Lovecraft called the supreme tale of cosmic horror, “The Willows.” Jacobs, though primarily a humorist, produced the unforgettable and much anthologized three-wishes story “The Monkey’s Paw.” As for Blackwood, he wrote what H.P. Beerbohm’s best-known work is “Enoch Soames,” in which a seedy 1890s poet-author of Fungoids and Negations-sells his soul to the devil. Though obviously very different writers, this trio shared one signal distinction: each, along with the man they had come to celebrate, had written a masterpiece of supernatural fiction. While many distinguished figures in the arts attended, three of the older guests particularly stood out: Max Beerbohm, W.W. In 1943 some of the friends of Arthur Machen-the last name rhymes with “bracken”-organized a formal dinner to honor the Welsh writer on his eightieth birthday. Illustration by Sidney Sime from the jacket of the 1906 edition of Arthur Machen’s House of Souls
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