeopardy. "The Hand-Delivered Letter," by Simon Kurt Unsworth, brings back Moriarty, in a truly stunning and terrifying revenge. "On the Origin of the Hound of the Baskervilles," by Barbera Roden, fills in the untold bits of HOUN deftly and seamlessly and horribly. J. R. Campbell's "Mr. Other's Children" finishes the book on a note of true terror. It's villain escapes and leaves the world at risk.

Sherlockians are not as likely to recognise many of the authors, other than Barbera Roden and J. R. Campbell, since most have worked in the horror genre rather than in detective tales up to this time. That takes nothing away from their abilities and the errors for purists are mostly confined to the villains and `ghosties' introduced, rather than to Canonical problems. In addition, most are not Americans, so the `slanguage' problems are not nearly so much in evidence as in most recent anthologies.

Reviewed by: Philip K. Jones, November, 2009.

It seems apt that with a new adaptation of Sherlock Holmes once more about to hit the silver screen, a review of a new collection of short stories featuring the venerable Victorian detective should feature in the annuals of [...].



Edited by JR Campbell and Charles Prepolec, Gaslight Grotesque contains thirteen tales of horror and ghostly goings-on, and boasts some highly acclaimed authors to boot. In his introduction, co-editor Charles Prepolec notes that whilst Arthur Conan Doyle never had his historical creation going head to head with the fantastic, the detective did flirt with myth and lore during several of his adventures. And Doyle himself wasn't shy of penning the odd tale of terror.

In the spirit of this philosophy, Gaslight Grotesque pitches the detective against ghouls and ghosts; secret societies, zombies and fantastic beasts of myth and folklore. Stand out tales for this reviewer include: William Meikle's The Quality of Mercy, a pulp tale of lost love and the desire for its return no matter what the cost; Stephen Volk's Hounded; a beguiling tale told from the perspective of Dr Watson, and Neil Jackson's Celeste, a subtle tale of conspiracy in the vein of Holmes meets the X Files.

This said, all the tales come with a degree of quality and as an overall read, Gaslight Grotesque presents the reader with a tome crammed with both intrigue and gruesome discovery. Even if the reader is new to the world of Sherlock Holmes, there is enough here to entertain and enthral.



Dave Jeffery

Arthur Conan Doyle would never have thought his iconic character may battle the undead. "Gaslight Grotesque: Nightmare Tales of Sherlock Holmes" blends horror and mystery as the legendary sleuth finds himself faced off against the supernatural through the pens of countless established and budding authors. The rational Holmes against an irrational world makes "Gaslight Grotesque" a very riveting collection.

The stories stayed true to the canon, while being different and new. This is not an easy thing to get right, but this book manages it very well! If Holmes had accepted supernatural cases, I believe he would have chosen these.

All good Sherlockians past, present or future would surely agree that Holmes who held no stock in the supernatural would have run across it and denied it or covered it up for the sake of his own reputation or the reputation of those involved in the investigations. Gaslight Grotesque is a gathering of some of those that would be secret from the world or released at a time when certain persons were dead. This collection of thirteen stories are told from varying viewpoints from the good doctor himself, Lestrade, and even Professor James Moriarty. Even the Great Beast Aleister Crowley makes an appearance (Exalted Are The Forces of Darkness). Starting with Hounded, the first of two Baskerville stories, Dr. Watson is reminded of the real truth behind the Hound at a seance and sounds of scratchings at his door. Read further on and find magicians, the Golden Dawn, the Windigo, the eternal Moriarty, zombies, a werewolf, procreating white worms. The Great Detective is even caught in a time trap that could lead to his own death with his body in plain view. Those who cling to the "pure" reputation of Holmes are advised to stay away from this volume. Those of us who are a hybrid of the world's first consulting detective and marked with streaks of horror will find something to like in this book. The stories are told with inventiveness and an insight out the original canon.

This is a superb anthology and is very-very highly recommended to not only lovers of Sherlockiana, but also to all lovers of horror & macabre. Already several reviewers have given the summary of the stories, so I would simply state the reasons as to why you should try to get this book immediately, and thereupon immerse yourself in the depth of its grotesque as well as tight narratives:

1. "Foreword" by Leslie S. Klinger and "Introduction" by Charles Prepolec gives a good & neat idea about "The Things That Might Come Upon.." as you prepare for the stories.
2. "Hounded" by Stephen Volk is a chillingly ambiguous work as you try to understand, till the end, whether Watson is actually losing his mind, or whether his worst fears are becoming grim reality. "A++"
3. "The Death lantern" by Lawrence C. Connolly is not a murder mystery involving anything fantastic, but it is a nostalgia-inducing story that involves grotesque images on screen as well as in mind of the reader. "B"
4. "The Quality of Mercy" by William Meikle is an oppressive tale of the suffering inflicted upon oneself and to the extent a person (dead or alive) can go to meet his beloved. It involves a failure on part of Holmes, but explains why Conan Doyle (an ardent believer of spiritualism) detested his own creation. "A"
5. "Emily's Kiss" by James A. Moore is a solid tale of Lovecraftian horror that also succeeds in making the relation between Holmes & Watson more sympathetic. "A+"
6. "The Tragic Case of the Child Prodigy" by William Patrick Maynard is a mediocre science-fictional as well as occult story. Nevertheless, it is readable. "B"
7. "The Last Wendigo" by Hayden Trenholm is a terrific story with Holmes & Watson in Canada, facing an old evil that has been resurrected because of a newer one. "A+"
8. "Celeste" by Niel Jackson is a Holmes-meets-X-Files story that aims at explaining a Century-old mystery. It is very good, and ambiguous in its ending in a truly X-Files manner. "A+"
9. "The Best Laid Plans" by Robert Lauderdale is a brief recounting of events by Lestrade, as Moriarty escaped the nets put in place by Holmes, forcing Lestrade into an eternally torment-full existence. "B+"
10. "Exalted Are The Forces of Darkness" by Leigh Blackmore is a mediocre story involving occult, inheritance, and Holmes uttering chants & invocations(!?) while resisting a demon. "C"
11. "The Affair of the Heart" by Mark Morris is a tricky tale involving time-travel that violates all scientific principles of the day, and yet turns out to be intriguing in the questions it raises. "A"
12. "The Hand Delivered Letter" by Simon Kurt Unsworth is a chilling tale involving zombies and the terrible revenge of Professor Moriarty. "A+"
13. "Of the origin of the Hound of the Baskervilles" by Barbara Roden is a brilliant retelling of the classic adventure, with a few deft touches in the main text giving the story an even darker meaning. "A++"
14. "Mr.Other's Children" by J.R.Campbell is very-very enjoyable, but perhaps over-influenced by Geoffrey Landis' classic "The Singular Habits of Wasps". "A"

Overall, a very top-level collection, and lovers of Sherlockian pastiches should grab it by both hands.

I can't say I was surprised by the stories in this book. The blurb pretty much gives an accurate description. The stories all have a supernatural element. I guess I just decided that I don't like a book to have stories that are ALL supernatural in nature. It gets boring. I much prefer a collection of stories that has some with supernatural resolutions and some that have a logical explanation. This keeps me guessing more, which is a good thing in an anthology of detective tales! The companion book, Gaslight Grimoire, is pretty much the same. Good, but not great.

Currently,I am still reading this book, but I wanted to say something about it.

The first story gave me a lot to think about,and I have wanted to say something concerning some issues related to SH as a result of this story.

First of all, this book is worth buying for just the first story alone. It is that good.

Watson makes some very interesting observations in "Hounded". I want to review some of these and elaborate on them.

First, what has always bothered me is the assumption that Holmes used drugs. Somehow this does not jibe, it does not fit. Watson's observed though that it was some failures with his cases that led to him using drugs. It was not boredom, but the fact he could not face failure. Still, I find this hard to accept. Why is this so? It does not compute. In the first story, Watson states that Holmes came up against the supernatural and since this did not fit his concepts of reality, he refused to accept defeat and this led to him using drugs at some point. In other words, Watson states he "failed" to solve the case because it did not fit into the natural world. Holmes was stymied by this fact. I submit that some one with the abilities of Holmes would not have been stymied. He would have realized that his knowledge lacked what was needed to understand, and, ultimately, to fight a foe that was supernatural vs from the natural world. I think Holmes would have admited defeat, not hide it, only because it would be the honorable thing to do, with the desire to find out how to deal with such a foe in the future. I honestly believe this is the logical route he would have taken, not the one suggested by Watson.

Secondly, I recall once in a movie about SH at the end when the case is solved. No sooner does Holmes see the conclusion when he states "Watson, the needle". Nonesense. If you yourself, dear reader, ever was in a tight battle, or in a tough situation and you won out with success, I think you would want, demand to take the time to bask in relief and happiness at a conclusion that might have been illusive at some point. I do not, as in never will accept the fact that Holmes would immediately submit to drugs because he would fall into ennui at the moment the case is concluded. Nonsense. I do not accept, never will accept this as true. He like us would want to bask in relief, to review, to replay in his mind what happened, how and why did it end as it did. This is what I believe.

Finally, I think some one of the capability of Holmes would never waste it on drugs or on something that would detract from the capabilities he honned to perfection. No, I believe he would understand this fact all too well, and knowing this, would avoid the use of drugs as a means to "fix" any ennui. An intelligent person finds something to occupy oneself, not something to destroy oneself.

Holmes has always represented, to me, honesty, integrity, strength in the face of overwhelming or tremendous odds set against one, and something else. He represents what is good, what should be sought for, what one should strive for throughout life. We cannot ever expect to be perfect, but we can make great efforts toward this end. Maybe one day, not ourselves, but someone else, and this is the key to life, will see in us the struggle for perfection, the desire to do what is right no matter what, and try to emulate us. This would be the greatest thing to leave behind and for our immortality. What more could we ask for than to be remembered as fondly as we remember Holmes.

I recommend you read this book, I recommend this even if the only good stories are the first few stories alone (as stated, this review is based on the first four stories alone). I think most of them will be of this calibre so I am not worried or concerned I spent money on something I will regret spending on. Instead, just for those first few stories alone this book is worth having in your SH collection.

I highly recommend this book, I recommend reading stories about SH if you have done little to none for the benefit of getting to know this character that has become so special in literature.

Joe