History Creator / KarlEdwardWagner

* The ''Literature/{{Kane}}'' series of dark HeroicFantasy stories.

* BedlamHouse: The asylum in the short story "Into Whose Hands". Wagner had trained as a [[WriteWhatYouKnow psychiatrist]], lending the piece some very nasty implications.

* OurVampiresAreDifferent: In "The River of Night's Dreaming" [[spoiler:when Cassilda is raped by her captors it is repeatedly mentioned how cold their flesh is, and after one such encounter one of them is specifically stated to have fangs dripping with blood. However they do not seem to have any typical vampire weaknesses or traits, and are seemingly subject to harm from normal implements. Given that the story is told [[ThroughTheEyesOfMadness]], however, it's possible that none of what Cassilda experiences is accurate.]]

* OurVampiresAreDifferent: In "The River of Night's Dreaming" [[spoiler:when Cassilda is raped by her captors it is repeatedly mentioned how cold their flesh is, and after one such encounter one of them is specifically stated to have blood dripping from her fangs. However they do not seem to have any typical vampire weaknesses or traits, and are seemingly subject to harm from normal implements.]]

* PsychoLesbians: "The River of Night's Dreaming."

Karl Edward Wagner (4 December 1945 – 13 October 1994) was a American writer of {{Horror}}, ScienceFiction, {{Fantasy}}, and {{Poetry}} as well as a publisher and editor. A fan of Creator/RobertEHoward, he edited a three-volume set of the ''Literature/ConanTheBarbarian'' stories that restored them to Howard's form as written; he also did a number of {{pastiche}}s featuring Conan and Literature/BranMakMorn. Other editing work included fourteen volumes of the long-running anthology series ''The Year's Best Horror Stories'' and several collections of the work of Creator/ManlyWadeWellman. His most popular works are the long-running stories of Kane, the Mystic Swordsman, and his often-anthologized short story "Sticks".

* VoodooDoll: With a twist in "More Sinned Against".

* AncientConspiracy: "The Fourth Seal"

* CelebrityIsOverrated: The short story "Neither Brute nor Human," which suggests a vampiric/parasitic relationship between creator and fandom.

* ShoutOut: the novella "The River of Night's Dreaming" and the short story "Beyond Any Measure". Only the former explicitly references ''Film/TheRockyHorrorPictureShow''; the latter is something of an homage to ''Literature/TheKingInYellow''.

* DisposableVagrant: "Where The Summer Ends" has several homeless people fall victims to the creatures maintaining [[spoiler:the kudzu]].

* OurGhostAreDifferent: "In The Pines"

Karl Edward Wagner (4 December 1945 – 13 October 1994) was a American writer of {{Horror}}, ScienceFiction, {{Fantasy}}, and {{Poetry}} as well as a publisher and editor. A fan of Creator/RobertEHoward, he edited a three-volume set of the ''Literature/ConanTheBarbarian'' stories that restored them to Howard's form as written; he also did a number of {{pastiche}}s featuring Conan and Literature/BranMakMorn. Other editing work included fourteen volumed of the long-running anthology series ''The Year's Best Horror Stories'' and several collections of the work of Creator/ManlyWadeWellman. His most popular works are the long-running stories of Kane, the Mystic Swordsman, and his often-anthologized short story "Sticks".

'''Karl Edward Wagner''' (4 December 1945 – 13 October 1994) was a American writer of {{Horror}}, ScienceFiction and {{Fantasy}}. His works include:

* The Literature/{{Kane}} series of dark heroic fantasy stories.
* A number of Creator/RobertEHoward pastiches featuring ConanTheBarbarian or Literature/BranMakMorn.

See also: Creator/RobertEHoward, of whom Wagner is considered a SpiritualSuccessor of sorts.
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