History Creator / ArthurMachen

* ShaggySearchTechnique: A common element of Machen's early fiction, especially in ''The Three Imposters''.

* HaveAGayOldTime: He was really fond of using "queer" as a synonym for "strange". But by far the most triumphant example is ''Liaterature/TheGreatGodPan'''s "gay curtains".

* FairFolk: Machen went straight back to the earliest legends and created a particularly nightmarish version he called the "Little People."

* ShoutOut: The title of ''The Three Imposters'' is a ShoutOut to ''The[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treatise_of_the_Three_Impostors Treatise of the Three Imposters]]'': a supposedly heretical text denouncing organised religion.

* ShoutOut: The title of ''The Three Imposters'' is a ShoutOut to ''The[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treatise_of_the_Three_Impostors]]'': a supposedly heretical text denouncing organised religion.

* [[spoiler:TheBadGuyWins: ''The Three Impostors'', though it's something of a PyrrhicVictory for them because - in spite of all their efforts and all the torture they inflicted - they never actually recovered the Gold Tiberius.]]

[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Machen Arthur Machen]] (1863-1947) was a Welsh author and actor best known for his fantasy/horror tales set in the decadent Edwardian era. He was a major influence on Creator/HPLovecraft, who considered him a modern master who could create "cosmic horror raised to its most artistic pitch." In addition to ''Literature/TheGreatGodPan'', Lovecraft also praised "The Novel of the Black Seal" and "The Novel of the White Powder" (''The Three Imposters'') as "approach[ing] the absolute culmination of loathsome fright" and used them as the basis for his own works ''Cool Air'' and ''Literature/TheColourOutOfSpace''. Along with his American contemporary Creator/RobertWChambers, Machen is noted today as one of the forerunners of the [[CosmicHorrorStory Cosmic Horror]] genre Lovecraft pioneered.

--> -- from "The Call of Cthulhu" by H. P. Lovecraft

[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Machen Arthur Machen]] (1863-1947) was a Welsh author and actor best known for his fantasy/horror tales set in the decadent Edwardian era. He was a major influence on Creator/HPLovecraft, who considered him a modern master who could create "cosmic horror raised to its most artistic pitch." In addition to ''Literature/TheGreatGodPan'', Lovecraft also praised "The Novel of the Black Seal" and "The Novel of the White Powder" (''The Three Imposters'') as "approach[ing] the absolute culmination of loathsome fright" and used them as the basis for his own works ''Cool Air'' and ''Literature/TheColourOutOfSpace''. Along with his American contemporary RobertWChambers, Machen is noted today as one of the forerunners of the [[CosmicHorrorStory Cosmic Horror]] genre Lovecraft pioneered.

Machen was born to a poor vicar in rural Wales. As an adult, his poverty was greatly ameliorated by an inheritance left him by several Scottish relatives, which also enabled him to devote more time to writing. He took up acting shortly after the death of his first wife in 1899 and associated with Creator/AleisterCrowley and his circle, mostly out of curiosity. Machen is also responsible for "[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angels_of_Mons The Angels of Mons]]", a fictional tale he wrote for a newspaper during WorldWarI that many subsequently treated as a true story - despite his insistence that it was no such thing.

After a brief period of popularity in the 1920s, Machen's fortunes faded. On his eightieth birthday in 1943, however, a literary appeal was launched to formally recognize him as a distinguished man of letters. Signers of the appeal included Creator/TSEliot, Creator/GeorgeBernardShaw, Walter de la Mare, Algernon Blackwood, and Creator/JohnMasefield. Its success allowed Machen to live out his final years in relative comfort.

Machen was born to a poor vicar in rural Wales. As an adult, his poverty was greatly ameliorated by an inheritance left him by several Scottish relatives, which also enabled him to devote more time to writing. He took up acting shortly after the death of his first wife in 1899 and associated with AleisterCrowley and his circle, mostly out of curiosity. Machen is also responsible for "[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angels_of_Mons The Angels of Mons]]", a fictional tale he wrote for a newspaper during WorldWarI that many subsequently treated as a true story - despite his insistence that it was no such thing.

* CreatorBreakdown: Inverted. After his wife died, Machen went through a great deal of personal turmoil and soul searching. He then converted to Christianity at the turn of the century[[note]]although he'd already been part of the Anglican church for his whole life[[/note]] and used his newfound sense of inner peace to write two particularly upbeat novels, ''The Great Return'' and ''The Secret Glory''

* {{CosmicHorror|Story}}: One of the genre's forerunners.

* [[spoiler:ScrewYourself]]:[[spoiler:Implied in "Novel of the White Powder", with a truly horrible outcome.]]

* [[CosmicHorrorStory Cosmic Horror]]: One of the genre's forerunners.
* CreatorBreakdown: Inverted. After his wife died, Machen went through a great deal of personal turmoil and soul searching. He then converted to Christianity at the turn of the century[[hottip:*:although he'd already been part of the Anglican church for his whole life]] and used his newfound sense of inner peace to write two particularly upbeat novels, ''The Great Return'' and ''The Secret Glory''

After a brief period of popularity in the 1920s, Machen's fortunes faded. On his eightieth birthday in 1943, however, a literary appeal was launched to formally recognize him as a distinguished man of letters. Signers of the appeal included T.S. Eliot, Bernard Shaw, Walter de la Mare, Algernon Blackwood, and John Masefield. Its success allowed Machen to live out his final years in relative comfort.

* InNameOnly: The radio adaptation of ''The Red Hand'' done for ''The Weird Circle'', a show with a history of doing this for their book-to-radio adaptations. Oddly enough, while it had absolutely nothing in common with the original story, it '''did''' have some minor (and probably unintentional) similarities to one of Machen's ''other'' works: ''The Three Impostors''.

* InNameOnly: The radio adaptation of ''The Red Hand'' done for ''The Weird Circle'', a show with a history of doing this for their book-to-radio adaptations. Oddly enough, while it had absolutely nothing in common with the original story, it '''did''' have a minor (and probably unintentional) similarity to one of Machen's ''other'' works: ''The Three Impostors''.

--> -- from "TheCallOfCthulhu" by H. P. Lovecraft