Colonel Markesan and Less Pleasant People

5b August Derleth & Mark Schorer. Sauk City, Wisconsin: Arkham House, 1966. First Edition SIGNED.

Notes

"Colonel Markesan and Less Pleasant People" is a short story co-written by August Derleth and Mark Schorer, first published in Weird Tales magazine in 1931. It is a classic example of early American weird fiction, blending Gothic horror with atmospheric suspense. The story follows two young writers who rent a cheap room in a decaying old Midwestern house owned by a strange old man—Colonel Markesan. The house is unsettling from the start, with odd noises, inexplicable chills, and the colonel himself appearing only at night, exhibiting bizarre and corpse-like behavior.

As the narrative unfolds, the protagonists uncover a dark secret tied to necromancy, reanimation, and the colonel’s experiments to bring the dead back to life. The story is noted for its eerie setting, slow-building dread, and macabre revelations, making it a staple of pulp-era horror fiction. “Less pleasant people” refers to the unsettling cast of characters—both living and undead—that populate the house, creating a suffocating sense of unease. The tale reflects themes common in the work of H. P. Lovecraft and his contemporaries: the dangers of forbidden knowledge, the thin boundary between life and death, and the horror lurking beneath the surface of everyday life.

Description

Black blotch binding with gilt lettering along the spine. Original green and white pictorial dust wrapper. Signed by August Derleth on the front endpaper. Bit of rubbing to the dust wrapper extremities. Unclipped. No marking throughout. One of 2405 first edition copies printed. Very fine condition overall.