Weird Tales - “The Thing in the Trunk,” “I Found Cleopatra,” and “The Nameless City”

5b Various Authors including Paul Ernst, “The Thing in the Trunk”. Thomas P. Kelley, “I Found Cleopatra”. H. P. Lovecraft, “The Nameless City”. November 5, 1938.

Notes

Weird Tales was a pioneering American pulp magazine launched in 1923 that became a central platform for horror, fantasy, and science fiction during the early 20th century. With its lurid covers and sensational tales, it gave voice to many now-legendary writers who shaped speculative fiction, including H. P. Lovecraft, Robert E. Howard, and Clark Ashton Smith. Known for its willingness to publish weird and unconventional stories that mainstream outlets rejected, Weird Tales cultivated a unique atmosphere of cosmic horror, supernatural mystery, and exotic adventure. Its influence persists in modern genre fiction, cementing its legacy as a foundational publication in the weird fiction tradition.

Paul Ernst’s story "The Thing in the Trunk", published in Weird Tales in 1933, reflects his talent for blending suspense, science fiction, and horror. Ernst, a prolific pulp writer, often contributed to detective and adventure magazines but stood out in Weird Tales with his knack for unsettling scenarios and tight pacing. "The Thing in the Trunk" centers around a mysterious and grotesque creature transported in a locked trunk—an eerie setup that leads to deadly consequences for the characters involved. The story is emblematic of Ernst’s style: pragmatic protagonists, inexplicable horrors, and a creeping sense of dread that escalates toward a violent climax.

Thomas P. Kelley’s "I Found Cleopatra", serialized in Weird Tales in 1938, is a pulp adventure steeped in the era’s fascination with lost worlds and ancient civilizations. Kelley, often described as Canada’s “King of the Pulps,” was known for his sensational plots and dramatic prose. In this tale, a modern explorer stumbles upon the legendary Cleopatra, kept alive through secretive means in a hidden Egyptian enclave. The story combines exoticism, romance, and fantasy in a manner typical of Kelley’s over-the-top narratives, appealing to readers’ thirst for the bizarre and the forbidden. While often criticized for its purple prose and cultural stereotypes, the story remains a curious artifact of pulp escapism.

H. P. Lovecraft’s "The Nameless City", first published in Weird Tales in 1936 (though written in 1921), is one of his earliest explorations of cosmic horror and ancient alien civilizations. The story follows an unnamed narrator who ventures into a buried, ancient city in the Arabian desert, gradually uncovering the remnants of a pre-human reptilian race. "The Nameless City" showcases Lovecraft’s signature motifs: decaying ruins, forbidden knowledge, and the insignificance of humanity in the face of ancient, unknowable forces. Although Lovecraft faced repeated rejections from Weird Tales during his life, the magazine ultimately became a vital venue for his mythos, helping to posthumously elevate him into one of the genre’s most influential figures.

The November 1938 issue of Weird Tales served as a curious convergence of old and new, reprinting earlier stories like Paul Ernst’s “The Thing in the Trunk” (1933) and H. P. Lovecraft’s “The Nameless City” (first published in 1936) alongside Thomas P. Kelley’s “I Found Cleopatra,” which debuted as a new serial. This editorial choice likely reflects both budget-conscious decisions and a desire to reintroduce proven crowd-pleasers to a shifting readership during a transitional period for the magazine. By combining sensational reprints with a bold new feature, Weird Tales offered readers a mix of nostalgic terror and fresh thrills, reinforcing its brand as the home of the bizarre while maximizing the appeal of its established stable of authors.

Description 

Pictorial paperback copy of weird tales. The 16th year of publication. Illustration for “I found Cleopatra” on upper cover and advertisements on back cover and several preliminary pages. Illustrations with few stories. Fully intact. Chipping to upper extremities. And fading to spine. Fine condition overall.