A. Merritt Article

Abraham Merritt was born in New Jersey on January 20^th, 1884.  He studied law but eventually became an editor for The American Weekly magazine, which he worked at for many years.  He was exceptionally well paid and used his money to travel the world, bringing back many exotic weapons and artifacts from around the world.  He wrote fiction on the side and produced short stories and novels in the fantasy, science-fiction and horror genres.  His stories were always full of adventure, mystery and the bizarre.  Those who love the old adventure pulp stories or Jules Verne will most likely enjoy Merritt’s work.  He is probably best known for his series “The Moon Pool” who some say is a possible influence of the television series LOST.  Two of his works were made into films (Seven Footprints to Satan 1929 silent film and The Devil Doll from his story “Burn Witch Burn” 1936).  Merritt died of a sudden heart attack on August 21, 1943.

1-  “Through the Dragon Glass” (1917) – A man, who became a millionaire after taking riches from the Forbidden City in Peking while with the Allied Forces, suddenly vanishes from his room one night only to reappear there the next day with vicious claw wounds raked across his chest.  When his friend comes to visit him, he shows him a beautiful polished stone mirror surrounded by 13 carved dragons.  He then tells him how he disappeared into the mirror to an unearthly realm with seven moons, a lovely woman who he falls in love with, and evil dragons.  He spends time in the realm walking through the alien gardens with the woman until the god of the realm sends dragons after him.  He escaped but starts making immediate plans to go back through the mirror and return with the woman he loves.

2-“The People of the Pit” (1917)- Two men exploring the North Pole encounter a badly injured man who crawls to their campsite at the foot of a mountain shaped like a giant hand thrusting out of the earth.  The man tells them a wild tale of his own excursion upon the mountain.  He found a deep hole in its center that contained hewn steps that travel for many miles down into the earth.   There he encounters some very bizarre things, and his life is put in jeopardy.  The story seems to be based off the old hollow earth theories.  This is a wonderfully atmospheric tale that is my personal favorite Merritt story.

3-  “The Pool of the Stone God” (1923) – A group of five men escape a sinking ship on a lifeboat that shores on a strange island.  They find a perfect square of open space, free of trees.  In its center is a large stone pool and some old stone huts.  The pool has a statue of a man with his arms outstretched that stands at least twenty feet tall beside it.  The statue has a cruel look to it and carved bat-like wings wrapped about it.  Touching the wings fills the men with nausea.  When they camp that night, they soon discover they would have been better off taking their chances with the open sea.

4-“The Drone” (1934) Four men gather at a table for their Explorers Club to talk.  They are learned men of history, the arts and science.  Their talks turn to legends involving Werewolves, Leopard Men and Fox Women, etc.  There is much discussion as to the veracity of these old stories, followed by two of the men relating strange events they personally encountered of the kind.  The first tale is a creepy one involving a tribal priest who is reputed to be able to transform himself into a hyena in order to eat human flesh.  The following story is truly bizarre and makes the whole tale worth reading.  It involves a transformation into a type of lycanthrope that is to my knowledge unique.